www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West They wouldn't sell a prayer rope to me beacause...

I'm a baptized Latin!

"Greetings in Christ our Saviour.

I'm sorry, but we do not wish to sell you a Prayer Rope from Mount Athos. As a Roman Catholic, you have no need of it. It would be better if you would study and learn about true Orthodoxy, and unite yourself to our beautiful and holy Orthodox Church.

Roman Catholicism is a disgusting, perverse, murderous, God-hating and God-fighting "religion" that comes straight from the devil. At one time they were a part of our beautiful and holy Orthodox Church; but they departed from Her a long time ago. Since then, they have done nothing but persecute the Church, and humanity in general. They have become a very great instrument of the evil one. "


I have never been addressed like this before, either online or in person, and by a fellow Christian no less!
I hesitate to name the online store where I was attempting to buy this, because it's not my goal to slander, but I just was shocked and felt I had to share that with other Eastern Christians.

How un-Christlike!

At least they had the "decency" to not take your money and then write you the above...

This is the honest belief of that Orthodox community, whoever they are. You may not like the tone, nor do I.

I've heard equally strident and to me very offensive posts from Latin Catholics who fling around "heretics" and "schismatics" and "no salvation outside the [Catholic] Church" when talking about Orthodox Christians. These Catholics typically don't want to hear anything regarding Orthodoxy from any Catholic Pope who has lived in their own life time, all of whom have striven for fuller relationships with Orthodox Christians.

I don't find the message of either group very conducive to evangelization if that's what they have in mind.

Send your money to the Orthodox nuns at the Holy Myrrhbearers Monastery [holymyrrhbearers.com]. They make their prayer ropes themselves from wool from their own sheep. I've enjoyed corresponding with them on the occasions when I've made various purchases from them. The ropes are well worth the wait for one to be made. And of course there are other options on line, or at a local Orthodox or Byzantine parish bookstore if you have one.

There are many Orthodox and Catholic who seek to share the common ground we do share, especially when we share a common enemy in the moral relativism, secularisation, consumerism... in the cultures we are living in.

May all we do and say bring glory to God.

Yikes.

To play devil's advocate for a moment, that's in the range of allowable Orthodox opinion (not doctrine) and doctrinally we are talking about rival one-true-church claims. (The answer is not to drop the claims.)

That said of course it was both rude (and thus unlikely to convince most people to convert) and inaccurate about Roman Catholicism.

I wonder if ethnics or converts wrote that. Nine times out of 10 online it's converts who write that sort of thing but they scour literature and the Internet for the most obnoxious quotes they can find from the old country.

Predictable: RC bounces into Orthodox forum saying how much he loves their tradition and how much they have in common and one of these people attacks him like kicking a puppy.

(I still remember a similar situation I was in about 15 years ago, my first, and the offender spewing about Rome as 'a blaspheming, heretical sect' had a name as Irish as Paddy's goat.)

And yes, they have their mirror in the RC apologetics scene.

Some upstate-Pennsylvanian Slav Orthodox I know have nothing but good to say about the RC parish priest in their old coal town. There's no chip on their shoulders; they have nothing to prove.

My guess is most Orthodox would happily sell you a prayer rope, icons and prayer books and thus gently encourage you while, if it ever comes up, reminding you that their Communion and sacramental confession are only for Orthodox.



While at the same time under those Popes in living memory their liturgy has moved farther from Orthodox Christians. (I don't buy the 'epiclesis and deacons make it more Eastern' line.) Until this Pope.

Who cares? Everyone's entitled to their own idiotic opinions. Too bad these fellow Christians think that all the Church has done is to persecute humanity in general. LOL.

Why don'y you try giving your money to a Catholic store that makes prayer ropes? Certainly there is an Eastern Catholic online store that does just that?

Alexis

Shlomo Tom,

Here is how I would reply to these people. To quote Matthew 10:13-14 - If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words--go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.

Therefore, I have shaken the dust from my feet with you, and will pray that you will come to know the mercy of Christ and learn to act like him.

I can see from what you have written that you are in the early stages of your path of Theosis, and therefore I hope in a few years you will be Christ-like when dealing with fellow Christians.

I have had to do the same in the past. It is sad, but even Christ has had to rebuke those who claim faith, but do not show it.

Fush BaShlomo,
Yuhannon

Hahaha, that made me laugh. So did the line up top about kicking a puppy. Overall, this entire response just surprised me.

And yes, at least they didn't take my money!

It is probably no consolation to you, but I suspect that the folks who wrote such hateful rubbish to you would have the same opinion about most of the mainstream Orthodox world, especially those of us, like myself, who are under the omophor of the Ecumenical Patriarchate! I,for one, don't lose any sleep over them. Just keep them in your prayers as well as those extemists in the Western Church who voice equally offensive opinions about the Orthodox and the efforts of the Western and Eastern Churches to find common ground, and ultimately, unity in faith.

Shlomo DMD,

Amen!!!

We Apostolic Christians need to work towards unity, and those amongst us who would rather destroy the "Church" than build it up need to be rebuked not only by those they have insulted, but by their co-religious.

Fush BaShlomo,
Yuhannon

Tom:

Christ is in our midst!!

They spit on the Lord, so if someone strikes you once, turn the other cheek.

There is another monastery where you might make inquiry--Holy Transfiguration in Ellwood City, PA. That's where I bought mine some 34 years ago. You might also try Eastern Christian Supply Company online.

BOB

Dear Tom,

*Please* do not be bullied by these hateful, insulting, and uncharitable remarks. PLEASE, at the very least, respond to them with what you said here:



If there is one thing I do not like, it is a bully, and religious bullies (those who believe they can insult and bully others into converting to their own faith) are even worse. Individuals who can speak like this are spiritually immature at best and delusionally religious at worse. May our Lord soften their hearts and souls to mature spiritually.

I apologize profusely for their words.

In Christ,
Alice

TOM:

Christ is in our midst!!

Alice's astute observation reminded me of a thread about religious bullies that appeared on the forum some time back. If you do a search, you should find the thread in the forum's Town Hall section if my memory serves.

BOB

He Is and always shall be!

I'll do a search for this thread.
I have no interest in responding to them in any form however. That is their choice to treat me that way, and if they truly believe what they say than I would humbly echo the observation that a poster made earlier about their journey in Theosis being sadly stunted.

Personally if an Orthodox Christian bought a Rosary from me I would probably cry out of excitement of our Christian fraternity manifesting itself in that way. I guess the feeling is not always mutual. I'm a bit of an ideologue on the topic of East-West relations anyway.

I don't know what group you've stumbled onto but I can say they don't seem to be what one might call a mainline Orthodox group. Orthodox have no problem stating their faith is the truth but this group seems to be some type of extreme sect type group. I don't think you will find this attitude if you visited a typical Orthodox parish. There are groups calling themselves such things as "True Orthodox Church" etc. which could possibly be seen as the Orthodox equivalent to the Catholic ultra traditionalists at least in the attitude towards those who disagree with their point of view. There are many places you could buy a chotki on line. I have bought some nice ones from e-bay from a couple of sellers one form Ukraine another from Estonia. They were made in Russian monasteries. And no, no one ever asked me what church I go to before they took my money. I am sorry for your experience but please understand that this is not normal Orthodox people writing to you. And I say this as one who is rather traditional and conservative in my Orthodox faith.

While this hateful group may not really be Orthodox but a schismatic splinter from the Orthodox, I didn't mention that as I didn't want to disappoint/set up people like Tom for more possible hurt; you do find this attitude in pockets among the real Orthodox but again in my experience it's rare among ethnics in America.