In Support of the Work of The Orthodox Ethos and Fr. Peter Heers

Christ is Risen!

Many faithful have asked the OE Team for a way and a space to submit their support and "tell their story" of how the work of Orthodox Ethos and Fr. Peter has helped them. Here is that way and space. Below you will find the initial outpouring of love and support from over 100 brothers and sisters sent to OE this past week. If you have also likewise been benefitted and would like to share with us, email team@orthodoxethos.com to add your voice.

The Orthodox Ethos Team remains committed to fulfilling our responsibilities to Christ and His Church; we will continue to move forward to provide spiritual edification to the faithful. We are grateful for your support and welcome you to join the work either by becoming a member here or a patron here, or by sharing, liking or commenting below and on whatever social media you use. God bless! Christ is indeed Risen!

1. FROM THE ORTHODOX ETHOS SUPPORTERS

2. FROM THE ORTHODOX ETHOS TEAM

1. FROM THE ORTHODOX ETHOS SUPPORTERS

Testimony 1:

Dear Father Peter,

I am writing today to express my sincere and profound gratitude for you and for the work that you have done through Orthodox Ethos and UMP.

I’m 47 years old and have been an agnostic (and occasional atheist) since I was about 12 years old. As a child, I was “baptized” in the Roman Catholic church but rejected Christianity completely for most of my life. In 2020, I thought I would read the bible as a historical exercise. To my absolute astonishment, I found that I believed it!

My search for a church (I visited many) eventually led me to give up. Then someone suggested visiting an Eastern Orthodox church. It was love-at-first-hymn.

By the grace of God, I became a catechumen just about a year ago and immediately discovered your work. I love my parish priest and --- (OCA) in ---, --. We’re a small parish, and our priest works extremely hard. Our church has grown very quickly, and so our wonderful priest is spread a bit thin. The church doesn’t currently have the resources to offer a catechumenate.

I immediately started devouring your Q&A sessions when I found them a year ago. I’ve literally binge-watched my way through your Q&A sessions over the past year and a half. You are in my ears when I’m working out, driving, and anytime I have spare time, and can devote my attention to your lectures. When I’m reading, I usually read the lives of Saints (or their biographies) as I’ve learned how important this is from you.

Without your lectures, I don’t know if I would have become a catechumen. I’ve recently started joining some of the live Q&As and have been enjoying those even more.

By the grace of God, on Holy Saturday of this year, I was baptized by triple immersion and Chrismated. My Godfather, ---, knows you from the monastery, and I know you two spoke when he visited in March. I hope to visit the Monastery this year and look forward to the opportunity to meet you and thank you in person.

It’s been very difficult seeing the endless attacks that come at you. How you respond to them with calm serenity and unshakable faith that God will work it all out has greatly inspired me. After your most recent Q&A, I doubled my monthly Patreon contribution and will continue buying books from UMP to put into our church library. I will do anything I can to stand with you as we all weather this storm. Together.

I just wanted to give you a hopeful note and let you know the role that you played in bringing a lifelong agnostic into the Orthodox Church. I will be forever grateful to you for your work. I know we’ve never met, but I love you! You and your family are in my daily prayers, and I will be praying for you all throughout the day during this undoubtedly challenging period.

I know I am probably just one of thousands of stories of people you’ve helped to be received into the Body of Christ. My gratitude for what you’ve done for me is eternal. Thank you, Father Peter! Yours In Christ, Christopher Muhlenfeld

Testimony 2:

Bless Father. Dear Father Peter.

My name is Paul Bullock from ---. I was a life long Roman Catholic who has recently converted to Orthodoxy. I wanted to let you know of the role you have played in my journey in The Church. I have always been attracted to Orthodoxy even as a child, mostly through Icons, but I was told "that is not our faith" or "we don't do things like that". But I do remember my maternal Grandmother driving me by local Orthodox as a child and saying "that's the Church our family went to a long time ago in the old country".

In 2016 I very much started to question my Roman Catholic faith and dig deeper not only in the Roman Catholic Church but its role in globalism, ecumenism, etc. I became disillusioned and stopped attending mass, confession and communion. I felt everything was wrong, incorrect and not of Christ within the Roman Catholic Church. Guitars, drums and tambourines had invaded along with our Pope preaching a globalist, ecumenist agenda and the outlawing of many old traditions. I would then feel a longing for worship and the Eucharist, return to Mass and feel all the more let down. I felt like I was on the outside looking in. I prayed and prayed to God to lead me to truth. I prayed to have the Holy Spirit bless my thoughts, words and actions in the world. For Christ to lead me to the narrow path.

And then came COVID. Everything became accelerated….

I started listening to your podcasts, watching your youtube videos, online courses, reading your books, etc. Everything you've said and taught of the current times was everything I was thinking, feeling and praying. And you've helped me learn and understand much more about Orthodoxy than I could have ever hoped to otherwise. Especially the historical perspective you provide relating to the ecumenical councils, cannons and lives of the Saints. It's helped very much coming from Roman Catholicism.

There is so much more I could say on how you've affected my life but please know it has been significant. More than you could ever know. You are a beacon. A lighthouse. I can't ever begin to thank you. I would love to be able to meet you in person one day and discuss more God willing.

Kissing your right hand, -- Paul.

Testimony 3:

Being born and raised in an Orthodox Christian family, when I heard about the lockdowns I truly believed that the Church would never close down even if it meant our lives being laid down. It’s hard to describe the ache in my heart when trying to reconcile that “the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church” while the Church, the spiritual hospital, was closed to the healing of my soul. My daughter Kyriaki had never missed a single Sunday of Church since her 40 day blessing and my wife was a few weeks away from giving birth to our son when it dawned that we could no longer receive holy communion and there would be no blessing for my son Nicholas once he was born. Wandering in the desert we felt famished and malnourished wondering where we could find a cup of water to nourish our souls. While no one spoke out to help, a little rock Fr Peter was forced to speak by his love of the Lord. I say this because our Lord said to Peter “Do you love me?” and Peter said “yes Lord I love you” so the Lord said “feed my sheep.” Indeed, when no one else would speak up out of fear, Fr Peter fulfilled the command of our Lord. These little talks he provided gave the little nourishment we needed to get by during our hour of travail. I’m forever grateful and will always honor and support him for this. Before I finish this note on how he’s personally supported me, I’ve got one last thing to say. After the past 3 years of listening to Fr Peter’s talks and watching how he’s answered numerous questions, one thing specifically stands out; regardless of what others may think, this is a man of love. -- Niko Conkel

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Hi there! This Carlos, writing to you from Colombia.

I'm a venezuelan catholic that has been struggling for some time after migrating.

While I was going through a really dark period that turned even suicidal last year, I went to a mostly-catholic book store and found "The way of the pilgrim" sitting on a shelve. The name of the book ignited a great deal of curiosity within me. After taking it home and starting some reading I was introduced to the Jesus Prayer, and I was able to identify that all this suffering and shame was due to a great deal of sin and inconsistency in the faith. I then got in touch with the sisters from the Monastery of Saint George located in Brnjak, Kosovo and Metohija and got a prayer rope, and haven't stopped ever since.

I wanted to thank you dear brothers as well because I just received the book "Athonite Fathers of the 20th century" today. Orthodoxy has open the door to the light for me and it is really amazing that these works are able to travel so far to get to a troubled soul, it is once again a testimony of God's mercy.

I thank you again for your noble battle. I'll always pray for you. Please pray for me.

Best regards, Carlos

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Testimony 11:

Dear Fr Peter Heers and Team,

Your spiritual instruction and inspiration have been a gift from God to me. The encouragement to stay faithful amidst a world succumbing to fearful madness helped me pursue monastic life, and I want you to know that this novice at ---- monastery is eternally grateful. Rejoice in persecution, and pray for us to unite in the peace and love of Christ through all things. All of the monks here are eager to help however possible. Love In Christ, Brother Basil

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Ευλογείτε Πατέρα Πέτρο, είχα την ευκαιρία να σας γνωρίσω από κοντά μέσα στη Μεγάλη Εβδομάδα του 2019, όταν σας είχαμε επισκεφθεί μαζί με τον π. Γεώργιο τον Φιλοθεΐτη, στην ακαδημία των Τριών Ιεραρχών στην Αριζόνα. Από τότε και ύστερα, σας παρακολουθούμε μέσα από τα πνευματικά βιντεάκια και τις πολύ ωφέλιμες συνεντεύξεις που ανεβάζετε στο κανάλι «The Orthodox Ethos». Η αλήθεια είναι ότι μας έχετε βοηθήσει πολύ να ξεκαθαρίζουμε μέσα μας τα πράγματα και να οδηγούμαστε στο πραγματικό Ορθόδοξο ήθος. Ειδικά μέσα στην περίοδο της πανδημίας, του Κοβιντισμού -όπως αναφέρετε- , όπου κυριαρχούσε μια παραφροσύνη και ένας παραλογισμός. Γι’ αυτό τον λόγο, θα ήθελα, μέσα από αυτό το μήνυμα, να σας ευχαριστήσω πολύ για ό,τι πολύτιμο, Αγιοπατερικό μας έχετε προσφέρει. Ο Θεός να σας δίνει δύναμη και να σας ενισχύει, ώστε να συνεχίζετε το έργο σας.

Πρόσφατα, την προηγούμενη Κυριακή, συμμετείχα και στο συνέδριο που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Πολεμικό Μουσείο, σχετικά με τον Μετανθρωπισμό, ως μέλος στη βυζαντινή χορωδία. Δυστυχώς, λόγω μιας υποχρέωσης, δεν είχα χρόνο να καθίσω και να σας μιλήσω. Ελπίζω κάποια στιγμή να μου δοθεί η ευκαιρία, να σας ξανασυναντήσω και να έχουμε χρόνο να μιλήσουμε από κοντά. Ο Θεός να σας έχει πάντοτε καλά, εσάς και όλη την οικογένειά σας.

Την ευχή σας, με βαθιά εκτίμηση, Σκαρμούτσος Χρήστος.

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The teachings of Father Peter Heers have been nothing short of a blessing!

He has answered so many of our entreaties which would have otherwise fallen on deaf ears.

Whether it be by aiding us cradle Orthodox in going deeper in our faith or by assisting the catechumens to be properly received into the church. Father Heers has been a humble pillar of Orthodoxy! Cultivating the faithful and administering many fruitful admonishments!

All the best, -- George Sotiraki

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Eulogite Father+ I pray you and your family are well. I just wanted to thank you for your ongoing guidance and truth in Christ you share with the world. May our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ continue to give you the fotisi and spiritual strength to continue His Holy works+ and may our Most Pure and Holy Mother of God, our Theotokos always σκεπαση you and your family with her love and protection ✝️ -- In Christ+ Athena

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Testimony 33:

Dear Orthodox Ethos team,

I am writing here to share story of my family and how Father Peter has affected our family and it's way to the Orthodoxy. My family is coming from Latvia and for 8 years we were step to step getting into to the Orthodoxy. We used to go to the lutheran parish in Latvia and the priest in the parish loved Orthodoxy so for many years we thought that our whole parish would be baptised into the Orthodoxy (the truth)but years passed and nothing changed. My dad was looking for the solution to get our family baptised and going deeper into Orthodoxy, and through the recommendation he got the Orthodox Ethos chanel and started listening to the Fathers Peter's lectures. Over a time my dad understood how important it is to get baptised as Luther baptism is not baptism, but in the Latvia they receive you through the chrismation, so my dad decided to contact Father Peter which took a lot of patience and time(because of the amount of messages He receives ) but Glory to God after many messages Father Peter answered and He started doing catechism for us, and finally agreed to baptised us as well, so we packed our bags and as ironical as it sound for many people went from Latvia to the USA to get baptised into the Orthodoxy. But the most important thing was that I remember our catechism and I remember Father Peter saying Orthodoxy is the way of life and 1.you are Orthodox Christian 2. your profession/your status or anything else. Which made me release that I was never living as a Christian, I was a christian but never living as one. I thought I knew a lot about Orthodoxy from my 8 years of going deeper into It, but after our Baptism I understood that I know nothing and that Orthodoxy is an infinitive pool which goes deeper and deeper and without Father Peter I would have never understood that. Without Him our family would be still outside of the True Church and without Him we would have not understood what it means to live in the Christ because Father Peter showed us an example. Thank You Father Peter.

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Testimony 41:

Dear Team, Covid 19 was an isolated, lonely, and painful time for me as a nurse especially when my church closed its doors to the faithful out of fear. You helped me to know that I wasn’t crazy to think this was a sinful response to a virus that had roughly a 2% mortality rate.

You kept me grounded in the sayings of the Church Fathers and scripture which also gave me the courage to ask for and obtain a religious exemption. In Christ’s love, -- Deborah Andrews

Testimony 42:

Thank you very much, father Peter Heers.

I would like to thank you for the teachings I receive through your videos on the internet. I am Brazilian, and I would like to meet you personally so that I can be baptized and consecrated as a priest of the Holy Orthodox Church. --LUIZ HENRIQUE CORREIA DE PÁDUA PEREIRA

Testimony 43:

Orthodox Ethos is always the talk among so many Orthodox now-a-days. In truth, it constantly leads me back to the Scriptures, the lives of the Saints, and the Holy Fathers of the Church, both to go deeper into the Faith, but also to challenge and/or verify the thought provoking things presented by Fr. Peter and/or his guests. I am often astonished, frustrated, alienated, enthralled, humbled, and vivified all during the same program. My personal opinion—however foolish it may be—is that this is a good thing. Indeed, there is perhaps nothing more insipid to the process of sanctification than spiritual complacency. Love it or detest it, I find it very difficult to remain spiritually complacent when watching or listening to the OE. So my thanks to the OE for being a part of helping this “sleeper” continue in the process of “awakening” to the importance of both living and contending for the Faith that has established the Universe! -- Isaac H.

