Yes. Absolutely.
The Antiochian Orthodox Church in North America has made evangelism and welcoming converts a central part of parish life. We’re not a closed ethnic club. We believe the Orthodox Church is the Church Christ founded, and we want people to find their way home.
But I know why you’re asking. You’ve heard stories. Maybe you visited an Orthodox church once and nobody talked to you. Maybe you’ve read online about parishes where everyone speaks Greek or Arabic and you felt like an outsider. Maybe someone told you Orthodox churches are suspicious of converts or make you wait years before they’ll baptize you.
Those things happen. They shouldn’t, but they do. Some parishes struggle with hospitality. Some have become so ethnically rooted that they’ve forgotten how to welcome the stranger. The Antiochian Archdiocese has been working hard to address this because it’s a problem when parishes fail to receive the people God is sending them.
Here’s what should happen when you walk into an Orthodox parish. Someone should greet you by name. Not just once, but every time you come back. You should be invited to coffee hour. You should meet the priest. If you’re serious about exploring Orthodoxy, you’ll be enrolled as a catechumen, usually in a Sunday service so the whole parish knows to pray for you and support you. You’ll start catechism classes. These might be one-on-one with the priest or in a group, depending on the parish. You’ll learn to pray. You’ll learn the liturgy. You’ll ask your questions.
This process takes time. Not because we’re making you jump through hoops, but because becoming Orthodox isn’t like signing a membership card. It’s learning a new way to pray, think, and live. Most people spend somewhere between six months and two years as catechumens. Some longer, some shorter. Your priest and bishop will decide when you’re ready.
When that day comes, if you were baptized in a Trinitarian church (most Protestant and Catholic baptisms count), you’ll likely be received by chrismation. That’s when the priest anoints you with holy oil and you become Orthodox. If you weren’t baptized, or if there’s a question about your baptism, you’ll be baptized. Either way, you’ll receive communion for the first time that day.
Now, the reality in Southeast Texas. Most of you reading this grew up Baptist or Church of Christ or non-denominational. Your mama’s going to have questions. Your family might think you’ve joined a cult. That’s hard, and I won’t pretend it isn’t. But the Church has been receiving converts for two thousand years. You’re not the first person to walk this road, and the saints who’ve gone before you, many of them converts themselves, are praying for you.
St. Justin Martyr was a convert. So was St. Cyprian of Carthage. So was St. John of Damascus’s father. So was St. Innocent of Alaska. The Church has always grown through conversion, through people hearing the gospel and recognizing the Church Christ founded.
What makes a parish good at welcoming converts? Practical things. Learning your name. Inviting you to meals. Explaining what’s happening in the service without making you feel stupid for not knowing. Giving you a prayer book and showing you how to use it. Introducing you to other people who’ve walked this path. Checking in with you when you miss a Sunday. Treating you like family, because that’s what the Church is.
If you visit an Orthodox parish and nobody talks to you, come back. Try again. People are human. We get distracted. We assume someone else will greet the visitor. But if you come back three times and still feel invisible, that’s a parish problem. You might need to try a different parish, or you might need to be the one who speaks up and says, “I’m interested in learning about Orthodoxy.”
The Church wants you. Christ wants you. The question isn’t whether converts are welcome. The question is whether you’re ready to take the first step and walk through the door.
