Eastern, Greek, Russian, Syrian - who do I talk to?

ChubbyCherub · Monday at 8:26 AM

Hi all,

I am currently part of a non-denominational church, and want to speak to someone about the orthodox church, but getting very confused about the different branches? Is this what they're called?

I don't know the difference between Eastern, Russian and Greek orthodox and I'm not sure if there are more?

I have a few churches near me, so wanted to reach out to the elders(?) there for a discussion, but wanted to make sure I came to them with some basic knowledge?

Edited to add that there is apparently a Syrian Orthodox!!!

Feel a bit overwhelmed and a little embarrassed so assistance would be appreciated if you're able, many thanks, CC

ArmyMatt · Monday at 8:40 AM

Syrian are non-Chalcedonian (with Copts, Malankar, Armenian, etc) and are not in communion with us. Greek, Russian, Antiochian, OCA, etc are all Orthodox. so, I would say pick your closest one and go from there.

who is close to you?

ChubbyCherub · Monday at 9:24 AM

ArmyMatt said:
Syrian are non-Chalcedonian (with Copts, Malankar, Armenian, etc) and are not in communion with us. Greek, Russian, Antiochian, OCA, etc are all Orthodox. so, I would say pick your closest one and go from there.

who is close to you?

None of them are very close at all, at least 30 min away, but include Greek, Syrian and Romanian.

ArmyMatt · Monday at 9:34 AM

ChubbyCherub said:
None of them are very close at all, at least 30 min away, but include Greek, Syrian and Romanian.

is the Syrian Antiochian or Syriac?

ChubbyCherub · Monday at 10:04 AM

ArmyMatt said:
is the Syrian Antiochian or Syriac?

Sorry, I can't tell by the website.

There is also a Romanian.

ArmyMatt · Monday at 10:07 AM

ChubbyCherub said:
Sorry, I can't tell by the website.

There is also a Romanian.

is it under the Antiochian Archdiocese?

and awesome, Greek and Romanian are good

ChubbyCherub · Monday at 10:10 AM

ArmyMatt said:
is it under the Antiochian Archdiocese?

and awesome, Greek and Romanian are good

I appreciate you so much thanks for your help!

Their website says this: The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, the largest Orthodox diocese in this country, which is part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

ArmyMatt · Monday at 10:18 AM

ChubbyCherub said:
I appreciate you so much thanks for your help!

Their website says this: The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, the largest Orthodox diocese in this country, which is part of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

all canonical and good, I would reach out to either

ChubbyCherub · Monday at 10:21 AM

ArmyMatt said:
all canonical and good, I would reach out to either

Thank you very much.

I feel embarrassed but I don't know why! Very unlike me, but I did send an email and asked if I could meet up with the leaders and discuss stuff.

Thanks so much for your help.

One more question, if you don't mind?

Do you know why priests are referred to as Father? Is it not stated in the bible that we shouldn't refer to anyone as Father or have I got the wrong end of the stick with that scripture according to Orthodox teachings?

Matthew 23:9 - Woes to Scribes and Pharisees

ArmyMatt · Monday at 10:58 AM

ChubbyCherub said:
Do you know why priests are referred to as Father? Is it not stated in the bible that we shouldn't refer to anyone as Father or have I got the wrong end of the stick with that scripture according to Orthodox teachings?

that statement isn’t a blanket condemnation of the use of that title. St Paul tells the Corinthians that they have ten thousand teachers, but few fathers. the previous generations are always called the fathers.

ChubbyCherub · Monday at 11:53 AM

ArmyMatt said:
that statement isn’t a blanket condemnation of the use of that title. St Paul tells the Corinthians that they have ten thousand teachers, but few fathers. the previous generations are always called the fathers.

Thanks, but isn't Matthew from the words of Jesus?

ArmyMatt · Monday at 12:10 PM

ChubbyCherub said:
Thanks, but isn't Matthew from the words of Jesus?

yes, but Christ also calls Abraham, Father Abraham. so it’s more nuanced.

ChubbyCherub · Monday at 1:30 PM

ArmyMatt said:
yes, but Christ also calls Abraham, Father Abraham. so it’s more nuanced.

Thank you so much. Myself and family appreciate your assistance!

ArmyMatt · Monday at 2:41 PM

ChubbyCherub said:
Thank you so much. Myself and family appreciate your assistance!

no problem!

gzt · Monday at 3:39 PM

The impression I have is that Romanian parishes tend to serve mostly Romanian immigrants and therefore be mostly in Romanian, with the priest possibly not having much English. At a Greek Parish you are more likely to have a common language even if the service is mostly Greek. But this is just on average.

gzt · Monday at 3:47 PM

With that said I don't mean to discourage you from going there if it's the closest one. You may find the Romanian parish has the best priest you've ever met. Try both out.

ChubbyCherub · Tuesday at 12:48 PM

ArmyMatt said:
no problem!

So, I've had a response from the church and they told me there is a closer one.

He has said - it is a Deanery within the Ecumenical Patriarchate (our church is also under the Archdiocese of Thyateira).

Does this mean they are the same thing or there is a difference?

I don't really understand, thank you!

ArmyMatt · Tuesday at 1:12 PM

ChubbyCherub said:
So, I've had a response from the church and they told me there is a closer one.

He has said - it is a Deanery within the Ecumenical Patriarchate (our church is also under the Archdiocese of Thyateira).

Does this mean they are the same thing or there is a difference?

I don't really understand, thank you!

if there is a canonical closer one, go there first. how far away is it?

Lukaris · Tuesday at 2:06 PM

Here is an overview of canonical Orthodox Church hierarchy in the UK:

Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of Great Britain and Ireland - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Here is a directory of English speaking Orthodox churches in the UK:

English Language Orthodox Church Directory

A complete list of Orthodox Churches in the UK that use English in their services.

www.englishliturgy.org

I would carefully review the second directory. The outlook is sound and positive in a general sense but I don’t know if the provider may fully know canonical from non canonical parishes thoroughly.

ChubbyCherub · Tuesday at 6:09 PM

Thanks all.

Is there a reason I would have to be baptized again? I have already been baptized and was under the impression this was done.

Why would I have to be baptized to be a member of the Orthodoxy? I thought baptism was between myself and Jesus and baptism wasn't something that needed to be repeated between churches/denominations.

We hope the site problems here are now solved, however, if you still have any issues, please start a ticket in Contact Us

Eastern, Greek, Russian, Syrian - who do I talk to?

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.07 billion years

The age of the Earth is 4.54 ± 0.07 billion years

Well-Known Member

Regular Member

Orthodox Christian

Well-Known Member

Similar threads