Latest news with #Orthodoxy
NDTV
25-05-2025
- General
- NDTV
US Men Are Flocking To Russian Churches That Promote Traditional Masculinity
Father Moses McPherson, a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, is promoting a rugged, traditional form of masculinity through his YouTube videos. He mocks activities he considers too feminine, such as wearing skinny jeans, crossing one's legs, or eating soup. In contrast, he showcases his physical strength through weightlifting videos set to heavy metal music. The priest, a father of five, has a unique background, having converted from Protestantism and previously worked as a roofer, as per BBC. Notably, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) has been expanding its presence in the US, largely due to conversions from other faiths. Over the past six months, Father Moses has guided 75 new followers to prepare for baptism at his Mother of God Church, located just north of Austin. "When my wife and I converted 20 years ago, we used to call Orthodoxy the best-kept secret, because people just didn't know what it was. But in the past year-and-a-half, our congregation has tripled in size," he said. The Orthodox Christian community in the US is relatively small, making up about 1% of the population. Within this community, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) stands out as a conservative jurisdiction. Founded by clergy who fled the Russian Revolution, ROCOR has gained attention in recent years, particularly following President Donald Trump's shift towards Moscow. Narrating his experience, Theodore, a software engineer, said he felt unfulfilled despite having a dream job and a loving wife. He believes societal expectations have been overly critical of men, particularly those who want to be breadwinners and support stay-at-home wives, labelling such relationships as toxic. Father Moses emphasises two paths to serving God: monastic life or marriage. For married couples, he advocates for a large family and rejects contraception, citing the lack of saintly approval for birth control. He also condemns masturbation as "pathetic and unmanly." Father Moses believes Orthodoxy represents a balanced, normal approach, contrasting it with what he sees as the overly feminised Western Christianity, particularly in some Protestant churches that focus on emotional expression. He criticises the "worship music" in these churches, associating it with excessive emotion, which he believes isn't suited for men.
NDTV
25-05-2025
- General
- NDTV
Masturbation 'Unmanly', No 'Transgenderism': Russian Church's Absurd Rules
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), known for its conservative stance and ancient traditions, is gaining attention in Texas for promoting a form of "manliness" that rejects what it calls overly feminine behaviours. Among its advocates is Father Moses McPherson, a father of five and popular YouTuber, who uses his platform to discourage practices like wearing skinny jeans, crossing legs, shaping eyebrows, having emotions and drinking soup. The church draws many young men in their twenties and thirties, who are attracted to the faith's ancient traditions and its message in response to what some see as the feminisation of Western culture. Theodore, a software engineer and recent convert, says society has been "very harsh" on men, criticising those who want to be breadwinners supporting a stay-at-home wife. "We are told that's a very toxic relationship nowadays," Mr Theodore told the BBC. "That's not how it should be." Among converts, homeschooling has become common, viewed as a way to shield children from topics like "transgenderism" in public schools. Father John Whiteford, an archpriest in ROCOR from Spring, Texas, says homeschooling provides a religious education and serves as "a way of protecting your children." Father Moses McPherson advocates for married couples to avoid contraception and encourages having many children. "Show me one saint in the history of the Church who ever blessed any kind of birth control," he claims. He also condemns masturbation as "pathetic and unmanly." He said that Orthodoxy is "not masculine, it is just normal," in contrast to what he calls the "very feminised" West. "I don't want to go to services that feel like a Taylor Swift concert," Father McPherson adds. "If you look at the language of the 'worship music,' it's all emotion. That's not men." Many converts identify with what Elissa Bjeletich Davis, a former Protestant turned Greek Orthodox in Austin, describes as "the anti-woke crowd." She notes that some see the faith as "military, rigid, disciplinary, masculine, authoritarian," likening it to a resurgence of "old American Puritans." Another Texas-born Orthodox priest, Father Joseph Gleason, praises Russia as a place where Orthodox Christianity thrives, homeschooling is accepted, and traditional values are preserved. "Russia does not have homosexual marriage, it does not have civil unions, it is a place where you can home-school your kids and, of course, I love the thousand-year history of Orthodox Christianity here," Father Gleason said. ROCOR, founded by clergy fleeing the 1917 Russian Revolution, is considered the most conservative Orthodox jurisdiction in the US. Headquartered in New York, ROCOR is growing across the US as more people convert from other faiths.
