Who Am I Now?
The Vows and Vision of Baptism
Deeply momentous in one’s life — even echoing into eternity — is the Mystery of Baptism. The Holy Spirit descends to do His transfiguring work. Vows are made and a vision is given to the newly-illuminated warrior of Christ.
To help us recall the glory to which we are called, here are excerpts from the Baptism and

Chrismation services:
From the EXORCISM

• "Look upon Thy servant; prove him/her and search him/her, and root out of him/her every operation of the Devil. Rebuke the unclean spirits and expel them, and purify the works of Thy hands; and exerting Thy strong might, speedily crush down Satan under his/her feet; give him/her victory over the same, over his foul spirits; that having obtained mercy from Thee, he/she may be worthy to partake of Thy heavenly Mysteries; and may ascribe unto Thee glory: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to ages of ages”.
• "Open the eyes of his/her understanding that the light of Thy Gospel may shine brightly in him/her. Yoke unto his/her life a radiant Angel, who shall deliver him/her from every snare of the adversary, from encounter with evil, from the demon of the noonday, and from evil visions”.
• "Expel from him/her every evil and impure spirit which hideth and maketh its lair in his/her heart.”
• "Make him/her a reason-endowed sheep in the holy flock of Thy Christ, an honorable member of Thy Church, a child of the light, and an heir of Thy Kingdom; that having lived in accordance with thy commandments, and preserved inviolate the Seal, and kept his/her garment undefiled, he/she may receive the blessedness of the Saints in Thy Kingdom”.
• "Dost thou renounce Satan, and all his angels, and all his works, and all his service, and all his pride?”
• "Hast thou renounced Satan?”
• "Dost thou unite thyself unto Christ?”
• "Hast thou united thyself unto Christ?”
• "I bow down before the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit: the Trinity, One in Essence and undivided”.

From the PRAYERS

• "O Master, Lord our God, call Thy servant (name) to Thy holy Illumination, and grant unto him/her that great grace of Thy holy Baptism. Put off from him/her the old man, and renew him/her unto life everlasting, and fill him/her with the power of Thy Holy Spirit, in the unity of Thy Christ, that he/she may be no more a child of the body, but a child of Thy kingdom”.
• "That he/she may prove himself/herself to be a child of the Light, and an heir of eternal good things...That he/she may be a member and partaker of the death and resurrection of Christ our God...That he/she may preserve his/her baptismal garment and the earnest of the Spirit pure and undefiled unto the dread Day of Christ our God, let us pray to the Lord”.
• "Because of the tender compassion of Thy mercy, O Master, Thou couldst not endure to behold mankind oppressed by the Devil; but Thou didst come, and didst save us. We confess Thy grace. We proclaim Thy mercy. We conceal not thy gracious acts. Thou hast delivered the generations of our mortal nature. By Thy birth Thou didst sanctify the Virgin’s womb”.
• "Let all adverse powers be crushed beneath the sign of the image of Thy Cross”.
• "For Thou hast said, O Lord: Wash ye, be ye clean; and put away evil things from your souls. Thou hast bestowed upon us from on high a new birth through water and the spirit”.
• "Grant that he/she who is baptized therein may be transformed; that he/she may put away from him/her the old man, which is corrupt through the lusts of the flesh, and that he/she may be clothed upon with the new man, and renewed after the image of Him who created him/her; that being buried, after the pattern of Thy death, in baptism, he/she may, in like manner, be a partaker of Thy Resurrection and having preserved the gift of Thy Holy Spirit, and increased the measure of grace committed unto him/her, he/she may receive the prize of his/her high calling, and be numbered with the first-born whose names are written in heaven”.
• "Blessed is God, Who illumineth and sanctifieth every one who cometh into the world: now and ever, and to ages of ages”.

From the ANOINTING with OIL

• The servant of God (name) is anointed with the oil of gladness; in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...unto the healing of soul and body...unto hearing of faith...Thy hands have made me and have fashioned me...that he/she may walk in the way of Thy commandments, O Lord”.

From the BAPTIZING

• “The servant of God (name) is baptized in the Name of the Father...and of the Son...and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”.
• "The servant of God (name) is clothed with the garment of righteousness, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”.
• "Vouchsafe unto me a robe of light, O Thou who clothest Thyself with light as with a garment: Christ our God, plenteous in mercy”.

