Hello,
This is my first post here. Let me introduce myself. I am 60 years old, a retired cop from los Angeles California USA now living in Japan. I am a member of the Catholic Church in good standing, and very serious about issues of faith. I have some serious concerns about the direction my Church has gone in but remain faithful. I have been attracted to the Orthodox faith because it seems logically to me to be the closest to the original faith of the early Christians. I am not here to cause any scandal, nor to argue theology. I am not capable of that. I am here solely as an "inquirer", and I beg the board's patience with me.
I have read what is readily available about the Orthodox faith, and I have sought advice from two Greek churches in California. Unfortunately neither experience was, how to say it, "welcoming". When I explained that I was a Latin rite Catholic the frowns descended and I was more or less brushed aside. I was told that I could enroll in their inquirer classes and that we could talk again in a year or so. I got the distinct impression that they were really NOT interested in my joining their communion.
To my own discredit, I was discouraged by this, and did not follow up. I now find myself in Japan where the Orthodox congregation is very small, and it seems nobody speaks any English so I am at a loss how to proceed.
I continue to follow my baptised faith as it is available to me here and the people have been most welcoming to me, an outsider.
Does anyone have any English language support that I might consult. I would also ask for any thoughts on my initial contacts with the Orthodox Church. Is this "typical"? Was it because I am RC, because I am clearly not Greek, or is the Orthodox Church really not all that interested in bringing in new members?
My first impression has been that each ethnic Church is a kind of closed "club" and that those of different ethnicity, particularly not Eastern European or "oriental" are looked at as "risks" if that is the right word. I am not trying to be uncharitable here, just trying to understand if I am way off the mark. I surely can't judge the millions in the Faith based on two guys, I know that. Have other inquirers experienced this or have I been overly "sensitive"?
Thanks.
Regards,
William Unland