A Story: Faeli and Orthodoxy
I’ve had an abundance of people on Instagram ask me for my “Orthodox story,“ and at long last, I feel equipped to tackle it!
A brief explanation: Orthodox Christianity is the original branch of the Christian Church–founded immediately after Christ’s ascension before there were different denominations. Its theology and teachings are taken directly from Scripture and the teaching of the Apostles. In fact, it is the church of Christ’s Apostles! Orthodoxy is deeply rooted in tradition, and nothing has much changed since the days of the founding of the church after Christ’s resurrection and ascension. From there, the Catholics split off from Orthodoxy, Martin Luther split off from Catholicism, and all other denominations and branches have split off from him.
I have no unexpected conversion story. My family found Orthodoxy when I myself was five years old after being several various different branches of Protestant; I’m a “cradle convert“ as I like to say. Growing up in Orthodoxy is almost as interesting of an experience as converting is, just in a very different way. I remember being seven and eight and having Protestant friends ask me “Are you still a Christian?“ or “Do you believe in the Bible?“ These are hard questions for an eight-year-old to be asked, even though they’re simple to answer. Of course I believe in the Bible; of course, I’m Christian! Orthodox Christian: it’s there in the title. But especially for young kids, this is difficult to grasp. We’re only used to what we know and what we’re familiar with and needless to say, no one was familiar with Orthodox Christianity.
Growing up, I never had any young people at church either, so my Faith was very isolated to family and church on Sundays. It was merely a way of life, it was what my parents did, what we did as a family, and it was just how things were done. Fast forward a few years to age eleven. My parents divorced, our church attendance became spotty, I was uprooted, and the only person my age, along with their family, left our church. I had no connectedness, nothing to ground me, and no understanding.
time or event that changed this; but around age fifteen, this situation did indeed alter along with my perspective. My life was rebuilding itself bit-by-bit. On top of more involvement with my parish and fellowship with other Orthodox families and young people long-distance, I think the only explanation for a shift in my Faith is the age and stage of life I reached. I was focusing in on long-term goals, doing some arduous soul-searching and introspection, and forming meaningful relationships with (now very close) friends. As my lifestyle and my mind came into alignment, the chance for my little seed to sprout arose. I began to have an understanding of why I, Faeli Heise, was Orthodox. I felt a shift within myself and felt strongly that identifying myself as Orthodox was one of the most important things to me.
While I’m sure I’ll continue to narrate and explore more complex and detailed aspects of this, now you have a basic overview. I’m always willing to answer questions and take requests for other topics and posts. You can comment or email me at withoutwriting@gmail.com
Christ is Risen!Faeli
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