Posted by Al
on 5/9/2009, 3:24 am, in reply to "Re: Metropolitan Jonah's Russian Interview - "It is Time to be Direct""
Tom-
The Summary of the "Krindatch Study" can be found here: http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/quick_question17.html
Please let's not get into whose jurisdication exaggerates more then the others. That's not the issue I raised.
There are some exceptions I would take with Krindatch's methodology for "adherents". Mailing lists and circulation of publications are good examples, as both will include people who are in one jurisdiction, but receive material from two or more jurisdictions. Also, since publications typically go in single copies to "families", are they using a multiplier here for every issue. I would also guess that care needs to be taken in extrapolating "typical Sunday attendance versus Great Feasts" to the entire OCA, as the pattern is definitely not anything like 3x increase Krindatch's figures allude to at most of the parishes of the OCA where I attended.
Krindatch's "parishes" and "full members" data seem believable, and are verifiable. Note that these are figures from 2000, and according to the OCA's official records, their "members" have decreased from Krindatch's figures continuously since then. Not a good sign.
It's the elusive nature of identifying the "adherents" that Church leaders need to be cautious of. But, if there really are 60,000 OCA "adherents" who simply stop by a couple of times a year, what is the Church doing for them, other than allowing them to stop by every so often and being sure to take the Pascha collection before the crowd leaves? Are we making a difference in their lives? Do we really want to? Can they be drawn into a more consistent life within the Church? To be quite frank, most "not for publication" comments I have heard from hierarchs, clergy and laity about these "adherents" is that they are "Orthodox in name only", "have no interest in the Church", or other disparaging terms. That gives the impression that these people are only of merit when it comes to "bragging rights" in public statements. At the risk of being judgmental, this is not a "Christian" attitude.
If the Church has written off the twice a year crowd, they why even refer to them? It is surely inconsistent with the message of those who preach the need for greater spirituality, longer services and the like as the "mark" of a real Orthodox Christian.
Dean and I share seem to the same view of "numbers". I will take it one step further. If the Church is to be effective in evangelizing the US, its worldly "business" needs to be conducted in a credible, businesslike fashion. Without credibility in things that the non-beliver can easily verify, how can we be trusted in other more "other-worldly" affairs that will not be verified until the Second Coming? If our business dealings reek of amateurism, is it not hard to imagine that our theology and spirituality is equally amateur? It's called the "halo effect", if I'm not mistaken.
The Church is doing some very good things. It is also doing some very amateurish things. Think about it. While those of us who are in the Church can focus on the good, those we would wish to evangelize can also see the amateurism. If that clouds the message of the Gospel, can we afford to allow these practices to continue, especially when so many of these amateurish practices accomplish nothing of benefit to the Faith. And it's not just numbers. Here's a few examples:
Diocesean "Education Department" that consists of one priest, produces nothing educational for the diocese and documents same annually in the Diocesean Assembly minutes.
Diocesean "Late Vocation Program" that annually submits no report at the Diocesean Assembly.
Diocesean "Architechural Office" that annually submits no report at the Diocesean Assembly.
If you were a reasonably educated person, how would you react to these three examples, no less all the others? Does this generate credibility? While I am sure these are well intentioned items, they have to detract from the believablity of any attempt at "witness". Sadly, we Orthodox accept many of these sophomoric actions as business as usual. We need to grow up. All of us, including our hierarchs.
That's my rant for today.
In Christ,
Al
Paros Island, Greece
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