Orthodox or Nothing At All?

[Chesterton]

A hypothetical question: If you, an Orthodox Christian, were required for some reason (say for some type of job assignment) to be in areas where there was no Orthodox Church, frequently or for some length of time, would you ever consider attending another church for worship, or just not go to church?

[Hoankan]

I'm sort of in that position. The nearest church to me is an hour and a half drive away and due to work schedule and gas prices ($7 a gallon) I can't go often. I would definitely think very carefully and pray very hard before accepting but if I did go, I would not go to another church. Instead I would save my money so I could visit an Orthodox church.

[Kreikkalainen]

First point, hypothetical questions are hard to answer reliably, because imagining yourself in one situation is one thing & finding yourself into the same is quite another.

Second point, one facing the prospect of such a situation could seek advice from a priest / spiritual father. I can speculate what answer a traditional priest would give: don't accept this job offer, try to avoid the assignment, resign if no other solution. Think about your soul first & trust God will provide the rest His way.

Third point on personal level, if I was forcibly parachuted in such an area, I like to think that I would go to no church at all. Unless I was also chained & thrown into a dark dungeon, I would try to engineer my escape back to civilisation as early as possible. If it was, say, a 6-month assignment, just wait for the time to pass.

Fourth, for people gifted with good organisational skills - one can try to get in touch with other Orthodox families who might be interested in getting together on Sundays for prayer & fellowship. It's not unheard of for people to search pages after pages of the phone book trying to locate a greek / russian / serbian surname for that purpose! If 2-3 families like that can get together, then that's a small community already. Perhaps once every few weeks they could organise a trip / excursion / retreat to the nearest place with an Orthodox church. Perhaps they could request from the nearest bishop to send a priest to serve them once or twice a year. Whole communities are known to have sprung up out of nowhere like that!

[Epiphanius]

I've thought about this before, I might, in this situation attend a Byzantine catholic church (If they were using the Divine Liturgy) though I would never take the Eucharist there (and would never say the wrong creed). I can't set foot inside a protestant church anymore, I came out of that and I find that being there generates more contempt than spiritual benefit. I would try save enough money to be able to attend the closest EO church once or twice a month depending on the expense and how far away it is.

[Greg the byzantine]

I will never leave NYC, I love it too much :p

Now if for some horrible reason I ever had to leave and go somewhere where there was no Orthodox Church, I would A) Find a way to get tom an Orthodox Chirch for the major Feasts. B) Read Akathists, and other prayers that can be done without a priest at home. C) I would possibly consider attending a Roman Catholic Mass just to be around other Christians Without participating or partaking of the sacraments, although I have my trepadations as my 1st and only time in a Catholic chapel for a Christmas service during an emergency situation was not very pleasant.

[Barky]

I suppose I'd try to find a Catholic Church that does the trinadine mass. Though I think I would rather drive two hours once a month to get to the church than go to another church.

[Macarius]

I would drive once or twice a month to the nearest church, especially on the 12 feast days. I would use the telephone or email for spiritual counsel with the nearest priest, and receive confession as often as possible.

Additionally, I'd make a point during my vacation either to a) have it during Holy Week and literally live at the Church or b) spend it at a monastery.

And I would attempt at all times to change the situation I was in by either a) trying to found a local community or b) moving closer to Church.

Very few things could motivate me to live that far away from an EO Church. It would literally have to be a choice between honoring God by attending Church or honoring God by adequately loving my family (or some such equally God-required thing).

If it were simply for additional money, I'd find a different job. I'd rather be a bank teller with the Eucharist every week than a wealthy man on my own.

[Protoevangel]

I would:

* Pray.
* Do readers services (Typica, Vespers, etc).
* Travel to Churches/Monasteries whenever possible.
* Seek out other Orthodox people and contact the Dioceses, and try to set up a mission.

You know, all of those things I probably should be doing now, but am to lazy to.

[MarkRohfrietsch]

I would:

* Pray.
* Do readers services (Typica, Vespers, etc).
* Travel to Churches/Monasteries whenever possible.
* Seek out other Orthodox people and contact the Dioceses, and try to set up a mission.

You know, all of those things I probably should be doing now, but am to lazy to.

What a great answer Proto!

[Josiah14]

I would:

* Pray.
* Do readers services (Typica, Vespers, etc).
* Travel to Churches/Monasteries whenever possible.
* Seek out other Orthodox people and contact the Dioceses, and try to set up a mission.

You know, all of those things I probably should be doing now, but am to lazy to.

Yah, I'm pretty sure this lines up with what I would do also.

[Andrew21091]

I would:

* Pray.
* Do readers services (Typica, Vespers, etc).
* Travel to Churches/Monasteries whenever possible.
* Seek out other Orthodox people and contact the Dioceses, and try to set up a mission.

I like this answer. I would do the cycle of services reader style at home if it ever happened to me where I couldn't go to church. I would probably save up to drive out to a church every so many weeks but I would never consider going to another church outside of Orthodoxy. The only exception I would make is if it were an OO church.