Source: Orthodox Reality
The report, The “New Traditional” in a Most Traditional Church: How the Pandemic Has Reshaped American Orthodox Christian Churches. What Do Lay People Think about It?, is available now. More than 2,000 ordinary parishioners from all parts of the USA participated in this study, and shared their thoughts about Orthodox Church life in America during and post-pandemic
An executive summary (4 pages) can be downloaded here:
https://orthodoxreality.org/
A summary of major findings and conclusions (10 pages) can be downloaded here:
https://orthodoxreality.org/
The full report can be downloaded here:
https://orthodoxreality.org/
The core question addressed in this report is: how has the pandemic transformed the Orthodox Church which many think of as “the original Christian Church that never changes”? Special attention has been given to the “mysterious” surge in vitality that some churches experienced despite and even because of the pandemic.
Here are a few examples of what you will find in the report:
+ Possible future of the “online mode” in the lives of American Orthodox Christian parishes
+ Changes in members’ involvement in the parishes, their personal faith, and attitudes towards the Church.
+ Changes in religious education for children and teenagers
+ Most common scenarios of upsurge and downfall in parish communities during the past two years
+ Growing trust in parish clergy and declining confidence in Bishops and Metropolitans
+ Changes in overall parish vitality and distinctive features of congregations which experienced a surge in vitality throughout the pandemic
+ Three different paths to powerful growth in parish vitality despite, or even because of, the pandemic
Please share this report via social media with your parish communities as well as with Orthodox friends and relatives. Send your reflections and comments to orthodoxdata@usreligioncensus.
For more information about the impact of the pandemic on American Orthodox Churches look at:
https://orthodoxreality.org/
Respectfully,
Alexei Krindatch, National Coordinator
Second Census of Orthodox Christian Churches/2020 US Religion Census
www.usreligioncensus.org, www.orthodoxreality.org
Office: 510-647-9427 Cell: 773-551-7226
“You can’t manage what you don’t understand, and you can’t understand what you don’t measure”