Hello all, I was raised Christian in a Presbyterian church. My mother would take me to church 3 times a week. At sunday school, I was made to memorize the Bible and excelled in it. I received the nickname: the walking dictionary. Unfortunately, the superficiality of Protestant sects did not help me in my life, especially when I was suffering in middle and high school. Circumstances had pressured me into dropping out from high school right before I could graduate. I had a crisis of faith and was about to quit being religious. I think it was around 2011 that my father suddenly appeared in my life after a long absence (he did not divorce my mother, they had to live apart due to a lack of money), which helped rekindle/deepen my faith. During that period, I spent a lot of time in the field of eschatology, but I felt empty inside. Most of it seemed to me like vain speculations about the future. Well, at least one good thing came out of it: I'm well-versed in the Bible and search for meaningful applications in my daily life, I would've become a theologian following my parents' footsteps if I hadn't dropped out.
Unfortunately, my father was taken in by televangelists, introducing me to the likes of Benny Hinn and John Hagee, telling me they were sent by God. Eventually, he left my mother and I overnight because he couldn't take her constant berating. He made countless promises to me and told me to just keep waiting for help from God. Eventually, I got fed up with waiting and started taking matters into my own hands. In 2021, I came across a topic of interest about a future Orthodox Tsar. In 2022, I came across Orthodox prophecies attributed to the Elders.
But as I investigated it more deeply, I found out that much of it has its roots in AD 1492 and early 17th century. I grew disillusioned with these prophetic claims. However, there was one prophecy I was unable to shake off, that was a compilation by Emperor Leo the Philosopher, which I came across in November 2022. This discovery inspired me to start compiling myself. I have been collecting prophecies for a long time.
But I came here to deepen my knowledge about Orthodoxy. What prompted me to look into Orthodox teachings/practices more closely was reading up on communist history in 2023, interestingly enough. I was surprised how despite all the attempts to undermine the faith, the communists still failed to achieve their goals.
What makes Orthodoxy more resilient than the "bond of blood"? How would you answer this question? It seems to me that Orthodoxy owes its vitality to its steadfast adherence to its teachings, closer to original Christianity/mode of life than Catholicism. Even Old Believers displayed the old resilience when they refused to change the way of life passed down by ancestors, willing to burn themselves to death rather than being burnt by others.
Allegedly, Archimandrite Adrian (Kirsanov) said:
Но если бы немцы были верующие, христиане, а там были лютераны и другие, как бы не верующие, не имели понятия о Боге, и поэтому наш Сталин их победил.
"But if the Germans had been believers, Christians—and there were Lutherans and others who, as it were, weren’t believers and had no concept of God—that’s why our Stalin defeated them." Was this really the reason for their defeat?
I would also like to inquire about certain things related to Orthodox prophecies:
1. Who was the one called Elder Anthony the Russian?
2. Was there really an Eldress named Duniushka from Siberia?
3. Did St. Cyril of White Lake deliver a prophecy in the context of Matthew 24:6-7?
"Вскоре видел на престоле высоком седящего Господа Царя."
