In English-speaking countries, people might name their dogs Roman names, although that is not very common in other countries out there; many cultures have their own “Fluffy” and “Fido,” but it’s also worldwide common to name pets human names, although often their diminutive forms. I just don’t see why that should be a sin. Murdering people — yes; stealing — yes; abusing your pet — also yes; but why would naming a pet compromise your chances for a happy post-mortem existence?

Furthermore, in Orthodox Christianity, children with names that are not on the official church lists are forcefully baptized under a similar sounding “proper” name (if their parents choose to baptize them). So, say, you think you are a good Christian, and decide to have your daughter baptized; you name her Angela after some dear relative; well, guess what? She will be known as Anna (yes, my name is “allowed,” although it being church-friendly that was not my parents’ motivation) to the church.

Names change over time, and most names on that church’s list are very outdated now; plus as the cultural exchange is ongoing, new names emerge in Slavic language (and other ones, too), and I don’t know why what linguists view as a fascinating natural process should be outlawed by church. Your mother’s priests sounds like a very reasonable one — and most Russian Orhtodox priests are probably that way, too. But that’s another thing that angers me about Orthodox religion — on the official books, it’s still a sin. And yet, many priests, from what I hear, take a more relaxed stance. What’s the point of being so hypocritical? It doesn’t do much to improve religion’s image.

These linguistic issues are really ridiculous. In Ukraine, there is a sort of rebel Orthodox church that conducts its services in Ukrainian; the “main” church is basically a brunch of the Moscow-based one, and it conducts services in Russian (old Slavonic actually, I presume). So for a child with my name, the Ukrainian form is Hanna (which Russians don’t recognize as ‘Anna’, but rather as a separate name), which is what they would baptize a child as in the Ukrainian Orthodox tradition. The Russian Orthodox tradition would view that name as sinful then, since that name is not on the ‘official’ list. I knew someone who ran into that problem while baptizing their child. Supposedly, the church needs to be concerned with the child’s spiritual growth and all that, not with giving parents trouble about their naming choice.

So here’s a reply that comes almost a year later — I spent a lot time thinking about religion last year. I even took a class on Religion in International Relations, and I learned a lot. I did some research on the subject, and it turns out a Yale professor came up with a theory that we are all hard-wired to believe in some sort of deity; I am guessing my brain just functions differently, you know. Which I why I never made a point of denying peoples’ believes. I just feel that the way religion is organized makes for so many problems.

It’s great that you have a spiritual core — whether it comes from belief in power of yoga, shopping, running, or god, that is bound to make your life a happier one. I think we all need to find ours — although my encounters with organized religion made me believe I can find mine in anything but religion.

I’ve recently written a book called “The Christian Behind Closed Doors.” Its about legalism in the Christian church today. You can see it here: http://www.christianbehindcloseddoors.com. Thank you.

It is disappointing, but do not fret. Men such as these will suffer MUCH worse for turning you away from Christ than you will. But is it really so hard to simply acknowledge that Jesus exists and accept that He Loves you? I’ve never understood why someone wouldn’t simply accept the fact that a higher power out there Loves them?

If I told you I Loved you right before the police took me away and executed me. If Literally, my LAST words on Earth were, “I Love you.” And then they took me and executed me, wouldn’t you believe me?

If the same happened to you, I promise I would believe you.

I am thankful for your post, and the ensuing dialogue. I think that God is pleased that we’re all talking about him, and the good and bad in his pathetically humananized institutions. As I approach my 48th birthday next month, I’m thinking a lot about the journey and where I have been. I was just thinking about an old McDonald’s commercial that I always recall fondly, and how it’s similar to the start of my relationship with God. In the commercial a young boy who is new to a community and school is pictured standing alone next to his school locker. Nearby, a group of students is excitedly talking about their plans to walk over to the nearby McDonald’s for food and fellowship. As they walk down the hall towards the exit and their destination, the camera pans to the young boy. All the emotions of loneliness and despair that we have all experienced at one time or another are painfully evident in his expression. It’s a crushing scene. But, thank the Lord, one of the kids in the exiting group turns and walks back to the young boy at his locker. With a thousand watt, welcoming smile, he says, “HI, want you come and go with us?” The commercial ends with the two side by side, talking, smiling, and heading out to join the rest of the group. Yeah, God came and got me, and we’re walking, talking, smiling, laughing, and he’s working me through all the technical stuff. I yell and scream a lot, but God made everything out of nothing, so he can handle it. Besides, he knows I’m a rascal but he loves me anyway.

