ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

Exarchate of Parishes of Russian
Tradition in Western Europe

Visiting an Orthodox church

We do not expect all our visitors to know about Orthodox traditions, and there is a lot of variation in the way Orthodox themselves do things. These are some of the things you will see people doing inside the church:

Making the sign of the Cross as they come in. This is an act of reverence that reminds us where we are - it orientates us to God in his house.

Venerating icons. Icons are holy pictures used in prayer. On Sundays the icon of the Resurrection is usually in the middle of the church. The other main icons are of Christ (front right) and of the Mother of God (front left). To venerate an icon, people usually make the sign of the cross twice, with or without touching the ground, as they approach; then they kiss the icon (but not on the face), and then they cross themselves once more.

Lighting candles. We light candles as a symbol of our prayers, and you are welcome to do so if you wish.

Prostration. This is kneeling with your head touching the ground, at particularly important moments in the service. Some people prefer not to do this on a Sunday, which is the day of Resurrection, so standing is the more appropriate posture.

You will notice immediately that there are no pews in the church. In general, they are not favoured by the Orthodox because we feel it is appropriate to pray standing in the presence of God and pews restrict the freedom and spontaneity of worship. If you find it difficult to stand throughout the service it is quite acceptable to sit (it is, however, customary to stand for the reading of the Gospel and during the consecration of the Holy Gifts at the Divine Liturgy).

The icon screen (iconostasis) that delineates the sanctuary has a twofold significance. It reminds us of the fact that we are pilgrims on the way to the kingdom of heaven and that this must be the basic purpose of our lives in this world. Equally, the icons of Christ and the saints turned toward us proclaim the good news that, in Christ, our fallen human nature is already redeemed and taken up into the life of heaven: “Christ has entered, ..., into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Heb. 9, 24). Thus, the iconostasis does not separate heaven and earth, the sanctuary and the nave, but rather unites them.

THE DIVINE LITURGY. The general structure of the Liturgy will be familiar to Western Christians. It consists of psalms, Epistle and Gospel readings, the Creed and the prayer of consecration, followed by the Lord's prayer and the Communion. The Liturgy takes the form of a dialogue between celebrant and people, in which the function of the choir is to give voice to the prayer of the congregation. Intercessory prayer, in the form of litanies chanted by a deacon to which the choir responds “Lord, have mercy” or “Grant this, O Lord”, occupies a prominent place. In the Orthodox tradition, services are always sung without musical accompaniment, as the human voice is felt to be the fittest instrument for the praise of God.

COMMUNION.  Orthodox do not receive communion in non-Orthodox churches, nor are Orthodox clergy allowed to give communion to non-Orthodox, except occasionally in situations of special pastoral need. This rule does not spring from any lack of love, but from the deep conviction held by Orthodoxy that the act of receiving communion is essentially connected with our Church membership. Until divided Christians are fully reconciled with each other, we feel that it is premature to share in communion together.

Although Holy Communion is reserved to Orthodox Christians who are duly prepared, all “who enter in faith, reverence, and in the fear of God” can participate in worship by being quietly open to the presence of God and by attending to the words and actions of the services.

PROSPHORAS and INTERCESSION LISTS. You will see people placing small loaves (prosphoras) and lists of intercessions on a table. These lists contain the names of those both among the living and the departed for whom they wish prayers to be offered at the Liturgy. This is generally something that is done only by Orthodox. You are, however, very welcome to join at the end in kissing the cross held by the Celebrant if you wish (you should kiss the cross and his hand), and also to take some of the bread that is offered afterwards. This bread is blessed but not consecrated. Sometimes members of the congregation may give you small pieces of bread, which is also blessed but not consecrated, from their own prosphoras, and this is for you to eat. It is not customary to share with others the bread you have been given after kissing the cross.

THE VIGIL SERVICE consists of Vespers and Matins and is usually celebrated the evening before the Divine Liturgy.