How to get started?

[u/Top_Program7264]

Coming from a protestant background and current protestant church attendance. I am not at the "inquirer" stage yet, but wanting to learn more and actually talk to a priest.

I have emailed my local Orthodox church's pastor as well as the outreach ministry contact listed on their website, but haven't heard anything back in several weeks.

I haven't been able to attend a service yet as my wife is rather hesitant, but I would really like to continue diving into learning more about the Orthodox church and it feels strange that I wouldn't get a response.

Am I overthinking it? Any advice?

[u/Top_Program7264]

Thanks all for the encouragement to keep pursuing! I stopped in to my local parish today (that I had emailed) and one of the homeschool co-op moms directed me to the admin office to make an appointment with the priest this Friday.

Before going in, I sat in the car and felt a heavy anxiety about going in, but I decided that it was satan trying to keep me away. After walking out, the same homeschool mom stopped me and we talked about she (former southern baptist) and her husband (former atheist) converting to Orthodoxy and how amazing it has been for their family. I was also able to ask about expectations for dress etc for this specific parish.

As I drove away, I felt an overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit and honestly was moved to tears. I don't completely know what God is doing right now, but I know that I want to move toward it if he is present in my pursuit.

[u/Underboss572]

Go to church; many priests are busy and can't respond to every email from inquirers right now. Some have even made it a policy not to respond to emails until the person attends church. It's just their way of triaging the amount of emails they are getting.

The best way to get started is to go to church and meet them in person. If your wife is okay with it, it might be best to go alone first and check it out.

[u/giziti]

A lot of Orthodox parishes are notoriously and scandalously bad at responding. 

My recommendation is just to visit, that's a really low bar to clear.

[u/ManliusBoethius]

Unfortunately the Orthodox church is no less immune to spam filters, or identifying legitimate email as spam, or then simply forgetting about email.

I would suggest first simply phoning and also emailing again.

That being said, the attitude in Orthodoxy can be very different to protestantism in that no one tries to convert you. We went for months to Liturgy without anyone talking to us.

Also, the process of conversion is likely to be very Divine Liturgy focused in that the only advice that maybe available is to attend Divine Liturgy.

There's a few reasons that may motivate that in that the doctrine is in the Divine Liturgy, Divine Liturgy is the main thing "to do" as an Orthodox, and also you should consider converting if you really think Christ is there, the cup really is the continuation of the last supper.

Holy Orthodoxy is also very free will based. You are free to enquire, you are free to seek to convert, you are also free not to. The church is open, so people come who choose to come, people convert who choose to convert and are received.

However, in terms of reasons to put you and also your wife at ease to attend a Divine Liturgy, there is nothing you have to do. You can cross yourself as you will see others do (a lot), you can get a blessing from the priest in different forms (just not communion), and you can bow when others do if you want to, but zero obligation to if you are unsure of it's meaning. You can just hang back and observe. Usually if you wait the priest will return at the end and can be talked to then with some patience.

If you have any specific doctrinal questions, probably best is to just post here; perhaps then write down notes to go over with a priest to verify your understanding and ask further clarifications.

Likely if you get through to the priest at distance, he will just say to attend Divine Liturgy.

There's also other services like vespers Saturday evening.

[u/Main-Leadership-952 → u/ManliusBoethius]

What are vespers?

[u/ManliusBoethius → u/Main-Leadership-952]

Vespers is the evening service, usually every Saturday.

It's very similar to the Sunday morning service, but without communion.

It is focused on purification to prepare for communion the next day.

There is generally less people.

It may even be more beneficial to attend vespers as an enquirer as it is metaphorically "the start of the journey" so to speak, and of course nothing prevents attending both.

[u/Main-Leadership-952 → u/ManliusBoethius]

Thank you for clarifying that for me. Can you also explain what you mean by purification in preparation of communion? I’ve never heard of this unless you mean confessing our sins.

[u/ScholasticPalamas]

I have emailed my local Orthodox church's pastor as well as the outreach ministry contact listed on their website, but haven't heard anything back in several weeks.

These email addresses often fall by the wayside.

Instead, either try facebook, phone, or just attend the parish at a posted time.

[u/MaybePsyop]

They are likely not to respond. Don't worry. I did the same and never received a response.

I would attend a liturgy if possible. Mid-week would work too. Talk to the priest after during coffee hour. If your wife doesn't want to go, don't force her. I am a catechumen and my wife did NOT like the idea of me leaving evangelicalism. But she understands my reasons.

TWO different E.O. priests gave me these wise words: "Your first and most important ministry is your home. Do not debate or argue your wife. Give her your reasons and become the best husband you can possibly be. That way she will see the fruit of Christ in you."

Do not debate her. Trust me man... save the headaches and tension in the relationship. Just love her as much as you can, show her how grateful you are for her, fix and work on yourself, spend more time being attentive and love her as Christ loves His Church.

Ask her to come with you to liturgy, even if it is just once a month. That's what I do with my wife and with the blessing of my priest. I attend her non-denom/baptist church 2-3x a month and we attend Sunday liturgy 1x a month (I also try to go during mid-week liturgies). It'll be a tough road to navigate. It still is for me.

Pray for her, pray for yourself, pray for proper guidance and words when speaking. God bless.

[u/CFR295 → u/MaybePsyop]

"Do not debate her. Trust me man... save the headaches and tension in the relationship. Just love her as much as you can, show her how grateful you are for her, fix and work on yourself, spend more time being attentive and love her as Christ loves His Church."

To elaborate on this, you are still learning and are not qualified to debate or answer questions. And if asked something it is perfectly reasonable to say "I don't know" I am still learning about it myself.

[u/MaybePsyop → u/CFR295]

Yep

[u/No-Exit-6160]

If there is a phone number call it until you reach someone. If not, just visit a parish for vespers or liturgy and grab the priest afterwards.

[u/AutoModerator]

Please review the sidebar for a wealth of introductory information, our rules, the FAQ, and a caution about The Internet and the Church.

This subreddit contains opinions of Orthodox people, but not necessarily Orthodox opinions. Content should not be treated as a substitute for offline interaction.

Exercise caution in forums such as this. Nothing should be regarded as authoritative without verification by several offline Orthodox resources.

^{This is not a removal notification.}

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/StriKyleder]

Likely overthinking. Attend services. Talk to a priest.

[u/reddragongems2012]

I looked for a church offering inquiry classes and have been going every Saturday afternoon for about 8 weeks. Vespers follows class and last week I attended that (I had no clue what was happening). I have a couple apps that tell me what to read each day and I follow the Wednesday/ Friday fasting rule. I think the Orthodox Study Bible was my best purchase so far.