When it comes to my spirituality and positive contributions to society, I owe a
great deal to my upbringing by my parents. Going to Church every week for Vespers and Divine Liturgy was a normal weekly event. As a kid, you may have wanted to stay home and go play baseball with the neighborhood kids rather than go to church, but it was never an option in my house. As a kid, the family would also gather every night for evening prayers together before going to bed. This consistent aspect of church being a part of everyday life helped lay the foundation of my spirituality, which, as I grew older, continued to deepen and grow. As I grew up and continued to attend church, I enjoyed broadening my understanding of being an Orthodox Christian through scriptural readings. It became less of my parents telling me to I am going to church and more of I myself wanted to go to church. Once I entered college, I joined the Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF). The OCF club has weekly meetings that range in topics that are all applicable to Orthodox Christians and Orthodox college students. Entering college as an Orthodox Christian can be tricky and interesting. Most college campuses, religious
groups, and practicing faith are not always a top thing to do in a student’s free time. Attending these weekly meetings, I learned about new aspects of the Orthodox faith that I had never known, even being a cradle Orthodox Christian. OCF broadened my scope of what Orthodoxy really is.
As a kid, when someone would ask what faith I practiced, I would say I was Orthodox. The response was always “What’s that?” My young self did not always have the best answer, and honestly would be nervous when people would ask this question. I wanted to explain the 1054 Schism, so my usual answer was, “It’s Christian, kind of like Catholicism, just a little more strict.” That answer would suffice for many people. OCF helped me learn and become more confident about what Orthodoxy is. Now, when people have the same question of what Orthodoxy is, I can give a better description than my young self.
I always knew that at one point in time, there was one Christian church that had a split, and that’s where we got the Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholics. I also knew that we, as Orthodox, know and believe we are the one true church. It never hit home how meaningful this was until learning more about the faith in college. Our faith dates back all the way to the 12 apostles themselves. The same faith, teachings, and scriptures we practice today can be dated back to those who followed Christ’s earthly ministry. Once this hit home, I felt full. I thought it was so cool to think that my faith I practice was the same one practiced by the 12 apostles. It is THE Christian faith. As times have changed, the church has stayed the same. It has not had drastic changes due to society changing or adapting to be more appealing to people. It has stayed the same, one true church. When my friends or people I have just met now ask about Orthodoxy, I’m thrilled and no longer nervous as my young self used to be. About a month ago, there was a high school gentleman who attended Great Vespers a couple of times. After the service,
I made sure to try and talk with him. He had lots of questions regarding Orthodoxy, and I felt comfortable answering them and confident in my answers. If this had happened a couple of years ago, it may have just been blank answers coming from me. There is so much to our faith and much more I am learning about, but I think this deepening of spirituality and learning more of what we Orthodox Christians are leads to a positive impact on society and those interested in the faith.
As my spirituality has deepened, the one last commandment given to the disciples by Jesus sticks with me more. We see it in the book of John 13:34-35, “A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you
also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are My disciples if you have a love for one another” (Orthodox Study Bible). This is one of my favorite verses because it reminds me of the responsibility I have as an Orthodox Christian. As simple as it sounds, it can be broken that quickly. I know myself, I can get caught up in arguments or drama with others. It is our human nature to fall into these sins. That is why it is important each day to try and deepen your spirituality a little more each day. Whether it be reading Psalms, lives of the saints, or even an Orthodox podcast, all will help us on this path to salvation. When we focus every day on deepening our spirituality, it will help us stay on the path of Christ. The path of loving one another as Christ loves us. This is the true positive impact in life as an Orthodox Christian. It can be not easy, but it is always an amazing goal to strive.
With this foundation of spirituality and through my role in OCF, I have become more
aware of how to positively impact society. That positive impact I have found myself
stumbling upon the most is explaining the faith to my friends or others who have
questions. I believed that sometimes, people walking into Orthodox Churches can be scary, that feeling of being an outsider with so many questions. I am nowhere near perfect at knowing all about the Orthodox faith, but I do say I feel more confident about explaining the faith to those who have questions or are unfamiliar with Orthodoxy. I believe being able to talk to individuals about our faith and be confident in it is positive to society. The ultimate positive impact on society would be to bring all to the Orthodox faith. Meeting an individual and having a conversation about the Orthodox faith is a perfect step to that impact.
As I continue to deepen my spirituality, I believe I can continue to bring this positive
effect to society and help spread the word of God.
