Loved this video! Thanks for your take. It’s important for any person to read the Bible, and then see if what the church is doing lines up with what the scripture specifically says. I find there are a lot of things which the Catholic and Orthodox Church do, which do not line up with scripture.

Probably some thank you, Matt. I am so filled with joy from your message. 2 or 3 years ago now, maybe 4 maybe longer than that. A friend of mine gave me a book called the 5 solos in Christ alone, written by a couple of South African pastors that describe the 5 solas. It changed my life. Thank you. My brother, what a beautiful beautiful message. Love you so much.

I know I found this video late, but thank you for it. This talk has been very helpful during my crisis of faith, and I believe it has helped me find a path forward, Christ willing.

I have followed your channel for quite some time and and especially enjoyed your past Bible review videos. I only got about halfway through the video and had to stop. I would never, as an Orthodox priest, attempt to offer any critique of the Reformed tradition without addressing it in terms of *how the Reform tradition actually speaks about itself in its own terms*. What you offer in the video is essentially a critique of a *caricature* of the Orthodox Church, including conflating the Orthodox Church with the Catholic Church (there are significant differences)! As such, your video is essentially an extended Straw Man argument because it is not actually address how the Orthodox Church actually understands and presents itself to the world. I would encourage you to read something like *The Orthodox Church* by Timothy Ware, available through Penguin Books. It is the best one-volume text for a general reading audience. It's not written as a biased pro-Orthodox apologetic, but it also is not a caricature.

Thank you for this video! I’ve had this question on my mind recently and did not know how to answer it.

Love it! Excellent history with simplicity of worship.

Your videos are very in depth and I appreciate them. One thing I wished as someone born into the reformed faith (continental) is that we had more artwork (geneva fathers wrongly assumed there wasn't art in early church) and that we focused equally on the patristics (chrysostom) in theology and not just augustine.

If I might make a suggestion: if you're going to be quoting a text, particularly at some length as you're doing in this video, it would be helpful to put it up on the screen--it's often easier to follow along by reading (as you encouraged us to do with our Bibles early on). I recognize that would involve rather more editing/production work, but I think it'd add quite a bit of value.

A very simple accurate and informative dissertation of our faith,thank you

I’m just so confused at this point. I follow Christ do my best to read the Word and understand it’s original translation but now I just don’t know what church to go to. My wife and I are left with confusion about which church to pick from now as we both grew up Catholic and are confirmed in the Catholic Church but feel nothing there. The Word seems to contradict some of these traditions but I also understand the importance of tradition. It is a sad state we are in now and we only know one thing. Christ is our redeemer and our Lord and savior.

Thank you for the video. It was well done. I grew up Catholic and my whole family is Roman Catholic. There are great similarities between Roman Catholicism and Orthodox Judaism. Even though the analogy is imperfect, it reminds of Ecclesiastes 4:12 and the three strand cord not easily being broken. If you are Italian and Catholic, than your faith is intricately woven together with your national heritage and your family. That's why when I witness to Jewish folks, I make it clear that I'm not trying to convert them to Christianity per se, but to suggest to them their need to repent and turn to and recognize Christ as their Savior.

Great video. Thanks for sharing this.

Does the didache not say that the Eucharist is a sacrifice? As my fellow orthobros have told me it's not a re-sacrifice but instead an eternal sacrifice

This message has blessed me

Perhaps no stained glass and artwork in early churches because most early Christians met in homes. Stained glass and art, like scrolls and papyrii, were no doubt very expensive and most early Christians weren’t rich.

Good overview and introduction to what can be a touchy subject for some. I generally agree with everything you've noted here. On a similar note, I'm not as enamored with Jews or Judaism as some modern Christians are (for a variety of reasons I won't get into) but there's an interesting parallel between the rise of Rabbinic and Talmudic Judaism from around Christ's time, and the development of traditions like Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism: they are all built on or covered in what Jesus called the traditions of men, fables, etc. Talmudic Judaism isn't anything like the Faith of Abraham or other Old Covenant saints (something many Christians don't recognize today), and Jesus was quick to make that clear---often forcefully. One could argue that Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy took on a similar man-centric trajectory, departing from the early church. That early church is what the Reformers--flawed and sometimes awful as they were--sought to recapture and by God's grace they did an admirable job. Anyways, love the channel. Liked and Subscribed!

