Fr. Paul Truebenbach is the Pastor of Sts. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Is the premise even true? More people are becoming athiest than ever
Weird American twist in Protestant Christianity and its odd political beliefs that are counter to biblical teachings are losing traction. Orthodox church attendance is growing. When you follow a belief like the actual bible says to pray for, feed, and support people not bomb/judge them, it isn’t a surprise that people are drawn to that. Sadly it isn’t as well known in the states and most see Christianity as something like Mike Pense/Biden/Trump/Fox News. I don’t personally believe Christ knows any of them, especially as they espouse and support the killing of Christians in Palestine (I also do not believe Christ would support killing Muslims or any of his children. He seems pretty clear on that).
His entire message is that he allowed his own torture and death to pay for the sins of others. Of course he wouldn’t support the killing of anyone. His second greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as you love yourself.
The watered down and misdirected Christianity in the States is one of the reasons this instance and many people in general are so hostile to Christians. It goes back further though. Even the violence of the medieval periods where Catholics were converting nations at the edge of a sword. Orthodoxy has by and large spread peacefully and embraces the Christ in the native cultures (as opposed to being monolithically Roman) which is why there are many different jurisdictions for the different nations of people. The Aleut people of Alaska are a great example of what I mentioned above.
All Christians are hypocrites that fall short of Christ but only Orthodoxy teaches the religion of the apostles in it’s fullness especially in regard to Christology and sotieriology.
Orthodoxy is indeed blooming in the West
source?
My parish has doubled in size in the last two years.
…okay you have to see that that is not convincing
You’ll have to seek white papers on your own but there is value in seeing something with your own eyes and having it corroborated with stories from other parishioners around the country.
It’s happening all throughout the United States. Look at the availability of English-translated Orthodox writings and devotionals 20 years ago vs now. Even 10 or 5 years ago. Western laity is insatiably seeking a true faith as their churches fail to hold up in the post-modern world. As he mentions in the video people want a church that won’t leave them. Orthodoxy also promotes having many children which is different from what I see elsewhere and amplifies the growth.
