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All pages copyright © 2003 Thomas Ross Valentine.
All rights reserved.
Thomas Ross Valentine
Originally written whilst a Roman Catholic in response to requests from others, it has been updated a few times, and (God willing) will never be complete.
What happened to my decision that if there was ever again a difference between what I thought and
what the Church taught, I would defer to the Church
? I haven’t changed my opinion. What has changed
is my view of where the Church is to be found. I had long known it wasn’t anywhere in Protestantism.
I now realised it wasn’t Roman Catholicism which, like Anglicanism, had historical connections to the ancient
Church, but had departed from some of the ancient beliefs.
I knew I could no longer wait. I had to find an Orthodox parish. The first parish I attended —
the one closest to me — was Greek Orthodox. Unfortunately, I am linguistically challenged
and did not
feel that I could pray where the vast majority of the liturgies were in Greek. Before I found another parish, I said
goodbye to my choir, explaining that I needed to check out Orthodoxy. I forthrightly told them that I expected I
would convert, but that if I did not, I would return to them. I then found
St. Joseph’s Orthodox Church, a parish
in the Orthodox Church in America. St. Joseph’s was a wonderful
discovery. It is the most friendly parish I have ever known. The congregation was young and enthusiastic for the faith
and had many converts. I was quickly accepted and felt comfortable with the parishioners.
I asked the pastor, Fr. John, to help prepare me for Orthodoxy and let me know when he thought I was ready to be received. He had other plans. His procedure was to allow people to decide for themselves when they were ready. I would have preferred to place the decision in his hands, but he forced me to make it. I soon became anxious to receive the Holy Mysteries and asked to be received on the Sunday of Saint Thomas (21 April 1996) — almost exactly twenty-two years since my conversion to Roman Catholicism.
As with previous changes, the emphasis of my religious studies changed, although very slightly in this
case. With a parish which provided a truly Eastern Christian spirituality, I was able to make good progress in my spiritual
growth. Ironically, one of the best other sources for my growth came from communications with a good cyberspace friend,
Joseph Mark, whom I had met on the Catholic Information Network’s Eastern Catholic
list. He was an Eastern
Rite Roman Catholic who leaned towards Orthodoxy as I had. The discussions we had on many issues provoked a great deal of
thinking on my part. A few months later, he announced that he had become a catechumen in an Antiochian Orthodox parish.
When he was received into Orthodoxy recently, he took as his patron saint, Mark of Ephesus (after his middle name).
Fortunately, his wife joined him in his journey to Orthodoxy. Regrettably, Jeanne remained an Eastern Catholic when I
became an Orthodox Christian.
In the months following my conversion to Orthodoxy, I came to recognise why the Orthodox Christians with
whom I communicated before becoming an Orthodox Christian would not accept the concept of Orthodox in communion with
Rome
. I now agree with them. Just as it was impossible to be an Anglo-Catholic
(since one cannot be at once
both c/Catholic
and Protestant
), so too, it is impossible to be both Roman Catholic and Orthodox. Eastern
Rite Roman Catholics are obliged to accept teachings of the Roman Catholic faith — assumptions based upon Latin
theology and cannot be supported by Eastern Christian theology (e.g.papal infallibility, Immaculate Conception,
etc.). Orthodox in communion with Rome
sounds attractive, but it is an oxymoron.
Nearly a year after my conversion, I was discussing with Jeanne a project on which I was working at the behest of an Eastern Rite Roman Catholic acquaintance. The project involved gathering information about ex-Eastern Rite Roman Catholics who had converted to Orthodox Christianity. Upon explaining the project, Jeanne announced that she had also decided to convert to Orthodoxy. At first, I did’t know what to think — the time since my conversion had brought about a great deal of strain between us including the worst Christmas I’ve ever experienced. I cautiously asked her to explain what she meant. Once I realised my ears were not deceiving me, I was ecstatic. It was the answer to many, many prayers. After talking with me, Jeanne talked to our children, and then we both talked with them. We gave the three oldest (Carolyn, Brendan, and Andrew — then 17, 14, and 12, respectively) the option to choose whether to remain Eastern Rite Roman Catholic or to convert to Orthodox Christianity. We explained to Maria and Christina (but not Catherine who wasn’t old enough to understand) that we felt that were not sufficiently mature to make such a decision for themselves. Carolyn declined to make a decision (which, of course, was a decision). Brendan and Andrew chose to convert with their Mom and three younger siblings. On Holy Saturday 1997 (26 April 1997 — the anniversary of my conversion to Roman Catholicism), Jeanne, Brendan, Andrew, Maria, Christina, and Catherine were received into the Orthodox Church by chrismation. It was a joyous day!
In the autumn of 1997, Carolyn left home for college, still an Eastern Rite Roman Catholic. In her new location, there was no Eastern Rite Roman Catholic parish. There were, of course, Latin Rite Roman Catholic parishes (including mass on campus) and there was a small Orthodox parish about twenty miles away. When she could get a ride, she attended the Orthodox parish, but otherwise attended mass. She attended Divine Liturgy with us when visiting at Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks. Then, during Spring Break, at the Saturday night Vigil Service, she asked Fr. John when she could be received into the Orthodox Church. He suggested the next day, the First Sunday of Lent when we celebrate the Triumph of Orthodoxy. She informed Jeanne and me of the decision. It was a great birthday present (it was my birthday) for me! The next morning (8 March 1998), Carolyn was received by chrismation and the family was once again completely united in matters of religion.
I’ll not be so presumptuous as to insist that it is impossible that I would ever leave Orthodoxy — after all, I had previously been absolutely certain that I had found the true Church and was certain I’d never make a change, but I can say that I can’t imagine it. I really believe, making the words of the prayer after communion in the Divine Liturgy my own:
I have seen the True Light.
I have received the heavenly Spirit.
I have found the True Faith,
worshipping the undivided Trinity, Who has saved me.
I wish everyone could know the beauty of finding the True Church: the Orthodox Church. I pray that
those who read this might be prompted to learn more about Orthodoxy. Towards that end, I provide information on
Orthodoxy on some other pages on this site. However, I must share one important thing about getting to know Orthodoxy:
book learning
can be helpful, but the only way to really get to know Orthodoxy is to follow the advice
Philip gave to Nathaniel: come and see
[John 1:46].
For those who have ploughed through my story, I ask: write me and share your reaction to it, and especially pray for me, the lowly sinner to whom God has been so very merciful. My prayer is that God will be as merciful to all who read this as He has been to me.
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