Before I begin writing this post, I want to take a moment to thank all who have subscribed or followed my Substack. My readership and engagement numbers have increased significantly over the last month, and for that I am eternally grateful. I also want to take this opportunity to reiterate that my writings and notes are entirely free and will remain so for the foreseeable future. I have no plans of monetizing this Substack. I write because I find it cathartic to do so and because I enjoy offering prayers, support and motivation to anyone who may desire it.
That said, and while I have no plans of ever charging for a subscription to read my writing, I do maintain a small Orthodox design shop, and I have started a “Buy Me a Coffee” account. I plan to use any proceeds I earn from both of those endeavors to support some important charities that I consider vital in their purpose. I have no plans to use any of the earnings from these endeavors for my own gain or benefit. My wife and I own a small dog boarding and doggie daycare business which provides all we could possibly ask for. We have complete faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit to provide everything we need in this life.
"And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”
(Mat 19:24)
Readers can link to both my Orthodox design shop and my Buy me a Coffee page by going to my LinkTree which can be found at the following link:
ORTHODOX OBSERVATIONS LINKTREE
The charities that I will be supporting with any earnings from these endeavors are as follows:
*For the Life of the World Cafe
Orthodox Christians for Life
Orthodox Ministry Services
Veterans United Foundation
Save the Animals Foundation
I plan on making all earnings and donations statements available to my readers, so that there is no doubt as to where these funds are going. So stay tuned for developments on that front.
Now for the primary reason for this post.
This disclaimer was prompted by an article by a popular online Orthodox influencer, which essentially served to call out (or at least question) other online Orthodox influencers for their content, and whether presenting any form of online Orthodox content is in line with the Church’s teaching:
The article was interesting and definitely made me think about the purpose of my little corner of the “Orthodox” web, and it has prompted me to now make the following disclaimer. Keep in mind, I do not believe Christoforou was referencing my content in his article (I doubt he even knows who I am) but it can’t hurt to offer this disclaimer preemptively, in the event anyone discovers and subsequently takes exception to my content .
I am not, and do not claim to be a teacher or scholar of any kind in regards to the Orthodox faith. I have never attended seminary, I am not an expert on doctrine, dogma or theology of any kind relating to Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
I am a new convert to Orthodoxy who is still currently in the Catechumen phase of my conversion. I am not even a full member of the Orthodox Church yet. I have been attending the Liturgy, as first an “Inquirer” and now as a “Catechumen” for less than one full year. As such, I am in no position to guide or instruct any other person on Orthodox teachings.
Previous to my conversion to Orthodoxy, I was a lifelong Roman Catholic. As a member of the Catholic Church, I was very involved in community outreach with the Knights of Columbus and for a time considered pursuing a vocation within the Catholic Church. While I do consider myself very learned and educated on the Catholic Faith, I also do not profess to be an expert on matters of Catholic doctrine, dogma or theology of any kind either. I am simply a man who has taken a deep interest in matters of Christian faith during my lifetime, and who has spent the last decade researching the differences between Orthodoxy and Catholicism.
The purpose of this Substack is to provide a diary of sorts on my journey from Catholicism to Orthodoxy. This is a journal. These are thoughts and observations from my personal life and are not intended to guide any person on their faith journey.
I have stated in several places, in both Substack notes and in my posts and articles, that I do not and will not entertain apologetics debates on either the Catholic Faith or the Orthodox Faith. It is precisely due to the possibility of proselytization that I avoid these instances of deep philosophical discussion. I have also been very critical of Orthodox “influencers” such as Jay Dyer, and others of that ilk, who spend significant time engaging in deep philosophical debates on topics of doctrine, dogma and theology. Those pursuits are not and never have been the purpose of this Substack.
