SemiSweet Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 I'm taking a religion class, one assignment is to attend a service of a church/denomination that you are unfamiliar with. I have chosen (I think) to go to an Orthodox service, but I can't go to regular Sunday service because I procrastinated too long. The Orthodox Church near me has a service on Thursday, their calendar says "Great Liturgy with foot washing". I'm unfamiliar with this. Would this be an innappropriate time to visit? If it is, what should I know about visiting? I'm looking around their website and learning about etiquette and beliefs in general. Anything you can tell me would be helpful. It's very intimidating to walk into a church you are not familiar with. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Probably not the most easy one to visit. You've chosen Holy Week so there should be a lot of services. If you pm me the parish website I can make a couple of suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 That might be very interesting, but a bit of a beast of a service. Ours is about 3 hours and the Orthodox are always longer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 And I'll post more when I get to a real keyboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemiSweet Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Probably not the most easy one to visit. You've chosen Holy Week so there should be a lot of services. If you pm me the parish website I can make a couple of suggestions. PMd you. Forgive my ignorance, but why is this week a Holy Week if you don't mind my asking? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Probably not the most easy one to visit. You've chosen Holy Week so there should be a lot of services. If you pm me the parish website I can make a couple of suggestions. I would take Patty up on this suggestion. Some parishes do services in English, some in a different language, some in a combination of languages. In a large parish, you can blend in more, in a smaller parish, perhaps not so much, as in any place of worship. The Holy Thursday service IS long. That said, one of the first Orthodox services I attended was in Budapest on Holy Thursday. The service was mainly in Hungarian, with a little bit of Greek. I only stayed a few hours, but still remember it as absolutely magical. I not only didn't understand the language, I also was confused about what wad going on some of the time. But I still loved the experience. I think if you are open to letting the sounds and scents and visual imagery, you can have a memorable experience. Btw, what a great class assignment! But do wear comfortable shoes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 PMd you. Forgive my ignorance, but why is this week a Holy Week if you don't mind my asking? For the Easter cycle, the Orthodox Church uses a different calendar. Easter/Pascha comes *after* Passover. This year, Passover, which is eight days, ends on Saturday, April 30. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluegoat Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 PMd you. Forgive my ignorance, but why is this week a Holy Week if you don't mind my asking? Holy Week in liturgical traditions is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter. There are typically a lot of special services - it is the most intense and important set of religious festivals in the year. The Orthodox Church uses a different (older) calendar to set the date for Easter, so they are just coming up to it now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemiSweet Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) I would take Patty up on this suggestion. Some parishes do services in English, some in a different language, some in a combination of languages. In a large parish, you can blend in more, in a smaller parish, perhaps not so much, as in any place of worship. The Holy Thursday service IS long. That said, one of the first Orthodox services I attended was in Budapest on Holy Thursday. The service was mainly in Hungarian, with a little bit of Greek. I only stayed a few hours, but still remember it as absolutely magical. I not only didn't understand the language, I also was confused about what wad going on some of the time. But I still loved the experience. I think if you are open to letting the sounds and scents and visual imagery, you can have a memorable experience. Btw, what a great class assignment! But do wear comfortable shoes. Thanks so much, I am very excited but nervous. I don't mind long, I have to write a paper, so that just means there will be more to write about, I just don't want to be innappropriate or offensive by going at an inopportune time. I did pm Patty Joanna though, I pretty much just have Thursday and Friday, so I have a few days to work in the paper, to work with but by the looks of their calendar there is a lot going on. Edited April 28, 2016 by SemiSweet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Just read the last part of your post. Here is my advice, as a non-Orthodox who has attended many, many services. Be reverent and pay attention, but do not try to imitate the people who seem to cross themselves more than other people of who do deeper bows. Orthodox services can be intimidating at first, especially in churches that do not have pews. There is some moving around, just follow the other people. I would look on your website and check how to make the sign of the cross, Orthodox style. You might want to check you tube videos for the type of service you are going to. If your church is a particular Orthodox type (Greek, Russia, OCA), try to find a video that corresponds. At the entrance to the church, there will probably be people selling candles. Usually a price will be posted for large and small candles. It would be looked upon kindly if you bought some. But there is a ritual for lighting them. You could say you are visiting, first time in Orthodox Church and wanted to make a donation for someone else to get candles. In any case, it might make you feel more at ease to touch base with someone. Oh, and under no circumstances would you receive communion. Not at all. There are other things you can do, like venerate an icon, but it might be safer to stand towards the back of the church and observe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thanks so much, I am very excited but nervous. I don't mind long, I have to write a paper, so that just means there will be more to write about, I just don't want to be innappropriate or offensive by going at an inopportune time. I did pm Patty Joanna though, I pretty much just have Thursday and Friday, so I have a few days to work in the paper, to work with but by the looks of their calendar there is a lot going on. All the Holy Week services are beautiful, IMO. If you have Saturday morning free, check that out. To see if there is a service then. The service is fairly easy to understand, as a large part of it is readings from the Old Testament. It is similar to the western Church's Saturday night Easter vigil, if you are familiar with that, many of the same readings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuckoomamma Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 The Friday evening service is beautiful. Between Thursday and Friday, I'd recommend Friday. Saturday evening is the most beautiful if you can make it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyx4 Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 I'm Orthodox as well. I would attend Friday's service between the two. It's beautiful. And no one cares if you buy a candle or not. Most of the people are moving around venerating icons, lighting candle, or in my case, wrangling children. Just come in, sit or stand where you feel comfortable and take it all in. Do you know where you plan to go yet? Did you happen to see if the services are in English? Usually, I've found, if the website is in English most of the service is as well. If you have to use Google translate...well, not much will probably be in English..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Posting the link to the social group, Exploring Orthodoxy. http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/forum/140-exploring-orthodox-christianity/ Don't expect a lot of action in the coming days. We're busy. :0) (It's Holy Week, and there are a lot of services.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 Thanks so much, I am very excited but nervous. I don't mind long, I have to write a paper, so that just means there will be more to write about, I just don't want to be innappropriate or offensive by going at an inopportune time. I did pm Patty Joanna though, I pretty much just have Thursday and Friday, so I have a few days to work in the paper, to work with but by the looks of their calendar there is a lot going on. PM'd you back. You've got a *wonderful* parish to visit. You will not offend by attending services. Most likely you will be mistaken for a non-practicing, once-a-year Orthodox. Sad, but true. :0) Anyway, the parish you are visiting is full of people who have converted as adults or with their parents, and very likely remember their own first visit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 I'd also recommend going Friday if you can. I love Thursday services too, but it can be long. We don't do the foot washing but we have the Passion Gospels on Thursday evening.... it clocks in at more than 2 hours. I love it, but it can be a hard one of the uninitiated. Finding a parish that does it mostly/all in English is very helpful too. Hopefully PJ can guide you on that. Good luck! I wish more people would do what you're doing. Orthodox services are so very different than most every other Christian tradition, I think its great to come and see what it's all about. I wish I'd done it when I was younger. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemiSweet Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 I went! It was so lovely. Thank you all for your help, the advice helped a lot and I didn't feel too uncomfortable at all. The people there were so very kind and friendly and explained exactly what the service this afternoon was about. Dh and I both really enjoyed it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.