Crossing the jurisdictional line

[David Naess]

I am being brought into Orthodoxy at a GOAA church due to the life experiences of the priest and due to the fact that our similar backgrounds give us the same working vocabulary.

As far as I am concerned I will simply be Orthodox.

Will there be any difficulties in entering a monastery in some other jurisdiction based on it's location or what work is being done there?

[Herman Blaydoe]

As long as they are in communion with each other and you are not clergy (under obedience to a particular bishop), there are no rules to be broken on the matter. It really is ONE CHURCH.

[David Naess]

GOAA is in communion with just about everybody in Orthodoxy, right?

[Herman Blaydoe]

For the most part, but not everybody is in communion with THEM. There are certain "Old Calendar" Greek churches, which have a couple of monasteries, that are not in communion with the GOAA, they have separated themselves from the EP. There are also a couple of Russian groups who are in communion with nobody except themselves. Therefore it is always best to check first when visiting a particular monastery. Be cautious around monasteries belonging to ROCIE, ROAC, HOCNA, Genuine Orthodox Church, True Orthodox Church, and some Ukrainian groups (hard to tell who they are with sometimes).

Wish it wasn't that complicated, but we don't belong to an organized religion, we're Orthodox!

[David Naess]

Howdy Herman!

Thank you...

I was wondering about a couple of them. Little red "exclusive" lights go off in my head when I see "True", "Genuine" and words of the like incorporated into a name.

[Kris]

Howdy Herman!

Thank you...

I was wondering about a couple of them. Little red "exclusive" lights go off in my head when I see "True", "Genuine" and words of the like incorporated into a name.

But aren't these words essentially synonimous with the word Orthodox?

[Owen Jones]

The only practical obstacle I can think of is baptism. Many if not most converts to the faith in the U.S. are chrismated, but this is not sufficient in some monastic communities today. They will require baptism to even be able to proceed from the narthex into the sanctuary.

[David Naess]

The only practical obstacle I can think of is baptism. Many if not most converts to the faith in the U.S. are chrismated, but this is not sufficient in some monastic communities today. They will require baptism to even be able to proceed from the narthex into the sanctuary.

One of the first things my priest asked me for was a Certificate of Baptism (which I provided.) This documented that I was, indeed, baptised in the name of the Trinity. If I couldn't produce that, he would have probably required a new baptism just to make sure that it was "orthodox."

[David Naess]

But aren't these words essentially synonimous with the word Orthodox?
Howdy Kris!

Indeed they are...
That's why the alarms go off!

Why would somebody make a redundant statement by calling themselves:
"True Orthodox" or "Genuine Orthodox"

unless it was to differentiate themselves from others whom they felt were not being "true to the faith?"

In my past experience with religion outside of orthodoxy, whenever I have seen this, it has indicated that a schism took place somewhere along the line and those with a narrower interpretation wanted to differentiate themselves from those whose point of view had become "too liberal" (or modern) for their liking.

[Olga]

The same terminology has also been adopted by the Roman Catholic groups who refused to recognise the reforms and rulings of the Second Vatican Council. Like the "True" and "Genuine" Orthodox, these groups often style themselves as "True Catholic" or "Genuine Catholic", etc. There are other strong parallels in their (for want of a better word) "mentality" towards those not of their persuasion within the RC world, often, sadly, to the point of extremism.