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Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ "There is clearly a place for emotion in our own worship, but we are never trying to develop an emotional state. I can remember there was one church that started praying some evening services with all the lights dimmed and just some candles, and the Holy Synod disciplined them because they were trying to generate some sort of spooky atmosphere…" - Fr Pe...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ "It's very, very dangerous when this decision about what's cultural and what's part of the Orthodox Tradition is decided based on the level of the people, or the level of the priest, or the level of the bishop... Go to the Council [Holy Synod]." returntoorthodoxy.com/bishop-youssef-mission-culture/

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ "Some people say 'We just speak about spiritual subjects'. But actually there is no difference between spiritual subjects and theological subjects... We ought not to be deceived by all the calls for unity. All of us would like to be one, but on which basis?" - H.E. Metropolitan Serapion of Southern California and Hawaii

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ More reasons why starting smaller American Orthodox parishes according to the model of the LA and SUS dioceses is the way to go about mission: 1. The parish's development can be overseen more directly by the diocesan bishop, rather than being the brain-child of pre-existing popular priests who do not report directly to the Holy Synod and may lack the re...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ Oftentimes, proponents of introducing Evangelical and Charismatic praxis into the life of the Coptic Orthodox Church claim that they do so out of a desire to make the Church more palatable to "potential converts". Sometimes, this is merely a smokescreen for their own identity issues as they seek to "fit in" and acculturate in the "Lands of Immigration"....

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ “Some clergy, for example, they want their church to be the most rich church in the area. And that’s why they want to attract the rich people into their church. And they will please them. And they try to fight any other church next to them if they try to teach…” - H.G. Bishop Youssef returntoorthodoxy.com/why-some-rich-parishes-abandon-orthodoxy-by-h-g-...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ On a recent visit to Washington DC, Metropolitan Serapion described it as a "challenging area" that needs an Orthodox bishop in order to "move forward like the other areas". H.E. also voiced his opposition to worldly Protestant songs entering our youth meetings. returntoorthodoxy.com/metropolitan-serapion-no-protestant-songs/

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ “After you understand the American culture, next step you need to discern what’s right and what’s good. Discernment, actually, is a virtue of the spiritually mature people." “What are the tools that God gave us to be able to transform our culture? The Holy Scriptures, the Church, early Church Fathers. And we have many biblical examples about people who ...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ Fr Thomas Hopko distinguishes Orthodox and Protestant worship as two separate entities, the former as "worship in spirit and in truth" and the latter as a deviation. "So the worship in spirit and truth about which Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, we believe is the worship of the Orthodox Church today. It had different shapes and forms a...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ "Let us not forget that unorthodox worship can pollute our being, leading to forgetfulness. It can cause one’s mind to drift quite far, rendering him unable to value the Traditional Orthodox melodies and style of Church Worship... Orthodox worship is distinct in its constant reminder of the real presence of Christ and his Saints in our lives. We must be...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ “The liturgy is the top. It’s not just something we have to do because we are Orthodox. ‘Of course, I attend the liturgy because how can I be Coptic without attending the liturgy!’ But I feel the real spiritual life for me is not this. This is just a duty to do, but REALLY I grow spiritually when I pray, when I have a prayer meetings, when I have praise...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ "Some of the devoted servants may enjoy listening to non-orthodox sermons, and may take part in unorthodox services or meetings. They may have develop intimate relations with some people who are not rooted in the church. These may end up acquiring different tastes in worshiping. They may even start seeking different goals like “speaking tongues” and “pe...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ "Popular culture is a very dangerous thing, especially when it has to do with our faith… It’s one thing to advertise for me buying a jacket on TV and, being satisfied with the advertisement, I go and buy it. It’s another thing to advertise something on TV about my soul and about my relationship with God and for me to buy it just based on this commercial...

Visit our website: returntoorthodoxy.com/ "Some people show their misunderstanding of the problem when they say, "What is meant by the word 'methods'? 'Methods' don't make a difference, there's no such thing as Orthodox versus non-Orthodox methods." No, sorry, as an Orthodox Church it is important for us that the methods should be in agreement with the teaching, and that the teaching should be ...

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