So guys, I'm moving to another state next week, and there is no Coptic Church near where I will be (I think the one or two in the state are over an hour away). There is however a Greek one, and a Russian one nearby.
Is it wrong in any way to attend EO Churches due to distance?
Comments
And if a couple church is only an hour away, truth be told...that's amazing.
WARNING: no arguing about unity between the churches or comparative theology. keep your answer short, simple and sweet.
Pray your agpeya daily, listen to tasbehas online and do what you need to do to uphold your traditions so as to not forget them.
great name, i love the story of tobit :-)
definately praying from the agpeya is good, and listening to tasbeha when ironing clothes or doing other chores is great.
you can get english tasbeha (night praises) on this website - tell us if you have trouble finding this.
i don't think rebecca is chrismated yet (correct me if i am wrong), so if u are not taking Holy Communion anyway, don't worry about it.
a few eastern orthodox (EO) churches are just social clubs with a little religion thrown in, so you may be disappointed if you are used to the coptic church.
but, hopefully you will find spiritual people who will guide you on your spiritual journey and who you can love and bless, like u bless us :-)
some EO have crazy ideas about copts and think we are heretics, so if u find this, don't take it personally. what worked with me was showing that we had the same fasts and also venerate icons etc. and love God a lot.
do the sign of the cross the other way around like them (right shoulder first) so that they feel you love them. our tradition does not tell us how to make the sign of the cross, just that we should make it often. it is just something that happened in history that we ended up doing it differently.
it seems from my reading that the very early Christians made the sign on their heads anyway, not over the whole body.
pray and ask God's guidance, and then if you have the opportunity to visit the EO church, go there and then later discuss with a mature coptic friend or priest what it was like so they can advise you about if it is good to go back there.
personally, i had mixed experiences visiting EO churches. those that had heard of the egyptian Christians' valiant and loving response in the face of persecution were generally most welcoming.
may God give u peace; He is the one in control here.
:)
Maybe I've been spoiled then. The Church here is like 15min away from me. I'm double torn because I haven't been baptized yet, and I am uneasy about going elsewhere just for that reason. Also for that reason I don't take communion and such so no worries there. I think there are no other Oriental Orthodox Churches around, I have looked high and low online for one and found zero in this part of NC :(
Mabsoota, you're right. You know me too well :D
in my defense, i don't watch tv, so i do have time to meet real life people too!
;)
i have actually met 4 people now in real life that i first met on Christian forums.
they were just as nice in real life!
warning: when meeting someone 'from the computer', meet in a neutral place like church, and don't give the person any details such as address or phone number until you know him/her quite well.
i would love to meet u too in real life one day, maybe in egypt!
(i can dream!)
:)
err, i go on these 2 forums a lot! :-[
in my defense, i don't watch tv, so i do have time to meet real life people too!
;)
i have actually met 4 people now in real life that i first met on Christian forums.
they were just as nice in real life!
warning: when meeting someone 'from the computer', meet in a neutral place like church, and don't give the person any details such as address or phone number until you know him/her quite well.
i would love to meet u too in real life one day, maybe in egypt!
(i can dream!)
:)
I also frequent both, but I don't reply much...I'm a lurker lol. ;D
Maybe one day somewhere, it's a small world!