I rejoice for you, Rod. I'm glad you found a home. I wish this for everyone I encounter, regardless of which path they find for themselves.
Rod,
You have detailed a jouney that many Christians make following the cloud and the fire out of tradition. Just a quick question, according to your math are does God only show up in Catholic and Orthodox communion or do all those who "do this in rememberance" of Him have a "valid Eucharist."
This is not a flame. I appreciate you sharing your experience with us. It was worth all 5600 words.
Rob, although as a Catholic my first reaction is a bit of emotional disappointment, I can understand the step you took, and I am happy that you and your family have found a spiritual home in the Orthodox Church, and I will keep all of you in my prayers.
Some of what you wrote really resonated with me. If I hadn't discovered traditional Catholicism and the traditional Mass a dozen years ago, I have serious doubts as to whether I would still be Catholic today, or Catholic in anything but name and perfunctory obligation. The liturgy at most parishes is sheer torture, and on the weeks I can't get to the traditional Mass I find that I literally offer it up for the Poor Souls. I usually don't receive Communion when I go to new-rite Mass, because by that time I'm too angry to be properly disposed. I don't have children, but if I did I can easily see that I might have dealt with many of the same issues you did on that score.
Please keep in your prayers those of us who choose for remain Catholic, and hope to salvage what is salvageable, with our efforts and prayers.
Dear Road,
This Catholic prays that our Lord Jesus Christ will richly bless you and your family as you continue your Christian journey in the Orthodox Church.
May we all continue to pray for each other.
Oh dear, that will teach me to proofread better -- should be "Rod", not "Road"!
Rod:
I am glad it was not my brief mention in another column that you were Orthodox that "outed" you.
(At first when I began reading this column, I thought you were referring to me, for when a poster had called on you as a faithful Catholic in the public eye to be careful what you write, I responded that you were Orthodox, not Catholic - as I thought it was public knowledge. I did not know you were under an obligation to keep it private until November. My apologies anyway. *whew!*)
I attended Vladika's Peter & Paul fast-ending party this summer (I understand you were there, but I've never met you and didn't meet you then) and was struck by the humbleness of his living quarters, and also by the fact that he had cheap paper and cardboard icons on the wall; I'd assumed he'd have lots of nice fancy painted ones.
You wrote:
A few weeks back, I mentioned to Julie on the way to St. Seraphim's one morning, "I'm now part of a small church that nobody's heard of, with zero cultural influence in America, and in a tiny parish that's materially poor."
We're catechumens (from 25+ years as non-denom Charismatic Prots) at St. Maximus OCA in Denton, and if you think St. Seraphim is small and poor and unheard of, you ought to see the converted-fraternity-house living room we meet in on Sundays!
Your column is a blessing to read.
This essay is laced with the word "authentic." All this boils down to the fact that deep down, you view religion as a cafeteria to be selected like your food. Authentic food, authentic religion. It is clear that the thing which made you quit is not that you were bearing a Cross, as we are called to do, but because you weren't happily satisfied as a consumer. Don't pretend this has anything to do with Truth - either as a proposition or a Person.
Living as a Catholic is causing you anger and despair? Well, stop the presses. We actually have to bear a cross when it comes to these things? It's not all a big happy celebration? And, wonder of wonders, the Church is made up of men who, unbelievably, are sinners?
Who had to put up with more, St. Paul, all of whose Christian friends deserted him before he was executed, or Rod, who doesn't like the look of the local Church.
In your quest for "authenticity," you'll eventually come to hate your new Church. That much is obvious. "Authenticity" to you is warping you like another certain issue warped Andrew Sullivan.
And if you really think that the Orthodox are immune from human sin, or won't have similar problems, then you're fooling yourself.
I can respect a person who actually thinks that Orthodoxy is the Truth, or that Protestantism is the Truth. But a person who leaves the Church because he responds to it like a customer? That's just sad.
Also, I hope that in the future you won't deceive your readers and pretend that you have something to say about Catholicism without acknowledging that you quit the Catholic church.
"Their arrogance finally put him off the Church, and now he says he couldn't imagine converting. I swallowed hard when he told me that, because I can only imagine how I must have come off to people like him in my prideful heyday."
Rod,
You don't ever learn do you; not where you're concerned anyway. You haven't changed. You've just changed teams that you believe are superior: now its all organic veggies, orthodoxy and half-baked populist economics.
When I first heard about the "crunchy" conservative idea you were hatching, I was excited. As an wanna-be cultured urbanite with a taste for fine arts, fresh food and folk music, I had long had the sense that conservatives were missing out on many of the good things of life for the silly reason that liberals like them. And, I know many folks who internally are of a more conservative bent but who refuse to consider themselves conservative because of certain "tastes" and identity. Such silliness comes up when they get hung-up making statements like "I couldn't be a conservative because I would never live in a McMansion" or in reference to low-church conservativism: "I could never wear polyester of shop at Walmart." Identifying a sub-genre of conservatism that from a conservative point-of-view can find value in a bigger world view than Nashville country, Walmart, and NASCAR, could only expand the borders of conservatism and bring more people within the fold. IOW, because the first principles of conservatism transend such small things, we can make faith with a much more broad and enriching conservative movement. As such it could have been a generous contribution to the conservative movement that has been so generous to you.
I never thought it would mean writing out anyone from "true" conservatism.
On the contrary, I'd hoped it would expand the borders of conservatism to include a richer and broader view of life. Instead, your whole schtick is about how only you and the chosen few have the "true conservatism." It's about making the house so small that most of your time there is spent deciding who doesn't belong. It is a small-minded puritanism that is anathema to Roman Catholicism. It is a shallow, small and mean conservatism not an expansive and generous one that I'd hoped it would be. But then, I suppose it needs to be because otherwise you couldn't be so unique in knowing the truth.
You have a repetitive pattern with everything. You are disappointed and you personalize it to an extreme degree. Then you use your personal hurt to justify turning all who you perceive as having hurt you into corrupt fools and knaves. You jump to adopt any standing criticism of your former allies without critical regard of such analysis, even where many alternative explanations are readily available. The emperor is naked indeed.
The worst thing revealed by your sojourn is an utter lack of loyalty. You are a writer of above-average talent. That is not so unique. You're whole professional journey has been aided and moved along by conservatives and Catholics. Now, you have turned them into the ultimate villians of your life story. In all your rants, there is never an attempt to understand or see the other side regarding those who you have made your reputation with and have helped you along. You have refused to learn from gentle public corrections they have given you (such as Fr Neuhaus) and fought-off every criticism bitterly in public. For someone who lashes out mercilessly at others, you display a very thin skin. You never apologize even after an exteme emotional rant.
As I alluded to in your "traditionalism" thread, It's pretty clear that you never really made the conversion to Catholicism and it was just another shopping expedition. Now the Orthodox have you. How long before you turn on them?
