I'm so sorry for his loss. Did he have small children too? Praying for everyone. May his memory be from everlasting to everlasting.

LOL - and pretty too. :lol:

this is great information. It's on Firefox as well.. it's on the right side

never heard of it. Link?

In my tradition (EO) it is not unusual for many parishioners to *not* sing along (congregational singing) - especially among cradle EO people. It was off-putting to me at first, since I had been a member of the worship team in a previous church AND having congregational singing in all my previous traditions. It is hard for many Protestants to understand. But, I've come to realize that silence and quiet prayer/contemplation are just as an important aspect as singing during liturgy. Some of the most devout and pious people in my parish do not sing at all during services. (EO are all ACapella as well). But, we still have singing/chanting throughout the whole service, so it wouldn't really fit your needs if you want to find a church that has none. i've also heard that Quakers embrace silence as part of their services. I think that sounds wonderful.

I know this hasn't been asked, because many may not realize it, but I wanted to point out that our communion looks different. We use loaves of bread called Prosphora. It is leaven bread in the EO churches. My understanding is that the West always used unleavened and the East has always used leavened bread. It is not that one is better than the other, it is that we just use different scripture verses to emphasize our traditions. Prosphora is generally two flat loaves put together (for the 2 natures of Christ)... stamped with a seal on top. In the center of the seal is square with IC XC NIKA. "Jesus Christ conquers" That portion is called the Lamb and the priest cuts it out from the rest of the loaf. That is cut up and placed in the chalice with the wine and consecrated as the Eucharistic Meal. The rest of it is blessed, cut into bite-sized pieces, and given out after communion. It is called Antidoran - "Instead of the Gifts". Those who did not take communion and non-Orthodox *may* be given some. Although in some parishes only EO may partake. It varies from jurisdiction and parish. Communion is given from the chalice with a long-handled spoon.- you can see that in Milovany's photo on page 1. Everyone receives from the spoon and receive as little children. Our priest says: "The Handmaiden of God, Deborah, receives the body and blood of Christ for the remission of her sins and unto life everlasting." or some variation thereof to each person as they partake. I could not get my photos of the Prosphora I make to load, but you can google and image and see lots of them ;)

Mine is all in English. My jurisdiction is Orthodox church in America - which has it's roots in Russia. My daughter goes to a Russian Orthodox church, but the services are also in English. Of courst, that is not the case everywhere, but most parishes have been slowly switching over the last 20yrs. We have pews because our church is a former Methodist church. It hate them - they are too close together and I'm not tiny... so the back of my legs hit the pew. We stand for the service, with many people (esp. older folks & kids) sitting during certain times. The majority of the time we all stand.

every week is a mini-holy week. Christ's betrayal (always to remind ourselves to be watchful - that it could be us betraying Christ) and his death on Friday. Sunday's is a celebration of the Resurrection. Interestingly, the Jews fasted on Tues. and Thurs. We kept the fast but switched it to Weds & Friday.

I completely agree. I don't want this thread to de-evolve into what is wrong with other traditions. It would have been so much easier to be RC for me too. There's several parishes within 5 mins of my house, there are many Catholic homeschoolers in my area, it's way more accessible than the EO church for outsiders - which is the rest of my family, including my dh. The list goes on. However, Papal authority and the Immaculate conception were problematic for me. But, in the end, the EO church chose me. Although it wasn't easy at the beginning, worship is profound in a way that I cannot describe. The best way I can is by repeating what the envoys of Vladimir the Great said after he sent them out to study the religions of all his neighbors. They looked at many different religions (Christian and not) and ended up at Hagia Sofia. Writing back they said: "We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendour or beauty anywhere upon earth. We cannot describe it to you, only this we know, that God dwells there among humans, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places. For we cannot forget that beauty"

I do not know about lay people, but probably there is a limit. Priests and Deacons (the deaconate is an ordained position) who are widowed may not re-marry except for very, very rare instances - and then only with the blessing of their Bishop.

Yes, divorce and remarriage is permitted in the EO church (of course, it is discouraged if at all possible). The marriage ceremony is a bit different than for a 1st time marriage. I believe the EO church allows up to 2 re-marriages and then they would not allow (Liz Taylor would not be happy). I didn't know that about the Coptic church.

this thread cracks me up. It reminds me of Mrs. Cropley from the Vicar of Dibley, except I think you guys have had better results.

While I understand your frustration, I don't think this is the purpose of this or the other, "ask a....", threads.

I'm curious about this as well. Does it mean the movement will allow anyone to partake? (Buddhist, Wiccan, Jew, Baptist) or that the person self-identify as Christian? I'm wondering where/if there is a line drawn?

I agree with Elfknitter - I find this whole subject quite fascinating.

yes, there are continual discussions and attempts (probably that's too strong a word though) at reunification. Sadly, the divide between the Catholic and Eastern churches has widened since 1054... so it's probably harder now than it would have been 1000 years ago. I suspect and hope to see a reunification between the OO and EO in my lifetime. I do not expect the same between Rome and the East.

Elfknitter (love the name, btw). Masses are called Liturgy or Divine Liturgy in the East. It's kind of hard to explain. Here's a short synopsis: http://www.newmartyr.info/liturgyshape.html But, everything is either chanted or sung. Here's a video from my parish's Paschal weekend services from a few years ago. It begins with our priest intoning in chant: "Glory to the holy con-substancial, life-creating, and undivided Trinity...." then a friend of mine in the choir begins the chanting "Glory to God in the Highest..." She was about to start chanting one of the Psalms, but it cuts out to singing one of our hymns from the Altar, then the entire congregation begin.

That is basically correct. What the timeline didn't show is that there was an earlier split off of the Oriental churches (Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian, Indian) These churches only recognize the first 3 Ecumenical councils. EO and OO are very close theologically but are not in communion. This was largely due to language and geographical distance that exacerbated Christological issues (over oversimplifying a bit).

how awful! prayers.

I was up from 1:30 until almost 3am this morning. Sorry I missed you.

It does sound like a sucky bday. I hate b days too. Hope tomorrow is better.

My great-grandfather drank and smoked (filterless) and probably ate all the wrong things (i don't know for sure since we weren't close - he was a dirty old man and all the women avoided him).... he lived to be almost 100.

:grouphug: I would be very annoyed and frustrated too.

This is what I'm afraid of. She's definitely gone downhill cognitively, but she's not completely out of it. I'm just so shocked at how much she's been taken in by this guy...she absolutely refuses to see it. It's beyond being gullible. So sad.

She's not in either of those states. Too bad.