Houston, July 25, 2024
Photo: sppoc.org
The number of converts 18 years or older in Orthodox parishes in America noticeably increased in 2022 and 2023, according to a new report from the Orthodox Studies Institute at St. Constantine College in Houston.
The number of receptions by Baptism as opposed to by Chrismation alone also surged in the same period.
The Institute conducted a survey among clergy in 20 parishes across six jurisdictions in 15 states during summer and early fall of 2023 (thus resulting in partial data for 2023), and published its resulting report this month.
The Institute’s findings indicate that the number of converts changed little from 2013 to 2019. There was a noticeable dip in 2020, followed however by a surge in 2022, when the number of converts more than doubled compared to the 2013-2019 average. The number of converts through the fall of 2023 was also significantly higher than the previous average.
From 2013 to 2018, there were slightly more receptions by Chrismation as compared to receptions by Baptism. However, there were more Baptisms in 2019 and 2020, and starting in 2021, the number of Baptisms became significantly higher than the number of receptions by Chrismation alone. In 2022, there were more than twice as many Baptisms.
The Institute proposes that a likely explanation for this trend is that some parishes have shifted their policy to baptize converts from Catholic and Protestant backgrounds. Six of the 20 parishes surveyed have moved from a large number of Chrismations to few to no cases of reception by Chrismation alone.
The report also presents statistics based on sex, age, family status, religious background, and reasons for converting.
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