As some of you may or may not know, I am in fact not yet an "Orthodox Christian" (in so far as my status goes). While my heart is totally with the Orthodox Church, I am still a sojourner, knocking at the door of the House of God. In large part, this situation is due to reasons totally beyond my control (in particular, living in a city far from a ROCOR Church, which is where I have my heart set on being received into Orthodoxy, and not having adequate means to get there on even a semi-regular basis). However, my decision was made some time ago, and I stand by it (doing what I can in the mean time.)
However, my immediate family is staunchly Roman Catholic; they are Latin traditionalists, what the typical mainstream RC would label a "Lefebvrist" (refering to the founder of the Priestly Society of St.Pius X, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated by the Vatican for not going along with the liberalizations ushered in by Vatican II.) Thus, from the mainstream RC p.o.v., my immediate family members are "schismatics". Of course, this means little to me, for as far as I'm concerened the western churches have been in "schism" for at least 900+ years.
This situation creates interesting problems. As far as my family is concerned, particularly my mother and my brother, I am doing something horrible and impious in wanting to be Orthodox. Oddly enough, I credit my one time association with the Latin traditionalists as the reason for my move; I learned to place truth, and principle, above slavish loyalty to a heirarch who is in fact heterodox in his teaching (which JP II certainly is, whether from a traditional RC view, and very much so from an Orthodox p.o.v.)
Now, that it is the "holiday season", my brother is visiting. This complicates things, because he is a seminarian with the "Lefebvrists" (the Priestly Society of St.Pius X...aka. "SSPX"), and he is quite set on returning me to the papist fold.
I am not afraid that my faith will falter. However, I ask the prayers of others here, that I may in some way help him see what it is I've seen, since thus far (as our conversations have made clear) we are speaking two totally different languages. I pray that he will absorb, somehow, something of that "mindset" which is essential to even seeing just what it is in Orthodoxy, that makes it the only serious "contender" in the "where is the apostolic church" 'game'. It is so obvious to me, yet I'm finding that I have a hard time expressing this to him.
Please prayer for us all, but particular for him. His first name is Andrew. He's a noble, and pure lad, but I'm afraid, also terribly wrong in his outlook on many key points. If he would only hear me out, I would have some peace.
Seraphim
(I'm sure I speak for many of the people who've visited the thread but not posted)
