I fell into the deception that me as a (past) homosexual could never be cleaned of my sin since I was “born that way.” Such a notion I now understand is completely sinful and implies that God can make mistakes. Such a nation is not true; however, after much spiritual battle and help from God, I slowly broke out of it and hope to one day marry and have a family. Glory to God for healing me and restoring my God given attractions. May God forgive our sins. Amen.
The notion of "being born that way" implies that you should be a slave to whatever genetic and environmental diceroll you get at birth, which sounds very fatalistic. Christ gives our spirit the strength to be the master over our material body. Glory to God.
@@SimplyGun are u even Christian? Not trying to insult but this isn't up for debate the holy fathers the scripture study's on homosexuality showing major heath effects over and over again I mean at the end of the day u have free will and so does he, he freely and willingly turned away from that life to get closer to God and why do u care? It's you trying to push him into a lifestyle I only supported HIS choice much love but a Christian is a Christian from the lifestyle not simply a belief may my brother be blessed and have many years
Congratulations! My 30 year old son was baptised into the Greek Orthodox Church a few weeks ago and gave his heart to Christ. My prayers are that many more may come to the faith. Much love to you dear one! ❤️ A great channel here is Mull Monastery based in Scotland , Father Aldea is a wonderful man of God looking after his sheep x
My family and I are being received onto the Church this Sunday. I’m truly blessed, far beyond anything that I deserve, to have my family join me for this. Both of these Fathers have helped along the way. Thank you. Truly.
Going to attend my local Serbian Orthodox Church in Halifax, West Yorkshire. As someone who has come from Judaism it has been hard to accept Christ as king. But he is truly truly.
We became friends with another family through a tight knit, Tridentine Latin Mass community years ago. My wife, daughter, and I entered the Orthodox Church in America early in 2023. Our friends entered this same church with Mom, Dad, and their five children in October 2023. This parish is booming, with plans for starting another parish since divine Liturgy is getting so crowded each Sunday. Our human connections are strengthened through the weekly potluck lunch immediately following divine Liturgy. And we have SO MANY children and young, single men. Glory to God! ☦️
Wonderful. Glory to God. We hope that The Orthodox Ethos and Uncut Mountain Press serves you and your friends and your parish. www.orthodoxethos.com www.uncutmountainpress.com Please let us know how we can help.
@@OrthodoxEthos Thank you for working tirelessly to share the good news of Christ. Not too worry, my wife is trying to singlehandedly keep Uncut Mountain Press in business!
I attended a Greek Orthodox church yesterday, and I told them I want to be catecized and become a full member. I truly hope to lead my family to Orthodoxy by example.
Thank you, really. I'm currently preparing for Chrismation and it's the first time in my life I've been faced with the fact that I can heal from sin. And right now it feels like an agony to struggle with all the temptations to think otherwise, I'm even attacked when praying, literally can't have an hour of prayer without horrible thoughts being suggested by the evil one. But I'm trying to stay confident, I see he wants to make me opt out, and I'm not opting out. I keep reminding myself as the blind men who ask Jesus to heal them that not only I want him to heal me but that I believe He can, and that I also have to cooperate in the process. It's hard. Please pray for me
God bless you! Something that has helped me consistently to beat away mental temptations is to call to mind the power that God gives me through my free will--no demon can force you to do anything. Through the power of Christ, we are freed from slavery to to evil one!
I also frequently get messages from people on Discord and Twitter of young men (usually) contemplating ending their lives. I try to keep in touch with them online over time. So far, no one has actually gone through with it (that I am aware of) Loneliness is probably the most common issue I hear of and get asked about.
God bless you Father Basil. You are correct loneliness is a huge problem in young people. It is bad even in my generation who are not getting married. I’m 34 and hope one day to raise a family of my own in the Orthodox Church.
Though I wasn't, and still technically am not Orthodox, as I really didn't know much about it until recently, it wasn't more than 2 months ago that my wife left me. All I wanted was someone to love, create a family with and teach our future children how to grow up in this deteriorating western world, but now I find myself at the lowest point of my life, alone. Please pray for me.
May God ☦️ heal you and draw you to Himself, by Christ Jesus Our King, Though the prayers of our Mother, Our Panagia Theotokos And the Entire of Company of Heaven, Amen.
From protestant to orthodox these are some of my favorite Orthodox modern fathers you have inspired a love and care for the church in me thank you long before this video
Hypocrisy, good deeds without love, voluntarily choosing evil, tears without repentance, self-centeredness...how much more? The well is deep. Turns out maybe we like Christ, but we dont really love Him. Forgive me
Would love to have a weekly show of you and Fr Josiah , the funny thing is I was thinking the exact same thing myself.what a great discussion !please give us more.
