If no Orthodox parish - Catholic or Lutheran?

[Markie Boy]

I am in an area that just does not have an Orthodox parish close enough to attend. I have not officially entered the Orthodox church - but I have officially left the Baptist type church. I don't believe in OSAS or the Rapture so I fall into the more traditional thought line.

If you did not have an Orthodox church to attend - would you go to a Catholic or Lutheran parish?

 

[Yeshua HaDerekh]

I am in an area that just does not have an Orthodox parish close enough to attend. I have not officially entered the Orthodox church - but I have officially left the Baptist type church. I don't believe in OSAS or the Rapture so I fall into the more traditional thought line.

If you did not have an Orthodox church to attend - would you go to a Catholic or Lutheran parish?

What area? At what maximum distance would you drive? I would stick with attending an Orthodox church or attend somewhere on-line until you can find one near enough to you, or maybe start a mission.

 

[Justin-H.S.]

I am in an area that just does not have an Orthodox parish close enough to attend. I have not officially entered the Orthodox church - but I have officially left the Baptist type church. I don't believe in OSAS or the Rapture so I fall into the more traditional thought line.

If you did not have an Orthodox church to attend - would you go to a Catholic or Lutheran parish?

Neither. You can do a readers service at home until you are able to go to an Orthodox parish.

 

[ArmyMatt]

I am in an area that just does not have an Orthodox parish close enough to attend. I have not officially entered the Orthodox church - but I have officially left the Baptist type church. I don't believe in OSAS or the Rapture so I fall into the more traditional thought line.

If you did not have an Orthodox church to attend - would you go to a Catholic or Lutheran parish?

neither. contact the closest priest and talk to him about what to do.

 

[The Liturgist]

neither. contact the closest priest and talk to him about what to do.

Indeed, @Markie Boy I would be happy to help you find a parish near you that could assist. There is also the interesting option of seeking to develop a local Orthodox community that could become a parish. The first step is to get people doing Reader Services, which anyone can celebrate. Orthodox missions are popping up all over the place, so that even in relatively historically non-Orthodox locations such as St George, Utah one can find one.

 

[Arctangent]

I am in an area that just does not have an Orthodox parish close enough to attend. I have not officially entered the Orthodox church - but I have officially left the Baptist type church. I don't believe in OSAS or the Rapture so I fall into the more traditional thought line.

If you did not have an Orthodox church to attend - would you go to a Catholic or Lutheran parish?

My advice is to contact the closest priest and to work to find a way.

 

[cradleGO]

Growing up, years ago, I was told to attend an Anglican/Episcopal service. Now, with all the changes they have made, as others have said here, speak to an Orthodox priest on what to do.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Growing up, years ago, I was told to attend an Anglican/Episcopal service. Now, with all the changes they have made, as others have said here, speak to an Orthodox priest on what to do.

I was raised in the Episcopal church, and even if you asked before the changes I would say talk to a priest.

 

[The Liturgist]

I was raised in the Episcopal church, and even if you asked before the changes I would say talk to a priest.

Indeed, when St. Rafael of Brooklyn made a recommendation regarding them in 1915, the Episcopal Church was quite different, and it is clear his recommendation was extremely specific to the time and circumstances, and also there was at the time some hope by the Anglo Catholic faction of the Episcopal Church that their church could in its entirety enter into communion with the Russian Orthodox Church, but that did not occur, although interestingly as recently as 1947 ROCOR received some Episcopalian priests. And this dialogue also did lead to the organization of the Antiochian Western Rite Vicarate and the ROCOR WRV.

Now, I feel that if we see an area on the map that has Episcopal Churches but no Orthodox parish, and I have identified an area with three Episcopal parishes that is two to three hours round trip from the nearest Orthodox churches, which @FrThadd might be interested in, such areas are prime candidates for Orthodox churches, since the Episcopal church has been consistently one of the best sources for Orthodox converts.

Indeed when my friend Fr. Steve, who was the last traditional Episcopalian priest in my area, retired a decade ago, I joined the OCA directly (they were had the only Orthodox parish anywhere near where I lived at the time).