The content of this Substack has been, and will continue to consist of; quotes from the Church Fathers and Desert Fathers, posting of Psalms (Kathisma) for the purpose of praying the Hours, providing morning and evening prayers, accepting prayer requests, creating motivational posts and notes of a non-denominational nature, some commentary on politics as they relate to the Russian Orthodox or Catholic Churches and other personal stories. At the time of this writing, my three most recent articles consisted of a virtual tour of “The Most Beautiful Orthodox Churches in Russia”.
Lastly, I do not have or claim to have the blessing of my Spiritual Father, or of any Priest, Bishop or Metropolitan of any jurisdiction, Archdiocese or Patriarchate to “teach” or “preach” on Orthodox subject matter. I have not sought this blessing and have no plans to seek this blessing. I do not consider myself a teacher or a preacher of any kind and therefore see no reason to seek this blessing. In short, I do not consider myself an “Orthodox Influencer” and that is not the intent of my content.
In closing, I would just like to make it clear that I do fully understand the Orthodox practice of full obedience to a Spiritual Father. I accept and agree entirely with this teaching, and in fact it is one aspect of Orthodoxy that I prefer over Catholicism. The personal relationship a parishioner has with his or her Spiritual Father is, in my opinion, deeper and more profound than anything I have ever experienced with any priest in my previous 40+ years as a Roman Catholic. For more information on this relationship, the following article from the Orthodox Christian Information Center explains it quite nicely:
One who climbs a mountain for the first time needs to follow a known route; and he needs to have with him, as companion and guide, someone who has been up before and is familiar with the way. To serve as such a companion and guide is precisely the role of the “Abba” or spiritual father—whom the Greeks call “Geron” and the Russians “Starets”, a title which in both languages means “old man” or “elder”.
The importance of obedience to a Geron is underlined from the first emergence of monasticism in the Christian East. St. Antony of Egypt said: “I know of monks who fell after much toil and lapsed into madness, because they trusted in their own work ... So far as possible, for every step that a monk takes, for every drop of water that he drinks in his cell, he should entrust the decision to the Old Men, to avoid making some mistake in what he does.”
This is a theme constantly emphasized in the Apophthegmata or Sayings of the Desert Fathers: “The old Men used to say: ‘if you see a young monk climbing up to heaven by his own will, grasp him by the feet and throw him down, for this is to his profit ... if a man has faith in another and renders himself up to him in full submission, he has no need to attend to the commandment of God, but he needs only to entrust his entire will into the hands of his father. Then he will be blameless before God, for God requires nothing from beginners so much as self-stripping through obedience.’”
I do agree entirely with this teaching of obedience that exists within the Orthodox Church. That said, I do not intend to seek permission from my Spiritual Father for each and every single endeavor or choice in my life. I won’t be emailing him to get his opinion on my dinner options, or where I am permitted to take my wife on date night. I plan on taking his scriptural advice and his Orthodox book recommendations very seriously, and certainly any decision that closely involves my Orthodox faith. I don’t intend to consult with him on my next car purchase, or financial advice at tax time. I also don’t consider my personal relationships or business associations to be anyone’s business, unless of course those relationships and associations cause me to feel a conflict regarding my religious obligations. Of course, in such an instance I would first seek counsel from my Spiritual Father. I consider this Substack to be in that same vein. These writings are my personal thoughts and observations, shared with my readers, not intended as guidance or teachings to impact anyone else’s faith journey. I see no need to seek my Spiritual Father’s blessing to operate a blog or website.
At the end of the day, I am a 48-year old man and a military veteran. I am a home owner, a business owner, a husband and a foster parent. My Orthodox faith certainly defines much of what I now am in this world, but my salvation is not in the hands of any other sinful and fallible man of this Earth. I expect the Orthodox Church to help guide me on my faith journey, I expect my Spiritual Father to be the primary point of contact in that journey, but no person in the Orthodox Church is going to determine my ultimate salvation or my right to be an adherent of Orthodoxy. The Church (Big C) transcends mankind. The God of that Church is who I ultimately petition.
Thank you again for reading. 🙏