In recent years, an ugly trend has emerged among certain self-satisfied segments of the Orthodox Church—a dismissive and prideful contempt toward converts, frequently labelling them as “LARPERs” (Live Action Role Players)—a term originally coined to describe those engaging in theatrical, artificial mimicry. Within this context, it is used to accuse converts of play-acting Orthodoxy, of adopting external forms and customs with no inward conviction or spiritual integrity. This accusation, sometimes uttered with scorn by cradle Orthodox, is not only unjust; it is unchristian. Worse, it betrays a festering pride that blinds such accusers to their own spiritual poverty.
The Orthodox Church is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, preserved by the Holy Spirit and founded by our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not the cultural property of Greeks, Russians, Serbs, or any ethnic group. It belongs to Christ. To claim otherwise is to repeat the error of the Judaizers, who insisted that gentile Christians must first become Jews. The Apostles rejected this heresy decisively at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15), when they ruled against placing the yoke of the full Law upon the necks of gentile converts. How much more, then, should we reject the idea that Orthodoxy is some kind of cultural performance available only to the genetically Orthodox?
What do the accusers forget? Converts are often among the most zealous, most learned, and most self-sacrificing members of the Church. They come not by accident of birth, not by national tradition, but through painful struggle, study, and a desire to be joined to the Body of Christ in spirit and in truth. Many converts suffer the scorn of family, the severance of friendships, the suspicion of their own former communities. They do not inherit their faith from parents or ancestral ties. They seek it out, often at great cost. If they speak liturgical Greek or Slavonic, adopt fasting practices with rigour, or venerate icons with outward gestures—these are not empty acts. They are signs of inner commitment and love. If such outward conformity is labelled “LARPing,” then the Lord Himself is guilty, for He said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15).
Would these prideful accusers call Saint Moses the Ethiopian a LARPER for adopting the rule of monastic discipline in Egypt? Would they dare say that Saint Mary of Egypt, who came from a life of debauchery, was “performing” repentance when she withdrew into the desert for forty-seven years? The Lord does not look upon birth records or cultural affiliation. He searches the heart. As it is written in the Septuagint: “The Lord searcheth hearts and understandeth all the thoughts of the mind” (1 Chronicles 28:9).
The Orthodox faith is not a cultural relic. It is not the exclusive domain of Balkan bloodlines, Slavic identity, or Byzantine nostalgia. It is the Catholic faith, universal and apostolic, calling all nations into communion with the living God. Ethnocentrism is a spiritual disease. It corrupts and perverts the Holy Gospel. Saint Paul declared, “There is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). Any Orthodox Christian who exalts his ethnicity above his faith, who sees Orthodoxy as an ethnic club rather than the Ark of Salvation, is in danger of falling into the error of false Pharisaism.
Some of the worst examples of irreverence, ignorance, and laxity in the Church today come not from converts, but from the so-called cradle Orthodox. They desecrate holy days by drunkenness and fornication. They do not attend services. They have not read the Scriptures, nor the writings of the Holy Fathers. They show up twice a year—if that. And yet they sneer at converts as LARPERs? This is shameless hypocrisy. What is worse—a man who strives imperfectly to imitate holiness, or one who bears the name Orthodox but neither knows nor lives the faith? This hypocrisy originates with satanic jealousy and pride, and borne on the wings of demons.
Saint John Chrysostom once said, “The Church is a hospital, and not a court of law, for souls. She does not condemn on behalf of sin, but grants remission of sins.” The one who comes to the Church seeking healing is not to be ridiculed but welcomed. The Lord said, “Him that cometh to me, I will not cast out” (John 6:37). Shall we be more stringent than Christ? Shall we presume to judge the inward sincerity of a man’s heart based on his clothing, pronunciation of Church Slavonic or Greek, or love for tradition?
Many converts are drawn to the Church precisely because they see in Orthodoxy the truth, order, and holiness absent in Protestantism, Novus Ordo Catholicism, and the world’s chaos. Their initial zeal may be imperfect; their imitation of customs may at first be clumsy or overly enthusiastic. But this is not play-acting. It is the eager striving of a soul toward the light. Would you mock a child for imitating his father, even if his steps are unsure? “Except you be converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
The use of the word “LARPER” is not simply childish. It is demonic. It is the voice of the Accuser, the same who said to God concerning Job, “Doth Job fear God in vain?” (Job 1:9). It is the same spirit that mocked the Lord on the Cross, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). Mockery of converts is mockery of repentance. To discourage one who is sincerely seeking salvation by casting aspersions on his motives is a grievous sin. The Lord warned, “Whosoever shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone be hanged about his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6). These harsh words are not optional. They are not poetry. They are warnings from the mouth of Christ Himself. Let no man think he is safe from judgement because he was born Orthodox. The Lord said, “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I tell you that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Matthew 3:9).
Let the convert remain humble and steadfast, neither shaken by slander nor tempted to pride. The path of Orthodoxy is narrow for all. Let him study, pray, confess, and commune with fear of God and love for truth. And let the cradle Orthodox beware. You were given a great inheritance. If you squander it, you will be judged more severely. To whom much is given, much will be required. (Luke 12:48)
To call a convert a LARPER is to call God’s work in that soul counterfeit. It is to set yourself as judge over the Church. And it is a sin that cries out for repentance.
Better to be an unworthy imitator of holiness than a proud heir of nothing.
May God have mercy and bless you +
Fr. Charles
13 August 2024