Rod, please rest assured of my prayers for you and your family, your new Church home, and also for the reunification of the Church, East and West together again as Christ intended.
When my husband and I were fleeing spiritual abuse in our evangelical past (brought on by the Brownsville Revival/Toronto Blessing travesty), we also took refuge in Orthodoxy for a time. I understand the appeal of its other-worldliness, to be sure.
Rod, *what's important is that you're happy!*
ironic that that is precisely what any "cafeteria catholic", the kind you used to rail against, would say to you today.
That's not modern-american choice-loving mainstream capitalism talking. oh no.
We'll miss you and pray for you Rod.
Rod,
For what it's worth, this was a beautiful and courageous essay. Obviously it will not satisfy everyone, because it describes a journey very personal and intimate and idiosyncratic; that is what makes talking about it brave. Kudos.
"But what I noticed during all this Sturm und Drang over doctrine was this: we were happy again as a family, and at peace. Julie said one day driving home from liturgy, 'Isn't it great to look forward to going to church again?' And it was....As Christians, Truth is a Person, not merely a proposition."
There is a facile, liberal, utilitarian approach to truth, that reduces it all to a pragmatic question. That approach is bad. But really, that's not what you're talking about here. What you're talking about is an obseravtion that mystics and romantics have made for centuries, ever since the modern world emerged and human thinking became clinical and detached: that reducing truth to propositions, and leaving out the "felt" element, the intuitive joy and "rightness" that it always brings, is just as wrong as turning it into a utilitarian calculation. "True doctrine" is not measured by the canons of reason alone. As much as some might think an acknowledgement of subjective experience is the route to an "anything goes" approach to truth, the simple fact is that to insist that truth can be articulated outside of an experience of His presence, outside of joy, is to insist on an idol. Joy and truth go hand in hand.
Rod,
We don't know each other well -- only exchanging some emails over the years and having some mutual friends.
But the main thing I take from this piece (however saddened I might be that leaving Catholicism was necessary for it) is this: you genuinely sound like you are on a healing path. This is a Rod that's far healthier than a Rod of several years ago.
And for that I am glad.
And what you describe as experiencing within St. Seraphim's is wonderful. You are right; Catholicism can have this, too. It is a downright shame that so much of parish life in the U.S. isn't, frankly, life in the sense you have captured here.
In some ways, this makes the wound of schism more concrete for me, for how much would I want there not to be the break between these two churches based on what you have presented here.
Who knows what the road has for you, ultimately and you have my prayers. But I am glad to see that you seem to be healing. The Lord used evangelicalism to make me grow in my Catholicism. It doesn't stand against reason that He might use Orthodoxy to teach you about how to live authentically as a Catholic. Who knows.
But, in reading this, you sound much better than you have in the past.
I probably have no right to lecture a man I have never met, but here goes anyway:
1. A faith based on Archbishop Dmitri's personal charisma is doomed. God forbid that Dmitri should turn out to have feet of clay like Cardinal Law or, even worse, the also "orthodox and charismatic" (your words) liar priest from Pennsylvania, but what if he does? Where is your faith then? Didn't John Paul II project an aura such as you claim Dmitri does? Wasn't he a (clean-shaven) "grandfatherly Gandalf?"
2. If everyone on the Orthodox Church is on the same page, why are the only two Orthodox senators (Sarbanes and Snowe) pro-abortion? Why were Michael Dukakis and Paul Tsongas pro-abortion? Why is abortion legal not only in Russia (where, of course, it was legalized by the Communists, not the Orthodox) but also in never-red Greece? Why are the Ted Kennedys of the world black marks against Catholicism, but none of these things count against Orthodoxy?
3. Why does Jesus repeatedly single out Peter as the leader of the Apostles, even after he messes up repeatedly? Are we really supposed to believe that Jesus wanted the Church to have one clear leader in the Apostolic generation, but after that autocephalous national Churches were fine?
4. I'm sorry, but your recent posts implied that you were still Catholic. You made fun of the YouTube seminarians as if you were a disgruntled member of the same religion, but an outsider. When you made fun of the anti-masturbation mullah and some commenters cited Pope Benedict as also anti-masturbation, you wrote "Can anyone imagine Pope Benedict coming out to warn against chicken-choking during Lent?", as if you felt a need to defend his honor. We have a right to feel deceived.
Given the (perceived?) lack of community in the modern world, and the way people use & view the internet, it is not surprising that this action (and many posts over the past few months) would get some people riled up. People who read & comment on blogs often think that they have a personal relationship with the author (or host, or whatever one should call Mr. Dreher) that just doesn't really exist. So there is a natural sense of betrayal that some people will feel--along the lines of the "I don't know who you are anymore!" reaction that we feel when a friend changes something in his life. But with very, very few exceptions, none of us know Mr. Dreher at all, let alone are friends with him, let alone have the right to expect him to confide details of his personal life in us. Of course, the response might be that if he doesn't want to share his personal life, why is he blogging? I just hope that all of us (author, commenters, readers, conservatives, liberals, etc.) will remember that the internet is NOT real life. Any "community" that can be found on-line is a feeble shadow of a real community. But maybe I'm just a crotchety, out-of-touch 30 year old...
"Still, those of you more charitably inclined, please just pray for me and my family, that we always live in truth, and do the right thing, and be found pleasing to God, the Father of us all."
Of course Rod you are in my prayers. Please add all of us comboxers to your list as well.
I've felt some of what you have during this scandal but can't imagine what it is you experienced in totality. I do know this though, I would have had a hardtime with the public castigation by the archbishop. That probably would have done it to me.
Fortunately my old ancient spiritual director reminded me never to trust my feelings alone and remember the intellectual exercize that enlivened my faith in the first place.
Besides I can't do without the sacraments. That much I am convinced of.
You take care Rod. Peace be with you.
(I cannot believe the tone of some of the posts here)
So, there's no "culture war" in Orthodoxy? (We'll leave aside for the moment EOxy's complete capitulation to the Zeitgeist WRT contraception and earlier WRT serial divorce/remarriage--if that's not culture wars, I sure would like to know what is.)
But OK, let's leave all that aside for the nonce. Let's address the charge that EOxy is so far removed from the culture wars in its frozen, ossified other-worldliness.
This is a *good* thing, this refusal to engage modernity? I don't think so.
Wanna know some corollaries of this mind-set? Try:
** rampant--and I do mean rampant--anti-Semitism. Virulent, rampant anti-semitism, both in this country and in Greece and Russia. In many cases, this anti-semitism is actively encouraged by the hierarchy. Welcome to Holy Orthodoxy!
** rampant anti-ecumenism...some of the pamphlets handed to me at our local Greek Festival make Jack Chick look like Chuck Colson.
