Orthodoxy in the Philadelphia area?

Philadelphia? No idea. Now Pittsburgh-highest percentage of Slavs outside eastern Europe and the highest ranked US city in terms of lifestyle quality.

Another list that includes suburbs in NJ and DE:
http://www.usachurch.com/pennsylvania/philadelphia/Orthodox_churches.htm

I've been living in Philadelphia for over ten years. I'm always impressed by the diversity of religious traditions here and the respect that people give to them. I belong to an Eastern Catholic parish. The numbers are small, as lots of people have moved away from the city over the years, but many young adults are returning to the church. I would guess that it's the same for the Orthodox parishes as well.

The largest community around EO churches in this area is Greek Orthodox. There has long been a strong family-focus of the congregations with whom I have been familiar (Upper Darby and Center City).

The geographic demographics here are easy to summarize: families tend to settle away from the Center City area, and in the nearby suburbs (UD is in Delaware County and is a transit hub for the region).

St. Demetrios in UD

St. George Cathedral

There are other EO churches listed at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=greek+orthodox+church+philadelphia&aq=0&oq=greek+orthodox+church+phila

There's actually an "Orthodox Street" in Northeast Philadelphia where the Ukrainian and Indian Orthodox parishes are located. I am Indian (Malankara) Orthodox and living outside Trenton, NJ where I can find about 6 of my parishes within 45 minutes of driving. There's no shortage of Orthodoxy in Philadelphia at all :)

St. Philips in Souderton is probably the best parish I have ever been too in my 35 years of being Orthodoxy. It is antiochian and has spun off many missions all of which are great.

The clergy and people are first rate. The parish is a miracle.

The definitive directory of canonical Orthodox Christian parishes online is maintained here:

http://www.scoba.us/directory.html

Very nicely built resource.

Bless,
Doug

Yeah, our parish I mentioned above, Holy Ascension, is one of the missions from St. Philip's that Andrew is talking about. Our priest is attentive and patient, our choir is good, we have lots of little kids and a healthy mix of converts and cradles. There are several families at our parish I think you could describe as crunchy cons. All we don't have is a permanent building, but that's about to change, and meanwhile our digs are still pretty comfortable. Check us out www.holyascension.net/

Hello All,

As a young adult who lived in Philly for his college years, I can honestly says 2 things about your search for a church in the region:

1) Every last flavor of ethnic/non-ethnic is represented

2) There isn't a single church I would point inquirers too

So it really comes down to what you're looking for and how far you want to drive. Honestly, every single church has some glaring flaw that keeps it from being THE church in the city where the people who "get it" (I mean that ironically) go to. If a parish has good liturgics, the people are iffy. If the people are awesome, the liturgics are wonky. There's no perfect situation. And let's keep in mind - we're talking about the Northeast here. Life is fast and harsh, and Christ is not in the picture for the majority of the people living there. Either you keep the faith seriously and you end up being weird, or you're non-chalant about it but you fit into the broader framework of the region. Both statements are true anywhere of course, but to a greater extent in Philly.

In my experience, in the Northeast there's always one or two parishes in any of the major cities that is THE parish for the converts and cradles who really value their faith. Holy Trinity Cathedral in Boston, Holy Virgin Cathedral or Mercy House in Manhattan, Holy Cross in Baltimore/Linithicum (amoung others, of course) - no such parish exists in Philadelphia. I value immensely all of my experineces as an Orthodox and all the wonderful people that I met in Philadelphia. The city even has been blessed with a weeping icon. And nor have I visited every last parish, of which there is something like 40 in the region. It's just a tough town to be authentically Christian in, which is why I didn't stay there after my college years.

Hi! It's wonderful to hear that you're moving to the area! I can wholeheartedly recommend that you visit Holy Ascension Antiochian Orthodox Church (http://www.holyascension.net/). We're a growing mission parish in the suburbs, near Valley Forge Park. I don't know a whole lot about the other Orthodox churches in the area. I was just chrismated on Holy Saturday and am pretty new to all of this. I do think you'd find some kindred spirits at Holy Ascension though. My godmother and her husband have 9 children and homeschool some of them, maybe all at one point. Just at coffee hour last Sunday she was talking about the benefits of herbs and teas over pharmaceutical drugs. :) If we're not close to where you're moving, others from the church might be able to suggest another parish. I hope we see you soon! Feel free to contact me if I can help with anything else.
Cheerfully, Katie