Testimony 44:

Dear team Orthodox Ethos, Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share how Father Peter has impacted my life. It has been about 6 years since I first became an enquirer into Orthodoxy, and then was baptized the year later, so I can’t quite remember exactly when I first saw Fathers teachings, but I do recall the day we met a few years ago. It wasn’t in person but through correspondence, as I am yet to meet him in person, but I had started to see how his teachings, though sometimes difficult to hear, were really sticking with me. I found them challenging yet fruitful once I contemplated what I may need to let go of in order to align myself with this truth he was proclaiming. Obviously I wasn’t sure at first if it was the truth, so it took some time. It was only when I reached out to him about a few things, then struggled with it in my pride, before coming back and thanking him time and again that I was able to see that Father Peter is a true man of God. The gentle, patient and fatherly loving correction this Priest has given me, and has continued many times, still to this very day, has been a tremendous blessing, absolutely tremendous. I thank God for this man. I believe Father Peter serves tirelessly helping lost sheep like me who have fallen through the cracks during Covid and beyond, and I trust him for spiritual guidance. Father Peter is the reason I have stayed in my parish that I am at now, even though my Priest and Bishops do not agree with him. He is the reason I returned to my last parish in Colorado during Covid. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he has been one to uphold the Orthodox Faith and keep people in the church when others shut us out, and he is still the one keeping us in these churches even though he is being shut out by our leaders.

Thank you Father Peter, and thank you to Presbytera Kyriaki and children for sharing your dear husband and father with us. God bless you all, we love you Father Peter and we look forward to the good resolution! All glory to Christ our God! --Magdaliní

Testimony 45:

Christ is risen! This email is to share with the OE team that Fr. Peter has also impacted OUR Orthodox family life. Father Peter, we thank you deeply for revealing so many truths from the life of the saints which help me and my whole family to rejoice in every challenging and uncomfortable situation and to endure until the end, with a loving, prayerful heart for all. Glory to Jesus Christ, our Lord & Savior, both now & forever. Every Cross is God's Glory! -- Stavroula

Testimony 46:

I was baptized into the Orthodox Church on Holy and Great Saturday of 2022. I can say with no hesitation and with absolute certainty that God used Fr. Peter Heers to help me become Orthodox and enter the Church, and he was an integral part in my journey in joining Christ's Church. So many of his writings, streams, and podcasts helped me tremendously. Most especially during that dark period of early 2020 when I was just beginning to experience the Orthodox Liturgy as a serious inquirer. I was ready to become a catechumen not too much longer afterwards in the OCA, but was pushed out and quite literally told I wasn't welcome (per the directives of the bishop) if I didn't want to comply with the covid restrictions (couldn't come in the Church without a mask, had to stand 6ft apart from others on a designated piece of tape on the floor, was forbidden from venerating the holy icons, and could not question one iota of the directives we were being given).

It took me a while to find a new parish to call home, and I thank God for St. Petka's in Nashville TN, and now St. Peter's in Lebanon TN. But until that time I continued to pray at home, keep in contact with like minded people, and I read, listened and watched a lot of Fr. Peter's material. He was always very gracious and never treated me or anyone else like we weren't worth his time. Although I didn't meet him in person until last year, in numerous ways, I can say that he was there for me when so many Priests and Bishops WERE NOT! He supported and encouraged me when so many in the Church couldn't have cared less.

I believe wholeheartedly that God used him and his mission to prevent me from despairing, losing hope, and giving up my journey home to the Holy Orthodox Church. And in talking with many others in similar situations I can confidently say they would say the same. I will always be grateful for what he has done for me and the impact he's had on my life. Fr. Peter is an inspiration to me and so many, and as far as I'm concerned, he's as true of an embodiment of a loving servant for Christ as I've ever known. I support and will continue to support him, and ask for his prayers! God preserve him for many years. -- Constantine Lukas Scott

Testimony 47:

Father Peter, OE team. Thank you for all you do. Without your conference and the interview Father Peter had with Father Felipe, I would have never been made aware of his mission in the Philippines and the things in the works for Orthodoxy in the Philippines. Glory to God. Fast forward and I'm participating in prayers of the faithful, sins known and unknown to me slipping through my fingers like sand. And it's only my stubbornness that makes me crawl to the vices to try and retain some of them. But now I have a direction, a church I will soon be part of, a practice that challenges me to push aside my habitual sins and ego. And none of this would have been made possible without your efforts. For what it's worth, Father Peter and OE team; thank you for what you are doing. Thank you for your content. Thank you for your time, your health, your decision, your philotimo, your patience with my dumb and often deluded questions. Thank you for struggling, that we all may be inspired to pick up our own crosses and follow after Christ who calls us all to Him. Glory to God! --Hemsicle

Testimony 48:

Much love & many prayers for Fr Peter Heers AND his family...always I was brought to Fr Peter by God during the pandemic. God & only God KNEW how devastated I was going to be that so many of our leaders betrayed us, both secular & Orthodox. I will never have anything but gratitude for Fr Peter & the family that supports him. All of them are being refined in the fire and we need to keep praying for them. -- Lydia Joy

Testimony 49:

Father Bless, Although it was just small online interaction it was a moment of confusion and uncertainty in my life. The summer 2021 I had two small children, at that time my oldest was four and my youngest was soon to turn one. Ever since my youngest was born I had been very conflicted about continuing the process of vaccinating my kids. Ever since I was pregnant in 2020 and my doctor at that time told me that things would not go back to "normal" until a covid vaccine was available The Lord planted a seed in my heart. A seed of doubt about not just the covid vaccine but all vaccines and how they are made. I researched and found out the truth, I prayed that God's will be done and for him to help me make the right decision for my kids. During 2020/2021 I started following The inkless pen blog on Instagram and Fr. Zechariah was putting out a lot of information about covid, the lockdowns, and the vaccine/vaccine technology. I read much of his information about the covid vaccine and I just knew I didnt want to have my kids vaccinated anymore. I still had to convince my husband that we shouldn't vaccinate them anymore and as the Lord would have it my youngest daughter was one now and was due for her 12 month vaccines. My oldest also was due for some vaccines around the sametime as well and we had moved 2.5 hours away from our pediatrician [of four years]. After much discussion with my husbands and weeks and weeks of postponing the pediatrician appointment we finally came to the agreement that we would go to this appointment and these would be the last vaccines for our girls. At the sametime I had read a post on instagram [from the inkless pen] about the vaccines. I felt stuck because I compromised with my husband that the kids would still be vaccinated this last time but I'd rather them not get any ever again. I wrote in the comments under the inkless pen instagram that "i understand that aborted fetal cells are used in the testing of most vaccines." I also wrote that my husband and I had consulted with several different priests on this matter of getting our kids vaccinated and two of the priests went along with whatever Roman Catholics were saying about it at the time. To my surprise Fr. Peter responded to my comment and he said something he has said many times before. He quoted a saint simply saying " A good thing cannot be done in a bad way". I'm choking up right now as I type this because it was a simple short response but it meant so much and I only wish I could thank him in person. After Fr Peter responded to my comment I prayed again to the Lord for his will to be done and that I would do whatever was right for my kids. A few days after that we loaded up our truck for a road trip and we were also driving out of our way 2.5 hours for our children's joint appointment at the pediatrician. The doctor was supposed to see them at the same- time but this appointment was different because our actual pediatrician was booked for the whole summer so we were actually seeing a Nurse Practitioner, and we had postponed so many times they were only able to squeeze us into this JOINT appointment and would see the girls at the sametime [we confirmed this on patient portal]. We made it about halfway there and my husband called the Pediatrician's office to confirm our appointment. The secretary proceeded to tell us that it was not a joint appointment and we were mistaken, they said they never schedule appointments that way so it was impossible that it was a JOINT appointment. My husband then asked to speak with the Nurse Practitioner to see if she would work with us, not only was she unwilling to go forward with the joint appointment she was rude and didn't seem to be bothered that they would be losing us as patients. My kids were not vaccinated that day or any day since Glory to God. I believe it was all God's providence. Fr. Peter's words stayed with me and helped encourage me to keep praying for God's will to be done. Thank you Father, thank you for responding that day. Thank you for all that you do. --Ebony

Testimony 50

Responding to the situation with Fr Peter:

He does not celebrate liturgy regularly for this reason. He only does so on occasion with permission from the local bishop. It is an unfair and inexcusable circumstance where he is de-facto excommunicated without ever having been given the chance to defend himself.

The question of whether he has a right to teach is a different matter. That should not be controversial. If he has the blessing of his SF (he does), this is sufficient. If that isn't a sufficient blessing to teach, then basically no one has the right to teach.

One may say that he shouldn't be teaching or presenting as a priest given his current status, because the teaching is an inherent function of the priesthood. But he can't NOT present as a priest because he IS a priest, and that fact has not been challenged by anyone. Additionally, teaching is not a sacrament performed in the name of a bishop.

One of the worrying trends is the consideration to use an ancient canon prohibiting clerics from teaching outside their diocese without a blessing as a pretext to effectively ban online teaching. This is of course illogical; if preaching online is uncanonical, so does writing books and selling them outside the diocese. Or even more schizophrenic - it's canonical only if someone within the same diocese views it, but becomes uncanonical when someone outside the diocese views it. I'm afraid the Assembly is using Fr. Peter as a pretext to push this view.--Timothy Zelinski

Testimony 51

My husband and I are new to the faith. We found you, Fr Peter Heers' online and have grown in the true faith because of you. We have listened to your teachings ever since. Praise and thanks be to God for you. We love you and are praying for you. Most all of the Saints were persecuted. BLESS..... BLESS those who persecute you. It changes you and them. Stand strong in our faith, Father. Fight the good fight. Run the good race. Keep the faith. Stay and stand strong in the Armor of God. Ephesians 6-10-18.

Testimony 52:

AXIOS! May God preserve Father Peter Heers and all His faithful servants for many more people to be enlightened and guided along the narrow Royal Path!

Thank you, Fr. Peter Heers, my words are poor to express his tremendous help in a time when I, like many other Orthodox brothers & sisters struggling along the Path, needed it the most.

Where should I start? Maybe when all the Covid paranoia started … yeah, that would be when I learned of his Orthodox Ethos courses that enlighten me - and many like me I am sure!

I don’t pray enough for him, of that I am guilty … He helped me a great deal, oh yeah, I remember tears running down my face listening to his live seminars for joy and hope that someone actually speaks throughout that … ordeal of masks and forced “va… “!!!

He sacrifices his time and is so selfless in his effort in teaching all that are lost or confused that is impossible for someone following him not to notice!

May he continue to confess the Truth to many and may he do it so as boldly and diligently as he has done it all this time. Axios!!! -- Daniela Plavosin (Romanian Orthodox living in Canada)

Testimony 53:

My Beloved Father Peter Heers

I am sharing my experience with father Peter Heers. I was an oriental orthodox Christian. I became a member of Holy Orthodox Church in February 2023. I am living in the southern part of India. There is no Holy Orthodox Church here. Also no Priests here. Father Peter is the one who guided me to Holy Orthodox Church through his youtube videos, email, messenger, telegram. He was always with me when I struggled. Whatever doubts I have, he always helped me to get the answer. Whether it is day or night, he always replies me. I don't know how to express my thanks to him. I truly believe that our Lord Jesus Christ arranged father Peter for me to help me. I still connect with him everytime when I am in a bad situation or when I have a query. One of the most precious treasures he created is the Orthodox Ethos youtube channel. As you know it is not easy to buy an Orthodox Book in India. I always depend on the Orthodox Ethos youtube channel. Those hours of lectures is one of the most valuable treasures. Above all these, I firmly believe that his prayers for me and my family is one of my strengths. I thank father Peter for all these and I am Glorifying God. --Thomas Raju

Testimony 54:

Fr Peter Heers' YouTube lectures, particularly the Russian New Martyrs and Orthodox Ecclesiology talks, have been very helpful in my journey towards Holy Orthodoxy from atheism. Seeing his strong stance against the craziness of what happened these past few years was also inspiring to me. It saddens me to see him be slandered by others, because he is standing up for Truth. I have also just ordered his book "Let No One Fear Death" so I look forward to reading that! --Thomas Gream

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Testimony 57

Father, Bless! I want to thank you for your wisdom and countless hours of educational material/lectures you have provided to the world and to myself. You even took the time a couple years ago to write back to me when I emailed you about moving to Greece instead of staying in the US (God ultimately took care of that subject and shut the whole world down with COVID, so we did not move and instead built a dairy farm to feed our community and God has blessed the work of our hands).

When I saw people starting to post such negativity about you and slandering you recently, I reflected on the countless hours I had listened to you teach and without any doubt, knew this was just an attack. I waited for the truth to emerge and it did, multiple sources covered your situation. Stay strong, Father, you upset the demons with your effective ways of reaching people via the internet - and those millennials and 30 somethings like my husband and I need priests like you to help us discover Orthodoxy.

I am praying for you and your family, thank you for all you have done.

