I’m a white Ex feminist ex liberal intellectual, ex New Age, ex Hindu, ex Protestant, ex Roman Catholic… only found Orthodoxy at age 56. Was told by a wise abbess to not do a lot publicly for at least ten years. one must rid oneself of the Protestant phronema (mindset). It takes a lot of prayer, Sacraments, ascetic struggle and reading to even begin to acquire a Patristic mind set. It’s been nine years for me…the longer I’m Orthodox the less externally oriented I am. St Seraphim of Sarov really did say to acquire the Spirit of Peace and those around you will be saved. The longer I struggle as an ascetic householder, the more faults and depth of sin I see in myself… and the LESS I speak

@Dr.JulieJames

7 ай бұрын

I too am these things as of Jan 2016 (7yrs) when I turned my life back to Jesus Christ after walking away nearly 27 years ago and returning to what I left in 1989 came to Pentecostal Charismatic. I am now 58 and exploring Eastern Orthodoxy. Where would you recommend one to begin? Of course, I am still female and white but none of the other labels.

@zealousideal

6 ай бұрын

Absolutely. It is true that we must do that and take our time learning it all fully and correctly and being quiet until then. I am an ex charismatic Pentecostal pastor and orthodoxy was a completely new world!!! I was also RC too for a bit. I actually really enjoyed RC to be honest. But I took time for developing the phronema too.

@zealousideal

6 ай бұрын

@@Dr.JulieJames begin by visiting an orthodox parish and taking in the Divine Liturgy and see if you like it. Also recommend reading many books to learn the basics such as The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware, Welcome to the Orthodox Church by Fredericka Matthews Greene, The Way, The Faith, The Orthodox Catechism, and many others. There used to be an Orthodox boot camp series here for free on YT by Fr. Barnabas Powell, but then he took it down. Not sure if it’s back yet.

@aaronlat

3 ай бұрын

@@Dr.JulieJamesgo to your local parish, attend vespers and the liturgy a few times and feel it out. Most importantly talk to your parish priest and ask all of your questions

This is my brother at my cathedral. Nothing but love for Photios. ☦

You both are an inspiration to me as Greek Orthodox Christian. Our Saviour Christ Almighty bless you both always to help us.

Great interview! We must honor the black church for what it brought us but also recognize that it did not have the full picture

@tracyreid8682

6 ай бұрын

Why can’t we just honour CHURCH .. why americans always making things about colour ..

@user-iw6vf4vl7n

4 ай бұрын

​@@tracyreid8682those who chose to be obsessed made it cultural. people were racially segregated and they went to their religious communities and the traditions were theirs specifically and the coincidences emerged

@anond2015

4 ай бұрын

​@@tracyreid8682 I get what you're saying, and in an ideal world, you're right. With racism and segregation, black people went to Black churches. And now they're commemorating the churches they grew up in.

Great convo! As a white Protestant (Protestant by default, but definitely inquiring) and primarily as a lover and follower of Jesus I loved this convo. I have a deep respect and veneration for the Black Church in America because it’s been a staple for justice, love, and truth. I feel like it’s the best of Protestantism to be honest because it carries the cross. I also am beginning to look into Orthodoxy and find deep longings in my heart being met. I appreciate your prayers. May the Lord continue to bless and keep you both.

Greeting from Romania! Great discussion, very happy to see African American brothers discover the divine treasure of the Orthodox Church and return HOME , the Church founded in the year 33.

OMG!!! I haven’t heard Archbishop Ashe’s name on anyone’s lips in forever!!! I came across this channel searching for “Black orthodox Christians” as I have been researching the Orthodox Church for several months. I’m currently a member of the COGIC. This interview is EVERYTHING! Thank you. Just got a sub!

@orthodoxboomergrandma3561

7 ай бұрын

Fr Ashe? He is an Orthodox Bishop? Or?

@johnpalomo1688

5 ай бұрын

@@orthodoxboomergrandma3561 He was part of the Convergence movement.

@StillStanding6193

4 ай бұрын

May God bless you on your search. I was COGIC as a teen/ young woman. That “Yes, Lord” chant still gives me goosebumps 🙌🏾! But I praise God for the Orthodox Christian faith. 🙏🏾☦️💙

@glennd81

Ай бұрын

Glad to see so many of us find the True Faith! Former Adventist here. Glory to God for all things!!! ☦️

So proud that the Russian Orthodox Church is involved (even indirectly) in the developing events, in West Africa.

