Iâm a Catholic convert from Protestantism. I knew very little about what the Catholic Church believed until I read Cardinal Gibbonâs book âFaith of Our Fathersâ and discovered the Eucharist and devotion to the Theotokos, our mother Mary. I was pretty shocked when I actually started going to Mass because the worship was so similar to Protestant services. Then I found out about Vatican II and the ecumenical movement. If you want to see how ecumenism poisons the church, you need look no further than the last 70 years of the Catholic Church. I am blessed to have a son who is Orthodox, and while we do have theological discussions, they are loving. He has been sharing Orthodox books with me for the last few years, and has invited me to liturgy, and has gently and warmly helped me to see the truth of Orthodoxy. Thatâs how it needs to be done. Thatâs how the early Christians won so many hearts to Christ. Sorry this was so long!đ
Father bless. Thank you for this. I see all the time comments from Catholics that weâre their âsisterâ church. It angers me, to be honest. I shouldnât feel anger. I can judge the heresy, but I cannot judge them. Lord have mercy.
The Fresh and Salt water analogy is perfect. I shall use that to help explain this situation to my family whom I'm trying to take on the path to conversion as well as my own conversion to this, the one true Faith. Thank you Father for your knowledge and Wisdom on this subject that is increasingly becoming more important to me everyday as I navigate the Earthly problems I have in my life. You, and Father Spyridon are my favorites on YT. I'll shall check out your recommendations you said in this video.
In our mad modern world, priests and bishops behave like laity and laity behave like bishops. The priests and bishops want to be part of the world and interact with the world, the laity want to tell the faithful how to behave. The problem is, the role of priests and bishops is really only to protect their flock, theirs is not a role of dialogue with persons who are not members (or even wanting to be members) of the flock. The laity need the priests to fulfill this role for them. It is us laity who have to interact with the wider world with the strangers and non-believers in our everyday lives, and if we are not strengthened by our ecclesial fathers, then we are lost children who do not know how to behave. It is us laity who need to be strong in faith in order to show loving kindness, hospitality, charity and good sense to all, so that non-believers 'will know us by our love'. Basically, I think what I am saying is that it all boils down to an erosion of what fatherhood actually means, it is in essence an ecclesial thing, and we seem to have forgotten this. Our priestly fathers are often not behaving as if we are their family; the family they would gladly die for. They are busy flirting with other families and sending us out into the world without a clear sense of who we are, and sadly then without that strength to be the very light to the world that we are commissioned to be.
Patriarch Porfirije is my Patriarch as I am in the SOC. I saw him when he came to visit the mid west at New Grancanica. It was beautiful and I was filled with awe and inspired at such a massive turn out. As a convert from RCC I was delighted to have such a patriarch and to be rid of the heretical bishops of Rome, it humbles me to see that one will come to be disappointed in their own beloved patriarch in this way. This video has been edifying to me in conjunction with a video by Jonathan Pageau on being disappointed. While patriarch Porfirije was here in the Midwest on that day he said a 25 min sermon in Serbian and didnât realize there was a monk standing by to translate. When he finished the worried look on this monkâs face melted away when the patriarch told him he didnât notice and that therefor the monk would not have to translate. With that he said âI hope you understood or at least understand I love you and I will pray for you, please pray for me!â I do not pray for him as much as I should, thank you for that reminder, Father! We should indeed be firm in our belief as Ostrog monastery stood fortified between Uniates and Moslems, we too cannot compromise but should always be wearing down prayer ropes. I have multiple prayer ropes, but am ashamed to admit sometimes I pray less than an entire rotation of one of those ropes in the span of a day. Please pray for me Brothers and Sisters in Christ! Best wishes, Nikolai
I am currently in the Spiritual Desert. The nearest Parish Community is an hour away and I am surrounded by Heterodox. I have a couple years more here and then I must make considerations to either leave the desert to go to the oasis to be closer to a Parish Community or remain in the desert and labor for God. Please pray for me Rafael.
@@living_orthodox Father, when you visit us, we will show you many amazing churches and introduce you to the history of other great Georgian saints. đ
Greetings Father, as someone who comes from the same nation as Patriarch Porfirije, and who knows a lot about Islam, i completely agree with your statement. Thankfully, 90% of clergy is not like that. I applaud you, and thank you for raising awareness. God bless
I'm glad you're recovering from your illness, and I will continue to pray for your upcoming opportunity, that everything works out. Thank you for this video. It is always hard to hear about heterodox hierarchs. We must continue to pray for them too, and any they lead into falsehood by their actions đđđ»âŠïž
Fr. Michael, I saw youâre now an OE team member, Glory to God! Not sure to what extent, as you have your own channel, but there is definitely help needed from pious clergy to enlighten all the heterodox that constantly bombard the OE channel. âŠïž
Excellent talk, Father! Just like the rest of your channel, your words are spot on. We are Orthodox and keep you in our prayers. Many thanks from Romania!
I am amazed of how fast and how clean and accurate you have managed to understand orthodoxy and to follow it the right way.I am Romanian and I was born into orthodoxy and I find myself drawn astray sometimes by false preachers like Mari Mari Emanuel.I listened to your clip about the path to finding orthodoxy and how you became priest and I know that was a wonder worked by our Lord with you, father Mihail. Thank you.
