Deb Visits 50 Churches in 52 Weeks: #45 Worshiping as a Child on Pentecost

When I sent my rough draft to Father Tsourlis he asked for a meeting (we agreed to meet by phone) and wanted to clarify a few points. My edits from our conversation are in italics and this is why this post was postponed until Thursday. I sincerely appreciate his gracious and thoughtful responses to my blog post.

WHERE I WENT AND WHY
Visiting a Greek Orthodox church as been on my list from the beginning. Experiencing their ancient liturgy is something I've looked forward to. I had wanted to have a "second Christmas" and visit one during the Christmas season, but family obligations intervened. I reserved Pentecost for my visit. I went to the Divine Liturgy service at 9:30 am at Holy Trinity Greek Cathedral.

WHAT TO KNOW IF YOU WANT TO GO
Holy Trinity is located at 600 East Blvd. across from Dilworth Methodist between South Blvd. and Dilworth Road. Parking was plentiful at 9:20 when I arrived, though folks were "creating" parking spaces when I left (there was a dinner on the grounds). Dress was "church dressy" with all women in dresses or skirts. Men wore collared shirts and some wore suits and ties.The calendar I consulted on their Website said that the Divine Liturgy would be in Greek and English. This is true, but be prepared for more Greek than English. And even the English is spoken with a heavy accent. There was no bulletin, though the liturgy is printed in a book of worship in the pew in both English and Greek, however there are many variations and it was impossible to follow it completely with no guide. (Father Tsourlis pointed out that they offer a bi-weekly bulletin and a worship booklet to help with the Divine Liturgy for visitors. However no one from the "welcoming committee" was present at 9:30 when I arrived.)

REFLECTIONS ON WORSHIP

MOOD

I just cannot say the mood was very welcoming. When I arrived I asked 2 women coming from the parking lot where to go, and they acted like they did not know what I was asking or that there was even a service. Finally an elderly woman said came up and showed me where to go. (Father T and I discussed the need for better signage from their parking lot.) When I entered there was a woman selling candles and accepting stewardship offerings in a box. I told her I was a visitor and asked for advice. She told me there was no bulletin or guide (only a generic pamphlet about stewardship). She confirmed for me that I was not welcome at the Sacrament of the Eucharist because I was not baptized as Greek Orthodox (I was not surprised by this.) I asked her if there were specific things I should do or not do to be respectful. The only thing she said was to stand and sit as others did and not to cross my legs! (Father T emphasized that she was not a member of the welcoming committee.) When I arrived there were perhaps 50 people in the Sanctuary, but by the time of the Sacrament (after about an hour), the church was filled just about to capacity (I'd guess 350-400). People wandered in continuously. Very few children were present (at first I could count them on one hand) but just as the Eucharist was beginning many parents and children entered (from the nursery?). (Father T explained the late arrival of many people to the service that it is common practice for parishioners who are baptized in the faith to not attend the first part of the Divine Liturgy before the Gospel (which is for everyone, the unbaptized. He also said that many people travel long times to attend the services.)

I quickly figured out that I would not be able to follow the service in the Book of Worship. I guess since this was Pentecost, they were using variations. While I recognized many parts of the liturgy, there was no way to flip and find the place in the book without instruction. Folks were respectful and often crossed themselves but did not participate in the liturgy except for 2 corporate prayers (one was the Lord's Prayer) and the Nicene Creed. Also in the pew was a children's guide to the service. I actually found this the most helpful and followed it as a guide. I guess within Greek Orthodoxy, I am truly a child!

MUSIC

Music consisted of a group of Cantors to the right of the Chancel who began and ended the service with Greek chants. Mostly men, they set a very reverential tone. The choir was in a loft in the back and sang all of the hymns and responses. Most of it was in Greek with occasional English words. After a few minutes I began to recognize the the Kyrie, however it had many more than the three responses with which I'm familiar. I also began to recognize several Alleluias and Amens. This actually took a while, for to my ears the Amen sounded like "Ahh-mean" and Alleluia was "Alla-lu-lee-ya" (with the emphasis on the 3rd syllable.) All of this took much concentration and active listening! As I looked around, folks were engaged, but did not participate verbally or sing.

MESSAGE
During the liturgy, there were two readings. The first was chanted by the cantors from the Epistle of Acts. It was the familiar Pentecost story, of the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit, like a fiery wind and speaking in tongues so that everyone heard the Gospel in their own language. Later the Priest read from John 7 where Jesus is teaching in the Temple during the Festival of Booths. He declares "Let anyone who is thirsty, come to me for out of the believer's heart shall flow rivers of living water." Later in the passage the people begin to disagree about his Divinity and whether he is a prophet. "No prophet is to arise from Galilee." He referred to the reading once, but did not use it as a basis for his sermon.

