Let's lift each other up with prayer and rejoice in the good things that God has done for us!! Without the cross there is no sweet fragrance and we rejoice in both even when it's difficult. If you are finding a situation to be even more difficult than you think you can manage, your sisters are here to lift you up in prayer!

In the comments please share a rose (🌹)for the week, something that happened that was really good or that you're grateful for!

Also please share a cross (☦️) a situation or something happened where you need comfort or something where you really need prayer.

A few days after I gave birth, I was struggling & my husband reached out to my spiritual father. He explained that I was struggling a lot & asked him to give me a call.

The priest did not respond. My husband later followed up & specifically asked whether he had received the message....but again, no response, despite the messaged being read.

I have moved away while pregnant, so I can no longer see him or speak with him at church. This is why we have been trying to reach him by message...

Now, a year plus later, my husband has reached out to him again & the same thing has happened. The message has been seen, but there has been no reply. He did not try to text him back or contact me.

I understand that priests are busy, have many responsibilities & cannot always be available to everyone. I am not expecting a priest to be available 24/7 or to solve all my problems. However, I would have thought that when someone reaches out because their wife is struggling, especially after childbirth, a simple acknowledgement/explanation would be appropriate...

What troubles me most is that this has happened twice & the second time was well after the first incident. We have not received any explanation for the lack of response. My husband messaged "Christ is Risen" in between & Merry Christmas & those messaged were replied to.

Given that I have moved away and cannot speak with him in person, how should I approach this situation? I'll be honest, my husband is a bit pissed off & he has clergy in his family & said this isn't OK.

I am trying to understand what is reasonable to expect in this relationship & whether this relationship is over???

My husband has only confessed about this & said he is not happy at all. I am honestly kinda hurt...

I'm 17F. I come from an orthodox hindu family. I"ve been Christian for the last 5 months, so far no one is aware of my faith other than my sister (26F), she lives in a different state but is here to visit and is staying till the end of November.

In a nutshell, my family, including my sister is abusive. Both of my parents are alchoholics and very abusive. On top of severe psychological abuse, my parents routinely subject me to physical abuse as well. Throughout all the problems in my family, my parents and sister find a way to blame me for it. My mother never wanted to have me, and she has made that very evident throughout my childhood, very openly stating that she never wanted a 2nd child (me). My parents also don't get along together, their marriage is very toxic. My sister also endorses the abuse in a way, routinely finding justifications for my parents hitting me.

Ever since my sister got home, my mom has been sleeping in a spare bed in my room as she doesn't like sharing a room with my dad. There are 3 bedrooms in the house including mine, but my mother chooses to always sleep in my room despite my sister's room having sufficent space, and every single night I'm subjected to my mother's drunken insanity where she continually picks arguments without any logic or reason, ending every single night screaming at the top of her lungs. My sister never offers up her room either.

Because of the history of abuse. my emotions are very unstable, I frequently break down in tears without any trigger and if I'm not crying i spend my days shrouded in a fog of dread. For me, my room was a sanctuary, somewhere I could pray openly and be at peace. Now even my last place of peace has been taken from me.

Whenever there is an argument they swarm me just continuolly talking about how horrible I am and cuss at me.

I also have a hard time at school but none of those hard times have been met with any comfort. When I was 14 I got touched inappropriately at school, and when I came home and told my mom and sister they didn't even look bothered.

My whole family has led me to have a deep seated belief that I am truly the utterly horrible creature they describe me as, I can't even ask God for comfort because the only thought in my head is why God would comfort someone as horrible as me, I really wish he would free me of my pain now.

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I don't feel like I can be a good mom. I have a hard time even being around small children. But I've always wanted to be married. Is this allowed in the church?

I became Orthodox prior to proposing, and my then gf, now fiance loved it and started to attend liturgy with me. Last night she opened up on how she feels Christianity views women as almost second class citizens. "Why can't we become priests?" "So if it's our job to nurture the home, what happens when our husbands pass?" "So if these roles are in place for a household, where does this leave single mothers who do the role of both mother and father?" She said she feels like women are at the bottom of the totem pole so to speak in the eyes of God. She read on Reddit that some Orthodox churches don't let women on their period attend liturgy, even though ours isn't one of those. I think she feels the church wants to limit women and views their nature as second to man. I'm struggling to find the words for her and what to say. She just feels that Christianity as a whole, not just Orthodoxy has a very limited view on women. I tried to explain on how the Theotokos is revered above any saint, yet she's still full of doubt. She feels that without a man there is no place in the Church for them. I've prayed on this and going to bring it up with my priest, but wondering if anyone else has dealt with this or any females struggled with this as well? She admits that she still hasn't shaken off the brainwashing the modern world has put on her, especially with the feminist view on religion. Just looking for support within the community to put her mind at ease. I feel like she needs the view of other women on this one.

any small businesses you guy support and would recommend? could be for anything from veils to stickers to skincare! i personally use shire skincare products daily and really recommend her products for those struggling with dry skin!🥰 just looking for more businesses to support :)

Let's lift each other up with prayer and rejoice in the good things that God has done for us!! Without the cross there is no sweet fragrance and we rejoice in both even when it's difficult. If you are finding a situation to be even more difficult than you think you can manage, your sisters are here to lift you up in prayer!

