This week’s “Ask Father” question is a follow-up to last

week’s topic about Holy Communion. Now that we understand why a non-Orthodox

Christian cannot receive Holy Communion in our Church, and why we cannot

receive Holy Communion in a non-Orthodox Church, this week’s question asks, “So

what can a non-Orthodox Christian do in our Church?” This is a very timely and

practical question since most of us have at least one family member who is not

Orthodox, and ALL of us have non-Orthodox friends who visit our Church either

for sacraments or Divine Liturgy. Our Orthodox way of life is an expression of

our belief in Jesus Christ, so many of the daily activities we do can also be

done by non-Orthodox Christians. Although our non-Orthodox friends and family

members can do some of the physical things we do, we still must be careful not

to allow what we do to become nothing more than empty customs.