you are the second person i know now from a Greek Orthodox background, the first is a friend's husband. I think this Christian denomination is so understated that I grew up thinking it was just Protestants and Catholics. I know very little of Greek Orthodox through my friend but the culture and doctrine similarities and differences are very interesting. 

I grew up on the conservative protestant side, when we were young, our parents were like ' you can marry anyone but a catholic boy' lol. Of course everyone widened their perspective over time but i think history and science was what drew me a clear idea on what i wanted to absorb from the religion and what i didn't. 

I like the moral takeaways from the bible and use it often, and I think how the community comes together is really wonderful. But i did not enjoy the cultural impositions for fear of losing the religion and the political movements around it and overtime i realised this happens in many religions. 

Thanks for sharing, I know very little of Greek Orthodox practices, yet its so widely adopted in Eastern Europe, Russia, Greece. It information like this that often reminds me of how little I know of the world.