The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), known for its conservative stance and ancient traditions, is gaining attention in Texas for promoting a form of “manliness” that rejects what it calls overly feminine behaviours.
Among its advocates is Father Moses McPherson, a father of five and popular YouTuber, who uses his platform to discourage practices like wearing skinny jeans, crossing legs, shaping eyebrows, having emotions and drinking soup.
The church draws many young men in their twenties and thirties, who are attracted to the faith’s ancient traditions and its message in response to what some see as the feminisation of Western culture.
Theodore, a software engineer and recent convert, says society has been “very harsh” on men, criticising those who want to be breadwinners supporting a stay-at-home wife.
“We are told that’s a very toxic relationship nowadays,” Mr Theodore told the BBC. “That’s not how it should be.”
Among converts, homeschooling has become common, viewed as a way to shield children from topics like “transgenderism” in public schools.
Father John Whiteford, an archpriest in ROCOR from Spring, Texas, says homeschooling provides a religious education and serves as “a way of protecting your children.”
Father Moses McPherson advocates for married couples to avoid contraception and encourages having many children. “Show me one saint in the history of the Church who ever blessed any kind of birth control,” he claims.
He also condemns masturbation as “pathetic and unmanly.”
He said that Orthodoxy is “not masculine, it is just normal,” in contrast to what he calls the “very feminised” West.
“I don’t want to go to services that feel like a Taylor Swift concert,” Father McPherson adds. “If you look at the language of the ‘worship music,’ it’s all emotion. That’s not men.”
Many converts identify with what Elissa Bjeletich Davis, a former Protestant turned Greek Orthodox in Austin, describes as “the anti-woke crowd.” She notes that some see the faith as “military, rigid, disciplinary, masculine, authoritarian,” likening it to a resurgence of “old American Puritans.”
Another Texas-born Orthodox priest, Father Joseph Gleason, praises Russia as a place where Orthodox Christianity thrives, homeschooling is accepted, and traditional values are preserved.
“Russia does not have homosexual marriage, it does not have civil unions, it is a place where you can home-school your kids and, of course, I love the thousand-year history of Orthodox Christianity here,” Father Gleason said.
ROCOR, founded by clergy fleeing the 1917 Russian Revolution, is considered the most conservative Orthodox jurisdiction in the US. Headquartered in New York, ROCOR is growing across the US as more people convert from other faiths.
