Seekers: What To Expect When You Visit An Orthodox Church

This page is meant to answer many of the basic questions that are asked by first-time visitors to the Orthodox Church. Hopefully it will help you to understand some of the things you might see that are unfamiliar to you. A Short History The Orthodox Church traces Her origins to the time of Jesus Christ and His apostles. In fact, you could say that the Orthodox Church was born on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in the form of tongues of fire from Heaven. From that point, missionary activity carried Her teachings to many parts of the world, including Greece, Asia Minor, Russia, many parts of both Eastern and Western Europe, and the entire Middle East and North Africa. In addition, the Faith extended into India and eventually found its way to the shores of this continent as well. However, a tragic separation occurred between the Eastern and Western branches of Christianity around the year 1054, and the entire Western Church, under the leadership of the Pope of Rome, fell away from the rest of the Holy Orthodox Church. Since that separation, the two traditions have developed in quite different ways, and this is part of the reason for the unfamiliarity experienced by visitors to an Orthodox church. ENOUGH HISTORY!!! Worship For All The Senses The first thing that you may notice when you visit us is that Orthodox worship engages all the five senses. For us worship is not a passive event. The burning candles and oil lamps, the color, form and placement of the icons, the music of the choir, the fragrance of the incense, the taste of the Bread and Wine, all work to focus our entire being on the worship of the Living God. Why Are There So Many Candles? Since the Savior Himself taught that He is the Light of the World (John 8:12), our candles and lamps ultimately refer to His radiance. The Light of Christ illuminates all humanity—in fact it enlightens the whole world. Some of our light is provided by oil lamps. These recall the parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids who kept their vigil for the bridegroom (Matthew 25:1-13), and help us to remember that we also must keep our watch for His coming again. Some of our light is provided by wax candles. In Psalm 68 we read that the wicked (i.e. those who hate God) will disperse when they encounter Him in just the same way that wax melts near a fire. Our prayer is that any wickedness in us will vanish as the wax of a candle vanishes and is consumed by the flame. But more practically, wax candles are simply a convenient and age-old means of providing light by which to see. The faithful light candles as a sign of their fervent prayer to God. We light candles and lamps before icons; we carry them in processions; we place them at various locations throughout the church building—simply to give off illumination. The more candles lit, the greater the illumination and greater is the image of the Empty Tomb of the Lord which shone forth with a brilliance far greater than the light of day. May I Light A Candle Too? Of course! While we ask our parishioners to purchase them, as our guests, you may take one and light it in the sand in one of the stands in the back of the church. Why Do You Use Incense? Psalm 141, declares “Let my prayer arise in Your sight as incense; the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.” Incense is thus linked to prayer. In the Revelation (8:1-5) we also see this connection in a Christian context. In addition, we show that we honor someone or something when we burn incense before it or them. You will notice that the Gospel Book upon the Altar Table (the verbal image of Christ), the Altar Table itself (a sign of the Throne of God), the icons (themselves representing the presence of the holy men and women and the events in the history of salvation), and finally all the faithful people who have assembled for worship are censed. (Remember that human beings are made in the image and according to the likeness of God), (Genesis 1:27) thus we are icons too. Why Are There So Many Icons Around? We read in the Epistle to the Hebrews (12:1-3) that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (literally, the martyrs) who watch after us and urge us on in our race toward Christ. We believe that the saints who have already run their race on earth indeed surround us—as in a stadium, the crowd surrounds the runners in the Olympics. In our homes, as well as in our churches, Orthodox Christians image this reality by the placement of icons. They are “Windows into Heaven” and are highly regarded by Orthodox believers. Why Do People Kiss Icons When They Enter And Depart From The Church? It is our belief that human beings have a deep God-given need to express what we feel inside when those feelings are pure and good. Orthodox Christians have great devotion and love for the individuals depicted in many of our icons. We have a great respect and veneration for the biblical and historical scenes depicted in our icons because those events are part of God’s plan of salvation for the life of the world. When an Orthodox Christian bows before and/or places a kiss upon an icon, the Gospel Book (or even another Christian) it is a sign of humility and devotion before God who acts through the individual (or Scriptures if that is the case) so that all His people may be brought back to Paradise. Many people do not understand this idea at first but little by little come to realize that it is the deepest kind of veneration, whereby the worshiper can actually experience heaven for a moment... Isn’t All That Idolatry? Are you worshipping your mother, father, husband, wife, son or daughter when you give that person a kiss? Of course not. It is our belief that the outward honor we pay to the material reality extends to the “prototype.” There is also a vast distinction between honor (i.e. veneration or respect), and worship. We worship God alone, and may have no others before Him (Exodus 20:3). The Orthodox Church has already dealt with the issue of those who could not make that distinction (i.e. the “iconoclasts”) in the 8th century, 7th Ecumenical Council. Why Is The Whole Service Sung A Capella? It is held that the human voice is at its best in song. The voice is the musical instrument created by God Himself. For Orthodox Christians then, the voice is the one instrument which is most fitting for the praise of God. Therefore all services are sung to reflect the heavenly music of the angels. The divine words of the services are much too precious to simply speak in normal, spoken form. Rather, they are couched in golden melodies fit for the worship of Almighty God. With the exception of the sermon, which is spoken, all parts of the services are sung.  