Help for Seekers
The very best advice I can offer for those curious about the Orthodox Church is simply to visit an Orthodox service, stay afterwards, and introduce yourself to a few people, and especially the priest. This is often first approached through a short Vespers service (Saturday evening) and then when you’re ready, followed with visit to a Divine Liturgy (Sunday morning). Some will do fine diving in to the deep end, but more of us have waded in slowly. Better yet, folks are often encouraged to make a commitment to visit a number of services to get the feel and flow of things… and not just in one place, but in more than one… to see not just a parish… but the Church and her people as a common fold. The latter was my path.
And though it may seem an imposition, I would recommend calling the priest before your visit to explain your interest so that you might be assured of someone to help you along when you arrive. And it’s not an imposition, but an offer of cordial inquiry, and acknowledgment of his hospitality… and responsibility. The Church has waited thousands of years for you… for precisely this day that you will visit… and over 200 years just on this continent alone. It would surely like to manage a good introduction – if you’ll give it the chance to do so… but it knows equally well that its ways can seem mysterious, intimidating, and out-right unfamiliar. Nothing has changed since you’ve been gone, but its gaze may have wandered to those directly under its nose in the interim. Life does go on… and those here, have their needs. So it may take a moment to see you from afar off, to remember to kill the fatted calf and put the ring on your finger. But that is its deepest longing.
The ways of the Church really are indeed as if from another world. It is after all, old, crusty, dusty (in places) and not as well looked after these days as it might have been in its youth… and you’ll find it’s foreign nature, it’s Mediterranean lineage shows. You may both want a chance to warm up to each other… so as to not intimidate, but to cautiously recognize and welcome each other. But also bear in mind that you will be visiting in the midst of a family gathering… and entering mid-stream in an on-going conversation… it may take some time for folks to break their gaze and notice your confusion. But this is strictly normal: You’ really are joining a Family Re-union as the newest member. Try to relax… someone will offer you hospitality… maybe if we’re lucky… not the jokester who thinks its funny to spill coffee on the guests… but families…. what more can I say? They’re what they are. And… duh… we’re not here because we’re perfect.
Visiting an Orthodox Service:
- Twelve Things (Frederica Matthewes-Green)
- Men and Church (Frederica Matthewes-Green)
- Simple FAQ-type Page: (Fr. David Thatcher in Merced California)
- A Paradox (Owen White – Ocholophobist)
Why We’re Here:
- A Faith Worth Believing: (Fr. Stephen Freeman)
- What is the Church (Fr. Evan Armatas)
- The God for Whom the Waters Do Not Part (Owen White – Ocholophobist)
What Lies Beneath:
Conversion:
- Approaching the Educated Person in the Post-Christian Era (Archbishop Lazar Puhalo)
- On Becoming and Remaining an Orthodox Christian (Fr. Andrew: Orthodox England)
- 12 Things I Wish I’d Known as a Convert (Christopher Orr – Orrologion)
Catechesis Materials:
- Fr. Evan Armatas – St. Spyridon, Denver CO – Introduction to Orthodoxy Classes (Audio Files)
- Fr. Gregory Stockport – St. Aidan’s, Manchester UK – Orthodox Christianity for Absolute Beginners
Materials on Specific Inquiries:
Suggest saving these for speaking with a priest if you can. I don’t get inquiries… and surely there’s a reason. 
jamesthethickheaded