Although I was raised Christian, I never really was interested in religion until I graduated from college. I am now a graduate student at Ohio State University. After coming to Columbus, I was exposed to theological ideas from a specifically evangelical viewpoint. The more I learned about Christianity in general, the more I was intrigued by Orthodoxy in particular—what I found to be the historical, universal, and apostolic church.
I came to St. Gregory’s for the first time on a whim, interested by the website and its accessible location. I could not honestly tell you I knew what was happening during the service, but I could immediately connect to the timeless feeling of it. I knew it was special.
I was welcomed by a number of parishioners before and after the service, and their kindness and willingness to share their own stories made me feel less anxiety about exploring this “old-fashioned” faith. In fact, many of those I spoke with at St. Gregory’s had similar stories of conversion in their own lives. Hearing the thoughtful and sympathetic things they had to say helped me immensely in my decision to pursue Orthodoxy.
Since first arriving at St. Gregory’s, and feeling the acceptance of the church body and the value of the Church itself, I have become Orthodox and a regular member at the parish. Gregory, my name, was the obvious choice for me to take as a patron saint; the church, with the same patron, celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary less than a month after my twenty-fifth birthday. All coincidences or providences aside, this church has changed my life. I hope that you would consider how Orthodoxy could change yours at St. Gregory’s.
For the first thousand years of her history the Church was essentially one. Five historic patriarchal centers – Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria and Constantinople – formed a cohesive whole and were in full communion with one another. The Church of Jerusalem was founded by Sts. Peter and James, the Church of Antioch by St. Paul, the Church of Rome by Sts. Peter and Paul, the Church of Alexandria by St. Mark, and the Church of Constantinople was founded by St. Andrew. Those founded in later years through the missionary activity of the first churches were the Churches of Sinai, Russia, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, and many others. There were occasional schismatic groups going there own way, to be sure, but the Church was unified until the 11th century. Then, in events culminating in A.D. 1054, the Roman Patriarch pulled away from the others.
Today, the Orthodox Church is a family of “autocephalous” (self governing) churches. The unity of the Church is preserved in common faith and communion in the sacraments.
Each of these churches around the world are independent in administration and all are united in faith, doctrine, Apostolic tradition, sacraments, liturgies, and services. The word Orthodox literally means right teaching or right worship, and quite logically came to be applied as the false teachings and divisions multiplied in early Christian times.
It was during the difficult martyric times that the early church was formed and established, and where the worship, the arts, and the music of the Church found their beginning. These all naturally sprang out of the Old Testament and flowed into the New. The form of worship began in the time of Moses; the arts originated in the depictions of the cherubim appointed to adorn the Hebrew Sanctuary; the music had its beginning in the Psalms of David. Even the Liturgy finds its beginning in the Old Testament, and the first communion service composed by the Apostle James, was based on his firsthand experience at the Last Supper, and is still used in the Orthodox Church today.
This group primarily serves as an educational program. There are core subjects that are discussed, including tradition,iconography, ecumenical councils, and more.
I came to St. Gregory’s for the first time on a whim, interested by the website and its accessible location. I could not honestly tell you I knew what was happening during the service, but I could immediately connect to the timeless feeling of it. I knew it was special. 
