144. So You Converted… Now What? | Spiritual Fathers, Jurisdictions, Church Hierarchy, Traditions & More with Fr. Joseph Huneycutt144. So You Converted… Now What? | Spiritual Fathers, Jurisdictions, Church Hierarchy, Traditions & More with Fr. Joseph Huneycutt
Raised & Redeemed
Michaela talks with Fr. Joseph Huneycutt about life after becoming an Orthodox Christian, touching on spiritual fathers, jurisdictions, traditions and ongoing repentance. The conversation centres on Orthodoxy as a lifelong healing journey for spiritually wounded people, including those with addictive backgrounds and traumatic pasts.
1:36:55•11 Nov 2026
So You Converted… Now What? Orthodoxy After the Honeymoon Phase
Episode Overview
- Choose a parish primarily by proximity and where you can best work out your salvation, rather than by jurisdiction labels.
- Treat your parish priest as your confessor, and seek a true spiritual father only with blessing and realistic expectations.
- Expect the zeal of conversion to fade and plan for "perpetual conversion" through regular confession, prayer and community.
- Focus less on online arguments and controversies and more on what leads you to humility and genuine repentance.
- When overwhelmed, return to the Jesus Prayer and give thanks for struggles, asking that they be for your salvation.
“I've never seen anyone argued into the church. The Holy Spirit brings people into the church.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey and faith at the same time? This Raised & Redeemed episode shifts the focus to what happens after someone converts to Eastern Orthodoxy, and how that ongoing spiritual journey can support deep inner healing. Host Michaela sits down with Fr.
Joseph Huneycutt, an Orthodox priest and director of evangelism, to talk frankly about the question behind the title: "So you converted… now what?" With 127 catechumens in his parish and many more waiting, Fr. Joseph has seen a lot of eager new faces — and a lot of post‑honeymoon confusion.
He jokes that after all the zeal of holy week, prostrations and icons, people can feel like they’ve just been handed an "orthodox certificate" and left wondering, "What do I do now?" You’ll hear them tackle tricky topics converts obsess over: jurisdictions, online "ortho bro" culture, head coverings, parish differences, and whether you can make confession over Zoom. Fr.
Joseph’s steady refrain is that the church is a spiritual hospital and that people aren’t legal criminals to be fixed, but spiritually sick who are being healed over a lifetime.
As he puts it, "True repentance is when you see God for who he truly is… and you realise how unworthy you are." He shares his idea of "perpetual conversion" — falling and getting up again, moment by moment — and how gratitude in dark seasons kept him going through his own depression and years working in a substance abuse recovery centre.
For those overwhelmed by rules and controversies, his answer is simple: cling to the Jesus Prayer and seek a parish and priest who help you grow in humility and repentance. If you’ve found Orthodoxy while escaping addiction, trauma, or counterfeit spirituality, this conversation may help you ask less "Am I doing this perfectly?" and more "How is this drawing me closer to Christ?"
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.