This was something that disturbed me during my years in the PCUSA. The smaller suburban congregations had the feel of honest worship, yet as the congregations and their corresponding facilities grew larger, the shallower, showier, and less personally meaningful the services became. Small is so rewarding =D

Everything you mentioned in this video is why I didn't go back to the Roman Catholic Church once I came to a saving faith. Also, you avoiding paying your bills reminds me of that episode of The Office when Michael (Steve Carrel's character) has to fill out paperwork that he had the whole quarter to do but waited until the last minute and ends up procrastinating the whole episode instead of filling out said paperwork.

I really enjoyed listening to this talk. I learnt a lot and agree with absolutely everything Matthew has shared. 👍🏽

No offense man. I don't think you understand Orthodoxy at all.

Thank you for this teaching…. You made some excellent points snd i appreciate that you addressed the Didache. I’m wondering if you have ever heard it said that Luke ( author of the gospel) was the first iconographer? I’m wondering where this idea came from. Thank you again, 🙏🏽

😅 it's also about liking the time travel to Byzantium during worship (candles, icons, hymns). I read quite a lot of Bible for a Greek Orthodox (where the emphasis is instead on doxology)

This feels a bit cherry-picky. The Didache refers to the supper in light of sacrifice later in the document. Justin Martyr also refers to the Eucharist as a sacrifice when talking about Malachi.

If I weren't Catholic, I'd look for the Church that the world despises, for the world despised Jesus, and he would be there. - Fulton Sheen Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.". Things seemed to be going pretty well. That is until Jesus said “For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood,dwelleth in me, and I in him.” This was too much for many of his disciples and “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” Jesus turns to the 12 and asks, “Will ye also go away? Vs 61, Jesus did not back down, for He said, "Does this offend you?" it offends protestants Jn 20:21, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." Jn 17:18, "Even as thou hast sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world." Jn 17:22-23, "And the glory that thou hast given Me, I have given to Matt. 28, 18-20: And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore. and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. Jesus says to the crowd, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved." But in reference to the same people, Jesus immediately follows with "He who does not believe will be condemned." This demonstrates that one can be baptized and still not be a believer. This disproves the Protestant argument that one must be a believer to be baptized. There is nothing in the Bible about a "believer's baptism." "Accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior," or "Ask Jesus into your heart" isn't the biblical answer. It’s important to be saved from hell, damnation, and the stain of original sin, but what are we saved for? We are saved for union with Christ. Our salvation began when we were born again through baptism and God’s own Divine Life was restored in our souls, making us like Adam and Eve were in the Garden before the Original (first) Sin. As we go through life, we are united with Christ through the Sacraments he left as gifts for us, especially through Penance (forgiveness of our sins committed since Baptism) and the Eucharist (partaking of God’s own Life, His own Divine Nature, 2 Peter 1:4) - until that day when we are truly united with Him in heaven. Scripture teaches that one’s final salvation depends on the state of the soul at death. As Jesus himself tells us, "He who endures to the end will be saved" (Matt. 24:13; cf. 25:31-46). One who dies in the state of friendship with God (the state of grace) will go to heaven. The one who dies in a state of rebellion against God (the state of mortal sin) will go to hell. (For the teaching on venial (non-deadly) and mortal (deadly) sins, see 1 John 5:16-17) What I must do to be saved: *I must be baptized with water and the Spirit. Mark 16:16, John 3:3-5, Titus 3:5, I Peter 3:20-21. (Exceptions: [1] If I desire Baptism but die before I can be baptized with water and the Spirit, God accepts my desire to be baptized, and [2] If I am killed (martyred) because of my faith, but I have not had the opportunity to be baptized, God accepts my death as my baptism, called the Baptism of Blood). * I must do the will of God the Father. Matthew 7:21 * I must keep the Commandments of God. Matthew 5:19-20, Matthew 7:21, Matthew 19:17, 1 Timothy 6:14, and others. * I must accept the Cross (suffering). Matthew 10:38, Matthew 16:24-25, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27. Phil 1:29, and others. * I must be a member of God's true church. Acts 2:46-47. * I must confess my sins. James 5:16, I John 1:9, John 20:19-23 * I must heed the words of St. Peter, the first Pope. Acts 11:13-14, Acts 15:7. * I must eat the flesh and drink the blood of Jesus Christ. John 6:51-58, I Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:23-30. * I must do unto others as I would have them do unto me and love my neighbor as myself. I must feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the sick and those in prison or give other aid to those in need. Luke 10:33 ff, Mt 25:31-46. "Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God" Hebrews 13:16. Good works don’t save us, but we will be judged by them. *I must strive to be holy. "Strive for peace with everyone and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14 *I must endure (persevere) to the end. Matthew 10:22, Matthew 24:13, Mark 13:13. And ... ? What else must I do? #432 The name "Jesus" signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son, made man for the universal and definitive redemption from sins. It is the divine name that alone brings salvation, and henceforth all can invoke his name, for Jesus united himself to all men through his Incarnation, so that "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