Nahar Net
14-05-2025
- Nahar Net
Greek cliffside monastery transcends country branches of Orthodoxy
by Naharnet Newsdesk 14 May 2025, 16:27 The medieval monastery clings almost impossibly to sheer cliffs high above the shimmering turquoise of the Aegean Sea. Rising from the rugged granite rock, its walls enclose a diverse Christian Orthodox community. The Monastery of Simonos Petra, also known as Simonopetra — or Simon's Rock — transcends country-based branches of the Christian faith, embracing monks from across the world, including converts from nations where Orthodox Christianity is not the prevailing religion. The monastery is one of 20 in the autonomous all-male monastic community of Mount Athos, known in Greek as Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain. The peninsula in northern Greece is no stranger to non-Greeks: of the 20 monasteries, one is Russian, one is Bulgarian and one is Serbian, and the presence of monks from other nations is not unusual. But Simonos Petra has the greatest range of nationalities. Spirituality transcends borders "Spiritually, there are no borders, because the Holy Mountain has an ecumenical nature" seeking to embrace all, said Archimandrite Eliseos, the abbot of Simonos Petra. This links back to the Byzantine Empire, he explained. "We say that Byzantium was a commonwealth ... in which (different) peoples lived together in the same faith." The monastery welcomes anyone who would like to visit — provided they are male. In a more than 1,000-year-old tradition, women are banned from the entire peninsula, which is deemed the Virgin Mary's domain. While men from other faiths can spend a few days at Mount Athos as visitors, only Orthodox men can become monks. Most of Simonos Petra's 65 monks hail from European countries where Orthodoxy is the predominant religion, such as Romania, Serbia, Russia, Moldova, Cyprus and Greece. But there are others from China, Germany, Hungary, the United States, Australia, France, Lebanon and Syria. Founded in the 13th century by Saint Simon the Myrrh-bearer, the seven-story Simonos Petra is considered an audacious marvel of Byzantine architecture. Renowned for its ecclesiastical choir, the monastery has become a symbol of resilience during its long history, recovering from three destructive fires — the most recent in the late 1800s — to embrace global Orthodoxy. A lifelong quest It was within these walls nearly 20 years ago that Father Isaiah — who like other monks goes by one name — found the answer to a lifelong spiritual quest that had spanned half the globe. Born in Vietnam to Chinese parents, the now 50-year-old monk grew up in Switzerland, where his family moved when he was a child. "In this Swiss environment, I was trying to understand what I'm doing, where I'm going, what is the meaning of life," he explained on a recent morning, standing on a fifth-floor balcony next to a winch used to bring supplies up in wicker baskets from the monastery's storerooms. "While searching I found some answers through virtue, and this virtue was connected to the image of Orthodoxy," he said, his fluent Greek bearing a hint of a foreign accent. Delving into this new faith, he found relationships based on love and a search for God, he said. His quest led him to an Orthodox monastery in France affiliated with Simonos Petra. That, in turn, led him to Mount Athos in 2006. "It was in essence a deep searching of spiritual life, which is the answer for the meaning of life," he said. Within the monastery, he found a brotherhood of monks from 14 countries. He decided to stay. "We gather together with some principles, which are those of love towards our neighbor and the love for God," Isaiah said. In the human and spiritual connections he experienced in Simonos Petras, "I found a deep answer to everything I had been seeking in my youth." Monastery life Life in the monastery — and across Mount Athos — has changed little in the more than 1,000 years of religious presence there. Days begin long before dawn and are punctuated by prayer services followed by daily tasks, which can include farming, carpentry, winemaking, cooking, art, clerical and ecclesiastical work. Set among forested slopes, nearly every inch of Simonos Petra's land is cultivated, with the monks tending to herbs, fruit and vegetables used in the monastery's kitchen. Electricity comes from sustainable sources such as solar panels. Embracing foreigners Father Serafeim, a Lebanese-Syrian who has lived in the monastery since 2010, said Eliseos and his predecessor as abbot, the Elder Emilianos, had always embraced foreigners. "You don't feel that you're a