St Peter & Paul Eastern Orthodox Church In America (Oca)

First, this church is in a terrible neighbourhood. I wouldn’t venture into that neighbourhood after dark. Absolutely not.
Secondly, and I am Orthodox, it is absolutely NOT a welcoming church. Not at all. Perfectly not at all. The last time I went, when I went to purchase candles, I had one of the Admin people follow me around to make sure that I wasn’t stealing anything. It was just so, so humiliating. Then my shoes squeaked as I was standing praying and the same person just glared at me for having disturbed the peace.
Thirdly, if you are Orthodox, you will think that you are in a Protestant church and not an Orthodox one. The services that I witnessed were so ipso facto and so made-​up-​as-​we-​go-​along that it saddened my heart.
There is an attitude by some towards that is more holier-​than-​God or more-​Catholic-​than-​the pope.
At the first service, the officiating clergyman just hid behind the altar with a closed curtain for the entire service.
At the end of the service, I was told, however, that I was welcome to help stay and clean up the church.
All-​in-​all, not a good choice. If you want an Orthodox church, try the Bulgarian church, in a better neighbourhood, or the Ukrainian church downtown, or the Russian church on the ‘South Side of the city, which is by far the most welcoming of the lot.
If you enjoy being made miserable, à la Tolstoy, then try this one.