Green Gaia
Veteran Member
1) What is your religion and how did you become to be part of that faith?
I'm a member of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, which westerners usually refer to as Eastern Orthodox. More specifically I am a layman in the Orthodox Church of Romania under the omophorion of Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe.
I was raised Protestant, though I became disenchanted with the faith as a teenager and drifted away. I tried for many years to find something else to fill the gap. Radical politics, religion, all sorts. I flirted with paganism for a while but it seemed too contrived. I later became a practicing Karma Kagyu Buddhist (a school of Tibetan Buddhism for a couple of years). I was happy with Buddhism but it still seemed like something was missing. I returned to Christianity in a vague sort of way but no particular church.
I'd already encountered Orthodoxy whilst doing charity work in Romania and it had always interested me. I became particularly interested at about the same time in some of the historical figures in Moldova (I'd continued to return to Romania) and this lead me to visit several monasteries. One day I met a wonderful monk who seemed to just exemplify what I thought Christianity ought to be. We talked for a long time and he gave me a present of a prayer book which I still treasure.
When I returned to Britain I started reading up on the Church and it all just seemed to make sense. I remained an enquirer for quite some time but became a catechumen shortly before my wedding, which was in the Orthodox Church in Romania. I then fell back to prevaricating (conversion seemed like such a hefty commitment and was a little daunting) but then my wife fell pregnant and I decided I couldn't put of conversion any longer. I was eventually Chrismated into the Orthodox Church in a Greek church in Britain.
2) How do you view other faiths in the context of your own religious path?
I view other faiths as honest attempts by man to come to know God. I think this is down to us being made in the image of God and I believe that it is possible for man to come to some understanding of the truth even outside the Church. I do not believe that all those outside the Church are damned, in fact I'd say it may be easier to be saved outside the Church than inside Her, as more is asked of those who receive more. I think there is something good, something of god, in most if not all religions, I just see the whole truth only in the Church.
3) If you were to convert to another religion which would you choose?
It would probably have to be Buddhism again. As I said, I felt more happy with Buddhist practice then with any other spiritual path I tried outside Orthodoxy. That is, of course, assuming that you mean a non-Christian faith. Otherwise I guess it would be Oriental Orthodoxy which I feel to be the closest Christian faith to my own despite the Christological controversy.
4) If you could meet any member of RF who would it be and why?
Do I have to pick one? There are quite a few I'd like to meet. I'd say just at the moment it would be Booko. I've never had a chance to speak to a Baha'i in real life and she seems both knowledgeable and kind. I think I'd enjoy a real life discussion with her.
5) What is the best book you have read recently?
I think I'd have to plump for Ilium by Dan Simmons. I'm a bit of an SF fan (my wife would probably call me obsessed) and I really enjoyed the mix of hard SF with Greek mythology. I haven't finished the sequel (Olympos) yet, so I'm not sure whether that one will be as good.
6) If you could make one change in the world, what would it be?
an the change be retroactive? If so, then I think I'd like to prevent the Great Schism from ever having happened. I think that event was one of the saddest in the history of the Church and has lead to an awful lot of bloodshed and ill feeling on both sides, not to mention that I think a truly united Church could be a powerful force for good in the world.
7) What do you do for a living?
I'm a software developer/database administrator so I basically spend my time designing and developing software and the databases they rely on. At the moment I'm working in the VoIP communications field.
8) When not on RF what are some of your hobbies and favorite activities?
I like reading, fishing (sea fishing for food not sport), gardening and cooking. I also do a lot of translating (I'm on our parish council responsible for Romanian-English translations, which takes up a fair amount of time) and I sing in our church choir.
9) What are you top 5 favorite movies?
In no particulat order: Zatoichi, Ran (both Japanese), The Last Samurai, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Star Wars Trilogy (it's my age, I guess).
10) Who has been the greatest influence in your life, whether you knew them personally or not?
I'd have to pick two, both saints. They would be Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great, Voievod of Moldova) and his spiritual father Daniil Sihastru (Daniel the Hesychast). Without their examples I'd probably never have been in that monastery, never have met that monk and never have become Orthodox which, along with my family, is the most important thing in my life.
