Well at this same time of finding out I am pregnant, My husband and I are also in the process of joining the Orthodox Christian Church. Don't know what that is? Well neither did I until my husband was doing research and wanted to find a church that teaches the things the apostles taught. His search lead him to the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is an apostolic church that can trace its bishop lineage back to the apostles. In fact the Roman Catholic Church broke off from this church. The Catholic church used to be part of the Orthodox church but decided in 1054 a.d. (I believe that's right time period) The Roman bishop decided that he had ultimate authority over the church which the Eastern areas did not agree with for they never had a Pope, just bishops that were all equal. So the Roman church split off and started its own, known as the Roman Catholic Church. This is called The Great Schism. Evven with this huge conflict the church persevered and continue to grow and teach the same things the apostles taught.
There are a lot of differences in the church compared to Protestant churches, that in all honesty when I first visited and saw these differences, I about ran the other way. However with the help of my husband and studying realized it taught the same thing since the apostles. Iwon't go into all the changes because that could make this blog extremely long if you want to know more just let me know and I'll be glad to tell you.
It is a big deal joining this church and has a big ceremony for Catechumins (what you are when you want to join the church but aren't a member yet) to become Illumined (what you are once you have been accepted in the church). The services are rich and feel more filling like you have been through something mystical and ancient it's a wonderful thing to be apart of. Its been a big thing in our lives, almost as big as finding out we were pregnant so this has been a very big year for us. I look forward to being able to celebrate all the Feasts (there are a lot) with the church, it's very exciting to celebrate the same things that they were celebrating in the Early Church Fathers time. And now our children will get to grow up in this rich culture and participate in all the sacraments from the beginning.
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