Of course! It's something I love about the Orthodox Church - no matter where we go, it's the same Church. Many of the variations come down to the preference of the priest, such as, which exact prayers are said aloud vs said quietly, if the homily (sermon) is after the scripture reading or saved...
They are all the same! (Save Jewish Orthodox, which is not Orthodoxy, and a couple other niche ones) We all have the same doctrines, specific beliefs, etc. The only difference is that they originated in different regions of the world, so they speak different languages and have different melodies...
Christmas is celebrated a little differently in the Orthodox church, and I can't wait to see how that play out when it comes to traditions with the kids. Most notably, we fast for the 40 days prior, Advent. Christmas is very much about Christ's birth for us, but we do still enjoy traditions like...
Can we get some prayers for these awful windstorms that are ripping through the West? I believe the worst of it has gone, but it took the life of one man in Idaho, and critically injured two children. Winds in Wyoming hit 144mph, but fortunately we are safe locally, topping out at about 70-80mph...
We've been getting snow, and it's really gorgeous. It's so sunny in Wyoming though, even though temps are often well below freezing, the snow melts anyways. 😂