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"There are loony Catholic parishes and they seem to get all the press, but they are the exception rather than the rule. Our parish is profoundly orthodox (little 'o').

I'm sure if I hunted around I could find some goofy Orthodox congregations . . . but I wouldn't judge the entire church by them . . ."

It's possible there are some goofy Orthodox parishes. But I have never found one. Coming from Catholicism I would have to say that your odds of finding an orthodox (small 'o') parish will vary from diocese to diocese. I have stumbled on more than my share of radical liberalism in the Catholic Church. I have of course also found very conservative and good parishes. But in some diocese they are the minority. Thats not the case in Orthodoxy. The terms liberal and conservative are relative terms here. A "liberal" Orthodox jurisdiction is one where the priests might wear a Roman collar with a black suit and (horror!) might even be clean shaven. I think the most scandalous thing I have heard of in an Orthodox parish is that a very few Greek parishes have allowed organs in them. By contrast conservative jurisdictions or diocese will discourage wearing western clerical attire, not permit smoking by the clergy, and some parishes will not have western style pews (one of my pet peeves).

The theological nuttiness that is fairly common in the Latin Church generally does not exist in the Orthodox Church. This is not to say we have less sinning going on. A quick glance at the divorce and abortion rates for Greece and Russia will put a quick end to that theory. But we don't have people running around saying women should be ordained as priests or gay people should be allowed to marry in the Church. There are no "Orthodox Christians for Abortion Rights" groups. It's not impossible that there are some people raised in the Orthodox Church who might subscribe to those views. But those that do tend to either leave the faith or keep their opinions to themselves. If anything its more likely you would stumble onto some weird ultra-conservative old calendarist sect that claims to be the "True Orthodox Church" or some such nonsense. They have as much standing with us as sede vecantists do in the Roman Catholic Church.

It's possible there are some goofy Orthodox parishes. But I have never found one. Coming from Catholicism I would have to say that your odds of finding an orthodox (small 'o') parish will vary from diocese to diocese. I have stumbled on more than my share of radical liberalism in the Catholic Church. I have of course also found very conservative and good parishes. But in some diocese they are the minority. Thats not the case in Orthodoxy

The same arguments could have been said, reversing the Western Church with the Eastern Church and vice versus, when relating the first 1000 years of Christianity, especially during the time of Arianism, Nestorianism, and Monophysitism. The East was seen as the fickle brother who moved and flowed with the tide of culture and the emperor-in-power's flavor. We in the West have undergone massive cultural changes in the last 50 years. It is not surprising that the Western branch of Apostolic Christianity is trying to get a feel for itself. There are many churches that seem liberal, others more orthodox. We are a sign of our times and culture, just as the Eastern churches of Constantinople were in the first millenium.

I don't see this as one half being better than the other. Just as men, our churches face our own respective hurdles in coming to Christ. Just as men, during different points of our lives, we struggle, and at other times, we are at peace. We in the West are undergoing our "Dark Night of the Soul", a time of purging - just as churches in the East have faced the same actions, brought on by a loving God.

Regards