Baptism and the Reception of Converts w/ Fr. John Whiteford

Baptism and the Reception of Converts w/ Fr. John Whiteford

Fr. John Whiteford joins me to discuss the theology of baptism and the Orthodox approach to receiving newcomers to Orthodoxy. We shall address this topic not by simply repeating and quoting the Saints, but by synthesizing their perspectives and the doctrinal paradigm of receiving converts as established in the Council of Trullo and in the canons of Saints such as St. Basil the Great.

About the author

David Erhan (previously known as therealMedWhite) is an Orthodox convert from Turkey who mostly focuses on Christological disputes concerning the Monophysite crisis. He's also the creator of the "History of Christian Theology" series on YouTube where he explains the theology of the great Church Fathers such as the Cappadocians, Hilary, Ambrose, Cyril, Maximus, and John of
Damascus which help reveal the true Apostolic Christianity the world has
forgotten.

Father John Whiteford is Archpriest and pastor at St. Jonah Orthodox Church, in Spring, Texas. He was born in Riverside, California in 1966, and lived in Grand Terrace, California. Father John and his family moved to Murray, Kentucky in 1976, and then to Houston, Texas in 1978. He was raised in the Church of the Nazarene, but began studying Orthodoxy while working on his B.A. in Theology at Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma. Fr. John decided to convert not long after graduating from there in 1990. He was baptized at St. Benedict Orthodox Church in Oklahoma City on November 10th, 1990.

Fr. John wrote an article entitled Sola Scriptura: In the Vanity of Their Minds, which laid out many of the theological reasons for his conversion. This article was published in the Christian Activist in 1995, and then was published in a revised and somewhat expanded form by Conciliar Press in 1996, under the title Sola Scriptura: An Orthodox Analysis of the Cornerstone of Reformation Theology.

Fr. John was a representative of the ROCOR Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America at the signing of the Act of Canonical Communion between the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in Moscow, on May 17, 2007. He is currently the general editor of the St. Innocent Liturgical Calendar. He is also the dean of the southern deanery (Texas and Louisiana) of the Diocese of Chicago and Mid-America ROCOR.

All comments are moderated and must be civil, concise, and constructive to the conversation. Comments that are critical of an article may be approved, but comments containing ad hominem criticism of the author will not be published. Also, comments containing web links or block quotations are unlikely to be approved. Keep in mind that articles represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Patristic Faith or its editor or publisher.
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1 thought on “Baptism and the Reception of Converts w/ Fr. John Whiteford”

  1. Hello there I would love to have a Skype call or zoom chat with someone to discuss orthodoxy, I am a catechumen but the church near me is only open when a priest is available and I have not a spiritual father to approach.

    You can contact me via email or by my telephone number whoch is +447803760213 thank you

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