An Embodied Orthodox Worship

Went for my first regular Orthodox service today. I usually visit only once - at Easter.

As I walk in from the sun-lit courtyard of the church the inside feels warm and inviting, like a home I have not visited for a long time. Orthodox believers walk in with me drawing the cross with their right hand over their body three times.

The church is filled with the quiet presence of many people. Most are old women listening to the sermon. It has been going for an hour.

The priest is at the front, but not alone. He stands under an ornate crucifix surrounded by saints in gold halos and people come for worship. A man's choir weaves in and out of a divine dialogue between the ancient texts and chants. The priest is dressed in gold and white robes with the big crown of his authority and stuardship. He reads in old Slavic the text for today where Jesus asks: "What do you think is easier to say get up and walk or your sins are forgiven?"

The smell of wax permeates the space. People come forward with the candles they just bought and light them on others already placed there. Each candle is a prayer - for loved ones living or dead. Unfocused gaze that stares upwards to lift a name. Another draw of a cross and a bow. A mother and a child come from the capital, an old woman who prays for children long gone, a highschool teacher, a neighbor, a relative. So many people I see now in different light. They know the script, they understand the words, the chant narrates the Christian creed and asks the congregation to bow and the priest blesses them.

As change rages outside here things have hardly moved. The books used are falling appart and yellowing. The church was restored last year, but what it bears witness is to is an old way of seeing and being.

I am a Protestant - by heritage and decision. But also Orthodox - by heritage. Today I understand. As my senses are all engaged - I see faith acted out and drawn on the walls, I get internally attuned to the melodies and words, I bow, I watch the priest come near and bless me and all the rest. I feel present, part of a congregation that is participating in an ancient ritual. The mystery of God and the movement of a spirit that logic does not describe well. I can see people centuries ago who could not read or write, who came to such churches to take in the pictures and songs of the divine and fill their hearts with knowledge and peace. An embodied experience of worship.

picture: http://orthodox.net/redeemingthetime/2009/10/26/twelve-meanings-of-candles-based-on-their-properties/