Discussion here
I'm a member of the Holy Orthodox Catholic Church, which westerners usually refer to as Eastern Orthodox. More specifically I am a layman in the Orthodox Church of Romania under the omophorion of Metropolitan Iosif of Western and Southern Europe.
I was raised Protestant, though I became disenchanted with the faith as a teenager and drifted away. I tried for many years to find something else to fill the gap. Radical politics, religion, all sorts. I flirted with paganism for a while but it seemed too contrived. I later became a practicing Karma Kagyu Buddhist (a school of Tibetan Buddhism for a couple of years). I was happy with Buddhism but it still seemed like something was missing. I returned to Christianity in a vague sort of way but no particular church.
I'd already encountered Orthodoxy whilst doing charity work in Romania and it had always interested me. I became particularly interested at about the same time in some of the historical figures in Moldova (I'd continued to return to Romania) and this lead me to visit several monasteries. One day I met a wonderful monk who seemed to just exemplify what I thought Christianity ought to be. We talked for a long time and he gave me a present of a prayer book which I still treasure.
When I returned to Britain I started reading up on the Church and it all just seemed to make sense. I remained an enquirer for quite some time but became a catechumen shortly before my wedding, which was in the Orthodox Church in Romania. I then fell back to prevaricating (conversion seemed like such a hefty commitment and was a little daunting) but then my wife fell pregnant and I decided I couldn't put of conversion any longer. I was eventually Chrismated into the Orthodox Church in a Greek church in Britain.
2) How do you view other faiths in the context of your own religious path?
I view other faiths as honest attempts by man to come to know God. I think this is down to us being made in the image of God and I believe that it is possible for man to come to some understanding of the truth even outside the Church. I do not believe that all those outside the Church are damned, in fact I'd say it may be easier to be saved outside the Church than inside Her, as more is asked of those who receive more. I think there is something good, something of god, in most if not all religions, I just see the whole truth only in the Church.
3) If you were to convert to another religion which would you choose?
It would probably have to be Buddhism again. As I said, I felt more happy with Buddhist practice then with any other spiritual path I tried outside Orthodoxy. That is, of course, assuming that you mean a non-Christian faith. Otherwise I guess it would be Oriental Orthodoxy which I feel to be the closest Christian faith to my own despite the Christological controversy.
4) If you could meet any member of RF who would it be and why?
Do I have to pick one? There are quite a few I'd like to meet. I'd say just at the moment it would be Booko. I've never had a chance to speak to a Baha'i in real life and she seems both knowledgeable and kind. I think I'd enjoy a real life discussion with her.
5) What is the best book you have read recently?
I think I'd have to plump for Ilium by Dan Simmons. I'm a bit of an SF fan (my wife would probably call me obsessed) and I really enjoyed the mix of hard SF with Greek mythology. I haven't finished the sequel (Olympos) yet, so I'm not sure whether that one will be as good.
6) If you could make one change in the world, what would it be?
an the change be retroactive? If so, then I think I'd like to prevent the Great Schism from ever having happened. I think that event was one of the saddest in the history of the Church and has lead to an awful lot of bloodshed and ill feeling on both sides, not to mention that I think a truly united Church could be a powerful force for good in the world.
7) What do you do for a living?
I'm a software developer/database administrator so I basically spend my time designing and developing software and the databases they rely on. At the moment I'm working in the VoIP communications field.
8) When not on RF what are some of your hobbies and favorite activities?
I like reading, fishing (sea fishing for food not sport), gardening and cooking. I also do a lot of translating (I'm on our parish council responsible for Romanian-English translations, which takes up a fair amount of time) and I sing in our church choir.
9) What are you top 5 favorite movies?
In no particulat order: Zatoichi, Ran (both Japanese), The Last Samurai, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Star Wars Trilogy (it's my age, I guess).
10) Who has been the greatest influence in your life, whether you knew them personally or not?
I'd have to pick two, both saints. They would be Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great, Voievod of Moldova) and his spiritual father Daniil Sihastru (Daniel the Hesychast). Without their examples I'd probably never have been in that monastery, never have met that monk and never have become Orthodox which, along with my family, is the most important thing in my life.
Discussion here