May the Lord bless you and grant you many years! -- Jayme Cupples, Conroe, Texas

Testimony 58

Father Bless thank you for all your good work. I have heard of the trials you have had to endure. I think of The Gospel John 15:18. I rejoice in all your good work. I am a poor sinner and am grateful for your good example and leadership. Very Respectfully, -- Bert

Testimony 59

I want to express my love and appreciation for Fr. Peter and his work. I have been following him for several years, am active subscriber to his Patreon, and have used his materials to help bring more of my friends into the faith. We have had brief correspondence in 2021 and I asked him to keep me in his prayers. I continue praying for him.

I hope this situation can reveal to the world that God still has worthy spiritual fathers and that his promise to be with us till the end of the ages is shown through his elect servants, Fr. Peter being one of His elect servants. Yours truly, R. P. Pochylko

Testimony 60:

Christ is Risen!

After years of searching for the true Church, what is true, and the fullness of the faith, I’m finally becoming a catechumen this Sunday, glory to God! I give many thanks and much love to the work Fr. Peter does, his videos have always been there to give me the right answer, according to the faith as it has been for millennia! I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him expounding on the hard truths that we must know to follow this narrow path. His teaching helped keep me away from those who speak error in order to appease the masses and lead them to perdition; for he only speaks what the Holy Fathers have said before him and what our Church truly professes. Many blessings to him, his family, and all who support him. Thank you Father! -- Brittany Murray

Testimony 61:

Dear Father, I found your courses back in 2020 and you have helped me grow in the faith more than I could've imagined and you were a light in the midst of the covid confusion. May the Lord triumph over his enemies who come against you. My prayers are with you! Christ Is Risen!

Chelsea (Anastasia, Deliverer from Potions)

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To whom it may concern,

I am writing you today to talk about Fr. Peter Heers. As someone who was without a spiritual home finding his videos had a profound impact on me. His short straight to the point approach and delivery are what pushed me to step into my Orthodox parish for the first time and to keep attending. His writings on today's issues and his willingness to venture into these topics are what helped convince me Orthodoxy was the faith of the Apostles. I was baptized & chrismated on 04/15/23. I can't express enough the important role Fr. Peter had in my journey, as I'm sure he has MANY others. Fr. Peter & those with boldness like him are what our church and country needs now more than ever. God grant him many years! -Thomas Seitz (Kosmas), St Ignatius Franklin, TN DOMSE

Testimony 65:

Hello, Christ is Risen! Bless Father! I have been baptized Orthodox for 4 years now. When I was a catechumen, I was very much tempted by doubtful thoughts about whether the canonical Orthodox Church was indeed the true Church of Christ. I had read about both the Old Believers and the "True Orthodox" groups, and I could not shake these thoughts that perhaps they were in fact the true Church, and that I was making a mistake by joining the canonical Orthodox Church. I was so tempted that I at one point came very close to getting in my car and driving up to an Old Believer community that is about a 3 hour drive from me in Northern Minnesota. I ultimately didn't go through with it, and was baptized into the Orthodox Church in the OCA and was given the name Paisios after St Paisios the Athonite.

As I was exposed more to some material about the True Orthodox Church, these doubtful thoughts came back very strongly again. I even at one point was doubting the very sanctity and Sainthood of my own namesake since he was in communion with the new calendar Church. I tried to talk to priests and other Orthodox people about these thoughts that I was having and I was always given what felt like very shallow and unsatisfying answers. "Those people are crazy zealots", "they are too strict,they are unloving" , and other such things. But I always thought, well isn't this what many people say about the canonical Orthodox Church as well? How can I know for sure who is right? These thoughts bothered me for some time.

Eventually, I came across the work of Fr. Peter Heers on the Internet. I felt like I had never heard a priest speak like him before, there was something different about him that I couldn't explain. When I heard Fr Peter speak, it all felt so much more real, and it felt like he was speaking to me as though we were a genuine family. I heard him speak about the old calendarist schism, and about how the Saints historically had dealt with the issue of being in communion with Bishops who are preaching heresy. It was especially his class of Ecclesiology that I found so helpful. He made me see clearly that according to the very logic of the "True Orthodox", the Church would have had to have ceased to exist a long time ago! And he made me understand how we are in a sort of in between time, where the heresies haven't yet been defeated, but like in all times in the past even when it seemed impossible, God brought about a resolution.

Generally speaking as well, I feel that Fr Peter has helped me shift away from being so focused on "being right", and to understand that it is acquiring pure prayer and spiritual healing that is the primary thing in the Church, and that the correct dogmas are a means to this end and not an end in themselves.

I have never met Fr Peter but I genuinely feel that no living person has impacted my life as much as he has & I believe that he has been given by God to us spiritually impoverished Orthodox Christians in America to bring us the true "old world" spirituality that is so lacking here.

I am extremely grateful for Fr Peter and I wanted to share this because I have seen so many people attack Fr Peter and accuse him of having a mentality that is like the "True Orthodox", which I find so incredibly ignorant because Fr Peter more than anyone else explains in a deep and satisfying way why we should not go and join the "True Orthodox". Asking your prayers, (if Fr Peter is reading this: bowing to you kissing your right hand), -- Paisios Devereux

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I've casually crossed paths with Fr. Peter a few times, and from the beginning he impressed me as an excellent priest and teacher of the truth. Sadly, such priests have become a rarity. The unrelenting attacks that he's faced, particularly in the past few years, are absolutely the work of the Evil One. I've never once heard or read anything from him that hasn't been 100% according to the Patristic Tradition of the Church. As Orthodox priests, that's what we're supposed to do. For a priest to teach anything contrary to the Holy Tradition handed down to us from the Apostles, who themselves received it from Christ, would be to teach heresy.

Most of you know that during Bright Week Fr. Peter was a target of more malicious slander from the Assembly of Canonical Bishops. Nothing that organization puts out is worth taking seriously. It's an ecumenist cesspool whose members routinely condone and support such things as same sex marriage and abortion, and that's only the beginning. Out of jealousy they attacked a priest who teaches only the truth, and they chose the holiest time of the year to do it. How could this not be the work of the Evil One and those who serve him?

Fr. Peter found himself in a difficult canonical situation not of his doing. Anyone, especially clergy, who gets some sort of strange satisfaction out of exploiting what was essentially an administrative omission and uses it as means to attack an innocent priest who has done nothing but teach the True Faith should probably take a closer look at their own ministry and what they're teaching. Not everyone who wears a cross carries one. Ye shall know them by their fruits.

— Priest Stephen Kaznica

Testimony 72:

I want to express my love and appreciation for Fr. Peter and his work. I have been following him for several years, am an active subscriber to his Patreon, and have used his materials to help bring more of my friends into the faith. We have had brief correspondence in 2021 and I asked him to keep me in his prayers. I continue praying for him.

I hope this situation can reveal to the world that God still has worthy spiritual fathers and that his promise to be with us till the end of the ages is shown through his elect servants, Fr. Peter being one of His elect servants. Yours truly, -- R. P. Pochylko

Testimony 77

Fr Peter, through your YouTube channel on Orthodox ethos, I have learnt so much about Orthodox Christianity, of which I was baptised as a baby, but didn't believe or practice it, till the last 2 years. And one of those reasons is you, thank you Fr Peter. You are one of the boldest and traditional priests that has spoken out against the vaxx, of which I was totally against, too. May God grant you many years. Much love and Christos Anesti. -- Thalia from London UK

Testimony 78

Dear Fr. Heers, Father, bless! Christ is Risen!

We wanted to let you know what an important role your ministry has had on our path into the Orthodox Church. Your video series on baptism and your book, Ecclesiological Renovation of Vatican II, helped bring our family out of Roman Catholicism and into Christ's Orthodox Church. We were received two years ago at Pentecost. Praise God!

We are praying for you and your family, for your team at Uncut Mountain and at Orthodox Ethos. Thank you for your work in the vineyard. May God continue to bless your ministry.

Afanasiy, Clothilde & Children

Testimony 79:

To Father Heers and all the Orthodox Ethos Team,

The work of Father Peter Heers and the Orthodox Ethos has been instrumental in my spiritual journey towards the One Holy Apostolic Church, Father has been a sober voice of reason and faith throughout the last few years as the faithful have been faced with many challenges, through it all Father has provided sound council and encouragement to endure, persevere in the faith, and to cling to Christ always. I hope he continues to speak boldly no matter what the enemy throws at him. I believe he is targeted by these attacks because he is effective, and that scares the devil. No matter what, I want to extend my deepest thanks to God for using Father Peter to encourage us to stand fast, to commune with the One True God, and speak the truth always. God Bless the Orthodox Ethos! In Christ, Jerry from Exposing Powerful Lies

Testimony 80:

I remember my First introduction to what Orthodoxy is was a discussion on a life of prayer, from Fr. Peter. I can’t remember the exact video but after I heard that I had heard some more of his lectures. The rest is history. Me and my two children are products of that introduction and I have always learned so much from his book press and his content of lectures and works on proper doctrine. If I only spoke for my Family alone I can say three people learned how to enter the Body of Christ with the help of your Father. This is also true for so many. “Know that if they hate you, they hated me first”. If they are attacking Fr. Peter it’s because he is doing something right and that something is holding fast to a Ancient faith that is resisting secular winds. --Brandon Igler

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Testimony 83

Dearest Ones at OE,

Thank you for accepting my message. Christ has Risen!

I offer my humble message to you in overwhelming support of Father Peter Heers.

Without Orthodox Ethos and Father Heers the last few challenging years would have been more difficult and I’m not sure where I or my family would be.

OE, Uncut Mountain Press and Father Peter have helped direct our attention to the lives of the saints. The books and educational material about the Saints, our Holy Bible, our blessed sacraments and countless facets of Orthodoxy have been illuminating in truth and comfort. Father Peter’s dedication to answer questions for hours on end speak to his love and compassion. Few, today, offer that depth of commitment to others and he has been a ray of hope to us all.

Thankfully, I have been able to pass on the teachings to others and I can promise you countless lives have benefited. Before Father Peter, none of us knew what a prayer rule was, let alone other facts and traditions which work to open our hearts. These things have moved mountains for many of us. While I am a cradle Orthodox, unfortunately these efforts and the diligence behind them were/are missing locally.

I thank our Lord that Father Peter took to the internet to reach those of us in serious need.

May God grant him many years. -- Georgia Roach

Testimony 84

Christ is Risen! Father Peter, you have been such an inspiration on our path to Orthodoxy and we love you for that and the work you are doing in the name of our Lord. We are praying for you and your family and Orthodox Ethos. May God see your fruits and bless you and those around you.

Sincerely, Jordan and Tabitha Weber

Testimony 85

I started listening to Fr. Peter on YT during the lockdown period. Few months after that, I became a member on Patreon, where he hosts regular Q&A sessions. I always notice a humble priest if he quotes the saints and never speaks from himself; he always tests himself according to the teachings of the Holy Fathers and is obedient to his elders. This is what I found in Fr. Peter and much more; his lectures are the best orthodox content you can find on the internet, and I'm saying this as someone who is cradle-orthodox. I learned so much from him and I can feel that he is a loving father even if I personally don't know him. It is very encouraging for all of the faithful to see orthodox clergy who are standing up for the faith. Thank you with all my heart to Fr. Peter and his team. God help them and their families. Glory to God! --Ivan Gjorgievski

Testimony 86

Christ is Risen! Good afternoon, I wanted to share my little bit on how Fr. Peter Heers has positively impacted my life. First, I have to provide some background information, please forgive me as it’s a bit lengthy. I am a convert. I was initially received via chrismation Lazarus Saturday 2016. At the start of covid, I had a nauseous feeling in my stomach. On Cheesefare Saturday, I went to confession with my parish priest at the time and sobbed about how I just knew the churches would be closing and we weren’t prepared and there would be no Pascha celebrations. I was assured by this priest, who later did shut down the parish, that the Orthodox Church would never shut its doors because communion is Holy. I left still upset but wanting to give the benefit of the doubt.

Then as we all know, the Orthodox Church did “shut down” per the whims of bishops. This devastated me further and I began to feel despair, that perhaps my Protestant family was right and I had been tricked. I cried in front of my icon corner for weeks asking for some answers or comfort.

I was blessed to have an icon myrrh which did help me find some comfort and least helped me have faith an answer would be made clear sooner rather than later. However, watching priests live in fear and the scandal of multiple spoons in some parishes was still a bit much and continued to break my heart and I felt as though I was the insane one.

At some point in that madness, I found The Orthodox Ethos. Listening to Fr. Peter brought me so much joy! To hear that communion WAS in fact Holy, the Church is healing, that Orthodox have a duty to not be afraid in the face of death - it was all such a relief to hear because it was the Truth! To hear a priest speak with the Spirit of Truth and in a way that was humble helped me with my depression at the time.

Overall, The Orthodox Ethos helped not just myself with my confusion and depression during that time but many others who I began to share the videos and content with. I will always be grateful for the initial OE videos and Fr. Peter’s reminders that fear of death is not of God. I wish I could more adequately express how much comfort it brought me, it certainly helped me stay within the Church.

I continue to listen because it’s obvious Fr. Peter cares about Truth. Have a good day, -Katherine

Testimony 87

Christ is Risen! I have learnt more from Fr Peter than anyone, and I was born into the faith. During covidism which didn't feel right with how the churches were behaving, never mind the state, my soul was not at peace. God guided me to his videos and father gave me answers which made so much sense and it was as clear as day! It felt right everything that he said.

