In this video, Fr. Seraphim Cardoza discusses the importance of respecting others, and how non-judgmental kindness can open hearts and minds more effectively than harsh words.
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An honest and heartfelt conversation between Orthodox Priest Fr. Seraphim Cardoza and Evangelical Pastor Perry Atkinson. Rev. Archpriest Seraphim Cardoza was a former evangelical pastor of a hippie church who found his way to Eastern Orthodox Christianity. In 1995, he was ordained and assigned to minister to a small ROCOR congregation in Medford, Oregon, US. Fr. Seraphim Cardoza passed away in October 2023.
Watch the full interview on Fr. Seraphim’s Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ftLfh2Db90
Fr. Seraphim:
Our younger people, how many in here… Okay, they don’t like my hat, they don’t like my beard, they don’t like me, okay! But can you respect my age? Can you respect that I’ve had the same spiritual battles you’ve had? Can you respect that I’ve had the same temptations you’ve had? Can you respect that I love the same God you love? You know… I don’t see respect. I get it all the time, forgive me, from Protestant, Evangelical pastors. They watch this program and they are very interested, they are very interested in the Orthodox Faith, they’re very interested in our worship, they’re very interested in the respect we have for heaven, they’re very interested in the respect we have for the Kingdom of Heaven, they’re very interested in why we respect even the Saints, those totally sanctified men and women. You know?
You preach it, I’ve preached it for 49 years now… it’s love. We know that the greatest is love, we know that, but how do you love? Is there tough love, where we go beating people with the gospel? Why don’t we just start with being kind? Why don’t we just start with being kind to each other? When I walk in here, how many people do I see? Maybe one will come up: “How’s it going?” With a smile and everything else… and that’s about it. What’s wrong with…? And I always try to do it first, that’s just how I am. You know: “How are you doing? How…” And I’m not trying to be phony, I want to be that way.
Can’t we just be kind? Maybe I dress differently, maybe you don’t understand me, but I think I understand you because I came from that background and I don’t judge you. Can’t we just be kind? Can’t we just have respect? I respect you, I respect you for what you’re doing. I respect you and there’s nothing wrong with that. This judging, you know… I’ve dressed this way for 49 years now, and I have to admit, when I first came to this area, the non-Christians were much kinder than the Christians. They didn’t understand, they would follow me around, but the Christians would accuse me, thumping their Bibles at me… and I was an Evangelical pastor for 18 years, I could thump back, you know.
But, you know, maybe if we talked more in our parishes about… well, we do because that’s our heritage, the guarding of the heart, our thoughts, you know… It starts with our thoughts and it starts with judging, and I think if we would preach more about heart, we’d catch ourselves being more kind, less judgmental… When I walk in this place (I’m not picking on anybody), but, you know what? What’s wrong with a smile?