Historically, it is the custom of most parishes that there be only the human voice to make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psalm 66) Why Do People Stand For The Whole Service? The Lord once declared that “Whenever two or more are gathered in My Name, I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20) Orthodox Christians could not conceive of simply sitting in the presence of the Lord especially while in worship. It is a sign of respect when the elderly, a judge or even the President of the United States enters a room that those assembled rise up. No less do we stand (or kneel in humility) before the King of Glory who comes invisibly upborn by unseen armies of angels. In the Orthodox tradition standing is the most appropriate attitude for prayer and worship because, for us worship is not a “spectator sport.” Those who are not able to stand for whatever reason are not, of course, expected to do so. You may use the chairs provided. Must I Stand All The While You should do what you feel comfortable doing. Many people get weary after a while and they sit down. Others feel more comfortable remaining on their feet so as not to appear conspicuous. Don’t worry. We only ask that you stand with us at least during the reading of the Gospel, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and at the time of Holy Communion. Liturgical Customs If you are coming from a western background, all of this action may seem very strange and make you feel uncomfortable at first. Before very long though, you will very naturally begin to participate. Why Do You Make The Sign Of The Cross? One of the things that you will see us do throughout the course of a service is to make the Sign of the Cross. The Sign of the Cross is an important expression of our faith. In fact, it has been said that as long as Orthodox Christians are taught to properly make the Sign of the Cross, the Orthodox Faith will remain safe, since this symbol encapsulates so much of our core theology. In the Orthodox Churches, the Sign of the Cross is made with the right hand. The thumb is joined with the first two fingers at the tip, symbolizing the Holy Trinity. The remaining two fingers are closed at the palm symbolizing the dual nature of Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, Who entered time as the God-Man Jesus Christ. The Sign of the Cross begins with the right hand touching the forehead, the abdomen, the right shoulder, and finally the left shoulder. The Sign of the Cross is typically made at the mention of the Holy Trinity, when the priest blesses the congregation, at the beginning and end of the reading of the Holy Gospel, and as a response to the petitions in the litanies. Why Do People Bow? A bow of reverence is frequently made when entering and leaving the church, passing in front of the altar, and in front of the holy icons. At times during the course of the service, the priest will even bow to the congregation and they will bow back. This bow is a sign of respect and submission to God (and to God’s people), and sometimes a symbol of repentance and forgiveness. Why Is The Priest Separated From The Congregation? The area where the priest celebrates the majority of the services lies beyond the icon screen (or Iconostasis) and is the SANCTUARY. This is where the Altar Table is situated, as well as the Table of Oblation, where the Holy Gifts are prepared before the Liturgy begins. (Leavened bread and red grape wine are the elements used for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. During the Divine Liturgy, these elements are mysteriously changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit). The Sanctuary is the Holy of Holies and the Altar is the Throne of God. Only those having a function in the Sanctuary are permitted within. The curtain hanging on the Royal Doors in the center of the icon screen is the New Testament version of the curtain shielding the Holy of Holies in the Temple at Jerusalem. Through the Royal Doors passes Jesus Christ in the form of His Word, the Holy Gospel and the Holy Gifts (THE FIRST ENTRANCE DURING THE DIVINE LITURGY IS CALLED THE LITTLE ENTRANCE AND THE SECOND ENTRANCE IS CALLED THE GREAT ENTRANCE). There are also two other doors on the icon screen called Deacon’s Doors, through which everyone passes except the priest or bishop during special times of the service, when he may pass through the Royal Doors. The Nave This is the body of the church and is where the faithful worship. In traditional Orthodox Churches there are no pews and the feeling is one of true oneness and participation. Pews were brought in from contact with the Western Churches, especially here in America. The Vestibule This part of the church historically has had a very important function. It held those who were either learning about the Church in preparation for Baptism (catechumens) or those under penance who could not enter into the nave for some particular sin. In monasteries, these vestibules were enormous (and some still are) and the monks ate their meals there. There are usually a set of doors separating the vestibule from the nave and these can be closed during the part of the service after the priest or deacon proclaims “THE DOORS, THE DOORS…” There are many other parts of the temple which you might be thinking about, so please ask about them! Needless to say, the Orthodox pray with all of their senses in order to fully immerse themselves in the total worship of God. A Word About Belief We are the Church of the New Testament, founded by Christ who said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. We believe in the Holy Trinity, One God manifested in Three Persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ, the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity, Who became a man for our salvation. Our services are primarily taken from the Holy Scriptures, but some of the hymns came into being during later centuries. We hold that sacred Tradition is just as vital as the Bible for the life of the Church, and that the Bible, in fact, cannot be properly understood or interpreted outside of that very Tradition. There is still much to say about the Mother of God, fasting, saints, the Feastdays of the Church, customs, etc… but if you like what you see and hear so far, there will be plenty of time to answer the lifetime of questions which only the Orthodox Church can answer in Her unique and mystical way. May God bless you in your search for the Truth.