** rampant "anti" mentality--it's pervasive, and it's not just on the Internet. And if it bears any relation to the Gospel, I'd sure like to see how.
** a pattern of spiritual abuse at many parishes, especially those heavily influenced by Ephraimite monasticism. I know some of the Walking Wounded who have come out of these parish experiences. It ain't pretty. And it's something that by and large does NOT happen in Catholicism.
** A huge sex-and-drugs scandal in Greece, involving hierarchs at the highest levels--but why do we not hear more about it? Because the state-controlled Church is in bed with the state itself and with the state-controlled press, that's why. Things are tough all over, and Orthodoxy is every bit as rife with scandal as Catholicism has been recently (but largely no longer, I might add). And yes, there have been coverups galore, including a news blackout. But, unlike Catholicism, which couldn't suppress the Boston Globe if it wanted to, the Greek Orthodox Church is very, very effective at suppressing news reportage of its scandal in Greece--must be nice, eh? And this is the Church you claim is morally superior to Catholicism? Man, talk about blinders.
Bottom line: The culture wars have invaded Orthodoxy, all right. But the pretense that they haven't--and the refusal to actually *engage* the modern world--has led Orthodox converts like Rod into a state of deep denial.
Lord help us. Lord have mercy.
I want to follow on to what SiliconValleySteve wrote. I've read the CrunchyCon blogs on NRO and here. It seems to me that Rod has a love of things exotic.
Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. I have some similar tendencies.
But it can be easy in this setting to confuse exotic with authentic and conservative.
For example, if Archbishop Dmitry were Archbishop Dave, would it mean as much ?
A few months ago, Rod posted about a trip to California: "stop at a Russian Orthodox cathedral in San Francisco to pray before the incorrupt relics of St. John Maximovitch"
would incorrupt relics of St. Ron Jenkins mean as much, or mean anything ?
Rod,
Best wishes and prayers to you and your family. I (a cradle Catholic with two young kids) share your concern about the integrity of Catholicism, as well as your awareness that all human institutions are fallible.
Could you explain sometime whether you and Julie ever considered the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod or, if not, why? As one whose search continues, I am wondering whether LCMS is a "close cousin" to Orthodoxy where my family might find a faith home within Western Christianity.
Even if I remain Catholic for eternity, I will not be one of those folks who attacks people like you, while remaining strangely silent about various problems within the Church.
Rod -- I'm sorry that so many have taken your gut spilling as an opportunity to judge you. I am a huge admirer of your writing even when I disagree with you (which is often). Your candor has helped me have the courage to admit to myself the places where my faith is lacking. I've struggled myself with the faith and continue to do so. I belong to a lay movement within the Catholic Church, which probably is what keeps me there. I've flirted with the Orthodox faith myself and actually what turned me off was some woman ... ahem ... judging me because I was wearing trousers and not a skirt. (Self-styled Defenders of the Faith take note: You don't win folks over by condemning them.) Regardless of what anybody in the combox thinks, you are obliged to follow your conscience. I hope you continue to write about your faith in your new communion. When somebody such as you is open about their struggles it gives somebody like me the confidence to face mine. God bless you!
. If everyone on the Orthodox Church is on the same page, why are the only two Orthodox senators (Sarbanes and Snowe) pro-abortion? Why were Michael Dukakis and Paul Tsongas pro-abortion? Why is abortion legal not only in Russia (where, of course, it was legalized by the Communists, not the Orthodox) but also in never-red Greece? Why are the Ted Kennedys of the world black marks against Catholicism, but none of these things count against Orthodoxy?
Exactly, James Kabala.
Moreover, in post-Soviet Russia, the number of abortions has actually risen dramatically. Many women have had 10 abortions or more!! If this is a sign that Orthodox take their faith more seriously than Catholics do, then Lord spare us such seriousness about faith!
Rod,
This Catholic occasional reader will continnue to pray for you and yours and begs you to do likewise for her.
If being a Professional Catholic made it impossible for you to be a loving and peaceful Catholic, may you learn peace and love in Orthodoxy...and may you then com back and be an amiable amateur Catholic! 
Don't let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.
Rod- I found your story very moving. It is very easy to fall into the trap of substituting ecclesiastical news and politics for spirituality and the call to follow Christ. This is a lesson for us all. Although I disagree with your conclusions ( and, in particular, reamin convinced about papal primacy and infallibility)I understand your motives. I think God will judge you as only He can, so ignore the human judges who will berate you. Please pray for us too who remain in the Catholic Church.
Dear Rod,
as someone who is also a professional Catholic in a parish under fire from everywhere including Roman Catholic Faithful, I find my solace in the Church and in the blessed Mother, in Padre Pio and Mother Teresa on the ability to heal people with words from Christ....The Church is my mother my mother is ill right now but I will never abandon my mother. Hope to see you come back soon Rod and let the Church save us, not us save the Church.
Sebastian
The Catholic Church is a scandal.
The Orthodox Church is a scandal.
The Protestant Evangelical Church is a scandal. (Been there, done that)
The Protestant Non-Denominational Charismatic Church is a scandal. (Been there, done that even longer!)
The Black Church in America is a scandal.
I'm Jewish and looking seriously at the Orthodox Church, despite the fact that my grandparents fled Russia partly because of the anti-Semitism of the Orthodox Church. Yet Fr. James Bernstein, one of the co-founders of Jews for Jesus, is now an Orthodox priest in Washington State. Go figure.
Well, not meaning to pick on you personally Diane, but yours is the most glaring example of the hypocrisy going on here.
Are all Russians Orthodox, or even Christian? Do you have proof of the "10 or more" statistic, and what proportion is represented by "many"? Do you have a measurment of the influence that the Russian Orthodox hierarchs have on Russian society, culture and political policies, to lay these things at their feet?
I have had the rare privilege to know, personally, both Catholic and Orthodox congregants and priests. I don't see them as one thing or another; I don't see them in competing worldviews, or competing doctrines, or competing liturgies. They were or are my neighbors, my fellow inhabitants of one small corner of a city, state or nation. I will draw one comparison, and that's for the funeral masses I've attended in each tradition: they are, as intended, rituals of compassion, of consolation and of healing. They are rituals of community.
If Rod chooses one over the other, and also chooses to try to explain the road he took to arrive at that choice, and spends a large number of words specifically explaining his personal failings on that road, then ordinary respect might prompt people to take his words at face value, that they say only what they appear to say.
I don't expect anyone who frequents these discussions to change... indeed, I don't want anyone to change. It would help, though, to demonstrate just a little bit of the "milk of human kindness" that I know all are capable of.
And just as one last comparison: you will note that despite not having seen it from some of you, I am not also concluding that you are incapable of it... kindness, that is.
"We'll leave aside for the moment EOxy's complete capitulation to the Zeitgeist WRT contraception and earlier WRT serial divorce/remarriage--if that's not culture wars, I sure would like to know what is.)"
