JLatimer
Elder
 Offline
Faith: Orthodox
Jurisdiction: ROCOR
Posts: 1,202
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« on: March 30, 2010, 03:55:19 PM » |
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Intro: I'm a convert to Orthodoxy, baptized 4 years ago. My parents are Presbyterian/evangelical. When I converted, my mom showed a lot of interest, at least on an intellectual level, in Orthodoxy. Without any prompting from me, she bought a lot of books on the Orthodox Church and read them. She attended my baptism on Lazarus Saturday and the Liturgy the next (Palm Sunday morning). She has since been back to church with me once, when I took her and my dad to Christmas Eve Vigil December 2008. She seems to enjoy Orthodox worship, though perhaps she feels the "formality" is "not for her," preferring the "spontaneous" evangelical style. She has expressed to me her sadness that she cannot take communion at my church. We discussed the reasons why the Orthodox Church practices closed communion and what we believe about the Eucharist. She claims she believes in the Real Presence (which makes me wonder why she's not bothered that her church doesn't!?). Also, whenever we talk about faith issues, she seems to agree on an intellectual level with Orthodox teaching 90% of the time; except, that is, when it comes to ecclesiology! I'm pretty sure she thinks Orthodoxy is just another denomination, which "works" for me, but is not the right "fit" for her. I tend not to talk with her about faith matters these days, just because I don't want her to feel like I'm trying to push Orthodoxy on her. I still desire and pray that her and my dad would convert, but I know that if that happens, it will happen according to God's will and His timing.
Okay, just wanted to provide a background. Here is my question:
Around the time that I first became Orthodox, my mom started expressing an interest in traveling to Greece! Why Greece of all places? It's hard for me to believe its just a coincidence; I feel like maybe God wants her to go to Greece for a reason, hint hint. She has really been talking about it recently, now it seems like she likely will go to Greece sometime this year.
I know this is sorta silly, but I was wondering if there are any particular places people know of in Greece that I could recommend to my mom to visit where perhaps she could encounter Orthodoxy in a personally meaningful way, where some "magic" might rub off on her and nudge her toward conversion. I feel like I'm being ridiculous in this way scheming to convert my mom, but I just don't want her to go to Greece and miss the opportunity to experience a bit of its religious life amid all the gyros and tzatziki.
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