Kyle
YouTube
From 37 Years Lutheran to Orthodox: A Convert Tells His Story
26:14
What the video says
The speaker describes growing up in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod for 37 years, a high church, liturgical tradition that gave him an early sense of holiness and reverence. In his 20s his church attendance lapsed, and he felt the reverence he had known as a child had slowly disappeared, which set him on a search for the right church.
He spent two years investigating Roman Catholicism but could not accept the papacy, the emphasis on Mary he saw among Catholic friends in Southern California, the Filioque, and the Immaculate Conception. After briefly trying a local megachurch that he felt he could not enter, he discovered the Orthodox apologist Jay Dyer through online debates and spent about two years studying Orthodoxy through books and lectures.
During a trip to Britain he had an overwhelming experience of God's presence in York Minster, wept over his sinful life, and prayed for a sign that Orthodoxy was the right path. The next day three Orthodox monks sat next to him at Evensong and invited him to the Divine Liturgy in Glasgow, where on August 15th, 2018 he knew he was spiritually home. He was baptized and chrismated with his wife and four children about 18 months later.
Key moments
- The speaker grew up in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod for 37 years, a high church, liturgical tradition using an old Lutheran liturgical book from the early 1900s.
- In his early to mid-20s his attendance lapsed, and he noticed the holiness and reverence he had felt as a small child had slowly dissipated, leading him to question whether he was in the right church.
- Since Lutheranism came from Catholicism, he spent two years studying Catholic apologetics through books and television, never joining RCIA or visiting a Catholic church.
- He rejected the papacy, believing Christ established an ecclesiastical brotherhood of bishops with equal authority rather than giving Peter greater power.
- He also objected to the Filioque added to the Nicene Creed and to the Immaculate Conception, asking why he would need a savior if God could create Mary without sin and death.
- He and his wife tried a megachurch for its children's Sunday school, but on his third visit he felt he could not enter and sat outside reading his Bible.
- While searching Christian apologetics debates on YouTube he found Jay Dyer debating J.F. Gariepy, learned Dyer was Orthodox, contacted him, and received book recommendations that began about two years of study.
- In York Minster he sensed God's presence, wept over his sinful double life, prayed for 20 minutes, and asked for a sign; the next day three Orthodox monks sat beside him at Evensong and invited him to the Divine Liturgy in Glasgow, where on August 15th, 2018 he knew he was spiritually home.
The speaker recounts how he came to Orthodoxy after 37 years in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. He grew up in a high church, liturgical tradition that used an old Lutheran liturgical book from the early 1900s, and he remembers feeling holiness and reverence there as a small child. In his early to mid-20s his church attendance lapsed, and he noticed the reverence he had known had slowly dissipated, which made him question whether he was in the right church.
Because Lutheranism came from Catholicism, he spent two years studying Catholic apologetics through books and television, though he never joined RCIA or visited a Catholic church. He rejected the papacy, believing Christ established a brotherhood of bishops with equal authority rather than giving Peter greater power. He also objected to the Filioque added to the Nicene Creed and to the Immaculate Conception, asking why he would need a savior if God could create Mary without sin and death.
He and his wife tried a local megachurch for its children's Sunday school, but on his third visit he felt he could not enter and sat outside reading his Bible. While searching Christian apologetics debates on YouTube, he found Jay Dyer debating J.F. Gariepy, learned Dyer was Orthodox, contacted him, and received book recommendations that began about two years of studying Orthodoxy.
The turning point came on a trip to Britain. In York Minster he sensed God's presence, wept over his sinful double life, prayed for 20 minutes, and asked for a sign that Orthodoxy was the right path. The next day three Orthodox monks sat beside him at Evensong and invited him to the Divine Liturgy in Glasgow, where on August 15th, 2018 he knew he was spiritually home.
He was baptized and chrismated with his wife and four children about 18 months later. The video includes chapters on Lutheranism, his search, Orthodoxy, and his story, plus links to visit an Orthodox church and support the channel.
Main points
- The speaker grew up in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod for 37 years and later noticed the reverence he had felt as a child had dissipated once his attendance lapsed.
- He spent two years studying Catholic apologetics but rejected the papacy, the Filioque, and the Immaculate Conception.
- On a third visit to a megachurch he felt he could not enter and sat outside reading his Bible.
- He found Orthodox apologist Jay Dyer through YouTube debates and studied Orthodoxy through books and lectures for about two years.
- In York Minster he prayed for a sign; the next day three Orthodox monks invited him to the Divine Liturgy in Glasgow, and on August 15th, 2018 he knew he was home, later being baptized and chrismated with his wife and four children.