What an outstanding book. Very well written. As a Protestant since 1970 but currently looking into Orthodoxy for the first time, this is a personal tour into that world by people who have walked where I've walked and have still felt drawn to something more. This is a very inviting retelling of their journey. Their perseverance and integrity is humbling and leaves me with the feeling that these are people I'd want to walk with.

Road Map...why an Evangelical might want Old Time Religion. I was there, part of the story. Interesting taking a look back at 40 years ago...and interesting that this book still has impact, based on reviews I read here. The author has dusted off the old edition a decade later. Nice.

My kids were not born at that time, back in Ukiah where we were slowly converting to Orthodoxy, writing this book with our lives, as Fr. Peter records it all in Becoming Orthodox. Now the oldest of those children is 34 and raising Orthodox kids of his own in a Russian parish up north. Kids, grand kids...because of this new edition and a far more attractive cover, I'll be able to point them back to a personal history book as they grow in a faith I hope they pick for their own, so they can understand their beginnings, their roots, their parents even.

We were wide eyed and nuts for the church back then in the late 60s, early 70s. We are older and wiser now. Well, older. Many of us in the evolving Evangelical Orthodox Church and the New Covenant Apostolic Order before it, have hindsight wishes today; that our zeal had been tempered back then some perhaps. But the good news remains that some 70 new Orthodox churches in the Antiochian and Arab/American world in the US alone might not have been established, found their way, found the true faith...but for our EOC hearts on fire devotion to our dream, chronicled here in the work of Fr. Peter.

You can't help but love the old pics in the book of Fr. Jack Sparks of blessed memory in overalls, baptizing hippies in the Sproul Plaza Fountain there in UC Berkeley. I now have a grandchild and will no doubt give her this to read when she starts to ask questions about her roots. I'm impressed, based on the reviews here, that people are still finding Orthodoxy, reading this tale of Protestants trekking through dusty books toward the Eastern Church of old. Indeed, a book title "with legs" as they say in the trade, speaks a lot about the author and the subject matter. Thanks for taking the time to put it all down on paper, Fr. Peter. Not all is pretty here, or even sane, looking back. Oh well. We did try. We did care. He records it all.

I live now near Ben Lomond, Felton and surrounding environs, where chapters of this book are still being written; even this week. Four decades later. Not all of our stories are pretty, but then history never is. Still, converts and ethnics alike would benefit from this work. I'd recommend it.

In recent days many of the players from that era are peeling off, from various formations here and there in the sky, to their celestial reward, give or take a toll house or two on death's road. Like so many fighter pilots in the blue, we are headed upward and out of sight. Some of us rather snarky slow learners here below will do so with a characteristic EOC barrel roll or three on the way out is my guess. Oh and why not. What a ride! Lord have mercy on us all.

I was longing to learn the theological reasons that led a jew to become a christian. I was born a Catholic, but very soon I began feeling unsympathetic to Christianity. Later on in my life I became completely indifferent to religious issues. Then suddenly a personal life crisis set me in the trail of spiritual quest and landed me on Judaism. My involvement with the jewish religion was mainly an intellectual pursuit away from the reality of proper jewish practice. Some time later I got quite disilusioned with judaism on the basis of its radical monotheism and then I began to try and understand the theological principles of Christianity. To differenciate between God the Father and God the Son seemed to me far more natural than just mixing both, as in the case of judaim, where you pray to the Lord (God the Son or God Incarnate) and the next moment to The Master of the Universe (God the Father) as if both were the same God. As a conclusion of my own research, God the Father (or Elohim) is unknowable, unattainable and awesome. Only through our Lord, which is the living God in every human being, can we share in the Father. The reason why we cannot feel the living God within, our Lord, is because nowadays man has lost the connection to the spiritual activity that takes place within himself. That is what the holy scriptures are about. That is why I feel a special gratitud to this book, where I found some guidelines and support in my own struggle.

Job well done. Everything was fast and efficient. I would recommend them to anyone else. Thank you for your help.

Job well done. Everything was fast and efficient. I would recommend them to anyone else. Thank you for your help.

Excellent book to help a person in understanding what makes Orthodoxy unique and the author does a great job explaining the difference between the mind and its constructs and the heart. After reading this part it becomes clear why Orthodox worship is worship in Spirit and Truth. I recommend this to all who are investigating the Orthodox faith and all those interested in the faith. This book does an excellent job of explaining the faith in a practical way that appeals to Western minds.

Excellent book to help a person in understanding what makes Orthodoxy unique and the author does a great job explaining the difference between the mind and its constructs and the heart. After reading this part it becomes clear why Orthodox worship is worship in Spirit and Truth. I recommend this to all who are investigating the Orthodox faith and all those interested in the faith. This book does an excellent job of explaining the faith in a practical way that appeals to Western minds.

This is a wonderful primer for people new to Orthodoxy. It touches upon key questions and in particular for those, like myself, coming from a Protestant background.

Once you get started reading this book there is a clear meaning to what is being written. He takes the time to clearly and in no technical or over-worded manner to explain the points he highlights.

Brings theology to a level anyone can understand.

Once you get started reading this book there is a clear meaning to what is being written. He takes the time to clearly and in no technical or over-worded manner to explain the points he highlights.

Brings theology to a level anyone can understand.

