“A lot of people asked me, ‘Father Moses, how can I increase my level of masculinity to absurdity?’’
In YouTube videos, a pastor is embracing a form of unapologetic masculinity.
Tight jeans, using iron to cross legs, shaping eyebrows, and even eating soup are one of his things that are too feminine.
There are other videos of Moses McPherson (father of five), lifting weights to heavy metal sounds.
He was raised, once a roofer, but now serves as a pastor at the Russian Orthodox Church in Georgetown, Russia, a branch of Moscow's Mother's Church.
Rocor is a global network of New York headquarters that has been expanding recently in parts of the United States – primarily due to people's transformation from other beliefs.
Over the past six months, Father Moses has prepared baptism for 75 new followers in the Church of Mother God north of Austin.
“When my wife and I converted 20 years ago, we used to refer to orthodox people as the best secret because people just don't know what that is.”
“But over the past year and a half, our congregation has tripled in size.”
Convert Theodore (until recently rejected all religions) lifts weights with Father Moses three times a week [BBC]
During Sunday service at Father Moses' church, I was shocked by the number of men in my twenties and thirties, praying behind the nave and crossing myself, and this religion – how it traces back to the 4th century AD tradition – seems to attract young people to restless life in modern America.
Software engineer Theodore told me that he had a dream job and a wife he admired, but he felt empty inside, as if there was a hole in his heart. He believes that society is “very demanding” to men and keeps telling them they are wrong. He complained that men have been criticized for wanting to be a breadwinner and support a full-time wife.
“We were told it was a very toxic relationship,” Theodore said. “That's not what it should be.”
Almost all converts I encountered chose their offspring education, partly because they believed that women should prioritize their own family over their careers.
Pastor John Whiteford in the spring in North Houston said family education ensures religious education and is “a way to protect your children” while avoiding any claims about “transgenderism” or “transgenderism” or other months or any other gender.”
Compared to the millions of believers in American evangelical cathedrals, Christian Orthodox Church is small—only about one percent of the population. These include Orthodox Church in Russia, Ukraine, Eastern Europe and Greece, as well as Orthodox Church in the Middle East and Africa.
Rocor fled the Russian Revolution in 1917 by pastors and clergy and was regarded by many as the most conservative Orthodox jurisdiction in the United States. However, this small religious community is a voice, where what is happening reflects a wider political shift, especially after President Donald Trump’s dramatic hub of Moscow.
The real increase in the number of conversions is difficult to quantify, but Pew Research Center data shows that Orthodox Christians are 64% of men, up from 46% in 2007.
Smaller studies of 773 conversions seem to support this trend. The latest new immigrants are men, and many say the pandemic has prompted them to seek new beliefs. The survey comes from the Orthodox Church of the United States (OCA), which was founded in Alaska in the late 18th century by Russian monks and now has more than 700 parishes, missions, communities, monasteries and institutions in Canada, Canada, and Mexico that are identified as Russian Orthodox.
Professor Scott Kenworthy, who studied the history and ideas of Orthodox Christianity, especially in modern Russia – said that he “extremely exploded at the seams” in Cincinnati's OCA parish.
He has been in the same church for 24 years and said the numbers for the congregation remained stable until Covid locked down. Since then, new inquirers and those who are ready to be baptized have been constantly flowing, known as Catechumens.
Professor Kenworthy said: “It’s not only a phenomenon in my own diocese, but also a few places in Texas, which is definitely a wider thing.”
Digital space is the key to this new wave of transformation. Father Moses has a big following online – when he shared photos of a positive pregnancy test on Instagram feed, he received 6,000 likes for announcing the arrival of his sixth child.
However, the Orthodox clergy and a group of followers (mostly male) also showcased many other podcasts and videos.
Father Moses told his congregation that there are two ways to serve God – to become a monk or a nun, or to get married. Those who go the second path should avoid contraception and have as many children as possible.
Father Moses said, “Show me a saint in the history of the church that he once blessed any kind of birth control.” As for masturbation—or what the church calls self-abuse—the pastor condemned it as “tragic and unmanned.”
Father Moses said that the orthodox thing is “not male, it’s just normal” and “in the West, everything becomes very feminine.” He believes that some Protestant churches cater mainly to women.
Father Moses said: “I don’t want to go to a service like a Taylor Swift concert.
Elissa Bjeletich Davis is a former Protestant and now belonging to the Greek Orthodox Church in Austin, a Sunday school teacher with his own podcast. She said many converts belong to the “fighting crowd” and sometimes have strange ideas about their new beliefs, especially those of the Russian church.
“They think it's military, rigid, disciplined, male, authoritarian religion,” Alisa said. “It's kind of interesting. It's almost like the old Puritans and their madness are repaving.”
Buck Johnson has been a firefighter for 25 years and hosted the Counterflow podcast.
He said he was initially afraid to enter the local Russian Orthodox church because he “looked differently and was covered with tattoos”, but told me he was welcomed with open arms. He also impressed him throughout the co-lockdown period.
He sat on the couch in front of two huge TV screens in the Lockhart home, and he said his newfound belief was changing his view of the world.
“I was worried about the negative view of the United States on Russia,” Buck said, telling me that mainstream “legacy” media showed twisted images of Ukrainian invasion.
“I think the American tide generation in the United States holds, which is lived through the Cold War, and I don't know much about why – but they say Russia is terrible.”
Kirill, the head of the Russian church in Moscow, stubbornly supported the invasion of Ukraine, calling it a jihad with little sympathy for the victims. When I asked missionary John Whiteford about the top Russian pastors (many are seen as warm people), he assured me that the patriarch’s words had been twisted.
Putin's videos and photos quote biblical verses, holding candles in Moscow's Cathedral of the Savior Christ, then stripping his swimming trunks, and seemingly shocked when Epiphany was trapped in the cold water. In the United States and other countries, some view Russia as the last bastion of true Christianity.
High Priest John Whiteford, who posed for a photo with his wife Patricia, said homeschooling is “a way to protect your children” [BBC]
About a decade ago, another orthodox convert, Texas pastor Joseph Gleason moved from the United States to a village four hours north of Moscow, with his wife and eight children moving from the United States to a village in Borisoglebskiy.
He told the Russian video host: “Russia has no gay marriage, no civil unions, it's a place where homeschooling is available, of course – I love the millennium history of Orthodox Christianity here.”
The sparse Texan was the pioneer of a movement urging conservatives to move to Russia. Last August, Putin proposed a quick shared value visa for those who fled Western liberalism.
Back in Texas, Barker told me that he and his converts are against instant gratification and American consumerism.
“We think about things for a long time, like tradition, love for your family, love for your community, love for your neighbors,” Buck said.
“I think orthodox is for us, especially in Texas.”