The same with Transhumanism. Ecumenism, I knew nothing about and would have been a naive victim of the classic quote of "God is love" and all the other rubbish they throw at us. Father has woken my soul up from being a secularised, lukewarm Christian to one who is waking up and smelling the coffee. It's not just me he has helped but also my family! Thanks be to God. What his lectures, interviews and other works have done for a lot of us is wanting to be with God and beginning to understand what that means and looks like, and all in English!

We have so many wolves in sheep's clothing and he is one of the true shepherds. It would be a great blessing for me to get his blessing and kiss his right hand in person. We forget that God is the judge, not us! Forever in my prayers. God be with him, his family and all of you at OE. -- Helen in the UK

Testimony 88

Thank you, Father Peter, for leading me out of the "true Orthodox" [Old Calendarist group which was] deadened and into a functioning local parish in my area where I can learn, confess, commune, have services, see and meet beautiful people! Take care mate! With love in Christ,

Wahre Orthodoxia

Testimony 89:

Hello

I want to share that Fr. Peter Heers has captured my attention by his humility, excellent ability to transfer the true essence of orthodox faith and his beliefs towards orthodoxy that has improved and strengthened my own faith at very difficult times for me. I wish that those in power acknowledge the amazing value in Fr. Heers‘ contribution to spreading the true word of God and our Orthodox teachings. May God protect Fr. Peter Heers from every danger and correct any wrongdoing towards him. -- Bianca

Testimony 90

Amon Rice:

Testimony 91

My name is Michael, I am an Orthodox Christian from California. I almost went in schism and joined an Old Calendarist group where I live. No one in Orthodoxy had any info on these groups. No one explained to me why these groups are wrong, only Fr Peter Heers' streams had explanations and answers for this subject that bothered me very much. Fr Peter Heers helped me from going into schism.

Testimony 92:

Christ is Risen!

Your Blessings Father. I would like to write letters and try and get signatures to send to the hierarchy, about what is going on in the Church. I am not an academic but a simple grandmother. Please put me in contact with a leader to help me write these letters. I live in South Australia, Australia. I was with His Grace Silouan of Sinope of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia (under Constantinople). With His Grace’s blessing, in 2021, I left and went to an English speaking ROCOR outreach mission. Many from our parish left because of the the jab and closing churches policies. The Greek Priests, Bishops and Archbishop Makarios are still pushing the jab. Some laity have gone to the Serbian churches here. The only Orthodox Bishop in Australia that I am aware of that is against the jab is the Serbian Bishop Siluan. The Orthodox faithful is small in number here in South Australia. I thank you and Presvetera Kiriaki for your work and love. May you continue to speak truth. Good struggles.-- Mrs. Olivia Smith

Testimony 93:

Christ is Risen! Just wanted to say thank you for the work you guys do, the books you publish, and all the content you put out. I'm recently baptized in the Orthodox Church and Fr Heers has been instrumental on the journey leading me here. His guidance has been a blessing. --Phocas

Testimony 94:

Christ is risen!

I'd like to thank Fr. Peter Heers and all Orthodox Ethos/UMP staff for the invaluable tough missionary work in the most dangerous place nowadays: the digital world web. He was a beacon, a true reference of patristic teaching, a diligent father, when I started my journey into Orthodoxy. Because of him I was motivated to seek (the much needed) help in a local ROC parish where I live. --Jamil Gallo Junior, from Rio, Brazil.

Testimony 95:

I am currently a catechumen and I wanted to express how much your videos have helped me! My Greek friend and I constantly talk about the good work you do in what you share and how you share it. It makes it incredibly easy to understand and try to apply it to our daily lives. I appreciate so much the question and answer aspect of each video and the personable feeling to it where it is comfortable to ask a question! Also, I really appreciate the translation of text or videos into English so that we can understand more about the Saints, what they said, and what they taught! I love how no matter how we feel about it, the truth is said according to the Saints. I have recommended your channel to those inquiring, and I have purchased books from Uncut Mountain Press! Even at times when I was worried about who we can trust in the future after, for example, Metropolitan Neophytos and Metropolitan Athanasios, my friend would remind me how the Lord is raising up people to guide us like Father Peter, Father Josiah, and Father Kosmas. It is a great consolation to me! Thank you so much Father for the work that you do!

Testimony 96:

Dear OE Team,

We and many others throughout the world are grateful to the Lord for calling and preparing Fr Peter for the work he has been doing for us and people all over the world, whom the Lord is calling to Himself. Thank you OE Team for assisting Fr Peter in this very important work in and for the Lord. Please continue to help Fr Peter, so he can continue his ministry, regardless of what others, sadly but not at all surprisingly, may be doing to suppress/discredit this salvific work.

May the work continue for it is the Lord's work, in very dark times. Work that's badly needed. For the salvation of souls. And may the Lord strengthen and grant Fr Peter all he needs to withstand these attacks and continue to labor in and for Christ and may the Lord help you the team who labors with him and, through Fr Peter's labors and yours, may He draw very many to Himself from this sad nation of ours & all over this sad world. Love in Christ, -- Anna and family

Testimony 97:

Father Peter Heers, Thank you so much for all your hard work, sharing the orthodox faith. I'm truly blessed to have found you at the beginning of learning about orthodoxy. God bless you.

CHRIST HAS RISEN --Brittany Pietrafeso

Testimony 98:

During COVID, at a time when we needed a good shepherd to comfort us the MOST, God gave us the voice of Father Peter, to comfort us, to guide us, and grant us spiritual discernment. We felt as though the world was ending, but Father Peter lifted our souls out of a sense of despair, and granted us the hope of our Lord. We were shepherdless, and though Father Peter was only in the videos on the internet, he guided us to a good place within the church again. He also guided us in wisdom regarding the correct reception in the church, confirming the need for a proper baptism in the Orthodox church. My husband got baptized after 10 years of only being chrismated. Glory to God! We are forever grateful, and we stand with Father Peter and recognize him as a true servant of our Lord😃! Nothing can hide his good deeds, and they are seen and cherished by those who love the Lord! Eternally grateful! -- In Christ, Cveta B

Testimony 99:

Dear Orthodox Ethos Team, Over the past three years as a member of OE, l have learned and been educated on and by the Holy Fathers and saints.

Fr. Peter explains everything in great detail in a simple and easy way for everyone to understand, especially the newcomers, and we are able to ask any question we like, which Fr. Peter answers in great depth.

The work of Orthodox Ethos is extremely important, informative and educational, engaging in the truth of the Greek Orthodox Faith and all areas of Christianity.

I personally was oblivious in so many areas as we are not taught this information here in Australia. However, I found this through Orthodox Ethos and a great journey and privilege it has been.

I write to Fr. Peter often when l find myself spiritually struggling or otherwise. He always helps me with his guidance, love, and support — on some of my worst days & in my darkest moments.

Fr. Peter is always available, never makes excuses, hardly ever sleeps, is always working and helping people all around the world. Fr. Peter is devoted priest loved by bishops and people.

Fr. Peter is a much loved priest who lives for the truth and only the truth.

I am happy to stand with Fr. Peter. -- Eva Anagnostakos

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Christos Anesti! I find myself retyping this message because there are just so many positives to be said… The bottom line is, - By the grace of God, Father Peter and his channel have been a light to me in this fallen and darkened world and age.

Even if it is through today’s technology via a video screen (Glory to God!) Nonetheless, - its still the voice of truth and a call of repentance sounding from afar through my phone and into my heart.

If it were not for Father Peter and the channel of Orthodox Ethos which I discovered 3 years ago, I would have still been stumbling around in the dark not knowing where I’m going. Through him and this channel and countless and priceless lectures and interviews I learned how to go deeper in the faith, to struggle and acquire the mind of our saints and Christ. I knew what to look for in a Father Confessor/Spiritual Father and the Divine Liturgy and life in the Church, the Body of Christ, had new and deeper meaning to me.

Also, basic fundamentals and foundations of how one is received into the body of Christ does matter. And my own life experience of this, together with all presented in this channel via our Saints and Holy Fathers shows the unchangeable and undeniable fact of this.

There is still much to be said, the above is only but a mere few indicators…

Father Peter please continue to pray for me/us.

Glory to God for Father Peter! Glory to God for his Godly zeal, boldness and courage!

Glory to God for the channel of Orthodox Ethos and the team members assisting him!

Glory to God for all things!

WARM REGARDS IN CHRIST, -- MARIKA

Testimony 108:

God help us. I do not understand what is happening. All I know is that from hearing the very first lecture a few years ago to every day since, I have been so greatly blessed by Fr. Peter. I thanked God for leading me to him and to The Orthodox Ethos group. --- In Christ, Bonnie Sharp

Testimony 109:

Father Heers, Thank you so much for sharing God's truth on YouTube. I am just a sinner working out my salvation with fear and trembling. Your guidance and explanations create clarity in an insane world. I've never seen anything by your critics on helping reap the harvest. Thank you for your service. Stay strong and over come. --Jeff

Testimony 110:

Christ is Risen!

I would like to add my experience to the vast mountain of faithful who have been helped by Father Peter.

Very shortly after discovering Orthodoxy and beginning catechism, my parish closed down in an effort to comply with covid restrictions. This was a major hit to my faith, as I had just realized that the Orthodox Church is the true Faith and is the door to the God I had sought all my life. I thought that the Church had caved in completely to the world and that I would not even have the opportunity to enter. Like Saint Mary of Egypt, who came to be my patron Saint, I was barred entrance to the Church.

At this early stage, I was afraid to ask the intercession of the Saints, but my desperation was so great, that I came to believe in their intercession, because I had no where else to turn. I prayed to Father Seraphim Rose, that if there was a remnant of Truth left in the Church, that he would guide me to it. I prayed the prayer to the Theotokos, which Saint Mary of Egypt prayed, everyday, and I cried out to Christ that He would bring me into the Church, even though I saw no way.

My prayers were answered by discovering Father Peter's "Orthodox Ethos" videos on YouTube and his "Orthodox survival course" lessons. Thanks to Father Peter, who is a friend of Christ and carrying out His Will, my parish repented of the covid restrictions and re-opened, I was connected with a monastery and found a Spiritual Father. My teenage daughter (whose heart is now set on monasticism) and I were brought into the Church by Baptism. My husband followed us in Baptism one year later and we were married in the Church, and my 20 yr old son, who had intended to be a non-denominational pastor, is now a catechumen. Before my husband's Baptism, I had become so scandalized by the behavior of some of our Hierarchs, that I was very close to leaving the Church and joining a schismatic group. Father Peter also was an instrument of Christ in this case, where he taught the necessity of remaining in the Church, no matter what.

I thank God for Father Peter and pray for him continually!

In Christ, Maria in Texas

Testimony 111:

Dear Fr. Peter and the OE Team, I wanted to let you know that the videos you have posted during COVID and up until now have been a source of solace for me when I felt like there was no one locally I could talk to about the shut downs, the vaccination campaign, etc. Thank you for all that you do. In Christ, -- Olga A (Columbia, SC)

Testimony 112:

Christ is Risen! I’m a follower of Orthodox Ethos and just wanted to add my support. I don’t understand much about what’s going on, but my father is also a priest here in Argentina and we struggle very much with these issues too. Every time I hear father Peter it is clear that he speaks the truth, it is clear that he struggles to follow Christ and open our eyes to every lie. With love, explanation, clarity and prayer. I’ve been an orthodox Christian my whole life thanks to the Grace of God and father Peter has been only a light for my repentance and life with Christ. I just want to send strength and support to him, and to thank him for being brave and speaking the truth. Christ is Risen! - Sofia Iwaszewicz

Testimony 113:

Dear team at The Orthodox Ethos,

I am a simple inquirer who has made up his mind to confess, be catechized, leave behind the old man, embrace my new life in Christ and be baptized. Glory to God. I don't know what kind of support I can offer father Peter, but I want to contribute somehow. He has been one of the few reliable, go-to voices of Orthodoxy throughout my spiritual journey, I don't even know where I'd be without his incredibly edifying influence on my life. I cannot thank him enough for the dedicated, tireless effort he has put into spreading the true faith, into feeding my soul with the tradition of church fathers, and making me aware of the many spiritual dangers lurking about. I pray to God for Fr. Peter, that He may give him the love, strength and the guidance needed to face these troubling times. -- Tony Gargano - Italy

Testimony 114:

Dear Father Peter, Father Bless! This note is in support of you and your team. I would like to say how grateful I am for all you have done for me. Your support and influence has helped me get through the pandemic and continues to nourish my orthodox journey on a daily basis. I have been a patron of Orthodox Ethos since the start of the pandemic and have every intention of continuing. I attend all of your online lectures (the course on the New Martyrs and the current one on the Revelation) and your Q&As and cannot begin to tell you how much you have enriched my faith and understanding of Orthodoxy and the Orthodox Church. Early on in the pandemic my church aligned with CDC guidelines, which placed Covid narratives over and above standard orthodox church procedures. Our church was closed and there were other restrictions placed on us. This was a terrible crisis for me and I had no one to confide in. My priest was barely holding it together and did not wish to discuss anything. That’s when I sought counsel from you. My questions revolved around my increasingly delicate relationships with church clergy and other elders. You wrote me a personal email. In that email you never judged anyone — and you never encouraged me to leave my church, knowing that I only had that one church in my rural area. So you offered ways of coping that were so insightful and helpful to me. Your views were always humble and respectful of clergy and your suggestions were based in humility even in light of all that was going on. Everything you said and continue to say is cloaked in the kind of humility and reverence for people that the saints and fathers of the church possess. You never judge others —even when it would seem that judgement is warranted (God forgive me a sinner). One time -I had wanted to tell my priest what I felt was right (and wrong!) and you discouraged me from doing so (thank God). You simply suggested that I be silent and act from my faith (in other words actions speak louder than words). This helped me at a time when I might have otherwise lashed out at my elders in anger. And I would have regretted doing so. Your counsel and advice is always filled with restraint and is carefully worded. I have been following you long enough to say in all honesty, I believe you have impeccable character and integrity as a man and an orthodox priest. You are also very hard working and dedicated and so very generous to help those of us who feel lost, afraid and sometimes resentful. I admire you so much. You are such a light to us !! These are dark days but you give me hope! I don’t know what I would do without you! Please take care of yourself Father and may God help you with all that you are doing . You are in my prayers Father Peter. -- Joanna

Testimony 115:

I can start with no words and end with no words.