"The Mass is a resacrifice of Christ." Wow. It is almost as if you've made no effort whatsoever to educate yourself on this. Perhaps that would be a good idea before making a video like this. There is every appearance that you have simply rejected that which you do not understand. That is kind of sad.

I've struggled with this question as well, and I have to say I'm leaning towards Eastern Orthodoxy despite being raised in protestantism. I think for me the thing that undermines all of your statements in this video is that you keep going back to "evidence in scripture", but who decided what should be in the scripture or not in the scripture? Of course the answer is that the formalized hierarchical church decided on these particular writings as part of their "holy tradition". To accept that part of the traditional and not the rest of it is to make yourself the arbiter of what is and is not acceptable in terms of practice, in effect to make yourself a sort of mini-pope, so in the same way that the romans decided that one bishop (later called the pope) had the only valid authority, we have multiplied that error to include all believers as having that authority. That is my current thinking on the ideas here, but would be interested if you have thoughts in response. May God grant us all wisdom as we work through these questions, brothers.

Thanks for doing this video since even though I grew up in the Roman Catholic church in the Pittsburgh area, I knew nothing about Eastern Orthodoxy until recently since it seems like a fair amount of protestants are defecting over there, and are being easily deceived by the likes of Jay Dyer, for one, a popular Podcaster who not only promotes EO theology, but also does podcasts on other topics which I find of interest, which is how I found out about him. Tragically, Dyer had been a student at Greg Bahnsen‘s former seminary in California but somehow he was deceived and converted into Eastern Orthodoxy the way Hank Hanegraaff did back in 2017 after being the so-called “Bible Answer Man“ and he has the gall to keep calling himself that and deceive people. Now he does it from where I live now in Charlotte.

Interesting topic and then argument. I appreciate your points of view. Peace of Christ be with you, Pastor Matt.

Thanks very interesting. Needed this video as I'm a protestant whose wanting to take up either catholic or orthodox

You demonstrated thanksgiving is a translation for eucharist. "This food taken in thanksgiving (eucharist)... is the flesh and blood of Christ..." So earlier when you said that thanksgiving was a sacrifice, it's not just a sacrifice of prayer it's the sacrifice of thanksgiving which is eucharist AKA the flesh and blood of Christ. At least according to this letter, which isn't inspired scripture. But if you are trying to be consistent then that letter says eucharist is a sacrifice.

Catholics do not REsacrifice Christ, that’s a condemned idea. The Mass is a re-presentation of His sacrifice. There’s a huge difference between the two

Of course Orthodox Church has changed- there were councils on many dividing issues. Icons were one for example that caused some division. Believe it or not there were many early church fathers that disagreed with icons and they had no place in worship. So there was a time in the early church where even bishops didn’t have icons.