The Minions Who Stole Christmas

Many years ago the Devil called a special meeting of the leadership of his minions.  He chose some of the most devious minds from the ranks of the Dominions, Principalities and Powers regimens. 

“We have a serious problem on our hands,” he said.  “This Christian celebration of the Nativity of Christ is growing way too big and must be stopped.  The message of God’s love and saving power in the Incarnation is ruining our chances with a lot of people.  It’s leading a lot of people to believe that they don’t have to settle for the mess, misery and destruction we helped to create.  Too many are seeking reconciliation with God through the God-man and His redemption of human nature and the fallen world through His Incarnation.  It must be stopped!  So I have called you here today to brainstorm the best ways to put a stop to this annual celebration of the Incarnation of Christ.”

A number of ideas were set forth and debated, all focusing on how to destroy or stop the annual Feast of the Nativity of Christ.  Some of the ideas discussed were good and some not so good.  Some involved a lot of evil and violence against Christians, wrecking havoc through sickness, suffering and even death.  But one of the minions reminded everyone that such efforts in the past had tended to drive people to a greater love and desire for God and His redemption rather than away from Him.

When the ideas were getting thin and the minions were about to adjourn for a “smoke”, one of the lesser known but brighter minions proposed a new idea and a different approach. 

“Maybe” he said, “instead of trying to destroy the celebration of the Nativity we should think of how we could sabotage it and make it our own.”  The room grew eerily silent as the idea sunk in and almost instantly the Devil and his demons instinctively knew the minion had hit on something.  Yes, this was it!  It was ingenious!  “Tell us more,” prodded the Devil. 

“The idea,” continued the minion, “would be to let people celebrate, indeed to encourage people to celebrate while little by little over time we plant ideas and customs into the celebration that will change it so gradually from one generation to the next that eventually the true meaning and message will be lost.  People will continue to celebrate each year but it will be a celebration that we delight in rather than one that brings fear and dread to our beings.”   The idea was so simple, yet so profound that the air was full of excitement.  It was then suggested that they break into small groups to brainstorm ideas on how to accomplish this brilliant idea of sabotage.

