Growing Like Kudzu
Guess what the fastest-growing church in America is? No, really, go ahead and guess.
Ready?
The Orthodox Church of America! Surprise! It’s growing at over 6% per year, which is head-and-shoulders above most other contenders. To be fair, it’s also much smaller than most other churches on the list which somewhat inflates its percentage growth, but the numbers are impressive nonetheless.
There are other interesting tidbits in the linked article. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention is actually shrinking?! I wouldn’t have believed it.
UPDATE: Several commenters at Pontifications have pointed out that the numbers are self-reported and quite possibly spurious, particularly as there have been some tremendous swings in OCA’s self-reported membership. Ah, well.
April 3rd, 2006 at 7:36 pm
As vrea sa zic ca ma mira lucrul acesta si chiar nu inteleg de ce oamenii trec la ortodoxism. As fi curioasa sa aflu cateva pareri.
April 10th, 2006 at 8:19 am
Draga mea, am gasit citatul acesta, care explica diversele motive cu care oamenii trec la biserica ortodoxa:
Just Plain American Orthodox”
“Trecând repede pe partea cealaltă a interstrăzii sunt familiile–cei mai multe tinere–care curg spre Ortodoxismul din alte perspective. Diversitatea în aceşti convertiţi este enormă. Unii pleacă din biserici cu închinare liberă pentru că au aflat că închinarea liturgică, străveche împlineşte o dorinţa de a-I închina lui Dumnezeu cu teamă şi cu frumuseţe. Unii pleacă din bisericile tradiţionale, pentru că au aflat că temeiul credinţei ortodoxe este credinţa şi practica bisericii primare. Unii pleacă dintr-un creştinism gânditor şi intelectual spre creştinismul care oferă misticul şi taina. Unii pleacă dintr-un trecut entuziasmat şi umplut cu Duhul pentru o biserică care le oferă discernament, răspundere, şi călăuzire duhovnicească–pe lângă două mii de ani de experienţă–dar care totuşi cunoaşte minunile, îngerii, şi vedeniile. Şi unii care au umblat pe religiile orientale au aflat că Ortodoxismul oferă deasemenea o tradiţie străveche de transformare spirituală, dar care are la bază prezenţa silitoare a lui Isus Hristos, Omul-Dumnezeu.”
Originalul:
“Zooming past them on the other side of the beltway are the mostly-young families flowing into Orthodoxy from other backgrounds. The range among these converts is vast. Some are leaving “low-church” congregations, because they find that ancient liturgical worship satisfies a longing to worship God with awe and beauty. Some are leaving mainline congregations, because they find Orthodoxy’s structural foundation in the early church’s faith and practice guarantees stability. Some are leaving a heady, intellectual Christianity for one which provides access to mystery and sacrament. Some are leaving an exuberant Spirit-filled background for one which provides careful discernment, accountability, and spiritual direction – not to mention two millennia of experience – yet is comfortable with miracles, angels, and visions. And some who have been involved in Eastern religions find that Orthodoxy offers a similarly ancient tradition of spiritual transformation, but centered in the compelling presence of the God-man Jesus Christ.”