Ask An Orthodox Priest #3 - Marijuana, Women In The Priesthood, New Converts...

0:00 - 2:14 - Orthodox Stance on Marijuana usage?

2:15 - 3:29 - Advice to a new convert to Orthodoxy?

3:30 - 5:31 - How Should An Orthodox Christian handle scrupulosity?

5:32 - 7:54 - How can we fight to kill the ego?

7:55 - 9:13 Why are priests allowed to be married in Orthodoxy?

9:14 - 10:12 Advice for an Orthodox Couple dealing with infertility?

10:13 - 11:28 - How to be Orthodox if there is no church near you?

11:28 - 12:43 - Why Can't Women Be Priests?

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[timothybrown]

I smoked marijauna almost everyday for nearly 20 years. After deciding to convert to Holy Orthodoxy i gave it up with the help of the Jesus Prayer. It was one of the best things i could have done. I found it to inhibit my prayers. Ultimately I had to ask myself, if Christ were to return right now and find me stoned, what would he say?

[danktankdragkings]

I could cry pure joy right now. You said plainly "a marriage is not made valid with children". Your goal is "to get each other to heaven". My husband and I got married and then immediately he got reproductive cancer. He's 100% unable to have children and I am very unsafe to carry with hormone sensitive seizures.

This is the first public statement I have seen from The Church (I know this is no Council of Nicea but still) that says marriage matters outside children. I spent 10 years of literal blood sweat and tears trying to subvert God's order for our lives. Clearly He said no children in the [Last Name] home and I took too many stubborn fights with dad to learn to live wit it. I understand why now but it still hurts like hell randomly.

Being denied children was never something I saw. From basically birth I expected to have 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. I have the home now but still no plans for children. I volunteer with foster kids but we will never actively adopt. I had that miscarriage back during 2020 and never again.

Thank you so much for staying you are whole without children. I undoubtedly would be a useless ack of hormonal goo without my husband's guidance and strength. We absolutely had to be married to have the level of influence over each other we do. Your marriage is complete without children.

[jgurrea]

That was the most measured, sensible, prudent, and reality-based analysis I have heard. Thank you, Father.

[tysongames]

He's right about taking your time converting to Orthodoxy. I have been sprinting, but thanks to my wife I'm am taking it slow now.
By the way, to answer the person's question about how to kill the ego. The answer is quite simple, teach high school for one day 😁.
Not only will you not have an ego anymore but you will also lose your self esteem and the desire to exist 😉.

[jacobmartinez]

I’ve been in a vicious cycle of weed and porn. This is due to being overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety/unhappiness. I’ve asked Jesus Christ to lighten the load a little bit in my head, and ive asked this during stretches of quitting it and trying to repent for a couple of months. I’m tired of this cycle. It’s boring and unsatisfying, and I’ve been praying about this for too long

[wmarkfish]

One should avoid every dependency because dependency is slavery and a slave cannot be free. However, no one is completely free of every influence while they are alive in this fallen world; the best we can hope for is to minimize the influences of the world and maximize our dependence on the Lord. Putting yourself under the influence of an earthly substance is like adding weight to your burden. Be as free as you can be and thank the Lord.

[seeker]

Fantastic video.
I am starting my journey to Orthodoxy now. Like a newborn

[pluskiddo]

As an occasional smoker, Fr. Theophan's stance on marijuana makes a lot of sense to me, especially regarding the "end goal" to its usage. Spiritually, I believe the biggest danger with substances like alcohol and weed are that they have high potential to make you weaker against the temptation to sin. Alcohol frequently weakens one against lust (at least for me), and for some people against wrath, greed, and pride. Marijuana can weaken one's resistance to sloth and gluttony (while for others, I have seen it make them more productive and all-around better humans). So, while taking these substances is not inherently and directly sinful, they can easily be indirectly sinful by weakening your resistance to temptation, and therefore causing you to fall to sin.

[prestonjobe]

“God loves us. There’s joy in that.” I really needed to hear that today. Thank you Fr.

[BrotherLaymanPaul]

Thank you for the loving word, Fr Theophan!

[ArchangelIcon]

Always so sensible and compassionate in very Orthodox answers.
Thank you.

[keithanderson]

Father Spyridon has a good video about weed.

[livingfreelyinspired]

Ganja(Sanskrit for weed) in Hinduism is associated with shiva.

For you all dears let me describe who shive is, according to the sanskrit scriptures.