Pets and human names. Here I first need to clarify what we’re really getting at– which is not “human” names, but saint’s names. These happen to be the most common names because of Christianity’s historical defeat of paganism in most of the places to which it spread in the ancient world. This is why we name our dogs Roman names like “Caesar” and “Brutus” and why we name our children Jewish names like “Peter” and “John.”

So yes, it’s not technically “correct” to give a name which has been sanctified by people in the Church to an animal. This is not a “sin” though unless we mean to do it out of disrespect. My dear mother who also converted to Orthodoxy has a cat named Moses, and her priest did not tell her to rename him.

Sorry for the lengthy responses, Anna… I like your blog and hope to visit it more often.

I must admit to being shocked at the harsh treatment you received during your visit. Maybe, if God helps me, I can clarify some things for you, and perhaps help you to gain another perspective on your experience.

I’m an American convert to Orthodoxy after several years of membership in an evangelical denomination… so our backgrounds are different, but I still entertain the hope that I might be able to contribute to your post.

Babies and Baptism. Baptism is about becoming a part of Christ’s body, the Church. Christ told his apostles to allow even the little children to come to him– and so following the practice of the ancient Church, Orthodoxy not only baptizes babies, but anoints them with the sacred oil of chrism and gives them Holy Communion. Also, you definitely have god-parents– that’s just the canonical tradition of the slavic Orthodox Churches. Ideally these would be people that while you grew up would help to teach you faith in Christ.

Heaven and Hell. Hell for the Orthodox is different as you describe it here. Sins are not about God getting “angry.” In fact, our earliest saints like Ephrem the Syrian explained that God is not passionate and is not subject to anger in the human sense. “Anger” and “wrath” are anthropomorphisms from the Scriptures that point to deeper truths, in the same way we talk about God’s “hand” or “face.” The ancient Christian understanding (and the one which is maintained in the Orthodox Church) is that Heaven and Hell are ultimately the same reality: God’s love. Just like the same sunshine melts wax and hardens clay, it is the experience of this reality that will be for some everlasting light and love and joy, and for others (the ones who have chosen to reject this love and hate it) darkness, flame, weeping, etc. But God cannot but be Himself, which is Love. So you see, ancient Christianity is far more nuanced and reflective upon these eternal realities which the Lord revealed to us as he walked the earth. God loves you, and that does not change.

Sin. Sin, then, isn’t about what pisses off God, but about what has been found by the mind of the Church to pollute the soul and make it unprepared to receive God’s love. Orthodoxy is far more concerned with sin as an “infection” rather than an “infraction.” The cure, which is life in Christ and the Holy Mysteries, cures us and makes us more like what we are supposed to be. Obviously you meant “contrast showers” in jest, but yoga and martial arts might be problematic– if they involve techniques which are “consciousness altering” or which call upon false deities. But divorced from those things– yoga as exercise and breathing training, or martial arts as exercise or self-defense– they would be harmless, or perhaps beneficial. Even if you disagree, hopefully I have better expressed to you the internal logic of why those were listed as sins.

Regarding modest dress and feminist western culture. You have to understand some of these things as cultural, Anna. It was not right for that woman to upbraid you in such a judgmental way. Knitting is not a sin, although practicing Orthodox try to avoid “work” on Sunday, the day on which we commemorate Christ’s defeat of death for humanity. Knitting’s not really “work” for anyone in the West anymore– it’s just a cultural thing. In the West, most Orthodox women no longer cover their heads in Church, and that’s fine– it’s cultural, although mentioned by the apostle Paul, too.

