Guidelines for the Orthodox subforum

Roosh

Roosh

Cardinal
Orthodox
Below are guidelines for using this subforum. Last edited: 12/30/2022.

How to conduct discussions involving active Orthodox clergy
  • Use caution to not turn this subforum into a gossip corner where we critique and nitpick, even if we have valid concerns.
  • Be very thoughtful before posting any critique on active clergy. Remember that this forum is public.
  • Do not share any private knowledge or unsourced suspicions that a priest has done something incorrect or non-Orthodox, whereby his reputation would be hurt (i.e. gossip).
  • Do not share private communications without explicit consent.
  • Do not read into the potential motivations of a priest to try and understand his actions (i.e. mind-read).
  • You may comment on public actions and statements on a priest, but from a position of understanding and compassion. Don't be quick to attack out of anger.
  • Do not call a priest a "heretic" or "ecumenist" unless a label has been given to him by an ordained member of the Church. Only use adjectives that refer to specific behaviors (e.g. "Concelebrating with the Anglican priest was an ecumenical gesture.")
The devil will strong tempt us to attack active clergy for issues small and large. It's okay to disagree with opinions and actions of clergy, but be respectful and delicate when doing so.

How to post Orthodox content

  • Start a new thread for each individual work or works in the same series. It's okay to have multiple threads by the same author.
  • Use the "Content" thread prefix
  • If sharing a file that is being sold as a paperback, link to a store where it can be bought. If you download a PDF of a book you're enjoying and it is actively being sold somewhere, you should support the publisher and buy the book. This section is to read out-of-print books or browse through actively published books for purchase.
  • The upload limit on the forum is 5 megabytes. If your PDF is larger than that, use an external service and then link it here. Potential services you can use: Mega.nz, Google Drive, Dropbox, PDFhost.io
  • It's okay to share books that are already available on sites like Archive.
  • The books shared here should be explicitly Orthodox or at least compatible with Orthodox thought. Do not share modern books published by the big publishing houses.
Use this thread to give additional suggestions.
 
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Some sections I can think of would be:
  • Theology
  • Ecclesiology/Church Politics/Church News (in one or multiple subforums)
  • Inquirer/Catechumen Q&A section
  • Icons/Art/Music
Inquirers with good faith questions need to be encouraged with any debate relegated to a different section or somehow strictly moderated, which is how Jay Dyer's Orthodox Discord channel does it. Currently it seems like questions in the Orthodox subforum and your Orthodox articles are either from good faith inquirers or non-Orthodox antagonizers/trolls with nothing in between. There have been many cases of people attacking Orthodoxy without proposing any alternative or identifying their background, which is just trolling.

Jay Dyer's Orthodox Discord channel also has sections for discussion from an explicitly Orthodox perspective on other things such as parish life, and secular topics like world politics, science, and technology, but replicating that here might encroach on the other sections of the main forum.
 
Include a section where people who are perhaps are not much learned in Orthodoxy/Christianity can go in and post their things which they have read and heard, which may be heretical or wrong and get corrected or discuss. One thing that Milo got right which I took from your discussion with him @Roosh is that orthodox Christians need to grow a thicker skin, and this could be a place for that cultural aim, let's say.

I am thinking about gnostics, the stuff that Adam Green of know more news is heavily promoting with Christopher Jon Bjerknes, with success I might add, it has given these types a views an anchoring point and it is causing a drain. If the answers are well sourced, I think a wiki can be made eventually. Although you may think "there is nothing new under the sun" people do invent and discover new (mis)interpretations as history marches on, understanding of language changes, not to mention that the internet is the new medium and there should be rebukes, apologetics adapted to it.

Perhaps there could also be voice discussions, not on discord though, too much trolling, censorship and privacy issues. Perhaps

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Join LBRY and/or host a PeerTube instance Roosh. Bitchute is done, and rumble, dlive is dead in the water.
 
EgoDeath said:
Perhaps there could also be voice discussions, not on discord though, too much trolling, censorship and privacy issues. Perhaps
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I like the idea of a voice channel provided it is secure. A place we could have prayers, bible studies, and book clubs. I don't trust discord enough to actively participate on that Orthodox forum.
 
DanielH said:
I like the idea of a voice channel provided it is secure. A place we could have prayers, bible studies, and book clubs. I don't trust discord enough to actively participate on that Orthodox forum.
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100% and not only that, it is that it is conducive to hypocrisy, malign/prideful/pile-on and cucked/stifled culture, if you visit Dyers discord you will perhaps see what I mean. there is a hypocritical bully culture, fueled by extreme paranoia among other things, I have never seen anywhere online. Antifa type echo chambers are the closest that to come to it. To my mind, Christians should not put themselves in a gulag/panopticon, which is what discord is, where they can not have unbridled discussion. Why would you wittingly impose this PTSD inducing type environment on not only yourself but your brethren, it just does not make any sense. There are alternatives, and the ethos of open source, encryption, distributed systems and dapps are a rising sentiment and technologies, being the only real future for freedom I can see.

NickK said:
Joining the Orthodox Church: for inquirers and catechumens.
I think it's essential to create a friendly subforum specifically for them, separate from apologetics, jurisdictional disputes, wordly affairs, fighting trolls etc.
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Yes, it seems prudent that this should definitely be kept separate.
 