Thank you Pastor Matt I liked your historical survey of early Christianity etc. I have been studying Orthodoxy and attending for a short time now I would not lump them with Roman Catholicism at all they’re completely different especially when you’re talking about church government. You Would do well to do a deep dive into Ortho doxy . They have over a millennium of difference.

My problem with the Protestant gospel is there are over 30,000 versions of it.

Blessings from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷

Eastern Orthodox believers will accuse this type of logical thinking as “ western” in thought or too forensic. Therefore it’s deemed as “wrong” thinking. I actually came out of Orthodoxy when God opened my eyes and saved me. I’m now part of a reformed Church. I trust in scripture alone as authority over tradition. Apparently I’m anathema to the Orthodox Church. What’s interesting about the EO church is that they are frozen in the 6th and 7th centuries. They claim they haven’t changed since however there is no communion between certain sects of Orthodoxy like Russian, Oriental, and Coptic. Even divisions with the Greek Orthodox Church of America. They claim that that never had denominations like Protestants, however, we’re seeing divisions occurring. I recommend watching a documentary called “the failure of Orthodoxy”.

Don't blame you! Great video. 😁😎👍🏻👑

I've renounced the Calvinistic view I've held for close to 2 years; and I'm now converting into Orthodoxy. The same reasons dear 'Mary' had but also, the fundamental question to my conversion, which is 'Did Jesus establish His Church through the apostles? If so, who were they & what did they believe?' That question is fundamental for all Christians. And the fact of the matter is, is that Jesus did do so, and the church the apostles established did not teach what Calvinism teaches. AT ALL. The disciples of the apostles, prayed to dead saints, gave us the canon, gave us the Trinity, gave us the doctrines of Mary, etc. Not one of those men who established the church believed how you believe. And thats indisputable.

Can you recapture an earlier time in the church without originating organically from that structure? Personally I am struggling. I know we can just shoot back to the claims of Apostolic succession, “God can raise up successors from these stones!” But is that really sufficient?

So, the thesis is: the Reformation captures the Ancient Church. Point one: the New Testament doesn’t show the worship of the Church. Wrong and this starts with a non-amillennial reading of Revelation. The Orthodox Church points to Revelation 4 and 5 and you can read the commentary from Saints Caesarius of Arles and Andrew of Crete on Revelation for that. Also, the Psalter is prescribed as the book of worship. The Liturgy is a fulfilment of the worship of the OT. If you think it’s a “resacrifice”, then you also don’t understand the theology and philosophical principle of participation. Ultimately, this is not a discussion about the canon, but about the early interpretation of Scripture. Once you take the consesus of the Ante Nicene and Post Nicene fathers, which is certainly not done by cherry picking quotes here and there, ask yourself a question: it’s not if they belong to my church but do I belong to theirs?

I agree with most of what you say. With regard to icons, they emerged as a result of the scriptures not being in vernacular. Icons and pictures was one of the only ways people could learn the stories of salvation history. While I like stain class, icons, etc. I do prefer a simple worship space, one that draws attention to the altar and ambo. With regard to the Lord’s Supper, Roman Catholics believe the representation of Christ’s sacrifice is not recreated in the Mass. Rather, in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, we are brought to that moment in eternity when Christ died for our sins. It is made present to us again (re-presented). I don’t think this theology is explained in the best way. I say this as a former RC. With regard to the episcopacy in the Roman Church, I agree completely. Too many titles, ranks, and honors. I worship in an ELCA community. I appreciate how our congregation incorporates the liturgy-one I believe whose elements is rooted in scripture. I like the Confession and Forgiveness at the beginning of the service when we are declared forgiven in Christ. I love the use of the lectionary-the Old Testament lesson, psalm, Epistle, and Gospel which are carefully chosen to compliment one another and flow from week to week. Finally, I love receiving Christ in the sacrament at the end of the service. An ordered liturgy, one rooted in scripture, simple in nature helps me worship God for fully. This pattern of worship helps me experience God serving me and preparing me to “Go out!” Thanks for sharing your perspectives with us! I enjoy theological dialogue and learning what other think on these things.