Hell-bound and female. This is definitely not the legacy of Orthodoxy, Anna! The holiest of all saints– the One through Whom God entered into the World to save humanity– was none other than a woman: the all-pure virgin Mary, Bogoroditse (God-bearer). Women are allowed to do everything men can do in Church– pray, sing, read the epistle and the psalms, preach (with the bishop’s blessing), do mission work, etc. The only thing women cannot do is be fathers– and the priesthood is spiritual fatherhood. You should read the lives of the great female saints of the Church– there are countless thousands! St. Nina evangelized the nation of Georgia herself! St. Catherine and St. Barbara endured incredible tortures as they denounced the wickedness of the pagan emperors! Orthodoxy may be “patriarchal” in the sense that we actually do have patriarchs, but it does not produce timid women.

Menstruation. This is a sensitive topic, but you must first understand that it is not viewed as “dirty” in the same sense as the “ritual uncleanness” of menstruation in Judaism. Women during this period are more than welcome to come inside the Church– what you have heard is a myth. However, in many circles women do not approach the Chalice for Holy Communion during this time… but for an unexpected reason. It is not about being unclean, but about the personal piety that developed around the Eucharist. For the Orthodox, Communion is actual union with Christ’s own deified Body and Blood. The priest calls down the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine and it is mystically changed, while retaining its appearance so that it can actually be consumed. This experience is what makes us Christ’s body, and a practice developed around this in which if a person were to cut themselves and bleed after communing, they were to treat their blood as Christ’s own blood. That is, they could not simply throw it out on tissues or trample it on the ground. Instead they were to either burn it or bury it– getting rid of it in a way that is not disrespectful. You can see how problematic menstruation would be with this belief. However, this is not the universal practice, and some bishops give women blessings to commune at this time anyway.

Relics, icons, germs. You shouldn’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. We venerate the relics of the saints because God has shown them to be grace-bearing. We also do this because we Orthodox no longer fear death… Christ has trampled down upon it with His own death, and made it to be the gateway to everlasting life. By our kisses we confess our faith in the resurrection, our belief in the goodness of the created world, and its ultimate restoration when Christ comes to raise the dead. I have venerated many many relics… so has my wife and my best friend… we’ve never gotten sick, if that makes you feel any better. But again, Anna, don’t worry about that if you’re uncomfortable with it. Just try not to judge those who express their faith in this way.

Kievan and Moscovite Orthodoxy in the Ukraine. This is about politics and not the faith. Ask any sincere believer, and they will tell you the same thing. Moscow believes it has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the churches in Ukraine. Part of the Ukrainian Church disagrees. This is simply the human element of the Church. But to stay away from the Church because of these silly and temporary fights which do not touch the actual substance of the faith, is like a diseased-person saying, “I will not go to the hospital because of the sick people there!”

Every priest and bishop I have ever met were friendly, kind, and humble. But all were human, and like me, working to daily die to themselves and follow Christ. We have to be patient with everyone, including the Church hierarchy.

I hope this helps, somehow.

I feel that all religions were originally centered around a certain concept and maybe several rules that got incredibly distorted over the centuries as people used religions for their political and economical benefit. I certainly believe that trying to be a better person is laudable. The world probably would be a much better place if everyone made an effort to observe some form of the Ten Commandments — I don’t mean the original Judeo-Christian Decalogue, of course, but there is nothing wrong with not lying, not cheating, not stealing etc.

I took a look at your blog, and it appears that you are based in Kiiv right now. I guess you are familiar with the conflict between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church then. I find it extremely ridiculous: the only significant difference between the two is the language in which they say their prayers, but the authorities from both camps keep anathematizing each other. Things like that happen all over the world — that’s what makes me steer clear of all forms of organized religion. I am not ready to convert to any religion and then learn that people of the same faith who perform some ritual differently from what the new government prescribes are in fact heretics (happened in Russia a long time ago).