Those outside the Church are our neighbours. We can be respectful and loving without espousing heresy, but if we call our neighbour our brother, we cease to be inviting, and that erodes the love we might have thought we showed by fully embracing the idea of them we want before it's real.
Except that often communicates the opposite. Often times it communicates that there is no need for change and worse, it isnât an honest position. Itâs never good to start any kind of a relationship with a lie. No matter how well intentioned it was. We must love them but we mustnât use language of affirmation. Love and affirmation are often confused in our times.
@@living_orthodox What does, neighbours? Assuming they act like neighbours like good Samaritans I would think that's fine. Brothers is the lie. I think we agree but just making sure.
About the document union which Saint Marcus the Ephesian refused to sign, meanwhile in Serbia the ruler Despot Djuradj BrankoviÄ said to Serbian head of the church if you dare to go and sign that document I will hang you. The archbishop didn't dare to go. Meanwhile in Russia, their archbishop or Patriarch went and signed and when he came back the Russian knjaz executed him. It angers me for Serbian Patriarch porfirije says stuff like that. I am Serbian Orthodox and I can tell you that many of us don't support his kumbaya rhetoric. But unfortunately we got a Patriarch according to our deeds. Hopefully this changes very soon. Glory to GodâŠïžđ
May God help the pious Serbian Orthodox. We all can do better hence the state of the whole Church. Let us increase our prayers and repentance that God may have mercy on us and save us.
Father, can you make a video addressing a question, who are God's children? Are all people on earth his children, what do Holy fathers say about that? Kind regards from Sanja
Father, I appreciate your work and I undersign everything you said in this video. One detail though, you may not be aware of... Besides St. Mark of Ephesus, nobody from the Autocephalous Church of Serbia was present at the Ferrara-Florence gathering. When Papal legates came to the king of Serbia asking him as to why he did not send any representatives, they got an answer somewhat in the line - You want my people to think I am gone mad.? Vatican never forgave such refusal of the Serbian Orthodox to even consider union with the heretical Rome which was later attested in atrocities they committed against Serbian people.
Are you implying that there is more than one Creator? We are all borne from the same God, the choices of men do not diminish the fact that there is only one True God. I wonder if Fr. would also disown his own family as ânot brothersâ because they are Uniates?
Father i really like othrodox christianity. I am catholic but i wish to convert . I really hunger for the truth . AND I wish to be an orthrodox christian. BE RE-BAPTIZED AN ORTHRODOX CHRISTIAN. (in the area where i live.... there are no othrodox churches....) BUT PLEASE GUIDE ME IF I CAN BECOME OTHRODOX â€
Hello Dear one! Yes you can most certainly become Orthodox and yes it is possible for you to be baptized into the Orthodox Church (it isnât re-baptism as only the Orthodox Church can baptize), if you have questions please reach out to me via my discord and Iâll respond ASAP.
Thank you for another excellent video, Father Mikhail. I do, however, have some remaining confusion on the matter, specifically as it pertains to 1 John 4:20, a verse that I think about frequently. (If someone says, âI love God,â and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?) I always wondered if this was referring to oneâs actual brother or more broadly as in âneighborâ or âfellow man.â By the definition of brotherhood from your video here, I can take the verse to mean Orthodox brothers in Christ. But the struggle remains for me, as I really do not like my physical, actual, blood-related brother. Does this prevent me from loving God, growing spiritually, or obtaining salvation if I donât want my brother in my life? And does The Great Commandment require us to love abusive people?
When the Father asked how I was doing as an inquirer I was hesitant to answer. I do not understand the hesitation, I think I need to get used to the changes like praying to the most Holy Theotokos its still very uncomfortable and foreign. I do ask her to pray but fear I might put her on a pedestal in not careful.
No one can honour her too much. We love her because she is the example we must all strive for. She birthed our Lord and Saviour and that is most blessed. Worship is due to God alone and Iâve never heard a single Orthodox person confuse these things. Trust God and welcome to the heavenly kingdom :)
Father, do you have a news source for Patriarch Porfirijeâs statement about Moslems? Iâm wondering if heâs commenting on their celebration of Eid al-Adha, which was yesterday. (& coincidentally the Gregorian calendar feast of Ss Peter & Paul!)
Thank you Father. I am reminded of the Abrahamic Family House being developed in Abu Dhabi. With its deceitful shadow lurking behind its mask of brotherhood and inclusivity.
I'm newly received into the orthodox church, and there's much I dont understand so please forgive me. I'm actually a big fan of fr. Peter but this discussion made me wonder how can we call him a priest if he's not under a bishop. Or is he? I cannot seem to find a clear answer and this is confusing me very much.
When priest have transfers between bishops, they donât cease to be priests. He was never defrocked. Thatâs a strange form of papism and donatism to deny Fr Peter or any priest unfortunate enough to find themselves in his position.
@@living_orthodox im not denying fr Peter or anyone else for that matter and I don't even know what papism or donatism is... like i said im new to the church with my wife and 8 kids and im trying to understand how we function. Thanks for the answer?
â@@senordiaz1papism is roman catholicism, submitting to the false authority of the pope. Donatism is the belief that if a clergyman has unrepentant sins, then he is now unable to perform the sacraments, which is ridiculous. That's saying if a woman shows up to your baptism, and you're priest lusts after her while baptizing you, then the baptism is invalid. That's ridiculous, God's grace can overcome such things for the sake of the person being baptized.