From the CHRISMATING

• “Do Thou, the same Master, compassionate King of all, grant also unto him/her the seal of the gift of Thy holy, and almighty, and adorable Spirit, and participation in the holy Body and the Precious Blood of Thy Christ. Keep him/her in Thy sanctification; confirm him/her in the Orthodox faith, deliver him/her from the Evil One, and from the schemes of the same. Preserve his/her soul in purity and uprightness, through the saving fear of Thee, that he/she may please Thee in every deed and word, and may be a child and heir of Thy heavenly kingdom”.
• "O Thou who, through holy baptism, hast given unto Thy servant remission of sins, and hast bestowed upon him/her a life of regeneration: Do Thou, the same Lord and Master, ever graciously illumine his/her heart with the light of Thy countenance. Maintain the shield of his/her faith unassailed by the enemy. Preserve pure and unpolluted the garment of incorruption, wherewith Thou hast endowed him/her, upholding inviolate in him/her by Thy grace, the seal of the Spirit, and showing mercy unto him/her and unto us, through the multitude of Thy mercies”.
• "Keep him/her ever a warrior invincible in every attack of those who assail him/her and us; and make us all victors, even unto the end, through Thy crown incorruptible”.
• "Thou art justified. Thou art illumined. Thou art sanctified. Thou art washed...Thou art baptized. Thou art illumined. Thou hast received anointment with Holy Chrism. Thou art sanctified. Thou art washed: in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”.

From the PROCESSION and DISMISSAL

• "As many as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Alleluia!”
• "Again we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation, and visitation for the newly-illumined servant of God (name), and his/her sponsor (name), and his/her parents; and all here present; and for the pardon and remission of their sins”.
• "O Thou Who didst receive Baptism in the Jordan for our salvation, Christ our true God, through the intercessions of His all-immaculate Mother, and of all the Saints, have mercy upon us and save us, forasmuch as He is good and loveth mankind. Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us and save us. Amen”.

A Cleansing Confession
A Practical Guide
When fellowship with God and each other has been broken by sin, the Church — since its earliest days — provides a way to restoration: the Sacrament of Confession (or, much better, Reconciliation), in which we experience forgiveness from God, unburden the soul, and restore fellowship with God and each other.

Why confession? Because sin separates us from God — our Source of Life, our Salvation, our Everything — and from each other, and even from our true selves. Whatever is in us becomes part of us, and Confession is the process of getting all those sinful impurities out and turning them over to God “who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Timothy 2:4).

Three elements form this blessed Mystery: contrition, that we may accept the seriousness of our sins; honesty, that we may make a clear and heartfelt confession to God in the presence of a priest ordained to comfort and guide; and forgiveness, that we may know with full assurance that, by His tender grace, we are truly restored and reconciled to God and to ourselves and to the Body of Christ.

A Few Suggestions
See Confession as a Gift — view the Mystery of Reconciliation as a cleansing, renewing privilege given by God to the Church. Take this gift seriously and keep a grateful attitude because the Lord wants us to know His forgiveness!

Spend Time in Preparation — find a quiet place to be alone; put some effort into preparing. One way to prepare is, when settled, to make the Sign of the Cross, read Psalm 51 (50, in the Orthodox Study Bible). Then, be patient and silent, and ask the Lord to bring to your mind any sins that have hurt yourself, your relationship with others, and your relationship with Him. A thorough confession brings thorough freedom: “Whatever is bound on earth is
bound in heaven, and whatever is loosed on earth is loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).

Write Down your Confession — long sentences are not necessary, but bringing a list with a word or two for each sin can help you avoid forgetfulness and keep you on track.

Consider Your Relationships — call to mind specific persons (even yourself!) and consider any sins you have committed, or hold, against him or her:

• self/body
• wife/husband
• child(ren)
• parent(s)
• sister(s)/brother(s)
• relatives
• church members
• acquaintances, co-workers, etc.
• the poor and less fortunate
• humanity and creation

Be Specific — confess acts of sin, not the conditions of sin. For example, rather than confess “stress” or “anger” or “frustration,” confess the specific sins you have committed from feeling stressed or angry or frustrated — it is from those the Lord wants to heal us.

Go Forth in Peace! — depart from the Mystery of Reconciliation with the full assurance of God’s bountiful and long-suffering forgiveness! Feel the joy of the angels over one’s genuine repentance!

Confess Regularly — a general guideline for the frequency of confessing is every four to eight weeks. But, also confess anytime as needed for the unburdening of the soul.

These questions may help with self-reflection.

MY RELATIONSHIP with SELF
Have I mistreated myself? Have I been proud? Have I been vain or ambitious? Do I bear insults or rejection humbly? Have I been sensitive or had my feelings hurt? Am I self centered? Have I envied anyone of anything? Have I been lazy? Have I endured my illnesses with grace? Have I failed to give thanks to God for who He has made me to be? Have I cared for both the body and the soul God has entrusted to me? Have I overeaten? Have I engaged any media that is spiritually or physically damaging? Have I missed church for any reason not worthy of a blessing? Have I been attached to material possessions? Have I been impatient or anxious about anything? Have I dwelt on previous sins?

