This church, floor to ceiling in religious art, offers a portal to the past

The result is that while some religions constantly update their doctrines, Orthodox Christianity does not.

“The people that are drawn to Orthodox Christianity are the ones who don’t want that,” said Lucas. “They want something ancient and stable, that they feel like, my grand kids and my grandparents would worship the exact same way.”

‘Disillusioned’ with modern Christianity

Although Orthodox Christianity is grounded in old traditions, it’s been attracting younger members in recent years, according to Lucas, who is also the dean of the South Florida Orthodox community. Over 50 percent of the congregation at Christ the Savior are local converts, the majority from Latin America and the Caribbean, said Lucas. That’s a change from what the church saw prior to 2011, when most of the members came from orthodox families going back generations.

What’s driving the recent influx of converts? After speaking with adults in classes offered to newcomers, or what he jokingly calls “Orthodox boot camp,” Lucas says that he’s noticed a trend of “burnout” in the Evangelical Christian world.

“A lot of people who have come to me said that they hit a wall,” Lucas said in an interview with the Herald. “The majority of them were kind of disillusioned with modern forms of Christianity because of its instability.”

Lucas said that some people came to him seeking tradition, fed up with the way modern Christianity is connected to the latest trends of society.

“There was a sense that a lot of forms of Christianity are kind of fastened to whatever the most recent thing is,” he said. “People say ‘there must be more to Christianity than the things I listen to on the radio also being what I do at church every Sunday.’”

Christ the Saviour sees an average of 125 congregants on any given Sunday, an increase from ten years ago when it would see 50-60 people. The growth is mostly organic through word of mouth, as the church spends no money on marketing or advertisements.

College students get a taste of tradition

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