What is an Orthobro?

I have a pretty useless/useful skill where I can type without looking at what I’m typing. 

As I just showed off to my nephew.  Because I could 

Will this skill get me anywhere in life?  Maybe, but probably not.  But that is something I can do. 

It’s a talent God gave me, but I worked on it.  I still get things wrong from time to time, and I don’t want y’all to think this is how I write most of my articles, because I don’t. 

I actually wonder if I’d make better articles if I did. 

Before we get started, remember the check me out on Locals, Catholicism, news, and whatever community

Anyway, I was thinking of the talents and abilities some people have, and then I started thinking about Orthobros. 
What is an Orthobro?  Imagine, if you will, a rad trad “Catholic”, but Eastern Orthodox, but actually not (just as “rad trads” aren’t really Catholic).

Here’s how you spot them 1) They never actually defend the position of Eastern Orthodoxy

2) They attack both Catholics and Protestants, but seem to have special scorn for Catholics

3) They’re almost always converts from Catholicism or Protestantism

4) They’re almost always ROCOR

5) They have vatnik positions on the current Russo-Ukraine war. 

You can add or subtract one of these, and they’d still be an Orthobro.  Many of them have this weird obsession with Russia, and how Russia is allegedly Christian and the west is decadent (never mind the huge numbers of abortions, orphans, and “adult” actresses from Russia, about that, Rod Dreher: Will you challenge the Russian Orthodox Church as you did the Catholic Church?).  Oftentimes, they’re rude, they’re the worst possible stereotypes people have of political conservatives, and, sadly, they’re often the most well-known Eastern Orthodox (such as Jay Dyer). 

A lot of times, it does seem that they do use Orthodoxy as a cover for their political views (coincidentally, Trent Horn recently released this podcast episode, #917 The Emptiness of “Political Christianity” - Trent Horn , and that’s the way I think of Orthobros, they’re “political Christians”).

But, that’s the thing.  They build huge audiences.  They get people interested in them.  They obviously know how to persuade people.  Imagine if they used that power to get people interested in Church history, or the reality of the Sacraments.  Something like that.

Now, that’s not to say these people don’t use their intellect, or that they didn’t come to Orthodoxy through an intellectual decision.  I have no doubt that, in many cases, they did. 

But somewhere along the line, they go down the conspiracy theory rabbit hole, and then became to Orthodoxy what Rad trads are to the Latin Mass. 

But see, unlike the Rad trads, they don’t bash what’s allegedly their Church.  Oh no, they bash everyone else’s Church.

They are fiercely loyal to Russian Orthodoxy (which they conflate for Eastern Orthodoxy), and many were largely influenced by the duplicitous Metropolitan Hilarion (more on that, here; Metropolitan Hilarion Accused of Sexual Misconduct). 

They are fiercely loyal, yet, they will not acknowledge the downfall of their leaders.  They will not believe anything negative about their bishops, priests, or deacons, no matter what anyone says.

To them, Ukraine is the enemy.  Even more so than the west.   They thrive on bashing Catholics and Ukrainians (and they REALLY hate Ukrainian Catholics). 

They use revisionist history to make it seem like Ukrainians collaborated with the Nazis (some did, this is true, but Stalin was ALLIED with the Nazis until Hitler made him angry, weird how the Orthobro and vatnik contingency leaves that out, German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact)

And they don’t evangelize.  They don’t ever talk about Jesus.  Oh sure, they may give lip service to “tradition”, or “Christian civilization”, much like the rad trads do.  But they don’t actually know what those terms mean. 

While the term “vatnik” (which Pro-Russia people are trying to gaslight you into thinking it’s an ethnic slur, in spite of the vatniki coming in all ethnicities, in fact, most of them AREN’T of Russian descent), and Orthobro are not the same, there is a huge overlap.  If someone is an Orthobro, they’re very likely a vatnik.

It is possible for someone to be an Orthobro and not know it, just as the rad trads don’t seem to know that they stopped being Catholic. 

They also seem to know Eastern Catholics exist (even though, as I said before, they still insist on calling all Catholics “Roman” Catholic, they’re the James Whites of Orthodoxy), but seem to think becoming an Eastern Catholic is a fate worse than death.

As for me though, I have learned quite a bit about Ukraine and its history (and not Putin or Patriarch Kirill’s revisionist history;Standing up to dictators is thoroughly Catholic

These people may be Christian by baptism, but, since they don’t evangelize (other than “evangelize” by making more Orthobros), they are not Christian in spirit. 

“Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”. (Mark 28:19, Douay Rheims version). 

Is this weird obsession with Russian culture really going into all nations?  Is this hero worship of Patriarch Kirill and Putin baptizing them?

These people care more about committing genocide against Ukrainians, than they do about spreading the gospel (and that IS what Putin is doing, and Patriarch Kirill blesses it.  I consider him more responsible for the war;Teaching Putin worshippers FACTS about Ukraine and Russia )what is an Orthobro?  Someone, who, instead of spreading what they believe to be the truth and fullness of Christianity, spreads lies about other Christians, is probably a vatnik, and thinks Russia’s a Christian country (It isn’t, check out the links to find out why). 

Like I said, you can add or subtract from the list I made, and you’d still have an Orthobro.

And while I can’t stand rad trads, give me a rad trad over an Orthobro, any day.

 Adam Charles Hovey is the creator of the Catholicislm, News, and Whatever community on Locals; Catholicism, news, and whatever community 

He is also the host of the weekly Bible study, Coffee and Christianity; Coffee and Christianity