  • Break down the Orthodox into specific sub-sections - i.e., Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc.
  • Q&A for each specific sub-section - i.e., Russian Orthodox Q&A, Greek Orthodox Q&A, etc.
  • Orthodox Calendar - typically, Orthodox Churches hand out free Orthodox calendars at the beginning of each year. It contains scripture readings, what food is allowed or not allowed to eat on that day, etc. It is extremely helpful to follow especially the daily scripture readings, which I've followed since my return to Orthodox roots. Examples of an Orthodox calendar:
    07.2021.jpg
  • EngWCfull_1024x1024@2x.jpg
 
In addition to what's said I'd appreciate discussion on the Orthosphere. It would be helpful to form a hub to discuss contemporary Orthodox speakers, such as Fr. Spyridon and Fr. Trenham. Also, discussion on forming local Ortho communities would be helpful. Last, specific discussion on the Church Fathers would be insightful. What were their lives? Who were they? What did they struggle with? What can we learn from them?
 
NickK said:
Joining the Orthodox Church: for inquirers and catechumens.
I think it's essential to create a friendly subforum specifically for them, separate from apologetics, jurisdictions, wordly affairs, fighting trolls etc.
Click to expand...
Yes this would be very helpful, as many here come from a secular or different Christian background and are looking into Orthodoxy, which will in time almost certainly lead to the urge to join the Church and have companionship with those in the same process.
 
DanielH said:
Some sections I can think of would be:
  • Theology
  • Ecclesiology/Church Politics/Church News (in one or multiple subforums)
  • Inquirer/Catechumen Q&A section
  • Icons/Art/Music
Inquirers with good faith questions need to be encouraged with any debate relegated to a different section or somehow strictly moderated, which is how Jay Dyer's Orthodox Discord channel does it. Currently it seems like questions in the Orthodox subforum and your Orthodox articles are either from good faith inquirers or non-Orthodox antagonizers/trolls with nothing in between. There have been many cases of people attacking Orthodoxy without proposing any alternative or identifying their background, which is just trolling.

Jay Dyer's Orthodox Discord channel also has sections for discussion from an explicitly Orthodox perspective on other things such as parish life, and secular topics like world politics, science, and technology, but replicating that here might encroach on the other sections of the main forum.
Click to expand...
I second these categories as suggestions.
 
I feel like there are already too many subforums on RVF so the idea of creating even more seems a bit superfluous, especially considering that there's not always a ton of discussion on this one (the Catholic subforum seems much more active, but we're also got seemingly far more Catholic members than Orthodox.) But I do like the idea of a forum for inquirers, since that might encourage people who are interested/have questions but don't feel a place for them in existing threads.

I'd suggest that we just create dedicated threads for these topics. Make a thread for Fr. Spyridon, a thread for icons, an inquirer question thread, a thread for Church news, etc. I'd go this route, and then turn these into subforums if after a number of months there's enough discussion in the dedicated threads to justify it.

In my personal experience, the more subforums a board has, the less likely I am to even see everything, and instead just check a couple of the subforums while never going into others. I used to read a lot more threads here when there was just an "Everything Else" forum, I don't tend to visit some of the subforums in here unless I'm looking for something in particular. But maybe my tendencies are unique and most don't have this issue.
 
Forgive the references to “Spirit Daily” or “The Drudge Report” - both of which I gave up on years ago. One aspect that they do that is helpful is to have a link to all the other writers/publications/references that they draw from on their main page.

It would be helpful to have a one stop shop for all the non NWO/heterodox writers out there. It could serve as the first stop for a daily survey of everything going on in the Orthosphere.

God bless you Roosh!
 
NickK said:
Joining the Orthodox Church: for inquirers and catechumens.
I think it's essential to create a friendly subforum specifically for them, separate from apologetics, jurisdictions, wordly affairs, fighting trolls etc.
Click to expand...

As an inquirer, I'd recommend a policy to keep threads in such a section from descending into deep theological debates.

As Protestants my family is interested in the Orthodox Church but it is very overwhelming. I say this as a lifelong Bible student. Sometimes you just want a starting path...not a 1000 years of different arguments.
 
MichaelWitcoff said:
I second these categories as suggestions.
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I agree as well! (first post, long time lurker)
I don't think there should be sub-Orthodox categories for Greek, Russian, Syrian, etc.. We need to honestly not separate ourselves and read about each other's problems. Especially concerning the recent decisions of the Greek Orthodox Church (of which I am a member) and the extremely concerning trajectory of the Patriarch. We all need exposure to these current events; if they are stuck in a sub-category people may just ignore them.
 
I don't think any sub-forums are necessary here. There seem to be quite a few Orthodox users, so really it's a matter of channeling discussions in the current forum rather than creating a mess of sub-forums where things are likely to be missed. Someone mentioned something about conversion stories - a single thread would suffice for that rather than a dedicated forum. Same thing with a Q&A thread for those looking into Orthodoxy, or perhaps one focused on apologetics.
 
@Roosh

As an aside, I offer a related suggestion of "Faith" perhaps being moved to being directly underneath "Announcements" on the main page forum hierarchy (displacing "Current Events" to position 3).

Not attempting a judgment of any kind against the current ordering, but since you already have a to plan adjust the layout to represent a more in-depth examining of the Orthodox Faith, perhaps putting the (Orthodox) Faith section at a 'higher' position on your website may help continue to emphasize the direction your forum is obviously taking.

Not Orthodox myself; but since you are, developing your 'house' to make it more Orthodox-focused is a good idea.
 
Changes have been implemented. You can read about it here:

Elevation of Orthodox forum category

I have renamed the "Faith" category to "Orthodox Christianity". Up to now, this forum was an implicit Orthodox forum but we're moving to where it is explicit. The Orthodox subforum is not overly active, but by moving it to the top, I want to make clear that it is is the most important part of...
www.rooshvforum.com www.rooshvforum.com
 
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