MY RELATIONSHIP with OTHERS
Have I taken anyone for granted? Have I withheld love or forgiveness from anyone? Have I spoken carelessly or too much? Have I lied? Have I failed to honor the Image of God in everyone I’ve met? Have I neglected anyone poor or in need? Have I failed to share the Gospel of Christ with anyone out of embarrassment? Have I failed an opportunity to share the Orthodox faith with anyone? Have I been respectful of the elderly? Have I quarreled or fought with anyone? Have I mocked or made fun of anyone? Have I been unwilling to rejoice in the blessings of others? Have I ever hoped for bad things to happen to anyone? Have I forsaken anyone in need? Am I stubborn? Do I always try to have my own way? Have I gossiped? Have I lied or been deceptive? Have I desired to punish anyone? Am I at peace with all?

MY RELATIONSHIP with GOD
Have I failed to give thanks to God in all things? Do I pray to God daily? Do I read Holy Scripture and other spiritually nourishing books? Have I rushed my prayers or been distracted in church? Have I been ashamed of my faith? Have I made a show of my piety? Have I kept the Church fasts to the best of my ability? Have I taken the Lord’s name in vain? Have I ever doubted God’s care for me? Do I ask for God’s help before starting every activity? Does my mind wander during church? Have I come to Holy Communion unprepared? Have I tithed or kept my pledge to my church?

Orthodox Christianity teaches that a clear distinction exists between the uncreated God and the created world. God is good, and because God created the world, the world is good; but it is also fallen, and as a result we face additional distinctions: between old and new 1, death and life 2, profane and sacred 2, all the degrees of shadow and the very Light Itself 4. Salvation may be understood as the growth of the human person from the former categories to the latter – from the old, the dead, the profane, and the shadows, to the new, the life, the sacred, and the light. This journey of salvation is presented to us in profound ways in the style and forms of ancient Christian worship.

Consider, for example, our use of liturgical language. The language we use in our worship services contains an elevated style worthy of the elevated message it is intended to convey – the message of salvation.  So, liturgical language itself is intended to reinforce within the worshipper a sense of the distinction between the world of men that he leaves behind, and the world of God he is called to enter. And it’s not just language; church architecture, music, iconography, vestments, each of these is, within the Church, a unique mode of expression that is divinely inspired.

There are those who believe that a worship service should not recognize the distinction between the sacred and the profane. For them, church aesthetics often imitate secular aesthetics – contemporary rock bands instead of liturgical music, inspirational posters instead of icons, “cell groups” instead of sacraments. But all this may have a dangerous consequence: the world of God disappears.

If the Church’s art forms are identical to the art forms of fallen man, then there would be no material expression of our salvation, and the Church will have surrendered the very core of Her witness on earth. Our salvation is only possible because the Immaterial God assumed material creation (that is to say, God, who is Spirit 5, took upon Himself flesh and human nature) 5, so the Church uses material creation both to announce the truth of the Incarnation in all its fullness, and to enable our personal participation in the Lord who ascended into heaven, carrying our creation with Him. 7

Man’s modes of expression are corrupt, and therefore inadequate to the task of acquiring knowledge of God because they flow from our sinful state. The Church’s modes of expression, however, are divinely inspired. 8 So, the two modes cannot be identical. The unique material art forms within the Church, therefore, do not suggest God’s distance from our fallen world, but, on the contrary, proclaim His presence within our midst.

Consider two core realities of man’s relationship with God: first, that we have fallen away from God; and second, that God has come to restore us to Himself. The Church proclaims both, but accomplishes this not by pulling God down into our falleness but by raising man up to God’s perfection. Worship, for the Orthodox Christian, is not the act of making God real to us – that has already been accomplished in Christ – but of making ourselves real to God 9.

Christ achieves man’s deification through His participation in created human nature, and man appropriates this deification by participation in the Divine, especially in the sacramental life of the Church. This meeting of the human and the Divine is a total, physical experience, limited not to the intellect, but opened to all that pertains to man, including his five senses. Secular art exerts enormous influence on the soul, precisely because the human is an integrated unity of body and soul, physical and spiritual. The Church, then, uses matter – or material creation – to produce spiritualized art forms that adorn, express, and clarify the sacramental Mysteries of the Church, and so those spiritualized art forms are themselves a means of man’s deification. Iconography, chant, hymnody, these are Mysteries in their own right, because they, and not the secular arts, possess the capacity to deify.

For this reason, our language and iconography and chant must be different from the fallen world’s, and must conform strictly to the norms established by divinely-inspired Church Fathers, whose own souls were purified to the point where they became clear conduits of this deifying influence 10.

Considering this necessary relationship between the possibility for salvation and the sacred art used to proclaim that possibility, can we say, then, that how a group of Christians worships tells the world what they believe about the Incarnation of Jesus Christ?

