A week ago, I ventured out for another church experience - but I wanted to stay in Nicholasville. Most of the churches had 11:00 services, and I didn't want to start that late. So I ventured to a church that I have intended to visit for some time: St. Athanasius Orthodox Church (St. Athanasius is pictured, right). I had never before been to an Orthodox Church, and my newness was immediately apparent to Bert (the day's Reader and also the Mission Council Warden). St. A's gets a lot of visitors and Bert was quick to pull me aside, ask if I was a first-timer, and give me a much-needed head's up. Thank you, Bert!The service is completely unlike any service I have ever attended in my life. Bert provided me with a copy of the Divine Liturgy (of St. John Chrysostom, a Liturgy in use since about A.D. 400). It was, thankfully, in English (it also contained fantastic explanatory footnotes highlighting the doctrines and traditions of the church). He did warn me that, at times, it would be challenging to follow but that anyone would gladly help me find where we were in the service (true). Bert also advised me that I could sit or stand as I felt comfortable.
With the exception of a 10 minute sermon on Zacchaeus (it was Zacchaeus Sunday, which apparently marks the shifting between the Christmas season and Paschal aka Easter), I stood with the other congregants for about 90 minutes (this is the "short" Liturgy; the original Liturgy lasted over five hours and special Liturgies can last 14+ hours).
The service was almost entirely intoned by a small choir with congregational response. There is a weekly communion (closed to Orthodox only) which involves a Eucharistic prayer seeking God's presence in the bread and wine (substantially Catholicism's transubstantiation, but described in Orthodoxy as a Mystery). Incense, candles, kissing of walking to icons, bowing elevated each of the senses and gave a very overwhelming, yet peaceful and holy presence (the Orthodox view these things not as an end in itself, but as a physical way of being closer to God). Oh, and the Orthodox bless themselves A LOT, but the sign of the Cross is unique.
We cross with our right hands, touching forehead, chest, right shoulder, then left shoulder to end over the heart, the opposite of Catholics/Episcopalians. We hold our hands in a prescribed way: thumb and first two fingertips pressed together, the last two fingers pressed down to the plam. Here as elsewhere, the Orthodox impulse is to make everything we do to reinforce the Faith. ... The three fingers held together represent the Trinity; the two fingers against the palm represent the two natures of Christ. [Brochure: 12 Things I Wish I Had Known by Frederica Mathewes-Green]The Zacchaeus (the wee little man who couldn't see Jesus so he climbed up in a tree) sermon was good, though the usual minister was not there during my visit. The gist of the sermon: We, like Zacchaeus, cannot see Jesus beyond a crowd of people and distraction. We must push aside those distractions. "We entertain ourselves so we do not have to feel." Very Orthodox. The service is not about entertainment; it is about feeling the presence of God and worshiping Him.
After the service, Bert visited me again and we talked for about 10 minutes. I asked questions which he answered. He showed me around the chapel, explaining the icons and the traditions. After the service, the Orthodox gather in the back room for a Common Meal. Every week. What a sense of community! It was a beautiful service, though completely different from anything I had previously experienced. The people were kind and completely comfortable with a newcomer in their midst (apparently, I was one of several visitors).
