www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Why are some converts so angry?

Dear Angela,

As St Augustine once said, "Late have I come to love Thee, O Lord!"

He was a bit angry at having lost time in loving God, to be sure.

But the time you mention is never wasted. The journey is itself a finding, an arrival. It is a struggle in which God Himself is our support and mainstay.

St Justin the Philosopher always wore his philosopher's robes that indicated to everyone that he sought the truth.

When he became a Christian, having found the Truth, he continued to wear his robes and is always represented in icons wearing them.

For St Justin, Christ is a never-ending discovery, journey and surprise.

Alex

Dear Alex:

Glory to Jesus Christ!

I know its got to be tough to listen to your friend. But it sounds like talking to you must be helping him in some spiritual way...?

If you provide an example of truthfulness, patience and forgiveness (as I'm sure you can and are doing), then perhaps you will help him on his spiritual journey. After all, people need the help of the faithful, who should always try - hard as it is! - to walk in imitation of Christ.

Peace and all good,
Anne

Dear Annie,

Yes, I told him that I will always be there for him.

I just recently got an e-mail from a mutual friend of the two of us.

He said he saw Jeff and that "he was the same."

I think I've helped more Orthodox Christians than Catholics in their spiritual struggles.

Doesn't that earn me some sort of merit somewhere?

God bless,

Alex

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Dear Our Lady's Slave of Love:

A recent book I've read mentioned this about toll houses:

"A reference to a traditional belief in the existence of a series of stations in the air - often likened in Byzantine preaching to custom houses... that correspond to the vices and are manned by demons. Through these the soul must pass on its way to heaven; if its vices are found to outweigh its virtuous acts, it is taken down to hell. This belief became widespread among Orthodox Slavs chiefly as a result of the translation into Slavonic of a tenth-century Byzantine work, "Vision of Theodora," found in the Life of Basil the Younger by Gregory of Thrace. See G. Every, "Toll Gates on the Air Way," Eastern Churches Review 8 (1976): 139-51." [Hollingsworth, P. (trans.). "The Hagiography of Kievan Rus'." Cambridge, MA: Ukrainian Research Institute of Harvard University, p. 143 (fn. 385)].

Just some historical background with a follow-up article.

Concerning this thread's main topic, perhaps trying to have the angry convert look at their past worship experience as an essential and perhaps providential step in their life-long faith journey might help. After all, how can we compare and learn without knowing what's out there and sometimes falling? Essentially, though, also try to turn that bitterness into an acknowledgement that whatever we do, God's mercy and love for us makes anything possible.

God bless,
Christopher

Hello to All:
As someone "on a journey", I'd like to share some thoughts on this "conversion" issue:
I don't have any anger toward the Roman Rite/Latin Rite. Maybe I don't appreciate being kept in the dark about our sister (Eastern)traditions though(many post Vatican II have been). It is just very "raw" to be following a path that is so new, and so different, even though it is the same church. And it is a time in your spiritual life that you must rely solely on hearing God's voice in the Holy Spirit talking to your heart and soul. I am not attending the Byzantine Catholic Church because of so many things wrong with my Roman Rite Church, but those aspects do figure in, simply because many are major differences in the Liturgy. And yes, we are constantly being asked why, and told many untrue things. In addition, some people prefer to think of you as "flighty", though I have been a practicing Catholic for thirty some years, and continue. Its a very strange state. Don't forget to factor in issues of many Roman/Latin Rite folks coming from very liberal Catholic homes, which view the Eastern traditions as similar to widespread use of leaches in medicine for all ailments. It is a change in the way we worship our loving and giving God, and that is more profound for some of us than if we changed every other thing in our lives. But with God's great love and guidance, and considerable support from fine people such as this forum, we will learn and grow, in order to more reverently and devoutly serve our God, The Son and the Holy Spirit. It is a journey worth taking, and if you can offer any help to someone searching for a way to serve God, may you also be blessed.
In prayer,
MariM

Dear MariM,

Thanks for your post, and for a very important distinction. I think you are right, it is always so important to travel "toward" something. To come to the Byzantine Church because you love it and feel at home there.

Those who come, because they are primarily running away from something (for example, the Latin Church, for whatever reason), make a less worthy pilgrimage.
With prayers and best wishes for your journey! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and assisting us in ours.

Elias

I�m currently working on converting to a more traditional Church, (RC or Orthodoxy) from a high Anglican parish. I think the anger stems from the fact that I had been in error for so long, and the sudden realisation of this error shakes the roots of faith. I�m no longer angry, but still a little shaken. I was happy living in the romantic world that high church Anglicanism provides but it lacks truth by imparting a bit of medieval imagination. Nobody likes to be wrong and this is, IMO, why some remain angry. As for people remaining the same after conversion I truly feel I am changing for the better. I understand that many are living in error just as I was and so I feel for them and their plight.

God bless,

Odo

Dear Ordo,

What you say makes great sense. It is hard to realize that what you know is sometimes not what reality is. It's not an uncommon sensation among us who are on this pilgimage.

I hope that your heart is soon filled with the joy of knowing the Truth in the Church to which He is leading you.

Steve

Might I just make a small point that God in the person of the Holy Spirit has always been present in peoples' lives. And while one may become uncomfortable or feel constricted in a particular community, it is the very real presence of the Holy Spirit in the person and in that particular church that initiated the pilgrimage. Thus, as Fr. Elias has noted, one should not be "fleeing" but rather "seeking", and (hard as it may sometimes be) be very grateful for the past experience and 'fellowship'. [Just LOVE that Olde English word!!] But, when the Holy Spirit nudges, then one must move on, but be ever vigilant to retain the due respect and love for one's former community that has provided the spiritual nourishment to initiate the pilgrimage.

Blessings to you in your search!!