Alright, since I've heard a lot of petitions to Begome Ordodogs, I've got a couple of questions that I would like to be answered honestly.
How much is the Orthodox Church in America an ethnic club and is it full of immigrant babushkas? Sense of community is also important when it comes to religion, so I don't want to be a total outsider or feel that I'm in a Church that's more of people going by custom/habit due to their ethnic origin.
This really is not that big of a deal anymore. You will be fine. Just do not pretend to be Greek or Russian if you are not. Just be yourself. A lot of places have many converts, unless you are in a neighborhood that has been traditionally ethnic for many years. It may be best to choose a church like the OCA that has the liturgy in English, as that is a better sign that converts will most likely be present. Also Western Rite is almost all converts.
What is going on?
Some do, not all. Mine has two small benches in the back for the elderly, and no pews.
Everyone should save this image, it was a great read.
My question about the babushkas still stand. The LCMS, for example (which has a theology I completely disagree with), is completely populated by senior citizens
Prot begoming here. I started my path to orthodoxy going to a "local" OCA. The liturgy is quaint as most OCA have small congregations. Because it was so much of a hike, the priest there referred me to a Greek Orthodox church closer to me. I like the latter for the greek, antiphones, and recitations of the Nicene creed and communion prayer. But I still remember that OCA has cuter girls and that the smaller congregations allowed the liturgy to be heard better, and they always offer food afterwards. I wish I had an OCA closer to my place, Lord willing I will make enough money to ask to start a parish near me.
This. BEGOME WESTERN RITE
In all seriousness, the only way you will find out is to visit a few Orthodox parishes and see for yourself which one seems more comfortable. However, never judge a church on the make up of the congregation. We come to worship first, socialization is secondary. Anyway, just visit a few and talk to the priests.
One question I have about Orthodoxy, and this may sound like a stupid question, is about giving communion to infants. Isn't it dangerous to give them things like bread and especially wine?
Genuine question, what is the difference between Western Rite Orthodoxy and attending the Tridentine Mass?
OCA is the more liberal branch but has operated in the US the longest. The ethnic club stuff hasn't been the case for a while, especially within the OCA. I would recommend a parish within the Antiochian Archdiocese as they've been growing enormously within the last couple decades and are familiar with converts.
There aren't too many of these in the US so it's not an option for most.
If the parish is using the Liturgy of Saint Gregory, then there will be some similarities and some differences. As I am not from a Roman Catholic background, I do not know all the intricate specifics of the Tridentine Mass, so I will leave you with this link.
ww1.antiochian.org
This link will let you look over the liturgy.
orthodoxwest.com
I've heard that the "ethnic club" thing can be an issue in some parts of the world but it's mostly a meme in America. All the Orthodox churches in my area have liturgy in english and are happy to have visitors/prospective converts.
Seconded. They're very much about evangelizing; if there's going to be a big Orthodox push in America in the future I think it going to come from Antioch.
I wanted to go Antiochian when I became Orthodox, but the OCA had the closest churches. The main thing is just to go Orthodox, then you can go anywhere Orthodox.
Truth
Same here. Never seen orthodox church with benches is all.
I'm Catholic not ortodox, so I won't contribute to your question as is, but let me say this: Do you want to come to the Church (or in your case the ortho church/es) because you believe in Trinitarian God and the Truth of revelation He gave us - and gives us up to this day - and most importantly the sacrifice that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word of God become flesh, made for us to redeem our sins and that we shall celebrate it every Sunday etc. again to offer it to God again and to commune with Christ Himself - who is is also present in the Church (because it's His body) and in the Mass, because He humiliates Himself time and time again to give Himself to us so that we may grow in holiness ?
It literally does not matter how you feel and how you're "treated" (protip: even in the strictly ethnic communities, you will be accepted sooner or later once they realize you are serious about the faith and want to get to know the people and be a community etc.), it's entirely about God and His glory.
