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"I don't get any judgment on the mats. I get plenty of judgment in parish."
What the video says
A priest says he receives no judgment in Jiu-Jitsu, but plenty of it in his parish. On the mat no one cares whether he is a priest, everyone is equal, and he finds that comforting. He says he has had more respectful conversations and acceptance in Jiu-Jitsu circles than often in the church.
He clarifies that Jiu-Jitsu is not offering something the church lacks, but that a secular martial art holds a mirror to the church and exposes its weaknesses. He finds it humbling that a place not worshipping Christ exemplifies many virtues of community life that the church is supposed to practice and often does not.
Key moments
- He gets no judgment on the mat but plenty of judgment in his parish, where brethren and sisters in Christ are supposed to be forgiving.
- At his dojo no one cares whether he is a priest; everybody is equal on the mat, which he finds comforting.
- He has had more respectful conversations and acceptance in Jiu-Jitsu circles than often in the church.
- He says Jiu-Jitsu is not offering something the church does not have, but it holds a mirror to the church and exposes its weaknesses.
- It humbles him that a place not worshipping Christ exemplifies virtues of community life the church is supposed to have and often does not.
Fr. Ted Paraskevopoulos, speaking on the Orthodox Health Podcast, describes a discomforting contrast between his parish and his Brazilian jiu-jitsu gym. On the mat, he says, nobody cares that he is a priest, and nobody cares that the podcast host is a doctor. Titles, status, politics, and resumes disappear quickly when somebody takes your back.
He receives no judgment in that setting, while in the parish, where brothers and sisters in Christ are supposed to be forgiving, he receives plenty of it. He adds that he has had more respectful conversations and more acceptance in jiu-jitsu circles than he often finds in the church. The host frames the observation carefully: this is not an argument that jiu-jitsu has something Christ forgot to give the Church.
It is an uncomfortable observation about Christians themselves. Sometimes a secular room displays patience, fraternity, humility, respect, and forgiveness more visibly than the Christians who already know they are commanded to practice those virtues. The host says the proper response to that contrast is not defensiveness but repentance.
Fr. Ted finds it humbling that a place that does not worship Christ can exemplify virtues of community life that the church is supposed to practice and often does not. The discussion comes in Episode 81 of the Orthodox Health Podcast, titled "When Life Falls Apart, You Need a Bunker," and the host offers to send the full conversation with Fr. Ted to anyone who comments.
Main points
- Fr. Ted says he gets no judgment on the jiu-jitsu mats but plenty of judgment in his parish.
- On the mat nobody cares that he is a priest; titles, status, politics, and resumes disappear.
- He has had more respectful conversations and acceptance in jiu-jitsu circles than often in the church.
- The host says jiu-jitsu does not offer something Christ forgot to give the Church; it is an uncomfortable observation about Christians.
- The response should be repentance, not defensiveness, since a secular room sometimes shows patience, humility, and forgiveness more visibly than Christians do.