The Orthodoxy Church is divided into areas or JURISDICTIONS. Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, etc. From the beginning of Christianity it was so. St. Paul wrote letters to the Church in Corinth, the Church in Ephesus, Galacia, etc.
Unfortunately and shamefully, today there are political divisions, also. So in a given area we could see the Church divided into LEFT WING and RIGHT WING with each division operating as a separate "JURISDICTION". The royal path is neither to the left nor to the right. And in some areas the "ROYAL PATH" is completely squeezed out by these political extremes, The royal path is the way of the Holy Fathers, as Fr. Seraphim shows us in his writings.
The largest political division is the LEFT WING. All new calendar churches are left. But an Old Calendar church could be either left or right.
To be exact: The royal path has 4 Churches: The Greek Synod In Resistance, the Old Calendar Romanians, the Old Calendar Bulgarians, and the Russian Church Abroad under Metropolitan Agafangel.
In the left wing the newcomers usually are told to "Stay out of politics". In the right wing they are often steeped in politics. In the royal path, though, we ask our newcomers just to be aware these divisions sadly exist and to expect to develop, in time, a spiritual discernment of the royal path. In reading lives of saints things have a way of falling into place.
Orthodox who are raised strictly in either the left wing or the right wing, usually fail to develop the ability to recognize the royal path. The left sees it as right wing. And the right sees it as left wing. lf a newcomer keeps in mind that the royal path does exist and keeps an eye out for it, eventually he will start discerning it. There is no rush. Orthodoxy is a wonderful journey. The discoveries are never-ending. It is quite OK to savor each delightful step. Things come in God's time.
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