Before the reading, the priest began his sermon assuring the people that "we are not here to tell you what to do, but to serve and wash your feet." He said that he and the other priest constantly pray and discuss how they can better serve the congregation. "Do not feel alone. We are next to you, praying for you." He made it clear that this was something he wanted to say outside of and before the sermon. I found the need for it a little curious.

In his message he equated Pentecost as the fulfillment of the Passover. Christ passes over death in his Resurrection and the reception of the Holy Spirit begins the mystical time when our faith is strengthened through the Spirit. He assured us that the Spirit as part of the Trinity has been with us even through Creation and the Laws of the Old Testament. Jesus used the spirit to cast out demons and to heal. He received the blessing of the Holy Spirit at his Baptism. However Pentecost is the beginning of the Church and the Holy Spirit came to at first 70 disciples, then 350, then to the Bishops, Priests, Deacons, and to the Laity through our Baptism. We are now the vessels of the Holy Spirit, and it empowers the church to service and faith. He did not elaborate on this or give concrete examples of using the Holy Spirit in service today's world.

He tried to tell everyone how the Greek Orthodox church is different from other religions, but quite frankly, while I found this part the most interesting, it was very hard to follow. For one thing, when he would get excited and want to emphasize a point, he would revert to Greek! He rejected the Momons and Scientologists immediately, for he declared that they do not believe in the Trinity. He recognized that some Protestants (he said, such as Lutherans and Presbyterians) do believe in the Trinity, but claim that they are the only true Christians. He criticized the Muslims, but I could not follow it. He spoke at length about differences with Catholics and I had a hard time following it also, but I think the gist of it was in the words of the Nicene Creed. He says that Greek Orthodox Christians recognize the Holy Spirit from the beginning of Creation, but feels that Catholics believe that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are sequential. This has never been my understanding as a Lutheran. He talked about sitting with other religions to talk out our theological differences every five years, but they "won't listen to us." It was clear that he passionately believes that Greek Orthodoxy is to sustain and continue the ancient true faith.

OBSERVATIONS AND OUTREACH

The entrance to the altar and chancel

The dome with the large chandelier. Other smaller chandeliers were above the aisles.

No mention of outreach was spoken during the service. Just reminders of other services. I searched their website for opportunities for outreach and the only thing I could find was a tab called "Philoptochos" a society for the women in the church to form a committee to structure missions overseas and plan for service. In their "time and talent" section in the stewardship pamphlet several ministries and programs were listed. Most were about serving in the church through cooking, transportation, leading study groups, etc. However they also listed blood drives, disaster relief, feeding the hungry, Habitat, and a prison ministry. But I really had to search to find mentions of anything of service outside of the church. (Father T described many more outreach opportunities that the church sponsors to me and we talked about the importance of highlighting them both on the website and during announcements. The most impressive was that the Woman's Phioptochos Society has donated over $45,000 in the past 12-18 months to folks in the community to use for such things as utility and medical bills.)
It was special to hear the liturgy as close as possible to its origins in the church during the first century. (Father T emphasized that the Orthodox church strives to keep the liturgy in the original Greek form as spoken by Christ and written by St. James.)
The inside of the church is beautiful. There are many icons and in the children's book, it asked the children to find the icon that is connected to their name. The chandeliers were also amazing!
Upon entering the church most folks kissed one of the icons that was on a lectern in front of the door. Again, the children's book mentioned this and said that kissing the Saints, was like kissing your aunts or relatives when you visit.
During the liturgy, the priest and the altar boys (in exquisite gold and red robes, that are based on ancient garments worn in the early church) took the host into the congregation entering a side aisle and returning to the chancel by the middle aisle. The altar boys carried candles, a cross and icons of Jesus and Mary while the priest carried the host.
Only about a third of the congregation went forward for the Eucharist. I found this curious. Babies and adults all received the host from a spoon.
After the Benediction, everyone was invited (by rows) to come up and receive the blessed bread (large chunks served from a huge bowl). This according to a pamphlet was not part of the Sacrament.
In the expectations vs. reality department: I expected more pageantry for Pentecost. Maybe there was special music etc. and I just didn't recognize it. I wore red and expected to see many others in red too, but did not.
I guess I really did look like a neophyte! A lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder during the blessed bread ritual and told me I could buy books about Greek Orthodoxy in their bookstore. I'm sure she saw me writing in my journal furiously and reading the worship and children's book! I just thanked her and didn't expound upon my dislike for selling things in the church. I guess that is my Lutheran heritage. Part of Luther's 95 Thesis included a rejection of selling indulgences. Of course books and indulgences are a world apart!
In our telephone discussion, Father Tsoulis wanted to emphasize that many folks (especially Evangelicals) confuse the Christian Orthodox Church with the Jewish Orthodox Church and claim that they are not Christian. I had never encountered this, but this was a very genuine concern for him.
He also wanted to emphasize that there are other services, especially for converts, that are offered entirely in English at other times. (These were not clear to me on the calendar on their website.)