 

[gzt]

Indeed, when St. Rafael of Brooklyn made a recommendation regarding them in 1915, the Episcopal Church was quite different, and it is clear his recommendation was extremely specific to the time and circumstances, and also there was at the time some hope by the Anglo Catholic faction of the Episcopal Church that their church could in its entirety enter into communion with the Russian Orthodox Church, but that did not occur, although interestingly as recently as 1947 ROCOR received some Episcopalian priests. And this dialogue also did lead to the organization of the Antiochian Western Rite Vicarate and the ROCOR WRV.

Now, I feel that if we see an area on the map that has Episcopal Churches but no Orthodox parish, and I have identified an area with three Episcopal parishes that is two to three hours round trip from the nearest Orthodox churches, which @FrThadd might be interested in, such areas are prime candidates for Orthodox churches, since the Episcopal church has been consistently one of the best sources for Orthodox converts.

Indeed when my friend Fr. Steve, who was the last traditional Episcopalian priest in my area, retired a decade ago, I joined the OCA directly (they were had the only Orthodox parish anywhere near where I lived at the time).

A couple notes -- St Raphael made that recommendation in 1910 and rescinded it in 1911 (and rather vehemently at that). He died in 1915. His recommendation was, essentially, similar to the arrangement Catholics and Orthodox had where he was from -- hardly a step toward union of any kind. I think people (especially the Episcopalians) tend to present the Orthodox-Episcoplian dialog and relations in a far more rosy light than they were really in.

 

[The Liturgist]

A couple notes -- St Raphael made that recommendation in 1910 and rescinded it in 1911 (and rather vehemently at that). He died in 1915. His recommendation was, essentially, similar to the arrangement Catholics and Orthodox had where he was from -- hardly a step toward union of any kind. I think people (especially the Episcopalians) tend to present the Orthodox-Episcoplian dialog and relations in a far more rosy light than they were really in.

Yes, you got the dates correct, and I did not. it was the Low Church segment in Episcopalians who alienated St. Raphael. If it hadn’t been for them, and for the liberal element which seized control, I suspect we could have worked out a deal with the Episcopalians, but right now they represent the antithesis of Orthodoxy. The Episcopal Church had a real chance at unity, but blew it, in favor of an embrace of liberal theology which totally disrespects church tradition. That said, the remaining traditional Episcopalians I see as prospective converts. We have secured so many converts from the Episcopal church, I suspect that by now, more people have converted to Orthodoxy from Anglicanism worldwide than attend the services of the Episcopal church on most Sundays throughout the year. Even before the recent influx of converts from many different denominations, the Episcopal church was known for being a gushing fountain of converts. Likewise in the UK with the decline of the C of E - indeed so many joined the Antiochian church that they are known as “Angliochians.”

That being said if we could wrest control of the Episcopal Church from the people who run it, I would want to do it both for the real estate - they have so many beautiful churches that are effectively being wasted - and also to stop their heresy.

But it was a brutal fight just for the conservative Anglican Diocese of Fort Worth to leave the Episcopal Church with its property, which they were finally able to do following a successful appeal to the supreme court, but if I recall, the fight in South Carolina is still ongoing, and the Episcopal Church spent over $42 million on legal fees to try to prevent that from happening, which is such a horrible waste of money, it sickens me. That money could have gone to help the poor and spread the Gospel, but the former Presiding Bishop Jefferts-Schiori, who is among the worst and most vile of heretics to have led any church in the Anglican communion, decided to spend it on legal fees, which is absolutely sickening.

Note that my disgust is specific to the Episcopal Church and not to Continuing Anglicans of a high church or Anglo-Catholic persuasion, who I greatly like.

 

[gzt]

The Low Church segment is a very large segment of the ECUSA and was even more dominant then. This is a very rosy view of the situation.

Average Sunday Attendance for the ECUSA is about the same as all Orthodox in the USA combined (well, nearly double, actually, but that's the same order of magnitude). Hard to say exactly though because the last number I have are from 2022 for the ECUSA and they had a big jump between 2021 and 2022 after a big drop from 2020 and it'd be imprudent to make a guess about what that trend is all about and how it projects to today. We also don't have the most recent numbers for Orthodoxy, but they're not going to jump that much.

 

[E.C.]

Neither. You can do a readers service at home until you are able to go to an Orthodox parish.

neither. contact the closest priest and talk to him about what to do.

This is the way.


I highly recommend contacting the nearest priest because often times there will be a parishioner who can lend a ride.
That said, sometimes we have to deal with a long commute. My personal record is a two-hour drive, but I've heard of some who were four hours away and attended like, twice a month.