If you want to experience the closest thing to ancient apostolic worship visit an Orthodox church or a Latin Mass Catholic church. If you've never been to an Orthodox or Latin service you owe it to yourself to visit both at least once. Expect the eucharist to be central to the worship of both churches.

Not going to lie, I myself have felt tempted towards EO in the past. As a Protestant, Catholicism is always going to be in the ‘anathema box’, but EO was open. Truthfully what it all came from was a disillusionment in evangelicalism, and their inability to have conviction, anaemic stance in church history, theology, and practice. Everything I was looking for was within the historic Reformed tradition, not the EO sacramentalism.

Thanks Pastor Matt, so interesting. I am a member of a PCA church. In a few years I hope to do some travelling and look forward to attending your church.

There's just something very uninspired and bland about churches here in America. Having lived in Europe for over a decade and seen how beautiful their churches are, how beautiful the music is, how inspired. How much time, care, and dedication went into every detail. How much the artists and artisans put their hearts and souls into their craft. It may not be backed up scripturally but my heart tells me that these people wanted their churches to be a place of inspiration and everlasting dedication

I'm at presbytary as I'm watching this (well the days inn lol) but this weekend is our local presbytary

It's really funny because you have just quoted everything that we do in our divine liturgy. We pray, We read the psalter, We read the apostles and the gospels, We have a homily of exhortation, and then we partake of the Lord's supper, then most of the time we have a fellowship meal. The arguments you presented are the exact arguments that convinced me to become orthodox. Christ is risen! ☦️

Catholics don’t believe in the re sacrifice of Our lord on the Cross but one sacrifice for all at once however your are not understanding philosophical understanding of atemporality of God and therefore his one and eternal sacrifice. The logic your using to use church fathers on quotes which are not full explained are contradictory in comparison to their teaching on the Mass e.g athanasius’s teaching that the mass is the banquet of the lamb in revelation. Cyprian of Carthage “With a false bishop appointed for themselves by heretics, they dare even to set sail and carry letters from schismatics and b.asphemers to the chair of Peter and to the principal church [at Rome], in which sacerdotal unity has its source” (ibid., 59:14).

In my country (UK) the Gospel was spread from the apostles in Jerusalem via North Africa and overseas to the British Isles in the centuries following Christ's redemptive work on the cross. There were good and thriving Christian communities until Pope Gregory 1st sent an aggressive mission to our shores in 597 AD. By 755 AD Britain was under the total jurisdiction of Papal Rome. Those remnants who resisted were put to death. The rallying cry of the Catholic Church has always been that it is the oldest, one true Church but this is simply not true. That was propaganda from a tyrannical, invading force who still today, does not teach people the true doctrine of Justification, Sanctification and Glorification. My view of the Reformation, in my country, is that we rescued the Gospel after over 700 years of Papal rule and it is not just 500 years old.

You should study (if you haven't already) the writings of St. Ignatius who was a disciple of St. John the Apostle and much of his writings coincide with the Catholic Church's teachings, but I would argue are not in sync with Protestant churches. I grew up a Methodist but when I reached 29 began studying Roman Catholicism. The history and ritualism of the early church are what helped me "swim the Tiber" and convert to being Catholic. Have happily lived my life for our Lord Jesus Christ as a Catholic the past 16 years now. God Bless!

So basically, you are not Orthodox or Catholic because they are liturgical? Did I sum that up correctly?