What a godly, truthful, edifying, and wisdom-filled discussion! Thank you Fr. Josiah and Fr. Peter for creating and sharing this with us. May God bless your work and ministries!
In the months leading up to my baptism I had a remarkably easy time resisting the fleshly temptations. Suddenly I could go 5 weeks without self-abuse, then 7 weeks, something which I hadn't been able to do for at least 15 years and which, I assumed, would only get easier after I had been baptized into the Orthodox Church. Naively, I thought that, with the grace of God, I had finally conquered my lust and started to let my guard down. I should've known, however, that the demons were only allowing this so that they could drag me down further than ever before. For almost immediately after my baptism, in the very same week, the temptations suddenly came back with such a force that I failed to resist and I have again been struggling with it ever since. So thanks for these words, dear Fathers, for they have reminded me to never give up the fight, no matter how disheartened you may become.
St. Anthony the Great said “This is the great work of man: always to take the blame for his own sins before God and to expect temptation to his last breath.” When we receive the Holy Spirit at baptism we become new creatures and receive the means to become saints and to enter Paradise. But, we must struggle with all humility, with all repentance, with much prayer and many tears to resist temptation in order to remain in communion with God. We must never despair but be quick to repent, hating the sin which ensnares us while bravely taking up the struggle against sin like a warrior against his worst enemy. The Orthodox Church has all of the medicines for the healing of the soul but we have to make frequent use of Confession and be willing to struggle against sin in order to make progress.
Don’t be discouraged in any way, through the falling and getting up we learn how to fight against ANY temptation … when you said “I should’ve known” it was beautiful, this is awareness we all need … now you know to be on guard, make your cross and run towards Christ.
like watching the Peter and Paul of our days! love the discussion, and the good-natured humour! thank you so much for your work of Faith, and your prayers, Fathers. this video is a great help to me, and to my brothers. please forgive me, a sinner. from Baraboo, Dismas Bailey
This could end up being a 7 day lecture.... Especially if we get into the issues regarding marriage and child rearing...... Basically something that makes it feel like almost nobody in the millennial and gen Z age groups are equipped to have pious marriage.
Would be nice if it didnt get into that, quite frankly there is alot more material on that than there is for Men who are reluctantly sensing that monasticism and not marriage may be our only choice
@@PaperParade There simply are zero righteous women to pair up with after all the higher value men than me have been paired up. There is 8 young Men to every 1 young woman entering into Orthodoxy, its basic marh
Christ is more powerful than statistics. Have some faith and patience, and open yourself to God's providence. We're only seeing the beginning of Orthodoxy in America.
I loved this conversation so much. So much good to take from this. I would LOVE to see you two have monthly conversations together..zoom makes everything possible!
I love this conversation about the issues facing young people, actually all people in 2024. It's very important to talk about these things. Please continue to have them with leaders of the church. These "rules-words used by the flesh people" protect keep us from evil and keep us safe and solid in our walk with Jesus.
It would be awesome if you were able to talk with Orthodox Christian parishioners and get their take on the Church and some of their struggles. I think it helps give others light knowing the everday struggles and blessings people have. It always encourages me and strives me to become a better Christian. 😊
Glory to God. We hope that The Orthodox Ethos and Uncut Mountain Press serves you and your friends and your parish. www.orthodoxethos.com www.uncutmountainpress.com Please let us know how we can help.
Glory to God! Its so edifying when these two wonderful pastors get together to share their hearts and phronema with us. I would certainly tune in monthly if they made it a regular thing, but then maybe the old adage of 'less is more' is true in this case also. Thanks to all involved! 🙏☦️
I would welcome regular conversations between you two. I am enjoying, learning and growing through your messages and other Orthodox teachings on the Internet! Thank you, both!
Wow! Glory to God for you 2🙏☦️! This message needs to be said on the housetops!! Thank you very much for this content! God is with us understand all you nations and submit yourself for God is with us!
Im 23 studying clinical mental health counseling and I kid you not I have never heard of pre marital counseling. It sounds like something everyone needs though.
I am a catechumen. In the USA, people need to know that the Orthodox church welcomes Americans. I'd always thought these churches were for foreigners. I world have come sooner if I knew Americans were welcome.
