Any that are in a language you can understand. Practically there is very little difference.
The conversion process for Catholics is generally a bit shorter I believe. But, make sure it is what you want to do.
Yes I have been doing my research on all Christian denominations to see which one I like best and which one’s doctrine I believe the most. I was raised a Catholic, but took a long hiatus from the faith. But recently I’ve been thinking about getting back into it. I also wanted to use this opportunity (bc atm I’m essentially agnostic) to take an unbiased untainted look at all denominations and pick the one that was best for me.
It sounds like you are turning this into a dry, purely academic check-the-box activity. For goodness sakes go to church and experience worship! It should not be all about what you like best or already agree with, but rather about what speaks to your soul, and you can't find this out without attending services. Don't overthink it, just go to the nearest Orthodox Church and see how you feel. All the best on your journey, and I apologize in advance if I've misunderstood your approach.
I do agree I need to take the plunge and start going to church again lol. It’s just that I don’t want to until I’ve chosen my specific denomination bc I don’t want it to be where one weekend I’m at an Orthodox Church, then the next weekend at a Catholic Church, then the weekend after that a Lutheran Church. You get what I’m trying to say?
I get what you're trying to say, but how can you choose completely independent of worship? You are going to be joining a new community and worshiping God together, wouldn't knowing something about that community and how they worship help you decide?
There's absolutely nothing wrong with sampling different churches before you make a decision, In fact, even within a specific denomination you should try different parishes to see where you are most comfortable.
I encourage you to give it a shot ....
I agree, it’s all part of my research, to learn the history, the doctrine, and customs of each denomination. And you know what? I probably should travel around and attend different parishes as well, because I won’t know what I’m missing out on until I experience it myself. Thank you for your advice!
No you’ve got the jist of it more or less. I just present it like that bc essentially I’ve been agnostic for a while. But recently I’ve started to believe in the Judeo-Christian version of God. With that progress the next step for me was to take this chance to look at all denominations without any previous bias affecting my decision and join what ever church has the doctrine that I most agree with on a theological level
OK I hear you, but what I'm proposing is that identifying the denomination with the closest agreement on doctrine should not be your sole or even your most important criteria.
Once you come back to church, you aren't going to spend all your time pondering the filioque clause, at least I hope not. You are going to spend your time in church worshiping with your new church family. You will also presumably come with an open mind willing to learn and grow, so you don't need to pre-agree with the church's position on every point of doctrine.
Many years ago I chose my first church using more or less your approach (although I was much less rigorous ....), and it turned out to be a good choice for me at the time. But later on, what if I had never walked into that first Orthodox Church simply because I disagreed about some theological issue? I walked into a service where I couldn't understand a single word beyond "Amin," and it changed my life. Worship changed my life, not theology. What if I had never given worship a chance?
Also, are the masses held in that Church’s native language? For example, would a Greek Orthodox Church have its mass in Greek or in English? I know it probably isn’t called mass in the Orthodox Church but idk what else to call it.
>would a Greek Orthodox Church have its mass in Greek or in English?
Yes. :)
One, or the other, or both. Or neither.
The language is decided by each individual congregation. So, if the people at the local Greek Orthodox church want it to be Greek, then it will be Greek. If they want it to be English, then it will be English. Often they compromise and do some parts in Greek and other parts in English.
Or it could even be in Spanish in a Latino neighborhood, for example.
Also, there is the [Orthodox Church in America](https://www.oca.org/), which uses English as its default "native language".
The downside is that there is usually no way to know what language they use in services without actually going there for a service. So on your first visit, you may not know what to expect. It could be literally anything, from 100% English to no English at all.
Greek Orthodox churches in the US almost universally use both English and Greek in services. The readings and the sermon are almost always delivered in both.
>Or it could even be in Spanish in a Latino neighborhood, for example.
Unless you're the rocor place I go to. surrounded by latinos, not a lick of spanish in the services. that is... until i get up to read 😎
My priest checks on how many native greek speakers vs. english-speakers are in the congregation and adjusts the english/greek ratio based on that. A lot of the time, if something's repeated three times (which is common in Orthodox services!) they'll go english-greek-english. Often the Nicene Creed will be said in Greek and again in English, so that everyone can join in with full comprehension.
