Hello everyone, I went through a debate with a friend that oral sex is sex and it's unholy because intimacy and pleasure outside marriage is considered sin. However I couldn't find any proofs in the bible that its a sin, maybe I didn't make a proper research. Deep inside me l believe that it's a sin but I cant prove it. Everything that I found written is about cheating only.

my boyfriend is an eastern orthodox christian, but i’m not familiar with it. is there a verse about forgiving others for their wrongs? i know in the christian bible there’s matthew 6:14 but is there a different version for eastern orthodox?

Lately, I've been looking into Eastern Christianity. It's been very enlightening. I especially find the Eastern view of salvation intriguing.

However, I do have a question for you all. Why not become Eastern Catholic? I've heard some people on Reddit say that the Melkites never agreed with papal infallibility but signed off the Vatican I anyway. I've also heard that they only accept the first seven ecumenical councils?

Where do you disagree with Eastern Catholics?

I've heard Catholic sites say that the Eastern Orthodox Church has changed on divorce and remarriage, accepting it up to three times. If true, what Biblical support is there for this?

My thoughts: Shouldn't no marriage after divorce be allowed in light of Christ's words about adultery? On the other hand, if it is allowed, why should it not be allowed seven or nine times?

I'm asking as an Evangelical who voted for Catholicism. I'm thinking about joining the Orthodox Church. Please help me see your perspective according to church fathers and passages in Scripture.

Who is the patron saint of alcoholics. Maybe a Saint who knows what it's like to be down and low. I'm a Russian Orthodox chatechumen, if that helps (ROCOR). Thanks.

I'm a lifelong Christian who always struggled with the sin of Lust. Lust has cost me my marriage, put me at risk, and has disrupted my life in other ways. I am a sex addict. So much so that I'm tempted to solicit prostitutes if I don't have regular sex partners.

I really started trying to take my faith a lot more seriously and stop sinning like this. I broke contact with my casual sex partners a little over a year ago, and haven't seen a prostitute in about three years. I've been looking a lot at escort ads online, and even message them from time to time, before repenting and breaking off contact before I had the chance to meet them.

I've been noticing myself starting to fall back into that pattern of behavior and cycle of sin. Last weekend I prayed about this to God. I told him that I didn't want to sin again like this, that I'm simply not strong enough, and need his strength. I'm too weak to do this on my own.

Yesterday, while texting a few ads, I made an appointment to meet an escort for sex. She abruptly cancelled on me when I arrived at her location and offered to reschedule for today. I managed to make an appointment with another right away, and headed off to her place. However, she was delayed and kept pushing the meeting further to the right. I eventually just gave up and drove away.

I believe that God directly intervened to save me from sin last night. He knew that I wasn't strong enough to resist on my own, so he saved me from myself. I have shame for my weakness, but I am overwhelmed with gratitude. This incident has strengthened my faith and my resolve not to sin.

Any prayers would be very appreciated.

There's a picture of some men prostrating to some women, who symbolize women throughout history. I know it's wrong, because we're not supposed to venerate abstract concepts like that, but how wrong is it? Would it be alright if those men were prostrating before the women themselves, or venerating them?

There is a continuing scandal in the Catholic church where people are baptized using an invalid formula. This invalid formula leads to their ordination being invalid and thus all the sacraments THEY celebrate being invalid. This seems like donatism to me.

What are others' thoughts, and how would this sort of thing affect the Eastern Orthodox church?

https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/changing-words-sacraments-can-make-them-invalid-vaticans-doctrinal-office

Hello fellow Orthodox brothers and sisters. I've been researching Orthodoxy for the past year but haven't attended my first liturgy. I grew up evangelical and still attend an evangelical church but as an infant I was baptized into Catholicism. I'm still in cross roads of making the actual leap towards making my decision. I feel a call towards Orthodoxy but it's all new to me especially coming from a Hispanic background. After researching into early church history I've narrowed it down to Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism. I've listened to Trent Horn, Pints of Aquinas and a few other Catholic apologists and on the Orthodox side have listened to Ubi Petrus and several more. Both sides have great evidence and it makes it even harder to make a decision. Do you think God really cares what denomination we choose? Are people not going to be saved for not knowing basic church history or apologetics to choose the correct church? And why didn't God make it clear from the beginning which church is the true church? I hope I can make a decision one day but right now I am making small steps. I still have a few questions for Orthodoxy and I hope one day I will make the correct decision.

Fasting isn't a big part of my form of Christianity(newly minted southern baptist). I do respect the eastern orthodox's tradition of fasting and want to take my stab at it. I would love any recommendations on books that cover the spirit of fasting what invalidates a fast what levels of fasting there are(I have heard there are levels of fasting) and when the fasts are/how to figure out when they are in the year without googling for someone who does it for you. This would be like how there are ways to tell when to pray based on the sky https://www.moonsighting.com/how-we.html I would expect it be more like 3 weeks before Christmas or two days after all saints day or something like that though just not tied to a specific yearly calendar.

Thank you for letting me ask hear.

Hello all! I am Protestant (specifically Baptist) inquirer whom after much research into history of the church, and most importantly prayer for guidance, is feeling the pull towards Orthodoxy. Truly to me, this seems to be the truth… But! I come to ya’ll for some pointers for attending my first divine liturgy in person.

To preface, I do already have an introductory meeting scheduled with the priest, and I have been following along through liturgy livestreams from this specific parish, but obviously nothing can compare to attending the real deal…

Admittedly, I am nervous. Especially as a non-Greek speaker. I worry that I may be treated differently, though I must concede that this is probably just my nerves getting the best of me. Regardless, I would really appreciate if this community has some answers for these questions, offer any other helpful advice, or perhaps share an anecdote or two!