Then father what is it about when it comes to old Syria where Muslims and Christians conceders each other brothers and had each other backs against colonizers ?
Hi Father, just a question? When we pray for the souls who have fallen asleep, both Orthodox and non Orthodox, we all the Lord to have mercy on all of our brothers and sisters, no? Aren't we all made in the image of God? I agree, that we may not have the same God, but how are we not, all brothers and sisters? Would we not feed a Muslim or treat them the same way we would treat everyone? I'm sorry. I'm confused. I thought all people are made in the image of God, and we are all brothers and sisters, and we should pay for everyone, and treat everyone the same. Thanks
Treating someone with kindness doesnât mean theyâre your brother. Again this is worldly thinking. We also donât pray Orthodox prayers for the reposed for non-orthodox. Itâs disingenuous and treats the prayers like magic. We pray like this for heterodox. âLord of its your will, have mercy on so-and-soâ. Made in the image of God yes. Possessing the likeness? No. Is the image restored before baptism? No.
Hello Michael. I was wondering why you say that orthodox christians cannot be brothers in Christ with the catholics and the Protestants. I am a Protestant and I believe that if someone believes that Jesus is God and believes that Jesus died for their sins and repents of their sins then they are a brother. I donât understand the division and the claims of heresy that you accuse the catholics of and the Protestants of if we are to be United under the Gospel. We have faith in Jesus and we believe that he is God, isnât that the basics of what Paul told us to do in Romans 10:9 to be saved? Thank you for reading this comment and I hope to hear an answer from you soon. God bless.
The devil believes the same things you do. Belief doesnât constitute salvation. Protestants donât respect Orthodox or Catholics and the opening of your statement of address is proof of this. There is right belief and wrong belief and the Protestants and Catholics have both abandoned the apostolic faith by picking and choosing what they want to believe.
I also say why in the video. Watch till the end and youâll see. The basics are believing as St Paul says in Romans. Right belief should form correct action. Itâs spiritual laziness to stop at the first step. But there are other things in the gospel when both Protestants and Catholics do that do not fulfill the criteria for salvation that even the Lord Himself commands. For one John 6:56-67 is clearly about the Eucharist. Yet the Protestant reformers couldnât lift their minds from the mundane and earthly, so they deny this beautiful mystery and miracle and turn it into some obscure philosophy. They treat the Bible as if it was written in English whereas if you read the original Greek, the wording alone disproves your sects entire theology.
I understand that Protestants and catholics donât agree with some of what the orthodox sect teaches like the Eucharist. I think that some Catholics though agree that the Eucharist has Jesus physically present but these tiny differences that each sect of Christianity teaches are outweighed by the word which is the gospel. These details that we choose to focus on only divide us and that is exactly what Satan wants. It might be that we disagree with our thoughts on baptism and the Eucharist but those of us who are saved through Jesus are United as one church rather than many. I hope that youâd at least agree with me that all that matters is if a man puts his faith in the trinity and is saved since he was a sinner and Jesus paid for his sin. I agree with you that Muslims and the people of the Jewish faith are not our brothers since they do not believe that Jesus is God but I hope that at least you can say that if anyone puts their faith in Jesus and is saved through him, then he is a brother to you and to all who have been saved.
this is a hard teaching.. my father and mother were Pentecostal.. and they publicly stood up for Jesus Christ.. so i consider them confessors.. though not big O Orthodox...they are my mom and dad... now i converted to Orthodox in in 2019...and it was not my fault i was born and raised Pentecostal.. now that i am Orthodox i would never go back.. it would be like a car compared with a horse and buggy.. both can get me to the next town but a car would be several hours faster.. now if i went back to Pentecostal.. how could i ever be satisfied ? they however died Pentecost Dad died of covid pneumonia in 2021 but he was reading the Holy Bible and hearing his Gospel music.. but he was not ashamed with the cross of Christ and was persecuted for his name... while being non Orthodox... in Genesis has Abraham's nephew Lot was referring to his fellows in Sodom as brothers,, he said brothers do not do so wickedly.. if he referred to sodomites as brothers what is wrong with me referring to my mother and dad as my brother and sister in Christ..none of us had anything to do with the great schism of 1052 and it is not our fault we were all borne into Catholicism or Protestantism..i believe you are being too harsh....
Itâs not a good comparison to draw. Those in sodom were only brothers in Adam as the Law of Moses and circumcision hadnât come yet. I must stand by what Iâve said dear one. We must be careful that our emotions donât become the pillar and ground of Truth. There is only one. Pray for God to have mercy according to His great mercy and leave it at that. Our desire and hope must be placed in Christ alone. Remember, many saints and martyrs have had family who died pagan. This is a cross and I myself was once a Pentecostal when growing up. Thanks be to God my family converted. But not everyone has.
Father Mikhail, I appreciate this video and feel it needs to be said, this misuse of the word brother. But I have few questions: Does this mean that it's only our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters who can be considered 'icons of Christ"? I hear this phrase a lot in Orthodoxy and thought it referred to all human beings, but now I'm not sure. And when the Lord mentions "if your brother sins against you...if your brother has something against you...I was sick and you visited Me...etc" is He only referring to those in the faith, or human relationships, human beings in general? St. Anthony's quote: "Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God, but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ." Here it sounds like he is talking about both those in the faith and those not in the faith? Christ is the One we really sin against no matter the faith of who it is we sin against? Thank you.
