Bravo Father! We are either Orthodox or we are not. I think it was St. Cyprian who wrote, “The enemy has contrived heresies and schisms in order to overthrow the faith, distort the truth, and dissolve unity. His servants proclaim the treachery under the pretense of faith, herald the antichrist in the name of Christ and, concealing the lie by means of imitation righteousness, subtly and guilefully destroy the truth.”
Thanks Kyle! Been loving the content you’ve been putting out! I think it’s going to continue to help a lot of people. God bless you and the work you’re doing!☦️
Please pray for me, I’m undergoing huge temptations. I absolutely believe that there’s going to be no limits with how humanity will go. I’m so scared because I’m a 17-year-old girl and I just can’t believe how much people will push feminism ONTO THE CHURCH, it’s literally an abomination. The ultimate guide is the Holy Theotokos, she is the example. Don’t stop what you are doing! Defend Orthodoxy!
I’ve added you to my prayers Joana! May God help and strength you with courage. Don’t lose your zeal and love for the Truth and for our Most Pure, Most Blessed Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary :)
@ioann L Petulice . Take heart ❤️ Ioannina, the good Lord Jesus Christ our beloved Soviour always takes care of His flock Lol Greetings from where I live, just about beyond the end of the Earth 🌍 🌍 🌴🐊🐍🐸
Very proud of you. Please don't lose your zeal. The Jesus prayer is powerful against temptations and even just asking the Holy Theotokos to save you from the temptations, she will always come to your rescue. Always keep your eyes on her. Yes, you are very wise she is a fantastic role model. Keep your zeal. Fight the good fight. Run the good race. You got this!
I left the Episcopal Church years ago because of this practice. I am Antiochian Orthodox now and you are 100% right, this practice is horribly wrong and Orthodox needs to always remain the same since the time of Christ.
I agree with you about your formally Church Episcopal in I'm glad you came back to the Orthodox Church it is quite different me I'm a Catholic but I will support you all the way
I only recently became Orthodox. I go to a ROCOR parish and had no idea there was so much anti-traditionalism in other jurisdictions. One of the primary attractions that drew me into the church was the deep connection to a preciously preserved 2000 year old tradition -- fed and tended to by each generation. ❤
@@iamthatguytheonlyoneThe Russian Church Outside of Russia. They left after the Bolsheviks took control. However, they’ve reunited with Moscow to an extent.
It really is only in the Patriarch of Constantinople most of the other local Orthodox churches all though still not as traditional as ROCOR are not really falling in this level of modernism and anti traditionalism but I do think out of all the local Eastern Orthodox Churches ROCOR is the most faithful to tradition so I will definitely switch to that jurisdiction a couple years from I'm antiocan Orthodox BTW
Father, thank you so much for this video. I was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church as a baby, and 2 years ago i returned home to the Orhtodox Church. I can tell you from first hand experience, that the radical changes in GOARCH wouldn't have even been a question 30 plus years ago. Some of them are very disturbing.
How incredibly sad it is. I’ve heard stories of the good traditional priests in GOARCH from the past. Lord have mercy on the GOARCH. A faithful priest in that jurisdiction has a cross to bear.
@Talk-jn7xo I completely understand what you are saying with the Greek Church not evangelizing in recent centuries. But I will give them sympathy because they were under the yoke of the Ottomans. And I will push back against your Protestant beliefs. If salvation is through Christ "Alone", why do you even to need quote scripture? For that matter, salvation is useless through the Bible, or through the church. Meaning your view of salvation is reduced simply down to the canon of your own head.
Even as a bit of an outsider here. I don't see the point in trying to change the Orthodox. That defeats the point of Orthodoxy. The whole point of Orthodoxy is it doesn't change. It changes you.
That was what I was thinking to, I am currently an inquirer, with seeing this now I am having to rethink if I want to sign up for the same garbage in the Roman Catholic church.
I love my local GOARCH church. My priest mentioned that it would be better for me not to listen to Father Peter Heers because my disposition is to veer right on the Royal Path. I have in the back of my mind that if i become a catechumen in his parish, i may find myself leaving in the future to attend the ROCOR parish an hour away. I just dont want to drag my family through that process because i have young children and this journey has already been difficult for my wife who was content as a Baptist. Pray for me, please.
Your priest is right. Mr Heers is operating outside the cannons of the church. Plain and simple. With regards to this video, we had female deacons (gasp) up until the 1300’s. This ended when a lot of Orthodox lands were under Turkish Muslim rule, which severely limited what women were allowed to do in public. So the lack of females serving is not native to Orthodoxy. I guess a lot of these priests having a knee-jerk reaction would like us to continue this “tradition” (which it isn’t) forces on us by Muslims. This priest is off. Sorry.
Two Paths by Michael Whelton is an excellent book on the historical foundation of the Orthodox Church as opposed to the false claims of the Roman Catholic Church. I used to be Roman Catholic as well, Father, and was horrified by the many, many errors that crept in over time. Thank God that He led me to His Holy Church!
@@GC-fb1pc No, he recognized that the foundation of the Roman schism was built on a foundation of sand from the very start. Accusing Masons of the RCC being overcome with modernist doctrines does not detract from the fact that this was a long time coming, a thousand years in fact.
@@GC-fb1pc a crusader can only be appointed by a higher authority, if you believe yourself to be a crusader by your own will you are being deluded, and may God have mercy on your soul.
@@GC-fb1pc The Lord showed her the one true Apostolic Catholic church... Orthodoxy just like he showed me. Thanks and praise be to God. Why stay in heresy? We all have a journey. We follow Christ where He leads us. I hope one day we will welcome you home to Orthodoxy.
Your blessing, father. I love your videos and your subtle Canadian accent. I am so encouraged that priests like you are still coming into the church and standing for the truth & tradition of the faith. May God protect you, your family and your work - I will have you in my daily prayers going forward.
Blessings Father and Thank You!. I am also under GOARCH and just now realize this already happening in our Parish in San Diego. I noticed last Year the participation of 6 year olds and 8 year old Girls in the Altar, till this day they participate. i didn’t see what was happening and took it as a sweet and neat thing to do till now. Thank You for opening my eyes Fr. Michael. God Bless You and your Beautiful Family.
In 2010, when I was visiting in Houston at an Orthodox church the Priest said "the Greeks are doing it wrong". I had no idea what he was talking about, now I do.
Oh it's bad, a while ago I went to an OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship) club meeting at my university and my heart sunk the second I walked into the meeting room and saw stickers featuring a certain colorful flag on the club president's laptop. Lord have mercy.
Cabe went on a Catholics channel to slander Abbot Trypon though not by name, excellent priests like Fr Heers and says he left his priest of almost 10 years bc they got in a disagreement. Nothing he has to say about anything regarding Holy Orthodoxy should be listened to and he should probably delete his channel and go back to his priest in repentance.
Xristos Anesti father thank you for speaking out. We have had enough of this embarrassment and totally unOrthodox movement. Elpithoforos must be removed immediately and the Patriarch must watch his position because he is definitely not representing our faith, our Orthodoxy! Thank you God Bless 💕📿🕊🪔☦️☦️☦️
I am under GOARCH, and what Elpidophoros has started to implement is disturbing. I want to leave for another jurisdiction that keeps Orthodox tradition, but also don’t want to leave as I want to resist this modernist infiltration. Father Mikhail, if I could ask for your advice, I would appreciate it.
I included the link to my discord in the the description. Please feel free to send me a private message and we can set up a call :) God bless you and your desire to uphold the Truth!
Thanks brother, I’m in the OCA and feel the same exact way. I also have a great priest and parish and believe part of the problem is the absence of us young men and our families in the local churches. I also believe the multi jurisdiction summit Fr Trenham is doing on Transhumanism and the traditionalist response to the issues of modernism, heresy, and subversion is going to force everyone to at least put their cards on the table and show where they stand. I’ve decided to remain where I am until that happens and pray the right decision is made or go wherever the Church remains if not.
I’m in ROCOR in Virginia, having left OCA when they shut down over a cold, but I am hoping you Greek laity will rise up against these “agents of change”. Maybe if you stop giving money they will get the message. May the Lord bless your efforts! 🙏🏻☦️
Stopping the money flow is, perhaps, one of the best things to do. After all, the subversives perpetrate this mess because they lust so after worldly fame and prestige, which they believe will lead them to financial wealth. Perhaps depriving them of said wealth is exactly what needs to happen to correct their course. Their hearts may not be changed, but at least the Church will be spared their demonic "progress" a little while longer.
🙏☦️❤ 🙏☦️❤ 🙏☦️❤ Well said. Thankyou. Hearing an Orthodox priest speak the truth of the Orthodox faith gives hope and strength to the faithful in these dark times which are filled with so many confusions and deliberate distortions regarding the faith. Thankyou,Fr. Glory to God! Best wishes.
