Conversion stories often get reduced to neat headlines, but the road from New Age spirituality to historic Christianity is usually messy, humbling, and deeply human. In this conversation, Michaela Nikolaenko @MichaelaNikolaenko lays out a candid record of life inside tarot, yoga, psychedelics, and an adulterous relationship that spiraled into a series of demonic encounters. The scenes are visceral—faces morphing, oppressive presences, and a stark battle of wills that ended with a shaky, embarrassed prayer to Jesus. That plea wasn’t tidy, but it was decisive. What followed was a slow reconstruction: throwing out occult tools, breaking off a relationship that was corroding the soul, and letting Scripture set guardrails when fear of the dark felt nearer than hope. This is where the healing began: not with spectacle, but with obedience.

Her path to a church wasn’t linear. She tried a Catholic parish for holy water, sat with Mormon elders chasing answers about a “great mother,” and explored non-Christian traditions to avoid surrendering her favorite sins. None of it resolved the dread. A Protestant friend finally said, “Just come to church.” There she saw families, order, and women who would look her in the eyes and say the hard thing kindly: God isn’t sending you someone else’s spouse. Confession began informally in living rooms before it matured into sacrament. The Bible became less a slogan and more a survival guide. If she walked its way, the demonic stopped walking through her door.

Yet she still needed peace about Jesus himself. It arrived as a dream: a suffocating abyss like hell, then a burst of light warming her body, air in the lungs, the face of Christ breaking through. That experience wasn’t a lifestyle brand; it was rescue. Enter Orthodoxy, where the lives of the saints—Mary of Egypt, Moses the Black, Anthony the Great—normalized spiritual warfare and recovery. Reverence replaced adrenaline. The liturgy felt like work, sometimes literally painful, but that was the point. Worship isn’t entertainment; it is labor of love that shapes desire. Emotional highs faded; steadiness grew. The church calendar, fasts, and feasts became a map for ordinary holiness.

Practically, Michaela is now building resources for seekers leaving occult practices: short guides on tarot, moon rituals, psychedelics, and their spiritual costs through an Orthodox lens. The tone isn’t sneering. She respects the honest desire that drove her to search in the wrong places and insists that God used even that confusion to guide her home. She urges listeners to read the Apostolic Fathers—Ignatius, Polycarp, the Didache—and to use accessible summaries when primary texts feel dense. The goal isn’t trivia; it’s rootedness. Along the way, we pressed into real-life questions: navigating reverence without chasing constant “feels,” and simple dating wisdom for Orthodox men—groom, work, pursue, and be brave. The final word is simple and ancient: come and see. Online content can spark curiosity, but only a parish can teach you to breathe again.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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From Megachurch Disillusionment To Hope.

Josiah the inquirer sits down with Cloud of Witnesses, Mario Andrew and Jeremy Jeremiah.

A skull on a thumbnail, bells in the background, and a monk’s voice quoting Saint Isaac changed everything. Josiah didn’t set out to find ancient Christianity; he just needed something more honest than a forced smile and a quick fix. What he discovered was not an edgy aesthetic for its own sake, but a fearless way of naming reality: remember death, confront the passions, and be made new in Christ.

We trace the unlikely path from hardcore shows to holy tradition, exploring why Orthodoxy can feel “metal” without the nihilism. The conversation dives into Saint Paul’s call to be a living sacrifice, Saint Isaac’s searing inventory of the passions, and the strange relief that comes from a church that looks you in the eye and tells you the truth. Icons and martyrdom aren’t there to shock; they give shape to hope, showing lives that died to the world so that love could live. Along the way we talk Kat Von D, Holy Name, and the kind of inclusivity that rescues, not indulges—come as you are, but don’t expect to stay there.

• first contact with Orthodoxy through a stark video
• megachurch cynicism versus honest talk about death
• Saint Isaac the Syrian on the passions
• Scripture’s call to die to self
• icons, skulls, and martyrdom as truthful symbols
• baptizing subculture without baptizing sin
• real inclusivity as rescue and transformation
• providential friendships and cigar night community
• practical next steps toward catechesis
• lighthearted barber stories to close

What ultimately makes the search real is community: providential friendships, a cigar night, and a Clouded Witnesses feature that turned curiosity into courage. We share practical insights on taking first steps toward Orthodoxy, why asceticism answers modern anxiety, and how subculture can be baptized without baptizing sin. And yes, we close with a few unforgettable barber tales, because joy and humility are part of the medicine.