Diane jumps into the fray and thrown a hissy fit just like we all knew she would. Allright, here goes...I know you get all 'hysterical' and lose any sense of reality but you need to put your money where your mouth is. How is there "complete" capituation on birth control in Orthodoxy when many Orthodox (including an entire Orthodox Church - ROCOR) condemn ABC? Complete means total, Diane. For this to be a true statement, every Orthodox priest/bishop/Church, etc. would accept birth control which isn't true.
Now onto the divorce/remarriage charge, as you know (or should know) this was standard practice in the Greek Church before the schism therefore according to your definition of the Catholic Church, it was accepted in the Church. Further, the Melkites practiced it for years.
Now onto the next baseless charge..."rampant--and I do mean rampant--anti-Semitism. Virulent, rampant anti-semitism, both in this country and in Greece and Russia. In many cases, this anti-semitism is actively encouraged by the hierarchy."
Got any proof about the "man" bishops in Orthodoxy who "encourage" anti-semitism? BTW, many means more than one or two. It means a lot.
"a pattern of spiritual abuse at many parishes, especially those heavily influenced by Ephraimite monasticism. I know some of the Walking Wounded who have come out of these parish experiences. It ain't pretty. And it's something that by and large does NOT happen in Catholicism."
Again with "many." Got any proof that this occurs in "many" parishes? BTW, that means more than what you heard from csparks. But I will grant that there isn't that kind of spiritual abuse in RC parishes. Namely because RCs (speaking generally - learn to qualify, Diane) don't go to confession and don't approach their priests for any kind of guidance.
"But, unlike Catholicism, which couldn't suppress the Boston Globe if it wanted to, the Greek Orthodox Church is very, very effective at suppressing news reportage of its scandal in Greece--must be nice, eh?"
Diane, Diane, Diane, Greece isn't America. Do you think that if the scandal had taken place in a country where the Catholic Church had influence over the media, it would have been exposed?
Mr. Dreher-
If it were a matter solely of aesthetics and community, I would be Orthodox in a minute.
And the current state of Roman Catholicism is for the most part pretty vapid, where not corrupt.
However, to conclude that papal primacy is not true is quite a leap.
While I have found refuge in Byzantine Catholicism, I do remain Catholic. To me, Humanae Vitae was the proof of Catholic claims re the papacy: every Orthodox jurisdiction has, to one degree or other, caved into the pressures of the world regarding the ancient Apostolic ban on contraception.
Granted, most Catholics disregard this, but the teaching remains.
That said, I don't doubt the beauty and community of the place you have found within Orthodoxy.
We'll see how you do when the inevitable emotional disappointment sets in.
"And just as one last comparison: you will note that despite not having seen it from some of you, I am not also concluding that you are incapable of it... kindness, that is."
Franklin, welcome to the alternative universe of Diane. It will often leave you scratching your head going "huh...where did that come from." (I'll acknowledge the 800 pound elephant in the room and ascribe where it's coming from to some kind of emotional problem.)
Diane is capable of kindness unlike some of the other critics here. But you see, Diane is hysterical. She wrote what she did (and threw around the "many" claim) because she was acting out of outrage. She gets all worked up and just starts typing away on her little keyboard.
Now is it "kind" for me to acknowledge that she has emotional problems...probably not. But it comes after years of frustration in trying to reason with her. Anyone who follows her postings after awhile comes to the same conclusion.
Because beliefnet can't ban her, we all have to suffer through it.
Mr. Dreher:
God bless you. That's all there is to say.
Richard
Rod,
I admit I am disappointed. I read your post and I disagree with your reasoning. However, I certainly do sympathize with you. As a Catholic in Dallas, I too am utterly scandalized at both the local and having lived in Rome for a time seen some pretty frighting problems in the Church.
I am glad to see that you have come to focus more on Christ than on the problems, although I obviously disagree with the way you are doing it.
However, I will pray for you and I will pray for your intentions, as I do believe them ultimately to be seeking the Truth, the Truth Who is Christ, and I am thankful that above all else, your faith in the Truth of the Real Presence is unwavering.
I will continue my spiritual battle in the Catholic Church doing what I can to heal the Body of Christ that is the Church, please pray for me as well.
Rod, while I'm saddened that you've left the Church, I am stunned that the priest at your former Catholic parish would divulge information to a letter writer. It's none of Carpenter's business what church you attend, and it's not priest's business to divulge it.
I think it was the Orthodox priest who divulged the information, if I'm not mistaken.
Another thing: is anyone else bothered by Mr Dreher's duplicity? Just a few days ago he talked of visiting the Mathews-Green family, attending the Orthodox liturgy, then going to a local RC church to "fulfill our Sunday obligation". Huh? If he has joined the Orthodox, why is he fulfilling the Catholic Sunday obligation? Or was this a fictional account, a literary device meant to demonstrate once again the shallowness of contemporary Roman Catholicism (which I don't dispute)?
Inquiring minds want to know...
Blog 10.11.06:
True story: a few years back, Julie and I were visiting our friends the Mathewes-Greens outside of Baltimore....
Rod was still a Catholic when this incident occurred - an incident that occurred A FEW YEARS BACK.
Jennifer, I can but shrug and move on to the next thing. It is my karma to point out scurrilous and undisciplined references to and uses of statistics. I must have been a third-stage liar (lies, damn lies, and statistics) in a previous life.
Roman Sacristan, I am 50 years old. Never in my memory have I ever heard of or witnessed a Catholic layperson having any influence or say in the comportment of the Catholic clerical hierarchy. My cynical view (and it is emphatically true of many other church hierarchies) is that unless a hierarch is willing to sacrifice himself on the altar of church politics, no such changes as you and Rod would hope for will come about, and certainly will not be affected by the presence or absence of any given layperson.
I do hope, for your sake, that they do find it within them to change before they find themselves serving a thin minority of their former congregations. Community does require a certain minimum number of members, after all.
Eric, do you really expect people to make any effort to observe context?
Rod,
I wish you well. I made the same journey from the RCC to Orthodoxy myself. I was chrismated about a year ago.
Just be careful not to get caught up in our endless jurisdictional battles. Make yourself a promise that you will not go down the Old Calendar path. Not that there's anything wrong with the OC but it can be poison for a convert.
Also be prepared for the 'disconnect' between being western and being Eastern Orthodox. At some times it can be jarring. You'll also run into some Orthodox idiots. We have our share just like everyone else. Don't let them shake you.
Oops sorry, Anonymous above is me.
Mr. Fox said, "As much as some might think an acknowledgement of subjective experience is the route to an "anything goes" approach to truth, the simple fact is that to insist that truth can be articulated outside of an experience of His presence, outside of joy, is to insist on an idol. Joy and truth go hand in hand."