I was aware of elpidophoros’ flagrant disregard of traditional church practice and thought, but this, for me, utterly crosses a line for which there is no excuse or possible justification. This is the obvious death knell for GOARCH. It will either need to cleanse itself of such egregious heresy or expect to be cut off from the source of life itself.
I thank God for priests like this one. All I want is to live the faith as it always has been, and I want my children and grandchildren to be able to live that same faith.
Amen bless you farther 100% agree 👍 I am a protestant and the orthodox church ☦️ is orthodox for a reason 🙏 I myself like a lot of the orthodox teachings well said God bless you thanks I'm learning about orthodox Christian.
I myself am in the Greek Archdiocese of America. I am appalled by the Modernism of Elpidophoros and those like him.But you know, many Greeks like myself are Traditional and against these Modernist innovations.
Indeed! That’s why it’s important for us priests to speak up. But sadly, it looks like the GOARCH isn’t interested in the faith of those who love Tradition. May God help them.
This woman needs to look at the Most important woman in the history of our Church, the Blessed Theotokos, who NEVER insisted on being part of the hierarchy, but sat quietly and spoke with people about Her blessed Son, and probably convinced more people that way. It is a lesson for us to observe her behaviour, and understand that when Christ rose from the grave on the 3rd day, and established His Church, He obviously didn't allocate for women to be part of the hierarchy (and I can understand why, firstly, the monthly cycle, and the imbalance of hormones in menopause, wise in my eyes), if He felt it was appropriate to establish His mother first and foremost, He would have done so. What these silly women don't understand is that women are the heart, which keeps the body, society, the curch, alive. So sick of feminism.
Indeed, because we sit to the side, or work in the home, we are able to observe and pray, rather than get caught up with the men's errors and lose our salt. Maybe that is why the demons wanted us out of the home, so that nobody would be thinking and reflecting, everyone would be too busy in the rat race.
It is written that God would always preserve a remnant, so in the face these heretical developments among the ecclesiarchs, I take comfort in the knowledge that the Church will live on, despite the efforts of Satan and his servants, and I know that victory will be God's!
Yep it started in 1924 , unfortunately most do not know what Bishops never compromised the Faith and still uphold is confession, due the the many splits and schisms within the old calendar ecumenist groups of today , you know them by their fruit, and if you have a love of truth may possibly find them
Good video. Thanks again for suggesting the book Know The Faith by Fr. Shanbur to me in the discord awhile ago. As a Protestant, who’s inquiring into Orthodoxy, these videos make it even more difficult if I’m being honest. I already have to try and wrestle/understand the theological differences compared to my Protestant understanding but I also have to try and look out that I’m not inquiring/attending a false Orthodox Church. I live in a place where there isn’t many Orthodox Churches very close by, and the ones that are seem to be Orthodox but could very well not be? I’ll be honest it’s a little disheartening but Lord willing my family and I can be lead to the truth. Thank you and pray the Lord strengthen us all
Orthodoxy is the last bastion of the true Christian faith and that’s why it’s under attack hard now all over the world. Sadly yes, there will be parishes that fall, not so much the people but priests and bishops. It will never die however. Don’t give up! The Greek church is being led by many ecumenists now, but not all. The Russian Church Abroad is holding up well, if you have one of those or a Serbian church check those out. Stay grounded with Fr Mikhail, Fr Peter Heers, Fr Trenham and Jay Dyer, they’ll keep you straight and the people in the chats can help as well.
There are many false teachers, who come in the name of Christ. This is what the Lord predicted in the Gospels. Do not accept or expect an easy path to heaven, and always expect the devil to tempt, distort, confuse, divide and obfuscate.
I left the Greek Church a few years ago. I saw and spoke about it (innovations) and was chastized (demonized) and called a "Protestant" by the young priest. It's time for my Greek brethren to fire Elpidophoros, a most unpopular figure in GoArch.
If we all leave then it just keeps getting worse. We needed the the voices of the schismatics the last 100 years in Greece. Instead they fell into a small corner, and even most of them shit down in 2020 for the state. The faithful will always endure through the heresy of the hierarchy. Obviously we have limits. But cresting a culture of abandoning may prove to be destructive long term, because you're currently jurisdiction will one day be wrong too.
If I were a betting man, a hefty sum would be placed on any ‘brown girls’ comments coming from a ‘change agent.’ This is how they operate, being bereft of scruples and never forgetting their mantra of ends justifying means.
Great video Father! Are there videos coming up on more practical matters of spirituality, sort of like your earlier videos, as opposed to Church politics? Both are great content of course, thanks.
Father, thank you for this warning against modernism. Part of my family is in the Greek archidiocese and I attend their church at times and was unaware of Metr. Elpidophoros's views. As far as I know, they are also unaware. But I must say I am equally disturbed by some of the fringe groups of extreme Orthodoxy who are reacting to this sort of thing so strongly that it almost seems as if they're calling for further schism and the formation of uncanonical Orthodox enclaves, much like the conservative protestants who flee their former denominations whenever it becomes too "liberal" for them to start new ones. My biggest fear is a fracturing and collapse of the Orthodox church due to just a couple of heretics. I hope this is not where you see this going.
Holy Orthodoxy is sacred, and as such, does not need any changes or alterations! I too am part of GOARCH. Every Sunday our Priest commemorates Archbishop Elpidophoros during the petitions, and although I know its wrong of me, I can't help but cringe a little every time I hear it. I pray that I never see any of this modernizing of Orthodoxy at my parish, or at any parish for that matter! We must all pray for Archbishop Elpidophoros to receive insight from The Lord on his egregious actions and notions! May the Lord have mercy on us all!
Then say something out loud even if it leads to your being kicked out of that Church where you live. We can't just leave the fight to the Church Fathers we need to let the false ones know we see them for who they are.
@Yoda'sMomIsOnDrugs I agree that we have to call out the falsity, but it must be done with discernment and discretion. Almost every GOARCH church i have ever attended commemorates the Archbishop of America and the Patriarch of Constantinople. They do not necessarily do this because they are in line with the ABs views or the Patriarchs. I believe it's done to show respect for the position/title that these men hold. My parish holds well to all the true Orthodox traditions and we have a wonderful and pious community. So while I do plan on speaking to my priest in regard to the commemorations, I will do so discretely.
@@G.TheGreek79 Well I say then try it in private and if you are not taken seriously and shrugged off then speak out loud the truth. There is no being embarrassed in defense of God and his Church. I'm a bit of a tough guy who's temper may get the best of him when he see's falsehood or injustice, so forgive me. But I do believe there is a time to stand up and fight no matter what.
I'm with you all the way Father please everyone let's pray and keep focus on the right way to our Lord the only way to keep the true Living Chruch Orthodox Amen .May Christ have Mercy on us Amen..
Thank you for your guiding words once again Father! One of the points is that as an orthodox it gets pretty hard to find a place to lay your head. It is all over the place, and many mess up, putting water to wine, throwing pearls to the swine, sad are our days become, but at least we still have Christ in our hearts! Glory to God for all things!! Now we know what the desertfathers meant when talking about faith in the ages to come! Glory to God!
What is very significant here is that those girls were serving under the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt, as a result of the decision of the Holy Synod of Alexandria to apply economia in this small way. It is in no way able to be taken out of context as it has by that women and other modernists.
Father, Christ is Risen!!! do you, or anyone you know have a good book or article which deals with the claims of the “true orthodoxy” folks. I’ve watched David Erhans video on it and while it was good, i feel like there where some points which weren’t fully addressed or fleshed out. Thank you for your content and covering these issues difficult issues.