-Adapted from The Pentecostarion, published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, Massachusetts

Footnotes

1. II Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 3:9-10; Hebrews 8:8-9.
2. Deuteronomy 30:19-20; John 5:24; Romans 5:17.
3. Exodus 3:5; Matthew 21:12-13; 1I Timothy 4:7.
4. John 3:19; I Corinthians 4:5; Ephesians 5:8; Colossians 2:17; I Thessalonians 5:5; Hebrews 10:1.
5. John 4:24.
6. I John 1:1-3.
7. Ephesians 4:8-10.
8. Ephesians 1:22-23.
9. John 10:14-15; I Corinthians 15:47-49.
10. I John 3:3.

Orthodox Christian worship of God is an experience that engages both the mind and the body with all its senses. Visitors notice many Scriptural texts “come to life” during their visit – our use of music, psalms and other Scripture texts, incense, icons, and sacraments, call to mind the liturgical worship of the early Church. These material expressions of spiritual worship are “copies of the true” worship in heaven (Hebrews 9). Orthodox worship is not “modern” – in the sense of mimicking popular secular styles of music and art – but is at once ancient and relevant, contemplative and engaging.

The Bible is the sacred written record of God’s involvement with His creation – a record received, written down, transmitted, protected by the Church for all ages, and proclaimed for the salvation of the world. The word of God that is Holy Scripture – Old and New Testaments – is distinguished from the Word of God who is the Christ, the Son of the Father and the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. The Bible is the sufficient and inspired written testimony to Christ – from Whom all Scripture derives its authority, about Whom all Scripture speaks, and toward Whom all Scripture points.

by Frederica Mathewes-Green

Welcome to the Orthodox Church! There are a number of things about our worship that are different from the services of other churches, whether Roman Catholic, liturgical Protestant, or evangelical. In an effort to help alleviate confusion, here are twelve things I wish someone had explained to me the first time I visited an Orthodox church.

1. A Sense of Holiness
If you are from a Protestant or non-liturgical tradition, you may feel overwhelmed the minute you walk in the door of an Orthodox church. You will find yourself surrounded by a blaze of color in the priests’ vestments and the icons that adorn the walls. The pungent odor of incense will assault your nose, possibly making you sneeze. Rich, deeply moving but unfamiliar music will fill your ears.
All around you people will be doing things – lighting candles, kissing icons, making the sign of the cross, bowing, standing in prayer – everything but sitting still. To someone accustomed to four bare walls and a pulpit, all this may seem pretty strange.  It is important to remember that none of this is an end in itself.
Everything we see, hear, smell, touch, taste or do in the Orthodox Church has one purpose and one purpose only: to lead us closer to God. Since God created us with physical bodies and senses, we believe He desires us to use our bodies and senses to grow closer to Him.

2. Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus
In the Orthodox tradition, the faithful stand through nearly the entire service. Really. In some Orthodox churches, there won’t even be any pews, just a few chairs scattered at the edges of the room for the elderly and infirm. Expect some variation in practice: older churches, especially those that purchased already existing church buildings, will have well-used pews. In any case, if you find the amount of standing too challenging, you’re welcome to take a seat. It gets easier with practice.

3. By This Sign, Pray
To say that we make the sign of the cross frequently would be an understatement. We sign ourselves whenever the Trinity is invoked, whenever we venerate the cross or an icon, and on many other occasions in the course of the Liturgy. But people aren’t expected to do everything the same way. Some cross themselves three times in a row, and some finish by sweeping their right hand to the floor. Often before venerating an icon, people will cross themselves twice, bowing each time with their right hand to the floor, then kiss the icon, then cross themselves and bow again. Don’t worry; that doesn’t mean you have to follow suit.
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 palm. Here as elsewhere, the Orthodox impulse is to make everything we do reinforce the Faith. Can you figure out the symbolism? (The three fingers held together represent the Trinity; the two fingers against the palm represent the two natures of Christ.)

4. What, No Kneeling?
Generally, we don’t kneel on Sundays. We do sometimes prostrate. This is not like prostration in the Catholic tradition, lying out flat on the floor. To make a prostration we kneel, place our hands on the floor, and touch our foreheads between our hands. At first, prostration feels embarrassing, but no one else is embarrassed, so after awhile it feels more natural.  Sometimes we do this and get right back up again, as during the prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian, which is used frequently during Lent. Other times we get down and stay there awhile, as during a portion of the eucharistic prayer.
Not everyone prostrates. Some kneel, some stand with head bowed, or sit crouched over. Standing there feeling awkward is all right, too. No one will notice if you don’t prostrate. In Orthodoxy there is an acceptance of individualized expressions of piety, rather than a sense that people are watching you and getting offended if you do it wrong.  One former Episcopal priest said that seeing people prostrate themselves was one of the things that made him most eager to become Orthodox. He thought, “That’s how we should be before God.”

