James the Persian
Dreptcredincios Crestin
I'm new here, so this seemed like the place to post first. I'm an ex-Lutheran convert, although I'd already left the Lutheran church behind in my heart before I encountered Orthodoxy.
I took a year out between school and university and went to work for a charity in Romania. I've always been a history buff and so I started finding out about the history of Moldova (the state I was working in, not the Republic of Moldova). I became very interested in the voievod (sort of like prince) who ruled Moldova from 1457 - 1504, Stephen the Great. He has since been glorified as a saint by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Church (and I'm using his icon as my avatar). It became obvious quickly that Romanian history makes no sense separated from the Orthodox Church, so I decided to find out more.
I started visiting the many monasteries in the area and became more and more interested in Orthodoxy. I visited the cell of St. Daniel the Hesychast, which had a palpable air of holiness about it and eventually I found myself in the monastery of St. John the New in Suceava, looking at the incorrupt relics of St. John. Whilst there a monk overheard me talking to the man who would later become my godfather, recognised that it was in English and began talking to me.
The monk, whose name I unfortunately never got, was amazing. He was gentle, enthusiastic and seemed to exude sincerity. I have never met anybody who inspired me so much. As a parting gift he gave me a prayer book which I still use (luckily I speak Romanian) and a thirst to learn more about the Church. It took several years longer before I was accepted into the Church (taking St. James the Persian as my patron) but I have never looked back.
I owe this anonymous monk and the saints of Moldova a great debt. They helped me find my way back to the Lord when I was all but lost to Him. In particular, I am indebted to the examples of Sts. John the New of Suceava, Daniel the Hermit and Stephen the Great. If anyone is interested in these saints and doesn't know about them, I have added some articles to OrthodoxWiki, all of which can be found here:
http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Category:Romanian_Saints
In Christ,
James
I took a year out between school and university and went to work for a charity in Romania. I've always been a history buff and so I started finding out about the history of Moldova (the state I was working in, not the Republic of Moldova). I became very interested in the voievod (sort of like prince) who ruled Moldova from 1457 - 1504, Stephen the Great. He has since been glorified as a saint by the Holy Synod of the Romanian Church (and I'm using his icon as my avatar). It became obvious quickly that Romanian history makes no sense separated from the Orthodox Church, so I decided to find out more.
I started visiting the many monasteries in the area and became more and more interested in Orthodoxy. I visited the cell of St. Daniel the Hesychast, which had a palpable air of holiness about it and eventually I found myself in the monastery of St. John the New in Suceava, looking at the incorrupt relics of St. John. Whilst there a monk overheard me talking to the man who would later become my godfather, recognised that it was in English and began talking to me.
The monk, whose name I unfortunately never got, was amazing. He was gentle, enthusiastic and seemed to exude sincerity. I have never met anybody who inspired me so much. As a parting gift he gave me a prayer book which I still use (luckily I speak Romanian) and a thirst to learn more about the Church. It took several years longer before I was accepted into the Church (taking St. James the Persian as my patron) but I have never looked back.
I owe this anonymous monk and the saints of Moldova a great debt. They helped me find my way back to the Lord when I was all but lost to Him. In particular, I am indebted to the examples of Sts. John the New of Suceava, Daniel the Hermit and Stephen the Great. If anyone is interested in these saints and doesn't know about them, I have added some articles to OrthodoxWiki, all of which can be found here:
http://www.orthodoxwiki.org/Category:Romanian_Saints
In Christ,
James