Even that I was born Serbian, Orthodox by ancestors and birth! I was baptised only after my 20's, because of comunism, it was forbidden. Orthodoxy is the whole new world in my life. I am growing in faith for the last 30 years. And it is endless growth. It demands a lot of discipline! But Orthodoxy is everything for me, love, family, strength.
The self-abuse of women is much much more prevalent than people think because it is expressed differently: by profusely exposing themselves for attention. This temptation is seen in social media (eg instagram), choice of clothing, even the way they speak. And I don't mean just through physical appearance, that is only part. Men, don't get any ideas from this though, thinking you can blame them for your transgressions. We are worms and women will always be precious regardless.
I'm sincerely looking into the Orthodox Church for myself and my family. I'm wondering: what happened with the other 51 catachumen that weren't accepted into the church? Was it their decision or the decision of Fr Josiah? Did they stop coming? Did Fr Josiah not feel they were sincere/ready? Are any of those not accepted still coming around? May God bless us all.
This conversation was truly a blessing!! I have to say this that every time I tried to watch this video I had to click off because of some distraction or other. Also, 2 times I found that the dislike button was activated from my like!!! Technology or something else I have to wonder!!
❤ Fr Trenham I love you as does my church family. Would have loved to have attended a Divine Liturgy to hear your sermon when in Riverside. The Liturgy of course heard any where is always just as beautiful unto God Our Lord. A bishop from the now very conservative Anglican tradition heard a clip of yours I posted in which you a bishop or priest had appealed to you fir consolation under such hard times as the pandemic had imposed and how American bishops Orthodox included had abandoned their flocks. You told them not to whine. And told them of the value of suffering for Christ. As if their priests had not already done so very well! He thought your humor was sincere at first but then it was clear that you could not address the claim they made of having felt abandoned by their bishops. You fail to hold accountable and could not even console the people that had journeyed to see you. For shame. For shame. I'm aware that some metropolitans have yelled in writing for my questioning respectfully anything such as stories that make no sense and terrify a child who is afraid of martyrdom and worse the pains of hell. In my humble opinion this kind of inhumane treatment will drive away people who see signs of cult behavior. The Orthodox Church is far above this. This is why more and more people are driven to Fr Spyridon and to Presbytera Matthews and so on. They won't call our good R Catholic brothers and sisters Papal Protestants which just inflames separation and is insulting and provoking. It depends on the context. And poor Fr Heers---does he ever sound anything but angry? And often condescending. I honor him. But gee. God have mercy. And forgive me the worst of sinners! (Edited immediately for corrections.)
I see a incline in the next 50 years, you may not have thousands of followers but the few that will choose orthodoxy will have gods strength. There are alot of young adults and kids that are hrowing up not quite like millennials. I think alot of us younger generation will come to god naturally. Its just a matter of the world and how much attachment they have to it.
@@OrthodoxEthos all good, just noticed it and thought I’d point it out for the future. Makes a lot more sense that it just wasn’t working. Thank you all for this video!
Father Josiah,...I have met certain others who identify as Christians or So-called "Believers in Christ", who have told me, (as one who was given false hope by both Protestant Christianity and Roman Catholic Christianity, who wants to Journey towards Middle-Eastern Non-Chalcedonian Oriental Orthodox Christianity, since I was given false hope by the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well), they seem as though by certain words said in Theological discussions that I have had with them, that they believe Triune God is Unreasonably Authoritarian, (when it comes to such things as Church Worship, Doctrinal Correctness, and Scriptural Interpretation, as well as, working in Harmony with both Religion and Medical Science), like for example, I told this one Modern-Day Self-proclaimed Christian Arianism Heretic, that I had special Dietary Needs, and he told me that I had a Demon in me because of that, (the stupid Cowboy Atire wearing Nazi). I did not know what to say in my own defense back then, or maybe I forgot, because he kept interrupting me like as if he wanted to win an Argument with me. But I truly hope that Triune God is not Unreasonably Authoritarian like a Communist or Fascist Political Dictator or like one of the Pagan Dieties looking for any little petty excuse to strike us down with a bolt of Lightning 🌩 and Damn us to bloody Hell, which is how I sometimes feel that is how the Protestant Heretics perceive the Character and Nature of the Triune God.
Many “Christian’s” like jehovas witness, oneness Pentecostal, arians, Mormons, Unitarians, are completely lost. There are genuine Christian’s though, in Protestant Trinitarian Churches who love the Lord, but just don’t have the fullness of the truth. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches are the closest to the truth all together, and they are beautiful Churches. Satan is really trying to destroy them too, but it also depends on the Parish of these certain churches also I would say. God is infinitely merciful and beautiful, good, and absolutely in love with us. He’s Triune, and he is in love with you and would rather die for you, than live without you. I love you, God bless you brother.