1. Is it common practice for parishioners to bring a personal reference Bible? (I read the KJV, if it makes a difference)

2. Upon entering the parish, is there anything I should be aware of in terms of traditional practices?

3. This parish seems to have a mix of Greek and English chants and scripture reading… how can I participate and worship in my best capacity as an English only speaker?

4. I understand that I may not participate in communion as I am not catechized. Is it appropriate to leave the narthex during this time, or may I simply sit behind and observe?

5. What is considered appropriate attire? At my last Baptist church, it was quite casual. Now I wasn’t breaking out the crocs or sandals, but a nice pair of jeans and a clean button up shirt was common.

Thank you all in advance! I understand Google is a thing, but I wanted to see and probe what this community had to share. I believe my heart is in the right place and I’m very excited to take another step forward in my journey closer to the Lord.

If a member of the Roman Catholic Church wishes to join the Orthodox Church, what confession of faith must they accept? I'm a member of the Roman Catholic Church.

Must one entirely reject the Filioque (I know that there are some Orthodox theolgoians who see as heresy, but others have embraced it)?

I reject papal supremacy and papal infallibility. A. Edward Siecienski's The Papacy and the Orthodox have further helped with that. If I wish to join the Orthodox Church, can I still embrace the Filioque as a personal theological opinion?

Also, can I accept only the first seven ecumenical councils as dogmatic or must I accept all the church councils after 1054? If I wish to join the Orthodox Church, can I still embrace the Filioque as a personal theological opinion?

The Western Orthodox Church is of interest to me but there is none in my area.

Particularly the first bit of Genesis and Jonah?

My intuition leaves me thinking that if another book references it, particularly Jesus, it's historical as we treat history. So Noah's ark happened, Jonah's fish happened. But the flood being historical is hard to reconcile with well-attested observation, so I think my intuition is wrong. How do you all understand things?

Hello,

As someone interested in Orthodoxy, I am struggling to find some definitive information on how Mary is treated in this tradition. I am currently protestant. Here are my questions:

1. Is there anything an Orthodox HAS TO believe about Mary to be a faithful member of the church? I know there is no catechism, and I am ok with perpetual virginity (I am not 100% convinced but I dont think theres anything wrong in thinking that was the case). I do have problems with dogmatising her bodily assumption and the title Queen of Heaven. Is it that she is just revered as mother of Jesus, great saint etc.?
2. Is there any specific devotion to Mary, like e.g. rosary in RCC, or any part of Divine Liturgy dedicated to praying to her/seeking her mediation etc?

I grew up as a Roman catholic and i am not 100 percent convinced on orthodoxy and am just wondering on what to do and if i should convert and just what orthodoxy is in general. I have seen alot and done some research and in stuck between the two is there anything anyone could tell me about orthodoxy to help explain/ sway me because im utterly stuck between the two!!!

Does anyone know how or what to buy protein-wise if I don’t have a lot of money? I’m a catechumen and I’m still getting used to fasting and my priest told me that I could eat fish if I had to, but all seafood seems to be really expensive for me while I still want to retain to a strict fast if at all possible.

I have a question. I’m in recovery from a restrictive eating disorder. In the depths of my disorder I would sometimes eat less than 100 calories a day for days at a time . That being said I’m doing really well now. However I’m considering converting to Eastern Orthodoxy and I have a dilemma. It is super not a good idea for my recover to fast, it easily sets me up for a relapse. Is it ok if I fast from other things than food? I’m really drawn to orthodoxy and am considering converting this just has me concerned

What does it mean to pray a prayer with “faith.” Somebody please explain.

It feels like a worldwide flood requires a lot of stuff to happen in order to fill the Earth with wild animals, particularly indigenous species like koalas. It also seems highly unlikely that the Americas would have come as a surprise.

The only ways I can see to reconcile this is tens-hundreds of thousands of years between the flood and Abraham. Or possibly the six days of creation and Genesis up through Gen 12 are all mishmashed together?

Where can I find an accurate-to-Eastern-Orthodox version of the Bible in English? At the moment I’m ready NKJV as advised by sources on google but I’m not sure if this is the truth. Do I continue to study the NKJV bible or is there another, more accurate, that I can read?

I will be taking catechumen classes soon. I grew up Roman Catholic but was never committed to a Catholic Church. So basically I didn’t really grow up religious. Just Catholic traditions. I’m asking you guys how long y’all think it would take me to convert to orthodoxy with the classes I’m taking at my local Orthodox Church?

I have a deeper connection to the Rosary and Catholic statuary than I do to Roman Catholicism. The art of the Orthodox Church is wonderful, and I do not think it would be required of me to give up my statuary and paintings. But I do have a great fondness for the rosary. I do not recite it exactly as prescribed and omit the apostles creed. Instead I simply use it pray Our Fathers and Hail Mary’s.

If I decided to become a member of the Orthodox Church, would I have to give up my Rosary?

I know this seems possibly superficially trivial, but it really holds a lot of sentimental and spiritual value to me. In the end, I would give it up if I had to, because I am very much called to Orthodoxy.

Thanks for reading.

There was a local Serbian cultural fest and it was a lot of fun. The ladies running the bake sale said that it was a church function and said that I could come and visit for Divine Liturgy and come to see the icons.

I was raised Protestant, and my church was pretty relaxed and casual. I am expecting the Divine Liturgy to be very different from my experience, and I want to make sure that I’m being respectful and courteous to the people who regularly attend.

Is there anything that I should know in advance? Do I need to cover my hair?

Thank you for your insight.

Catholicism is full of female mystics with visions and estasis . I believe also Eastern Orthodoxy has had some similar saints even if their experiences must have been a bit different from their Western counterparts. Now, instead of a mere list of names I would also like some small small lines of biography....