5. Pucker Up
We kiss things. When we first come into the church, we kiss the icons (Jesus on the feet, and saints on the hands, ideally). You’ll also notice that some kiss the chalice, some kiss the edge of the priest’s vestment as he passes by, the acolytes kiss his hand when they give him the censer, and we all line up to kiss the cross at the end of the service. We kiss each other (“Greet one another with a kiss of love.” 1 Peter 5:14) before we take communion. When Catholics/Episcopalians pass the peace, they give a hug, handshake or peck on the cheek; that’s how Westerners greet each other. In Orthodoxy different cultures are at play: Greeks and Arabs kiss once on each cheek; the Slavs come back again for a third. Parishes with lots of American converts may give a hearty bear hug. Follow the lead of those around you and try not to bump you nose.  The usual greeting is “Christ is in our midst,” with the response, “He is and shall be.” Don’t worry about getting it wrong. The greeting is not the previously familiar “The peace of the Lord be with you,” nor is it “Hi, nice church you have here.”

6. Blessed Bread and Consecrated Bread
Only Orthodox may take communion, but anyone may have some of the blessed bread. Here’s how it works: the round communion loaf, baked by a parishioner, is imprinted with a seal. In the preparation service before the Liturgy, the priest cuts out a section of the seal and sets it aside; it is called the “Lamb.” The rest of the bread is cut up and placed in a large basket and blessed by the priest.  During the eucharistic prayer, the Lamb is consecrated to be the Body of Christ, and the chalice of wine is consecrated as His Blood. Here’s the surprising part: the priest places the Lamb in the chalice. When we receive communion, we file up to the priest, standing and opening our mouth wide while he gives us a portion of the wine-soaked bread from a spoon. He also prays over us, calling us by our first name or by the saint-name which we chose when we were baptized or chrismated (received into the Church).  As we file past the priest, we come to an altar boy holding a basket of blessed bread. People will take portions for themselves and for visitors and non-Orthodox friends around them. If someone hands you a piece of blessed bread, do not panic; it is not the eucharistic Body. It is a sign of fellowship.

7. No General Confession?
In our experience, we don’t have any general sins; they’re all quite specific. There is no complete confession prayer in the Liturgy. Orthodox are expected to be making regular, private confession to Christ in the presence of their priest.  The role of the pastor is much more that of a spiritual father than it is in other denominations. He is not called by his first name alone, but referred to as “Father Firstname.” His wife also holds a special role as parish mother, and she gets a title too, though it varies from one culture to another. Some of the titles used are “Khouria” (Arabic), or “Presbytera” (Greek), both of which mean “priest’s wife;” or “Matushka” (Russian), which means “Mama.”  Another difference you will probably notice is in the Nicene Creed, which may be said or sung, depending on the parish. In the Creed we affirm that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father, but we don’t add “and the Son,” as Western denominations do. In this we adhere to the Creed as it was originally written.

8. Music, Music, Music
About seventy-five percent of the service is congregational singing. Traditionally, Orthodox use no instruments, although some churches will have organs. Usually a small choir leads the people in a capella harmony, with the level of congregational response varying from parish to parish. The style of music varies as well, from very Oriental-sounding solo chanting in an Arabic church to more Western-sounding four-part harmony in a Russian church, with lots of variations in between.  This constant singing is a little overwhelming at first; it feels like getting on the first step of an escalator and being carried along in a rush until you step off ninety minutes later. It has been fairly said that the Liturgy is one continuous song.  What keeps this from being exhausting is that it’s pretty much the same song every week. Relatively little changes from Sunday to Sunday; the same prayers and hymns fall in the same places, and before long you know it by heart. Then you fall into the presence of God in a way you never can when flipping from prayer book to bulletin to hymnal.

9. No Shortcuts
Is there a concise way to say something? Can extra adjectives be deleted? Can the briskest, most pointed prose be boiled down one more time to a more refined level? Then it’s not Orthodox worship. If there’s a longer way to say something, the Orthodox will find it. In Orthodox worship, more is always more, in every area including prayer. When the priest or deacon intones, “Let us complete our prayer to the Lord,” expect to still be standing there fifteen minutes later. The original Liturgy lasted something over five hours; those people must have been on fire for God.
The Liturgy of St. Basil edited this down to about two and a half, and later (around 400 A.D.) the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom further reduced it to about one and a half. Most Sundays we use the St. John Chrysostom Liturgy, although for some services (e.g., Sundays in Lent, Christmas Eve) we use the longer Liturgy of St. Basil. When you arrive for Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning, worship will already be in progress and you will feel chagrined at arriving late. You are not late; the priest, cantors and some parishioners are just winding up Matins, which began about an hour before. Divine Liturgy follows on its heels, with the posted starting time only approximate. Before Matins, the priest has other preparatory services; he will be at the altar for a total of more than three hours on Sunday morning, “standing in the flame,” as one Orthodox priest put it. Orthodoxy is not for people who find church boring!

