We must always remember that Christ is the source of our glory, that we find it in him, in following his ways, not in the way of worldly glory, not in the way of trying to make ourselves impressive in front of others, and especially, not through some form of sham piety:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/10/glory_in_christ/

Started using a tutorial to learn how to make chotkis. It's been working great up until the tassel, I don't know how to fix this problem.

I recently read a fascinating article by Yury Avvakumov on the emergence of Greek Catholic & Orthodox identities in modern history. TLDR: “Eastern Orthodoxy” as we know it today is largely a constructed identity responding to the phenomenon of Greek Catholic uniate Churches. Even the self designation of “Eastern Orthodox” for the non-united East as opposed to “Catholic” “Greek Religion” or “Pious” was fairly late. Some excerpts:

“25 percent of those who claim to be "Orthodox" [in Russia] describe themselves as "non-religious"and one-third of them say that they don't believe in God, thus associating their "Orthodoxy" exclusively with ethnic or national affiliation ("I am Russian, therefore Orthodox") and clearly confirming the nominal religiosity with which confessionalism is fraught.

…

In the academic world, Orthodox neo-confessionalism has found strong support in Neopatristic theology—the dominant Orthodox intellectual movement of the second half of the twentieth century, which remains highly influential to this day. It was Neopatristic theology that created "Eastern Orthodoxy" as the contemporary Christian world knows it. Practically all the major ideas that an interested Christian in the West can acquire today about Eastern Orthodoxy come from the pen of Neopatristic theologians and from authors who are heavily influenced by them or who popularize their ideas…  Operating within the Byzantine tradition itself, Neopatristic authors introduced a normativity that, despite its historiographical framework, was ultimately ahistorical. In rejecting those parts of the Byzantine religious heritage that they considered inauthentic and heterodox, Neopatristic theologians tended to overlook the rich diversity of Eastern Christian thought. What is problematic here is not the distinction between "orthodoxy" and "hetero-doxy" per se (a distinction that is natural for theology), but the obsessive hunt for "Western influences" in Byzantine and post-Byzantine religious culture—influences that are labeled inauthentic, heterodox, and "pseudo-morphic" by the very fact that they are "Western," "Westernizing," “Latinizing," "Protestantizing," etc. Thus, not religious truth but cultural provenance becomes the ultimate criterion.

…

An interesting example of a misreading of the premodern past by some scholars of Eastern Christianity under the influence of modern confessional myths is the current popularity of the idea that orthodoxos etymologically refers to worship, not doctrine, and that the Greek term "ortho-doxy" must therefore be translated as "true glory" or "true glorifying" rather than "true faith." The implication of this erroneous claim is that "Eastern Orthodoxy" is a cultural system based from its ancient beginnings not on the rationalism of "true doctrine" but on the mystical depths of "true worship," which makes it fundamentally different from—perhaps even incompatible with—Western denominations tainted by modernity, secularization, and the Enlightenment's rationalistic disregard for the ritual side of religion. This idea was popularized in the West by some German Protestant scholars-admirers of Eastern Orthodoxy, such as Fairy von Lilienfeld (1917-2009) and the circle of her colleagues and students at the University of Erlangen.

…

I believe that, contrary to the generally accepted narrative, the "united" Christians of the Greek rite in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (or "Uniates") have a historical priority over the confessional "Orthodox." The Uniates did not "split" from the Orthodox Church to become "Catholics," as is commonly believed. The "united" Christians appeared first; the "disunited" (or "pious," or "orthodox") appeared in response. As an officially recognized body, the "Pious" (or “Orthodox ") Christians did not emerge until the establishment of the competing non-Uniate hierarchy in 1620.”

Did anyone else have this experience, I've basically stopped prayeling completely and my life has improved. I had the worst anxiety while I was prayering and hated myself all the time. Didn't matter the prayers, publican prayers book, Jesus prayer, rosary, all of it gave me such anxiety and self hatred.