Father Peter is the reason I'm real Orthodox, is the reason I relinquished myself and bowed down and look into the eyes and face God, the Truth, as glorious He is. Fr Peter's continuous insistence of leaving oneself out to join the Truth, to follow the Truth, to give in and exchange your will to God's will, as God is the Truth and Love and all that is Good, led me to finally give up what I wanted, what I had desired, what I pleased, To surrender my ego, to choose good. To choose that not which is mine but that which is True through being Christ's. To overstep boundaries set by me by my discomfort & awful pleasures, to come to light and see the world, to have eyes & try to see, having ears & to try to hear. To come out of darkness & come into the light.

By simply being member of Church. I was born and baptized Orthodox, and only around 25 years after baptism through almost random encounter of Orthodox Christians in English YouTube space I slowly over 3 years began to have my eyes open, my faculties of world observation turned upside down, I began to be thinking being at age of 26-27 (that's my observation how simply learning about Orthodox worldview changed my life, but that was just the beginning). For 3 years around half of each day I spent my time learning about Orthodoxy. And one can imagine learning the truth, having rational mind transformed while still being in presupposition that mental (rational) faculty is all that there is, highest value for human, I'd be dead, my soul would have been dead, if not painfully true reminders of Fr Peter about need to being real member of Church (good uneasiness, as Fr Peter says).

Fr Peter gave spiritual advises we didn't know we needed, but indeed we couldn't have been without it. Because of his instructional speeches of finding spiritual father, being in Church and what not... Today I have my spiritual father that is really not of this world, a saintly figure.

Fr Peter's constant insistence of being in Truth - I stepped out of my comfort zone and went to Church. Glory to God.

So much to say about Fr Peter's evangelical, instructional and enlightening work.

I just have no words, he's Orthodox through and through, mentally, rationally, reading in between his lines - irrationally too. As time goes and as I am rooting myself more in the Church I realize How right Fr Peter is in his teachings, how deep, multi-layered, understanding of true belief, and how good willing he is. From educational standpoint Fr Peter's work is basically same as going through a whole patristic library, yet he has in himself something more than any books can contain - he has the living faith.

All I can say is - I have read so many opinions against him that after short examination all fell short, in fact what he does is opposite of what he's often being blamed. I am writing this not as a defense, but as an information. As Fr Peter needs no defense from me, I know he knows his yoke is heavy but I believe he allows Christ through love to bear it light.

Hope to meet Fr Peter some day, With love and wholeheartedly good wishes - Giorgi Janiashvili

Testimony 116:

Dear Father Peter, I found our Orthodox parish during Covid in 2020, my son and I did our catechism for a year and were baptized/chrismated in 2021. I had found your channel and Father Josiah's channel during that year and, aside from learning so much about the Church in refreshingly clear and direct language, your calmness, peace of spirit, along with clarity were of tremendous comfort to me in that anxious time. Your questioning of the v@x and it's procedures helped me to stay calm myself when faced with those too eager to tyrannize others. Thank you so much for sharing all your time & Orthodox knowledge. You are a blessing to so many in these strange times. May God bless you & your family! Many Years! Christ is Risen! - Nanne

Testimony 117:

Christ is Risen Indeed!!!! My name is Eman Ghareeb. There have been spiritual issues that I had struggled with for most of my life. A constant battle I faced without help from a spiritual father. When I found Father Peter on the internet and heard his teachings about the words of the Saints, I began to follow him on social platforms. I became a Patreon and was also able to attend Q&A. Some of the questions other people had asked were my own questions. He has helped me lay to rest some of the struggles I had faced for the last 20 years. Another great experience I have had since I was introduced to Father Peter over the internet, was the chance to meet great friends who are also following Father Peter. They too have been inspiring and encouraging. Truly, awesome people I am grateful to know. Everyday, I keep Father Peter and his family in my prayers. Thank you for everything. -Eman

Testimony 118:

Your blessing Father. I am writing this letter to thank you for helping me understand what the Church is. thanks to your courses that are on Youtube I have been able to grow and shape my life to Christ. When I get home from work, I put the lesson where I left off from the course I'm going and I learn so attentively. your directness and guidance has helped me. you are a true priest! He taught me, among other things, that I always have to read the lives of the saints, always learn from the saints through their writings. Thanks to you I know that I must listen to the Church and in it are her Saints. That they speak, that they persecute him for teaching the Truth of Christ, is already a sign that he is doing well. it is also a sign to me that I am learning well. I hope from Latin America you receive my message of love and support. —Jose Torres

Testimony 119:

Bless Father, I have been taking your online classes since the earliest "Orthodox Survival Course" back in 2019, an abbreviated prelude to the later extended version of the course that would launch your always edifying online teaching.

To say that your work has been instrumental in shepherding me from a life of despair and fruitless searching to the Truth of Holy Orthodoxy would be an understatement. As I continue to immerse myself deeper into Orthodoxy and retreat further each day from the secular world around me, it is your voice more than any other that has been my trusted guide into the richness, truth, and subtlety of Christianity.

Because your voice is not your voice, but rather that of the Saints and Holy Fathers. They are our teachers and you, as you have often said, are simply the conduit. There are a few phrases that, for me at least, define your teachings:

"Both and" -- "Run to the Saints" -- "Get close to a monastery;"

I do and I have. By God's grace I was received into the Orthodox Church nearly two years ago and am still in my stumbling infancy. I am grateful to God for the opportunity to spend the remainder of this life serving Him, struggling to make spiritual progress, and for the patience and kindness of my very wise spiritual father and a thriving community of co-strugglers...online and in real life. -- Both and. - Thank you for all you do. - In Christ, Seraphima Chamberlain

Testimony 120:

Father Peter, Bless! About three years ago, when there were extremely contradictory and disturbing actions taking place in the One Holy and Apostolic Church, I "found" Father Peter Heers. For me, he was a light in the darkness and a steady hand on a rocking boat.

Father Peter always speaks the truth - and if he isn't sure or doesn't have time to address a specific topic, he states that. If he makes an error he quickly explains, corrects and asks for forgiveness for the mistake - even though it was accidental. Just last week he made a statement about what he thought was on St. Anthony's Monastery fasting calendar. When he needed to correct what he had said, within minutes (it seemed) I received at least three notifications via different avenues to "set the record straight". It was truly amazing.

Father Peter spends hours and hours teaching - usually to the point of complete exhaustion. He answers questions and makes recommendations that explain clearly the Orthodox view and is always concerned and makes sure the topic is understood. He also offers to help anyone who needs additional guidance via email at any time. He is the most generous and fair person I have ever learned from.

On top of this, the Orthodox Ethos website is an unbelievable resource. It is a true blessing for everyone. I can't imagine the time and talent expended to provide and update the information.

And the Uncut Mountain Press offerings are critical to our Church and anyone seeking knowledge and truth. The press is publishing books that make a difference - including long-needed translations. The staff there is totally committed and exemplary.

I am simply an Orthodox Christian and sinner who is a much better person for "finding" Father Peter. I thank God every day that Father Peter is in our world right now. He and his family deserve nothing but prayers, appreciation and support. -- From K. H.

Testimony 121:

Fr. Peter, I would like to thank you for the way you have dealt with the situation of Canonical standing. You have presented a good example for all of us who are attempting to live out Christ's commandments in this world. I have not prayed for you as often as I should, please forgive me. I have added you to my daily prayers, and hope that they will be of some benefit to you.

Pray for me, the sinner... - Curtis (Innocent) Campbell

Testimony 122:

I am an Australian Orthodox Christian of Greek descent.

I’ve been following The Orthodox Ethos on YouTube and listening to all of Father Peter’s videos on Orthodox Ecclesiology, The Revelation, Transhumanism and any other videos I can search and find for that matter.

I have learnt so much all these years and I am so grateful and appreciate Father Peter so much. He spends countless hours presenting these videos and goes into a tremendous amount of detail explaining everything. It must be very tiring for Father Peter to go through all of that, but he preserves.

Every time I have contacted Father Peter to ask him questions he never hesitates to respond and he is always willing and helpful and answers all my questions and gives me the right advice and help I needed.

Father Peter Heers is a true inspiration to me. He speaks the truth about our faith and he stands up for the truth of Orthodoxy.

We need more priests like Father Peter. . . . Father Peter should be commended for all the hard work he does for our Orthodox faith. I pray that Father Peter and his family get through this difficult time. With God’s help everything will be possible. With much love and respect to Father Peter and his family. - Irene

Testimony 123:

Greetings, I have been praying for a couple of years to God to send me a true Orthodox Pastor into my life who can lead me towards Christ and His Kingdom. God not only answered my prayer but He allowed me to meet Fr Peter in person. Thanks be to God for bringing Fr Peter and the Orthodox Ethos team into my life to educate me on Orthodoxy, church fathers and to show me the path to my salvation. I grew up in Communism, God's wisdom and knowledge were kept away from me. Based on the Word of God and the church fathers' teachings, Fr Peter provided valuable advice and guidance for a church matter when a terrible heresy happened in one of the churches in my town. -DPB

Testimony 124:

We support Fr. Peter and thank him for his willingness to teach us about our faith. He has a true gift of touching souls through his selflessness and love for Christ and orthodoxy. His guidance gives us hope in this troubled world. -- Pete and Pat K.

Testimony 125:

Χριστός Ανέστη! Πάτερ χαίρετε, Ονομάζομαι Δήμητρα. Σας γνώρισα τον Ιανουάριο στην ημερίδα για τον μετανθρωπισμό και είχαμε μιλήσει στον Άγιο Δημήτριο Πλάκας μετά από το βίντεο, που είχατε κάνει με τον π.Ιωάννη Δρογγίτη. Δεν είχα σκοπό να σας γράψω, αν και ήθελα πολύ να σας ευχηθώ για το Πάσχα, γιατί φαντάζομαι θα λαμβάνετε πολλά μηνύματα. Όμως διάβασα το άρθρο, στο οποίο σας χαρακτηρίζουν ως αντικανονικό (από Assembly of Orthodox Canonical of Bishops) και αποφάσισα τελικά να σας γράψω. Στην αρχή λυπήθηκα, αλλά μετά χάρηκα, γιατί η οποιαδήποτε μορφή διωγμού φανερώνει στην πράξη το "Μακάριοι οἱ δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστὶν ἡ Βασιλεία τῶν Οὐρανῶν ... ". Για να πω την πλήρη αλήθεια απορούσα τόσο καιρό πως και δεν σας έχουν κάνει κάτι... Σήμερα εσείς, αύριο εμείς...;

Σας παρακολουθούμε από μακριά, αλλά ταυτόχρονα τόσο κοντά λόγω κοινού φρονήματος. Αυτό, που στις μέρες μας είναι δυσεύρετο. Γι' αυτό το λόγο αισθάνομαι, ότι σας γνωρίζω από πάντα. Γνωρίζουμε όλοι ότι η Ορθοδοξία πλήττεται. Και το χειρότερο είναι ότι πλήττεται εκ των έσω. Δεν θα ασχοληθώ με εκείνους, που έγραψαν ότι είστε αντικανονικός. Εύχομαι ολόψυχα να έλθουν εις εαυτόν και να μετανοήσουν, διότι προσβάλλουν την Εκκλησία. Η Εκκλησία του Χριστού δεν υφίσταται, όπως η παπική, εξαιτίας του αλάθητου κάποιου προσώπου ή προσωπικής ερμηνείας προσώπων στις γραφές. Η Εκκλησία υπάρχει και ζει, επειδή κεφαλή της είναι ο Χριστός και σώμα της κάθε ορθόδοξο μέλος που ακολουθεί τον Χριστό, τους Αποστόλους και του Αγίους. Εάν νομίζει κάποιος, ότι είμαστε μέλη της Εκκλησίας για κάποιον άλλον λόγο πλην του Χριστού, πλανάται. Και όποιος βρίσκεται μέσα στην Εκκλησία για κάποιον άλλο λόγο ή με λάθος τρόπο ας μετανοήσει να γλιτώσει το κατάκριμα. Είμαστε στην Εκκλησία και ζούμε και υπάρχουμε για τον ίδιο τον Χριστό. Και εξ αυτού και μόνο του λόγου ως μέλη της Εκκλησίας παίρνουμε θάρρος και μιλάμε για όποιον διώκεται ή αδικείται. Το ίδιο συμβαίνει και με εσάς. Θλιβόμαστε για τον διωγμό σας, αλλά ταυτόχρονα χαιρόμαστε, διότι το λαμβάνουμε ως κοινό σημείο με την ζωή του Χριστού και των Αγίων Του. Καλή δύναμη λοιπόν, καλόν αγώνα με την ευχή του Χριστού, που σας τιμά με το να δοκιμάσετε διωγμό. Είστε πάντα στο νου μας, όπως άλλωστε και οι αδελφοί μας στην Ουκρανία και οποιοδήποτε μέλος της Μίας, Αγίας, Καθολικής και Αποστολικής Εκκλησίας πάσχει. Εις το επανιδείν!

