Re: orthodox worship

Hi Nick. Allow me to take a brief moment to introduce my religious background to you. I was brought up in a Baptist church until I went to live with my mom where for 4 years we attended an Assemblies of God church before there were some internal issues that got nasty. Feeling Christ was not being glorified in this particular church, we left and began to attend a Foursquare church until I left for college. When I got to college, I was given the opportunity to work with as a high school youth pastor and began working towards that at another Foursquare church. After a couple of months at a large Christian college studying New Testament I began to question much of what I had been taught and what I was doing. My search lead me to the early church and from there I found the Orthodox Church. I began to research Holy Orthodoxy, found some prayers and began praying them daily as I continued to examine the Church and her teachings/faith/practice.

Now on to the issue of Orthodox worship. Worship within the Orthodox Church extends to a much different plane that that which you are familiar with in the charismatic world. The worship brings you closer to the body of Christ (both those members here on earth and those in heaven). Through the Orthodox Church I have gained a much greater understanding of who God is and thus grown in a closeness with Him in ways I could never have understood had I not come in to the Church. I would encourage you to continue to study Orthodoxy, set up a little icon corner (there are many icons you can get off the net), print some prayers and pray them daily, attend some Orthodox services, and continue to seek Christ's wisdom about His Church. May the Holy Spirit guide you into all Truth.

Striving for XC,
Maximos, the sinner