Baptized Catholic, raised agnostic, moving back towards Christianity, but I want to move to Russia. If I become Orthodox, will I go to hell?

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I want to move to Russia to start a family soon (22 now) while working remotely and earning a Western wage (I am half Russian, have a home there, so I will be able to save 70-80% of my income, for a family later). I feel that it is my duty to create life with my future Russian wife and God, in a traditional society. Currently I am going nuts at the state of the culture, and I just feel it is my calling to do this. Yesterday, I was talking about this with a friend, and it’s hard to explain but explaining my plan to him about moving, saving money, finding a wife, having a child there, it made so much sense, as if the Lord planted the idea in my mind, and that there couldn’t be a more logical plan. It’s odd to explain, but I feel like my life has been moving towards that plan.

However, I know Russia is Orthodox and becoming increasingly so since 1991. I won’t be going to the Muslim southern or eastern areas, I’ll be in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, or in little villages nearby. That would mean, however, only having a single Orthodox church nearby… I’m really torn, I really, REALLY don’t want to stay in this current culture that is against and afraid of Christianity and move to one where it is loved and cherished, but if that means burning in Hell, then I might not buy that plane ticket after all.

So even though I am baptized Catholic, this happened a long time ago and I haven’t gone to Church since because I never was told about it and my parents are agnostics / atheists. Recently I’ve started trying to figure out the truth and I found out that mainly thanks to metaphysical arguments that there probably is a God, and that Christianity is probably the closest to the truth. From there, I’ve realized very quickly that Protestantism and basically anything except for Christ’s church is not the right path. As the Orthodox Church split from the Catholic Church, I am looking to those two currently. I have referred to myself as Catholic but I am not acting as a Catholic yet, I’m still exploring.

Thank you - looking forward to your answers, I really do need some guidance here, I don’t know the ‘protocol’.

God bless.
 
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Perhaps there’s something I’m missing, but if you’re prepared to move whole countries, why not move to a Catholic country like Poland?
 
You’re going to get two different answers here, YES or NO. My answer is no, you will not go to hell.

Good luck!

ZP
 
The OP has residence rights in Russia. Moving to any other country would be more difficult from an administrative point of view.
 
Logistically, yes, it’s much the same thing. As a person who has moved both to countries where I had preexisting right of residence and countries where I did not, however, I can only say that the former is far easier to accomplish—especially if one already has a home there, which the OP said he does.

In any event, this is outside the scope of what the OP is asking.
 
OP, I can’t recommend that you become Orthodox either way. It’s great that you want to move to a place that is more tolerant of Christianity, but if it’s one that still had errors in it and causes you to not return to the Catholic Faith, is it really worth it?
 
Fauken said:
It’s great that you want to move to a place that is more tolerant of Christianity
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Russia’s only tolerant of Christianity insofar as the Russian Orthodox Church stays in line with the dictator’s plans.
 
You can remain Catholic and attend liturgy at an Orthodox Church if there is no Catholic church near you. I would refrain from receiving the Eucharist out of respect for Orthodox bishops (I may disagree with his view, but I respect his authority) that said, there are some parts of Russia where it is a little easier to be Catholic than others. Russia is a fascinating country, but if you were not raised there or in a similar country, prepare for cultural shock
 
I agree with this statement! God is pushed out of too many places on earth, and moving to a country that does not fully grasp Catholicism is a huge risk of the soul. I saw someone else suggested that you consider moving to a nearby country with Catholicism, like Poland. If you are working remotely, I hope you can find a more accepting country to live in, where you can continue your life on earth celebrating God’s true faith.
 
I am not qualified to reply about your hell/no hell question but if you move to Moscow/Saint Petersburg area there is a Catholic Archdiocese with more than 60 Catholic parishes. Search for Bishop Paolo Pezzi. and Archdiocese of Mother of God Moscow.
 
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It is not so uncommon to have huge dioceses in areas with not many Catholics or a largely unpopulated area. Think about the diocese of Fairbanks in Alaska or dioceses in Brazil, Africa etc. For personal experience I noticed that when the communities are very small they are usually more open and friendly to new parish members and visitors.
 
There are Roman Catholic churches in Russia. They had a excellent show about the Church in Russia on EWTN. And I know a missionary who worked their but it might have been in Siberia ⛄. ⛄. ❄️. ❄️ :coffee: You might try seeing where the Catholic churches are in Russia.
 
“There is one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all can be saved.” - Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215

“We declare, say , define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” - Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, 1302

“The Most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, also Jews, heretics, and schismatics can ever be partakers of eternal life, but that they are to go into the eternal fire ‘which was prepared for the devil and his angels’ (Mt. 25:41) unless before death they are joined with Her… No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ can be saved unless they abide within the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.” - Pope Eugene IV, Cantate Domino, 1441

It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

I know what the Balamand Agreement said, and I know the more recent teaching on the unity of all Christians, how sanctification may be found even outside the visible structure of the Church and so on. However, when I have to face my just Judge, I cannot be sure that I could tell Him “I became Orthodox/Anglican/what have you, because I thought the authoritative, clear teachings of three Popes didn’t apply to me”.

As a practical matter, if I were you, I would seek to be received into the Russian Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church, in union with the Holy Father, attend the Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy if that is your only option, and try to find a sympathetic Orthodox priest who would admit you to the sacraments.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
As a practical matter, if I were you, I would seek to be received into the Russian Byzantine Rite of the Catholic Church, in union with the Holy Father, attend the Russian Orthodox Divine Liturgy if that is your only option, and try to find a sympathetic Orthodox priest who would admit you to the sacraments.
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This is my answer in a nutshell.
I was in the Eastern Rite for 30 years and I loved it. It may be a culture shock, but it has such a richness and beauty, it may take some time to appreciate what the Eastern church has to offer. Best wishes on this new journey.
 
There are Catholics in Russia as well. If you live in Moscow or St. Petersburg, you should be able to find a parish.
 
But if he was going to live his life there, abstaining permanently from Communion would be a high price to pay.

Then again, in Moscow and Petersburg, which are world cities, there should be at least one Catholic church.

ICXV NIKA
 
Isn’t the question a bit of a false dilemma? I know only a small portion of the Russian population is Catholic, but the percentage of the Russian population that is Catholic is about the same as the percentage of the American population that is Eastern Orthodox, and there are obviously Eastern Orthodox churches in the US–there’s two in my city (technically one is in a neighboring city but it’s so close that it might as well be counted as part of my city)

Granted, there may be some areas in Russia where there aren’t Catholic churches to be found, but if you’re living in or near a large city then you shouldn’t have trouble finding one.
 
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