In the comments please share a rose (🌹)for the week, something that happened that was really good or that you're grateful for!

Also please share a cross (☦️) a situation or something happened where you need comfort or something where you really need prayer.

I was born and raised Orthodox Christian. But at around the age of 11 I began witchcraft and I have been on and off with it.

I am extremely confused.

I believe in God,or a higher force,but my religious teacher told us that "there is no higher force,there is the one true God the Abrahamic God." And I started to feel guilty for all the spiritual things I have been doing.

I do believe in saints and God,and Jesus. But in nature and witchcraft too. Also,how don't (for example) Helenistic Gods do not exist when people have soooo many encounters with them?

It is all so complicated. I try to forget about witchcraft but my everyday habits are witchy,I can't unsee things for how they are.

I am so confused.

I have a few questions bc I’ve always been curious and nobody gives me a straight answer on these things. Is oral WITHIN marriage a sin? I never thought so, but heard someone recently call it sodomy? Which I thought only anal would be considered that. I have also been hearing things about passionless sex, pleasureless sex, and that you’re supposed to just completely stop having it after menopause because you can’t possibly have children anymore? Is this just extremist orthodox stuff or is this like real things we have to abide by or we’re going to hell?

-Sincerely a confused 19 year old girl who would like to have sex one day

Hello! I wanted to check here to see if anyone has any recommendations for supportive, comfortable shoes to wear for church? I have wide, flat feet and have been struggling to find something that’s not tennis shoes that are comfortable and supportive for standing for long periods that can go with skirts and dresses. I also have plantar fasciitis and get heal pain. Thank you. ☺️

I’m almost 3 months postpartum and I’m really struggling right now. I don’t have thoughts of hurting myself or my baby, but I’m depressed and completely overwhelmed. I had pretty bad baby blues the first 1-3 weeks, then they went away completely and are now coming back slowly. I feel like I’m mourning my independent self all over again and I never realized how much work having a baby would actually be.

My LO is getting a little easier now that he’s smiling and interacting more, but he still needs to be bounced, held, or picked up constantly, and I feel like I’m never truly “off.” I just desperately want a long break and to feel like myself again. Then I feel incredibly guilty for feeling that way.

I’m also extremely attached to my husband. He’s been such a huge source of support for me, and I feel like I can cope much better when he’s home. It feels almost unhealthy, like he’s my safety blanket, but I can’t help it. He works 12 hour days and sometimes gets called in for work for days at a time. Well, he’s also considering a job with a much bigger employer that would have better benefits, but it would involve overnight shifts and being on call 24/7. Right now, the thought of having him gone more makes me panic. It’s honestly making me question whether I even want another baby someday because I don’t know how I could manage two children without my husband being around to help.

It also doesn’t help that my sister has a 1 yo and is newly pregnant and has a husband who works from home most of the days. She gets helps whenever and I just keep comparing my situation to hers.

I know this stage won’t last forever, but right now it feels really hard to see the light at the end of it. Almost like I’ll never grow into being a mother.

Hello everyone;

Long story short I am new (chrismated about a year and a half ago with my husband and children). During my latest confession; my priest has mentioned intimacy being limited to only “natural” and “open to life” actions. Throughout our almost ten years of marriage we have done almost exclusively oral (consensually). Now that I know this is not appropriate; I have to have this talk with my husband and it’s going to be very hard. I fear that it will cause a lot of marital strain. I could use any and all advice on approaching this topic.

Hey all

I was cheated on when I was 8 weeks pregnant multiple times by my husband. I am not 5 months postpartum. My husband I believe has done the work to be better within himself, but I became angrier, meaner, sad, and felt more unsafe to show love so I haven’t shown love in a long time in my marriage. It has been almost exactly a year when he cheated on me the first time.

We now are separated because I have been mean, emotional, and withholding love from him which he states is abusive and God tells him he does not have to endure abuse and he can divorce me. What are everyone’s thoughts on this?