I couldn't agree with those words more, Mr. Fox. I'm so heretical in my theology that I've stopped calling myself a Christian(only because it upsets Christians and confuses non-Christians). But I've experienced the joy and the peace that surpasses understanding that comes with His presence. It's why I can only view the discussions of Truth (who has it and who doesn't)with dismay.
I have friends and relatives who are Catholic. I never knew that there was so much snootiness within Catholicism until I came to this blog. I was raised within the Presbyterian church. I still attend a Presbyterian church. We never discuss the Catholics. You are really too into yourself.
I can relate to what Rod means by not participating in the culture wars. It's impossible not to get involved in the social issues of today, but church time is left for preaching the gospel. You leave with a sense of optimism and hope and joy.
Good luck to you and your family, Rod.
Franklin, God bless you for your generosity of spirit and encouragement. I hope you'll take it as a compliment (coming from a Christian) when I say that your approach to others is more "Christ-like" than most Christians.
Pauli, thanks for catching that.
Oh Jennifer, please spare me.
I have a little shadow
That goes in and out with me.
And what could be the use of it
Is more than I can see.
Ta-ta. Off to something important--the hairdresser's. See ya!
What I'm amazed by is that Franklin didn't try to convert Rod to Paganism.
You blew that one Frank.
I hear they throw some great parties.
Mr Dreher
I'll bet Bronson thinks this is funny!
At the risk of getting my head blown off in a flame-war between Catholics and the Orthodox, might I submit that C.S. Lewis had it right in Mere Christianity when he analogized the faith to a hallway with doors to many rooms. As Christians, our Confession of Christ as Lord, Giver of new life and Forgiver of transgressions, grants us entry to the hallway, but once there, some find fellowship and rest in the Orthodox room, some the Catholic room, others the Episcopal room, etc. The point is that just as God gifts each of us with different talents, personalities, and abilities, there are different "branches" of the faith that appeal to different people. Thus, I am not sure that I understand the criticism of Rod's reasoning for changing churches. I guess in my mind, he went back into the hallway and has entered another room more suitable to him.
If nothing else, the events that gave rise to Rod's disappointment in the Catholic Church, or the events referenced by other posters regarding the Orthodox Church or various Protestant denominations, simply demonstrate the limitations of man when he appoints himself the task of institutionalizing God. I say that understanding that there are important distinctions and disagreements between branches of Christianity over this doctrine or that doctrine, and I don't mean to diminish their importance. However, we share a common bond in our confession of Christ as Lord. The Christian faith rests not in institutions or organizations, but in Christ, who is the Risen Lord, the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Each church will suffer from its own human imperfections, and has since the beginning - as most of the Pauline epistles demonstrate. But honestly, God bless Rod for taking his relationship with Christ and his stewardship of his family so seriously. He doesn't answer to the readers of this blog, or ultimately to the Church(es). But he does answer to God - good on him for taking that responsibility so seriously. His willingness to be so open, and quite frankly, so vulnerable with his readers is simply an act of witness and generosity from another imperfect, but forgiven, brother.
Not really surprised at this...something was not right from the start.....anyway Mr Dreher - we, the CATHOLIC Church will always welcome you back, should you decide to come back when you are done with the -religious entertainment channel- Christ founded only one Church - The Catholic Church! Not much else needs to be said!
Welcome home to the Orthodox Church. God grant you many many years. I am also a convert but from protestantism. I have heard all of the same negative comments this blog has received and more. I understand your discomfort. But I also understand your joy at conversion.
Xenia
I wish I could say I was surprised by the behavior of Rod's enemies in this thread and others. Of his good faith in this matter I cannot entertain the smallest doubt. And if I were as confident of my own prospects for salvation as I am of his I would be a happy man. He has certainly gone where I can never follow. I pray God will bring him and Julie (and all of the Orthodox) back into union with us. But if not, I will not cease to ask His blessings on them, and to beseech Him to send others like them. I miss you already, brother.
Sorry, Franklin Evans,
I find your statement completely clericalistic. You need to read the lives of the Saints. Even laity have to do their part, and yes, they can have an influence. Maybe it is often only through prayer, but we can have a great, great influence.
You got that right about parties, JB; even you would be welcomed at them, so don't be shy, and don't be scared -- we usually kick the cowans out before getting into the bloodletting. Our gods stay sleeping until we call them, but they can be very jealous when awake.
Hypothetical conversation at such a party:
Christian, timorously: "Gosh, I've been here two hours and not one pagan has tried to convert me!"
Pagan, drily: "Really? I'm surprised that not one pagan has tried to explain to you why we discourage conversions."
I leave the rest of that conversation to the students to fill in.
Pedro, thank you. I'm honored by the compliment. I can think of no greater happiness to wish for a person, than that person know that he is home.
Rod, I am very sad for you and for your family.
As one of your Catholic readers, I am hurt by the fact that you were still pretending to be Catholic, keeping silent about your conversion. I am hurt that you planned to continue this deceptive silence for the present. You must know that we Catholics take the heartfelt criticisms of a brother in faith far more seriously than we do the attacks of ex-Catholics with axes to grind, yet you pretended to be Catholic while you criticized the Church on this blog. Yes, you did make it clear that you were considering conversion to Orthodoxy, but I'd like to know how long you've actually been Orthodox? All year? You talk about anger--I'm struggling with it right now, as my impulse is to say that nothing you have written in the recent past concerning the Catholic Church should be considered even remotely objective, but rather the bitter, hateful screed of yet another ex-Catholic journalist. I'm afraid there will be lots of Catholic-bashing on this blog from now on.
I've kept you in my rosary intentions for some time now. I plan to continue praying the rosary for you and for your family, if that's not offensive to you now.
Roman Sacristan,
It is true that I know next to nothing of the lives of the Saints*, nor can either of us reasonably expect that to change, 
, but I will point out that I did qualify my observation as personal. I will make an effort to avoid applying my personal perspective in a general fashion, and take you at your word for the rest.
* Is it never proper to use a lower-case 's'? Just wondering.
Thomas Tucker's comment above pretty much speaks for me. Slightly longer reaction here.
Ohioan,
If I might be so bold as to answer your question about the LCMS (in which I was raised -- I am now a Roman Catholic) the LCMS has moved into a decidedly evangelical direction these days and you won't find a whole lot of similarity between the LCMS and Orthodoxy or Catholicism, for that matter.
In many ways I'm on the outside looking in on this discussion, but I would like to say that Rod should be commended here for a post that appears quite honest and quite humble.
I do wish he would apply that humility in taking another look at some of his earlier claims about mainstream conservatives.
And I would warn him that pride is a difficult temptation to resist. Elitism can be found in joining the "New York Yankees" of Christianity, but it can also be found in membership in "a small church that nobody's heard of, with zero cultural influence in America, and in a tiny parish that's materially poor."