If you’re hungry for a faith that can hold sorrow and still make it sing, press play, share this with a friend, and tell us the moment that hit you hardest. Subscribe for more journeys, leave a review to help others find the show, and drop your questions—we’re listening.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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From Restless to Rooted: Joshua Williams on Calling, Repentance, and a Faith That Endures.

What happens when the map you drew for your life no longer fits the road God is actually giving you? In this continuation of our conversation with Joshua Williams, we trace a candid journey through disappointment, redirection, and the quiet practices that turn belief into a way of life. This isn’t highlight-reel faith; it’s the daily, hidden work of following Jesus when the feelings fade and the next step isn’t obvious.

In this episode you’ll hear about:

Calling vs. career: how God reshapes ambition into service and steadies the heart when doors close.

Repentance as renewal: not shame, but the rhythm that keeps love honest and hope alive.

Prayer that holds in storms: learning to pray Scripture when words run out.

Community and accountability: why “just me and Jesus” isn’t enough when you’re tired, tempted, or unsure.

Sacrament and Scripture together: how worship and the Word form a faith that lasts beyond trends.

Suffering without cynicism: carrying grief to Christ and finding courage to begin again.

Why listen: If you’re in a season of waiting, change, or quiet rebuilding, Joshua’s story offers both clarity and comfort—practical ways to keep moving with Jesus when you’re short on answers but rich in questions.

If this conversation encouraged you, subscribe, share it with a friend who needs steadying grace, and leave a quick review with the one practice—prayer, repentance, or community—you’re committing to this week.

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What if the road to Jesus runs through a guru? We sit down with Joshua to trace his unlikely path from a Romanian “enlightenment” school to Orthodox Christianity, and we ask the questions seekers rarely say aloud: Do mystical experiences prove truth, or do they force us to ask which spirit we’re listening to?

Joshua describes leaving the U.S. to “throw himself into the arms of the universe,” clinging to ideas like reincarnation and religious unity while resisting the moral claims of Christ. Inside a syncretic school that blended Hindu and Buddhist concepts, he encountered a compelling teacher, apparent clairvoyance, and a vision of reality where Brahman reigns as impersonal essence. That promise of unity felt expansive—until it demanded he treat personhood, love, and moral responsibility as illusions. We contrast that with the Orthodox claim that God is personal and tri-personal: the Trinity as eternal communion, love that exists before creation, and a God who is everywhere present yet distinct from creation. Rather than absorbing us into a faceless One, God calls us by name and invites real relationship.

Across the conversation, we map the turning points: irritation at the name of Jesus giving way to self-awareness, recognition of authentic Christian witness, and a rethinking of “science versus faith” that leaves shallow slogans behind. We explore discernment of spirits, why power isn’t proof, and how an impersonal metaphysics drifts toward quiet nihilism. Then we look at the Orthodox vision of personhood that grounds meaning: if we’re made in God’s image, our capacity for love is not a cosmic trick—it’s the point.

If you’ve chased enlightenment and still long for a face behind the light, this story will meet you where you are. Listen, share with a friend who’s wrestling with pantheism or syncretism, and leave a review to help others find the show. Subscribe for more conversations that take faith, reason, and experience seriously.

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Can you be “just Christian” and still wear a team jersey? In this episode, Cloud of Witnesses team members Jeremy Jeremiah, Mario Andrew, and James St Simon sit down to react to a Reformed Protestant defense of labels, movements, and sola scriptura, and then press into the deeper questions underneath it all: unity, authority, and what it really means to be catholic in the sense of a complete, historic faith.

We explore how “no labels” talk can hide real discomfort with fragmentation, and ask whether you can credibly claim two thousand years of Christian heritage while setting aside the worship, sacramental life, and conciliar teaching that actually shaped that heritage. Along the way, we test modern Protestant confessions against the early Church and ask whether you can quote the Fathers without also receiving the churchly life they inhabited.

In this conversation we dig into:

• The pull of “no labels” Christianity and the problem of theological tribes
• What it means to be catholic as complete, not just universal
• How liturgy, sacraments, and councils tether us to the early Church
• Sola scriptura versus Scripture within a living Tradition and teaching authority
• The danger of cherry picking Augustine, Chrysostom, and others to fit our systems
• Justification as declared righteous versus actually being made righteous by grace
• Why the New Testament insists that works and real transformation are necessary
• Assurance, baptism, and whether a believer can truly fall away

At the heart of the episode is the engine of the Reformation: sola scriptura. Our Protestant friends call Scripture “the norm that norms other norms.” We ask what that looks like on the ground, where every believer can become their own referee and the result is endless splintering. Against that, we explore a vision of Scripture inside the Church, where the Bible is read, preached, and lived within the grammar of historic worship and sacramental life.