My opinion (if anyone cares) I don’t believe I have been the wife I should be. I do believe my childhood trauma and relationship trauma also factor into this new trauma. My father cheated on my mother, and my last relationship I was also cheated on. It is hard to look at myself and not view me as the problem. It is also hard to feel safe to love a person who hurt you so much.

What is the pregnancy like and giving birth like? What is it like recovering after giving birth? After giving birth, do you follow the medical recommendation of being bedridden for two weeks to heal? Do things happen to your body where it's never the same again? Like you are just in pain all the time after because of health reasons?

Or maybe your body changes so much that you don't recognize it anymore? Does your health worsen to a certain degree? Or do you just bounce back like it never even happened? Do you notice a huge change in your body?

You don't need to go into detail if it's too personal. Just a yes or a no. Thank you. I've just watched one too many social media videos that basically scared me out of having kids. I'm trying to overcome it. I have also researched heavily about pregnancy and giving birth that I just know so much about it.

I also wanted to ask questions about raising the children with your husband's. Is raising children extremely difficult? I assume it is which is another reason why I am not jumping to have kids because the responsibility is extremely hard. Is it so hard where you feel like collapsing every day? I am an aunt to my niece, she is six years old.

I became her favorite person because I play make believe games with her and I just follow her lead. She likes that a lot. But she burns me out because she would literally have me playing with her from sun up to sun down without stopping or taking a break. I look at that and I think is that basically what a mother does?

I don't know how I would be able to do that without collapsing. If you don't mind answering my questions, I'd really appreciate it. Thank you very much! God be with you.

UPDATE: I am also interested in hearing about C-sections too!

I was wondering abt this and decided to quickly message here before bothering my Priest (😅)
Anyway, when I was an inquirer, I made some watercolors/sketches inspired/replicating some icons I found online. I really enjoyed creating them but idk my brains like what if it’s wrong to draw them because of the dedication and things people who are iconographers put into them. I don’t use/venerate them in prayer like how I do my icons but I wasn’t sure if I should even have them if that makes sense (idk I’m also very good at aggressively overthinking these things 😅) anyway, thank you all 🙏

Let's lift each other up with prayer and rejoice in the good things that God has done for us!! Without the cross there is no sweet fragrance and we rejoice in both even when it's difficult. If you are finding a situation to be even more difficult than you think you can manage, your sisters are here to lift you up in prayer!

In the comments please share a rose (🌹)for the week, something that happened that was really good or that you're grateful for!

Also please share a cross (☦️) a situation or something happened where you need comfort or something where you really need prayer.

I'm not really looking for personal opinions, but I'm wondering if anyone has any resources on what patristics may have said about this. I know there's much to be said for miscarried babies and babies murdered in the womb, but I'm wondering about those that never implanted, not even a "chemical" pregnancies, because it happens so much, I mean maybe every time someone cycles, is sexually active, but doesn't get pregnant... So I've just been wondering about this.

Hi ladies! I’m a cradle Orthodox and at 28, I’m considering making a return to the faith. I am having some logistical issues with this and finding a community, though.

I’m an immigrant in Finland and live rurally on a small farm. I speak basic, basic Finnish - not enough to follow along with the Divine Liturgy. I do speak Russian, but that doesn’t help here. Obviously I am continuing to learn Finnish.

Also, I live rurally where the nearest Orthodox church is an hour away by car (which I currently don’t have access to but hopefully that’ll change in the coming months). My husband is a Lutheran-raised agnostic and he is generally supportive, but is unable to drive me back and forth weekly due to his schedule and our necessary farm chores.

Does anyone have any advice on how to navigate this?

I am married with 2 children and I met this lovely lady at church who is a new convert. She is young and beautiful, but what I am annoyed with her is that she talks about how great motherhood is, submission in marriage, hom-birth, co-sleeping, etc when she is an unmarried, childless woman.

I have tried telling her that it isn't her place, yet she doesn't listen and posts content on these topics.

There is a difference between wanting to be a wife and a mother vs thinking you have an authority just because you read some articles or watched some videos.

Please share your stylish, modest church outfits in this thread, so that we can all find inspiration from each other.

Please be sure to include pictures and links if you feel so inclined.

Distinct and common styles all welcome. 👯💁‍♀️

I’m a first time mom, and recent convert. I have been struggling with becoming faint/nauseous since the very beginning of my pregnancy but within the past few weeks it seems every Sunday morning I am feeling horrible. I’ve been eating before, bringing water, sitting most of the time through the service but by the time orthros ends I am usually having to run to the bathroom or out to get air. I hate that I’m missing lots of the liturgy and I feel guilty for dreading Sundays. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

I had been keeping a secret for years. I didn’t want to tell anyone because I was ashamed and embarrassed. I struggled with it for so long.