Θα σας χαιρετήσω και πάλι με το Χριστός Ανέστη!

ΥΓ Θα χαιρόμουν πολύ, αν υπήρχε ο οποιοσδήποτε τρόπος να σας βοηθήσω. Μην διστάσετε.

- ΔΗΜΗΤΡΑ ΠΡΟΒΑΤΑΡΗ (Δικηγόρος Αθηνών)

Testimony 126:

Xristos Anesti Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ!

Joy, joy, joy. The joy Father Peter shares with us has elevated me and raised me from much ignorance, delusion and despondency. Father Peter Heers gives me clarity and truth in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. Father Peter shares the truth of our Holy Orthodox Fathers and Mothers with us - the truth which has been hidden from us by those who oppose love in order to make us weak and feel worthless. Father Peter Heers taught me to say The Lord’s Prayer correctly (“….and deliver us from the evil one. Amen.”) I now willingly choose to say The Lord’s Prayer in Greek just to be sure it pleases Our Good and Loving God when I utter it from my unworthy lips. There is so much I have learned about my wretchedness from Father Peter and I’m forever grateful for my constant repentant state, watching and guarding my nous with great effort and battle - “For the Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force”. I have learned the truth of our origin and our pitiful state of being. Father Peter Heers explained this most essential truth eloquently and honestly. He told us that “Adam and Eve looked on Paradise and they wept, because that is who we are, the harsh reality, we turned our back on life, we wonder the deserts of this fallen world and we are like people who are starving or thirsty, and if you put something in front of us we are going to drink it or eat it, in order to just get by, but it’s not ever ever going to fulfill us and satisfy us because it’s not meant for us. WE ARE MEANT FOR PARADISE AND MEANT FOR GOD, and that’s where we will find consolation - and so choose your consolation”. Ahhhhh!! to be loved. I would like to sincerely thank Father Peter from the depths of my being and pray he finds his reward in Heaven for all he does for us. I would always seek his blessing and humbly kiss his right hand no matter what. A Man with a capital M. With love and joy in Our Lord Jesus Christ, your unworthy sister, -- Penelope

Testimony 127:

Your blessings Fathers! This is what our Lord gave to me to share on the matter of our Dear Father Peter and the terrible persecution of faith we are all coming under. A prayer for us all to remain in the truth. [From] The Philokalia Volume Four, St. Gregory of Sinai: "It is said that true belief is knowledge or contemplation of the Holy Spirit. It is also said that scrupulous discernment in matters of dogma constitutes full knowledge of the true faith."

This is concisely what I have learned and put into practice from the tireless teaching from Father Peter and the team at Orthodox Ethos. So i may be formed with the Holy Spirit and true faith. What else are the Cannons for if not to serve to guide one through the pillars in our formation for entry to the Church? What else truly matters? I pray you give your blessings Fathers! With love in Christ. Signed Catechumen D. Anna D.S.

Testimony 128:

Dear Fr. Peter and the UMP team,

I believe you are all doing such a good work. Not only is it extremely helpful, but, between publishing literature and the lectures, podcasts, and interviews, no one else is doing quite what you have undertaken.

Fr bless, not knowing what the trouble is, I can only say I'm praying for the grace to give your suffering to the Lord and gain a better understanding of the suffering of others in the process. We know that the reduction of our lives in the hands of a loving, compassionate, all-wise God is a good thing. Praying for your health, salvation and all God's earthly and heavenly good things. With prayer and gratitude, Nancy in Alberta (Monica).

Testimony 129:

Ευλογείτε Πάτερ! I am currently a catechumen and I wanted to express how much your videos have helped me! My Greek friend and I constantly talk about the good work you do in what you share and how you share it. It makes it incredibly easy to understand and try to apply it to our daily lives. I appreciate so much the question and answer aspect of each video and the personable feeling to it where it is comfortable to ask a question! Also, I really appreciate the translation of text or videos into English so that we can understand more about the Saints, what they said, and what they taught! I love how no matter how we feel about it, the truth is said according to the Saints. I have recommended your channel to those inquiring, and I have purchased books from Uncut Mountain Press! Even at times when I was worried about who we can trust in the future after, for example, Metropolitan Neophytos and Metropolitan Athanasios, my friend would remind me how the Lord is raising up people to guide us like Fr Peter, FrJosiah, and Fr Kosmas. It is a great consolation to me! Thank you so much Father for the work that you do! -- Anna L.

Testimony 130:

Dear Fr. Peter, I just want to say thank you for all that you have done and will continue to do. Thank you for your lectures as you've taught me many lessons. You were one of the very few people in the church to speak the TRUTH about what went on over the years 2019 to 2022 and I pray that you don't ever stop fighting the good fight. I will pray that our Lord grants you good health and happiness to you and your family. God Bless you! To the Orthodox Ethos team thank you all for what you do and may God bless you all! Christ is Risen! -- Abraham

Testimony 131:

What really moved me recently was the Facebook post by Anastasia Heers. A young child will almost always view a parent like an instantiation of Christ, but what is remarkable is that Anastasia is a grown woman living in the 21st century. Which is proof to me that the online persona Fr.Heers presents is not a facade, he is just being who he is. -- Paisije

Testimony 132:

Dear Fr Peter! Christ is Risen! Bless me! We know who you are, and most of all, God knows! We need you. This too shall pass. We are praying for you & your family! In Christ, Michaela

Testimony 133:

Dear Fr. Peter Heers & Orthodox Ethos Team, I am an enquirer and wish to be soon a catechumen and eventually a member of the one true Orthodox Church. From the standpoint of an enquirer, Fr. Peter Heers points the way in a very solid and comforting way towards sinners joining the Orthodox Church, repenting and converting. He speaks in an understandable way and urges to join a local Orthodox Church and encourages to find a spiritual Father. Thank you Fr. Peter Heers from the bottom of my heart for showing me the way towards the membership of the Orthodox Church. Thank you! Best regards, Susan M.

Testimony 134:

Dear Team in Support of Orthodox Ethos, Some want to keep the people spiritually blind. Well, the Lord and His followers won’t stop speaking The Truth. “If the world is against Athanasius, then Athanasius is against the World.” In Christ, Elizabeth Ballew

Testimony 135:

Christ is Risen! Fr. Peter & the OE/UMP/UMS team,

I first met Fr. Peter Heers in the 2000s when he was the keynote speaker at an OCA parish event in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, where I served as a Reader. I recall even at this time, the tremendous & profound early publications of Uncut Mountain Press! How impactful & spiritually edifying these UMP titles were & are! During the last number of years, when many were adversely impacted by the Coronavirus in all its medical, social & psychological dimensions, the Orthodox Ethos platform emerged, a true pastoral labor of love!

Now like all Orthodox Christian priests & pastors who have expanded their public pastoral ministry utilizing various social media platforms, Fr. Peter Heers has had his critics, even from the episcopacy. However, if you listen closely to the many educational video lectures of Fr. Peter Heers, a number of significant factors can be easily discerned:

1. The catechetical teaching on Orthodox Ethos is not based solely on the priestly authority or theological opinion of Fr. Peter Heers.

2. Fr. Peter Heers on many occasions states that he is offering an opinion, that he is not 'infallible' nor above criticism...He strongly discourages any manifestation of Orthodox 'cultism', etc.

3. Fr. Peter Heers consistently encourages his Orthodox Ethos patrons & audience to immerse themselves in the regular study of Holy Scripture, & the Lives of Saints starting with those contemporaneous to our historical period and then working backward to the earliest period of the Orthodox Catholic Church.

4. Despite the application of the catechetical teaching on Orthodox Ethos to our contemporary context, nowhere does Fr. Peter Heers undermine episcopal teaching authority in general, nor of particular Orthodox Christian bishops.

5. Fr. Peter Heers fearlessly diagnoses many spiritual ailments afflicting the Orthodox Church & the surrounding Western culture/society today: transhumanism, political ecumenism, ethnophyletism, secularism, clericalism, zealotry/zeal not according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2), etc.

6. Most significantly, Fr. Peter Heers is a spiritual practitioner of discernment, a contemporary adherent of the 'Royal Path', which is: 'a return to the patristic path of moderation, a mean between extremes'; 'the teaching of this "royal path" is set forth, for example, in the tenth of St. Abba Dorotheus' Spiritual lnstructions, where he quotes especially the Book of Deuteronomy: Ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left, but go by the royal path (Deut. 5:32, 17:11), and St. Basil the Great: "Upright of heart is he whose thought does not turn away either to excess or to lack, but is directed only to the mean of virtue." [The Royal Path: True Orthodoxy in an Age of Apostasy Fr. Seraphim Rose, The Orthodox Word, Sept.-Oct., 1976 (70), 143-149]. Fr. Peter Heers seeks to lead all his Orthodox Ethos patrons & audience onto a similar path.

7. All the above 6 points, put into proper context, any controversy concerning Fr. Peter Heers' views on & pastoral response to the Coronavirus. Orthodox Christians, laity, priests & bishops can disagree in good faith. That said, I do not nor do I feel obligated to agree with all of his views.

Finally, in conclusion, I want to go on record to state that I love Fr. Peter Heers, and I have been richly edified & blessed by his priestly ministry.

Love in Christ, Reader Justin Grimmond

Testimony 136:

π. Πέτρο, Χριστός Ανέστη!

Την ευχή σας! Ονομάζομαι Γεώργιος Τσ., είμαι απόφοιτος Πανεπιστημίου, κάτοχος Μεταπτυχιακού Διπλώματος και ζω στον Βόλο.

Λόγω των σπουδών μου συνέβη πολλάκις να ακολουθήσω δρόμους αλλότριους της Ορθοδοξίας και της Πίστης και να ακολουθήσω τα έρημα και άνυδρα μονοπάτια του υλισμού και της αθεΐας. Ωστόσο πριν χρόνια -και χάριτι Θεού- γνώρισα ορισμένους φωτισμένους ανθρώπους οι οποίοι με τη σοφία, τη γνώση και την πνευματική τους νήψη με οδήγησαν στα ευλογημενα νάματα της Εκκλησίας μας. Σπουδαίο ρόλο προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση είχατε και εσείς ο ίδιος κάτι το οποίο οφείλω να σας το αναγνωρίσω στον απόλυτο βαθμό. Μπορεί ποτέ να μην σας έχω γνωρίσει εκ του σύνεγγυς ωστόσο τα βίντεό σας στο YouTube, οι συνεντεύξεις σας και τα εξαιρετικά άρθρα του Orthodox Ethos με έφεραν πιο κοντά στο αυθεντικό ορθόδοξο πνεύμα και φρόνημα το οποίο τόσο ξεκάθαρα και εναργέστατα εκφράζετε.

Όσες επιθέσεις και να δέχεσθε εγώ προσωπικά θα σας στηρίζω αλλά και όλοι οι Ορθόδοξοι που τυχαίνει να γνωρίζω είναι απολύτως στο πλευρό σας! Συνεχίστε το ευλογημένο έργο σας και δοξάσατε τον Θεό για αυτό το στεφάνι που σας έδωσε να σας πολεμούν δηλαδή όλοι εκείνοι που πόρρω απέχουν από το φρόνημα της Αγίας Ορθοδοξίας μας. Εύχομαι από καρδιάς το ίδιο για όλους τους συντάκτες του Orthodox Ethos, τους οποίους μεν μπορεί να μην τους γνωρίζω, ωστόσο τους αισθάνομαι πραγματικά σαν αδελφούς μου. "Θαρσείτε! Εγώ νενίκηκα τον κόσμον", Ιω. 16, 33.

Μετά τιμής ασπάζομαι τη δεξιά σας, Γ.Τ

Testimony 137:

Dear Father Peter, please bless, I want to express my deepest gratitude for all the work you continue to put into your ministry. Your work has been an incredible resource, covering so many issues and topics. Your ministry is filling a gap that many parishes cannot fill, due to lack of resources, ability or willpower for proper catechesis. Your ability to share the teachings of the Holy Fathers in a manner that is easy to assimilate has been a tremendous blessing.

May God continue to bless you and everyone on the Orthodox Ethos team! In Christ, Joseph

Testimony 138:

Dear OE team, Father Peter's online content has been an instrumental resource in my recent conversion to Orthodoxy and continues to provide spiritual 'manna" in a dark and troubled world. It is timely, easily digestible for lay people, and in keeping with the teachings of the Holy Church Fathers. Indeed, much of the content consists entirely of their very words.

Not only have I found been educated and edified by the information put out by Orthodox Ethos, but a very good friend has also benefited from it in his recent journey toward inquiry into Orthodoxy and (I fervently pray) one day soon into the catechumenate.