So for someone leaving the Catholic Church for this very reason, and converting to Orthodox how do I avoid this? Should I go to the Russian Orthodox and avoid the Greek? Funny thing is when I saw the video a few days ago on a Orthodox leader meeting with Francis a reg flag went up in my mind
If we don't watch out we will be worshiping the Pachamama soon. Look at what the Latin Church is going through with this issue. I left the Roman Catholic Church and became Orthodox through OCA because I lived in Greece on a tour of duty and I saw how the Liturgy had its beauty and solemnity like the Latin Mass did BEFORE Novus Ordo. I saw how Greek Women and Men at that time (38 years ago) were focused on family and human relationships instead of activism and extraneous nonsense. Confession was the norm in the Catholic Church then, but now it has fallen out of use use just like we often see in US Orthodox Churches. The Archons need to be making the case for keeping tradition by them having a sincere discussion with the Patriarch. We need a true Ecumencial Council of the entire Orthodox Church before any of these changes are made. The Orthodox Bishops who did not attend the last one did a disservice to all of us because they could have had all their Patriarchs as a group counter innovations. Not attending and not pushing the issue using the authority of the Holy Spirit set us on a course of schism. The EP being in Türkiye is a problem in my personal opinion because the government of Türkiye controls who can become the Patriarch and that makes no sense because the authority lies with the Holy Spirit, not any civil authority. Political leaders throughout history have done the work of Satan. Look at what happened to Hagia Sophia. I really don't think the government of Türkiye will become any more friendly to the EP, ever. Part of the issue is that we have the Orthodox Church of America that has a Tomos of Autocephaly and this is overlooked and we get along fine in the USA. It is tacitly accepted that all Orthodox in the USA are Orthodox regardless of jurisdiction. Alaska was part of Russia and the OCA starting there with Saint Herman was totally within Russian Territory and it was only when Alaska was bought by the USA did it become part of the USA. Therefore, is the USA part of the new lands? I could go on but ALL orthodox bishops need to get on with forcing the issue with all the Orthodox Patriarchs to come to one mind under the Holy Spirit. We should have to have the a US Synod of all Orthodox Bishops come to agreement before the Church approves any changes, not one bishop. There is a charter issue in the Greek Orthodox Church of America, will Metropolitans be brought back under the Archbishop? I am really glad I retired in Greece so that my wife and I can stay under Traditional Hierarchs. Here in Greece we have schedules of Confession and emphasis on true Christian behavior and outlook. Our priests here are great and they do just as well as anywhere in my opinion. Of course in the USA we have great priests as well but nothing is wrong with tradition. Throughout the EU, there is none of the current American Wokness push because citizens will not tolerate it. Mount Athos needs to be the guardians of Orthodoxy and Holy Tradition and force the issue to return to Orthodoxy and to get rid of innovations and get rid of political associations. By the way, every Sunday here in Greece our altar boys fill the sanctuary and our young men are found doing the roles of reader and chanter as Blessed to do so by our bishop. The fathers in America need to pull the young men into the church by their example. How many fathers are the ones getting the family into church on Sunday by leading the way themselves? All the crime, violence, and strife in the USA can be traced back to the disillusion of the family caused by not emphasizing the carrying of the cross by all, with us men and fathers and grandfathers leading the way. I plan on staying Orthodox and not letting any innovator force me out and I think that is what all Orthodox Should do. We the communicants of the Orthodox Church need to stay true and to pull the Holy Orthodox Church back on track by supporting our priests and hierarchs that are staying true to the faith. The people of the True Church always had to fight heresy in high places.
Francis L. Mayer, a lot of what you say is good. However, you are very wrong in saying we need a Council of all the Patriarchs. For a meeting of bishops to be an Orthodox Council, every Orthodox bishop throughout the world has to be invited to it, not just the protos of every local church with a few selected bishops from the autocephalous Orthodox Churches. If this doesn't happen, it's not an Orthodox Council. It's just a meeting. The 2016 Crete Meet was not a Council. It was a meeting of some bishops.
@Agia Sf Good point. I am just a lay person, but I would like to see ALL the bishops get together in a council that is just like we have had going back to The Acts of The Apostles to set as back on a coherent Orthodox Path that shuns all worldly political considerations and focuses on Holy Spirit guided course correction back on to the narrow path. I certainly am no saint, but it is hard enough to stay on the path without political turmoil in The Church.
@Francis L Mayer , our Father St Ephraim prophesied there would be one after the forthcoming general war (ww3), which will clarify for the faithful all the issues & heresies we are dealing with.
I am worried about this situation for one only has to take a look of the Roman Catholic church. I was thinking to convert to the Orthodox church but when I seen this, I had to wonder if I was on the right path. Its heart breaking, please don't destroy go down this road. The Modernists are using the same tactics as they did in the Roman Catholic church.
Don't let this stop you from becoming Orthodox. Find a good parish in a canonical (and least subverted) jurisdiction (Antiochian and ROCOR are the ones I recommend, though all have their good and bad because we're all human) and join the fight! We need more believers who hold to the ancient paths and the tradition of the Holy Fathers to fight alongside us.
I know people who talk just like that woman infiltrator and even go further by calling us "christofacists", and yes, nothing is ever enough for those people. I've written more than a few essays on such topics. One thing I can say is that when the enemy reveals itself, the faithful learn better how to speak the Truth.
If the Orthodox church was truly mysogynistic, why then are there women Saints? Why is the Theotokos held in such high regard? There are strong women within the church, and all one needs to do is take a look and they will see it. I am a woman who has just converted, and I have never felt more comfortable in a church. I appreciate the tradition, and it is sad to see some trying to change that.
It is not about powerful women but about Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. St. Mary Magdalene is Equalizer to the apostles butcwas notbordained also not the Most Holy Theotokos. Keep Tradition!
@alexpanagiotis4706 I like your explanation. Thank you. However, I wasn't speaking of power. Just that there were/are strong (of mind and spirit) women held in high regard. I'm not a feminist by any means, but just speaking about those who won't choose the Faith or Christianity in general. Because...patriarchy. Feminist today usually see that as a bad word. They think that women have no role other than to sit down and be quiet. I just think (or would hope) if they actually look into the saints and church, they would have a different view.
Thank you Father Mikhail! I have been inquiring into Orthodoxy for some time. To echo another comment has said, these developments make it very challenging and confusing. From my specific background, suffering with PTSD, these developments activate my trauma, and a deep sense of dread. Finding and attending the parish that won’t take advantage of me, lie to me or subvert me is looking more and more like an uphill battle. I have deep painful wounds from being mistreated by protestant church leadership, psychiatrists and acute-care medical staff / nurses. I have become very wary of authority figures abusing their power and good-will given by their station, those who say they will help you but only harm you. It is hard for me to trust anyone at all from having suffered through so much, much more than I could even bear. I don’t want this same sort of mistreatment to happen again. I have been taking my journey towards the truth of the Church at a snails pace, but I can no longer continue on my own… I yearn to attend and be fed and healed by the true church, but am so afraid of being abused again.
Please feel free to message me over discord. I am willing to talk and set up call times as well. The link is in the description. Rest assured that Christ will always be victorious, and that the most important thing is to receive the sacraments.
@@easternmcg, put your trust in the Lord. Pray fervently to Him & He will guide, help, heal, & save you. Pray trusting that He will guide, help, heal, & save you. Keep praying. And speak with Fr Mikhail.
There is No orthodox church in my rather large town in England (Tamworth), and i desperately want to join the One True Church, Holy catholic and apostolic church, the closest is an hour away by car and considering i am 17 (learning to drive but it could be another 2 yrs before i feel right going on the Motorway to Birmingham), it would be almost impossible to get there, what would you suggest i do? Also the church nearest me Is the Greek orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham and i'm not sure if they are doing any of these anti-traditional things, how would i tell if a church is in schism (if its not obvious)?
I think in this day and age it would be perfect if outspoken church fathers cooperated to post informative content on how to handle problematic hierarchs and "innovation" - "preserving orthodoxy 101" or something along those lines
Thank you for your words Father, In my opinion traditionalist Greeks ought to abandon the GOA and start communities in ROCOR that hold to our traditions. Plus the guy who made the comment about the girls “being brown” is totally ignorant. The girls were Levantine being Antiochian, same race as our Lord.
Amen Father!! It is sad to see these innovations seeping into the church it is probably going to get worse before it gets better. 😢💔 As always, you are in my prayers, I humbly ask that you keep me in your prayers Father!!
I live 10 minutes from a Greek parish, 45 mins from an Antiochian (went there about 10 times) and 1.5 hours from a Serbian parish. I just want to be baptized and attend every service possible, but because I was sprinkled with water by Roman Catholics as an infant, the Antiochian Priest said no….Haven’t tried the Greek,mainly because of their hierarchs and firm Chrismation only stance. Something I feel guilty and extremely conflicted about. My whole life I never identified myself as RC and from memory, only went to Sunday school and a few Christmas services. I’ve been immersed in Orthodox theology daily for almost 3 years now and my heart aches for the Holy Mysteries. I may be moving soon which is another major factor. Please pray for me, a sinner outside the Church
You’re in my prayers. Try the Greek priest and see what he says. Pray long and hard and perhaps even try explaining your situation to him or the Serbian priest to see if something can be arranged
I'm a woman and I don't like it. Women are more prone to holding liberal woke ideas and churches which put women in clerical positions soon fail as their influence is too great and their judgement is off. Look at the Church of England.
I attend a GOARCH parish. I'm not a catechumen yet. I have met Bishop Alexios of Atlanta and he seemed like he would not be the kind of man that would stand for this. How did a man that is so liberal on these issues become the Archbishop?
Sadly, the devil will influence some people. Mostly, we get the leaders we deserve. It’s God’s way of waking us up and getting us to struggle for His kingdom
My parish has been allowing females to read for 'womens history month'.. I pray that this ends and does not progress into females being tonsured in The Anitochian parishes. Lord have mercy upon us all.
Beautiful and well detailed. Wish more orthdoox would ask questions instead of just going with the flow. Sadly society has this issue. Κρίμα ! Father not all Greeks will accept this. ☦️
I'm still very new to orthodoxy (I'm waiting to join the next catechumenate). If I may ask, a reader is one that reads the epistles during the liturgy right? The parish I attend (not GoArch) will sometimes (but most of the times it's an altar servant whom is male) have a female read the epistle for the day but I never see her go past the iconostasis. So that is wrong?
