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that are much more idealistic than the practice and the canons of Orthodoxy.

It is blasphemy, imo, to think that God would be as limiting and exclusive as you seem to believe. You would come here and use a church you claim to rarely attend, and state that these people, by virtue of being outside the Orthodox church, are damned to eternal hell?

Since when have you been given this authority and knowledge? Because the archpriest at the parish I attend says otherwise and so does our proto-deacon. Both of whom I think are more immersed in the practise and spirit of the Orthodox church than you or I. They say that God is perfect love and it is not our place to judge or condemn anyone, as Orthodox Christians.

So now I suppose you can fall back on your old standby, that the OCA teaches the protestant version of Orthodoxy, which is somehow supposed to reduce her vision and spiritual wealth.

Here is a post from the official website of the Orthodox Church in America.
"It is the common teaching of the Orthodox Christian tradition that the Church has no monopoly on grace and truth and love. The Church teaches on the contrary that God is the Sovereign Lord who saves those whom He wills.

The Church believes as well that salvation depends upon the actual life of the person, and God alone is capable of judging since He alone knows the secrets of each mind and heart. Only God is capable of judging how well a man lives according to the measure of grace, faith, understanding, and strength given to him.

The Orthodox would insist, nevertheless, that an honest seeker of truth and love will see these things perfectly realized and expressed in Jesus Christ and will recognize God, the end of their seeking, in Him.

We all know, however, that our image of Christ is deformed both by the lives and the doctrines of those who claim him, and thus His truth and love and His very person remain obscure and hidden to those who might follow Him if they could see Him clearly.

But once again, let it be clear that every man is judged by God alone according to the actual truth and love in his life. This goes for Orthodox and non-Orthodox alike".

Aside from monkfan's posts, I must say that this series of posts has been a rather unedifying spectacle. I say this because I had been under the impression that this question of "no salvation outside the Church" has been rather completely discussed and agreed upon among hierarchs and theologians in the 1980s, even if they were not able to decide what the implications of the statement means in terms of relations with other Churches or "faith communities". It is simplistic and incorrect to say that the Orthodox Church today holds that unless one is Orthodox, one is absolutely barred from attaining perfect theosis. Similarly, it is incorrect to say that canonical boundaries are without meaning or of little meaning because we do not know the mind of God. Blessed Augustine and +Cyprian of Carthage held divergent views on this matter 1600+ years ago. And it is heresy, I am sure we all agree, to hold, as some Fathers speculated, that everyone is "saved" in the end.

An extended discussion of this issue was undertaken by a commission preparing for a Great and Holy Council back in the 70s and 80s. One of the issues was this precise question and then, perhaps more importantly, how to deal with the Churches position concerning union, or intercommunion, with other Churches. Following is a link to an article by Prof. Emmanuel Clapsis on those discussions. Please note that this is a long read, but worth it and know that the Met. Vartholomaios of Chalcedon quoted in the article is the present Ecumenical Patriarch.

http://www.goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article8541.asp