And one thing: Go to the Divine Liturgy and get to know priest and parish. Then you will know how the parish is which you choose.
I beg that God may bless you on your ways and guide you.
What I'm saying is: There are many ways that can spark your interest, but you should never let the aesthetics or raw "feeling" decide. Feelings can deceive you very easily, especially if you're not convinced. There are enough religion shoppers around that become Catholic, then ortho, then Catholic again, then prot, then muslim and eventually islam. Conviction and faith (for which you, of course need to ask in prayer) are the important factors, not feeling.
And for the love of God, don't join the church/es just because you "want to defend Western civilization" or "want to find a trad qt wife material wymyn" or some other cringe reason like that.
I've made a similar question to my teacher when i was a kid lol, her answer was that the body and blood of Christ can never harm anyone.
People take their infants to communion since forever, there was never ever any incidents with it, our media would've make sure to spam it non stop if anyhting happened. As for the wine it's called nama and it has very little alcohol.
This is the reason I haven't joined any church yet, I can see value of the religion but I don't have faith, I feel it would be disrespecting to join church or religion for any other reason. I'm about to read Summa Theologica which I heard has convinced many.
From what I've heard, some OCA parishes are good, some OCA parishes are Russian ethnocenters, some OCA parishes are Burgers LARPing as Russians. There's a lot of white nationalists and antisemites there too.
My friend is in a OCA parish and it's pretty normal, except that her priest is a fan of Brother Nathanael.
Not to derail this thread about orthodoxy but let me tell you a short thing or two. Aquinas' Summa is not meant to be read as a book. It's (and that's why it's called Summa) like an encyclopedia which you happen to open once you have a specific issue and look for an answer to that.
Furthermore - and this goes for everyone - faith is a gift from God. Real faith is not gained through "knowing enough", it is gained by asking God to give you the Grace of having faith and to be able to deeply root this faith in your heart so that it may grow through, with and in Christ. Which is why I'm saying: Having interest sparked by, for example, aesthetics is nothing bad - but you need to step into practice (i.e., prayer and going to Mass/Divine Liturgy) and catechesis in order to not only get a grasp of the faith in your head but your heart.
If someone happens to not know whether to become Catholic, I advise to pray. Especially the most holy Rosary is very powerful as it was revealed by the Holy Mother herself.
– rosarycenter.org
If someone happens to not know whether to become orthodox (or Eastern Catholic for that matter) it's probably best to pray the Rule of Theotokos as taught by the orthodox saint Serafim of Sarov.
– bombaxo.com
That is, these prayer rules are very thorough and dedicated but they are "worth" (if one can even use this very materialistic word) every single bit of effort you put into them. Of course, if you're completely new, you start with a Sign of the Cross (In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.) in the morning and dedicate/consecrate your day to God, you might want to say a prayer of thanksgiving before and after each meal, say the Prayer of the Heart/Jesus Prayer (Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. [Amen.]) for a short time in conjunction with meditation on the mysteries of Christ (for beginners: 5 consecutive minutes a day is already enough, see youtube.com
In any way, prayer, going to Mass or Liturgy is key - and on that occasion, people also should start to talk to priests (obviously preferably to the ones they go to parish to) and have talks, RCIA/catechumen classes and so on and so forth.
I beg God that he may bless you on your ways.
Addition: That is to say, I don't want you to be discouraged to read anything, I'm just warning you that Summa - read as book from cover to cover - is incredibly dull and boring and you run into danger of not getting anything from it.
If you go to the OCA or the Antiochan church there in the USA, you won't have any problems. They are full of converts, see them all the time. Even have a bunch of convert priests. Harder here in Australia, but there are still options.
Depending on which church you go to, it might be common, sure, for most of the congregation to be of one ethnicity. One thing I realised, though, when I was going around trying to find the right church when I was younger is that I didn't feel any more out of place in a Serbian Orthodox church full of Serbs than I did in an Anglican church where every parishioner was over 70 years old with almost no exceptions.