10. I’m Just Wild About Mary
We love her and it shows. What can we say? She’s His Mom. We often address her as “Theotokos,” which means “Mother of God.” In providing the physical means for God to become man, she made possible our salvation. Not that we think she or any of the other saints have magical powers or are demigods. When we sing “Holy Theotokos, save us,” we don’t mean “save” in an eternal sense, as we would pray to Christ; we mean “protect, defend, take care of us here on earth.” Just as we ask for each other’s prayers, we ask for the prayers of Mary and the other saints as well. They’re not dead, after all, just departed to the other side. Icons surround us, in part, to remind us that all the saints are joining us invisibly in our worship.

11. The Three Doors
Every Orthodox church will have an iconostasis before its altar. “Iconostasis” means “icon-stand.” In a mission parish it can be as simple as a large image of the Virgin and Child on an easel on the left, a matching image of Christ on the right. In a more established church, the iconostasis may be a literal wall, adorned with many icons. The basic set up of two large icons creates, if you use your imagination, three doors. The central opening, in front of the altar itself, usually has two doors, called the “Royal Doors,” because that is where the King of Glory comes out to the congregation in the Eucharist. Only the priest and deacons, who bear the Eucharist, use the Royal Doors.  The openings on the other sides of the two main icons, if there is a complete iconostasis, have doors, with icons of angels; they are termed the “Deacon’s Doors.” Altar boys and others with business behind the altar use these, although no one is to go through any of the doors without an appropriate reason. Altar service – priests, deacons, altar boys – is restricted to males. Females are invited to participate in every other area of church life. Their contribution has been honored equally with that of males since the days of the martyrs; you can’t look around an Orthodox church without seeing Mary and other holy women. In most Orthodox churches, women do everything else men do: lead congregational singing, paint icons, teach classes, read the epistle and serve on the parish council.

12. Are Americans Welcome?
Flipping through the Yellow Pages in a large city you might see a multiplicity of Orthodox churches: Greek, Romanian, Carpatho-Russian, Antiochian, Serbian, and on and on. Is Orthodoxy really so tribal? Do these divisions represent theological squabbles and schisms?  Not at all. All these Orthodox bodies are one church. The ethnic designation refers to what is called the parish’s “jurisdiction” and identifies which bishops hold authority there. There are about 6 million Orthodox in North America and 250 million in the world, making Orthodoxy the second-largest Christian communion.  The astonishing thing about this ethnic multiplicity is its theological and moral unity. Orthodox throughout the world hold unanimously to the fundamental Christian doctrines taught by the Apostles and handed down by their successors, the bishops, throughout the centuries. They also hold to the moral standards of the Apostles – abortion and homosexual behavior remain sins in Orthodox eyes.  One could attribute this unity to historical accident. We would attribute it to the Holy Spirit.  Why then the multiplicity of ethnic churches? These national designations obviously represent geographic realities. Since North America is also a geographic unity, one day we will likewise have a unified national church – an American Orthodox Church. This was the original plan, but due to a number of complicated historical factors, it didn’t happen that way. Instead, each ethnic group of Orthodox immigrating to this country developed its own church structure. This multiplication of Orthodox jurisdictions is a temporary aberration, and much prayer and planning is going into breaking through these unnecessary walls.  Currently the largest American jurisdictions are the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Orthodox Church in America (Russian roots), and the Antiochian Archdiocese (Middle Eastern roots). Services will differ in the language used, the type of music, and a few other particulars, but the Liturgy is substantially the same in all. I wish it could be said the every local parish eagerly welcomes newcomers, but some are still so close to their immigrant experience that they are mystified as to why outsiders would be interested. Visiting several orthodox parishes will help you learn where you’re most comfortable. You will probably be looking for one that uses plenty of English in its services. Many parishes with high proportions of converts will have services entirely in English.

Orthodoxy seems startlingly different at first, but as the weeks go by it gets to be less so. It will begin to feel more and more like home, and it will draw you into the Kingdom of God. I hope that your first visit to an Orthodox church will be enjoyable, and that it won’t be your last.

Salvation is both an event and a process. The event of our salvation is the historical reality of the Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, and Ascension of Jesus Christ; the process of our salvation is the growth of a person from being the “image” of God to becoming the “likeness” of God (Gen 1:27). In baptism is our nature reborn; in obedience is our nature perfected. We are saved not only by the historical reality, not only as we shed vice and acquire virtue, but also by the Second and Glorious Coming Again of Christ and His favorable judgment upon us. Salvation, then, is a past event, a present experience, and a future hope.