Hello Irene! To answer your questions, it is as St. Paisios has said. We have brothers in Adam and brothers in Christ. Truly, there are no brothers in Christ outside of the body of Christ, which is also Christ Himself. We donât want to divide the person from the Church. In Acts, Jesus makes it clear that He is synonymous with the Church. Everyone is made in the image of God. We can only come to be in the likeness when we restore the image by being joined to the Church, which again is the mystical body of Christ. Keep in mind when Jesus uses the term brother, He is speaking to the Jews who at that time were united under the law of Moses. That said, we must love and forgive our enemies too. We must be careful not to throw words like âloveâ and âbrotherâ around as carelessly as many modernists and ecumenists do, as it causes the words to lose their meaning and this is because it comes from a place of vainglorious self-love. They want others to like and love them, but not in the truest sense of the word. The body of Christ is a family and one isnât part of a family that theyâre not adopted or born into. We must love all people and pray for their salvation, but we mustnât get things twisted and think that we are somehow pious for blurring the lines. We sin against God and against others. Again, this doesnât lax the boundaries of the Church. If we micronize everything we will see nothing.
Father, thank you for your reply. I think I understand. But are "icons of Christ" the Eastern Orthodox only? How can a non-Christian be an icon of Christ? Made in the image of God yes, but icons of Christ?
Father, Iâm so saddened that you have chosen to use the image of Saint Gabriel who would not agree with your definition of brotherhood. We have numerous stories of St Gabriel working wonders for atheists, if they were not our brothers, why would the saints minister to them? Our monastic brothers and sisters have been âbaptizedâ into the angelic life- does that mean they are no longer our brothers and sisters? Of course I am not saying an atheist or a Muslim shall achieve salvation, but how does that change the command of our Lord âThat ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.â To say someone is ânot my brotherâ is akin to Cain asking if he is his brotherâs keeper. We give ourselves a false sense of security that we donât need to worry about the non-Orthodox because we have ascended beyond them. May the Lord forbid we ever think this way or cause others to think this way, as this is certainly the path to damnation.
This is a word concept fallacy. If you listened to the talk in full (which I know you didnât) you would know exactly what I was saying. Working miracles for atheist doesnât mean theyâre our brothers. This isnât the same kind of brotherhood that the ecumenists (which St Gabriel referred to as a super heresy), are espousing. There is a brotherhood in Adam but it isnât equal to our brotherhood in Christ. Be wary of emotional reactions and sentimentalism. This is a path to deception. Miracles have been worked for many. The purpose of them is draw them into the Church so they can become our brothers. If you throw this word around as lightly as many of you do on the internet, then you are merely affirming an error as you are establishing a false family bond that isnât established in Christ but in humanism which St Justin Popovich warned extensively against. The quote you said about Monastics also shows you fundamentally donât understand what was said either. It is non-sequitur at best and a strawman at worst. Those who are truly our brothers and sisters are only Orthodox Christians and this is in the spiritual sense, which again, if you actually listened in full you would have heard. Also do not attach your own interpretations to that passage of the gospel. He was speaking to His disciples. It is necessary for us to love others but be real and honest. You donât love your wife like youâd love your mother or sister. The love we have for those outside our faith isnât the same as the relationship we have with those in it. Edit: to be clear I am not saying we shouldnât help or love those outside our faith. We should love them enough to give them a good uneasiness. Being nice isnât enough. We must also be honest. You cannot love someone properly while lying to them, even for the sake of their feelings. Please understand that what I say also comes from a place of love for you and for my fellow Orthodox who are often quick to sell the pearl of great price for trifling things.
Iâm a Catholic convert from Protestantism. I knew very little about what the Catholic Church believed until I read Cardinal Gibbonâs book âFaith of Our Fathersâ and discovered the Eucharist and devotion to the Theotokos, our mother Mary. I was pretty shocked when I actually started going to Mass because the worship was so similar to Protestant services. Then I found out about Vatican II and the ecumenical movement. If you want to see how ecumenism poisons the church, you need look no further than the last 70 years of the Catholic Church. I am blessed to have a son who is Orthodox, and while we do have theological discussions, they are loving. He has been sharing Orthodox books with me for the last few years, and has invited me to liturgy, and has gently and warmly helped me to see the truth of Orthodoxy. Thatâs how it needs to be done. Thatâs how the early Christians won so many hearts to Christ. Sorry this was so long!đ
Good to hear! Keep attending Orthodox Divine Liturgy and keep asking questions. See what happens from there.
Thank you I was a protestant now eastern Orthodox I believe Jesus is calling us home
Father bless. Thank you for this. I see all the time comments from Catholics that weâre their âsisterâ church. It angers me, to be honest. I shouldnât feel anger. I can judge the heresy, but I cannot judge them. Lord have mercy.
Your videos have given me the strength to be catechized in the Orthodox Church. Thank you Father Mikhail
Sister in Christ
Glory to God! I pray that God continues to guide you!
Glory to God!
Thank you Fr. Michael for your video âŠïžđđ»â€ïž
The Fresh and Salt water analogy is perfect. I shall use that to help explain this situation to my family whom I'm trying to take on the path to conversion as well as my own conversion to this, the one true Faith. Thank you Father for your knowledge and Wisdom on this subject that is increasingly becoming more important to me everyday as I navigate the Earthly problems I have in my life. You, and Father Spyridon are my favorites on YT. I'll shall check out your recommendations you said in this video.
