One of the fastest growing churches in America is a church that’s been here a long time. This is the Orthodox Church. I had a discussion once with a couple of Priests who stated that they were surprised with all the converts and said the couldn’t understand because they hadn’t done anything differently. Orthodoxy is a land of stability amidst a sea of often unwanted change.
In the picture above, I have a representative sample of activities in Orthodox Church in America that I am a member: a sunset view of our church in Santa Maria, our priest (Father Lawrence) and his wife the Matushka Cheryl at our home offering the yearly blessing, our prayer corner (think of it as a Rolodex of who you might ask to pray or intercede for you), a relic of St. John Crystosum ( one of the most influential in Christianity that many outside Orthodoxy don’t know or have forgotten), the last prayer corner of Tzarina Alexandra, a gathering to break bread and a selfie of me and a friendly Bishop at the consecration of our church after the mortgage was paid off!!
Our church has a diverse group of members: Syrian, Romanian, Spanish and of course, Russian among others. Bring out the food and it’s a good time!
For further reading:
Oca.org
YouTube.com/patristix
Patristicnectar.org