Cultures/Communities

Welcome to the Western Orthodox Communion! Welcome to this space for sharing information, thoughts, articles, links, and other resources about life in the Communion of Western Orthodox Churches! At present, the communion comprises the French Orthodox Church, the Celtic Orthodox Church, and the Orthodox Church of the Gauls, and has monasteries, parishes, and missions in France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Poland, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United States of America. Everybody is welcome to participate who has an interest in Orthodox Christianity in its Western liturgical, spiritual, and cultural expression, through which the lands of the West were hallowed by the saints who worked out their salvation here in ancient times. We only ask that you abide by our three simple rules: We are Christians.  Please remember that behind the words on the screen is a human being, made in the image of God, and let us treat each other accordingly. Canonicity means faithfulness to the Apostolic Tradition - nothing more; nothing less. The partisan dismissal as "uncanonical" or "not Orthodox" of Orthodox jurisdictions that are faithful to the Orthodox liturgical, spiritual, patristic, scriptural, and canonical Tradition, simply because they are not subordinate to particular, larger jurisdictions, is not accepted practice here. This is a place for discussing various aspects of life in the Communion of Western Orthodox Churches.  Posts illustrating how the Orthodox Faith is lived in a western expression in other jurisdictions are welcomed, insofar as they provide inspiration and an example of what is possible locally; as are those expressing the universal Orthodox Tradition, provided they may be of spiritual benefit.  If your post does not meet these criteria, please consider whether another group might be a better place for it.

Orthodoxy grew and thrived in times where village life was the most common human experience of society: human-scaled, personable, with a sense of stability and permanence. Perhaps the most under rated challenges confronting the life of the Church today are the atomizing and anonymizing forces that minimize familiar personal human interaction. (We don't even know our own neighbors!) Orthodoxy in America, unfortunately like many other churches, is now characterized by commuter culture. New Urbanism is a movement that seeks to return the built environment from the post-war forms prioritizing automobiles to older walkable ones scaled and designed for people. In more village-like communities with robust social networks, Orthodoxy could much better take root organically.

This circle is for all Orthodox military from all over the world. Any service is welcome.

If you are an Orthodox Christian, and a truck driver, or have a family member who is a truck driver, or you just like  truck drivers, this is the  group for you!! Also, share pictures and stories about your adventures out on the road. 

A page setup specifically for discussions on the spread of Orthodox Christianity within the state of Tennessee.

This group is for Orthodox Christian teens and young adults wishing to meet other Orthodox Christians and make friends! It's good to develop a close community with other Orthodox teens, since we have things like high school, college, and jobs to keep us busy in not necessarily Orthodox (or even Christian) environments. Here, we can share our experiences, musings, and questions as well as give and ask for advice.

Welcome to the Orthodox Carpatho-Rusyn Group. This group is designed to allow those Orthodox Christians with ethnic ties to the Carpatho-Rusyn area of Eastern Europe to share their stories, histories, and variations of the Rusyn Culture as they know it. It also give those people a place to discus various subjects that affect their ethnic traditions and ancestral homelands. Of course we also welcome those who are not Rusyn but who would like to find out more about the culture and traditions of the Rusyn People.

This little group is for anyone who is interested in discussing and supporting the work of the Orthodox Metropolitanate of Korea.

This is a group for Native American Orthodox issues and community. All are welcome

Y de repente vino del cielo un estruendo como de un viento recio que soplaba, el cual lleno toda la casa donde estaban sentados; y se les aparecieron lenguas repartidas, como de fuego, asentandose sobre cada uno de ellos. Y fueron todos llenos del Espiritu Santo, y comenzaron a hablar en otras lenguas, segun el Espiritu les daba que hablasen.

Open to any person who is or was a Boy Scout.

Hi, how are you? Belete suggested that we start a group for those who have connections to Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Diapsora. If you are Ethiopian, have lived in Ethiopia, have a love for the country, or want to learn more about it, please join us. Feel free to tell us what your Ethiopian connection is.

For Orthodox Christians who are users of either:PC to PC (personal computer) phone callsPC to landline callsLandline to PC callsthrough various Instant Messaging Programs (Yahoo, MSN, Google, SKYPE).While encouraging everyone to use our OrthodoxCircle chat room to the full extent of its capabilities, we will use this group to share and obtain information regarding the use of those other internet resources which provide features currently unavailable here on the OC.For best results in using internet phone call features, it is recommended that you use a headphone headset which includes a microphone.

Building community projects that enlivens and supports the spiritual life of the parish, increases awareness of Orthodoxy in the surrounding culture, and through various projects maximizes exposure for mission and funding of charitable works.

for any peoples who have Scottish heritage of any sort.

Orthodox Community Education

what is your culture tell me about it...

Orthodox Church suffers from nationalist divisions among the orthodox people. In the name of a "nationalist pride" brother kills brother and annulates Christ's message to the world.Let's stop this madness!

This group is for those who are interested in teaching or learning English as a Second/Foreign Language - or, more specifically, English for Academic Purposes. Please look for teacher/student resources, and feel free to add your own! I hope that we can also support each other with questions/concerns - with an eye toward improving our witness to Christ through the offering of our skills and good work.

Did you know that the Churches in the Italian regions of Sicily and Calabria were once part of the Church of Constantanple? Not to mention the fact that the Eastern Orthodox Liturgy was celebrated in many different areas of pre-schism Italy. Many of us who are Orthodox of Italian ancestry(especially converts) may not even know that we could have ancestors from way back when who were Eastern Orthodox Christians. Let's have our Rum Cake and eat it too by cherishing our Orthodox faith and traditions, while at the same time celebrating our Italian heritage.