In our mad modern world, priests and bishops behave like laity and laity behave like bishops. The priests and bishops want to be part of the world and interact with the world, the laity want to tell the faithful how to behave. The problem is, the role of priests and bishops is really only to protect their flock, theirs is not a role of dialogue with persons who are not members (or even wanting to be members) of the flock. The laity need the priests to fulfill this role for them. It is us laity who have to interact with the wider world with the strangers and non-believers in our everyday lives, and if we are not strengthened by our ecclesial fathers, then we are lost children who do not know how to behave. It is us laity who need to be strong in faith in order to show loving kindness, hospitality, charity and good sense to all, so that non-believers 'will know us by our love'.
Basically, I think what I am saying is that it all boils down to an erosion of what fatherhood actually means, it is in essence an ecclesial thing, and we seem to have forgotten this. Our priestly fathers are often not behaving as if we are their family; the family they would gladly die for. They are busy flirting with other families and sending us out into the world without a clear sense of who we are, and sadly then without that strength to be the very light to the world that we are commissioned to be.
The perennial question well answered.
Thank you Fr.Mikhail for always standing bold for the true faith âŠïž May God Bless you and your family!
Amen đ
Here is Fr Peterâs Ecclesiology course. Please give it a watch everyone. czcams.com/play/PLCFiE3qfVkDggL0YGWAfbQdUayK1221Gg.html
Patriarch Porfirije is my Patriarch as I am in the SOC. I saw him when he came to visit the mid west at New Grancanica. It was beautiful and I was filled with awe and inspired at such a massive turn out. As a convert from RCC I was delighted to have such a patriarch and to be rid of the heretical bishops of Rome, it humbles me to see that one will come to be disappointed in their own beloved patriarch in this way. This video has been edifying to me in conjunction with a video by Jonathan Pageau on being disappointed. While patriarch Porfirije was here in the Midwest on that day he said a 25 min sermon in Serbian and didnât realize there was a monk standing by to translate. When he finished the worried look on this monkâs face melted away when the patriarch told him he didnât notice and that therefor the monk would not have to translate. With that he said âI hope you understood or at least understand I love you and I will pray for you, please pray for me!â I do not pray for him as much as I should, thank you for that reminder, Father! We should indeed be firm in our belief as Ostrog monastery stood fortified between Uniates and Moslems, we too cannot compromise but should always be wearing down prayer ropes. I have multiple prayer ropes, but am ashamed to admit sometimes I pray less than an entire rotation of one of those ropes in the span of a day. Please pray for me Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Best wishes, Nikolai
I am currently in the Spiritual Desert. The nearest Parish Community is an hour away and I am surrounded by Heterodox. I have a couple years more here and then I must make considerations to either leave the desert to go to the oasis to be closer to a Parish Community or remain in the desert and labor for God.
Please pray for me Rafael.
Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have mercy on me a sinner
Father Bless! Will you link Fr Peter's course on Orthodox Ecclesiology please?
God bless! Yes Iâll pin it to the comments
Father bless! Are there any writings of recent saints against ecumenism?
St Paisios, St Joseph the Hesychast, Elder Ephraim, Fr Seraphim Rose, St John of Kronstadt, St Arsenios the Cappadocian, the list goes on!
Thank you for the honest word, as always Father.
Father I am happy that you know about our Georgian Saint Gabriel, I hope you will visit us one day. â€đŹđȘ
I hope so too! Iâd love to visit his relics some day.
@@living_orthodox Father, when you visit us, we will show you many amazing churches and introduce you to the history of other great Georgian saints. đ
Greetings Father, as someone who comes from the same nation as Patriarch Porfirije, and who knows a lot about Islam, i completely agree with your statement. Thankfully, 90% of clergy is not like that. I applaud you, and thank you for raising awareness. God bless
Truth and wisdom, thank you Fr Mikhail
I'm glad you're recovering from your illness, and I will continue to pray for your upcoming opportunity, that everything works out.
Thank you for this video. It is always hard to hear about heterodox hierarchs. We must continue to pray for them too, and any they lead into falsehood by their actions đđđ»âŠïž
Great video Father!
You teach me a lot of things to be aware of, thank you
Fr. Michael, I saw youâre now an OE team member, Glory to God! Not sure to what extent, as you have your own channel, but there is definitely help needed from pious clergy to enlighten all the heterodox that constantly bombard the OE channel. âŠïž
Thank you! I actually have been a member of their team for almost a year now! Iâve also written a couple of articles for them
@@living_orthodox ahhhh, Iâve been sleeping under a rock! đ
Excellent talk, Father! Just like the rest of your channel, your words are spot on. We are Orthodox and keep you in our prayers. Many thanks from Romania!
I am amazed of how fast and how clean and accurate you have managed to understand orthodoxy and to follow it the right way.I am Romanian and I was born into orthodoxy and I find myself drawn astray sometimes by false preachers like Mari Mari Emanuel.I listened to your clip about the path to finding orthodoxy and how you became priest and I know that was a wonder worked by our Lord with you, father Mihail. Thank you.
Glory to God! The Lord is merciful
I love this channel. Btw the Thumbnail aesthetic is perfect
Thank you so much! I am glad youâve been enjoying it. God bless!