One can be internally proud of his superficial humility.
eCurious wrote:
Rod, I am very sad for you and for your family.
As one of your Catholic readers, I am hurt by the fact that you were still pretending to be Catholic, keeping silent about your conversion. I am hurt that you planned to continue this deceptive silence for the present. You must know that we Catholics take the heartfelt criticisms of a brother in faith far more seriously than we do the attacks of ex-Catholics with axes to grind, yet you pretended to be Catholic while you criticized the Church on this blog. Yes, you did make it clear that you were considering conversion to Orthodoxy, but I'd like to know how long you've actually been Orthodox? All year?.... eCurious | 10.12.06 - 3:04 pm | #
From Rod's column (first paragraph):
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Orthodoxy and me
I apologize for this very long post, but it's time to clear something up: yes, I am now a communicant of the Orthodox Church, and have been (along with my family) for a couple of months.
Holy Mother Catholic Church has pretty much always had -- a problem here and a problem there, a scandal here and a scandal there, an issue here and an issue there.....if someone is going to jump ship, then they have to rationalize and justify it somehow so they use the current scandal, problem, or issue as an excuse. The Church is run by people, there are good people and bad people, mis-guided people and stupid people, so as with anything run by people, there will be problems. As the fellow above said - the Catholic Church was founded by Christ, he himself told us there would be problems, but to stand strong, have faith and stick with it, for as he said - the powers of Hell will not prevail against my church, the Catholic Church! So we pray for those who have used the current ‘excuse’ to move on to something else…and have hope that they will return someday!
Just as some will pray for those who likewise "moved on to something else" in 1054.
And let's not forget: "ex-Catholic journalist" will now be the label that the world will put on Rod, from the byline of his next book review to the first paragraph of his obituary (hopefully many decades hence). He will rankle at the label of course, but the truth is that any stature or intrinsic interest of his work will depend on his having once been Catholic. Would anyone really care what Garry Wills has to say on "What Jesus Meant" if he were Presbyterian? Would anyone read James Carroll if his family background was Lutheran?
Would Rod's work have gotten to its current level of visibility if he had simply converted to Constantinople a dozen years ago? No. He'd just be seen as a crank pundit migrating from one second-tier periodical editorial board to another. He owes Rome for everything he is, and always will. And in his heart of hearts, he will always know it.
Rod strikes me a genuine, committed follower of Christ.
Some of his critics sound like genuine, committed followers of an institutional structure.
Rod,
Welcome! I'm a convert to Eastern Orthodoxy from the Roman Church, too. My conversion was more intellectual than emotional. I came to Orthodoxy because of my study of the early Church. The beauty of the Liturgy was, in a way, a bonus.
I also remember how painful it was to go without the Sacraments when I was still straddled between Catholicism and Orthodoxy. That is just part of taking your lumps when you're making a decision, though. And even though I have no reservations about my conversion, I still remember that, from a Catholic point of view, I'm now in a state of heresy and schism. Sometimes that still gives me a pang.
So I have to trust in the mercy of God for any errors I've made and will continue to make, and, as, you are so fond of this quote, I'll continue to "stagger onward rejoicing"!
Two things worth noting:
1.) I had a good friend who spent quite a bit of time worshiping at Rod's new parish. She felt a strong pull toward Orthodoxy but in the end went with Catholicism. During her time worshiping at St. Seraphim's she made many friends who she believed herself to be close to. Once she went with Rome she was immediately dropped by these friends; they would hardly speak to her.
2.) There is simply no truth to the idea that there is no place for an orthodox Catholic to find community and spiritual sustenance in the Dallas-area.
Archbishop Dmitri silenced priests in his diocese from speaking out against the financial and *sexual* abuses in the OCA.
You're biggest complaint against the Catholic Church is not theological, but in the way the leadership handled the sexual abuse scandal. This makes no sense.
Your whole essay just seems intellectually dishonest or perhaps ignorant.
Anon - bingo.
Eric Weiss, thank you for clearing that up. In my first reading of Rod's lengthy post, I missed that bit.
I guess my question would better be worded this way: How long has Rod known himself to be an ex-Catholic, while speaking in public as if he were still Catholic? This is the kind of thing I find hurtful, as a Catholic reader. It's one thing to be criticized with love by a friend; it's another to be demonized with anger by an ex-member, as someone of any religious faith could probably agree.
I've thought about doing the same thing more than once for similiar reasons, I think if I didn't have my safe haven of an FSSP parish to attend and participate in I would be outta here.
Christine, thanks for the response about LCMS. Hope Rod and others will weigh in on this sub-topic.
Can you elaborate on the evangelical trend in LCMS? I've heard this elsewhere, but still see a church that offers a real presence in a sacramental Eucharist and traditional worship and hymns. I understand the church has a literalist interpretation of the Bible and a very conservative (as opposed to traditional) theology. Is that the evangelical trend, or is there more to it?
"I think if I didn't have my safe haven of an FSSP parish to attend and participate in I would be outta here."
IOW, "If I don't get my way I'm gonna go away. Spoken as a true cafeteria Catholic. Traditional variety.
Rod, as someone who's been reading you since your days as a NY Post film critic, I'm saddened by your leaving. I can understand it though even if I can't agree with you (your all-of-a-sudden discovery of doubts about the Petrine office of the pope seem dubious and more like a case of wish fufillment).
In any case, God be with you and your family wherever you may be.
Rod,
We've all suffered through the crimes of some of our leaders, horrible crimes, and so none of us can really be so hard-hearted as not to sympathize with your choice--even if we profoundly disagree.
But, Rod, if George Weigel secretely left the Church, we would all still assume he was Catholic--even if he was "so careful" not to affirm that he was.
Every church hopes its converts have found "a faith to die for." Surely your new communion, now that you have broken communion with us, hopes for the same thing. But you will forgive us if we wonder how a faith that didn't reveal itself shall become a faith to die for?
Rod
What does your conversion mean for the future of Crunchy Conservatism?
God grant you many years!
έτη πολλά!
Rod,
Return to the One True Church. The Catholic Church for Salvation. There is no salvation for you in the so called "Orthodox" Church. Your "conversion" is phoney. A real convert would argue he joined the Orthodox because he found it to be true & would try to pursuade others to embrace that truth. I don't see any of that here so I beg you for the sake of your immortal soul. Come home brother.
Two things worth noting:
1.) I had a good friend who spent quite a bit of time worshiping at Rod's new parish. She felt a strong pull toward Orthodoxy but in the end went with Catholicism. During her time worshiping at St. Seraphim's she made many friends who she believed herself to be close to. Once she went with Rome she was immediately dropped by these friends; they would hardly speak to her....
estoppel | 10.12.06 - 3:38 pm | #
This is probably not an atypical reaction, either by some members of this church, or by Catholics toward a former Catholic who becomes Orthodox.