When the brainstorming session had ended and the various ideas were collected a committee was appointed to put the ideas into a manual and provide a copy to all the demons for immediate execution.

The chapters of the manual formed alliteration: The Purity of the Feast, The Perversion of the Festivities and The Pretensions of a Few.  Aahh! This was it!  (The demons loved to use alliterations.  They sounded cute and ingenious. They could be easily used to manipulate the subject and make the text say what they wanted it to say and people loved the entertainment aspect of alliterations. Years later, many preachers would adopt alliterations as one of their favorite tools for preaching, often with the same results.) 

First, the demons had to understand the purity of the Feast before they could begin to understand how to pervert it.  They knew the Feast was a holy day in the Church that was kept holy and preserved in a number of ways.  The Feast was never celebrated before the Feast Day.  The Feast was preceded by a period of 40 days of prayer, self-denial, fasting, almsgiving and confession, all in preparation to receive and worship the Holy Nativity in Spirit and in Truth.  Only on the Feast Day would there be celebration and the celebration then continued for the twelve days after until the Feast of Theophany (the manifestation of Christ as God and God as Trinity in the Holy Baptism of the Saviour).  These celebrations centered in the worship services of the Church.  During this time the hymns proclaimed the joy and truth of the meaning of the Incarnation.  Thus, the purity of the Feast was maintained and the true meaning of the Feast was celebrated.  The Faithful received the Grace of God through the Divine Services to unite themselves to the God-man born of the Blessed Virgin Mary to become partakers of the Divine Nature.  The Faithful knew that without the Incarnation there is no Salvation.  The minions knew this had to change if they would ever have a chance to make the Feast their own.

The name itself was a problem and a good place to begin to whittle away.  “So long as the name contains a reference to the Holy Nativity of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ,” the minions reasoned, “there would be no hope of change.”  This title would always keep the celebration focused on Christ’s Incarnation.  “A new name is essential,” they concluded.

But the minions knew they could never get away with changing things in the Church suddenly or with replacing something holy with something obviously evil or demonic.  They knew it takes time, much time and patience over many years, and they knew the changes have to appear as something good at least at the beginning and on the surface.   Furthermore, they knew their best bet would be to conquer and divide.  If they could get groups to separate from the one Church and One Faith and form rival groups with divergent teachings, they could easily use this to their advantage.

Now the demons knew that it was next to impossible to get anything about the Church changed in the East.  The Fathers in the East were staunch and uncompromising in their defense of the One Apostolic Faith and Church and their rejection of any innovations.  So they turned their attention to Rome and the West where the winds of change and innovation were already well under way and gaining acceptance as a result of Rome’s separation from the Orthodox Faith of the East.  It was noted that the West was more and more calling the annual feast the Christ Mass instead of the Feast of the Nativity of Christ.  Now here they saw potential for real change.  Eventually, this could be abbreviated into Christmas and finally the word Christmas would gain widespread acceptance in the world and could be used without any reference or recognition of the Nativity of Christ.  This would be the first of many steps for the eventual and complete sabotage of the Feast of the Incarnation.  With this first step it was now only a matter of time until everything could be turned on its head and inside out.

The second section of the manual dealt with the second alliteration, The Perversion of the Festivities.  Up until now the focus of the festivities was on the Feast Day and after the Feast Day the primary focus was the worship and glorification of the Feast in the hymns and prayers of the Divine Services.

In this regard, the first thing that had to change was the focus on prayer and fasting leading up to the Feast.  The minions knew that once the Feast was renamed it was only a matter of time until the Feast would gain acceptance in the world and then it was only a matter of time until the world would celebrate Christmas as a worldly, self-indulgent and materialistic holiday.  Thus, over time, the fasting and prayers and the meaning of the Incarnation would be replaced by dinners, parties, drinking, commercialism and in general a celebration for the sake of celebration.  To be sure certain historical elements would be retained such as almsgiving, the emphasis on peace and good will and the remembrance of Saint Nicholas as a symbol of Christmas love and compassion.  But the demons knew it was only a matter of time until these “good” ideas would also be perverted into self-worship and self-indulgence – a humanistic worship of Man.  The demons knew all that was necessary for all of this to happen over time was for the celebration of Christmas to be separated from the celebration of the Holy Nativity in the one true Faith and Church.  

