Western Man, Eastern Church

I haven't blogged for a very long time, but I thought that that the time had come to revisit the blogosphere.

Why am I writing this blog? It's not that I believe that I have anything particularly interesting to say, or that I have insights to share with the world that haven't been said before.

Quite the contrary, actually. I firmly believe that I'm probably incapable of a really original thought.

So, if I don't have anything earth-shattering to offer, then why am I spending time writing this?

The Answer is pretty simple.

I am writing this because I love my culture, and that culture is western.

I am a western man, nothing that I can do can change this, nor would I want to change it.

I deeply love my ancestral ties to the British Isles, and to Ireland in particular.

By way of full disclosure, I am a priest of the Orthodox Church in America (Diocese of Eastern Pennsylvania), a husband and a father.

I am also a convert to the Orthodox Church from Western Christianity. Since my conversion, I have, on more occasions than I would like, encountered something incredibly strange to me.

In my exchanges with other converts, most of whom come from western backgrounds, I have experienced a backlash against anything western. It's a strange thing to see men and women turning from their western heritage toward an almost self-hating attitude, one in which they feel as though to be truly Orthodox they have to take upon themselves an ethnic identity that is not their own.

Whether that identity is Russian, Greek, Arab, or whatever, some converts insist on taking on some kind of persona.

The real purpose of this blog is to encourage, in love, my Orthodox brothers and sisters who are of western heritage.

I am a western person living and ministering within the context of the Eastern Church, and I honestly have never felt that this was a problem. There is tension, sure. A little tension, though, can be a good thing. A little friction sharpens the blade into a razor.

With this blog, I hope to openly discuss the joys and struggles of being a western person in the Eastern Church.

Here, I will talk about conversion, missions, our common Western Orthodox heritage and Saints, being Orthodox in the West, and a great deal more (and, yes, I will even talk about the Western Rite).

I'll share insights and stories from others who have converted to the Faith, and, hopefully, show what is and always was Right with Orthodoxy in the West.