Icons – sacred art portraying Christ and those persons made holy by – flow from a proper understanding of the Incarnation. God, who is Spirit, became Man, who is Flesh, and the material world will never be the same again. If God used material creation to reach for us, we can use material creation to reach for Him (John 1:1,14; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:1-4). Icons have been part of Christian worship since the beginning, as they helped spread the faith “in pictures” to those who had no access to written Scriptures. Icons are NEVER worshipped, only venerated. Worship is reserved for God alone, and the veneration offered to an icon “passes through” the icon to the person depicted, a person who himself or herself depicted Christ in word, deed, and thought. Why are icons special to those who venerate them? Imagine if a dearly-loved one passed away, and the only thing by which to remember him or her was a photograph.

Notice how, in John 20, Christ breathed upon His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” That’s one example of a principle of Christianity: physical acts carry spiritual power. The greatest physical act filled with spiritual power is The Incarnation. The Incarnation – when a spiritual God became material flesh and blood – is like a stone thrown into the pond of the universe: ripples of grace go forth through the whole material world. Classical Christianity – what Christians have believed everywhere, in all places, and at all times – has a positive and holistic worldview: creation is filled with opportunities to discover and express the glory of the Incarnate God. The water of baptism, the oil of healing, the beeswax of candles, the tree sap of incense, the wood and color of icons, the pulp of a bible, the grapes and wheat of Holy Communion – these are examples of how Orthodoxy uses creation to worship the Creator. And the singing? One early Church writer answers that this way: “He who sings, prays twice.”

“Orthodox” describes that Church that understands itself to be the living continuity of the faith and life established by Jesus Christ, given to His apostles, described in the Bible, and practiced and passed on by those Christians associated with the ancient centers and earliest centuries of Christian history.

More ancient than Protestantism (16th century) and Roman Catholicism (11th century), this faith “once and for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) is expressed as a life of constant remembrance of God, of the spiritual and physical pursuit of holiness, and in a worship of God that is biblical, liturgical, musical, vibrant, focused not on “self” but on Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today, approximately 300 million Christians worldwide belong to the Orthodox Christian Church

Becoming Orthodox in Spite of the Internet

by Richard Barrett, The Word, May 2005, Volume 49 No. 5 : Page 17

The Internet provides an unprecedented amount of information on virtually any topic, all at the click of a mouse. Fly-fishing, comic book collecting, the history of woodcarving, how to knit sweaters for your dog – it’s all out there. Some of it is even useful. Not only that, it so happens that there are a huge number of websites out there devoted entirely to Orthodox Christianity. Sounds like a wonderful thing, doesn’t it? Well, maybe not. The Internet has the potential to be the biggest stumbling block over which an inquirer might trip. As somebody who was recently received into the Church after a two-year period of inquiry and instruction, I certainly found this to be the case.

I still recall my first time in an Orthodox church, and my reaction to it. It was St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Seattle, Washington – a seventy-year-old building, with a very tall and ornate iconostasis, candles and icons covering virtually every space on the walls, and decades’ worth of incense permeating everything. As a liturgical environment, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before, and it all added up to a very tangible awareness of the presence of God. You could have knocked me over with a feather. My reaction came in three stages. First, while still in the nave, I felt compelled to light candles. Second, before leaving the premises, I dropped about $50 at their book counter. Third, as soon as I got home, I did a Google search on “Orthodox Christianity” and browsed through the hits.

Sound familiar? And why not? That’s how we’ve been trained, in this age of the Information Superhighway. When I was a little kid, if a new topic of interest made itself known to me, the first thing I would do was to go to the library and look it up there, but the Internet makes it so that you don’t even have to leave your home. Googling “Orthodox Christianity” gives you lots of interesting-looking web pages right off the bat: the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese home page, the Orthodox Church in America home page, something called “orthodoxinfo.com,” the Orthodox Christian Fellowship site, another page called “Orthodox Ireland,” a document called “Celtic Orthodoxy – the Celtic Orthodox Christian Revival”… hmm. And here’s a site run by something called “The American Orthodox Church” that claims to be the “Voice of American Orthodox Catholic Christianity.” A note on the page says, “The American Orthodox Church was originally established in 1927 with the blessings of the Holy Patriarchate of Moscow. No other so-called ‘Mother Church’ or jurisdiction has been in existence until 1971 972 and this is why we are the true Mother Church in the USA and Canada.”