My parish often has women (not ordained readers) who read the epistle reading. We don't have an ordained reader. There is nothing wrong in this as far as I'm aware.
Dear Father, we were Roman Catholic and recently converted to Orthodoxy. Please pray for my family, where we live the only Orthodox parishes around are ecumenical. We don't want to participate in the Divine Liturgy because of that. That is one of the reasons why we left Roman Catholicism. Is it better for us not to attend Divine Liturgy and instead sanctify Sunday at home? It isn't easy not having the sacraments. And we also can't receive the baptism. We need prayers to have strength. God bless you!! Joanne Burns from Moncton NB Canada
As long as the Church is in communion, go and attend. You go for Christ. Pray for those in error. If the practice becomes aggressive, meaning women entering the altar, then yes pray at home and write to the bishop. I am happy to see you became Orthodox! Which parish do you attend? If you’re ever in London ON come visit my parish!
What about this quote? "I will sacrifice myself in order to save the Canons of the Church, but in the case of saving one person, I will sacrifice all the Canons." - St. Justin Popovich
I think that given St Justin’s position on the Church, ecclesiology and reception of converts; we know which canon will be sacrificed. St Iakovos makes it clear that we should obey the bishops, but when the bishop isn’t being faithful to tradition, we obey Christ. He then said we should baptize all who come into the Church. St Justin Popovich would never do anything to disregard the Church as a whole. Nor would he ever agree with these modernist
I’m glad you pointed out that there is no right or left - you are either Orthodox or you’re not. If you don’t agree with the teachings of your church, you’re not in communion with it. Pretty simple.
Tradition isn’t that narrow. Tradition means “that which is handed down.” It is teaching, truth, praxis and the means by which discern Truth. I am not talking about the worldly idea of traditions such as being Greek or Russian, but rather, being an Orthodox Christian
@@living_orthodox I agree! Tradition, truth which came from Christ. Truth is truth which stands the test of time. When we are united in Christ, we are united with our God, our Creator. That's what I was thinking when I say united, not by what food, music, etc that we share as a group of people.
Benjamin Cabe has gone off the rails. Some of his neutral non political stuff was good but I can't even recommend it to inquirers because I'm afraid they will stumble across his "progressive" stuff. People are inquiring into orthodoxy because they want THE TRUE CHURCH not some americanized version where everything is "modernized". God help us keep Orthodoxy traditional!
@@Firebird1968 The YT channel theoria? Alright I'll make sure to steer clear of him. I'm a protestant and looking to convert either to orthodoxy or catholicism. Both my local parishes are great. Praying to ask for guidance on which path to choose, but right now I'm just going to both. The only thing that sucks about that is the TLM is set at the same time as orthodox mass. However, It's good to know certain people to steer clear of in my study of orthodoxy. So for I have been liking Orthodoxy ethos, but nobody in my parish knew about him and warned me about some of the things you can find on YT.
I highly recommend Patristic Nectar (Fr. Josiah Trenham), Fr Tryphon, Fr Spyridon Bailey, and Patristix as well. A lot of people like Jay Dyer and Jonathan Pageau as well. For a young adult orthodox channel "Kyle" also has some good videos that are entertaining. All of those are good channels. Goodluck on your journey and I hope you enter the orthodox church.
Seriously, so depressing to try to escape modernity into the Orthodox faith only to see it eaten away from the inside while the leadership makes excuses. No!!! Protect it!!!!
Hi Father. I agree with your critique of the female altar servers. However, I have noticed in Russian churches that women do serve as “de facto” readers, although they are not tonsured. They read the services and serve as cantors on the kliros, just outside the iconostasis on the solea. What is the Russian Church’s explanation of this practice?
Don't Russian choirs usually stand in the front of the nave, in front of the iconostas, not on the raised solea? That's how our choir is, facing the iconostas, and women are in the choir. I've never seen a Russian choir on the raised solea.
If the church has a choir loft, then the choir will sing there. If not, the choir will usually sing in the nave somewhere closer to the front near the iconostasis. That being said, I was referring to individuals who sing on the kliros, not a choir. Tonsured readers, or individuals who have the blessing to read, typically read on the kliros, which is located on the solea right in front of the iconostasis near the deacons doors. I was with ROCOR for 7 years, and it’s common to see women help read for vigil or the hours.
@@louisbusta6369 In my Parish, all of our readers (including male tonsured readers) read in the middle of the nave before the appointed festal icon, for lectionary readings. Only the clergy read/chant on the tiny solea before the iconostas. So I guess we don't have a kliros. All the chanting for the hours is done where the choir stands. Women do this when needed. For Vigil we have the choir.
I have one thing to add. I don't know if I am going crazy but I am sure that priests have started to wear white shirts under black robes so white sticks out a little bit and that reminds me of catholics. I have seen this with some Serbian Orthodox church priests. Can someone confirm this or deny it or am I overreacting but I am sure that when I was a child and went to divine liturgy no priest or monk, noone ever wore anything white under black robe, there was no white. This maybe small change but as you said it's important. I saw you sir aren't wearing any so that's how I remembered that.
You misheard. I never mentioned a book. I mentioned an article by Fr. Geoffry Korz. I also never said “greatest African saint”. There are many great African saints, but I specifically said the “greatest saint of all time”. That’s the Theotokos, the Mother of God.
Bravo Father! We are either Orthodox or we are not.
I think it was St. Cyprian who wrote, “The enemy has contrived heresies and schisms in order to overthrow the faith, distort the truth, and dissolve unity. His servants proclaim the treachery under the pretense of faith, herald the antichrist in the name of Christ and, concealing the lie by means of imitation righteousness, subtly and guilefully destroy the truth.”
Beautiful quote! I am going to pin this so others can read the words of the great saint for their edification!
The reason why we are talking about this now is that the Orthodox Church has been tollerating such things for the past 60 years...
The dominant problem is this has freemasonry (kabbalistic judaism) all over it
Great video! we need more people & priests calling out these errors. God bless you 🙏🙏
You are totally right Kyle, and you are doing a great job aswell. God bless you.
Whats up kyle 💪kerp making great videos
Thanks Kyle! Been loving the content you’ve been putting out! I think it’s going to continue to help a lot of people. God bless you and the work you’re doing!☦️
Great to see you here, Kyle.
I am worried about this situation in the Orthodox church, I am leaving the Roman Rite for the very reasons mentioned here and more. God help us!
Please pray for me, I’m undergoing huge temptations. I absolutely believe that there’s going to be no limits with how humanity will go. I’m so scared because I’m a 17-year-old girl and I just can’t believe how much people will push feminism ONTO THE CHURCH, it’s literally an abomination. The ultimate guide is the Holy Theotokos, she is the example.
Don’t stop what you are doing! Defend Orthodoxy!
I’ve added you to my prayers Joana! May God help and strength you with courage. Don’t lose your zeal and love for the Truth and for our Most Pure, Most Blessed Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary :)
God bless you young lady. I'm proud of you for being so wise at such a young age.
@ioann L Petulice . Take heart ❤️ Ioannina, the good Lord Jesus Christ our beloved Soviour always takes care of His flock
Lol Greetings from where I live, just about beyond the end of the Earth 🌍 🌍 🌴🐊🐍🐸
God bless you Ioannina L Pitulice
Very proud of you. Please don't lose your zeal. The Jesus prayer is powerful against temptations and even just asking the Holy Theotokos to save you from the temptations, she will always come to your rescue. Always keep your eyes on her. Yes, you are very wise she is a fantastic role model. Keep your zeal. Fight the good fight. Run the good race. You got this!
I left the Episcopal Church years ago because of this practice. I am Antiochian Orthodox now and you are 100% right, this practice is horribly wrong and Orthodox needs to always remain the same since the time of Christ.
Was the Divine Liturgy developed by St. John Chrystostom hundreds of years since the time of Christ?
I agree with you about your formally Church Episcopal in I'm glad you came back to the Orthodox Church it is quite different me I'm a Catholic but I will support you all the way
I only recently became Orthodox. I go to a ROCOR parish and had no idea there was so much anti-traditionalism in other jurisdictions. One of the primary attractions that drew me into the church was the deep connection to a preciously preserved 2000 year old tradition -- fed and tended to by each generation. ❤
What is ROCOR
@@iamthatguytheonlyoneThe Russian Church Outside of Russia. They left after the Bolsheviks took control. However, they’ve reunited with Moscow to an extent.
