I became Orthodox about 10 years ago, but I've been interested in Orthodoxy for decades (for most of that time I was living too far from an Orthodox church to do anything about it).
Sorry about the delay in replying to your message. The typical service length does sound quite daunting. At my local church it is more like 3 hours (and the main service for Pascha itself will be even longer – nearly 5 hours by the time finishes at 02.30 on Easter morning). But Orthodox churches are very tolerant about people slipping in and out of services (if things get too much for me, I know I can simply go out to the church hall for a while). What I appreciate about Orthodox worship is its predictability (once you're familiar with the Liturgy, you can attend any Orthodox Liturgy in any language and know what's going on). And my local church is very comfortable with neurodivergent and learning disabled people.
If you're interested, there is a book on the church and disability by Summer Kinard (an autistic Orthodox lay theologian): Of Such Is the Kingdom. It is primarily about making the church more welcoming to families of disabled children, but she also says a good deal about the Orthodox view of disability and neurodivergence.
Sorry about the delay in replying to your message. The typical service length does sound quite daunting. At my local church it is more like 3 hours (and the main service for Pascha itself will be even longer – nearly 5 hours by the time finishes at 02.30 on Easter morning). But Orthodox churches are very tolerant about people slipping in and out of services (if things get too much for me, I know I can simply go out to the church hall for a while). What I appreciate about Orthodox worship is its predictability (once you're familiar with the Liturgy, you can attend any Orthodox Liturgy in any language and know what's going on). And my local church is very comfortable with neurodivergent and learning disabled people.
If you're interested, there is a book on the church and disability by Summer Kinard (an autistic Orthodox lay theologian): Of Such Is the Kingdom. It is primarily about making the church more welcoming to families of disabled children, but she also says a good deal about the Orthodox view of disability and neurodivergence.