- an eternally fallen angel of light(Tallingam bhagavan shambhur Jyotir rupa sanatana)
-the source of false ego (ahankaratmakam vishvam tasmad etad vyajayata)
-the giver of boons to demons(like ravana)
-the avatar of material ignorance (tamo guna avatara)
-the one who leads the world into destruction (bs 5.45)
-an incarnation of anger (canto 3 chapter 12 bhagavatam)
-the lord of ghastly spirits (also canto 3 bhagavatam)


Devils Lettuce is really not too inaccurate a thing to say, dear ones.

I smoked a lot of weed in my life and knew a lot of people who smoked a lot. Basically all of them including me always tried to stop and said they wanted to in passing. But I’ve met almost nobody who’s ever been able to stop smoking weed. It blankets your emotions and dulls your mind, and without it everything seems not worth it. Although it’s not physically dangerous or life threatening, in my own experience at the very least, completely; it is extremely spiritually destructive. After all it is the plant associated with the avatar of the material mode of ignorance of Hinduism. 🙏🏼☦️



—-

All you dears please pray for my baptism and the salvation of me and my hindu wife. Her heart is now taken by a beautiful, hungry wolf who calls himself god. God bless you in Jesus name. ☦️

[moirreym]

Thank you Father for this video. I am a hopeful convert. This video is a blessing as I am especially struggling with not being to zealous and/or in over my head, ..and also with marijuana. I ask for prayers! Bless you Fr Theophan

[troyhavok]

The path to humility (killing the ego) lies in service to others. If you put the needs of others ahead of your own in every small (even seemingly insignificant) decision you make, you find the ego melt away and Love for God and your brother grows exponentially. I learned this by driving for a living. By choosing to be considerate in all the small decisions I make on the road - don't block driveways, let people in even if it means I miss a green light, stay behind the slower truck so others can pass me on the highway even though it makes it take me longer to get over that steep hill. At gas stations and rest areas I try to make sure I leave the place in as good or better order than I found it. It's amazing how cleaning up a public toilet by choice can promote humility - it is not beneath you. These little things do more than we realize to make the lives of others just a little better and if everyone took the time to act like this we would all have a less stressful and annoying life. These things are far bigger than we think.

I've been trying to think of it this way: What is God always doing in this world?

He creates
He maintains order out of chaos
He feeds the poor and hungry
He cares for orphans and widows
He loves everyone
He brings joy to life
He is long suffering
He sacrifices Himself for the sake of others, even if they hate Him

There is much more that He is doing, but the point is, look for ways to participate in His works, no matter how small it seems. It will transform you. This is justification - to be made righteous. This is synergy - cooperation with the Lord's energies. This is Grace and we have the opportunity to be the conduit through which it enters into the lives of others. This is the key to all the problems the world faces. We all have a responsibility to participate in God's act of saving the world. It's through this that we are the Light of the World, and by showing Love in this way, we show love to Him and are known by the world to be His disciples.

[calatianupriser]

I struggle with the habit of smoking marijuana. I have such a hard time shaking it, sometimes even for just a day. Would very much appreciate prayers and any spiritual guidance you can point me to. I will have to get very good at The Jesus Prayer, I know this. God bless you all ☦🙏

[allandunn]

Some wonderful, inspiring and reassuring words, Father - as I am on the road to Chrismation. ❤🙏

[claesvanoldenphatt]

I appreciate the nuanced view on ‘the devil’s lettuce’. Being a person of a certain age, the question of personal marijuana usage differs from my use of it presently than did for me as a young person. Statistics of usage show that most people buying legal weed are over 60, for good reasons. It’s the least expensive, least debilitating soporific for the aches and pains of an aging body. My own usage is vanishingly slight, and when I do use it I’m very sparing with it, to achieve a microdose of THC and CDB to numb a specific pain or cure nausea. Thank God I’m in excellent general health but the weed is an excellent pain reliever that doesn’t harm liver or kidneys and is far cheaper than any other medications.

[Durnyful]

From the experience of my youth & found weed completly demotivated me to do anything much, I lost all my drive which I naturally have a lot of. These days weed seems to be far stronger. It is mind-altering in a strong way. I can't square its use within Christianity as being in any way a good thing. I think most people know that within themselves.

[charlesmaximus]

11:03
Please forgive me here, Father, it was actually Sartre that said that, not Nietzsche. That’s okay, though. I was actually convinced Schopenhauer said it and when I went to double check found that it was Jean-Paul Sartre. Of course, Father’s point still stands either way, no matter who said it. 🙏