Those outside the Church are our neighbours. We can be respectful and loving without espousing heresy, but if we call our neighbour our brother, we cease to be inviting, and that erodes the love we might have thought we showed by fully embracing the idea of them we want before it's real.
Except that often communicates the opposite. Often times it communicates that there is no need for change and worse, it isnât an honest position. Itâs never good to start any kind of a relationship with a lie. No matter how well intentioned it was. We must love them but we mustnât use language of affirmation. Love and affirmation are often confused in our times.
@@living_orthodox What does, neighbours? Assuming they act like neighbours like good Samaritans I would think that's fine. Brothers is the lie. I think we agree but just making sure.
Amen!
About the document union which Saint Marcus the Ephesian refused to sign, meanwhile in Serbia the ruler Despot Djuradj BrankoviÄ said to Serbian head of the church if you dare to go and sign that document I will hang you. The archbishop didn't dare to go. Meanwhile in Russia, their archbishop or Patriarch went and signed and when he came back the Russian knjaz executed him. It angers me for Serbian Patriarch porfirije says stuff like that. I am Serbian Orthodox and I can tell you that many of us don't support his kumbaya rhetoric. But unfortunately we got a Patriarch according to our deeds. Hopefully this changes very soon. Glory to GodâŠïžđ
May God help the pious Serbian Orthodox. We all can do better hence the state of the whole Church. Let us increase our prayers and repentance that God may have mercy on us and save us.
Father, can you make a video addressing a question, who are God's children? Are all people on earth his children, what do Holy fathers say about that? Kind regards from Sanja
Father, I appreciate your work and I undersign everything you said in this video. One detail though, you may not be aware of... Besides St. Mark of Ephesus, nobody from the Autocephalous Church of Serbia was present at the Ferrara-Florence gathering. When Papal legates came to the king of Serbia asking him as to why he did not send any representatives, they got an answer somewhat in the line - You want my people to think I am gone mad.? Vatican never forgave such refusal of the Serbian Orthodox to even consider union with the heretical Rome which was later attested in atrocities they committed against Serbian people.
How could we be brothers when we have a different Father? We belong to a different family by baptism. We have been born again
Are you implying that there is more than one Creator? We are all borne from the same God, the choices of men do not diminish the fact that there is only one True God.
I wonder if Fr. would also disown his own family as ânot brothersâ because they are Uniates?
Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal have mercy on us!
Your blessing farther need you too come to Australia
I hope to visit one day! I would love to meet Fr Cosmas at the monastery of Archangel Michael (who is also my patron saint)
Father i really like othrodox christianity. I am catholic but i wish to convert . I really hunger for the truth .
AND
I wish to be an orthrodox christian. BE RE-BAPTIZED AN ORTHRODOX CHRISTIAN. (in the area where i live.... there are no othrodox churches....)
BUT PLEASE GUIDE ME IF I CAN BECOME OTHRODOX â€
Hello Dear one! Yes you can most certainly become Orthodox and yes it is possible for you to be baptized into the Orthodox Church (it isnât re-baptism as only the Orthodox Church can baptize), if you have questions please reach out to me via my discord and Iâll respond ASAP.
@@living_orthodox yes father ... I wish to get in touch with you... on discord â„. HOW MAY I JOIN FATHER ?
@@anonymousman4144 you can click this link Discord discord.gg/kgMkU4jdfS or reach me via email fr.mikhail.baleka@gmail.com
â@@living_orthodox thank you father I have joined the discord â€. If that doesn't work I will use the mail †thank you father â€â€
When we have an American Pan-Orthodox Synod we should Anathematize those who push forward Americanist "christianites".
Thank you for another excellent video, Father Mikhail. I do, however, have some remaining confusion on the matter, specifically as it pertains to 1 John 4:20, a verse that I think about frequently. (If someone says, âI love God,â and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?) I always wondered if this was referring to oneâs actual brother or more broadly as in âneighborâ or âfellow man.â By the definition of brotherhood from your video here, I can take the verse to mean Orthodox brothers in Christ. But the struggle remains for me, as I really do not like my physical, actual, blood-related brother. Does this prevent me from loving God, growing spiritually, or obtaining salvation if I donât want my brother in my life? And does The Great Commandment require us to love abusive people?
When the Father asked how I was doing as an inquirer I was hesitant to answer. I do not understand the hesitation, I think I need to get used to the changes like praying to the most Holy Theotokos its still very uncomfortable and foreign. I do ask her to pray but fear I might put her on a pedestal in not careful.
No one can honour her too much. We love her because she is the example we must all strive for. She birthed our Lord and Saviour and that is most blessed. Worship is due to God alone and Iâve never heard a single Orthodox person confuse these things. Trust God and welcome to the heavenly kingdom :)
Father, do you have a news source for Patriarch Porfirijeâs statement about Moslems? Iâm wondering if heâs commenting on their celebration of Eid al-Adha, which was yesterday. (& coincidentally the Gregorian calendar feast of Ss Peter & Paul!)
Yes. Iâll try and include it. If I donât, forgive me. Busy with the family and I have several services this weekend
Father, bless,
Whatâs the name of the intro chant?
Fun fact! Itâs actually psalm 135! I have the whole chant on my channel so everyone can listen and be edified :)
Thank you Father. I am reminded of the Abrahamic Family House being developed in Abu Dhabi. With its deceitful shadow lurking behind its mask of brotherhood and inclusivity.
