A growing number of young men in Texas are abandoning mainstream Christian denominations and turning to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) in search of tradition, structure, and masculine faith. Father Moses McPherson, an Orthodox priest in Georgetown, Texas, told the BBC he has prepared 75 converts for baptism at his parish in the past six months alone.
Father Moses, a former roofer turned priest, says many men are disillusioned with modern Christianity’s emotional focus and lack of discipline. “I don’t want to go to services that feel like a Taylor Swift concert,” he said, criticizing the emotionalism and “feminization” of worship in American evangelical churches.
His blend of theology, weightlifting, and conservative views has gained him a large following online. In one viral video, he quipped, “A lot of people ask me: ‘Father Moses, how can I increase my manliness to absurd levels?’” His followers include software engineers and professionals who say they left successful careers behind, but felt spiritually empty. Many are homeschooling their children and rejecting modern gender and sexuality norms.
Another ROCOR priest, Father John Whiteford, voiced concern over the spread of transgender ideology and progressive social messaging in schools, warning of the dangers of “the 57 genders of the month.”
Elissa Bjeletich Davis, a member of a Greek Orthodox parish in Austin, noted that many converts to ROCOR are drawn by its “military, rigid, disciplinary, masculine, authoritarian” character.
While Orthodox Christianity remains a small minority in the U.S., Pew Research Center data shows the percentage of men in Orthodox churches has grown from 46 percent in 2007 to 64 percent today. ROCOR’s bold stand against modern social trends and its embrace of tradition continue to attract young men looking for something stronger and more rooted than what progressive churches offer.
