It was time.

Countless hours was spend over the last year or so reading and studying about the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was now time to visit a church and see how they do things – time to move from theology to practical application.

God also provided us with the perfect opportunity to visit such a church. Namely, we didn’t have any church responsibilities due to our son’s birth – yet, at the same time, he was taking his sweet time coming our of the womb.

So we had a “free” day in the Valley to visit the local Greek Orthodox Church. 😀

First Impressions

We arrived at 10:30 am to the Divine Liturgy – a little timid and unsure about what to expect. Walking into the chapel, we slipped into the back pew and looked around. The first thing I noticed was the lack of people (only about 7 or 10 people – all in the back of the chapel).

The second thing was the chapel itself. In a word, it was beautiful! Full of wonderful icons and candles with a glorious wooden wall separating the congregation from the ‘holy’ stage – my words for the part of the chapel housing all the religious items used during the service (i.e. crosses, candles, bells, bread, wine, Bible, etc).

The third thing to hit my senses was the singing of a small choir in the back of the church (I love this!! In fact, I wish we could move our worship band to the back of the church!). The really cool part about this choir was that they were singing in Greek. A truly international feel. =)

Second Impressions

As the service continued, I began to notice that the priest was singing or chanting his prayers – both the English and Greek ones (both languages were spoken throughout the service along with several others). In fact, the choir/congregation and the priest were engaging in a type of dance in which they took turns singing/praying to Jesus.

Another cool thing was the fact that they priest stood with his back towards the congregation facing the Holy Icon of Christ. It really felt like the whole service was directed towards Christ, rather then towards the congregation like it is in most Evangelical/Protestant churches. (The priest even had some prayers dictated in the Liturgy that was suppose to be inaudible to the congregation.)

The church also slowing begin to fill up as the service went on – so much so that by the time the priest came to Communion, the church was pretty full (about 50 to 60 folks). Afterwards, Em and I were discussing this phenomenon and came to the conclusion since the main “congregational” aspect of the service was Communion, it made sense that folks for come to that part while missing the first part.

Speaking of the first part, when we first walked into the chapel, we could really feel the presence of God. It was very strong. As the service went on, the feeling of God begin to fade – mostly because of the newest of the service. In discussing it later on, we think that part of it comes from the fact that those there at the beginning really were pushing in and seeking God. Their prayers blended in with the prayers of the priest and the singing of the choir.

Those people who came later seem to come mostly for the sacraments and not for praising the Lord. Granted, I don’t know that for real – but that is the way it SEEMED to us. 😕

Third Thoughts

I loved it.

Yes, it was different and hard to follow (I spend most of the service trying to figure out what was going on and when to stand/sit). But looking beyond the obvious, you can see the beauty of God and the dedication of the people.

It was a service to the King. The priest wasn’t there to entertain the congregation – he was there to offer prayers and praises to the King of King.

Ministry to the congregation came afterwards during their weekly “coffee hour” – or during the week. It was less of a ‘church’ and more of a community. A group of people whose lives are intertwined with each other and who happen to gather on Sunday to glorify God. (we hung out there after the service for an hour or so chatting and drinking coffee).

All in all, it was a very good visit. We learned a lot, experienced a ton and made some more friends in the Kingdom.