The Mass is not a "re-sacrifice" of Christ but the one and the same sacrifice as Calvary as Christ died, once for all. The Didache tells us that the worship in the early Church was liturgical; the liturgy of the word and the liturgy of the Eucharist. Cardinals are bishops as they are not ordained as cardinals, as well, the Pope is the bishop of Rome and your argument from silence is a logical fallacy. Let's see what Justin Martyr taught on the Eucharist: "This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus." - Justin Martyr, "First Apology", Ch. 66, inter A.D. 148-155. Notice his wording regarding the Eucharistic liturgy: "...consecrated by the Word of prayer...." This sounds very much like the Mass, doesn't it? The words of consecration of the Mass. "..."is the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus." He never states that it is a symbol of the flesh and blood of Christ but is transformed by the prayer of consecration, "IS" the flesh and blood of the incarnate Christ. Justin Martyr describes the Mass in detail and let me state again: the Mass is not a re-sacrifice. In fact, the true presence of Jesus in the Eucharist wasn't even challenged until the reformers came along. Nowhere in Church history or the Catechism of the Catholic Church is the word "re-sacrifice" is used in the context of the Mass and once again, your arguments from silence is a logical fallacy.

A good analysis Pastor Matt

Critique of orthodoxy includes the pope. Tell me you don’t know what you’re talking about without telling me you don’t know what you’re talking about.

Is this video the first of a series? You will have lot of videos to make to tackle all the Protestant churches.

A shorter version ... if someone tells you "the Orthodox Church is the least changed" denomination of them all, here is what to say: "Least changed since when?"

Why do Presbyterians not receive communion every Sunday?

What does pca stand for?

BECAUSE I'M NOT CATHOLIC OR ORTHODOX

The problem is the reformers weren’t reforming against the Orthodox. They were reforming against Romes innovations.

I'm from a protestant background and have began to explore Eastern Orthodoxy as it's a more authentic form of Christianity. It'd be good if you could have this discussion with Jay Dyer. He would put forward a much stronger case than most when advocating for Eastern Orthodoxy

Funny that I started watching this as I was procrastinating going through my own receipts.

Wish you could do one on, "WHY I'm not Baptist", for your views on that. Thank you.

I love that pouring is only to be done IF you don’t have access to water to plunge. That means no American Church has an excuse Not to immerse in water.

very good video I feel much better being MSL Lutheran . every time I have seen or interacted with EO they seem very arrogant . I'm sure there are plenty of humble EO's , it did sorta turn me off to there hermeneutical expression

First of all lumping Orthodoxy together with the Catholic Church just completely obliterates why Orthodoxy appeals to so many Protestants these days. In this video, you refer to certain Catholic practices and notions which are just not present in Orthodoxy: for example, there is no Pope in Orthodoxy. The only thing you mention that's specifically Orthodoxy is icons, but you don't say what's wrong with them or why they shouldn't be used. If your argument is, "if it's not in the Bible, then it's not legit", then there are numerous practices of your own (witness your own videos) that should be thrown out: for example, Study Bibles, (which is the focus I actually love best about your youtube ministry). This is particularly relevant when it comes to icons: just as Study Bibles are legitimate tools to help the believer in their faith, so are icons. You've not given us reason not to be Orthodoxy; you've merely conveniently cited scripture and early texts that support your own form of worship. Both Orthodoxy and the Catholic Church are, like you, able to quote scripture to support their theologies, liturgies, and other faith practices. (Regarding vestments, the Orthodox will quote Exodus 28. Regarding incense (per your thumbnail), they would quote Exodus 30 and Psalm 141 verse 2 among others.) I was hoping this video would be educational, but it was not. Don't lump these two great churches together. Show that you actually understand these churches in their own terms, why they approach worship as they do, how they regard tradition, how they view prayer, the Bible, Christ, etc. Until you've done that, you've not really said anything why you're neither Orthodox nor Catholic. Unfortunately, you've done none of that here.

The liturgical churches, orthodox and catholic, held to the worship format of the Jewish Temples. Most of the disciples wereJewish as was Jesus, and they worshipped in the Jewish temples. After Jesus ascended, the disciples and followers of Jesus kept in the Jewish Temples until they just could not reconcile their teachings, so Christians left the temples and worshipped in homes until Christian churches were built. I imagine those that went to the newChristian temples probably copied the Jewish liturgical worship format, putting Jesus as the center of their worship and adding what they felt were important points for worship, and The liturgy grew with each meeting of the ecumenical councils…..

