Four years after encountering Orthodoxy, Craig Young, along with his wife Susan, decided they wanted to be Orthodox. They had both been in the Roman Catholic church. The year was 1970 and they were both in their mid-20s. That year they attended Liturgy at the cathedral in San Francisco, and afterwards approached Archbishop Anthony and told him that they wanted to be Orthodox. The Archbishop called for Fr. Seraphim (with Fr. Herman), who took the Youngs over to a bench and sat them down. Craig Young reported later:
"The two men rained a barrage of questions on us:
'So, why do you want to be Orthodox? Do you know what that means? What's the difference between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism? Why do you want to join our Russian Church Abroad instead of some other jurisdiction? Don't you know we are a small, persecuted Church living in exile? Everybody hates us and makes fun of us. Why do you want to join a Church like this? Do you understand what really happens in the Divine Liturgy?'
Frankly, it was daunting. Somehow we had thought we would be immediately welcomed with open arms, as though the Church had been waiting for us all these centuries; instead we were being given the third degree!"
Letters p. 5
Classic Introduction to Orthodoxy
Door to Paradise
(original by former monk John Marler)
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