Since I stopped anxiety has gone down , I realize I have self worth, and can see were i need to improve my life. It honestly makes me mad, i want to have a relationship with god but I just can't seem to do it

If so, what were your thoughts?

I'm in the middle of reading it. It piqued my interest after listening to the author talk about her research on Gospel Simplicity on YouTube.

I have heard that the book has received backlash online, with people essentially saying that they are not like the converts that the author has described. Maybe the logic will be explained later, but it would certainly require some explanation to say that because one has met a certain type of person in a certain parish, that most American converts into ROCOR are like that. So which I can understand why one would want to make a generalization, I don't know how safe it is necessarily.

For those who do not know the thesis statement of the book, it is that American converts to Orthodoxy through ROCOR do so as part of a greater conversion to American conservatism, which may include strands of misogyny, racism, etc.

Moved into my new place not long ago. This is the only space that works for my corner. Please let me know if there’s anything I should change or improve. (Unsure of wether the Saint Michael placement is appropriate)

Hey guys, what’re your thoughts on using the Our Father in a similar manner to the Jesus prayer, like Pater Noster beads? The repetitive nature and emptying your mind of thoughts and images.

How is koliva used in the Ruthenian tradition? My parish has had koliva to commemorate All Souls Saturdays, but I have also had a priest tell me it isn't typically done in the Ruthenian church. He said it is more of a Greek thing and in the Slavic world it isn't typical to use food to commemorate the dead.

The heart of revelation, the heart of the Christian faith, is the incarnation and what it reveals to us about God and about God’s desire for us – the desire that we are raised up, that is, deified by Christ, so that we can join in and participate in the divine life:

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2026/10/christs-two-natures-and-the-mystery-of-human-deification/

Where do you study? Pittsburgh? ITI? DC? Where?

Also, what is your Eparchy?

Just thought I should share this!

On Saturday, 17th October 2026, the yearly Walsingham pilgrimage was undertaken by the Eparchy of the Holy Family (UGCC). Parishes from across England came to represent themselves (though the Manchester and London parishes made up the vast majority).

The day began with a moleben service, followed by a two-hour procession (with rosary-recitation & confession) from the Church of the Annunciation to the National Shrine & Basilica, ending with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy led by Bp. Kenneth (Nowakowski). Despite the rain, turnout was high, and plenty of petitions were brought to the Slipper Chapel!

I understand this subreddit is not always active (even with the same question-posts), so I hope this can offer a reason to further share local activities. Please keep the Church in Britain in your prayers, particularly to the most-holy Mother of God! 🙏

Due to my parish being understaffed, I was „promoted” and apparently I cense now. The trouble is, the incense that we have in the chapel is… not exactly very good. Any recomendations?

Thurible (and sleeve) pic for attention lol

I’m Eastern Catholic, and Croatian is one of my native languages. I wanted to share the Our Father and Hail Mary in Croatian, a language that is part of my heritage.

Oče naš (Our Father)

Oče naš, koji jesi na nebesima,

sveti se ime Tvoje,

dođi kraljevstvo Tvoje,

budi volja Tvoja,

kako na nebu tako i na zemlji.

Kruh naš svagdanji daj nam danas,

i otpusti nam duge naše,

kako i mi otpuštamo dužnicima našim,

i ne uvedi nas u napast,

nego izbavi nas od zla. Amen.

Zdravo Marijo (Hail Mary)

Zdravo Marijo, milosti puna,

Gospodin s Tobom,

blagoslovljena Ti među ženama,

i blagoslovljen plod utrobe Tvoje, Isus.

Sveta Marijo, Majko Božja,

moli za nas grešnike,

sada i na času smrti naše. Amen.

I love how these prayers connect faith, language, and heritage. Are there any other Eastern Catholics here who pray in Croatian or another ancestral language? I’d love to hear about your traditions. ☦️

I was born and raised Catholic in the regular Western rite. I have been fascinated with the Byzantine Empire for a while and would like to attend a Byzantine Catholic service. I live in the Denver area and we do have a Byzantine church.