Thanks

I am a retired Salvation Army officer who enjoys your videos, but I was also disappointed in this one and have to agree with Fr. Matthew Thurman's post that you did not give a fair assessment on the Orthodox Church. A great book on this subject is "Light from the Christian East" by James R. Payton a Christian Reform theologian. Dr Payton gives a great and positive analysis of this Church.

All his early church observations were totally Catholic ! He totally proved the Catholic church while trying to disprove . Im gonna find me a Catholic Church see myself.

Hello Pastor! Blessings from Detroit Michigan! How can I find your email?

Holy Orthodoxy is the true Church, the reformation failed to capture authentic Christianity. I can hardly call Protestantism a form of authentic Christianity. If Protestantism did then why are the fruits of reformation further splintering and division? There are 50,000+ forms of mainline Protestantism and that number is increasing daily, and I’m not counting the corner store churches that pop up overnight and fade away in 40-50 years at most.

Good stuff. Thanks for the break down.

Thank you!!!!

While I do believe the EO is better than the RC I think this to do with the Eastern Churches sticking with the Greek over the Latin. But at the end of the day they have pelagian aspects, so at the end of the day they are just high liturgy Methodist from my perspective. Combined with the soteriology and the over emphasized liturgy of the so called "ancient" churches.

Othodox have Metropolitans, Heiromonks, Archpriests, Protopresbyters, etc.

Thank you

What abouy daily?

Satans age ole lie of “But did God really say?….” All he has to do is make you question the inerrancy and infallibility of scripture and he can get you to turn away from God all together. We must believe in the preservation of scripture and the God has kept HIS word wholly intact throughout history. The Bible proves itself. Hold to the truth. Jesus said “I am the way the TRUTH and the life..”.

How you compare those two when there is an Ontologicall difference between orthodox and catholism.what one see as Deity the other see it as something created.

Soli Deo Gloria!

“I know there’s a distinction but we’re gonna jump them together” …less than a minute in and I’m checking out.

I truly like all of your videos I have seen so far. This one I may not be able to watch because by conversion from Evangelical Protestantism and conviction, I have become Eastern Orthodox. Therefore, I have a hard time with this type of video. I will try to watch this another time.

I call him pope Frankie the proud.

Dawg older is better. Catholics & Orthodox can trace their Holy Orders to Jesus Christ Himself

How "enlightening" to discover that my worship as an Orthodox Christian is nothing more than an accumulation of barnacles, overly complicated accretions, and not scriptural.We sure are inventors! Oh, and I am grateful for the correction of our use of icons and the veneration of saints---thank goodness someone could clarify what we have muddied and distorted. How purifying to know that art and creativity have no place in the expression of faith. Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity, that's the purified way. Sola idolatry. How could we be so medieval? I guess we are just too busy re-sacrificing every Sunday. What a misrepresentation! However well intentioned this presentation is----and i believe it is----it is a selective distortion of what Christians believed in the early times and suffered for throughout the ages. Of course, the presenter does not mean to be insulting, and that is clear. He is obviously sincere and believes in what he says. But he is simply incorrect in his assertions. He simply does not present what we Orthodox believe and have believed from age to age.

Hey Pastor Matt 👋 I liked the video, but am not sure about a couple things I heard you say. One is that I always understood that the pope is the Vicar of Peter, not Christ. Also, I know that there is more scripture read in a Catholic Church on a weekday than any Protestant church I’ve attended and they do sing the psalms every mass. I agree that they take the Mary thing to far at times, but they also teach that worship of her is a big bozo no no. Jesus did however give her to us as our heavenly mother just before he died on the cross in the gospel of John and it was Mary that convinced Jesus to perform his first miracle when he was unwilling to do so.

The KJV Only people make me sick.😁But I do like some of them when they're not calling the modern versions any names.