I'm newly received into the orthodox church, and there's much I dont understand so please forgive me. I'm actually a big fan of fr. Peter but this discussion made me wonder how can we call him a priest if he's not under a bishop. Or is he? I cannot seem to find a clear answer and this is confusing me very much.
When priest have transfers between bishops, they donât cease to be priests. He was never defrocked. Thatâs a strange form of papism and donatism to deny Fr Peter or any priest unfortunate enough to find themselves in his position.
@@living_orthodox im not denying fr Peter or anyone else for that matter and I don't even know what papism or donatism is... like i said im new to the church with my wife and 8 kids and im trying to understand how we function. Thanks for the answer?
â@@senordiaz1papism is roman catholicism, submitting to the false authority of the pope. Donatism is the belief that if a clergyman has unrepentant sins, then he is now unable to perform the sacraments, which is ridiculous. That's saying if a woman shows up to your baptism, and you're priest lusts after her while baptizing you, then the baptism is invalid. That's ridiculous, God's grace can overcome such things for the sake of the person being baptized.
Then father what is it about when it comes to old Syria where Muslims and Christians conceders each other brothers and had each other backs against colonizers ?
Putting worldly causes above Christ isnât godly. Brothers in Adam arenât higher than brothers in Christ.
Hi Father, just a question? When we pray for the souls who have fallen asleep, both Orthodox and non Orthodox, we all the Lord to have mercy on all of our brothers and sisters, no? Aren't we all made in the image of God?
I agree, that we may not have the same God, but how are we not, all brothers and sisters? Would we not feed a Muslim or treat them the same way we would treat everyone? I'm sorry. I'm confused. I thought all people are made in the image of God, and we are all brothers and sisters, and we should pay for everyone, and treat everyone the same.
Thanks
Treating someone with kindness doesnât mean theyâre your brother. Again this is worldly thinking. We also donât pray Orthodox prayers for the reposed for non-orthodox. Itâs disingenuous and treats the prayers like magic. We pray like this for heterodox. âLord of its your will, have mercy on so-and-soâ. Made in the image of God yes. Possessing the likeness? No. Is the image restored before baptism? No.
Hello Michael. I was wondering why you say that orthodox christians cannot be brothers in Christ with the catholics and the Protestants. I am a Protestant and I believe that if someone believes that Jesus is God and believes that Jesus died for their sins and repents of their sins then they are a brother. I donât understand the division and the claims of heresy that you accuse the catholics of and the Protestants of if we are to be United under the Gospel. We have faith in Jesus and we believe that he is God, isnât that the basics of what Paul told us to do in Romans 10:9 to be saved? Thank you for reading this comment and I hope to hear an answer from you soon. God bless.
The devil believes the same things you do. Belief doesnât constitute salvation. Protestants donât respect Orthodox or Catholics and the opening of your statement of address is proof of this. There is right belief and wrong belief and the Protestants and Catholics have both abandoned the apostolic faith by picking and choosing what they want to believe.
I also say why in the video. Watch till the end and youâll see. The basics are believing as St Paul says in Romans. Right belief should form correct action. Itâs spiritual laziness to stop at the first step. But there are other things in the gospel when both Protestants and Catholics do that do not fulfill the criteria for salvation that even the Lord Himself commands. For one John 6:56-67 is clearly about the Eucharist. Yet the Protestant reformers couldnât lift their minds from the mundane and earthly, so they deny this beautiful mystery and miracle and turn it into some obscure philosophy. They treat the Bible as if it was written in English whereas if you read the original Greek, the wording alone disproves your sects entire theology.
I understand that Protestants and catholics donât agree with some of what the orthodox sect teaches like the Eucharist. I think that some Catholics though agree that the Eucharist has Jesus physically present but these tiny differences that each sect of Christianity teaches are outweighed by the word which is the gospel. These details that we choose to focus on only divide us and that is exactly what Satan wants. It might be that we disagree with our thoughts on baptism and the Eucharist but those of us who are saved through Jesus are United as one church rather than many. I hope that youâd at least agree with me that all that matters is if a man puts his faith in the trinity and is saved since he was a sinner and Jesus paid for his sin. I agree with you that Muslims and the people of the Jewish faith are not our brothers since they do not believe that Jesus is God but I hope that at least you can say that if anyone puts their faith in Jesus and is saved through him, then he is a brother to you and to all who have been saved.
this is a hard teaching.. my father and mother were Pentecostal.. and they publicly stood up for Jesus Christ.. so i consider them confessors.. though not big O Orthodox...they are my mom and dad... now i converted to Orthodox in in 2019...and it was not my fault i was born and raised Pentecostal.. now that i am Orthodox i would never go back.. it would be like a car compared with a horse and buggy.. both can get me to the next town but a car would be several hours faster.. now if i went back to Pentecostal.. how could i ever be satisfied ? they however died Pentecost Dad died of covid pneumonia in 2021 but he was reading the Holy Bible and hearing his Gospel music.. but he was not ashamed with the cross of Christ and was persecuted for his name... while being non Orthodox... in Genesis has Abraham's nephew Lot was referring to his fellows in Sodom as brothers,, he said brothers do not do so wickedly.. if he referred to sodomites as brothers what is wrong with me referring to my mother and dad as my brother and sister in Christ..none of us had anything to do with the great schism of 1052 and it is not our fault we were all borne into Catholicism or Protestantism..i believe you are being too harsh....
