Man and Church
When Your Family Thinks You’ve Joined a Cult
Navigating relatives and friends who are frightened by Orthodoxy
It starts off with the obvious. A relative or friend of a new Orthodox believer notices fasting, icons, a head covering, or something else, and responds with alarm. Perhaps the word "Orthodox" is unfamiliar to them, or perhaps it is misunderstood. Soon, depending on one’s reactions, emotionally charged arguments may follow.
Generally, it is safe to assume that our loved ones’ fear comes from love, misinformation, or unfamiliarity rather than hostility.
In other cases, it can, of course, spring from a less friendly place. But someone's desire to hurt us can only be fulfilled with our permission, so those situations might be easier to navigate than one would expect. Distance from such attitudes is generally the best remedy. If that desire is present in those around us, it will always find some means of causing hurt; if it is not our faith, it will likely be something else.