I saw a lecture that the author gave and he touched on the topics covered in this book. Although I'm not an alcoholic the idea of the book appealed to me in that the steps can cross over to any problem as a methodical way to deal with problems. The book is quite tame and I believe would be an asset to a Christian or non-religious person seeking assistance in dealing with any type of recovery, alcohol included. A very good insight in the AA program. I highly recommend this book as well as anyone interested in his Pod-casts, they are equally enlightening. Good luck to all.

It is about time someone took to giving a good outline and reading companion to these books. So often they are overlooked because sadly most bibles do not include them.
This is not only a readable book for those interested but in my mind opens up a world of 'forgotten' Scripture to the modern eyes.

I am a baptized Roman Catholic, converted Evangelical who then joined the Anabaptist movement and am now seriously looking into the Orthodox Church as I feel the end of my journey for the historic faith and Church is coming to it's conclusion.

I have read Timothy Ware's book on orthodoxy, and found it to be ok. It was a little dry in places, and to be honest I couldn't finish it. But I couldn't put Gilquist's book down. I gobbled it up. It had me hooked from start to finish, there wasn't a chapter I found uninteresting or unrelated to my own spiritual journey. Perhaps that's because we had similar Evangelical backgrounds.

He discusses the subjects of Mary, The Sign of the Cross (blessing or signing yourself), Tradition, The Church etc., and targets mostly Evangelical/Reformed Christians in doing so. Perhaps Ware wasn't quite so direct or narrow in his target audience. I only wish he had discussed the topic of the Canon of Scripture as this is another huge issue,a dn one that divides Protestants from the historic Churches who accept (and have always accepted from the very beginning)the "Apocrypha".

If you are considering Orthodoxy or want to share your Orthodox faith with others and they are of a Protestant persuasion, then this is the best book for the job.

For the faithful evangelical who feels there must be something more, or that we have drifted from our origins in the faith.
Bring your devout commitment to Christ, and don't expect a panacea - Orthodox are human too.
Follow this with Jurgens' The Faith of the Early Fathers Vol 1.

I loved this book. It was a great introduction to Orthodoxy and a moving biographical story as well. I highly recommend.

When I first read this book, I could not believe it. It was almost as if the author were speaking directly to me. As a Protestant who for 20 years had been part of the nondenominational church Gallatin was associated with, this came at a time when I was just starting to acknowledge my deep dissatisfaction. I had done everything I was told I should do to experience God; endless Bible study, street evangelization, prayer meetings, home groups, personal prayer, church service. but It all added up to a big nothing as far as my personal peace and contentment, and I was becoming deeply discouraged. I was starting to give up, resigning myself to a second-class relationship with God, also thinking that true eternal life will manifest only when I die. I ended up going to a Divine Liturgy service as a fluke and someone gave me this book. It was hard to read in places and I literally gasped at some chapters, amazed that I did see the problems with Protestantism before. To make a long story short, I have hope! I feel like when I was first converted to Christianity! I am in the process of converting and know Orthodoxy is my home. I am going to send this to all my Protestant friends who feel like I do--and believe me there, there are a lot of them.

I grew up in a similar neighborhood in Queens New York not far from where Father James grew up. I'm a few years older than he but our circumstances were similar. Our hangout was the neighboring candy store where I would buy cigarets for my dad, the Daily News, egg creams, yo-yos, school supplies and of course our pink Spauldings for stick-ball, handball, stoop ball, box ball and other games that only a NYC youngster would conjure up. Every, and I mean every candy store was owned by a Jewish family just as every diner in the New York Area was owned by an immigrant Greek as rail-road car diner that eventually evolved into grand family restaurant. In our day we were pushed by our parents to emulate the Jewish students as they were the ones who excelled in their grades and became respectable professionals. If there was anti-Semitism in my school years, and I'm sure there must have been, I was not exposed to it. My friends were almost all Greeks and Jews. I recall the Jewish Holy Days during my elementary and high-school days. At that time the schools stayed open and the Jewish children would stay home in order to celebrate Rosh Hossanah, Yom Kippor and Passover. Passover usually fell during the Easter Break, but the other two meant that 75% of the students and faculty would be absent and 5-6 of the classes would be combined to do absolutely nothing. Fortunately, some wisdom prevailed and several years later, the Jewish Holy Days were made legal holidays for everyone.

As I grew to understand the Orthodox Faith in its fullness, I came to learn of many Evangelicals who came to the Orthodox Church. This group had made many tracts available and the one that caught my eye was titled, "Jewish and Orthodox too" by A James Bernstein. I read several times but didn't know anything about him till several years later when his book was published. I purchased 10 copies for gifts and read it in two days. I recognized this man and I was truly touched by his story. His theological explanations told me he was on the money as he had done his homework. I felt so honored that he helped me understand our common roots of culture and faith.

This book is extremely well written and answers questions we should all have to understand our Orthodox Christian Faith. You will want to examine the Old Testament in all its glory to understand that Jesus was there before the beginning of time.

Though this book was meant for those of the Orthodox faith it is a great book to show just how poisoned the faith has become through secularizing. Learning to think of God as everywhere present and fillest all things will impact the believers life for the positive. If you are interested in truly seeking God and growing in the faith, this is the book for you! Father Stephen has written a true classic for those wishing to improve and grow their mindset of Christ.

I have always liked listening to Fr. Stephen Freeman's podcasts and so I eagerly bought this book. He had discussed this concept before on his podcasts and this book fleshed out what he stated before. By showing how modern Christianity has lost its proper perspective that was evident from the early Church, he then shows how to regain that proper perspective through the Orthodox Church and its writings.

I knew Linet and this book is a miracle just as she was for me and some of my friend.