Hi! Thanks for your comments, they really helped.

Hey there! Nice to see I'm not all alone out here. *grins*

The atheists in our churches were spouses that if we "loved and accepted enough would come around to the Lord". :)

Ah yes...an Eegee's addict. lol I prefer the slushes myself. When I have lived out of state I always miss the salsa.

Yeah....I had thought that EO's were more tolerant of some things...if you've ever been in a Greek parish you know that conservatives are rare. And come to think of it, in our Antiochian parish we had a few "known" atheists which were treated just as well as anyone else, so I guess the only stress would be in your family.

I'm in Tucson actually. I love it far more than The Valley.

Wow...sounds so much like me! You can read the brief version of my journey here: http://doubtingfaith.blogspot.com/2009/05/eintob-introduction.html

For me, being a very black and white thinker, the EOC was The Answer. I started having problems in my RCIA classes when I was asking the deacon about the papacy and he couldn't really address my problems. He told me that I should just try the Eastern Rite and the problem would go away. I met with a priest at the local Byzantine parish and all the books he gave me kept saying that the Eastern Rite was just like the EOC. Called the priest at the Antiochian parish (AP Fr. David Barr) and he was so awesome! He spent days working through my questions with me and tried to keep me from getting out of hand. Then once I read Bp. Kallistos Ware's book...well...that was it. My wasband was Not. On. Board. It was a very difficult time for us. But everyone was so nice to him...he came around after a year or so. I was a Franky Schaeffer style convert....very hardcore, very zealous. Headcoverings, weekly confession, skirts, communion as often as possible. A couple bad priests that came through really exploited my trust. It was always a struggle getting the cradles to care about anything. Then when my marriage ended, everyone turned their backs on me. It was a real bucket of cold water to the face! I tried really hard to find someplace...any place to keep faithful. Vacillated between Buddhism and paganism for awhile. But I just couldn't keep it. "The God Delusion" was the final nail in the coffin for me.

I can't imagine how much stress you must be under to be leaving it all without those you care about. But, on the other hand, it's easy to be blend in with the cradles who come for the coffee. : /

I know what you mean...I've never come across a former EO convert. Would love to hear more about your story!