Exceptional interview. Thank you so much!

It’s nice to hear orthodox brothers who don’t bash the charismatic movement.

Thank you VERY much for that. It proved helpful in numerous ways.

You can tell that brutha used to preach! He almost got going a couple of times but oh yes, know the people and lift up what is holy and share the other that is missing

as one of these 🐛we must prepare to become one of these 🦋

Very interesting interview. Have visited several Orthodox Churches (Antiochian, Coptic, Greek and the OCA). Thank you for not throwing the Black Church under the bus. I was blessed by how you acknowledged the role it has played in the lives of African Americans over the past 450 yrs. We were taught all they understood, providing spiritual care, leading us to Christ, developing a prayer life and intimacy with God. Unfortunately, as a female called to teach Scripture, there is no place for me to serve God in the Orthodox Church. I have been teaching since 1988. I have studied quite a few of the early Church Fathers, a few of the Mother's, and read the Philokalia and the writings of Kallistos Ware, however, have not felt led to leave the work God had called me to in 1984. Bishop Veron Ashe's ministry still speaks to my soul.

@leopistis3560

5 ай бұрын

The Coptics are not Orthodox - they just have that word in their official name. They are “non chalcedonians” and broke from the Church in 451 AD. May God bring them back into the fold!

@HJKelley47

5 ай бұрын

@@leopistis3560 : As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are already part of His fold. (Romans 10:9-10 - which is the deep personal conviction, without reservation, that Jesus is that person's own Savior & Lord. This Scripture also includes repenting from sin, trusting in Jesus for salvation and submitting to His Lordship.)

@leopistis3560

5 ай бұрын

@HJKelley47 With all respect, this is simply not the historical universal belief of the Church, and this idea did not exist until the Protestant reformation. When we approach scripture with our own interpretation, and not following the teaching “once delivered to all the saints” (Jude 3) we end up departing from the apostolic deposit of Truth. Christ desires so much more than to believe in Him, He wants to transform us as part of His ONE body, to grow into His fullness and stature (Ephesians 4), to be partakers of the Divine Nature! (2 Peter 1) The One Truth and the fullness of His Love cannot be separated. Otherwise, Christ’s body is divided… otherwise the Holy Spirit stopped guiding His disciples into all Truth (John 16:13).. With fervent desire to see all come to the knowledge of the Truth, Leo

@HJKelley47

5 ай бұрын

@@leopistis3560 :. May all believers in Christ realize we cannot separate ourselves from God's truth, God's love or His grace in order to satisfy man's opinions. The Holy Spirit did not stop guiding the people of God. However, men with motives felt very strongly that their traditions and ideas outweighed God's truth. Here we are 2,024 yrs later still debating vs walking in love and unity. I do stand in agreement with you for fervent desire to see all come to the knowledge of God's truth.

great video! Good to see Black brothers embracing the Apostolic traditions. I as a Black Catholic, though, struggle with how Eastern Orthodoxy permits no cultural expression from the Black culture in worship or theology which has always been a part of planting Christianity within a people. How do yall incorporate your own culture into orthodox practice and how is that accepted by non-Black Orthodox? Its a struggle in Catholicism-in the US especially-but we have our churches that lift up our cultural gifts in the liturgy and I grew up wit this practice. We sing our songs, praise with our body in our African inspired ways. Is this possible in Orthodoxy? If not, why not and if so how do yall do it? Peace and Love!

