Re: A Baptist with questions

Well... where to begin?

My wife and I drive an hour and a half (sometimes it's a two hour drive) to our church on Sundays. It's not easy but we are blessed as a result. Is any sacrifice to great for the Lord's Body? As for the Church being within one's community, would that mean then that one could only be Orthodox "if" one lived in a community in which there was an Orthodox church? Would it necessitate the person having to move in order to become (or remain) Orthodox? What about the community he is leaving behind? Will they be without any witness to the truth?

I'm simply saying that I don't agree that one must by necessity be active in a church in his/her own community. Yes... that is ideal and preferrable but No... it is not absolutely necessary. We've proved the truth of this over many years of being in a community in which we are essentially the only Orthodox believers.

The Roman Catholic church is NOT an alternative but one might receive a blessing from one's spiritual father to attend (occasionally) such provided he refrains from Holy Communion. We must bear in mind that a number of heretical beliefs are held by Roman Catholics and as such we need to be wary of those teachings.

It is common practice to receive a Saint's name when entering the Church. This is part of the tradition of the Church and not without precedence (think of Sarai becoming Sarah... of Abram becoming Abraham... of Saul becoming Paul... and so forth). Certainly this should not pose a hindrance I would think.

Perhaps before you do any more reading you should attend a few liturgies and make an appointment to sit down and speak with the priest.. expressing your concerns.

Best wishes
James
leushino@yahoo.com