stranger, you feel from the start that you're an equal member of the brotherhood," said Serafeim, who joined the monastic community seven years after he first arrived in Greece to study theology in the northern city of Thessaloniki. "This spirit, this open spirit of the elder attracted many souls who were searching for a genuine, emphatic meaning of life," he said. One of the oldest non-Greek monks in the monastery is Father Makarios. The Frenchman's spiritual quest began in May 1968, when as a young man he experienced first-hand the social uprising sparked by student demonstrations in Paris. His search led him to Mount Athos for the first time in 1975. "I found this monastery and an embrace," he said. "I found people who understood and accepted me. They didn't judge me. It was very easy for me to decide that in the end, after I finish my studies, I will come to Mount Athos, I will try to see if I can become a monk." Converting from Catholicism to Orthodoxy on Mount Athos, Makarios is now the monastery's librarian. He has been living in Simonos Petra for 46 years. All (men) are welcome Eliseos, the abbot, stresses his monastery is open to all visitors. "We say we are open to people with love," he says. "Someone comes along and wants to visit Mount Athos, he visits it. … Does he want to take it further? We say: 'Let's discuss it, with your will'. What does he want? Does he want to participate in this life, does he want to enter into our spirit, embrace our values and our faith? We will accept that. We will not discriminate."
14-05-2025
On Greece's Mount Athos, a cliffside monastery transcends country-based branches of Orthodoxy
MOUNT ATHOS, Greece -- MOUNT ATHOS, Greece (AP) — The medieval monastery clings almost impossibly to sheer cliffs high above the shimmering turquoise of the Aegean Sea. Rising from the rugged granite rock, its walls enclose a diverse Christian Orthodox community. The Monastery of Simonos Petra, also known as Simonopetra — or Simon's Rock — transcends country-based branches of the Christian faith, embracing monks from across the world, including converts from nations where Orthodox Christianity is not the prevailing religion. The monastery is one of 20 in the autonomous all-male monastic community of Mount Athos, known in Greek as Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain. The peninsula in northern Greece is no stranger to non-Greeks: of the 20 monasteries, one is Russian, one is Bulgarian and one is Serbian, and the presence of monks from other nations is not unusual. But Simonos Petra has the greatest range of nationalities. 'Spiritually, there are no borders, because the Holy Mountain has an ecumenical nature' seeking to embrace all, said Archimandrite Eliseos, the abbot of Simonos Petra. This links back to the Byzantine Empire, Eliseos explained. 'We say that Byzantium was a commonwealth ... in which (different) peoples lived together in the same faith.' The monastery welcomes anyone who would like to visit — provided they are male. In a more than 1,000-year-old tradition, women are banned from the entire peninsula, which is deemed the Virgin Mary's domain. While men from other faiths can spend a few days at Mount Athos as visitors, only Orthodox men can become monks. Most of Simonos Petra's 65 monks hail from European countries where Orthodoxy is the predominant religion, such as Romania, Serbia, Russia, Moldova, Cyprus and Greece. But there are others from China, Germany, Hungary, the United States, Australia, France, Lebanon and Syria. Founded in the 13th century by Saint Simon the Myrrh-bearer, the seven-story Simonos Petra is considered an audacious marvel of Byzantine architecture. Renowned for its ecclesiastical choir, the monastery has become a symbol of resilience during its long history, recovering from three destructive fires — the most recent in the late 1800s — to embrace global Orthodoxy. It was within these walls nearly 20 years ago that Father Isaiah — who like other monks goes by one name — found the answer to a lifelong spiritual quest that had spanned half the globe. Born in Vietnam to Chinese parents, the now 50-year-old monk grew up in Switzerland, where his family moved when he was a child. 'In this Swiss environment, I was trying to understand what I'm doing, where I'm going, what is the meaning of life,' he explained on a recent morning, standing on a fifth-floor balcony next to a winch used to bring supplies up from the monastery's storerooms in wicker baskets. 