If you care about what unites Christians across the centuries, how faith moves from theory into a way of life, and whether the Fathers can really be claimed without the Church they loved and defended, this episode is for you. Share it with a friend who loves theology, tell us where you land in the comments, and join the Cloud of Witnesses community as we keep wrestling with the faith once delivered to the saints.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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Unity sounds simple until you try to build it without a shared center. We take listeners inside the lived tension of modern Protestant life: a movement born from reform that still reforms itself into new churches, new brands, and new streams whenever conviction collides with leadership and local control. From the Reformers’ early disagreements to today’s non-denominational megachurches, hosts Jeremy Jeremiah, Mario Andrew, and Michael trace how authority, interpretation, and personality shape the health of congregations—and why splits feel inevitable when a pastor retires or launches a fresh vision down the street.

We examine why Protestant unity remains elusive, especially for Dillon Baker, host of The Protestant Gentleman, (https://www.youtube.com/@theprotestantgentleman/videos) how non-denominational structures fuel repeated splits, and why so many seekers turn to older, historic forms of Christianity. We share lived stories, weigh online apologetics trends, and offer practical next steps rooted in church history.

• the claim that Protestantism functions as serial reformations
• structural fragility in non-denominational leadership models
• real case of a founding pastor splitting a congregation
• growth versus true flourishing in church life
• online apologetics momentum and confidence gaps
• questions to test practice against early Christian history
• counsel to study church history before choosing a church
• invitation to explore Orthodox parishes as a concrete step

Along the way, we unpack a candid story of a founding pastor pushed to retire who planted a new church and took half the congregation, and we ask what that choice demands of ordinary people. Are they comparing preaching styles, or discerning which community is more biblically faithful? We zoom out to the online apologetics landscape where prominent voices admit Protestants are “losing” the debate on history and continuity. That candor points to a deeper hunger: believers want a faith that is ancient, coherent, and recognizable across centuries, not just persuasive proof texts. The guiding question becomes, Where have Christians practiced this?

We offer a practical path forward. Start with church history: the first centuries, the councils, the formation of canon, and the worship life that carried the Gospel through persecution and empire. Test present practices against the witness of the early Church. Many seekers find themselves drawn to Eastern Orthodoxy for its conciliar authority, sacramental life, and stable doctrine—less an escape from Scripture than a home where Scripture, tradition, and worship live together. Whether you remain Protestant or explore Orthodoxy, you’ll leave with sharper questions, clearer criteria, and a stronger sense of what flourishing looks like beyond weekly attendance numbers.

If this conversation helps you or someone you love, share it with a friend, subscribe for future episodes, and leave a review with the biggest question you’re wrestling with right now. Your voice shapes where we go next.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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Step past the beige sparse walls and into a Sunday that sparks big questions about worship, history, and truth. Jeremy Jeremiah reacts to the video that walks you through an LDS sacrament meeting—from the first hymn to the closing prayer—and hold its practices up against the standards of historic Christianity. Along the way, we unpack why a service that looks like a college lecture can feel familiar, why borrowed hymns matter more than they seem, and how bread and water signal a deeper break with the ancient Eucharistic faith.

We walk through a full LDS Sunday service, from hymns to sacrament, and compare it with historic Christian worship. Along the way, we challenge the classroom model of church and invite listeners to examine claims of continuity, sacrament, and truth.

• tour of an LDS chapel and layout
• critique of borrowed hymnody and history
• sacrament of bread and water contrasted with Eucharist
• talk-centered format versus sacramental worship
• breakdown of Sunday school and primary programs
• analysis of American church growth dynamics
• invitation to explore historic Orthodox Christianity

We take time to examine the structure: youth speakers delivering short talks, adults cycling through classes, and children moving between singing time and instruction. The building tells a story too: chapel, classrooms, nursery, and a cultural hall that doubles as a gym, all optimized for programs and teaching. That order can be comforting, but we ask whether a church centered on talks can replace a church centered on sacrament. If the early Church guarded the Eucharist as the heart of worship, what does it mean when the centerpiece is reimagined with plastic cups and water?