It really is only in the Patriarch of Constantinople most of the other local Orthodox churches all though still not as traditional as ROCOR are not really falling in this level of modernism and anti traditionalism but I do think out of all the local Eastern Orthodox Churches ROCOR is the most faithful to tradition so I will definitely switch to that jurisdiction a couple years from I'm antiocan Orthodox BTW
Father, thank you so much for this video. I was baptized in the Greek Orthodox Church as a baby, and 2 years ago i returned home to the Orhtodox Church. I can tell you from first hand experience, that the radical changes in GOARCH wouldn't have even been a question 30 plus years ago. Some of them are very disturbing.
How incredibly sad it is. I’ve heard stories of the good traditional priests in GOARCH from the past. Lord have mercy on the GOARCH. A faithful priest in that jurisdiction has a cross to bear.
@Talk-jn7xo I completely understand what you are saying with the Greek Church not evangelizing in recent centuries. But I will give them sympathy because they were under the yoke of the Ottomans.
And I will push back against your Protestant beliefs. If salvation is through Christ "Alone", why do you even to need quote scripture? For that matter, salvation is useless through the Bible, or through the church. Meaning your view of salvation is reduced simply down to the canon of your own head.
Even as a bit of an outsider here. I don't see the point in trying to change the Orthodox. That defeats the point of Orthodoxy. The whole point of Orthodoxy is it doesn't change. It changes you.
That was what I was thinking to, I am currently an inquirer, with seeing this now I am having to rethink if I want to sign up for the same garbage in the Roman Catholic church.
I love my local GOARCH church. My priest mentioned that it would be better for me not to listen to Father Peter Heers because my disposition is to veer right on the Royal Path. I have in the back of my mind that if i become a catechumen in his parish, i may find myself leaving in the future to attend the ROCOR parish an hour away. I just dont want to drag my family through that process because i have young children and this journey has already been difficult for my wife who was content as a Baptist.
Pray for me, please.
Your priest is right. Mr Heers is operating outside the cannons of the church. Plain and simple.
With regards to this video, we had female deacons (gasp) up until the 1300’s. This ended when a lot of Orthodox lands were under Turkish Muslim rule, which severely limited what women were allowed to do in public. So the lack of females serving is not native to Orthodoxy.
I guess a lot of these priests having a knee-jerk reaction would like us to continue this “tradition” (which it isn’t) forces on us by Muslims.
This priest is off. Sorry.
Two Paths by Michael Whelton is an excellent book on the historical foundation of the Orthodox Church as opposed to the false claims of the Roman Catholic Church. I used to be Roman Catholic as well, Father, and was horrified by the many, many errors that crept in over time. Thank God that He led me to His Holy Church!
@@GC-fb1pc No, he recognized that the foundation of the Roman schism was built on a foundation of sand from the very start. Accusing Masons of the RCC being overcome with modernist doctrines does not detract from the fact that this was a long time coming, a thousand years in fact.
@@GC-fb1pc a crusader can only be appointed by a higher authority, if you believe yourself to be a crusader by your own will you are being deluded, and may God have mercy on your soul.
@@GC-fb1pc The Lord showed her the one true Apostolic Catholic church... Orthodoxy just like he showed me. Thanks and praise be to God. Why stay in heresy? We all have a journey. We follow Christ where He leads us. I hope one day we will welcome you home to Orthodoxy.
Your blessing, father. I love your videos and your subtle Canadian accent. I am so encouraged that priests like you are still coming into the church and standing for the truth & tradition of the faith. May God protect you, your family and your work - I will have you in my daily prayers going forward.
Blessings Father and Thank You!.
I am also under GOARCH and just now realize this already happening in our Parish in San Diego. I noticed last Year the participation of 6 year olds and 8 year old Girls in the Altar, till this day they participate. i didn’t see what was happening and took it as a sweet and neat thing to do till now. Thank You for opening my eyes Fr. Michael.
God Bless You and your Beautiful Family.
Leave that group! They are protestants
Go to ROCOLR in San Diego NOW
In 2010, when I was visiting in Houston at an Orthodox church the Priest said "the Greeks are doing it wrong". I had no idea what he was talking about, now I do.
Oh it's bad, a while ago I went to an OCF (Orthodox Christian Fellowship) club meeting at my university and my heart sunk the second I walked into the meeting room and saw stickers featuring a certain colorful flag on the club president's laptop. Lord have mercy.
Definitely wont be joining that when im older lol, hopefully by then its less lib
Cabe went on a Catholics channel to slander Abbot Trypon though not by name, excellent priests like Fr Heers and says he left his priest of almost 10 years bc they got in a disagreement. Nothing he has to say about anything regarding Holy Orthodoxy should be listened to and he should probably delete his channel and go back to his priest in repentance.
Kyrie eleison
Who is Cabe .. as in.. who's channel should I avoid? Thanks
These people who are calling themselves Orthodox but are of the world are giving off book of Maccabees vibes. You are an amazing shepherd Father ☦️
Xristos Anesti father thank you for speaking out. We have had enough of this embarrassment and totally unOrthodox movement. Elpithoforos must be removed immediately and the Patriarch must watch his position because he is definitely not representing our faith, our Orthodoxy! Thank you God Bless 💕📿🕊🪔☦️☦️☦️
I am under GOARCH, and what Elpidophoros has started to implement is disturbing. I want to leave for another jurisdiction that keeps Orthodox tradition, but also don’t want to leave as I want to resist this modernist infiltration. Father Mikhail, if I could ask for your advice, I would appreciate it.
I included the link to my discord in the the description. Please feel free to send me a private message and we can set up a call :) God bless you and your desire to uphold the Truth!
Thanks brother, I’m in the OCA and feel the same exact way. I also have a great priest and parish and believe part of the problem is the absence of us young men and our families in the local churches.
I also believe the multi jurisdiction summit Fr Trenham is doing on Transhumanism and the traditionalist response to the issues of modernism, heresy, and subversion is going to force everyone to at least put their cards on the table and show where they stand.
I’ve decided to remain where I am until that happens and pray the right decision is made or go wherever the Church remains if not.
I’m in ROCOR in Virginia, having left OCA when they shut down over a cold, but I am hoping you Greek laity will rise up against these “agents of change”. Maybe if you stop giving money they will get the message. May the Lord bless your efforts! 🙏🏻☦️
Stopping the money flow is, perhaps, one of the best things to do. After all, the subversives perpetrate this mess because they lust so after worldly fame and prestige, which they believe will lead them to financial wealth. Perhaps depriving them of said wealth is exactly what needs to happen to correct their course. Their hearts may not be changed, but at least the Church will be spared their demonic "progress" a little while longer.
Our Church doesn't belong to Elpidoforos. It belongs to us we have to stay and fight. We owe it to everyone to tell it like it should be told
🙏☦️❤
🙏☦️❤
🙏☦️❤
Well said. Thankyou. Hearing an Orthodox priest speak the truth of the Orthodox faith gives hope and strength to the faithful in these dark times which are filled with so many confusions and deliberate distortions regarding the faith. Thankyou,Fr.
Glory to God!
Best wishes.
I was aware of elpidophoros’ flagrant disregard of traditional church practice and thought, but this, for me, utterly crosses a line for which there is no excuse or possible justification.
This is the obvious death knell for GOARCH. It will either need to cleanse itself of such egregious heresy or expect to be cut off from the source of life itself.
The Greek Archdiocese has been plagued by bad Ecclesiology and practices for years. Thank God for the Church Abroad and her faithfulness to tradition!
I thank God for priests like this one.
All I want is to live the faith as it always has been, and I want my children and grandchildren to be able to live that same faith.
Thank you for posting this .
Thank you! So much value here!
Amen bless you farther 100% agree 👍 I am a protestant and the orthodox church ☦️ is orthodox for a reason 🙏 I myself like a lot of the orthodox teachings well said God bless you thanks I'm learning about orthodox Christian.
I myself am in the Greek Archdiocese of America. I am appalled by the Modernism of Elpidophoros and those like him.But you know, many Greeks like myself are Traditional and against these Modernist innovations.
Indeed! That’s why it’s important for us priests to speak up. But sadly, it looks like the GOARCH isn’t interested in the faith of those who love Tradition. May God help them.
Thank you so much father!
Christ is Risen! Thanks for that
This woman needs to look at the Most important woman in the history of our Church, the Blessed Theotokos, who NEVER insisted on being part of the hierarchy, but sat quietly and spoke with people about Her blessed Son, and probably convinced more people that way. It is a lesson for us to observe her behaviour, and understand that when Christ rose from the grave on the 3rd day, and established His Church, He obviously didn't allocate for women to be part of the hierarchy (and I can understand why, firstly, the monthly cycle, and the imbalance of hormones in menopause, wise in my eyes), if He felt it was appropriate to establish His mother first and foremost, He would have done so.
What these silly women don't understand is that women are the heart, which keeps the body, society, the curch, alive.
So sick of feminism.
Indeed, because we sit to the side, or work in the home, we are able to observe and pray, rather than get caught up with the men's errors and lose our salt. Maybe that is why the demons wanted us out of the home, so that nobody would be thinking and reflecting, everyone would be too busy in the rat race.
