Since Tony-Allen asked what I meant, I figured this post was a natural place to start.
My catechumenate is unique in the sense that God has seen it fit to relocate me professionally twice since I began the process. As such, my job interviews and other assorted travels brought me to parishes all over the United States. Although these relocations have been difficult, I do feel like I have come to much greater appreciation of the Orthodox Church as a result of all of my travels.
One of the lessons I’ve learned over all of my travels is that the Orthodox Church is not contained in any one person, parish, or principality. While I have a definite friendship with my priest who welcomed me into the catechumenate, I have been a part of churches in 3 archdioceses.
Here are some tips to making the most out of travels within the Orthodox world:
- Call ahead, even if you are an inquirer or catechumen. Priests will definitely look for you if they are expecting you, but it can be easy to feel a little lost if you’re going to a bigger parish.
- Take time to soak in the environment of a new parish. Different churches can use different antiphons, interchange speaking and singing parts, and use language differently (for instance pan-Orthodox parishes tend to have parts of the service be “Lord have mercy” in an array of languages).
- If a parish offers a service that you normally wouldn’t experience, try to make it a point to go. It could be a Western Rite service during Lent, a Vespers service, a Matins service, a mid-week service of some stripe, etc.
- Give yourself time to adjust to different priest’s styles about spiritual direction. Many priests are interested in hearing your story about how you came to the Orthodox Church so be prepared with a short version when you go.
Let us commend ourselves and each other and all of our lives unto Christ our Lord.
Aaaah, I see, I see.
Actually I’m currently looking for a new job, and right now I wanna keep it in my area. One of the reasons is that I like my church, and I’ve been going to it for eight months since I was guided to Orthodoxy. Until I’m chrismated, I don’t want to go through the issue of having to familiarize myself with a new parish and make sure everyone’s comfortable with me.