@PsychoChallenges what bothers me is people judging me negatively and verbalizing it to me, (telling me B.S. like "I am not grateful enough to God because of my special Dietary needs".
One needs to encounter Christ for them to worship. Do the orthodox church teach any spirituality methods? I am Roman Catholic and we learn to encounter Christ
In Orthodoxy we not only encounter Christ but live in communion with Christ by partaking of His divine nature and participating in His divine energies. This communion with Christ begins with baptism in the Orthodox Church at which time we receive the Holy Spirit. After this we continue to deepen our communion with Christ experientially through frequent participation in the Holy Mysteries (especially Confession and Holy Communion) and through keeping the fasts of the Church and the prayer rule assigned to us by an experienced spiritual father. In the Orthodox Church we have many practices and disciplines which help to purify the heart and lead man to experiential knowledge of God, but these “methods” are only fruitful when followed within the Orthodox Church under careful spiritual guidance.
You encounter Christ through hearing and participating in the Divine Liturgy. The words, chanting, singing and icons seize you and don't let you go and you encounter Christ in all His Glory 🙏🏻☦️🤗
Galatians 3: 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Brother politcal identity, racial or otherwise, and the general hyperpoliticization of the person is a poison and is not from God, I used to feel the same way, but these things are not from God, they are from our own hardness of heart and spiritual sickness. The church is not a political tool to forward ideology and preserve ethnic groups, it is the way we find salvation with Christ. Take a break from the internet, read some spiritual fathers, stop engaging with groups that preach division between people, this is the will of satan, not of God
This obsession with ethnicity and jewish conspiracy is not of God. If we as men were attentive to the fact that civilization was abandoning God, and were we not so lazy, things would not be as they are. The thief will come to rob, but it is you who must be on guard. Same thing in the degradation of culture. If you want to reverse this abandon racial politics and embrace Christ and the sacramental life
Father Josiah's talk on Catholicism was sadly full of distortions and mischaracterizations. I think an intelligent and zealous priest like him could have done much better and I was frustrated and disappointed. Alhough there are many challenges along the way, Jesus' call in John 17 is for a unified Church. If Catholics and Orthodox don't work together in good faith, armed with truth and charity, we have no hope for the communion our Saviour desires. Let us communicate well and pray for eachother.
The prayer that the Lord offered up in John 17 is not for “a unified church” as you imagine it. This is not a prayer for those who are *divided from him* to be united again in him. This is a prayer, rather for *his own disciples*, who are *already in him,* in the one church, *who are not divided between themselves at all*, to be more deeply united in him *in noetic prayer and Theosis.*
@@OrthodoxEthos You are reading into the text that which is not there. There is "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism." All Christians are called to participate fully in this communion. Division is, and has always been, of the Devil.
Christ calls for ecclesial unity even if it can only be realized eschatologically. For he "will be all in all" (2 Corinthians). First among those who submit to his rule will be Christians, the baptized. After that, his reign will be experienced by even those who had never heard his name: "Every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess, that Christ is Lord." By denying all that Catholics and Orthodox share, and could share, you are opposing greater unity amongst Christians. How will God judge this? This seems to me to go against charity.
@@PaxMundi118 Dearest to Christ, the interpretation of the text is by and in the Church and it is a closed book to outsiders (schismatics and heretics). Your presuppositions are not those of the Fathers, accepting a Church which is not ONE and HOLY and CATHOLIC and APOSTOLIC since you imagine it can be divided and need to be re-united. The "one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism' -- all three inseparable -- refer to the One Church, the Orthodox Church, and cannot apply to confessions which are divided from the One Church or confessions which teach heresy, or many heresies, such as Catholicism.
@@PaxMundi118 Christ does not CALL for ecclesial unity, HE IS Ecclesial Unity. It is a given. It is passed on and received, not lost and sought. It is accepted not created. The baptized are also the Chrismated and also the Communing, as these three Mysteries are ONE. To become a member of the Body ALL THREE are necessary. This is the Patristic and Orthodox ecclesiology -- not that of Vatican II, which imagines that one can be baptized and be in the Church - partially - and yet not commune (as in the case of the Protestants). Charity means speaking the Truth in love. It does not mean a false unity, which you -- and Vatican II - are presenting, not only in the future but now, teaching an innovative ecclesiology which has never been taught by the Holy Fathers.