Archbishop Dmitri silenced priests in his diocese from speaking out against the financial and *sexual* abuses in the OCA.
You're biggest complaint against the Catholic Church is not theological, but in the way the leadership handled the sexual abuse scandal. This makes no sense.
Your whole essay just seems intellectually dishonest or perhaps ignorant.
Steve | 10.12.06 - 3:45 pm | #
While I can't or won't second-guess what Archbishop Dmitri may have actually said or why he said it - for all I know he could have sensed it to be corrosive spiritually for the priests to speak about this at this time - as an "escapee" from a non-denominational church where the leadership engaged in spiritually abusive and physically improper activities, and as one of those who reluctantly had to help expose or address these things, with the resultant personal attacks it engendered - I find it difficult to accept a "let's just pray and say nothing" attitude about these things.
I would like to think that the OCA I am exploring, and this particular Diocese of Dallas and the South, is wiser than to cover scandal under a blanket of prayer, or use such a blanket to pull the wool over the flock-members' eyes, but if this would turn out to be the case, it would not sit well with my wife or me.
OHIOAN, You asked about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
As "convert to Lutheranism" (I dislike the formulation, but it will do), may I recommend that you do some reading?
Empirical Lutheranism varies. Some LCMS congregations will, as someone comments above, look pretty much like evangelical denominations. I'm not attracted by that. Other congregations will look very "high church" if, like me, you were accustomed to evangelicalism.
I think it is helpful to have a sense of Lutheran doctrine and sensibility (which one generally can't imbibe well from reading biographies of Luther, as I did when getting started).
On a popular level, then, I recommend that you read something by Harold Senkbeil (such as Dying to Live) or Craig Parton's The Defense Never Rests.
At a more advanced level, investigate the four volumes of Martin Chemnitz's Examination of the Council of Trent, particularly, if such topics interest you, the discussion of Tradition in vol. 1. Explore the "We Confess" books of Hermann Sasse. An old but really very good book that you can read online is Charles Porterfield Krauth's The Conservative Reformation. Of course, the Book of Concord is the uniquely authoritative expression of Lutheranism, but it can be stuff going at first.
A fantastic source is David Jay Webber's Lutheran Theology page. He has links to a great deal of useful material there.
When you get a sense of what Lutheranism is about, you will then be better equipped to explore Lutheran congregations. It appears that, from the get-go, you are avoiding the ELCA. While allowing for pockets of soundness here and there, I think you are well advised in what you are doing.
The only point I want to dispute is the appellation of Father Doyle as "heroic." I see him as an enormous part of the problem. In Renner and Berry's book "Vows of Silence," they made it clear that the nuncio's staff (including Doyle) was quite liberal and poised to embrace the "changes" that would come from the Second Vatican Council. Thus, bishops were groomed and chosen precisely because they differed with standard catholic teaching at the time. When the anticipated changes didn't come (women priests, married clergy, acceptance of artificial birth control, etc.) there was a great disappointment in those circles, AND, there yet were also a cadre of bishops who were "soft" on sexual ethics. Then, who was most surprised and even indignant about the fallout, decades later.....?
Although others have already said it...
God bless you, Rod.
I've been a reader of yours since the earliest days at National Review and have read the chronicles of your trip down the path Fr. Doyle spoke of.
You'll get no condemnation or criticism from this Catholic family.
I don't think the scandal destroyed your Catholicism, Rod, but rather your ability to see catholicism in the Catholic Church.
You & yours will remain in my prayers.
Good luck to you and your family, Rod. I'm Roman Catholic, but I study Origen and his theological successors, among them, Maximos the Confessor and I revere the Orthodox theological tradition. I hope you receive the enlightenment that it can provide. Please pray for Pope Benedict: he's got a very difficult job ahead of him and he's an exemplary Christian, who also appreciates the Eastern Fathers. God Bless you and your family.
Good luck Rod. The search for peace is long and hard and not guaranteed here "in this vale of tears." Too bad we lost another soldier in the trenches. Calling the Church to repentence and a return to holiness is hard and lonely work. You get known as a crank or a nut but we must fight for the Church and as laymen we must fight either through prayer or respectful confrontation. Our numbers are now fewer by two.
I am afraid the shine on this apple of Orthodoxy will fade with time too. There truly is no Orthodoxy just a group of churches who are loosely identified with each other infected with caesaro-papism who may or may not share complete common beliefs. I pray that if you end up back with Rome -- through the return of the Orthodox or a personal return that you will be welcomed as the prodigal son was in Our Lord's parable and not mistreated.
I sympathize with your family problems and the thought of raising your children. Fortifying them against the world is a daunting task.
The Catholic Church, at the moment at least in the western world, is a disaster which is not a surprise. Satan attacks the Church most powerfully as Pope Leo XII's vision tell us. We just know we will win in the end.
If you were as learned a Catholic as you say and indicated in your writing, you already know the issues you will have to deal with in the Orthodox Church. From your confession your Church appears to be English speaking -- how fortunate for you as a good many are not.
I pray you have escaped the predatory clergy but we both know you haven't. All denominations have them and in greater percentage than Rome in many cases. Rome is just the biggest target and the deepest pocket and easy to attack in a Protestant country. As for Roman clergy, men have always failed Our Lord. Take a look at Good Friday and the foot of the Cross. I believe you will notice Andrew the first-called was just as AWOL as Peter.
Good luck on your journey and I pray you find peace and what you are looking for. I have always found your writings to be sincere and accurate. I bear you no malice and apologize for the shameful tenor of some of the posts by supposed Christians. In some cases there is not a lot of love here.
May Our Lord have Mercy on us all.
Rod, beautifully written.
I respect Rod's decision not "to talk about this conversion further," but isn't that "hiding your light under a bushel basket?" I would respect Rod more if he said, "The Orthodox have the truth. Catholics, unless invincibly ignorant, are bound for hell." Instead, his "God doesn't care what church you belong to" routine is a form of the indifferentism he claims to deplore. And his pride in being in a small denomination seems to show contempt for Christ's command to evangelize all mankind. The Orthodox may be small, but if they have the truth, they should WANT to become big. Rod should pray that we all become Orthodox! Instead, he adopts the psychobabble language of "It's right where I need to be."
There's no God, no gods, no supernatural and no afterlife, but it's nice that you're happier. Enjoy the home-cooking and conversation in the new building you'll be driving to each week!
Re: molestation: frownie face!
-ml
I think if I didn't have my safe haven of an FSSP parish to attend and participate in I would be outta here."
IOW, "If I don't get my way I'm gonna go away. Spoken as a true cafeteria Catholic. Traditional variety.