'While searching I found some answers through virtue, and this virtue was connected to the image of Orthodoxy,' he said, his fluent Greek bearing a hint of a foreign accent. Delving into this new faith, he found relationships based on love and a search for God, he said. His quest led him to an Orthodox monastery in France affiliated with Simonos Petra. That, in turn, led him to Mount Athos in 2006. 'It was in essence a deep searching of spiritual life, which is the answer for the meaning of life,' he said. Within the monastery, he found a brotherhood of monks from 14 countries. He decided to stay. 'We gather together with some principles, which are those of love towards our neighbor and the love for God,' Isaiah said. In the human and spiritual connections he experienced in Simonos Petras, 'I found a deep answer to everything I had been seeking in my youth.' Life in the monastery — and across Mount Athos — has changed little in the more than 1,000 years of religious presence there. Days begin long before dawn and are punctuated by prayer services followed by daily tasks, which can include farming, carpentry, winemaking, cooking, art, clerical and ecclesiastical work. Set among forested slopes, nearly every inch of Simonos Petra's land is cultivated, with the monks tending to herbs, fruit and vegetables used in the monastery's kitchen. Electricity comes from sustainable sources such as solar panels. Father Serafeim, a Lebanese-Syrian who has lived in the monastery since 2010, said Eliseos and his predecessor as abbot, the Elder Emilianos, had always embraced foreigners. 'You don't feel that you're a stranger, you feel from the start that you're an equal member of the brotherhood,' said Serafeim, who joined the monastic community seven years after he first arrived in Greece to study theology in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. 'This spirit, this open spirit of the elder attracted many souls who were searching for a genuine, emphatic meaning of life,' he said. One of the oldest non-Greek monks in the monastery is Father Makarios. The Frenchman's spiritual quest began in May 1968, when as a young man he experienced first-hand the social uprising sparked by student demonstrations in Paris. His search led him to Mount Athos for the first time in 1975. 'I found this monastery and an embrace,' he said. 'I found people who understood and accepted me. They didn't judge me. It was very easy for me to decide that in the end, after I finish my studies, I will come to Mount Athos, I will try to see if I can become a monk.' Converting from Catholicism to Orthodoxy in Mount Athos, Makarios is now the monastery's librarian. He has been living in Simonos Petra for 46 years. Eliseos, the abbot, stresses his monastery is open to all visitors. 'We say we are open to people with love,' he says. 'Someone comes along and wants to visit Mount Athos, he visits it. … Does he want to take it further? We say: 'Let's discuss it, with your will'. What does he want? Does he want to participate in this life, does he want to enter into our spirit, embrace our values and our faith? We will accept that. We will not discriminate.'
San Francisco Chronicle
14-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
On Greece's Mount Athos, a cliffside monastery transcends country-based branches of Orthodoxy
MOUNT ATHOS, Greece (AP) — The medieval monastery clings almost impossibly to sheer cliffs high above the shimmering turquoise of the Aegean Sea. Rising from the rugged granite rock, its walls enclose a diverse Christian Orthodox community. The Monastery of Simonos Petra, also known as Simonopetra — or Simon's Rock — transcends country-based branches of the Christian faith, embracing monks from across the world, including converts from nations where Orthodox Christianity is not the prevailing religion. The monastery is one of 20 in the autonomous all-male monastic community of Mount Athos, known in Greek as Agion Oros, or Holy Mountain. The peninsula in northern Greece is no stranger to non-Greeks: of the 20 monasteries, one is Russian, one is Bulgarian and one is Serbian, and the presence of monks from other nations is not unusual. But Simonos Petra has the greatest range of nationalities. Spirituality transcends borders 'Spiritually, there are no borders, because the Holy Mountain has an ecumenical nature' seeking to embrace all, said Archimandrite Eliseos, the abbot of Simonos Petra. This links back to the Byzantine Empire, Eliseos explained. 