How I found Orthodox Christianity?
Back in my university days, I took a class on Russian Civilization with a professor who earned his PhD from Harvard. He was probably one of the best professors I ever had. The class was difficult but worth it. I even got to study a bit on the Mongols when they invaded Russia in the 13th Century.
Thinking back I think it was in this class that I started to be somewhat interested in Orthodox Christianity. I remember seeing the nice Orthodox Church pictures with the golden copulas glistering in the sun. I remember buying a book about the Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware. By this time I knew I would not be Catholic nor a Protestant so looking at Eastern Orthodoxy was an option for me.
I started to attend Sunday Liturgies at the local Russian Orthodox Church in Seattle. St. Spiridon Cathedral was amazing. When you enter you immediately see the iconostasis and the beautiful icons. I attended for about a year and met with the priest a couple times a month. I also visited other Orthodox Churches in the area. I even had my own iconostatis in my bedroom until 1996. Yet I never converted.
It was strange since I really understood the theology of Eastern Orthodoxy yet as a catechumen, I could not even kiss the cross even though I wore one. Ask me about the Nicene Creed and the concept of the Holy Trinity, I can explain it to you.
Yet I could not make that final move to be baptized. I remember it bothered me. I stopped seeing the priest but I would still attend the liturgies until about 1996. Then I stopped.
I made one more attempt at trying to become an Orthodox Christian in Kazakhstan. I will share that experience in the next post. This was the last step before I became a Muslim.