SiliconValleySteve | 10.12.06 - 3:55 pm | #
That's a bit harsh, Steve. JPII made provision for making the traditional liturgy available, and for the founding of the FSSP, precisely as a pastoral measure for Catholics who felt that the liturgical free-for-all was endangering their spiritual life.
I know exactly how that poster feels. I think the traditional liturgy is also part of what has kept me Catholic. I got really tired of walking out of Mass angry all the time. There's a lot more to it that just "getting one's way".
I spent more than a year flirting with Catholicism, but was always bothered by the femininity of just about every priest I met.
In my opinion, the orthodox "Neuhaus" conservatives are in big-time denial about this.
In the end, I came to the same conclusion that I could never expose my precious son (grandson, great-grandson)to the danger of a pervert priest.
How can the RC church claim to be the true faith while being responsible for perpetrating so much evil? The "gates of hell" argument is getting pretty tiresome.
David,
I have nothing against attending an FSSP liturgy. I think the TM should be made far more available and I have always said so. I keep a membership in Una Voce as my little vote in that direction If one were available to me, and I wish it were, I might attend.
My point is that if we put conditions like "if I don't get it my way I'm outta here..." then how else to interpret it. Not much of committment there and I don't know how can you trust such a person. Well, actually you can. You can trust them to do what they want.
Rod,
Welcome to the Catholic Church. May God grant you many, many years, brother.
"is the point of our life on earth to become like Jesus, or is it to maintain formal affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church? I honestly don't believe God will ask of me, in the day of judgment, "Were you an obedient Catholic? (Or Orthodox, or Presbyterian...)" He will ask me, "Did you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind? Did you love your neighbor as yourself?""
I'm not a Catholic, or Orthodox, and see no real reason to distinguish the two, but even I can recognize this for the bushwa it is.
I'm glad you found a place where you're happy, but recognize that's all this is about. A lot of your pretensions about commitment and living the sacramental life and so on need to drop quietly by the way side. You'll be a better man for it.
Rod,
I can certainly empathize with you on many points...liturgy, failure to root out abusers... And the Eastern liturgy and spirituality are beautiful. But abandon union with Rome?! What about the Byzantine Catholic Church?
God be with you, Rod.
May you have the peace of Christ in your new home. May God strengthen and preserve you and your family in the Faith.
As for those who are blasting away at Rod: stow it. How can it possibly be a mortal sin, or a sin of any sort, to move from the RCC to a Church that - even according to V2 - has valid sacraments and orders? And how can your uncharitable diatribes help him conclude that he would ever again have a spiritual home in the Catholic Church?
I'm a Uniate, and there is plenty of traffic between our parishes and the Orthodox. May that be a sign of present growth in charity, and future reunion.
Lee
"There truly is no Orthodoxy just a group of churches who are loosely identified with each other infected with caesaro-papism who may or may not share complete common beliefs."
Just a quick note...with all of the howling about anti-catholicism on this blog, it's kind of weird to see a comment like this one. If we were so inclined to find "anti-Orthodoxy" under every rock, this would qualify.
This is pretty insulting from the supposedly "un-anti" folks.
Thanks for your writings during The Scandal (not that it doesn't continue, but youknow what I mean). It was nice to know I wasn't alone in my anger and bitterness. (The Scandal came at a particularly bad time for me.)
That said, remember the movie Highlander? "There can only be one." Do you really think that the Orthodox have the one true church? That the Catholic Church isn't the one, true Church (exasperating as she is)? Really? Huh... No, really? I mean, c'mon...
"Oh Jennifer, please spare me."
No, Diane, I won't spare you. You've been allowed to get away with your bad behavior for too long. You need to be made accountable.
"I have a little shadow
That goes in and out with me.
And what could be the use of it
Is more than I can see."
LOL. I usually leave you alone and would have this time had you not thrown one of your anti-Orthodox hissy fits.
Many Years, Rod.
If you're ever in Baton Rouge, look up our tiny store-front OCA mission.
We'll remember you and yours in our prayers.
And through the prayers of our Lady Theotokos and all the saints, may we find salvation in Christ our God!
Having lived in Dallas and being a fellow traveler in conservative Catholic circles, I sympathize with you but what happens when the anger returns?
Rod, I'm saddened, but I do wish you and your family well.
I would like to say, however, that I don't understand the apparent *intellectual* premise of your conversion -- your new understanding of the First Vatican Council. It sounds like the messiness and politics of that council is what caused you to doubt the validity of the definition of papal infallibility. Do you really think that every other council of the Church (starting back at the council of Jerusalem) has been devoid of political machinations? That council fathers at every other council always acted with absolute purity of intention?
I've accepted the teachings of the ecumenical councils -- all of them accepted by the Catholic Church -- knowing full well that despite the possible corruption of participants, the Holy Spirit nonetheless works through fallen people to bring forth God's truth. I truly hope you're not disappointed, Rod, when you read about the history of other ecumenical councils that the Orthodox accept.
Look, Rod spends a big (majority?) of his writing time blasting away at others. Pope or should I now say Patriarch Rod has set himself up as the arbiter of "true conservatism." He is merciless in his attacks on others. He accuses almost the entire american public of being inauthentic. He built his career on his conservative and Catholic connections and now he spends most of his time ripping them apart. Given his appetite for this, I guess the hand that feeds him must have been organically grown.
So spare me the calls to be charitable in regards to judging him. He'll be back soon enough ripping somebodies guts out by calling them phony, lying cheats. Oh, look at the next thread, he already has. It seems to me that he is the ultimate post-modern man. If if feels good (and authentic) it must be true. Especially if it is for sale at the shrine of holy foods.
Rod, it might be worthwhile editing your post for publication: it would probably be edifying reading for a bishop or three.
I'm saddened to see that you've taken this step, though I'm not really surprised. It's been evident for some time that this was probably coming. But I wish you healing and a renewed faith, and I hope that you'll come back home to us some day (maybe via the reunification of Catholicism and Orthodoxy).
As for the folks who are all bent out of shape by Rod's keeping his conversion private for a few months: it's called "mental reservation" and is allowed. Public Catholic or no, this was not information that we had an automatic right to, and there was apparently a good reason for putting off the announcement.
"I'm now part of a small church that nobody's heard of, with zero cultural influence in America, and in a tiny parish that's materially poor. I think that's just where I need to be."
With all of the lawsuits and bankruptcy filings, the Catholic Church in this country may be in the same situation in the not-too-distant future. I expect it will be a grace.
I'm very sorry that you and your family had to struggle with (and against) so many issues over the years. I'm also sorry that you appear to be receiving flack and nonsense from other people about your conversion. We (at St. Seraphim) are delighted to have your family as fellow parishioners. I scarcely know you, so do not know why, at the deepest level, where things actually matter, you chose the Orthodox faith. To the other people posting to your blog, however, I'll state that there is one, and only one defensible reason ever to enter the Orthodox faith. That reason is the realizat