Former Orthodox Christian here. (Serbian Orthodox specifically). Amazing video, thank you for having the courage to make it! One day through hearing of the Revelation at home I was convicted heavily of my sin and have truly repented for my sins (with a whole lot of tears). Ever since I repented and have received the Holy Spirit I have been following Jesus exclusively and never went back to the Orthodox practices. Until that moment I was a devout Orthodox and would argue any other belief.
1. (Saints+Icons) Absolutely right, I used to do it all according to rules (how to bow, where to kiss etc.). But ever since I was a kid I found it weird as to why would any person be of any significance if Jesus himself died for us. But my every question was met with "you just do what you're told, you can't understand divine things, this has all been approved by church fathers for centuries, we are the only true church". We took out of our home all icons and haven't prayed to any of them or Mary, my prayers to them were never answered anyway. I do know that when I called on the name of Jesus to repent He heard me, and all the major sins I could never shake off for years were finally gone from my life, and I haven't felt the urges since.
2. (Atonement) I completely agree, although I cannot remember if this is something I was taught, I had Christianity classes for 8 years from middle school to the end of high school and participated in Christian competitions. I can't remember ever hearing or learning in literature that all our sins were placed on Jesus so that God's wrath wouldn't fall on us. This is crucial to know, Jesus took upon himself all of mine, yours, our sins we ever committed so that we would receive reconciliation with God and be made right with Him.
3. (Works+Faith) Everything you said and have explained is correct, and to me it has been proven by my personal experience. Fruits came afterward. Orthodoxy believes in participation in all the sacraments of the church as well, if you don't partake in them you will not be saved. Any debate on this topic with most Orthodox believers, priests and teachers (personal experience) will result in the one believing otherwise being absolutely grilled and shunned. No amount of sacrament partaking will get you anywhere unless a complete change of heart occurs by belief and true repentance, where you reject sin and start living for Christ and not simple confession.
4. (Mary) Mary is a figure of huge importance and reverence in the Orthodoxy yes. Again, as usual I agree with your statements. Jesus had brothers, she wasn't a virgin and if she was sinless Jesus wouldn't be the one being crucified. If you attend an Orthodox church service in Serbia you will notice that at 2 or 3 moments during the liturgy, when incredible praises are given to Mary, the whole assembly of people present at the church does a "big bow" (a standing bow with one hand extending to the floor of the church during the bow then rising up and making the sign of the cross). I will admit that I rarely joined in the bow and only made the sign of the cross because I was always confused as to why so much reverence is given to her since she isn't divine. Once again, since I repented and have received the Holy Spirit I stopped praying to her soon after and haven't felt a slightest need to seek any other name during my prayers apart from Jesus'. Again, all due respect to Mary and the saints, it's just that nobody but Jesus has ever answered my prayers.
5. (Tradition) Ah, the famous Holy Tradition. This is unfortunately a major, major stumbling block for many, many Christians in the Serbian Orthodoxy. Jesus mentions a verse from Deuteronomy 8:3 which says that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Many priests and teachers would advise you against reading the Scripture on your own since we are not equipped to understand it. Interpretations are set and have been passed down by the church fathers, we are just little people who aren't capable of understanding God's word which gives us life but must obey the church fathers. This is used to somewhat protect the integrity of the Holy Tradition which mostly falls apart once you actually read the Bible itself. However any attempt to differ from their beliefs or use discernment (even with the Holy Spirit!) results in them mentioning the 3 most commonly used words to brush you off and validate (to themselves really) their belief: Heresy, spiritual Self-Deception, and Sect. After all if they believe it's all passed down from the Apostoles themselves, how could you possible argue with that. I and many others will, because our souls are on the line, and I will only bet it on Jesus and His word, not the Tradition.
6. (Teachings) There are many, many things that have crept their way into the church. Many of them came from the region where the church is located. Slavic traditions have found their way into the church which I found horrific since I was a kid. The worst example (Serbian Orthodoxy) to me is eating on the grave of your relatives on the specified days that are set apart for the dead. The other one would be "Badnjak" a cut branch of an oak tree which must be burned in specific ways on Christmas Eve, and many others. One of the most unbiblical traditions in Serbia is a "Family Saint day" for a lack of a better word. Every family has a patron saint with a fixed church calendar day every year where families and relatives gather together to light a big candle in the house and eat and drink excessively without any mention of Jesus or the Gospel, it's basically a big get-together of a family to indulge in gossip. Priests and other high church officials are advocating for all these "religious" practices, leading Christians farther and farther away from the true faith in Jesus. These are the people who will say "didn't we do all the things that the Serbian Orthodox church told us?" and Jesus will tell them that He never knew them! Only by the incredible grace of God have I been saved from all this.
7. (Toll houses) This brings so many memories when I was being taught all this. Completely unbiblical. You also mentioned prayers and actions for those who have passed away to be released, well, there is a special part which is performed before the Liturgy that is dedicated to this specifically. False hope for any sort of salvation for the dead or alive apart from Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross is a major insult to what Jesus did for us. It hurts to be reminded of the things I used to be part of.
8. (Assurance of salvation) This can be used against you as to invalidate your belief, even though the proof is in the change of heart and we are a different person (only the presence of the Holy Spirit can do this). Since they believe you cannot be assured of your salvation and the seal of the Holy Spirit we cannot claim we have it and are therefore not to be believed. But I will tell you, knowing if the Holy Spirit is present in you is something that you absolutely can know and it is the only thing that Jesus will recognize us by. So a better question than "are you assured of your salvation" is "do you have and feel the Holy Spirit in you?" How and for who you live your life will reveal it to you. You're hitting the nail on the head with your arguments, and you're gentle with it, just think about it for yourself, that's all you're asking.
9. (Original sin) I can't remember exactly what I was taught about this. Nevertheless we are sinners in need of salvation, once you believe in Jesus Christ and truly repent of your sins it won't matter.
10. (Only true church) Oh. My. Goodness. I'm amazed by how much you know about Orthodoxy. Serbian Orthodox church is holding onto its dear life with this statement as well. Oof, I'm going to get flamed for this but listen… Saying something as wild as you cannot gain salvation if you're not part of the Orthodox church is basically blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Think about it, if people across the globe are being saved by faith in Jesus, their whole lives transform and they live and proclaim Christ with their lives, showing true change of heart and conviction and you come and say "yeah but they're not part of the Orthodox church" you're disowning the mighty work of the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus alone and not by being a member of a church. By what power are those changes in people's lives happening? Anybody who says that there is no salvation apart from the Orthodox church is barely any better than the Pharisees Jesus called out for blaspheming. You might not say the change is from Satan, but if it's happening, by what power is it happening if they're not part of the Orthodoxy? Suddenly you're on thin ice. Look at Delafe Testimonies of YT. You're doing no harm to anybody but your own soul.
People can absolutely be saved in the Orthodox church but why make a maze out of simple faith in Jesus Christ? Again everything I mentioned concerns the Serbian Orthodox church, and if your Orthodox church is better than this you had more luck. However, I am grateful to Jesus for showing me He is bigger than any Orthodox church and that I no longer have to be part of it to serve Him. Amen.
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