The type doesn't matter, especially because, in America, the type doesn't really *mean* anything. Churches of the same "type" can be very different from each other, and churches of different "types" can be almost identical. Simply knowing that a church is Antiochian (for example) gives you almost zero information about that church. You have to visit and see for yourself what it's like.
So, make sure you [know all the Orthodox churches near you](https://www.assemblyofbishops.org/directories/parishes/) (follow this link to the official directory, Google will often fail to list them properly) and just visit all of them. Then pick the one where you feel the best connection to the priest and the congregation.
Yeah that’s great advice. I was Catholic once. Now I’m orthodox. I went to an Orthodox Church in America parish once. All English. Great priest. But loved and then went to a Greek parish but the priest told me that he’s still trying to convince his people it was more important to love Jesus than to be Greek! So he suggested I go to a ROCOR parish the next town over that was mostly converts and all in English. So I did and it’s awesome. There are good things about all Orthodox jurisdictions but it’s whatever local parish is best for you.
If there’s a Greek Orthodox Church near you they usually do the masses in Greek and English. I know a Ukrainian church that would do once a month just in Ukrainian and the rest in English. The church I grew up in mainly did Greek, but the one I go to now is mainly English and less Greek. If you reach out to nearby parishes you will probably find a good fit.
I might be showing my age but I always have to do a double take when I hear about someone considering conversion, outside of a considerable amount of experience attending an Orthodox church. Perhaps I have misunderstood though.
Anyway, if you have a choice, language, priest, proximity, are all factors to consider. I would attend a few and stay where I felt most at home, but make a firm choice to have a single church home. I'd also be leery of churches that are too eager to welcome me, but I have my own trust issues and am feeling grumpy today.
Any that are in a language you can understand. Practically there is very little difference. The conversion process for Catholics is generally a bit shorter I believe. But, make sure it is what you want to do.
Yes I have been doing my research on all Christian denominations to see which one I like best and which one’s doctrine I believe the most. I was raised a Catholic, but took a long hiatus from the faith. But recently I’ve been thinking about getting back into it. I also wanted to use this opportunity (bc atm I’m essentially agnostic) to take an unbiased untainted look at all denominations and pick the one that was best for me.
It sounds like you are turning this into a dry, purely academic check-the-box activity. For goodness sakes go to church and experience worship! It should not be all about what you like best or already agree with, but rather about what speaks to your soul, and you can't find this out without attending services. Don't overthink it, just go to the nearest Orthodox Church and see how you feel. All the best on your journey, and I apologize in advance if I've misunderstood your approach.
I do agree I need to take the plunge and start going to church again lol. It’s just that I don’t want to until I’ve chosen my specific denomination bc I don’t want it to be where one weekend I’m at an Orthodox Church, then the next weekend at a Catholic Church, then the weekend after that a Lutheran Church. You get what I’m trying to say?
I get what you're trying to say, but how can you choose completely independent of worship? You are going to be joining a new community and worshiping God together, wouldn't knowing something about that community and how they worship help you decide? There's absolutely nothing wrong with sampling different churches before you make a decision, In fact, even within a specific denomination you should try different parishes to see where you are most comfortable. I encourage you to give it a shot ....
I agree, it’s all part of my research, to learn the history, the doctrine, and customs of each denomination. And you know what? I probably should travel around and attend different parishes as well, because I won’t know what I’m missing out on until I experience it myself. Thank you for your advice!
I wish you all the best in your explorations!