Itâs not a good comparison to draw. Those in sodom were only brothers in Adam as the Law of Moses and circumcision hadnât come yet. I must stand by what Iâve said dear one. We must be careful that our emotions donât become the pillar and ground of Truth. There is only one. Pray for God to have mercy according to His great mercy and leave it at that. Our desire and hope must be placed in Christ alone. Remember, many saints and martyrs have had family who died pagan. This is a cross and I myself was once a Pentecostal when growing up. Thanks be to God my family converted. But not everyone has.
But but....its not fair đą. Ill work on not comprising the faith father mikhail. đ
Donât despair dear one. Life in Christ is like a marriage. We must always be faithful and avoid flirting with that which is outside our faith.
@@living_orthodox Thank You! I won't give up nor compromise the faith. âŠïžâ„ïž
Father Mikhail, I appreciate this video and feel it needs to be said, this misuse of the word brother.
But I have few questions:
Does this mean that it's only our Eastern Orthodox brothers and sisters who can be considered 'icons of Christ"? I hear this phrase a lot in Orthodoxy and thought it referred to all human beings, but now I'm not sure.
And when the Lord mentions "if your brother sins against you...if your brother has something against you...I was sick and you visited Me...etc" is He only referring to those in the faith, or human relationships, human beings in general?
St. Anthony's quote:
"Our life and our death is with our neighbor. If we gain our brother, we have gained God, but if we scandalize our brother, we have sinned against Christ."
Here it sounds like he is talking about both those in the faith and those not in the faith? Christ is the One we really sin against no matter the faith of who it is we sin against?
Thank you.
Hello Irene!
To answer your questions, it is as St. Paisios has said. We have brothers in Adam and brothers in Christ. Truly, there are no brothers in Christ outside of the body of Christ, which is also Christ Himself. We donât want to divide the person from the Church. In Acts, Jesus makes it clear that He is synonymous with the Church.
Everyone is made in the image of God. We can only come to be in the likeness when we restore the image by being joined to the Church, which again is the mystical body of Christ. Keep in mind when Jesus uses the term brother, He is speaking to the Jews who at that time were united under the law of Moses.
That said, we must love and forgive our enemies too. We must be careful not to throw words like âloveâ and âbrotherâ around as carelessly as many modernists and ecumenists do, as it causes the words to lose their meaning and this is because it comes from a place of vainglorious self-love. They want others to like and love them, but not in the truest sense of the word.
The body of Christ is a family and one isnât part of a family that theyâre not adopted or born into. We must love all people and pray for their salvation, but we mustnât get things twisted and think that we are somehow pious for blurring the lines.
We sin against God and against others. Again, this doesnât lax the boundaries of the Church. If we micronize everything we will see nothing.
Father, thank you for your reply. I think I understand. But are "icons of Christ" the Eastern Orthodox only? How can a non-Christian be an icon of Christ? Made in the image of God yes, but icons of Christ?
Father, Iâm so saddened that you have chosen to use the image of Saint Gabriel who would not agree with your definition of brotherhood. We have numerous stories of St Gabriel working wonders for atheists, if they were not our brothers, why would the saints minister to them?
Our monastic brothers and sisters have been âbaptizedâ into the angelic life- does that mean they are no longer our brothers and sisters?
Of course I am not saying an atheist or a Muslim shall achieve salvation, but how does that change the command of our Lord âThat ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.â
To say someone is ânot my brotherâ is akin to Cain asking if he is his brotherâs keeper. We give ourselves a false sense of security that we donât need to worry about the non-Orthodox because we have ascended beyond them. May the Lord forbid we ever think this way or cause others to think this way, as this is certainly the path to damnation.
This is a word concept fallacy. If you listened to the talk in full (which I know you didnât) you would know exactly what I was saying. Working miracles for atheist doesnât mean theyâre our brothers. This isnât the same kind of brotherhood that the ecumenists (which St Gabriel referred to as a super heresy), are espousing. There is a brotherhood in Adam but it isnât equal to our brotherhood in Christ. Be wary of emotional reactions and sentimentalism. This is a path to deception.
Miracles have been worked for many. The purpose of them is draw them into the Church so they can become our brothers. If you throw this word around as lightly as many of you do on the internet, then you are merely affirming an error as you are establishing a false family bond that isnât established in Christ but in humanism which St Justin Popovich warned extensively against.
The quote you said about Monastics also shows you fundamentally donât understand what was said either. It is non-sequitur at best and a strawman at worst. Those who are truly our brothers and sisters are only Orthodox Christians and this is in the spiritual sense, which again, if you actually listened in full you would have heard. Also do not attach your own interpretations to that passage of the gospel. He was speaking to His disciples. It is necessary for us to love others but be real and honest. You donât love your wife like youâd love your mother or sister. The love we have for those outside our faith isnât the same as the relationship we have with those in it.
Edit: to be clear I am not saying we shouldnât help or love those outside our faith. We should love them enough to give them a good uneasiness. Being nice isnât enough. We must also be honest. You cannot love someone properly while lying to them, even for the sake of their feelings. Please understand that what I say also comes from a place of love for you and for my fellow Orthodox who are often quick to sell the pearl of great price for trifling things.