Ben, I'm a Bulgarian convert to Orthodoxy from Protestantism. So my Eastern European perspective is quite different here. I think that while this person has probably had bad experiences, the majority of his complaints can apply to any congregation ever, if it becomes big enough to draw in nominal members.

I can't say that his critiques are completely unfounded, but they are inconsequential. Not to mention that in Bulgaria - a country where the Church is in a terrible state right now, though it birthed Slavic Orthodoxy - I didn't even have to try too much before finding half a dozen good priests around me. I was baptized and am part of a parish where nothing from the complaints of this guy applies. The vast majority of Orthodox people I meet here are not only not judgemental, they may be a bit too lenient even.

I'd be happy to discuss more about what it's like to convert to Orthodoxy in an actually Orthodox country, but suffice to say - if you are looking for honey, you're going to find it. If you are looking for dung, well... you are going to find it.

This guy hates the fact that he's Eastern European and hates Eastern Europe. That's why he embraced a Western religion. That's why he left Orthodoxy. You can't change such a person's mind.

Yeah, I grew up believing that it's ok to believe in God but the Church is 100% corrupt. The thing is, the communists in Romania persecuted the other sects, but allowed orthodoxy. But what they did is infiltrate the priesthood for surveillance. So confidence in them was lost. But having started to go to church lately, in my journey of discovery, the churches are full here. They are completely different than what I remember as a child. And the priests online are pretty much saying what you guys in west say. So... Pride is the root of all sin. If only one man on the planet remains orthodox and truly lives the faith, it will still be the true faith.

The sudden spate of 'I left Orthodoxy for...' is interesting.

As long as we keep thinking the Church is a museum of saints and not a hospital of sinners; we will not stop seeing these things.

As Orthodox, we do have a responsibility to foster better communities grounded in theology, not in local politics, not in philosophy, not in geography or ethnics.

Saint Nectarios was slandered and oppressed by bad clergy and he never left and is now a great Saint. If you can’t handle a priest or two drinking some vodka or some laity being prideful and judgmental, then I don’t know what to tell you

23:22 so far all these problems are problems of fall of humanity not problem of Orthodoxy... The Church is hospital for sinners, you do not find healthy people in hospital... I do agree that there is a lot of judgement and lack of humility in me first, that is why I am in The Church, to purge it, gotta be humble enough to figure out that other people are not so different and have patience with all

I am a western convert to Eastern Orthodoxy who converted IN Russia. I cannot speak for Bulgaria, but as he's making it sound like all of Eastern Europe has these problems let me address some things:
1. The pay of priest depends entirely on the size of their parish. A large Parish can pay a priest a lot more. The government does not bankroll the priests, and many priests have to have a day job in order to make ends meet.
2. Just like in any church there are people who take the faith seriously and those who don't. There are those who understand the gospel and those who don't. There are Pharisees and there are people who are actually humble. You're not going to find a perfect group of people anywhere. That said, some of the kindest people I have met are Orthodox. We have been helped so profoundly by these people and have never been asked for a single thing in return. So, I can say that my experience with Eastern Orthodox Christians is that they are truly generous and loving and they very real way.
3. Of course you can have bad apples everywhere but my experience with the priesthood is that they tend to be very serious about the faith, and though I may not agree with every priest on everything, they do take it seriously and they do believe and live out the faith.
4. Finally, saying that politics should have nothing to do with religion is absolute Crazy Town. Look at Byzantium. Look at how the Christians overtook the Roman Empire. Part of that was by moving up in politics. The Orthodox faith has the understanding that the Christian Life is supposed to transform the entire world, politics included. At least in Russia, the church does seem to take this rather seriously. Even little things like gardening the Orthodox take extremely seriously. The whole idea is that you're beautifying and making the whole world holy one church at a time, one family at a time, one home at a time, one politician at a time.
5. The churches are FULL, not just on feast days, but every Sunday and weekdays too. Lots of men attend, along with children and young people. There's been a return of young men to Orthodoxy in Russia as well, not just in the West.

I fail to see how personal preference matters when discerning the body of Christ.

W Father Ron, congrats on 1000!

Yo Cleave let’s go to Constantinople for cheap hair plugs and regen health treatments and make a sight seeing/ spiritual pilgrimage out of it too 🤠 forreal tho I’ll pay for your hair 😅

Great Stream Cleave!!! God Bless!!

This comment section just proves his point.

55:17.. I totally agree with Alex. This guy stated he would delete any "disrespectful" comments but uploaded a video that was dishonest, disengenuous, and disrespectful of the Church. He made tons of generalizations and no attempt to theologically explain his reasoning. The whole thing is rooted in his hurt feelings based on his perception of arrogant clergy and lazy laypeople. The whole video is a sham. Imagine if an inquirer comes across this video early into their inquiry. I know for me, if I had seen this, early on in my own journey, when I was already looking for reasons to reject Orthodoxy, I would have latched onto this video like a leech.

The unfortunate part of “only I am a true Christian, nobody around me is so I went looking for something to match my truth.”

You can always choose to leave THE ARK.

In my parish here in Kansas we have a handful of regular attendees who are cradle-born Orthodox from Romania. Needless to say, they believe the Gospel and are very Christlike in their behavior toward others (at least in my experience). As far as this guy's negative experience in an Orthodox Church, I do not doubt his story, but I think that he would find the same thing in many Anglican parishes. I have heard similar accounts from people in Pentecostal churches, Lutheran, Baptist, etc. It seems that any time you're dealing with a multi-generational church, especially where the church has become a cultural institution (like the Baptists in the American South, Lutherans in the upper mid-west, etc), you are inevitably going to encounter some nominal believers. This is by no means unique to Orthodoxy, and as with all church bodies, one will find better and worse parishes/regions.

I left living for my flesh to fallow Jesus❤🎉🎉

Every single one of us is a sinner
No one is exempt...that's exactly why we are told not to judge others. I finally learned this from orthodoxy

This guy might be planted by the minions to sway people from coming in. Remember these minions play both sides. I believe because so many are coming in these minions are intimidated and trying to stop what’s happening but the truth will always stand on its own and God willing people will see right through this scheme ☦️💜