How did this all start?

Did you read in my introduction that I first encountered Orthodoxy in Latvia in 2015? Read on...

One of the most profound people I have listened to on my journey towards Orthodoxy is the fantastic Fr. Barnabas Powell, Priest of Saints Raphael, Nicholas and Irene Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA and founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries. In my earlier days in my journey, I read a blog he had written on Ancient Faith where he described his early days of his Evangelical ministry in Christ Church, Nashville, TN where he met Dan Scott, an associate pastor at the same church. The two of them would talk for hours about theology and church history. 

Dan described a dream he'd had while he was a missionary in Canada. In the dream, he walked inside this very old church building, with marble floors and high ceilings. Inside there were pictures all over the walls and candles burning everywhere. Several old men with white beards and dressed in black robes were praying standing up and he sensed stronger than ever he'd ever sensed, the presence of God in the place. The men were glowing with the presence of the Holy Spirit, and Dan said he was speechless. All of a sudden, one of the bearded old men turned to him and asked: "Where have you been?"

"Hang on a moment!" I thought. This was almost exactly my experience when I'd been in that church in Riga. What church was it, I wondered? It was The Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ, the largest Orthodox Church in Latvia.

It was now 2020. I'd come across Eastern Orthodoxy seemingly by accident, and was intrigued. I love personal development and had been following Michael Hyatt, the founder of what is now Full Focus Co. and whenever I'd hear his podcasts or read his blogs and books, he'd always talk about church and faith in God. For four years I'd assumed he was like me, an Evangelical. He talked the Evangelical talk, and everything he spoke about resonated. That was until I found out that this man I wholeheartedly looked up to, was a longstanding deacon at St Ignatius Orthodox Church in Franklin, TN. 

My journey began.