'We say that Byzantium was a commonwealth ... in which (different) peoples lived together in the same faith.' The monastery welcomes anyone who would like to visit — provided they are male. In a more than 1,000-year-old tradition, women are banned from the entire peninsula, which is deemed the Virgin Mary's domain. While men from other faiths can spend a few days at Mount Athos as visitors, only Orthodox men can become monks. Most of Simonos Petra's 65 monks hail from European countries where Orthodoxy is the predominant religion, such as Romania, Serbia, Russia, Moldova, Cyprus and Greece. But there are others from China, Germany, Hungary, the United States, Australia, France, Lebanon and Syria. Founded in the 13th century by Saint Simon the Myrrh-bearer, the seven-story Simonos Petra is considered an audacious marvel of Byzantine architecture. Renowned for its ecclesiastical choir, the monastery has become a symbol of resilience during its long history, recovering from three destructive fires — the most recent in the late 1800s — to embrace global Orthodoxy. A lifelong quest It was within these walls nearly 20 years ago that Father Isaiah — who like other monks goes by one name — found the answer to a lifelong spiritual quest that had spanned half the globe. Born in Vietnam to Chinese parents, the now 50-year-old monk grew up in Switzerland, where his family moved when he was a child. 'In this Swiss environment, I was trying to understand what I'm doing, where I'm going, what is the meaning of life,' he explained on a recent morning, standing on a fifth-floor balcony next to a winch used to bring supplies up from the monastery's storerooms in wicker baskets. 'While searching I found some answers through virtue, and this virtue was connected to the image of Orthodoxy,' he said, his fluent Greek bearing a hint of a foreign accent. Delving into this new faith, he found relationships based on love and a search for God, he said. His quest led him to an Orthodox monastery in France affiliated with Simonos Petra. That, in turn, led him to Mount Athos in 2006. 'It was in essence a deep searching of spiritual life, which is the answer for the meaning of life,' he said. Within the monastery, he found a brotherhood of monks from 14 countries. He decided to stay. 'We gather together with some principles, which are those of love towards our neighbor and the love for God,' Isaiah said. In the human and spiritual connections he experienced in Simonos Petras, 'I found a deep answer to everything I had been seeking in my youth.' Monastery life Life in the monastery — and across Mount Athos — has changed little in the more than 1,000 years of religious presence there. Days begin long before dawn and are punctuated by prayer services followed by daily tasks, which can include farming, carpentry, winemaking, cooking, art, clerical and ecclesiastical work. Set among forested slopes, nearly every inch of Simonos Petra's land is cultivated, with the monks tending to herbs, fruit and vegetables used in the monastery's kitchen. Electricity comes from sustainable sources such as solar panels. Embracing foreigners Father Serafeim, a Lebanese-Syrian who has lived in the monastery since 2010, said Eliseos and his predecessor as abbot, the Elder Emilianos, had always embraced foreigners. 'You don't feel that you're a stranger, you feel from the start that you're an equal member of the brotherhood,' said Serafeim, who joined the monastic community seven years after he first arrived in Greece to study theology in the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki. 'This spirit, this open spirit of the elder attracted many souls who were searching for a genuine, emphatic meaning of life,' he said. One of the oldest non-Greek monks in the monastery is Father Makarios. The Frenchman's spiritual quest began in May 1968, when as a young man he experienced first-hand the social uprising sparked by student demonstrations in Paris. His search led him to Mount Athos for the first time in 1975. 'I found this monastery and an embrace,' he said. 'I found people who understood and accepted me. They didn't judge me. It was very easy for me to decide that in the end, after I finish my studies, I will come to Mount Athos, I will try to see if I can become a monk.' Converting from Catholicism to Orthodoxy in Mount Athos, Makarios is now the monastery's librarian. He has been living in Simonos Petra for 46 years. All (men) are welcome Eliseos, the abbot, stresses his monastery is open to all visitors. 'We say we are open to people with love,' he says. 'Someone comes along and wants to visit Mount Athos, he visits it. … Does he want to take it further? We say: 'Let's discuss it, with your will'. What does he want? Does he want to participate in this life, does he want to enter into our spirit, embrace our values and our faith? We will accept that. We will not discriminate.'