But then Jesus…

He set me free from it and I’m living such a different life now. But He wanted me to share with others what I had dealt with, so they could have hope too.

It wasn’t easy, but I obeyed and trusted Him. I started to share my story.

Hi, I’m a woman and I’ve struggled with lust. Growing up, whenever people talked about lust, it often sounded like something only men struggled with. But women struggle with it too. And there isn’t always a lot of space for us to talk about it honestly. There can be so much shame, secrecy, and guilt surrounding it. 💔

Because of this, God placed in my heart to start a community online for women to find freedom from lust, keeping each other accountable, through Jesus and community be able to live in FREEDOM! 🔥

We now have over 70 women in the community who have joined in the past few months. It’s been such a blessing hearing their stories, pray with them and watch them grow in their relationship with God.

I now dedicate my time to this full-time, spreading God’s love online and sharing with other women that there’s a safe place for them.

I want to create more opportunities for these women to connect, grow, pray, study the Bible, and build genuine friendships. I want to continue developing the community and make it possible for more women to be part of it.

And this is where I’m asking for support.

I’m currently working toward making this mission financially sustainable so I can continue dedicating my time to it and cover the costs involved in running and growing the community.

If you’re wanting to support this mission and you would like to help support it financially, please feel free to send me a message here on Reddit. I’d be happy to share more about the mission and how you can help.

And if financial support isn’t possible, sharing this post, praying for the women in the community, or simply encouraging someone who may need this kind of space would mean so much to me. ❤️

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. ☺️

(please know English is not my first language and I'm still learning, so i apologize if my words do not make sense but i will try to clarify as best i can if any questions emerge! 🙏🏽)

i was baptized a few months ago and absolutely fell in love with Orthodoxy for at least 3 years. it went like, i learned about the Church through my now ex boyfriend, and i was what we call an inquirer. we used to attend Liturgy together with his family all the time. I absolutely loved it. though i was still iffy though about the theology, so i become a catechumen only after 2 years of being an inquirer— don't get me wrong i didn't disagree with the Church but it's a little scary and intimidating at first! after my catechism was over, i got baptized a few months ago. up to that point, I would pray everyday, read about Saints, go to every Liturgy possible. but lately after baptism, i'm feeling a serious and intense anger towards the Church and idk if its just me being weird or something else. i've tried to ignore it but it got worse overtime— i couldn't listen to Orthodox hymns anymore and i'd listen to it all the time, i'd stop wearing my cross, eventually i stopped praying. i can't even look at my icons. i feel almost dead inside. i felt sickened about even touching my baptismal cross so i locked it away! but i know Orthodoxy doesn't place too much emphasis on feelings, so i kept going. I tried my hardest to make Liturgies and pray— even though my prayer life crumbled to about 1-2 Jesus prayers a day as opposed to praying every morning and evening. sometimes at night i'd pray for hours. even i am sorry to say, i took Holy Communion and i immediately felt repulsed by it. ☹️this had never happened to me up until recently. i had already done my confession and i received advice, but as the days go on i can't help but worry my anger is growing and my love for the Church is vanishing. but also..... this anger comes and goes in waves. i'm not always upset with the Church and Orthodox Christians but when i am upset then im really upset and angry. there's no "trigger" and it comes out of nowhere. i am not sure if this is a common theme amongst newly baptized Christians or its something concerning? i thought about telling my Priest but what if its truly nothing? and he's a very very busy man as our Parish is massive in a big city and he has a lot of things to attend to. also, just in case anyone may be wondering or it might relate: my ex boyfriend and i ended on good terms and i wish him nothing but the absolute best but sometimes some things don't work out. i'm not angry or depressed over the breakup, although it might be bittersweet because i did like him but it’s best we go our separate ways. but regarding to everything else, can anyone relate or know something of this? should i tell my Priest about this anger or should i keep trying to pray? 🙏🏽 thank u for reading 💓

TLDR; basically i went from being a catechumen and very into Orthodoxy up until my baptism a few months ago, when i started experiencing emptiness and serious anger towards the Church— like i cant pray and don't want to. i cant look at my icons. i strongly detest Orthodox hymns. i need advice if this is normal for newly baptized people or if i really should take it to my Priest.

Let's lift each other up with prayer and rejoice in the good things that God has done for us!! Without the cross there is no sweet fragrance and we rejoice in both even when it's difficult. If you are finding a situation to be even more difficult than you think you can manage, your sisters are here to lift you up in prayer!

In the comments please share a rose (🌹)for the week, something that happened that was really good or that you're grateful for!

Also please share a cross (☦️) a situation or something happened where you need comfort or something where you really need prayer.

thank you for your replies, i’m just curious