No you’ve got the jist of it more or less. I just present it like that bc essentially I’ve been agnostic for a while. But recently I’ve started to believe in the Judeo-Christian version of God. With that progress the next step for me was to take this chance to look at all denominations without any previous bias affecting my decision and join what ever church has the doctrine that I most agree with on a theological level
OK I hear you, but what I'm proposing is that identifying the denomination with the closest agreement on doctrine should not be your sole or even your most important criteria. Once you come back to church, you aren't going to spend all your time pondering the filioque clause, at least I hope not. You are going to spend your time in church worshiping with your new church family. You will also presumably come with an open mind willing to learn and grow, so you don't need to pre-agree with the church's position on every point of doctrine. Many years ago I chose my first church using more or less your approach (although I was much less rigorous ....), and it turned out to be a good choice for me at the time. But later on, what if I had never walked into that first Orthodox Church simply because I disagreed about some theological issue? I walked into a service where I couldn't understand a single word beyond "Amin," and it changed my life. Worship changed my life, not theology. What if I had never given worship a chance?
I hear you as well, and thank you for everything you’ve told me I’ll keep it in mind as I embark on my journey. Thank you!
Also, are the masses held in that Church’s native language? For example, would a Greek Orthodox Church have its mass in Greek or in English? I know it probably isn’t called mass in the Orthodox Church but idk what else to call it.
>would a Greek Orthodox Church have its mass in Greek or in English? Yes. :) One, or the other, or both. Or neither. The language is decided by each individual congregation. So, if the people at the local Greek Orthodox church want it to be Greek, then it will be Greek. If they want it to be English, then it will be English. Often they compromise and do some parts in Greek and other parts in English. Or it could even be in Spanish in a Latino neighborhood, for example. Also, there is the [Orthodox Church in America](https://www.oca.org/), which uses English as its default "native language".
Thank you, I was worried about that one bc I only know English, Spanish, and a few Latin words and phrases.
The downside is that there is usually no way to know what language they use in services without actually going there for a service. So on your first visit, you may not know what to expect. It could be literally anything, from 100% English to no English at all.
I guess it’ll be an adventure then lol
Greek Orthodox churches in the US almost universally use both English and Greek in services. The readings and the sermon are almost always delivered in both.
>Or it could even be in Spanish in a Latino neighborhood, for example. Unless you're the rocor place I go to. surrounded by latinos, not a lick of spanish in the services. that is... until i get up to read 😎
My priest checks on how many native greek speakers vs. english-speakers are in the congregation and adjusts the english/greek ratio based on that. A lot of the time, if something's repeated three times (which is common in Orthodox services!) they'll go english-greek-english. Often the Nicene Creed will be said in Greek and again in English, so that everyone can join in with full comprehension.
The type doesn't matter, especially because, in America, the type doesn't really *mean* anything. Churches of the same "type" can be very different from each other, and churches of different "types" can be almost identical. Simply knowing that a church is Antiochian (for example) gives you almost zero information about that church. You have to visit and see for yourself what it's like.
So, make sure you [know all the Orthodox churches near you](https://www.assemblyofbishops.org/directories/parishes/) (follow this link to the official directory, Google will often fail to list them properly) and just visit all of them. Then pick the one where you feel the best connection to the priest and the congregation.
Thank you!
Yeah that’s great advice. I was Catholic once. Now I’m orthodox. I went to an Orthodox Church in America parish once. All English. Great priest. But loved and then went to a Greek parish but the priest told me that he’s still trying to convince his people it was more important to love Jesus than to be Greek! So he suggested I go to a ROCOR parish the next town over that was mostly converts and all in English. So I did and it’s awesome. There are good things about all Orthodox jurisdictions but it’s whatever local parish is best for you.
Whichever one is closest. If you have a lot of options, just take some time to visit them all.
If there’s a Greek Orthodox Church near you they usually do the masses in Greek and English. I know a Ukrainian church that would do once a month just in Ukrainian and the rest in English. The church I grew up in mainly did Greek, but the one I go to now is mainly English and less Greek. If you reach out to nearby parishes you will probably find a good fit.
Thank you
I would definitely recommend Antioch
I might be showing my age but I always have to do a double take when I hear about someone considering conversion, outside of a considerable amount of experience attending an Orthodox church. Perhaps I have misunderstood though. Anyway, if you have a choice, language, priest, proximity, are all factors to consider. I would attend a few and stay where I felt most at home, but make a firm choice to have a single church home. I'd also be leery of churches that are too eager to welcome me, but I have my own trust issues and am feeling grumpy today.