Ancient Christian Witness

I was raised Baptist, but from 1998 to about 2004/2005 I would say that I churched hopped. From Baptist, Pentecostal, Church of Christ, Prespyterian, Methodist, Charismatic, Episcopal, and something else....I can't recall at this time. I did visit a Greek Orthodox Church around that time as well.

But I started reading the works of the Early Church Fathers back in 1998 and I thought about being Eastern Orthodox back then. But I ran into Bercot's website "scroll Publishing" and got sidetracked. His tapes on "don't stop short of the Apostolic Faith" as well as his tapes on "Icons", and "Mary", and "Hades" made me change my mind.

However, I had nowhere to really fellowship. It was like I was cought in some type of limbo. I really couldn't partake of communion anywhere because of my convictions about the issue. It seemed as if anywhere I went I had to compromize somewhere. So I became Episcopal in 2003. I only became Episcopal because Pittsburgh didn't have a "convergence" movement Church in the area. Like the C.E.E.C. or the I.C.E.C.

There were times that I wanted to move to Tyler Texas to be with Bercot's group, but his group broke up and he moved to Pennsylvania. About 3 hours away from where I live now.
His views changed somewhat.... to a more Mennonite perspective on things, and that's when I started to shy away from Bercot.


And in September of 2006 the I.C.E.C. hade a scandel and the fellowship splintered into pieces. Some went to Rome, others went to Orthodoxy, some went with the Old Catholics, while others still just stayed as they were.

So that's when I started to think about Orthodoxy again. The Episcopal Church was too Liberal ( I joined the mainstream one in 2003 the ECUSA although the Pittsburgh Diocese is mostly moderate to conservative)
But I never wanted to plant roots there in the first place. The people were nice but I knew that what I was looking for was Orthodoxy so I started looking at Eastern Orthodoxy in December of 2006 and became Orthodox the day before Pascha. Just like what I read about in the Church Fathers.


The icons issue did keep me away at first.....all thanks to David Bercot.....who seems to have an unhealthy fear of them and Mary. But I came to grips with it when I saw Icons all around me. I saw myself as being a hippocrite for having Icons of myself, on my cell phone, Camera, computer. In my room.

I came to the truth that when I watch T.V. I watch about 30 Icons per second. When I watch a movie I look at about 100 to 300 Icons per second.

When I look at books I see icons on them. When I look at tapes and C.D.'s I see icons on them.

I see Icons right now on Yahoo. com!!! So I came to grips with myself that I was being a hippo.

And the Icon issue went away.



INLOVE Jnorm