It is written that God would always preserve a remnant, so in the face these heretical developments among the ecclesiarchs, I take comfort in the knowledge that the Church will live on, despite the efforts of Satan and his servants, and I know that victory will be God's!
Amen
Yep it started in 1924 , unfortunately most do not know what Bishops never compromised the Faith and still uphold is confession, due the the many splits and schisms within the old calendar ecumenist groups of today , you know them by their fruit, and if you have a love of truth may possibly find them
Your blessings Father, God bless you.
Good video. Thanks again for suggesting the book Know The Faith by Fr. Shanbur to me in the discord awhile ago.
As a Protestant, who’s inquiring into Orthodoxy, these videos make it even more difficult if I’m being honest. I already have to try and wrestle/understand the theological differences compared to my Protestant understanding but I also have to try and look out that I’m not inquiring/attending a false Orthodox Church.
I live in a place where there isn’t many Orthodox Churches very close by, and the ones that are seem to be Orthodox but could very well not be? I’ll be honest it’s a little disheartening but Lord willing my family and I can be lead to the truth.
Thank you and pray the Lord strengthen us all
Orthodoxy is the last bastion of the true Christian faith and that’s why it’s under attack hard now all over the world. Sadly yes, there will be parishes that fall, not so much the people but priests and bishops. It will never die however. Don’t give up! The Greek church is being led by many ecumenists now, but not all. The Russian Church Abroad is holding up well, if you have one of those or a Serbian church check those out. Stay grounded with Fr Mikhail, Fr Peter Heers, Fr Trenham and Jay Dyer, they’ll keep you straight and the people in the chats can help as well.
There are many false teachers, who come in the name of Christ. This is what the Lord predicted in the Gospels. Do not accept or expect an easy path to heaven, and always expect the devil to tempt, distort, confuse, divide and obfuscate.
Also, bad priests may exist but the Church is true and continuous despite them.
I left the Greek Church a few years ago. I saw and spoke about it (innovations) and was chastized (demonized) and called a "Protestant" by the young priest. It's time for my Greek brethren to fire Elpidophoros, a most unpopular figure in GoArch.
If we all leave then it just keeps getting worse. We needed the the voices of the schismatics the last 100 years in Greece. Instead they fell into a small corner, and even most of them shit down in 2020 for the state. The faithful will always endure through the heresy of the hierarchy. Obviously we have limits. But cresting a culture of abandoning may prove to be destructive long term, because you're currently jurisdiction will one day be wrong too.
@@BarbaPamino Greeks are apostates. They are protestants. There is no doubt
You call for your brothers to take action while you left. Rejoin your brothers and lead them in action.
Father, Bless.
Another great video! Also, thanks for mentioning Father Geoffrey Korz. He's a Priest in my City.
If I were a betting man, a hefty sum would be placed on any ‘brown girls’ comments coming from a ‘change agent.’ This is how they operate, being bereft of scruples and never forgetting their mantra of ends justifying means.
Great video Father!
Are there videos coming up on more practical matters of spirituality, sort of like your earlier videos, as opposed to Church politics?
Both are great content of course, thanks.
Yes! Tomorrow will be the video Kyle suggested (Orthodox Church Etiquette). I also have an 8 part series on the ecumenical councils coming out
@@living_orthodox Sounds like a great mix of essentials, looking forward to it. Blessings to you and your family.
Father, thank you for this warning against modernism. Part of my family is in the Greek archidiocese and I attend their church at times and was unaware of Metr. Elpidophoros's views. As far as I know, they are also unaware. But I must say I am equally disturbed by some of the fringe groups of extreme Orthodoxy who are reacting to this sort of thing so strongly that it almost seems as if they're calling for further schism and the formation of uncanonical Orthodox enclaves, much like the conservative protestants who flee their former denominations whenever it becomes too "liberal" for them to start new ones. My biggest fear is a fracturing and collapse of the Orthodox church due to just a couple of heretics. I hope this is not where you see this going.
God willing the madness will stop. But for now we must pray and prepare for the worst
Amen Father, thank you for fighting for our faith in these trying times.
Thank you Father!! Excellent video!🙏
Holy Orthodoxy is sacred, and as such, does not need any changes or alterations!
I too am part of GOARCH. Every Sunday our Priest commemorates Archbishop Elpidophoros during the petitions, and although I know its wrong of me, I can't help but cringe a little every time I hear it. I pray that I never see any of this modernizing of Orthodoxy at my parish, or at any parish for that matter! We must all pray for Archbishop Elpidophoros to receive insight from The Lord on his egregious actions and notions!
May the Lord have mercy on us all!
Elpidoktonos..I mean Elpidorphoros needs lots of prayer
@Living Orthodox Indeed, he does!
I would even go as far as pray that "the hope-slayers" time as AB of America come to a swift end!
Then say something out loud even if it leads to your being kicked out of that Church where you live. We can't just leave the fight to the Church Fathers we need to let the false ones know we see them for who they are.
@Yoda'sMomIsOnDrugs I agree that we have to call out the falsity, but it must be done with discernment and discretion.
Almost every GOARCH church i have ever attended commemorates the Archbishop of America and the Patriarch of Constantinople. They do not necessarily do this because they are in line with the ABs views or the Patriarchs. I believe it's done to show respect for the position/title that these men hold.
My parish holds well to all the true Orthodox traditions and we have a wonderful and pious community. So while I do plan on speaking to my priest in regard to the commemorations, I will do so discretely.
@@G.TheGreek79 Well I say then try it in private and if you are not taken seriously and shrugged off then speak out loud the truth. There is no being embarrassed in defense of God and his Church. I'm a bit of a tough guy who's temper may get the best of him when he see's falsehood or injustice, so forgive me. But I do believe there is a time to stand up and fight no matter what.
I'm with you all the way Father please everyone let's pray and keep focus on the right way to our Lord the only way to keep the true Living Chruch Orthodox Amen .May Christ have Mercy on us Amen..
Thank you for your guiding words once again Father!
One of the points is that as an orthodox it gets pretty hard to find a place to lay your head.
It is all over the place, and many mess up, putting water to wine, throwing pearls to the swine, sad are our days become, but at least we still have Christ in our hearts!
Glory to God for all things!! Now we know what the desertfathers meant when talking about faith in the ages to come! Glory to God!
thank you!!!
God bless you 🙏
All Orthodox Churches should play this video
What is very significant here is that those girls were serving under the Patriarchate of Alexandria in Egypt, as a result of the decision of the Holy Synod of Alexandria to apply economia in this small way. It is in no way able to be taken out of context as it has by that women and other modernists.
Pray for GOARCH.
@@adambenedict6155
In the Jordanville Prayer Book we pray for all Orthodox Bishops, Priests, Deacons and other Clergy.
Father,
Christ is Risen!!!
do you, or anyone you know have a good book or article which deals with the claims of the “true orthodoxy” folks. I’ve watched David Erhans video on it and while it was good, i feel like there where some points which weren’t fully addressed or fleshed out.
Thank you for your content and covering these issues difficult issues.
There will be some content coming out on the According to Tradition Podcast in regards to that very question! Stay tuned! :)
@@living_orthodox Thank you father for your quick response. looking forward to the podcast.
So for someone leaving the Catholic Church for this very reason, and converting to Orthodox how do I avoid this? Should I go to the Russian Orthodox and avoid the Greek? Funny thing is when I saw the video a few days ago on a Orthodox leader meeting with Francis a reg flag went up in my mind
Yes. Or Serbian.
Depends on the individual parish. May the Lord guide you to a parish that will help you.
ROCOR is your safest bet and you’re more likely to get a priest who speaks English
Depends. If you can find a Greek Monastery founded by Elder Ephraim go. Otherwise go ROCOR, Serbs or Antioch
@@H3rm4n_C0rt35 be wary of the heresy of donatism.
