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Orthodoxy Eastern in Midst of Western Core

Greek Orthodox Church, source: Unsplash

Nobody, number of, knows what is Orthodox, which causes misconceptions about it. Orthodox is where are from the East and only have 12% of the world's population-based Pew Research Center. Russia and Greece are the countries that have around 70% of the Orthodox Christian population. The Orthodox has two, Oriental and Eastern, but we are one Orthodox Christian. 

We follow what is said in the Bible and Christ's Apostles which has been in 2.000 ago and never changed, everything, but the Orthodox values free will. You don't have to go to be baptized into Orthodoxy if you don't believe either. It depends on what you are. Orthodox-becoming of, only someone who believes in the truth of Christianity, it is not just believed in Jesus Christ. You can believe Jesus Christ because you are Christian, but Orthodox is different and this is about how we honour, pray, and do anything for Jesus Christ directly from His apostles who were in His commandment to go ministry across the world, read in Matthew 28: 16-20. So, they were the first person to continue Jesus' teachings to Antioch, Jerusalem, Cyprus, Constantinople, Rome, and now the whole of the world. 

We don't believe in Protestantism because Martin Luther was not Jesus' Apostle. We also don't believe in Roman Catholicism, because of their theology that we believe those aren't directly from its Apostle they claim. We believe Orthodox is true because it's directly from Christ's Apostles. But importantly, we believe ourselves as Orthodox and they are Roman Catholics or Protestants are all Christians. We believe that. We value free will. 

We are from the East and Constantinople was our Orthodox patriarch before the Ottoman came and took over into a mosque in the entire of its region. Turkiye, formerly as known Byzantium was and was an Orthodox country that had many churches, including the famous, Hagia Sophia. But, it's totally sad in fact we have to see their churches taken over into mosques. That's why there was a comment that thought Orthodox was dead and extinct. However, we survived for a long time! 

We experienced that it is not just the Ottoman, but communism, wars, persecution, and hate, many churches were closed, burnt, and destroyed, but the Orthodox is still alive. Glory to God! I'm about to be happy that in fact many converted to Orthodoxy, were born to an Orthodox family, and raised in monasteries, parishes, convents, churches, and Orthodox communities. Well, many more to be ordained to be priests, bishops, deacons, patriarchies, and teachers. 

In Indonesia, about in 1990, Bishop Daniel was the founder of the Orthodox Church in Indonesia and is now leading the Orthodox Church in his native country. Now, as it spread over across Indonesia. That's getting increased. We hope we will have the first-ever monastery, seminary school, and convent in Indonesia. We need more things to come up. 

In some way, therefore of the western core in the midst, it is never easy to live in a Western core that is dominated by the Roman Catholics and Protestants. Like we were put in stranger views to them just because we are Orthodox. I watched videos, and reels, and read the comments, captions, and articles on social media, like wow totally wrong! They aren't Orthodox and they are in a Western core to lens writing wrongdoing about Orthodox. Sometimes, when someone is Muslim and thinks we are close to Islam because of some similarities that they believe. Actually, we aren't close to Islam and we are close to Christianity. We do not know when Islam came because Orthodox existed in the first century. We know Islam when the Ottomans came to Byzantium. But we love Islam because Islam is also the oldest religion at that time after Christianity. We just believe in Jesus Christ and Christ's Apostles. Jesus said that we have to love them as we love ourselves, that's a way we are doing away. We do not talk about that because we only talk about Orthodox Christianity. 

And, again, Orthodox values free will. It's all up to you to believe it or not. Once you become an Orthodox, nothing has to change, though, and just go for a normal life like before, but it remains a little to change based on what Orthodoxy taught, like fasting 80-day for Easter and Christmas, praying seven times a day or only three times a day or nothing's yourself depend, standing hours at liturgy, etc. Orthodox is God's gift to be truthful living in approach, teaching, gospel, and way of holy life. Comfortably Christians with true teachings that never changed in the past 2.000 years. That's the main goal of most Orthodox Christians, I think so. When you want to be a priest or a nun, it must be God's calling for you. Go to a seminary school or a monastery. So, it's about what an Orthodox Christian's life looks like, in which people think Orthodox is heavy, in fact, we are not and we just go for a normal life. Nothing special, though despite believing Jesus Christ and Christ's Apostles teachings are a massive special one. We just need a commitment to live in a truthful Christ. 

Orthodox is forever! Axios! ☦☦☦

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