Why I Submit to the Orthodox Church

Why would a 32-year-old research psychologist, someone trained to analyze everything, suddenly believe in Jesus Christ and submit himself to the Orthodox Church? And I don’t mean “submit” in some vague inspirational sense. I mean obedience. I mean allowing the Church to shape my life, my prayer, my view of truth, my relationship to suffering, and even my own heart. That would have sounded absurd to me not long ago. I’m not naturally pious. I’m not naturally obedient. I’m someone who questions, debates, analyzes, and resists authority unless I can see the point of it. But through my wife’s illness, through caregiving, through reaching the end of my own strength, Christ became real to me. And once Christ became real, the question changed. It was no longer: “What spiritual path works for me?” It became: “If Christ is God, and if He established His Church, then what does faithfulness actually require of me?” Tags: Orthodox Christianity, Eastern Orthodox Church, why I became Orthodox, why I submit to the Orthodox Church, Orthodox testimony, Christian testimony, becoming Orthodox, Orthodox conversion, Jesus Christ, faith in Christ, Orthodox Church, Body of Christ, obedience to God, Christian obedience, Orthodox baptism, Orthodox catechumen, depth psychology and Christianity, psychologist becomes Christian, PhD psychologist Christianity, spiritual conversion, caregiving testimony, Orthodox faith, Jesus Prayer, Orthodox prayer, Divine Liturgy, Orthodox theology, Christianity, Christian faith, repentance, spiritual life, Orthodox spirituality, St Spyridon, Loveland Colorado, Ryan Holsapple Timestamps: 0:00 Teasers / Coming Up 1:00 Introduction 1:20 Why it started with Christ 2:24 Why would a PhD psychologist become Orthodox? 3:12 My wife’s illness and reaching my limits 5:55 Christ is God: the turning point 6:29 Recognizing the love of Christ 9:55 Discovering St. Spyridon Orthodox Church 10:44 God exists and has a personal nature 17:43 Practice over thinking 18:52 Obedience as a miracle 22:30 Truth is not “whatever works for you” 23:53 From belief to baptism 24:58 Every day is a new attempt to obey God 27:48 Relationship with Christ through His Church