This episode makes a strong claim: form reflects belief. The symbols you see—or don’t see—the bread and wine you receive—or don’t—shape what you believe about Christ, grace, and the church’s purpose. We explore why Orthodox Christianity insists on continuity with the apostles, the fathers, and the councils; why creed, liturgy, and iconography are not add-ons; and why a living tradition offers more than inspiration—it offers participation in the life of God. Whether you’re LDS, curious, or wrestling with where to belong, this is an invitation to test claims by worship as much as by words.

If this conversation challenged you or sparked new curiosity, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest question or insight. Your feedback helps more seekers find thoughtful, honest conversations about faith and the church.

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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What is a human—dust and breath, body and spirit—without tearing ourselves in two?
Deacon Anthony (St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church, San Diego) joins Cloud of Witnesses with hosts Mario Andrew, Jeremy Jeremiah, and John for a rich, practical conversation on an Orthodox vision of the whole person and the mind (phronema) of the Church.

We trace a path away from the twin traps of indulgence (living by our appetites) and denial (pretending we’re already angelic), toward a fearless embrace of reality in Christ. Through Scripture, the Fathers, and stories from parish life, Deacon Anthony shows how God meets us in the tangible—mud on eyes, bread and wine, water and oil—to heal the heart and remake our lives.

In this episode you’ll hear:

• Body & Soul together: why the Incarnation means Christianity is never “purely spiritual” or “only physical.”
• The phronema (mindset) of the Church: how a Christian way of seeing reshapes what we notice, how we judge, and whom we love.
• Using God-given tools rightly: judge ourselves, not our neighbor; fear sin, not repentance; hate the illness, not the person.
• Confession as healing: real accountability, a spiritual father, and why naming sin breaks its power.
• Community over isolation: salvation is ecclesial and relational—you can’t be saved on an island.
• Heaven & hell begin now: entitlement and isolation taste like hell; humility and communion taste like heaven.
• Saints as role models: why children (and adults) need holy examples more than celebrities.
• Eucharist & the senses: why worship that engages sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch anchors faith in reality.

If “symbolic religion” has felt thin—or if modern “live-your-truth” scripts leave you empty—this conversation offers a hopeful, time-tested alternative: sacrament, repentance, and daily love that form the whole person in Christ.

Find an Orthodox Church near you today. Visit https://www.antiochian.org/home

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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What if reverence isn’t a feeling you chase, but a reality you enter?

This episode follows a grateful former Protestant named Michael from his upbringing all the way to a first Divine Liturgy in a small Orthodox chapel on a military base in Okinawa—and the quiet discoveries that happened along the way. Join Cloud of Witnesses hosts Jeremy Jeremiah and Mario Andrew as we move through warm family memories, the culture shock of military life, and the slow drift that happens when belief outruns practice. Then the trail turns: an old-school YouTube series on church history, the Jordan River baptismal site, a striking painting of confession, and even a meme about the Theotokos—little breadcrumbs pointing toward something older, deeper, and strangely familiar.

What we explore (without the debate club tone):

Icons, saints, Mary—through the Incarnation: not add-ons, but practices that flow from God made flesh and the Church’s unbroken life.

A reframing question: instead of “Were the early Fathers really Christians?” try “Would they recognize our faith as theirs?” That single question reshapes how we think about worship, authority, sacraments, and belonging to a parish that actually forms us.

Worship reimagined: the first Liturgy lands as awe-filled, ordered, communal—not performance or preference but the Church at prayer.

Accountability & spiritual fatherhood: why guidance matters when culture pulls hard—and how confession, obedience, and community keep us real.

Vocation with roots: plans for law school and faithful presence in public life, now steadied by a tradition that tells you who you are.

Gratitude without amnesia: love for Scripture and prayer received in Protestant homes, alongside honesty about what felt missing—continuity, reverence, and a daily rule of life.

If you’ve felt restless—church-hopping, yearning for weight and continuity—this conversation offers a gentle map: the ancient path is not a museum; it’s a living way that teaches hearts to pray, minds to think with the Church, and bodies to worship with all the senses.

Listen & share. If this resonates, subscribe and send to a friend who’s searching. In your review, tell us the one question you’d ask the early Church—what would you hope they recognize in your faith?

Questions about Orthodoxy? Please check out our friends at Ghost of Byzantium Discord server: https://discord.gg/JDJDQw6tdh

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