www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall looking for a church

I have been seeking for a church home for awhile, now. I have come to a decision not to remain Catholic, Roman or Eastern. I live in the Scottsdale, AZ, area. Does anyone have any suggestions? Would they be friendly to a former RC? I have already attempted contacts with some local Orthodox churches. I have told them I am a former RC seeking to convert, and I get no response. Are there any evangelical Orthodox churches in this area that would be open to me?

Walter,

I'm sorry you have not been able to find a parish home within the Catholic Church. As to seeking a home within the Orthodox Church, you'll probably need to stick with one parish in order to show the pastor you are sincere about conversion. Since you live in Scottsdale, I'm sure you have been to Assumption Greek Orthodox Church. There is an Antiochian Orthodox Church, St George, on Gold Dust, west of Tatum.

John

BTW, are you still at St Vincent de Paul?

Evangelical Orthodox?

What's that?

Walter, thank you for the explanation.

I think that the Orthodox Church /and the Catholic Church) should be more active in the non-christian countries, specially in Turkey, people need Jesus Christ so much there.

Dear Walt,

The Antiochian Orthodox Church has an "Evangelical Orthodox" group, as you know, and they are quite an excellent bunch.

Father Stephen Walinski of Omaha, Nebraska is a convert from Episcopalianism to the Antiochian Orthodox Church and his parish is Western-Rite.

He is a wonderful man who actively seeks converts to Orthodoxy!

And he is descended from Jewish parents!

Sounds like a man you should communicate with and he could be of immense help and support to you.

He can be found on the Antiochian Orthodox parish listing site.

We corresponded for years until we finally met face to face at the Antiochian Conference in Toronto some years back.

He is a man very dedicated to the Western Liturgical Sarum tradition as well as to Orthodoxy.

Alex

"I have been seeking for a church home for awhile, now. I have come to a decision not to remain Catholic, Roman or Eastern. Does anyone have any suggestions? Would they be friendly to a former RC?"

First, you will have to decide if YOU will be friendly to the faith communities you are investigating. This website is affiliated with an Eastern Catholic Church ... if you didn't already know. Would you seek advice from a rabbi on what he thinks would be the most satisfactory and pleasing mosque to affiliate with? Shouldn't you be checking out the mosque instead? Just wondering.


"I have already attempted contacts with some local Orthodox churches. I have told them I am a former RC seeking to convert, and I get no response."

You have to know why you want to become Orthodox. Do you? A former RC "seeking to convert" looks like a despondent situation. It is no wonder why the Orthodox clergy are not receptive. On a personal note, I would like to know why you have not responded to my advice you were seeking? Please read my personal message/response dated August 12, 2002 6:31 PM. It remains "unread by recipient."


"Are there any evangelical Orthodox churches in this area that would be open to me?"

The "evangelicals" have been incorporated into the mainline Antiochian Orthodox Church. Even their one-time studies program has been shut down, whereas they still offer their St. Stephen's studies program.

Joe

[ 08-22-2002: Message edited by: J Thur ]

Dear Cantor Joe,

Touche!

Alex

[QUOTE]Originally posted by J Thur:

>>>First, you will have to decide if YOU will be friendly to the faith communities you are investigating. This website is affiliated with an Eastern Catholic Church ... if you didn't already know. Would you seek advice from a rabbi on what he thinks would be the most satisfactory and pleasing mosque to affiliate with? Shouldn't you be checking out the mosque instead? Just wondering.<<<

I have no problem with anyone seeking to enter the Orthodox communion, whether Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or unchurched--provided he is doing it for the right reason, which is that his conscience informs him that the Orthodox Church is the proper Church in which he can work out his salvation with fear and trembling. In that regard, I always tell people who ask me, to make sure that they are converting "to' something, and not merely "from" something else. If they are convinced, then I give them ever possible assistance, for if we truly are ONE Church, then I should help my brother do what is best for him, at all times.

At the same time, I tell them that anyone looking for the "perfect" Church is doomed to wander the earth forever.

>>>You have to know why you want to become Orthodox. Do you? A former RC "seeking to convert" looks like a despondent situation.<<<

This is the salient point. I do not know if Walt knows his own mind yet. Perhaps a period of seeking and observing with, but not in, the Orthodox Church, will help settle that for him.

>>>It is no wonder why the Orthodox clergy are not receptive.<<<

Perhaps they are waiting to see how serious he is? One way to do that is by not encouraging too actively, and letting the spirit move as He wills upon a person. Kyr Kallistos recounts that when he first began investigating Orthodoxy in the 1950s, he was not exactly greeted with cheers. Instead, he was informed that for an Englishman to become Orthodox was a long and difficult spiritual journey. All the roadblocks and impediments were laid out for him. He persisted, because he knew that the Orthodox Church spoke directly to his soul.

>>>The "evangelicals" have been incorporated into the mainline Antiochian Orthodox Church. Even their one-time studies program has been shut down, whereas they still offer their St. Stephen's studies program.<<<

That's news. I thought they still had a couple of parishes on the outside.

"That's news. I thought they still had a couple of parishes on the outside."

Clarification. I meant to speak only on their program of studies. It ended a few years ago when the St. Stephen's program became their sole correspondence/study.

To J Thur:

I do not have a message from you dated: 08/12/02. It is obvious I did not read it, so I must have accidentally deleted it. If you still have it in your SENT MAIL folder, would you re-send it?

Thanks,
Walt

If you are logged in (that is, if your name appears on the top left of the screen with the words "Hello,....") you can then click on the words "my profile" in the upper right of any page to view the private messages people have sent you.

Dear Administrator,

Respectfully, I, as yet, don't have the private messages capability.

As some say, "What am I, the stepmother's son?"

A great weekend to you and yours, Sir!

Alex

Alex,

My apologies to you. Something is wrong with your account that I cannot fix. Maybe you are behind on your monthly kielbasi and pirohy payments and your private messaging service has lapsed?

Actually, I am hoping that the next software upgrade will fix it. If not, I will get the software writers to look at the problem. I just need to find the time to do it!

Admin

Dear Administrator:

Thanks, I was only accessing these messages from my personal e-mail accounts.

Walt

Walt,

You are most welcome. I think the next version of the software will actually have an indication at the top of the screen telling you that you have new private messages.

Admin