Thread of some notable converts to Orthodoxy. Some will be well known. some will probably be more obscure. All of them are cool

Fr Seraphim Rose probably doesnt need an introduction but I'm starting with him because he's basically the face of the Orthodox convert movement especially in North America. A spiritual child of St John the Wonderworker and one of America's first Orthodox ascetics.

Br. José Muñoz Cortés, a Chilean convert to Orthodoxy. He was the keeper of the wonderworking Iveron icon. He converted to Orthodoxy at the age of 14. A very skilled iconographer and a man of prayer and asceticism. He was tortured to death while in Greece in 1997.

Fr Elias Wen, a Chinese convert to Orthodoxy. He was baptized at age 7. He served under St John the Wonderworker in both Shanghai and San Francisco. He reposed in the Lord at age of 110. He was the 8th oldest man in the world and the oldest Orthodox priest when he died

Philip Ludwell III. The first convert to Orthodoxy in North America. Great uncle to Robert E Lee. He produced some of the first translations of Orthodox liturgy and literature into English. He was also instrumental in making George Washington colonel of the Virginia Regiment

Bishop George Schaefer, a convert to Orthodoxy from Catholicism. He was a monk at Fr Seraphim Rose's monastery. He later went on to become abbot of Holy Cross monastery in Wayne, West Virginia. He is currently the ROCOR Bishop of Canberra, Australia

Bishop Paul de Ballester-Convallier, A Spanish Franciscan monk that became Orthodox after studying Catholic Canon law. He is known for writing the book My Exodus from Roman Catholicism. He was a bishop in Mexico for 14 years until he was shot after Liturgy by an insane man in1984

Abbe Vladimir Guetee. A 19th century French Catholic priest who converted to Orthodoxy after studying the early ecumenical councils and the early church fathers. He's mainly known for his book The Papacy which was written as refutation of papal supremacy.

Metropolitan Orestes Chornock, a Carpatho-Russian uniate who converted to Orthodoxy after a long battle with the RCC over latinization of the Ruthenian rite. He founded ACROD with the help of Archbishop Athenagoras. He was the first American bishop to do liturgy in English

Archbishop Dmitri of Dallas, an early American convert to Orthodoxy he learned Greek to understand the liturgy and converted in 1941 alongwith his sister. Known for his missionary work he is remembered as the Apostle of the South. His relics are incorrupt.

Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, actor for Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat the movie. He converted to Orthodoxy in 2015 after playing an Orthodox priest in a movie. He was baptized by Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev. I don't know what else to say except Shang Tsung is Orthodox

Elder Sampson Sievers, born into a British Anglican family he converted to Orthodoxy when he was 17. Arrested multiple times for being from a tsarist family he was once sentenced to death and survived the execution. He was confessor to both Patriarch Alexey I and Patriarch Pimen

Fr Peter Gillquist, one of the heads of the Evangelical Orthodox Church which was a group of evangelicals who came to the conclusion that Orthodoxy was the true faith after studying the early church. He and all the other members of the EOC joined the Antiochian church in 1987

Sartak Khan, son of Batu Khan and leader of the Golden Horde from 1256-1257, he was the sworn brother of St Alexander Nevsky. He probably died when he was poisoned by his uncles Berke and Berkhchir

Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein, Russian Jewish pianist, conductor and composer. He was friends with Tchaikovsky and the younger brother of the composer Anton Rubenstein. Tchaikovsky wrote his Piano Trio in A minor in memory of him when he died in Paris from tuberculosis

Clement Sederholm, 19th century Lutheran convert to Orthodoxy, He was a monk at Optina Monastery and wrote the first lives of the Optina elders Anthony and Leonid. He passed away at a young age but he was important in the history of Optina. Sadly I can’t find a picture of him

https://twitter.com/The_Tabellion/status/1258373516300136450?s=20

Just shilling Gravantus’s tweet for today’s addition

Justin Marler, guitarist for the band Sleep on their first album. After recording he disappeared to become a novice in a monastery. He founded the Death to World zine and would give copies away at punk clubs in the Bay Area. He’s no longer a novice and is married with children.

Ibō Takahashi, Vice Admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy during WW2. Born in an Orthodox family his name is a Chinese transliteration of John. His father was a samurai and a doctor. He graduated his class of cadets rank 10 of 191. He passed away on March 18th, 1947.

Fr Gabriel Bunge, a Swiss theologian and former Benedictine monk. He was also a theological advisor to Pope Benedict. He's lived as a hermit almost his entire life and converted to Orthodoxy in 2010.Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev gave him an icon of the Theotokos when he converted

Jean Claude Larchet, born into a French Catholic family he converted to Orthodoxy in 1971. A spiritual child of St Paisios, St Justin Popovich, and Elder Sergei of Vanves. He's a very prolific author whose writings vary from lives of saints to the theology of the human body

Daniel Chwolson, a Russian Jewish Orientalist who grew up with devout Jewish parents. His parents wanted him to be a Rabbi and he only spoke Hebrew until he was 18 years old. He converted to Orthodoxy in 1855. He was a Philology professor at the University of St Petersburg