Time to leave...

[gurneyhalleck1]

We have a Coptic parish about 3 miles from my house!!! I told my wife, "if only I bought into Coptic Oriental Orthodoxy! Look how close!" My wife just looked at me like, "seriously!?" She says, "they're all Egyptians and it's in an Egyptian language! No way!" LOL. I said, "don't worry, I'm just saying!...."

They have a cool liturgy, vespers, etc. I just don't see that communion as an option. I do think it's a trip that they're so close to me though!

Maybe you can visit on a semi-yearly schedule. Some of our people have to do that here, because we're the only Oriental Orthodox Church for hundreds of miles in any direction, so it's a real treat to see these people maybe once a year, or every two years. It probably wouldn't work out on a long term basis (I don't know what these people who visit so seldomly here do in the long term; I assume they're going somewhere when they travel where they can attend the nearest OO church there), but probably if you told the church that you were coming ahead of time, and of your circumstances, they would help you get the most out of your visit (in terms of asking the types of questions you are asking here, and making sure to get an answer). Maybe even the people at your nearest church know others closer to you who you could carpool with, if you wanted to visit on a more regular basis, or to get together with them with the blessing of the clergy for informal study/inquiry sessions to prepare you for your visits.

 

[~Anastasia~]

I wasn't aware of these places. How do they differ from here?

St. Basil's is here - it's an EO forum for others to ask questions of EO. I'm not sure how much traffic it has as they often come here.

And St. Justin's is here - it's a forum to debate EO's. That might be more suited for you? As someone said, it would be perfectly accepted there to debate, but it's actually not allowed here. So if you're worried about the atmosphere here, you're safe to state your objections there without anyone being bothered.

Congregational subforums (like this one) are supposed to be "safe houses" where members can hang out without having people disagree with their beliefs at every turn, which can happen just about anywhere else in CF. That's why, even though we try to be welcoming, outright repeated disagreement isn't supposed to happen here.

Hope that helps!

 

[CelticRebel]

St. Basil's is here - it's an EO forum for others to ask questions of EO. I'm not sure how much traffic it has as they often come here.

And St. Justin's is here - it's a forum to debate EO's. That might be more suited for you? As someone said, it would be perfectly accepted there to debate, but it's actually not allowed here. So if you're worried about the atmosphere here, you're safe to state your objections there without anyone being bothered.

Congregational subforums (like this one) are supposed to be "safe houses" where members can hang out without having people disagree with their beliefs at every turn, which can happen just about anywhere else in CF. That's why, even though we try to be welcoming, outright repeated disagreement isn't supposed to happen here.

Hope that helps!

Well, I'm sorry for violating the rules here. Thanks for the info!

 

[~Anastasia~]

Well, I'm sorry for violating the rules here. Thanks for the info!

Please don't feel as though I was chastising you. Believe me, you're not the first, and you won't be the last. There are so many sections in CF, and they all tend to have different rules, and the truth is that most people don't read them. We talked about that when setting up Traditional Theology - how to make our point without having to resort to many paragraphs in a Statement of Purpose that almost no one reads.

But it's worth it. People come here and ask questions, they are in different places, with different understandings, and different personalities. Many will argue - it's often the only way to get your objections answered. People have to know what they are.

And it's worth it to share the Truth with those who want to hear it. So ... I wasn't chastising. That's what we do here, and why. (I say "we" ... I'm only a newcomer, but I can see that's how it's been done for some time at least.) I understand some congregational forums are not so welcoming, but I don't know which ones and don't want to go there.

So technically, yes, we have rules. But we want to dialogue too. But if it seems to have affected the atmosphere, and it seemed that bothered you, I thought it might be better for you to try one of the others, where no one should be at all bothered or surprised if you raise your questions and objections as necessary. As I said, it may be necessary in order to hear our point of view.

God bless you in your search.

 

[CelticRebel]

Please don't feel as though I was chastising you. Believe me, you're not the first, and you won't be the last. There are so many sections in CF, and they all tend to have different rules, and the truth is that most people don't read them. We talked about that when setting up Traditional Theology - how to make our point without having to resort to many paragraphs in a Statement of Purpose that almost no one reads.

But it's worth it. People come here and ask questions, they are in different places, with different understandings, and different personalities. Many will argue - it's often the only way to get your objections answered. People have to know what they are.

And it's worth it to share the Truth with those who want to hear it. So ... I wasn't chastising. That's what we do here, and why. (I say "we" ... I'm only a newcomer, but I can see that's how it's been done for some time at least.) I understand some congregational forums are not so welcoming, but I don't know which ones and don't want to go there.

So technically, yes, we have rules. But we want to dialogue too. But if it seems to have affected the atmosphere, and it seemed that bothered you, I thought it might be better for you to try one of the others, where no one should be at all bothered or surprised if you raise your questions and objections as necessary. As I said, it may be necessary in order to hear our point of view.

God bless you in your search.

No, no, I didn't feel like you were chastising me -- not at all. So, no worries there. You have been very kind and helpful.