• Biblical Families is not a dating website. It is a forum to discuss issues relating to marriage and the Bible, and to offer guidance and support, not to find a wife. Click here for more information.

Greetings from an Eastern Orthodox inquirer

Shalom and welcome

I don’t suppose you’ll find any Orthodox adherents here, at least none that are practicing Orthodox believers. I hope you’ll stick around and get to know us a little more, even if you don’t find any Orthodox folks here.
 
Welcome, it’s definitely an interesting study.
 
I am an Eastern Orthodox Christian wanting to learn more about polygamy or plural marriage.

I'd be interested in corresponding with other Orthodox Christians about their ideas and experiences related to this topic.

Thank you.
Hmmmm, I feel like we’ve had orthodox believers before. I think @Transformator Reformator has had extensive exposure to our eastern brothers.

Something is tickling the back of my mind that polygyny was more acceptable in the east to some degree or for some time. I can’t remember exactly what though.

Tell us about what led you to look into this!
 
Welcome from a Protestant Evangelical Christian!

I attended a Russian Orthodox church with a Russian friend on one occasion, and have extracted honey from beehives with a Greek Orthodox priest once.

That probably isn't enough to gain much Orthodox street cred. 🤔
 
Hmmmm, I feel like we’ve had orthodox believers before. I think @Transformator Reformator has had extensive exposure to our eastern brothers.

Something is tickling the back of my mind that polygyny was more acceptable in the east to some degree or for some time. I can’t remember exactly what though.

Tell us about what led you to look into this!
I thought I'd heard recently that Russia is now somewhat more tolerant of polygyny due to the severe demographic issues that they are facing due to low birth rates.
 
I thought I'd heard recently that Russia is now somewhat more tolerant of polygyny due to the severe demographic issues that they are facing due to low birth rates.

Poly is legal and accepted in several of the member republics of the Russian Federation. It isn't explicitly legal in Russia itself but it also isn't illegal in any way. Men who have a legal wife and one or more additional women are accepted and if they're having children they can receive official support and encouragement.

Quite practical for a country experiencing demographic collapse.
 
Poly is legal and accepted in several of the member republics of the Russian Federation. It isn't explicitly legal in Russia itself but it also isn't illegal in any way. Men who have a legal wife and one or more additional women are accepted and if they're having children they can receive official support and encouragement.

Quite practical for a country experiencing demographic collapse.
Hopefully both Ukraine and Russia will become more accepting of polygyny. Both nations have lost a lot of men in this current war. Many women will be left without men. In all likelihood, they will either share men, or marry Muslim replacement immigrants.

The former is much better for the culture than the latter.
 
I attended a Russian Orthodox church with a Russian friend on one occasion, and have extracted honey from beehives with a Greek Orthodox priest once.

That probably isn't enough to gain much Orthodox street cred. 🤔
That's a lot more Orthodox cred than most Protestants!

When you visited the Russian church, what language was the service in?
 
That's a lot more Orthodox cred than most Protestants!

When you visited the Russian church, what language was the service in?
Sorry, I don't remember for certain if it was in Russian or English. It was a church in the San Francisco Bay area where one of my buddies from college lived in the late 1990s. As I recall the priest was an African American fellow and I remember that he was fluent in Russian. I think the service probably was in Russian.

It was very different than other churches I've been to. We stood up the whole service. I don't believe there were pews or benches. There were also a lot of icons all around the church.


On a separate "Orthodox note",
I've also stopped by the Saint John's Greek Orthodox monastery near Goldendale Washington many times when driving through on the highway, to buy coffee and or desserts from the sisters who run their bakery. It is pretty good.

They also have a bookstore there, and I picked up a book from a former protestant pastor who had converted to Orthodoxy, on why he did. Unfortunately, I have never gotten around to reading the book. I have a bad habit of sometimes buying more books than I read.
 
I picked up a book from a former protestant pastor who had converted to Orthodoxy, on why he did. Unfortunately, I have never gotten around to reading the book. I have a bad habit of sometimes buying more books than I read.
I wonder if it is the same book I started reading but never finished it. I have it in Russian. There he specifies being a Baptist at one time. But my impression that he reacts to certain Slavic Baptists, stringent kind, (for example, some groups made rules about not wearing jeans and ties were forbidden because it points to hell as an arrow). I hoped author's version of Orthodox understanding will rob off on traditional Orthodox faithful. He took his faith seriously as opposed to nominal believers. But same thing can be observed about many protestants as well. The author's justification for kissing icons impressed me so much that I thought I should be kissing icons as well.
 
Impressive, @Bartato. You're practically Orthodox!

It was very different than other churches I've been to. We stood up the whole service. I don't believe there were pews or benches.

That's typical of the more traditional Orthodox churches. Many Orthodox churches in America have pews, in imitation of Catholic and Protestant churches. Makes it harder to bow all the way to the ground without banging your head.

I've also stopped by the Saint John's Greek Orthodox monastery near Goldendale Washington many times when driving through on the highway, to buy coffee and or desserts from the sisters who run their bakery.

Neat! I've been there too.

They also have a bookstore there, and I picked up a book from a former protestant pastor who had converted to Orthodoxy, on why he did.

Perhaps this?

Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith
by Fr. Peter Gilquist
 
Back
Top