Yes. They’re Orthodox, you’re Orthodox, and we’re all part of the same Church.
If you’re Antiochian and you walk into a Greek parish or a Russian parish or an OCA parish, you’re not switching teams. You’re visiting family. The faith is the same. The mysteries are the same. We all confess the Nicene Creed, we all celebrate the Divine Liturgy, we all venerate the same saints and icons. The jurisdictions aren’t different denominations, they’re administrative divisions that exist for historical reasons, mostly tied to immigration patterns and the mother churches back in the old country.
Here in Southeast Texas, we don’t have an Orthodox church on every corner like Baptists do. If you work offshore two weeks on and two weeks off, or if you’re traveling to Houston or visiting family in Dallas, you might find yourself near Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox or St. Seraphim Russian Orthodox instead of an Antiochian parish. Go. Attend the Liturgy. You’ll recognize everything that matters.
What about communion?
This gets a bit more complicated, but not much. Theologically, if you’re Orthodox and in good standing, you can receive communion at any canonical Orthodox parish. We’re one Church. But practically speaking, different parishes handle visitors differently.
Some priests will commune any Orthodox Christian who approaches with reverence. Others want to meet you first, hear your confession, or see a letter from your priest saying you’re in good standing. This isn’t about being unwelcoming, it’s about pastoral responsibility. A priest answers to his bishop for who receives the mysteries at his altar, and he doesn’t know you yet. He doesn’t know if you fasted, if you’ve been to confession recently, if you’re canonically Orthodox or if you just think you are because your grandmother was Greek.
If you’re going to be visiting a parish regularly or you want to receive communion there, the best thing to do is call ahead or introduce yourself to the priest before Liturgy starts. Tell him you’re Antiochian, tell him where you attend when you’re home, and ask what he needs from you. Most priests will be glad you asked. Some will say “welcome to the chalice.” Others might want to hear your confession first or ask you to bring a letter next time. That’s fine. It’s not personal.
The Antiochian Archdiocese says communion is “open to all repentant believers,” which is true. But repentance includes being under the care of a priest and bishop, keeping the fasts, going to confession, living as an Orthodox Christian. A visiting priest doesn’t know all that about you yet. Give him time.
The jurisdictional mess
America has overlapping Orthodox jurisdictions because we’re a nation of immigrants. Greeks came and built Greek churches under the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Russians came and built Russian churches. Antiochians came, well, we came later, mostly after 1920, and built Antiochian churches. The OCA formed when the Russian mission here became autocephalous. Now we’ve got multiple bishops in the same city, which violates the ancient canonical principle of one bishop per territory.
Everyone knows this is irregular. The Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops meets to coordinate and work toward unity. But it’s slow. In the meantime, we live with what we’ve got.
For you as a layperson, this mostly doesn’t matter. You’re not less Orthodox for attending a Russian parish while you’re in town for a wedding. Your kids aren’t going to be confused if they see a Greek Liturgy that’s mostly in English but has some Greek in it. The calendar might be different, some jurisdictions use the old calendar, some the new, but that’s a scheduling issue, not a theological one.
What you’ll notice
Greek parishes often have pews. Russian parishes often don’t. Antiochian parishes are all over the map because we’ve got converts from every background and immigrants from the Middle East and a practical streak that says “let’s just get a building and figure it out.” You might hear more Arabic at an Antiochian parish, more Greek at a Greek one, more Slavonic at a Russian one. You might see different iconography styles or different vestment colors.
None of that changes what’s happening at the altar. Christ is still present. The Theotokos is still interceding. The saints are still with us. Metropolitan Philip used to say that Orthodoxy isn’t ethnic, it’s the faith of the apostles. He was right.
So yes, attend that Greek parish when you’re in Galveston. Attend that Russian parish when you’re in Lake Charles. You’re still Orthodox. You’re still home.
