Converts are finding Eastern Orthodoxy online. The church wants to help them commune face-to-face

Online Phenomenon Drives Surge in Orthodox Church Conversions Across America

When potential converts arrive at Holy Theophany Orthodox Church in Colorado Springs, the Very Rev. Andreas Blom often gives them surprising advice: abandon what brought them there in the first place.

“You discovered Orthodoxy online. You learned about it online. Now you’re here, the internet is done,” Blom tells newcomers. “Now you have a priest. Now you have people. Now you need to wean yourself off that stuff and enter into this real community of faith.”

This paradox—digital discovery leading to in-person communion—reflects a significant transformation in American religious life. Eastern Orthodox Christianity, embraced by only about 1% of U.S. adults according to Pew Research Center, is experiencing an unprecedented growth spurt fueled largely by its expanding online presence.

The pandemic accelerated this trend, triggering two distinct waves of converts, according to Matthew Namee, executive director of the Orthodox Studies Institute. While early converts were predominantly young single men, preliminary data suggests the most recent influx is remarkably diverse, attracting Black and Hispanic people, women, and young families from varied religious backgrounds.

This growth has created tangible challenges for physical churches. Blom’s Holy Theophany recently launched a second location because their 250-capacity building consistently overflowed, with dozens standing outside weekly. “It’s almost full already,” Blom notes of the new site. “And back at our church, again we have a bunch of people standing outside every Sunday. We just can’t keep up.” The congregation is already discussing opening a third location.

The digital evangelism driving this surge comes from both clergy and laypeople across the political spectrum. Jonathan Pageau, a Canadian icon carver with approximately 275,000 YouTube subscribers, represents one of the more influential voices in this space.

“We have to see it as a kind of irony and something of a paradox. In some ways, you could say we’re using tools that aren’t completely appropriate,” Pageau acknowledges, referencing the contrast between internet culture and Orthodoxy’s emphasis on physical liturgy. “At the same time, one of the things that the internet offers is reach. And one of the things Orthodoxy hasn’t had in forever is reach.”

Pageau and other influencers emphasize the importance of in-person community to their online followers. “We tell them to go to church,” he says. “You can’t live this in your mind online because it is distorting. When you go to church, you meet all kinds of people, people that are on all sides of the political aisle.”

This transition from screen to sanctuary can be challenging. Abia Ailleen, a 28-year-old Latina who researched Orthodoxy online for six months before visiting Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Los Angeles, noticed a disconnect between online Orthodoxy and its lived reality.

“People who come to Saint Sophia who are very rigid, who want to be perfect and holy based on what they’ve learned on the internet, a lot of the time Saint Sophia isn’t a place that they want to stay,” she explains. “We really have cultivated a structure of humility, of making mistakes and of vulnerability.”

The Very Rev. Thomas Zain, dean of St. Nicholas Cathedral in Brooklyn, has seen attendance grow exponentially over the past two years. “I’ll get like 50 people at a Bible study or adult education class, where I used to get three or four or five,” he reports. Zain describes the challenge of integrating converts from diverse ideological backgrounds: “It’s breathed new life into the church, but it’s also challenging because you’re trying to mold them into one community with the old and the new.”

Part of the controversy surrounding Orthodoxy’s online presence stems from its overlap with content catering to men grappling with masculinity issues. Some influencers position Orthodox Christianity as an alternative to secular self-help advice for young men.

Aristotle Papanikolaou, cofounding director of the Orthodox Christian Studies Center at Fordham University, challenges this framing. “As a theologian, the idea that somehow masculinity—this particular way of thinking about masculinity—is inherent to Orthodox theology and teaching is I think just completely wrong,” he states. “There’s actually no logic to the idea that somehow I need to be masculine in this particular way in order to unite myself with God.”

Church leadership has been relatively quiet about these developments, though some clergy have begun addressing the challenges. Metropolitan Saba, leader of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, recently acknowledged in Denver that “There are cases of extremism and fundamentalism. Many who are coming to the church today are psychologically, emotionally or socially wounded, which requires experienced and mature spiritual fathers and mothers.”

As Eastern Orthodox churches navigate this digital-driven growth, they face fundamental questions about balancing tradition with contemporary concerns, online engagement with embodied practice, and maintaining theological integrity while welcoming newcomers from diverse backgrounds. How these ancient faith communities adapt to modern challenges may shape American religious life for decades to come.