@helpIthinkmylegsaregone

7 ай бұрын

That's going to happen with time. Assyrians, among others, have their own style of liturgy. The Tridentine and the Chrysostom liturgies were both born out of regional variations in worship. But in early Christianity, all the converted pagans had to deal with the fact that initially, they had to submit to the teachings and traditions of the Greeks and Jews that formed early Christendom. Everybody had to go through that experience. The Britons, the mainland Germanics, the Gallics, the Egyptians, the Berbers, the Ethiopians. Black ethnic groups haven't been in the Orthodox tradition for the most part, but that doesn't mean they won't be. I recommend Fr Turbo Qualls, a priest in the Serbian Church, who speaks a lot about what his relationship to Orthodoxy as a Black man is. I can see that there is a big element of Black culture that seems opposed to submission in any way to the traditions of Eastern Europeans, because they have a generalized instinctive opposition to White people. The answer to that is, it has to be overcome. What's more important to you? Being in the true Church, or that you feel entirely satisfied from the get-go that your ethnic pride and needs are satisfied in every way? This issue is not limited to Black people, by the way. I know plenty of Western Europeans who love many things about the Orthodox Church, but they feel that they have to be connected to the Roman Church because of their cultural heritage. I understand the emotion, but it's only an emotion. Go to an Orthodox Church, experience the liturgy, read about the theology and traditions, and then you'll see what it is.

@slowboywhiteboardv4

7 ай бұрын

I recommend Father Turbo Qualls as the above comment did, and also Father Jerome Sanderson. God bless you. African Americans will develop their culture in the church, look at the Appalachian traditions in the US, they are adopting chants in their traditional ways and our country is in it's infancy with the True Faith of the Apostles so it will take time.

@haceneouerdane6840

4 ай бұрын

Et les Éthiopiens comment-t-ils fait ?

@jasonmurray1771

4 ай бұрын

It has already happened and continue to happen, check out the St. Moses the Black fellowship confrence Divine Liturgy and website music section

@nassergabriel4778

22 күн бұрын

Forgive me, but my goodness, the ignorance! I'm Ethiopian. We are literally an entire African nation of 100 million people and probably the most devoted part of the Orthodox world for centuries, alongside our Armenian, Egyptian Copt, and Syriac Orthodox brethren, with whom we are in direct communion. We also share a larger extended family with the Eastern Greek, Russian, and Antiochian Orthodox. Ethiopia is the only African country that was never colonized. It was the second Christian nation in the world after Armenia and is known today for having some of the most devoted Christians globally. With our fast-growing population, Ethiopia embodies both ancient Judeo-Christianity and represents the future of Christianity as a whole. It is an ancient Black nation located in the Horn of Africa. The Orthodox Christianity practiced in Ethiopia, especially within the Ethiopian and Eritrean Tewahedo Orthodox Church, is deeply profound and unique, unchanged for the last 1,600 years. We have been dealing with invaders, Muslim jihadists, and all challenges throughout time. That being said, Ethiopians often do not directly identify with the modern concepts of Blackness, African Americans, or the descendants of the transatlantic slave trade, as we come from a different branch of Sub-Saharan Africa. For many in Africa, the word "black" has no meaning; we refer to ourselves by our Orthodox faith, tribal affiliations, clan, and sub-clan, and can memorize all our ancestors for at least 25 generations. The term "black" is something labeled by Europeans for people of the ADOS (African Descendants of Slaves) and the rest of Africa. However, there is some blessed growth of Orthodoxy through the grace of the Lord and the efforts of our Greek brothers and the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria throughout Africa. You can connect with people who look more like you and share that Sub-Saharan ancestry in places like Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya. For Black Americans or Caribbeans interested in exploring the ethnic aspects of their faith, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria could offer valuable connections to their shared heritage. To say that cultural expression is a challenge in Orthodoxy is one of the most ignorant statements I’ve ever heard. The entire Church, founded by Yeshua Himself, has always been a Global South Eastern Church, comprising Arab Christians, Habesha Ethiopians, Assyrians, Armenians, Copts, ancient Nubian Egyptians, and people from the Antiochian ancient Middle Eastern heartland. Roman Catholicism and Protestantism are the denominations that have proximity to Whiteness and European culture, if we are being honest.

Fantastic interview. God bless you

15:20 I pray you find many in your Parish soon. We all need the love of community. All of us.

This is excellent ❤

Identity politics in the Orthodox Church lovely was just a matter of time

☦️💜☦️💜

bravo red foti

Je suis gontent 😊😊😊😊😊 de savoir qu''il y a une église orthodoxe afro-américaine. ☦️☦️☦️☦️

Another question, where was the orthodox church during slavery? And last, what are your thoughts on the iconography of the orthodox church? Many of us don't want to look up to white images of Jesus and the saints because it reignites that sense that Christianity is a white man's religion. Many of us understand its not, but those images can be distracting.