If we don't watch out we will be worshiping the Pachamama soon. Look at what the Latin Church is going through with this issue. I left the Roman Catholic Church and became Orthodox through OCA because I lived in Greece on a tour of duty and I saw how the Liturgy had its beauty and solemnity like the Latin Mass did BEFORE Novus Ordo. I saw how Greek Women and Men at that time (38 years ago) were focused on family and human relationships instead of activism and extraneous nonsense. Confession was the norm in the Catholic Church then, but now it has fallen out of use use just like we often see in US Orthodox Churches. The Archons need to be making the case for keeping tradition by them having a sincere discussion with the Patriarch. We need a true Ecumencial Council of the entire Orthodox Church before any of these changes are made. The Orthodox Bishops who did not attend the last one did a disservice to all of us because they could have had all their Patriarchs as a group counter innovations. Not attending and not pushing the issue using the authority of the Holy Spirit set us on a course of schism. The EP being in Türkiye is a problem in my personal opinion because the government of Türkiye controls who can become the Patriarch and that makes no sense because the authority lies with the Holy Spirit, not any civil authority. Political leaders throughout history have done the work of Satan. Look at what happened to Hagia Sophia. I really don't think the government of Türkiye will become any more friendly to the EP, ever. Part of the issue is that we have the Orthodox Church of America that has a Tomos of Autocephaly and this is overlooked and we get along fine in the USA. It is tacitly accepted that all Orthodox in the USA are Orthodox regardless of jurisdiction. Alaska was part of Russia and the OCA starting there with Saint Herman was totally within Russian Territory and it was only when Alaska was bought by the USA did it become part of the USA. Therefore, is the USA part of the new lands? I could go on but ALL orthodox bishops need to get on with forcing the issue with all the Orthodox Patriarchs to come to one mind under the Holy Spirit. We should have to have the a US Synod of all Orthodox Bishops come to agreement before the Church approves any changes, not one bishop. There is a charter issue in the Greek Orthodox Church of America, will Metropolitans be brought back under the Archbishop? I am really glad I retired in Greece so that my wife and I can stay under Traditional Hierarchs. Here in Greece we have schedules of Confession and emphasis on true Christian behavior and outlook. Our priests here are great and they do just as well as anywhere in my opinion. Of course in the USA we have great priests as well but nothing is wrong with tradition. Throughout the EU, there is none of the current American Wokness push because citizens will not tolerate it. Mount Athos needs to be the guardians of Orthodoxy and Holy Tradition and force the issue to return to Orthodoxy and to get rid of innovations and get rid of political associations. By the way, every Sunday here in Greece our altar boys fill the sanctuary and our young men are found doing the roles of reader and chanter as Blessed to do so by our bishop. The fathers in America need to pull the young men into the church by their example. How many fathers are the ones getting the family into church on Sunday by leading the way themselves? All the crime, violence, and strife in the USA can be traced back to the disillusion of the family caused by not emphasizing the carrying of the cross by all, with us men and fathers and grandfathers leading the way. I plan on staying Orthodox and not letting any innovator force me out and I think that is what all Orthodox Should do. We the communicants of the Orthodox Church need to stay true and to pull the Holy Orthodox Church back on track by supporting our priests and hierarchs that are staying true to the faith. The people of the True Church always had to fight heresy in high places.
Francis L. Mayer, a lot of what you say is good. However, you are very wrong in saying we need a Council of all the Patriarchs. For a meeting of bishops to be an Orthodox Council, every Orthodox bishop throughout the world has to be invited to it, not just the protos of every local church with a few selected bishops from the autocephalous Orthodox Churches. If this doesn't happen, it's not an Orthodox Council. It's just a meeting. The 2016 Crete Meet was not a Council. It was a meeting of some bishops.
@Agia Sf Good point. I am just a lay person, but I would like to see ALL the bishops get together in a council that is just like we have had going back to The Acts of The Apostles to set as back on a coherent Orthodox Path that shuns all worldly political considerations and focuses on Holy Spirit guided course correction back on to the narrow path. I certainly am no saint, but it is hard enough to stay on the path without political turmoil in The Church.
@Francis L Mayer ,
our Father St Ephraim prophesied there would be one after the forthcoming general war (ww3), which will clarify for the faithful all the issues & heresies we are dealing with.
@@fmayer1507 ,
m.th-cam.com/video/IUHBTHtXPpQ/w-d-xo.html
A live format would be fantastic.
I am worried about this situation for one only has to take a look of the Roman Catholic church. I was thinking to convert to the Orthodox church but when I seen this, I had to wonder if I was on the right path. Its heart breaking, please don't destroy go down this road. The Modernists are using the same tactics as they did in the Roman Catholic church.
Don't let this stop you from becoming Orthodox. Find a good parish in a canonical (and least subverted) jurisdiction (Antiochian and ROCOR are the ones I recommend, though all have their good and bad because we're all human) and join the fight! We need more believers who hold to the ancient paths and the tradition of the Holy Fathers to fight alongside us.
@@HickoryDickory86 I know, we are truly in a spiritual battle, God bless
@Ellie Bradlee Sadly, that's not the case. But thank God many (most?) are.
I know people who talk just like that woman infiltrator and even go further by calling us "christofacists", and yes, nothing is ever enough for those people. I've written more than a few essays on such topics. One thing I can say is that when the enemy reveals itself, the faithful learn better how to speak the Truth.
Where can I read some of your essays?
@@living_orthodox only on my computer's hard drive for now.
Thank you. Keep the faith.
God bless you for speaking the truth, Father.
If the Orthodox church was truly mysogynistic, why then are there women Saints? Why is the Theotokos held in such high regard? There are strong women within the church, and all one needs to do is take a look and they will see it. I am a woman who has just converted, and I have never felt more comfortable in a church. I appreciate the tradition, and it is sad to see some trying to change that.
It is not about powerful women but about Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. St. Mary Magdalene is Equalizer to the apostles butcwas notbordained also not the Most Holy Theotokos.
Keep Tradition!
@alexpanagiotis4706 I like your explanation. Thank you. However, I wasn't speaking of power. Just that there were/are strong (of mind and spirit) women held in high regard. I'm not a feminist by any means, but just speaking about those who won't choose the Faith or Christianity in general. Because...patriarchy. Feminist today usually see that as a bad word. They think that women have no role other than to sit down and be quiet. I just think (or would hope) if they actually look into the saints and church, they would have a different view.
As a TLM Catholic I approve. Destroy modernism
I love your thumbnail photo. Bishop & Metropolitan Neofytos Morfou is a gem of Christianity!
Thank you excellent video! Alexandra/Francine
Thank you Father Mikhail! I have been inquiring into Orthodoxy for some time. To echo another comment has said, these developments make it very challenging and confusing.
From my specific background, suffering with PTSD, these developments activate my trauma, and a deep sense of dread. Finding and attending the parish that won’t take advantage of me, lie to me or subvert me is looking more and more like an uphill battle.
I have deep painful wounds from being mistreated by protestant church leadership, psychiatrists and acute-care medical staff / nurses. I have become very wary of authority figures abusing their power and good-will given by their station, those who say they will help you but only harm you. It is hard for me to trust anyone at all from having suffered through so much, much more than I could even bear.
I don’t want this same sort of mistreatment to happen again. I have been taking my journey towards the truth of the Church at a snails pace, but I can no longer continue on my own…
I yearn to attend and be fed and healed by the true church, but am so afraid of being abused again.
Please feel free to message me over discord. I am willing to talk and set up call times as well. The link is in the description. Rest assured that Christ will always be victorious, and that the most important thing is to receive the sacraments.
@@living_orthodox I appreciate that, I will do that.
@@easternmcg, put your trust in the Lord. Pray fervently to Him & He will guide, help, heal, & save you.
Pray trusting that He will guide, help, heal, & save you. Keep praying.
And speak with Fr Mikhail.
Thanks for sharing... I can relate... similar experiences PTSD, abuse, etc., = Trust issues. Lord have mercy on us all
great work Father !
They will not stopp with "altar girls", women priests, female bishops, blessing of gay cuples, contraception, abortion, .....
This is the sad truth. Innovation leads to schism.
I agree with you all the way let's listen to this wonderful father or brother
amazing video
Thank you father the truth is clear.
Let us forgive and love our enemies.
There is No orthodox church in my rather large town in England (Tamworth), and i desperately want to join the One True Church, Holy catholic and apostolic church, the closest is an hour away by car and considering i am 17 (learning to drive but it could be another 2 yrs before i feel right going on the Motorway to Birmingham), it would be almost impossible to get there, what would you suggest i do? Also the church nearest me Is the Greek orthodox Cathedral in Birmingham and i'm not sure if they are doing any of these anti-traditional things, how would i tell if a church is in schism (if its not obvious)?
God bless you Father nobody else say anything and again God bless you
I think in this day and age it would be perfect if outspoken church fathers cooperated to post informative content on how to handle problematic hierarchs and "innovation" - "preserving orthodoxy 101" or something along those lines
Thank you for your words Father,
In my opinion traditionalist Greeks ought to abandon the GOA and start communities in ROCOR that hold to our traditions. Plus the guy who made the comment about the girls “being brown” is totally ignorant. The girls were Levantine being Antiochian, same race as our Lord.
Amen Father!! It is sad to see these innovations seeping into the church it is probably going to get worse before it gets better. 😢💔 As always, you are in my prayers, I humbly ask that you keep me in your prayers Father!!
Always! May God bless you and thank you for your prayers :)
I live 10 minutes from a Greek parish, 45 mins from an Antiochian (went there about 10 times) and 1.5 hours from a Serbian parish. I just want to be baptized and attend every service possible, but because I was sprinkled with water by Roman Catholics as an infant, the Antiochian Priest said no….Haven’t tried the Greek,mainly because of their hierarchs and firm Chrismation only stance. Something I feel guilty and extremely conflicted about.
