New Research Reveals Some “Not-So-Obvious” Facts about American Orthodox Christianity

The “Orthodox Church Today” study released by the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute (a Graduate Theological Union affiliate) disproves many stereotypes and provides groundbreaking insights into the life of one of the least known American faith tradition – Orthodox Christianity.

With its historical roots in nineteenth century Russian Alaska, today Orthodox Christianity in the USA accounts for about 1,200,000 – 1,300,000 faithful worshipping in 2,200 – 2,300 local parishes (congregations) spread all across nation. There is no single “American Orthodox Church:” Orthodox Christians in America belong to nearly twenty different Orthodox Churches or “jurisdictions” – the word Orthodox use instead of Protestant “denominations.” The “Orthodox Church Today” is the first national survey-based study of the ordinary parishioners in the two largest American Orthodox Churches: the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America (GOA) and the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).

Here are some interesting facts about American Orthodox Christian community:

• Nine out of ten parishioners in both GOA and OCA are American-born.
  
• Not all Orthodox are equally “Orthodox” -- there is much diversity within the Orthodox theology.
  
• Nine in ten parishioners said that they “cannot imagine being anything but Orthodox.”
  
• Regular Church attendance, obeying the priest and observing Great Lent are seen by majority of parishioners as non-essential for being a “good Orthodox Christian.”
  
• Only three in ten parishioners would support women being altar servers or deacons, and only one in ten think that women should be eligible to the Orthodox priesthood.
  
• More than two-thirds of the respondents say that they wanted to belong to parishes that “require uniformity of belief and practice and where people hold the same views.”
  
• Orthodox Christians have various opinions on compatibility of evolutionism and creationism.
  
• More than three quarters of the respondents “would encourage their sons to become priests.”  
  

Read the entire synopsis. Downloadable copies of the complete “Orthodox Church Today” study report are available on the web-site of the Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute.

For more information on this study or to schedule media interview with the principal researcher, contact:
Alexei Krindatch, Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute, 510-649-3450 or 773-551-7226.

Patriarch Athenagoras Orthodox Institute is an affiliate member of the Graduate Theological Union.