"I am the door. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." - John 10:9 At every parish where I have had the pleasure of attending services, there is always a small group of people who find their way all the way up to the church building but don't actually attend services. At one parish it was a group of male gypsies who talked on cellphones or smoked cigarettes. At another it was a few Protestant husbands who, though they never attended services, opened the parish doors for people as they filed in. At yet another parish the men stood in the narthex and chatted until it was time to receive and then got in line. Latin or Greek Catholic, Eastern or Oriental Orthodox I see the same small throng of men standing next to the front door, but not standing, sitting, or kneeling amongst the people. If it were me (and I can only speak for myself here) this option would be an unsavory one. The boredom would be immediate. The anxiety of som...
“Many young Orthodox Christians lose their connection to the Church after high school,” Callie noted. “This pan-Orthodox initiative is intended to help young adults stay connected to their Faith and maintain their devotion to Christ.” - Then this needs to happen much sooner than 20 yrs old. The critical age is 17/18 when their futures are in question and they are faced with atheist teachers and later professors that will squeeze out any ounce of faith they have left. If they made it to 20 with their faith intact in this day and age, they are already martyrs and saints. Need to aim younger.
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