And herein lies the problem with the phenomenon of “Internet Orthodoxy.” There is no barrier to entry with respect to posting pages on the World Wide Web; anybody with a computer and a phone jack can publish anything they want and make it accessible to anyone using a search engine. (Or, as UC Berkeley computer science professor Robert Wilensky puts it, “We’ve all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.”) There is a lot out there that the wide-eyed inquirer can easily encounter, which he or she simply will not have the spiritual maturity to deal with. At least two of the sites listed above are going to be controversial for people within the Church; how in the world is an inquirer who might not even have attended a service yet going to make any sense of it.

Which brings us to another issue – no amount of information and no amount of reading is going to make one Orthodox. Knowledge will not bring one into the Church; the Holy Spirit has to do that. That sounds like a horrible thing to say in our rational day and age, but the books and websites are, plainly, no substitute for prayer, going to services, establishing a relationship with and receiving instruction from a priest. I truly wonder how today’s inquirers would do with the early practice of catechumens knowing nothing of the Mysteries of the Church until after their baptism – and not even being told exactly what was happening to them in their baptism until after it was already done!

The Church at that time held that knowledge wasn’t going to do one a lot of good until he was already part of the family and could put that knowledge in context. Perhaps, in this I time of unrestricted, instantly available information, there’s something we can learn from that. In this “do-it-yourself’ world, the truth of the matter is that you cannot teach yourself to be Orthodox, regardless of how good the instructional materials seem to be. A close family member of mine is undergoing her own inquiry right now; we recently had a conversation where she told me about having spent three-quarters of her day reading things on the Internet, but she hadn’t yet been to a service. I gently suggested that the next thing she needed to do was to go to a Divine Liturgy, and that perhaps she had better not read anything more until she had done so. If you want to learn more about the Church, go to church. It’s that easy, and that difficult.

Something else that one is likely to encounter on the Internet: chat rooms, discussion groups, mailing lists, newsgroups, whatever you want to call them, proclaiming to be places where one can discuss Orthodoxy. I spent a lot of time in these early on in my inquiry, and for my part, I found the tone of most of these to be as un-Christian as one could get – petty, contentious, often with the overall message of “my jurisdiction is holier than your jurisdiction,” and frequently becoming dominated by arguments over secular politics. What also would inevitably occur is the appearance of non-Orthodox and sometimes non-Christian posters who weren’t truly interested in honest discussion, but rather just being gadflies. Even in some of the milder of these groups, where, in theory, jurisdictional discussions were off limits, it seemed that folks had a tendency to be on a fairly short fuse, and exchanges could turn into yelling matches rather quickly. I reached a point where I realized that these groups were distracting my catechesis; they were in no way contributing to it. It was so much “godless chatter,” of which St. Paul counseled avoidance (1 Timothy 6:20).

Are there good uses of the Internet for the inquirer and catechumen? Of course. The home pages for the canonical Orthodox jurisdictions, as well as for most individual parishes, provide a lot of wonderful information, and the outside links they provide are, in general, quite trustworthy. There are excellent resources out there with respect to the Orthodox approach to prayer, liturgical texts, setting up the home icon corner, as well as a wonderful database of the writings of the Church Fathers. Other websites have made the acquisition of previously not-so-easy-to-find liturgical items a fairly simple matter – prayer books, icons, prayer ropes, incense, home censers, candles, recordings of the music of the Church, and so on. At the same time, it is also true that many of the suppliers of these items are themselves of a questionable status; that’s not to say they’re off limits, but the inquirer visiting some of these online establishments must exercise caution and discernment about where they venture on these sites. Perhaps, if a local parish has an ordering relationship with an established supplier, the inquirer is better off going that route – and that way, the parish will benefit. Ask your priest, once you have a relationship with one.

For my part, I can honestly say that I became Orthodox in spite of the Internet, rather than because of it. It wasn’t until I decided that I would limit my exposure to those sites run by a canonical jurisdiction or to online shops, and avoid nearly everything else, that a lot of things became clearer for me on my road to conversion. At most, an inquirer’s Ortho-surfing needs to judiciously supplement, rather than supplant, their attendance at services, prayer, and talking to a priest. If you want to know more about the various historical and doctrinal issues, your local parish has either a good library, a well-stocked book counter, or both, and the priest can suggest which books to read. Books are still no substitute for going to church, but at least it is more likely that a book by a reputable author and publisher will have been carefully vetted in a way that a website probably will not have been.

Unfortunately, the signal-to-noise ratio with respect to what’s out there on the Net is so low, the wheat will sit right next to the chaff and most inquirers – and frankly, most Orthodox laity – won’t be able to tell the difference. If you still want to attempt to use the Internet as a resource, a search engine is only going to give you a list of hits that will be, at best, confusing once you start working your way through all of them. Better to start out with the home pages of the canonical jurisdictions, and take note of the pages to which they’ve linked.

But hey, a Google search is still great for figuring out how to spin thread from cat hair.