Slowly but surely the world and Christians who separated from the Church began to introduce festivities that would eventually succumb to a worldly celebration with no connection to the Nativity of Christ and the Incarnation.

The Christmas tree was one of these early introductions.  Some say Martin Luther was the “inventor” of the Christmas tree.  The idea was that the evergreen tree was a reminder of eternal life in Christ.  And then came the lights, - candles at first and then eventually electric lights.  These were reminders of Christ the Light of the World.

But over time, separated from the Church, the Christmas tree and the lights became more prominent with less meaning or connection to the Incarnation.  Eventually, the world would celebrate Christmas in a pagan way using the Christmas tree and lights.  Soon the world would add snowmen, sleigh bells, mistletoe and all the rest.  These would become nothing more than cheerful decorations to help create a certain “spirit” which was essentially a self-created warm, cozy and fuzzy feeling that makes everyone think they have the “spirit of Christmas”.   The minions danced with glee when they envisioned such developments. 

The same thing happened with Saint Nicholas.  St. Nicholas was venerated in the Church as a godly bishop from Myra of Lycia (today’s Turkey) who defended the true Faith and true Church at the First Ecumenical Council against the Arian heresy.  In the Church he is venerated for his love not only for the truth of the Incarnation but also for the poor and suffering.  In no time at all the world stole St. Nicholas from the Church and created a Christmas idol called Santa Claus.  In this, the minions rejoiced.   Here was a figure, a new incarnation that would eventually replace Christ in the celebration of Christmas.  All the attributes of God would be assigned to an imaginary and make believe figure.  Parents would teach their children to believe in a fairy tale as a reality right along side of the story of the birth of Jesus.  The minions surmised that the story of Jesus would become a fairy tale in the minds of people just like Santa Claus.  Parents would teach their children to believe in Santa Claus just like they were to believe in Jesus.  They would teach them to pray to Santa, trust in Santa and hope in Santa.  After all, Santa Claus (not Jesus) would be the source of all good gifts at Christmas.  He would possess all the attributes of God: holy – he is like a saint; loving and compassionate; omnipresent – he is present at all times in all malls and all parades in all the world; omniscient/all knowing- he knows when you are asleep or awake and if you have been naughty or nice and he knows what you want even if you don’t get a chance to talk to him - he sees and discerns your heart and mind; omnipotent/all powerful – he is able to make reindeer fly and with a small sleigh deliver millions of toys around the world in a single night.  Yes, Santa Claus was the best idea of all for sabotaging the message of the Incarnation.  Santa is God incarnate and the true God-man is no longer needed.

Another ingenious idea of the minions was to create a big emphasis on family and children at Christmas.  This seemed a good and natural part of Christmas.  But the minions intended that eventually, Christmas would focus almost entirely on the children and seeing their wide eyes on Christmas morning, and about families getting together with some eggnog or cocktails and lots of food and feeling all warm and fuzzy inside while listening to Hear Comes Santa Claus.  And the spirit of Christmas will really be there if it’s a white Christmas.

With these changes in place the “peace on earth, good will to men” of Christmas would no longer be understood as a part of the Kingdom of God resulting from the Incarnation and experience in His Church but rather a worldly and humanistic utopian dream that the “spirit” of Christmas creates for a few days each year only to be forgotten the day after when everyone is relieved that its finally over. 

As the minions reviewed the manual they were amazed at their own ingenious ideas.  The goal would be to make people think they are celebrating Christmas when in fact they are celebrating themselves and their own self-indulgence.   “What a plan,” they surmised, “these things will make Christmas our own! Only in the true Church will the Nativity of Christ still be observed rightfully and they are so few it hardly matters.”

