Conversion to Orthodoxy

"Probably the primary thing to really take into account for everyone who embraces Orthodoxy is that they do so at a certain time in accordance with God's time and God's plan. And everything that happened to them, and every good thing that was revealed in their previous experience, or their previous portion of their walk through life is a good thing, and is to be cherished and treasured. I remember one time going to one of the seminaries (this was probably close to twenty years ago), and I met a young man who was a recent convert to the Orthodox Church. He came from one of the mainline Protestant denominations, and he had absolutely nothing good to say about them, and it was already irritating to hear his condemnation when talking about former delusion and what not. Finally I had to ask him, I said, "Did you become Orthodox in order to hate people?" It was an ultimate question, and he was rather taken aback. I said, "Because that's all I hear from you, and there's something wrong about that. God put you in that former delusion, as you put it, but for a purpose so that now also having been led to something fuller -- a full expression of the life in Christ, and of a fullness of the Gospel -- you can look back and also be of help to other people who are struggling. And therefore take everything that was good from that former experience, and have it baptized along with you; have it chrismated." This is Orthodox tradition." -- Archbishop JOB, A message to converts to the Orthodox faith.

Don't Gild the Ladder

"Don't gild the ladder you used to climb up into Orthodoxy. It is sufficient that you have arrived. There are many paths to the true faith, and there is nothing special about the one you stumbled upon. Indeed, if you are honest, it is quite possible that even the arguments that you accepted that led you to Orthodoxy are entirely spurious, such that you might have rejected them yourself if you had been smarter than you are. If so, thank God for such stupidity. It has brought you to the throne of God, when the real and truly valid arguments may have failed to move you entirely. It is possible that this is true for all of us - but still - no one thinks that stupidity is an ancillary to truth. Just remember - thing about ladders is that once they get you where you are going, they are simply an annoyance if you don't plan on leaving. Kick them away, leaving behind what is, at best, a mere entrance to the faith, and seek Him!" -- Comments by an Anonymous Bishop to Fr. Cassian Sibly, a Facebook comment by Fr. Cassian, July 5th, 2014

Reasons for Conversion

"[R]ather than reading about the Church of the past, in Orthodoxy one finds that same Church in the present. This is an ontological conversion, not an exercise in academic curiosity. Rather than attempting to recreate the best elements of our Christian past in the present, converts to Orthodoxy are deeply convicted-more often than not-that the Church into which they are being grafted is truly one-and-the-same with that Church of the third century (or indeed, of any century)." -- Gabe Martini, Why Are Lutherans Converting to Orthodoxy?, Feb 22, 2014, OnBehalfOfAll.org