Please continue your important and life saving work. Yours sincerely in the faith and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, -- Maria Benge

Testimony 139:

Dear Fr. Peter, Your blessing! I give my full support to Fr. Peter for all he does through OE, Uncut Mountain Press, and various interviews and talks he has posted online. I was born and baptized in the Orthodox faith, and as a child and teen I was strong in my faith. My extended family and many from the congregation of our parish taught me much. As I grew into adulthood and moved to new cities, I drifted without knowing it, and became distant from my spiritual roots. I attended church sometimes, but in body only, not in mind and heart. I would be roused in spirit at times, most recently when society lost its mind with riots and vaccines and demonic ideas. It was at that time that I looked again to my faith for guidance. I realized then that I was hanging on by a thread, my faith was so weak. I tried desperately to find my way back, I spoke with priests and friends but found that there was no strength in my conviction. I started to read lives of saints, starting with St Porphyrios. And then I came across Fr. Peter. With the help of his lectures, his beautiful interview with Met. Neophytos of Morphou, his clarifications on the truth vs. heresy, and of course the teachings of the Saints, I came back. Fr. Peter reminded me of the faith I was taught as a child, and it touched my heart again as an adult. It was like coming home. For that I am extremely grateful. I continue to listen to his lectures and wisdom with great thirst - he speaks so simply, clearly, and without judgement. Thank you Fr. Peter. May the Lord keep you and strengthen you. You have been a lifeline of sorts, helping so many come closer to the faith in Christ our Lord. With love and reverence, -- Ιωάννα

Testimony 140:

ΑΛΗΘΩΣ ΑΝΕΣΤΗ!!! Father Peter, Ευλογείτε Από όλα τα μηκη και πλατη της Οικουμένης δια της Χαριτος και προσευχης ο ενας στηριζει τον αλλο Χριστιανό και ολο τον κοσμο. Μεσα απο τις Θειες Λειτουργιες ενωνομαστε και θα ενωνομαστε μεχρι την συντελεια του φθαρτου αυτου κοσμου. . . Ο καρπος του επιπονου εργου του αγιου γεροντος Εφραιμ της Αριζονα ειστε εσεις και ειναι απο τα πιο θαυμαστα γεγονοτα στην συγχρονη βαβυλώνια και ασυδοτη Αμερικη. Οταν ερθει η ωρα εκεινη η ευλογημενη θα ειστε και οι Μεγαλοι Μαρτυρες του Χριστου των εσχατων χρονων οπως ειχε προφητεψει ο Αγιος Εφραιμ, ο γεροντας σας. Ειναι η ανωτερη τιμη που κανει ο Θεος στα παιδια Του, ο δια του Αιματος Αγιασμος. Υπαρχει μια ειδικη προσευχη γιαυτο: Κυριε ενισχυσε μας δια της ενδυμουσης μαρτυρικης Χαριτος να υπομεινουμε μεχρι τελους. Σας ασπαζομαι εν Χριστω, Ο Κυριος να ευλογει το καθε βημα σας. Να ευχεστε και για μενα και την οικογενεια μου. Σας ειμαι ευγνωμων. Αναστασια Μαριαννα Αθηνα Ελλαδα Μαιος 2023

Testimony 141:

In the past year I have been becoming more and more familiar with Fr Peter Heers and his works on the Orthodox ethos team! Not only has he given a tremendous amount of knowledge and inspiration in regards to being an Orthodox Christian through his videos and the website but he has also given people more hope faith love and support and encouraged them to want to do and be better! In this day and age there are not many who speak out and speak the truth in order to help others, so from the bottom of my heart I thank Fr Peter Heers for his endless efforts to help not only myself but everybody. God bless you and your family Fr Peter and I hope to see that you are able to continue your works and guide us. With thanks, -- Julia Tsakrios NT AUSTRALIA

Testimony 142:

I Want To Thank God Almighty For The Orthodox Ethos and Fr. Peter Heers, et al. For Putting Out Quality & Professional Video Content Regarding Our One, Holy, Orthodox Catholic & Apostolic As I'm A Catechist Of Orthodox Christianity, I Rely On The Videos & His Insight Into All Things Orthodox Christian. Keep Up The Good Work! -- Martin Rodriguez

Testimony 143:

I have benefited tremendously from his commentary and lectures. In addition to the services at my parish and the catechism I received with my parish priest, the work of Fr Peter and the OE has helped to galvanize my spiritual struggle and inspire me to dive deeper into Orthodoxy and into the lives of the Saints. I wish him nothing but the best moving forward, and may God grant him many years. Sincerely, -- Symeon

Testimony 144:

I grew up in Roman Catholicism and for 13 years was in religious life. Not experiencing the deep spiritual union with Jesus Christ I yearned for I kept seeking. At 55 I converted to Orthodoxy. Father Seraphim Rose's biography spoke to me in a depth I had been desiring. When Covid hit and churches were closed and/or Orthodox liturgical practices were compromised, I was at a loss for the spiritual support I needed. By the grace of God I found Protopresbyter Peter Heers who is a faithful son of the Holy Orthodox Church in his adherence to the teachings of the Holy Fathers, the Ecumenical Councils, and Canons of the Church. One experiences the Orthodox phronema and ethos by Father Peter's example. He continually encourages us to go deeper into the faith. Father Peter, like John the Baptist, points us to Jesus Christ rather than to himself. His efforts are tireless. He arose at 4AM when he lived in Greece to accomodate us to a later time in America. Like Christ he lays down his life for the sheep, not the sheep's life for his ease. Father Peter has had a profound impact on me. I have utmost trust in him. I have been taught and treated in the manner of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. -- Kyriaki Martin

Testimony 145:

I have learned so much from Father Peter. I have deepened my Orthodox walk by listening to his talks and by reading the books he recommends since I discovered him during the Covid shutdowns. (I have been Orthodox for over 28 years and I didn't know I should read the lives of the saints daily-now I read the saints of the day from The Prologue of Ohrid and I love St. Nikolai.) During the heights of the Covid paranoia, we couldn't go to Church, then there were sign-up sheets and only a limited number could attend, you had to wear a mask and be 6 feet from anyone else, and Matushka kept saying we all needed to get the vaccine (even confronted me in the front of others in Church). It was all so awful. Even for Pascha there was only the video stream. It was wonderful to find Father Peter and Orthodox Ethos and be with all the other Orthodox around the world who were involved each week virtually. The support I got (and am still getting) was immeasurable. Most of my family and friends turned against me for questioning the Covid nonsense. It really helped that I knew that I would have the talks each week by Father Peter to encourage and enlighten. Thank you, Father Peter, Father's family, the Orthodox Ethos team, and all of you fellow Orthodox who support traditional Orthodoxy against all the modern ecumenist and renovationist trends. May the Lord continue to bless all of you and keep you strong and in His will. With love in Jesus Christ our Saviour, Laura

Testimony 146:

Testimony 147:

Dear Father Peter and Team at Orthodox Ethos, Christ Is Risen!

I cannot even begin to thank you enough for bringing the Truth of our Orthodox Faith to so many, especially at a time when we are all dealing with so many lies of ecumenism and so much distortion and ungodly degeneracy on this fallen planet...

We have the True Faith, and we know that all these terrible events have been prophesied. This is why it is an especially huge blessing for all of us who truly love and care about Our Faith to have a voice who will not compromise and who will continue to defend our precious Faith by speaking the Truth as it has been given to us by the Holy Fathers - and this is exactly what Father is doing.

Father Peter, we love and respect you and everyone who is working so tirelessly at Orthodox Ethos to make sure the Truth is not silenced or distorted. You have been a lifeline to me since the COVID disaster started, and I have not missed a talk or a lesson or a Q & A session since this all began, even if I have to listen afterward. I look forward to everything you are putting out there, and I always learn so much. You have been a lifeline for me and so many others! May God give you continued strength in your work! With much love in Christ, --Olympia Kessler

Testimony 148:

Fr.Peter, XRISTOS ANESTI!

I want to say that you and your family are in our prayers. I can not find the words to say how thankful we are for Orthodox Ethos. All that my husband & I have learned about our Orthodox faith from your page has changed our outlook on life in the best way! I say that the pandemic was horrible but it gave our family a spiritual awakening that was needed, all glory to God! We now miss school and work to go on vacation and make sure we are back for church if there is no church nearby on our trip. We now make it a point to visit a monastery as often as possible. I thank him daily for our Spiritual awakening. And this awakening was SPARKED during the pandemic by finding Orthdox Ethos/Fr.Peter. God bless you always!!!

My husband and I race to go on when you go live and watch them again during work the next day. You have said nothing and taught nothing that goes against our Orthodox faith and Saints teachings. You have opened MANY of our eyes with the truth...You teach THE TRUTH that MOST can not handle and most priests are not allowed to say... I have asked you MANY questions and I thank you for never blocking me, lol! They may have seemed a bit crazy or maybe you wanted more detail (that I couldn't give), but you answered them & without knowing..... you helped me with some VERY important decisions!!! You ALWAYS directed me no matter what to go back to my spiritual father for more advice and help...

We pray that one day we can meet you in person and speak with you, receive confession, and your blessing. We love and support you and all that work with you at Orthodox Ethos. May our Lord bless & strengthen you & your family always!!! With all our love and support, The Barajas Family

Testimony 149:

I tuned in to the latest Q&A and was struck by the strength of the reaction to attacks on the Orthodox Ethos community. A nerve is touched when there is injustice in the human aspect of the body of Christ, hence why some of our favorite saints went through harsh trials like my own patron St. Maximus the Greek and of course St. Nectarios.

It was in choosing my patron saint that I realized how important being a part of the OE community has been to my catechal training and my baptism. I had been asking around the online forums how to pick the right saint and...Fr. Peter's answer stood out among the rest: "Choose a different name and use the new name everyday." ...

All this is to say basically that I haven't always agreed with everything in Fr. Peter's lectures... but I would certainly be a poorer soul without his guidance. Indeed, I don't know for sure that I would be an Orthodox Christian if it wasn't for becoming a patreon subscriber and in the end he gave me an appreciation for the sacrament of baptism. - Thanks again! -Kiko (Macsen)

Testimony 150:

I am a Roman Catholic inquiring into converting to the Orthodox church. My local Orthodox parish has a class for inquirers and catechumens but because of my work schedule I am not able to attend this class. Through his series of prerecorded and live lectures at Crowdcast and Orthodox Ethos, Fr. Peter Heers has been a very valuable source of information in my basic studies. This is especially beneficial when a live lecture is opened up to questions when he can recommend a book or provide an answer. I am grateful for Fr. Heers' presence and ability to share his caring wisdom for all through his Internet ministry. Blessings in Christ, Mary Stone, Tennessee

Testimony 151:

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen! I have been following Fr. Peter since 2020 and been touched by his courage of speaking out and teaching of the orthodox faith and its boundaries, Christ’s church life and mysteries, its victorious standing despite centuries of adverse worldly winds, about Holy Fathers and Ecumenical Councils teachings, saints and holy men’s work to hold the light of truth. Besides learning from Fr. Peter, I was also comforted occasionally by his work as it reached personal cords for which I am truly thankful.

I was baptized orthodox as a child and grew in an orthodox country (Romania), however without an orthodox education. Even though attending church services for years, my understanding of the faith was minimal. As soon as I was introduced to Fr. Peter works, I felt the light of learning about our faith, the right orthodox faith, and started to get an understanding of the church’s work of salvation, and the way each one of us is to live this faith in and for Christ; all these by listening to Fr. Peter podcasts, videos, courses, Q&A sessions, and reading some of the UMP books.

Fr. Peter, I am deeply grateful for your work, deeply touched by your battle, and I pray that God allows you to continue speaking His truth while your situation is being resolved. May God grant you and your family strength to go through this trial! Please keep me in your prayers. - Gabriela

Testimony 152:

My name is Ayyoub an ex-muslim from Iran, unbaptized. I would like to thanks Fr. Heers. Although he is busy person and I am not yet even counted worthy to be the least of Christ's flock he take time to guide me on the path of salvation . God Bless you Fr. Peter. I love you.

Testimony 153:

Fr. Peter, Thank you for your faithful teaching of Holy Scripture and the fathers. When everything seemed to be going crazy these last few years and the one place we should have been able to run to, being shut down - you seemed to calmly, consistently carry on. A light in the darkness. During all this time, by Gods' grace, you have endured some very public trials. Thank you for holding fast to the Holy Trinity, being a leader we can follow in our faith in Christ.

Mikaela

Testimony 154:

Father bless, I am a convert from Roman Catholicism who started attending Father Peter's online courses about three ago. As a recent convert to Orthodoxy, not knowing much about the Faith, it has been so convenient and informative to be able to attend Father Peter's classes remotely and participate in the live question and answer sessions.

So much careful work has been put into the creation of each of these online courses. The quality of the offered content is always above expectations and the quantity is more than I could hope for (and usually more than I can get through). And the course is offered in such a way that even if I can't get through all the content, Father Peter brings us up to speed in the next lesson. Then when I do have time for further study, father always has great links from the saints for further reading.

Another great benefit of these courses is that they provide a space for like-minded inquirers to ask questions about the Faith. Because we all have similar questions, all of us are able to get answers to our questions in a timely manner.

Another great benefit Father Peter is providing us with is a remote learning experience that lets us go at our own pace. As a busy teacher, I appreciate being able to learn at my own pace, and where and when I am free to do so.

I know I have benefited greatly from Father Peter's work even more than I fully comprehend, because time and again I get answers to my questions delivered with fidelity and thoroughness so as to avoid any misunderstandings. The clarity of the content has perhaps been one of the greatest elements of this learning.

