Why Did You Convert (or Revert) to Orthodoxy?

Since becoming Orthodox years ago, I have come to realize that there are many different answers to this question. In my experience, responses differ due to many reasons including differences in gender, experiences, as well as (though this is more difficult to prove) personality type. Because of these differences, trying to produce media that is helpful to many different people becomes a tricky affair. Protecting Veil's mission is to produce media that edifies both Enquirers and Orthodox. To this end, as we consider the types of products/media we should produce in the coming years, it would help us greatly if you would trust us with your stories! We are asking our friends to answer one or more of the following questions: 1) What is the most significant reason you became Orthodox? 2) Which (if any) books/media were most important in your path to Orthodoxy (& why)? 3) What most helped you in the conversion process (reading, attending church, speaking with Orthodox folk)? To stir the pot, I’ll answer these questions from my own experience: 1) I realized that the Orthodox Church’s claims regarding itself were true. This was largely influenced by my experience of the reality of the Church’s integrated, organic living of, and expression of, Christian truth. 2) The Way of a Pilgrim and The Brothers Karamazov (among others). On reflection, I realize that while it was helpful to read theology and Church history, it was through the stories of lived Orthodoxy that I was most able to enter into the truths of the faith. My experience convinced me that non-liturgical art produced by Orthodox folk has an important role to play in the Church’s expression of itself, and mission, to the modern world. 3) Worship and the experience of Christ/the Saints/Heaven in Church would have to be at the top of the list. Tied for second would have to be reading The Way of a Pilgrim and The Brothers Karamazov, and meeting charismatic bearers of the Orthodox tradition. We greatly look forward to hearing your stories! Please comment below, or if you’d prefer to respond anonymously/by email, please write to: MyStory [at] ProtectingVeil [dot] com.