@dimitriosvlissides5781

8 ай бұрын

The orthodox church during Slavery was enslaved by Muslims that were trading slaves..............Any questions!? There are navy black Saints that are venerated in the orthodox church .....Any questions If you want more Go And Read

@afree1500

8 ай бұрын

@dimitriosvlissides5781 These were genuine questions, not accusations. Please ease up on the harsh tone. What books do you recommend?

@dimitriosvlissides5781

8 ай бұрын

@@afree1500 questions I do appreciate it But you have to understand that the hole WOKE movement is attacking white people along those lines What I mentioned to you about the orthodox church been imprisoned for centuries is true under the Arabs and then Ottomans many millions of orthodox eventually became Muslims in order to survive Ie Egypt Syria Irak Turkey Caucasus and on and on .... So the orthodox church has been suffering for centuries If you really interested and you want to read more about this church Please go to a near Orhodox Church ie greek Serbian Bulgarian Romanian Russian Ukranian the later be carefully not to be one of those that cal themselves BYzantine Catholic as they are Paupists Find a priest that will give you many books to read The orthodox church is very rich in writtings for more than 19 centuries There are the early writtings called PATERIC writtings and goes on ......

@adaeptzulander2928

8 ай бұрын

During the slave trade, the nations engaged in it were part of either the Catholic Church or the Protestant, and neither tolerated the Orthodox in their midst. PS. since Jesus wasn't Black either, why does that not disturb people?

@afree1500

8 ай бұрын

@adaeptzulander2928 I think people seeking the truth don't need Jesus to have been black to be satisfied, they just want more accurate depictions.

How does a Christian justify being be a member of a fraternity where they're required to take oaths and are connected with false greek gods? Isn't that idolatry? I'm not trying to be rude. I genuinely want to know. I've learned it's wrong to be involved in greek letter orgs, Eastern Stars, freemasonry, etc.

@dimitriosvlissides5781

8 ай бұрын

What are you talking about ? Are you talking of what is going on in some fraternities in the USA universities.? What this has to do with Realy Believing in Christianity as a hole and in oarti ular with Orthodoxy

@afree1500

8 ай бұрын

@dimitriosvlissides5781 If you really believe, then you aim to practice what's in the Word. If the Bible speaks against taking oaths and aligning yourself with false gods, which Greek orgs do, how is that okay? What's the rationale that lets a person do that? A different understanding of scripture or something else?

@dimitriosvlissides5781

8 ай бұрын

@@afree1500 it seems to me that you are mixing up religion social life law etc When you go to the court you take an oath don't you You take literally what is written in the Bible hence you have no freedom Jesus above all has spoken about the free will of a person I do not know what type of Christian you are but I assume you have not been well versed with the Nicæan Creed And you try to explain things in a literal way I am afraid this is diminishing your choice

@Dr.JulieJames

7 ай бұрын

Just because one might be Greek does not make them a worshipper of Greek Gods that is like saying all Japanese are Samurai..Get real!

@Bamifun

4 ай бұрын

lol! Leave the Nupe alone. Doctors take oaths, nurses take oaths. As long as they aren’t contradicting your faith, go for it. In fact, many oaths associated with professional and civic organizations reinforce the faith.

The black charismatic Orthodox Church ,,,,,,That's not egocentric or racist at all..

@mrhat9608

3 ай бұрын

Yep this crap is coming to the church I’m for all in the church but this identity stuff is not what was preached. We are all one blood in Christ we commune as one love as one worship as one.

Hi Photios! We met at St Catherine's about 3 years ago. Australian gal. God bless you, my brother. I came out of Pentacostalism, too. What you say about your people having to rely solely on God, I get it in my own way, having experienced a lot of trauma in childhood and beyond that still effects me every day, but the trauma that black people in America have endured, oh man, I cannot even fathom. The Indigenous people in Australia were horrifically abused. Actually, we did have an Indigenous Australian Orthodox Priest in recent times. Sadly, he has reposed. Thanks for sharing your love for God, his church, and for reminding us that He is everywhere present and fillest all things. My spiritual father told me that we know where the Holy Spirit is, but we do not know where it is not. Yes, we have the fullness of the Faith in Orthodoxy, but God clearly fillest ALL thing's. We say that, but oh how we forget it. Not all people recognize it, within themselves and others. God bless you! 🌹