“I walked in and started to cry.” What happens when an Orthodox Divine Liturgy feels more real than anything you’ve known?
One visit to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy can expose a hunger you did not know you had. Hannah describes walking into the church, catching the smell of incense, hearing the choir, seeing the priest with the censer, and suddenly fighting tears. It is not just emotion for its own sake. Something feels ancient, steady, and real enough to set off a relentless chain of questions about the Eastern Orthodox Church, worship, and what it means to actually be formed by faith.
Always reforming sounds noble until you ask: reform into what? We talk Reformation fatigue, denominational confusion, and why Orthodoxy feels like “home” for many.
Jeremy Jeremiah and Mario Andrew talk with Hannah and Brian about what it feels like to walk into an Orthodox church for the first time and realize something deeper is happening than a new “style” of worship. We follow their move from Protestant assumptions to Orthodox practices that feel like home, and we ask what happens when the Church is meant to hold on to us.
• Hannah’s first Divine Liturgy experience, from incense to tears to nonstop questions
• Curiosity turning into daily research, conversations, and a fast moving sense of conviction
• Brian’s slower pace, his prayer for truth, and the desire to avoid false teaching
• First Holy Week and Pascha, including the beauty and the reality of the marathon
• Intentional prayer, written prayers, veiling, icons, saints, and learning to die to self
• Denominations, ongoing reform, and why Protestant apologetics can feel like mental gymnastics
We talk through what happens after that first encounter: the research spiral, the awkward first-timer moments, and the different speeds two people can move at while still walking the same direction. Hannah dives in headfirst, hunting for the “why” behind icons, long services, and Holy Tradition. Brian shares a more cautious posture shaped by prayer, asking God to “lead me in all truth,” and naming the fear many seekers feel about being misled by bad information or falling into false doctrine.
Holy Week and Pascha become a turning point, not because everything gets easier, but because the Church’s rhythm starts to make sense. We explore the intentionality behind Orthodox practices like written prayers, a prayer rule, fasting, confession, reverence for icons, and learning to “die to self” so prayer becomes real instead of rushed. Along the way, we wrestle with Reformation after Reformation, denominational confusion, and why defending every disagreement can feel like mental gymnastics.
If you’re exploring converting from Protestant to Orthodox, or you’re simply trying to understand why Orthodoxy emphasizes embodied worship, mystery, and continuity, this conversation gives you language for the pull you may already feel. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review to help more people find Cloud of Witnesses.
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