I am still busy these days and expect to remain so, and I hope I am able to continue to benefit from Father Peter's insightful lectures and comforting question and answer sessions which always shed light on my Faith and help me to navigate through the everyday struggles that arise throughout the day. Thank you, Father Peter, I am in your debt, --Spyridon Garland

Testimony 155:

Bless Father, Not too long ago I started to listen to Fr. Peter's talks. As a catechumen he and the Orthodox Ethos team have been absolutely instrumental in my formation. I could speak at length about how much Fr. Peter, several individuals on the Orthodox Ethos Team, and the Orthodox Ethos Team as a whole have impacted me (I hope to see many of you in person someday). I sense in them and Fr. Peter a firm desire to follow the saints, the only true guides in these evil days. I pray that our Lord will give Fr. Peter all that he needs to bear the cross he must carry for the sake of Christ. He is an example to all of us. I hope that Fr. Peter and the Orthodox Ethos team, with renewed vigour, will continue to guide the suffering and confused flock of Christ on the narrow path to salvation. May God preserve His faithful remnant! With eternal gratitude, -- Noah

Back to FROM THE ORTHODOX ETHOS SUPPORTERS

FROM THE ORTHODOX ETHOS TEAM

1: When Fr. Peter started the school in Florence, AZ, I was just beginning my pilgrimage at the monastery. There, I met him and was inspired to see his love of the children by guiding them into the love of our Faith, the love of our Saints, and especially the love of Christ. My path was not to be in the monastery, and I was encouraged to join Fr. Peter in Greece. He generously helped me get ready for my years over in Greece to finish my doctoral work at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki—but then the COVID temptations struck. While remaining in the US I chose to stay in contact with him and we both (along with others), saw this fearful paranoia sweep the Church and felt the need to counter that demonic narrative with the preaching of the Gospel. Fr. Peter and his team organically started to form at this time which published preaching and exhortations of faithfulness, courage, sobriety, prayer and watchfulness during those trials. The Orthodox Ethos platform grew greatly. Uncut Mountain Press, however, had most of its books out of print. Fr. Peter, in a trusting vote of confidence, offered me some needed work to get the Press started again and help him in this ministry of educating the faithful throughout the Church and across the world, which allowed me to support my family. This has been necessary work since OE's online lectures and teachings relate to thorough book treatments at UMP concerning major discussions in the Orthodox Church today. This has continued to be fulfilling and blessed work for me. Our family will forever give prayers and love to the support of Fr. Peter and his family as they remain faithful to the truest teachers of the Faith: the saintly Holy Fathers. May our Panagia always be with him and be his support.

– John Coffman.

2: I first learned about Fr. Peter in April 2020 when I began to earnestly question the covid measures that were being enforced at my parish. His calm and serious approach in examining the methodology of the movements and phenomena of our day, while explicitly seeking to be guided by the Saints, was the refreshing nourishment I needed. I reached out to Fr. Peter privately for his advice on how to approach my parish situation. He offered me a few words of fatherly guidance, helping me navigate the conflict between my conscience and the holy virtue of obedience.

As I began to learn from Fr. Peter, I took to heart his emphasis on the need to find a spiritual father. I began to pray and a few months later I found a priest in my area who I began seeing for spiritual guidance and confession, the priest who is now my spiritual father. At the same time, in fall of 2020, I also began sharing clips of Fr. Peter’s lectures from my personal social media accounts. Fr. Peter was grateful and asked if I was interested in working with him to share the best clips and promote the work. Thus, in a very organic way I joined the OE team. Since then, I have helped with video editing, promotion, reviewing articles, and various other tasks, all in an effort to support the faithful and inquirers.

I have spent time with Fr. Peter face-to-face on three separate occasions, each time experiencing his Christ-like love for me and those around us. His teachings have connected more deeply with the Saints, strengthened my resolve to fight sin, inspired me to love Christ and my neighbor, and convicted me to fight for the Truth with zeal and humility. My love and gratitude for Fr. Peter Heers runs deep. He is a living link to the saints and his teachings will endure because he is faithfully passing on what he has received. It is my firm conviction to continue to support this loving, humble, and grace-filled father of the Holy Orthodox Church.

In Christ,

Timothy Honeycutt

3: Glory to God for All Things!

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

For the past several years I have come to know Fr. Peter Heers and his incredible love for our Lord Jesus Christ and His Church which is sustained even in our latter days by the Holy Spirit.

When our local parish closed their doors during Pascha from social hysteria and wickedness in high places, I and many of my brothers and sisters in Christ began to seek faithful guides for instruction and consolation. Father Peter was known and respected by many in my midwestern town, and we began corresponding by email as he shared in our suffering, but also directed us toward the one thing needful: Jesus Christ, the God-man. As I lost my career of ten years for not receiving mandated medical treatment, and the trials seemed only to be increasing, the joy of the Resurrection in the midst of these things was always the emphasis of our conversations. When there was silence from our local parish as we faced uncertainty, Fr. Peter was quick to respond to a phone call or text with words of encouragement.

Fr. Peter is indeed a zealous lover of our Faith, but also truly a compassionate and sober-minded Father and friend. He works tirelessly not only to teach, but to make sure the many long-suffering Christians searching for answers know they are not isolated or without hope. So many are able to access sound teaching through his many lectures, classes, and Q&A sessions throughout the world, with dozens of people expressing to me personally how much benefit they have received through his work.

I am sincerely grateful to assist him in these labors and the important work of Orthodox Ethos and Uncut Mountain Press, and I pray that our Panagia protect him under her veil from all danger and ill will.

In Christ, Justin

4: I can say with certainty that I would not be who I am today if it wasn’t for Fr. Peter. From an early age I was inspired by his fearlessness. In his sermons, he did not try to conceal the truth or make the faith lax and bend the rules, but he always handed to us the tradition of the Holy Fathers as it was, unaltered.

Fr Peter has given up EVERYTHING for the love of Christ. He doesn't care about positions, economic security, or anything earthly. He gives his whole life to the brethren that need him. He sleeps but a few hours day, he answers endless questions from people, he prays for all of us. Everytime he was wronged he said "Glory to God" and moved on. When we were stranded in Greece without a parish or an income he did not worry but said God would provide. Everything he does he does out of love for the Truth and he has proven that he will give up everything for Him.

Fr. Peter has inspired me more than I thought was possible. The Lord says, “Love the truth with all your heart and the truth will set you free.” That is what Fr. Peter has done: he has loved the truth with all his heart and he has inspired me to do the same. He has lit a flame in my heart that I may want to give my life to the Lord as he does. He has never asked of me something that he did not already do himself. He has shown me the way with his own life.

Even though he has been persecuted because of his confession of faith, I know that he will be justified. Not for a moment have I regretted the little help that I gave him in starting this most blessed work! As a family we have suffered with him the unjust persecution with gladness, for how can we complain when he himself is grateful for every opportunity given to suffer for the Lord?

I believe I speak for the whole team when I say that we stand behind Fr. Peter and support him in every way! Thank you, Father, for giving your life for the work of God! Thank you for being there for us every time we have needed you!

With love,

Anastasia Heers

5: Roughly 6 years ago I was enduring a crisis - a crisis of theology, of the heart. Father Peter’s lectures (Postcards from Greece, etc.) proved a salve, and when I needed more specific aid, he promptly responded and sent me in a good direction to a spiritual father that could offer healing. One of my friends is now a novice at an Orthodox monastery in large part due to Fr. Peter’s lectures. This friend was looking to be connected to living saints, something Fr. Peter, as Fr. Seraphim Rose before him, continues to emphasize. The fruits of God’s work speak for themselves, and the living Holy Fathers who sign off on it are sufficient.

Sincerely,

Basil

6: When I began to look into Orthodoxy a couple decades ago, what struck me was the understanding that Orthodoxy is a living tradition embodied by the saints and faithfully passed down to their disciples, from Apostolic times to the present. Learning about St. John the Wonderworker of San Francisco made a particularly strong impression on me as a saint equal in asceticism and the grace of the Holy Spirit to the saints of old, yet he lived in San Francisco in the 1960s! Seeking to learn more about the contemporary saints and elders who connect us to the living tradition of the Faith, I quickly learned about Fr. Peter Heers and saw in him someone with great zeal for the defense of the Faith of the Fathers, and equal zeal for seeking out and faithfully following those “living links” in our times who embody the Faith.

A few years ago, it was with great joy that I saw Fr. Peter begin regular lengthy talks with Q&As over the internet. So many people I knew listened attentively to his talks and with one voice said, “Finally someone is teaching Orthodoxy according to the saints and Fathers! Finally someone who is teaching the truth!” Experienced spiritual fathers also told me, “Listen to Fr. Peter. He speaks the truth!” Inevitably, he will be persecuted for this, just as Geronda Ephraim of Arizona was mercilessly persecuted for faithfully handing down what he received from his spiritual father, St. Joseph the Hesychast, and from the countless saints who came before.

Sadly, many Orthodox today seem to be taught a watered down form of the Faith from people who have learned Orthodoxy from books or seminaries but not through living contact with the saints. I wish Orthodoxy in America was such that Fr. Peter would be unnecessary because all priests and bishops were striving to receive the Faith from holy people who embody the Faith, and were striving themselves to become faithful transmitters of authentic patristic teaching. Sadly, just as with Geronda Ephraim, Fr. Peter is swimming against the current by upholding the teachings of the saints and Fathers, for “narrow is the way that leads to life.” May God give Fr. Peter strength for the struggle ahead, as the devil will surely not cease in his labors to silence those who are leading others to salvation!

In Christ,

Jason H.

7: After knowing Fr. Peter and the Orthodox Ethos team for almost 8 years now, I can say with confidence that if an open persecution of Orthodoxy ever came to North America I'd want to be imprisoned with them, if an Ecumenical Synod was ever called to address the heresies currently plaguing the Church I'd rejoice to hear Fr. Peter defend and define the Faith as such, and if we ever witness the days of Antichrist I would willingly flee into the Apocalyptic Wilderness with Fr. Peter and the Orthodox Ethos team. This is how much love, support, and trust I have towards Orthodox Ethos.

- Gregory

8: In this present dark and murky world, there stand few who cut through the fog and shine the light of truth. It takes courage, faith in God and great love for Christ and man to stand against the falsehoods that are so pervasive. By God’s grace, Father Peter takes such a stand.

So many difficulties, trials and attacks has the Lord allowed to come his way, but Father Peter rightly counts them as blessings. He knows that the path of the Saints, confessors and martyrs resemble such an experience, and in fact, much worse. So in the face of these things, Christ’s joy remains.

As another man in this world seeking to live a truly Orthodox Christian life, I look to those who are examples of love, truth, fidelity and obedience to Christ and His Church. When one is found, my heart rejoices and is encouraged to stand firm despite all the odds.

Father Peter wields the scripture, the Fathers, the Saints, councils and canons to show forth what is truly of the mind of Christ and His Church. Never do I hear him tout his own opinion. His desire is always to simply be a mouthpiece of those who lived truly transfigured lives and to use their words to show us how to understand and live in Christ.

As the world has descended into more chaos, division, hatred, confusion and the like, a man like Father Peter cuts through with ordered thinking, desire for unity in truth and love, compassion, steadfastness and clarity. I cannot stress how important all of this is to me and to the faithful.

The History I share with him is truly salvific. He indeed was the priest to lay his hands on me and baptize me. He made possible what I already knew I needed in my life, since I had become convinced that Baptism was only possible in the Church. Beyond this, through friendship and with much care he furthered my catechization in the Faith.

Though he stands like a fighter for the faith, no one should ever imagine that he is only a man standing with a cassock and boxing gloves on. In my own life, he has shown tender love and compassion.

When my life was bitterly attacked, I was certain of his prayers for me. When I was face down and only attempting to crawl back out of the mud, his words helped pull me up. When I found myself in a situation of disunity, he generously helped to remedy the problem and bring healing.

More than this, every time I am with him, he gives me more than enough time to share my life with him and offer me wise council which again is always replete with the Holy Scripture and Saints. I always leave his presence encouraged and strengthened.

Like a true Father, he loves me and warmly welcomes me and guides me, and yet as a brother also walks beside me. People simply don’t know the love he bears for the faithful, but it has been my joy to experience, and for that I am grateful.

I struggle to give adequate words to honor such a man as my dear and beloved Father Peter Heers. This is but a humble offering, offered to God in thanksgiving for the gift of such a man, such a Father, such a Priest, such a Friend and brother. Worthy to be called a faithful one of the Lord in an age of faithlessness.

Glory to Jesus Christ, and to His Father who is from everlasting and to the all Holy, Good and life creating Spirit now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

– George Weis

9: I am cradle Orthodox as is my husband. We were both raised in the Orthodox Church since birth, and we are raising our children in the faith. When covid happened and churches were closed, it called into question what the Truth is and what really matters. I had started noticing in the Church the teaching of concepts which were not Orthodox, even before then. Despite what was going on or what people in the world were saying, I knew I needed to be consistent with what I had been teaching my children about the faith from when they were little - what the saints and elders have shown us, and what the traditions and councils of the church have said. When I discovered Orthodox Ethos online at the time, I knew that this was the teaching of the Truth of the Orthodox Church which I had been searching for and therefore it was a trusted fount my family could depend on to learn from. It helped us navigate the pitfalls of that time but even more than that, it has been helping us to go deeper into our faith. Before discovering OE, we did not even know what we had been missing in our catechism! We are extremely grateful for the constant learning, bringing us closer to Christ. Whenever I share some teaching from OE with friends or family, it is always appreciated and received as a treasure. Many times it has served as a great consolation in a difficult situation.

Through God's divine providence I was given the opportunity to volunteer my time to assist with OE. It is a blessing to be able to help with the effort since my family has received so much from it and I know others are being and will be enlightened and brought closer to Christ and His Church, and therefore salvation. Glory to God for all things!

- Maria

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