Difficult Conversion

[PFC Nektarios]

Have any of you that have converted to Holy Orthodoxy, ever
had a trouble some or very difficult conversion because of
family or so called "Friends"?

I lost a few Byzantine Catholic friends beause I'm not
im Communion with the "Vicar of Christ" and my mom
stoped talking to me.

This ever happend to any of you?

In Christ
OL

[Justin Kissel]

A Deacon friend of mine--who had also been the sponsor at the wedding of my wife and I, and was sort of an "adoptive God Father" for my wife--blew up pretty big when I came to the realisation that the Antiochian Church had left the Orthodox path, and said so publically.

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

OL,

When I left the OCA and joined the Orthodox Church, my father was not initially upset at all. But a few years later he came to the realization that we don't recognize him as belonging to the Church - he was terribly upset about that.

He was not the only one.

Looking back though, I clearly think the most difficult aspect is that all of these people around my family, even those who are supposedly Orthodox, are constantly ignorant of our fasting and general way of life. Doesn't sound like much, but when you show up to their Santa Claus celebration and they are pushing chocolate cake on your 9 year old son, and when he refuses and they make a big spectacle that you are "abusive", you'll get a sense of what I mean.

[Chrysostomos]

OOD,

Would it be safe to assume that your father, being Orthodox, raised you up as an Orthodox Christian? If so, thank God for his receiving the faith and raising you up in the faith to the extent that he did. If he had, let say, been a pagan athiest, you likewise would have most likely been raised as such.

It is truly unfortunate that a riff has developed between you and your family over your not accepting him as part of the Orthodox faith and "they" who have not respected you and your family's fasting and general way of life.

God willing, perhaps you will be that living icon, full of love, full of humility, that will assist all of you in growing closer together and becoming one in faith.

With humble bow,

Rd. Chrysostomos

[PFC Nektarios]

You joined the "Orthodox" Church in America, and then became Orthodox?
How do you figure that they are not Orthodox? They are Orthodox there the very liberal part of it, but I dont deny them there Orthodoxy.

I would see why your father would be upset.

are you ROAC, HOCNA, or ROCiE?

In Christ
Daniel

[PFC Nektarios]

OOD,

Also not to forget, thank you for telling me your story.

[Joe Zollars]

there is no liberal and conservative branches of Orthodoxy. There is only Orthodoxy. The OCA is no more Orthodox than "John Paul II."

In answer to your original question, my dad has threatened to disown me, my mom is slowly begining to go towards his position (thankfully nothing concrete has been done). Most of my old papist friends completely stopped talking to me and those that haven't don't know yet. But such cost is miniscule compared to the great rewards of being in Christ's Church.

Nicholas Zollars