What if reverence isn’t a feeling you chase, but a reality you enter?

This episode follows a grateful former Protestant named Michael from his upbringing all the way to a first Divine Liturgy in a small Orthodox chapel on a military base in Okinawa—and the quiet discoveries that happened along the way. Join Cloud of Witnesses hosts Jeremy Jeremiah and Mario Andrew as we move through warm family memories, the culture shock of military life, and the slow drift that happens when belief outruns practice. Then the trail turns: an old-school YouTube series on church history, the Jordan River baptismal site, a striking painting of confession, and even a meme about the Theotokos—little breadcrumbs pointing toward something older, deeper, and strangely familiar.

What we explore (without the debate club tone):

Icons, saints, Mary—through the Incarnation: not add-ons, but practices that flow from God made flesh and the Church’s unbroken life.

A reframing question: instead of “Were the early Fathers really Christians?” try “Would they recognize our faith as theirs?” That single question reshapes how we think about worship, authority, sacraments, and belonging to a parish that actually forms us.

Worship reimagined: the first Liturgy lands as awe-filled, ordered, communal—not performance or preference but the Church at prayer.

Accountability & spiritual fatherhood: why guidance matters when culture pulls hard—and how confession, obedience, and community keep us real.

Vocation with roots: plans for law school and faithful presence in public life, now steadied by a tradition that tells you who you are.

Gratitude without amnesia: love for Scripture and prayer received in Protestant homes, alongside honesty about what felt missing—continuity, reverence, and a daily rule of life.

If you’ve felt restless—church-hopping, yearning for weight and continuity—this conversation offers a gentle map: the ancient path is not a museum; it’s a living way that teaches hearts to pray, minds to think with the Church, and bodies to worship with all the senses.

Listen & share. If this resonates, subscribe and send to a friend who’s searching. In your review, tell us the one question you’d ask the early Church—what would you hope they recognize in your faith?

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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