The Spark

[Hennepin]

A question for those that have converted to Orthodoxy:

What was the "spark" (if there was one) that first made you aware of the Orthodox faith and become interested in learning more?

[ialmisry]

Encyclopedia Britannica article (written by Fr. Meyendorf of blessed memory) which stated that the natural religion of man is agnosticism, as finite man cannot find the infinite God.  Orthodoxy does not lead to agnosticism, however, as it proclaims the Good News that that God has revealed Himself to man.

[Justin Kissel]

I was convinced at some point of the truth of Christianity (generally), and the truth of the Christian Scripture (specifically), though I did not assume an inerrant Bible or inerrant version of Christianity. Nonetheless, as I read theology, Scripture and some Church history I came to the conclusion that Christ meant to found a visible Church, that the Apostles were part of the Church and meant to pass on the leadership of it, that this church continued into the first centuries after Christ, and that it would almost certainly still be around (especially considering the prophecy of Christ in Matt. 16). So I went off looking for that Church.

I grew up in a small town, and there was an Orthodox parish in that town, and I had walked past that church a hundred times or more. And I can now recall even having walked past it a couple times when they were doing processions outside. But I didn't really understand or know what this church actually was all about. I didn't really discovery Orthodoxy as an option until I read about it on the internet (though that was back around 2000ish, when there wasn't as much online). From there I realized what the parish in my small hometown actually was, and began attending this or that parish, depending on my living situation.

[WPM]

Jesus Christ and Christianity were part of my childhood religion - Naturally receptive to Orthodoxy, most of it just fell in place.

[Hennepin]

For me, I was up late one night a few years ago looking up different videos on YouTube of Gregorian chant. I was curious to learn what some of the oldest Christian music would be and came across the Orthodox chants and really enjoyed them and started reading more about Orthodoxy at that time.

[IoanC]

Search for God led to trying many religions and philosophies, then to realizing the power and perfection of Christ as a figure in history ("He had to be divine"), then ultimately a combination of searching for the truth and coming to the realization the Christ had to have founded a Church (that we are all part of a whole). Once I got to the last stage, it was really a problem of "numbers" and they all added up perfectly in Orthodoxy (in which I was actually baptized as an infant). And, ever since, I must confess that the numbers not only added up perfectly, but grew exponentially. 

[Quinault]

The beauty of the liturgy and the lack of information on Orthodoxy in Francis Schaeffer's "How then should we live?" My husband loved that book, but it just glosses over the Orthodox church altogether. This lead to investigating the text of the liturgy, then attending a liturgy.

My husband and I are musicians. We have played in many church "worship teams." The truth is that a talented line-up of musicians in a worship team aren't really worshiping God all that much. Because it takes work to play well in any setting. Worship simply can't take place when you are changing keys at the last second because the vocalist doesn't like hitting "x" note in the song, when you have to improvise seamless transitions between songs, or when the pastor decides he wants you to change the set list to match his sermon of the day, and you also play for a team that plays multiple sets for multiple services. We would play the same song sets for up to 3-5 services in a single day. We weren't worshiping God and enjoying the service between performances, we were EATING and going to the bathroom because we had been at church ALL DAY. The worship team is always there a few hours before performing so they can do sound check, run thru the set list a couple times, and tune their instruments. My mother thinks that a team will have "the anointing" when they perform well. The truth is that they are approaching it as professionals when they perform well. Because although one can worship with their talents. Playing for an audience is a performance, and any musician worth their salt will treat it as a performance, and not worship because it isn't about the musicians worshiping, it is about the congregation worshiping.

We could enjoy the liturgy in a way that we could never enjoy protestant services. It was refreshing. No sudden key changes for show, no untuned musical instruments, people weren't wanking for attention. The words weren't meant to pull at heartstrings and play your sympathies. It was so simple, it was so complex and multifaceted, it was simply beautiful.

[Alpo]

Nothing. There wasn't anything specific spark.

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