The Global Orthodox Church

The Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian communion(“denomination”), after the Roman Catholic Church. To see the global spread of our Church, look at this map: 

The Global Social, Cultural and Political Situation of Orthodoxy in Modern History

While the Orthodox Church is small and relatively little-known in the US, it is well known and very prominent among the Christians of the world. In addition, the Orthodox Church is unsettling to stereotypes we have in our society. It is the ancient Church of the places where the apostles preached (Jerusalem, Antioch, Thessalonica, etc.), and where they set up the ORTHODOX CHURCH. In addition, it is historically “Eastern,” which means that it seems foreign in its “artistic” and “cultural” expression to “Western” or “modern” ways of thinking and seeing and expressing our pious feelings. It is different and does not conform to American Christian expectations of all types. The Orthodox Church in particular, has been adjacent to Islam since the beginning of Islam, with many Christians either being neighbors to Islamic states or within the “Islamicate” world. This disturbs many different stereotypes about what is Christian vs what is “eastern,” and thus not Christian. It also upsets many simplistic dichotomies between West and East or Christian and non-Christian “Orient.”

Similarly, the Orthodox Church had NO significant part in the crusades. It had a very minor part in colonialism and modern imperialism. For this reason, the Orthodox are not attached to these projects and the defense or apology for Western/ modern civilizational greatness. In fact, from the time of the Crusades onward, Orthodox often suffered from Western imperialism and even colonization. This is why, in modern times, many “independent churches” of sub-saharan Africa, for instance, looked to the Orthodox Church and sought entry into the canonical Orthodox Church. This is also why the Orthodox are very important within ecumenical discussions between wealthy European and American denominations and the Churches of the “global south.” We are a bridge, because, during the time of global empires and colonization, the Orthodox Church had to live humbly, accepting God’s providential curbing of political power as the Orthodox lived under other Empires, or struggled with many historical difficulties.

The Church in America

The earliest lasting connections to the Orthodox Church in the Americas, began in the Russian colonies in Alaska. There, fur traders sometimes intermarried with the natives peoples, especially among the Aleuts. Within a few decades of the first contacts an officially Church mission came and was accepted gladly by the native peoples, who the missionaries found to have a very positive attitude toward the Church. The Church successively also guarded the native peoples and side with them against bad colonial policies of both the Russian and later American authorities. When Alaska was sold to America, a former missionary, St. Innocent, who had taken the highest position within the Russian Church at that time, Metropolitan of Moscow, decided to make the work in Alaska abase for further work in the “lower 48,” and moved the archdiocese to San Francisco. It is notable, that the Orthodox Church was the only historical Church which came to America across Asia, and moved East from the West coast, eventual moving the head diocese to NYC and later to Washington DC. The continuing “Russian North American Mission” was the original canonical Orthodox Church of the Americas. It was only with 20th century immigration and ecclesiastical turmoil (especially the Bolshevik Revolution) that the Orthodox in this country came to be divided into different “jurisdictions,” which unnecessarily duplicate and hamper the work of our Church in this continent. With the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian North American Mission became known as the “Metropolia,” which had to become de facto self-governing, so as to avoid Soviet interference in the Church here. Eventually this jurisdiction had its self-governance recognized by the patriarch of Moscow in 1970, and very deliberately, and, once again, in a forward-thinking and mission-minded way, called itself the “Orthodox Church in America,” so as to emphasize that it was a Church for all regardless of ethnic origin. And so it has become. People from all different ethnic and religious backgrounds have become Orthodox, and see this Church as nothing foreign to their life in this place, in America. Our parish, Saints Cyril and Methodius, reflects this history.

We are within the Diocese of the Midwest, which is centered on the episcopal see of Chicago. It is the place where many of the glorified saints of the Church in America ministered, such as St. Tikhon, St. John Kochurov, and St. Mardarije.

Our Parish

Saints Cyril and Methodius was originally a Slavic parish with people from the Russian and Empire and central European peoples. The parish went through many ups and downs and eventually declined because it remained too attached to a single ethnic identity and did not adapt to the use of English until the 1980s,which was behind the trend of OCA parishes, to adapt to a more open receptivity to others. In the 80’s, the parish had reduced to very few people from the original group. The parish was reborn when it began using English and opened up, to become approachable to all people. People who did not have a parish for their own separate group have found a home in this parish. Over time, many people have chosen to “convert” to Orthodoxy in this parish, seeking historical roots for Christian faith, a theology with a beautiful sense of coherence and poetry, a fuller sense of the reason and mystery of God’s work of salvation in the Church. ALL are welcome to enter and learn the true way of Faith that is taught in following these practices and principles that we, as the Church, have inherited through our baptismal rebirth. 

The parish continues to grow, as more people access information beyond their own experience, through the medium of the internet. This can be good as an introduction, but it is best to follow that with a visit. Unfamiliar practices may seem intimidating. Don’t let that hold you back. Contact the priest, ask any initial questions, and then visit.

When you enter, don’t worry about doing what everyone else does, just be polite and attentive, quietly listening for the Word of God to resonate in us. Form questions in your mind and ask. Asking questions is a sign of desire for knowledge and the approach to good things.