How many people know what the Typica is or how to pray it?

[Alexander Kuzmin]

Have any of the faithful who have the reserved Lamb in their homes ever been attacked by MP police?

I heard about two cases when police checked documents during the home service, but both were when a priest was serving.

People receive Communion from the reserve Holy Gifts not because of the persecutions but because that a Christian should Commune not less than once in three months according to Church rules.

It allows also to avoid bad priests. If a priest comes from Moscow Patriarchate without parishioners, it means that he is a bad shepherd and he is received as a laymen, without cherotessia. For example about a month ago we received one priest from MP like this. He could not stay in MP anymore because of ecumenism, but no people followed him, so he came humbly as a layman.

[Barbara]

That's interesting. Well, maybe it's not true that that priest who comes from the MP alone is a bad shepherd, though.
Couldn't it be the case that his parishioners are too indoctrinated by the MP ? Or fearful to leave due to
having heard of others' persecution for jumping ship - [!] ?

But still, that is a great insight into these dynamics. Thank you, Alexander, and nice to see you back !

Mother Evfrosinia, that's excellent.
So there are now 4 parishes attached to Lesna ? I assume all or some of these are since 2007 ?
Great ! Hope there will be more in the near future,
and also your furnace replaced...

[Alexander Kuzmin]

The main reason of not leaving MP is that people do not believe that "all these big amount of beautiful churches and nice people are wrong". People are ready to go to TOC but the only thing they want is not to break the communion with MP.

[maximus]

If one is looking for something simple - ie just open and read - http://rocorrefugeesreadmore.blogspot.c ... ypica.html They have the hours, kontakia, troparia, Alleluia, prokeimena, any special hymns etc all set to go. So, if you don't have access to a lot of liturgical texts or simply don't really understand how to insert the proper movable portions, this is a very nice link to keep handy.
-Dcn Antonios

Thank you so much for this link. I live far from my parish and want to do the Typica because it is very hard to travel as I would like to. And I have a rubric, but have always been confused on how to do it. This makes it so much more convenient. Thank you so much.

[Barbara]

Your parish must be Fr Mark Templet's ? That IS far. It's a problem, surely, to not be able to go such long distances, and
not often, certainly.

I was intrigued by Alexander's statement that people in Russia are ready to go to the TOC's. But they fear breaking communion with the MP ? Why does the MP have such a huge hold on them ? We need to learn this, as it seems quite critical.
Especially when we have a number of Russian TOC parishes active, but how to expand them in the RF ??

[maximus]

Your parish must be Fr Mark Templet's ? That IS far. It's a problem, surely, to not be able to go such long distances, and
not often, certainly.

I was intrigued by Alexander's statement that people in Russia are ready to go to the TOC's. But they fear breaking communion with the MP ? Why does the MP have such a huge hold on them ? We need to learn this, as it seems quite critical.
Especially when we have a number of Russian TOC parishes active, but how to expand them in the RF ??

Yes, my parish is Fr. Mark's in Louisiana. It's about a 9-10 hour drive. At the moment, there are at least 3 people (including myself) where I live who adhere to True Orthodox Christianity. We try to drive together as often as we can, especially for major feasts. But yes, it is a problem. My hope is to get the Typica down so that, at the very least, we can meet in my home and still worship God together. At least until either we can move closer to a TOC or until, God willing, one is established closer to SA. [There is a RTOC church in North Texas, but it's about the same distance as the one in LA]

I have a theory about peoples' hesitation to transition from where they are (protestantism, catholicism, world orthodoxy, etc.) to where they need to be (TOC): I think it has something to do with the fear of change. I've seen in with people I know, people who KNOW that the "church" they're in is teaching heresy, falsehoods but continue to attend anyway. When one has been a devout Pentacostalist for decades, it seems like there is a psychological and spiritual hold to keep them where they are. They then, perhaps, stop looking for the truth and rather try to find holes in our theology, our Tradition, our Creed... ANYTHING to validate the thought that "well if the True Orthodox don't do everything right, they must be no different than the church I'm in now." This is just a theory.

[jgress]

I think another problem is that most people need closer contact with a parish than what the True Orthodox can provide. If you have to drive 10 hours to get to church, then you can only afford to go infrequently, and so it's harder to participate in church life on a regular basis. For many people, the less frequently you participate, the more you are drawn away by life's cares and the world's temptations. Many people recognize their own weakness and decide it's better to stay with a jurisdiction where they can attend on a regular basis and not get drawn away from the faith. Ecumenism can seem a fairly petty concern when compared to abandoning Orthodoxy entirely, especially if there's nothing overtly ecumenist or modernist about your local WO parish; what the bishops get up to at their ecumenical conferences can seem pretty remote from your everyday concerns as an Orthodox layman.

I know what a lot of True Orthodox do is attend a local World Orthodox parish, without receiving communion, only traveling to a True Orthodox church when they can afford to. It's a compromise, for sure, but I think a lot of spiritual fathers recognize people's need for being actually present at church. However, if you are able to get other True Orthodox together for a reader's service, that ought to provide the kind of community that is essential for keeping the faith.