Most American churches navigated the patchwork of COVID--19 restrictions on public gatherings by periodically closing their doors and broadcasting services online instead, the Christian Today website reports today (Oct. 8, 2024).
But for almost half of U.S. Orthodox Christians , liturgical services continuewd for anyone wanting to attend in person, according to a new study of how the denomination weathered the pandemic.
The new study finds that Orthodox churches overall were reluctant to embrace virtual worship compared to all religious congregations. By spring 2023, 75% of all U.S. congregations provided remote options compared to only 53% of Orthodox churches.
At the same time, Orthodox churches overall have seen a drop in volunteer participation, from 40% in 2020 to 25% in 2023, compared to 40% and 35% in all U.S. congregations.
Using survey data from 2020 through 2023, the study found 44% of Orthodox churches remained open during the pandemic , compared to just 12% of all U.S. congregations.
There is no single Orthodox Church in the U.S. Instead, several jurisdictions -- the largest are the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Orthodox Church in America (Russian), and the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese -- are administered independently of one another and exist side by side, sharing the same teachings and in full communion with one another.
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