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PA is dying. The demographic reality is that people are leaving the state in droves because there frankly aren't any economic opportunities there. Half of the Orthodox churches in the state are likely going to be closed within the next 10-15 years. Maaaybe 20. That said, being in a "red"...

Pennsylvania is the state equivalent of someone who's life peaked in high school with Pittsburgh as the city equivalent. The parishes have some nice people, but yeah, there's a certain parochialism there. I think parochialism may be worst in Pennsylvania then any other state in the union and...

I mean, like I tell my Russian friends when describing Arabic fasting food; just because we're fasting doesn't mean our palette has to suffer as well ;)

The priest who christmated me, a St Tikhon's alumnus, had said something similar adding that it is more important to be a good guest and not scandalize one's host. Then to be a little more strict in some way the next day.

Your priest is absolutely right and I wish more priests would share this message. One of my coworkers noticed that I was eating a lot of seafood lately or just stuff without meat and he asked what that was about out of genuine concern (if THAT doesn't give away my normal diet, I don't know what...

The Assembly of Bishops directory has its flaws, like not being updated since 2018. However, if you have Google Earth I can send you a map I made last year during Lent of every canonical Orthodox parish in the USA, Canada, and Mexico that I could find that at least had a name, bishop, and a...

Thank you for sharing! I've never been to the Holy Land, but one day hopefully I will.

God forgives and I forgive. Forgive me.

Have you tried any Russian or Ukrainian book stores?

We had 28 people at the mission this morning! Approximately 1/3 were small children, but we had our first "never been to an Orthodox service before" visitor and it's been a nice breath of fresh air. To paraphrase the great Humphrey Bogart, "of all the churches in all the Beltway, they came to...

Correction Fr, her Hawaiian icon is not only a print, but also the copy of another copy ;) There's the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God on Mt Athos. Brother Jose had a painted copy of it where he lived in Montreal which later disappeared when he died. The Myrrh-Streaming Hawaiian Iveron Icon...

There is, however, a small community of Old Believers who came back into canonical Orthodoxy and were allowed to keep their rites. Usually they're called Old Ritualists to avoid the stigma. Erie, PA has one such canonical community. The former Patriarch of Moscow, Alexei II, sent an open...

I remember that too, but my reservations were less his convert status (like me) and more his lack of experience and inability to listen to advice which was known in the Diocese of the West. Both of which ultimately led to his downfall.

No, I didn't read your post that way, but this is the internet where all posts are public and I'm sure some naysayer out there would have.

Yeah, it sounds scandalous now, but the 1970s were a different time. The OCA was considerably more Slavic in character at the time too to the extend that we would have described it as "diet Russian" today; the switch to the New Calendar for example didn't happen until about 1982 or so. Vladika...

I think that was the case during Metropolitan Herman or Jonah's election. The election of Metropolitan Theodosius though, Vladika Dmitri had the clear majority vote, but the Synod wasn't ready for a convert metropolitan (yet) mostly out of fear that other jurisdictions wouldn't view the OCA as...

Last week, His Beatitude Metropolitan Tikhon of the OCA concluded his pastoral visit to the OCA's Diocese of Mexico. Traditionally, the metropolitan visits every January, however this didn't happen the last few years because of covid related travel restrictions. His Beatitude was accompanied...

I never met him when he was alive, but he's one of few that I've heard nothing but positive things about. I sometimes wonder if he had been made Metropolitan of the OCA if we would have maybe one or two fewer jurisdictions in this country.

Watch, his number is going to be twisted into have some false far-right racial connotation like the Gadsden Flag

This deserves an update.... Thank you all for your prayers, they have helped. Yes, I'm still Orthodox, albeit a bit drained. I've had a few conversations about this with my priest and with a few other priests in the DC area whom I greatly trust and thankfully, like when one is served bad...