HIRR Releases New Report on the Orthodox Churches

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A new report by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research (HIRR), "Orthodox Christianity: Navigating the Pandemic with Tradition," examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Orthodox Christian churches in the United States reveals a unique approach to crisis management, characterized by adherence to traditional practices and resistance to change.

The study, which draws on data from the Faith Communities Today (FACT) survey and two Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations (EPIC) surveys, offers insights into how Orthodox churches fared compared to other U.S. religious congregations.

The study found that Orthodox churches were more likely to maintain their regular activities, particularly in-person services, despite pandemic restrictions - in contrast to the broader U.S. congregational landscape. These traditional churches also showed greater reluctance to adopt online worship services compared to the national average. Interestingly, the data suggests Orthodox churches experienced higher success in gaining new members and returning to pre-pandemic levels of in-person worship attendance. However, they faced challenges in maintaining total participation and the percentage of regular volunteers. 

"This report demonstrates that — due to their resistance to change — Orthodox Christian churches navigated through the pandemic by displaying some clearly distinct approaches as compared to the general profile of U.S. congregations," said Alexei Krindatch, lead author of the study. "Their way of handling the pandemic yielded both positive and negative outcomes, creating what we describe as a 'mixed bag' of results."

Find other reports by HIRR here.