So you reference Acts 2:42 yet still believe that the only things that Christians are supposed to do is to follow the Bible? You acknowledge in your video that they did not have the Bible at the time and followed the apostles teachings. Meaning the early church followed the teachings/traditions of the apostles. Where in the Bible does it state that every teaching and tradition is recorded in the Bible? The same group of people that decided what was to be included in the original Canon of the Bible also followed the traditions of the apostles. This is why the Orthodox church is refered to as the church of the apostles. Not the church of Peter or Paul or whoever, but all of the apostles. They knew the church to be one and not divided. Please allow me to ask, when matthew went to Ethiopia, Thomas went to India, Peter and Paul went to Rome, John went to Asia minor, and yet as spread out and separated as they were, all of these areas established nearly identical churches with nearly identical traditions? They all had priests, they all glorified the Saints, they all baptized, they all anointed, they all fasted, they all practiced the eucharist, and they all heard confession (originally done in front of the congregation until the church got more popular). And I stopped watching when you said they met at the temple and their homes. Of course they did. Where else would they meet? They were persecuted from the very beginning. They're not building church that would be burnt to the ground the next day. They were practically in hiding. Not sure how you could answer all these but, please do.

It doesn't matter what your claim is to be least changed there were no musical instruments in the early church, & the NT practices were all over the place some were house churches as you've stated, so how do we do church then? Unless it's a form universally agreed upon by the entire world wide church through those who had apostolic succession then it was considered to be out of line with the rules of the church. Same goes with rankings, the apostles would have been like archbishops, can't believe you aren't even able to grasp that

You’ve opened up a can worse than the KJVO crowd. Haha!

There are a lot of Apostolic teachings that are not found in scripture.

Respectfully, it comes down to authority and where it resides. The only real contenders are Catholicism or Orthodoxy. Sorry😊

Eastern Orthodox Christians refer to Moscow, Russia as "The Third Rome".

I can't believe the level of slander ( re-sacrifice)???and the fact that this guy is so interested in being correct he doesn't pay any attention to what he is reading and uses exegesis and doesn't know the book of Timothy exists...qualification of a bishop..and doesn't know the word (elder) presbytère is the word =preist > being an English only speaker he missed the whole piont....besides that you would not have a Bible at all .... the church was a baby in the Bible..oh and icons were in the super ancient caves in turkey 🇹🇷 its not of médiéval origin...gosh....they didn't were suits back 18 hundred years ago..oh the slander..in your view!!!!

I don't know why you Presbyterians eat spaghetti with the sauce and meatballs. If you go back far enough in the food preparation, your meal was just some noodles boiling in water. If you understand the analogy, you will understand why people jump ship for Rome.

The Prostestants are way off non of the church Father's are on the side of The Reformers, They're spoke of the Sacraments as in John 6:51-58- & Christ his Apostles & Sacraments as John 3:5 & John 20:21-22-23)🛐🙏🗝️🗝️💯 Catholic

Quoting Pliny who wasn’t a Christian as a source for what early Christian practice was is problematic. Justin Martyr, a church father who was writing shortly after Pliny, describes Christian worship as being liturgical and being centred around the eucharist which was bread and wine mixed with water. Within 100 years of the resurrection, the church is described as practicing a very similar faith to what is being practised today by both orthodox and catholics. To simply have a reductionistic approach to worship, i.e simply do what is in Acts 2 and nothing else, is to ignore the history and beauty of the Holy Spirit’s working in the church and how Christians have historically worshiped. It’s no accident that the oldest Christian groups (orthodox & catholics) both worship liturgically and are centred around the Eucharist. It’s also important to note that in Acts 2, followers of Jesus are not Christians as we understand today, they were Jews that believed that Jesus was the messiah. They were worshiping in the temple and in the synagogues, praying the prayers and hymns with the Jewish people (what we know as the psalms), and participating in their worship which was VERY liturgical. To say that stopped with the apostles is to ignore their Jewishness and to ignore Christian history.

Iconoclasm is pretty cringe ngl

Short answer: because in your contumacy you RESIST the Grace of God.