My whole life I never identified myself as RC and from memory, only went to Sunday school and a few Christmas services. I’ve been immersed in Orthodox theology daily for almost 3 years now and my heart aches for the Holy Mysteries.
I may be moving soon which is another major factor. Please pray for me, a sinner outside the Church
You’re in my prayers. Try the Greek priest and see what he says. Pray long and hard and perhaps even try explaining your situation to him or the Serbian priest to see if something can be arranged
@@living_orthodox God willing, I'll try next week. Thank you, Father
Thanks; this is not putting women down or not making them second best, it's what JESUS set down as the rules !
I'm a woman and I don't like it. Women are more prone to holding liberal woke ideas and churches which put women in clerical positions soon fail as their influence is too great and their judgement is off. Look at the Church of England.
I attend a GOARCH parish. I'm not a catechumen yet. I have met Bishop Alexios of Atlanta and he seemed like he would not be the kind of man that would stand for this. How did a man that is so liberal on these issues become the Archbishop?
Sadly, the devil will influence some people. Mostly, we get the leaders we deserve. It’s God’s way of waking us up and getting us to struggle for His kingdom
His Eminence Alexios is a great bishop and I am grateful for him. Southern churches in GOARCH are mostly very conservative. Pray for GOARCH.
@@Kdriggs15 thank you for the input.
Keep us posted about what's going on in the church
Thank you Father
My parish has been allowing females to read for 'womens history month'..
I pray that this ends and does not progress into females being tonsured in The Anitochian parishes.
Lord have mercy upon us all.
Lord have Mercy. 😢
This man is a treasure
Beautiful and well detailed. Wish more orthdoox would ask questions instead of just going with the flow. Sadly society has this issue. Κρίμα ! Father not all Greeks will accept this. ☦️
As a retired Army officer, I have seen some of the world. I would like to study and join the Orthodox but the nearest church is an hour away.
Pray & make the trip. Go to a Saturday evening Vespers service.
@@agiasf7330 OK, not sure what "Vespers" means.
@@bradley200711 It is a prayer service.
I'm still very new to orthodoxy (I'm waiting to join the next catechumenate). If I may ask, a reader is one that reads the epistles during the liturgy right? The parish I attend (not GoArch) will sometimes (but most of the times it's an altar servant whom is male) have a female read the epistle for the day but I never see her go past the iconostasis. So that is wrong?
I don't think that's wrong. My Romanian parish does the same.
My parish often has women (not ordained readers) who read the epistle reading. We don't have an ordained reader. There is nothing wrong in this as far as I'm aware.
No, if no men can fulfill the role. At my ROCOR Parish women read if no male is able.
Dear Father, we were Roman Catholic and recently converted to Orthodoxy. Please pray for my family, where we live the only Orthodox parishes around are ecumenical. We don't want to participate in the Divine Liturgy because of that. That is one of the reasons why we left Roman Catholicism. Is it better for us not to attend Divine Liturgy and instead sanctify Sunday at home? It isn't easy not having the sacraments. And we also can't receive the baptism. We need prayers to have strength.
God bless you!!
Joanne Burns from Moncton NB Canada
As long as the Church is in communion, go and attend. You go for Christ. Pray for those in error. If the practice becomes aggressive, meaning women entering the altar, then yes pray at home and write to the bishop. I am happy to see you became Orthodox! Which parish do you attend? If you’re ever in London ON come visit my parish!
Joanne Burns, I think yu meant to say the parishes near you are ecumenist, not ecumenical. :)
What about this quote?
"I will sacrifice myself in order to save the Canons of the Church, but in the case of saving one person, I will sacrifice all the Canons."
- St. Justin Popovich
I think that given St Justin’s position on the Church, ecclesiology and reception of converts; we know which canon will be sacrificed. St Iakovos makes it clear that we should obey the bishops, but when the bishop isn’t being faithful to tradition, we obey Christ. He then said we should baptize all who come into the Church.
St Justin Popovich would never do anything to disregard the Church as a whole. Nor would he ever agree with these modernist
☦️☦️☦️
It's "dominant" for a reason Elpidoktonos!!!
Tha faithful among the Greeks refer to him as Elpido-ktonos, as in killer of hope.
I’m glad you pointed out that there is no right or left - you are either Orthodox or you’re not. If you don’t agree with the teachings of your church, you’re not in communion with it. Pretty simple.
Happy Feast Day of the Holy Trinity, Father!
So it seems like the Greek Archbishop fears a woman's false alligators while crying REAL crocodile tears 🐊
Yes! Tradition is our culture. It unites us.
Tradition isn’t that narrow. Tradition means “that which is handed down.” It is teaching, truth, praxis and the means by which discern Truth. I am not talking about the worldly idea of traditions such as being Greek or Russian, but rather, being an Orthodox Christian
@@living_orthodox I agree! Tradition, truth which came from Christ. Truth is truth which stands the test of time. When we are united in Christ, we are united with our God, our Creator. That's what I was thinking when I say united, not by what food, music, etc that we share as a group of people.
God help us 🙏🙏🙏
Greeks have always largely flip-flopped between Union. No surprise.
Can some tell me what the hymn is of before this talk begins
The name of it please 🙏
Psalm 135 Byzantine chant. It’s on my channel in full.
I pray for your church I am a Catholic I will pray for your church to be strong bring back the people bring back the traditional orthadox
Benjamin Cabe has gone off the rails. Some of his neutral non political stuff was good but I can't even recommend it to inquirers because I'm afraid they will stumble across his "progressive" stuff. People are inquiring into orthodoxy because they want THE TRUE CHURCH not some americanized version where everything is "modernized". God help us keep Orthodoxy traditional!
Who is Benjamin Cabe?
@@KillerofGods theoria
@@Firebird1968 The YT channel theoria? Alright I'll make sure to steer clear of him.
I'm a protestant and looking to convert either to orthodoxy or catholicism. Both my local parishes are great.
Praying to ask for guidance on which path to choose, but right now I'm just going to both. The only thing that sucks about that is the TLM is set at the same time as orthodox mass.
However, It's good to know certain people to steer clear of in my study of orthodoxy. So for I have been liking Orthodoxy ethos, but nobody in my parish knew about him and warned me about some of the things you can find on YT.
I highly recommend Patristic Nectar (Fr. Josiah Trenham), Fr Tryphon, Fr Spyridon Bailey, and Patristix as well. A lot of people like Jay Dyer and Jonathan Pageau as well. For a young adult orthodox channel "Kyle" also has some good videos that are entertaining. All of those are good channels. Goodluck on your journey and I hope you enter the orthodox church.
Seriously, so depressing to try to escape modernity into the Orthodox faith only to see it eaten away from the inside while the leadership makes excuses. No!!! Protect it!!!!
❤️☦️
Hurt him where it hurts... the wallet... stop giving!!!!
The difference is embarrassing for innovators
Hi Father. I agree with your critique of the female altar servers. However, I have noticed in Russian churches that women do serve as “de facto” readers, although they are not tonsured. They read the services and serve as cantors on the kliros, just outside the iconostasis on the solea. What is the Russian Church’s explanation of this practice?
Don't Russian choirs usually stand in the front of the nave, in front of the iconostas, not on the raised solea? That's how our choir is, facing the iconostas, and women are in the choir. I've never seen a Russian choir on the raised solea.
If the church has a choir loft, then the choir will sing there. If not, the choir will usually sing in the nave somewhere closer to the front near the iconostasis.
That being said, I was referring to individuals who sing on the kliros, not a choir. Tonsured readers, or individuals who have the blessing to read, typically read on the kliros, which is located on the solea right in front of the iconostasis near the deacons doors. I was with ROCOR for 7 years, and it’s common to see women help read for vigil or the hours.
@@louisbusta6369 In my Parish, all of our readers (including male tonsured readers) read in the middle of the nave before the appointed festal icon, for lectionary readings. Only the clergy read/chant on the tiny solea before the iconostas. So I guess we don't have a kliros. All the chanting for the hours is done where the choir stands. Women do this when needed. For Vigil we have the choir.
I have one thing to add. I don't know if I am going crazy but I am sure that priests have started to wear white shirts under black robes so white sticks out a little bit and that reminds me of catholics. I have seen this with some Serbian Orthodox church priests. Can someone confirm this or deny it or am I overreacting but I am sure that when I was a child and went to divine liturgy no priest or monk, noone ever wore anything white under black robe, there was no white. This maybe small change but as you said it's important. I saw you sir aren't wearing any so that's how I remembered that.
who are names mentioned
1:59
and
5:10
6:00
and his book
who is the greatest african saint mentioned here
7:15
You misheard. I never mentioned a book. I mentioned an article by Fr. Geoffry Korz. I also never said “greatest African saint”. There are many great African saints, but I specifically said the “greatest saint of all time”. That’s the Theotokos, the Mother of God.