“But there is still one problem,” said a fiery eyed minion.  “What about all the other professing Christians of Rome, Protestantism and Evangelicalism who will continue to insist on ‘keeping Christ in Christmas’?”

“Not to worry,” exclaimed the brains behind the plan.  “This is all covered in the third section of the manual, The Pretensions of the Few.  “So long as they cease to call it the Feast of the Holy Nativity of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and so long as they cease to observe the prayer and fasting leading up to the Feast but instead join the world in its celebration of parties, snowmen, lights, sleigh bells, Santa Claus and self-indulgence their efforts at keeping Christ in Christmas will amount to very little.  And so long as they reduce it all to the children and families getting together, and the make believe ‘spirit of Christmas and peace on earth, good will to men’ all their talk about keeping Christ in Christmas will be meaningless.  They will even cancel their church services on Christmas day because it’s ‘all about the family’ rather than all about the worship of God and the Incarnation.  And whatever kinds of celebrations they do attempt in their churches will be mostly some forms of worldly entertainment that will celebrate the performers and entertain the audience with little or no connection to the true meaning of the Incarnation.”

“To be sure,” one of the minions concluded, “someone will one day expose our plan and some of those Christians will read it and think ‘how true’ and they will ‘Like’ it on Facebook but then they will continue as usual to celebrate the pagan Christmas of the world as usual.  It’s just too hard and to unpopular to do it any other way.”

A Review of the Minion’s Manual

by joseph bragg

FAITH OF OUR FATHERS (REALLY) PART II

     On those rare occasions when we would come across some reference to the Apostolic Fathers when I was a Bible college student in Nashville, Tennessee, it was always somehow implied or expressly stated that these Fathers had fallen away from the truth into error and were therefore, for the most part, discounted. They may have had a few things to say that were ok but mostly, it was understood that they had departed from the true Christian Faith. 

      At Concordia Seminary, in St. Louis, Missouri I had a little more exposure to the Fathers and they were given a bit more credence but in the end they were dismissed as inconsequential or contradictory to our Faith. 

     It was only when I actually read the writings of the Apostolic Fathers many years later that I came to see things were not as I had been told. The writings of the Apostolic Fathers sound just like the writings of the Apostles themselves, revealing that their minds and hearts were taught by and saturated in the Apostolic teachings. It also became clear to me that these Fathers were very particular and devoted to maintaining, preserving and defending the teachings they had received from the Apostles without change or compromise. They staunchly defended the Apostolic teachings even to the shedding of their blood and giving themselves over to unbelievable tortures and deaths. These were not men who compromised or changed what they had been taught by and received from the Apostles.

      So why did our modern day “Fathers” discount them and their teachings as being false or unreliable? The answer became clear to me. It was because they taught things that our modern day version of Christianity did not believe or want to hear. That’s it. There was no other basis or reason for dismissing them out of hand except for the fact that we held a different understanding of the Christian Faith. So I had to ask myself. Who changed the Faith? Who is more believable?  Are we to reject the teachings of those who were taught by the Apostles, who all taught the same undivided Faith and who gave their lives rather than to compromise, while embracing the teachings of those some 2,000 years later in the midst of thousands of conflicting and contradicting beliefs, interpretations and innovations? I knew if we wanted to understand the mind and teachings of the American Fathers of the Constitution we would read the writings of those Fathers and those who were taught by them rather than the conclusions of the conflicting voices today. It was clear to me that the same had to be true regarding the Church and the Christian Faith. 

     The more I read the Fathers, the more I came to see that their teachings actually were true to the Scriptures, while modern day “Fathers” were deviating, twisting or ignoring many of the things taught in the Scriptures. There were several main areas where this came to light as I read the Apostolic Fathers and documents: 
1.Teachings as to whether the Church is visible or invisible 
2.Whether the Church is congregational or hierarchical and the place or necessity of bishops
 3.How the early Church worshiped
4.How disputes and controversies are to be resolved in the Church 
5.The understanding of salvation – what it means to be saved and how it is accomplished 
6.The meaning and place of Baptism and Holy Communion and how they relate to our salvation
 -To Be Continued-