What To Expect

I make no secret of the fact that part of the purpose of this blog is to encourage my friends and family to look into Orthodox Christianity. I’ve said before that I truly believe a sincere inquiry into Orthodoxy will ultimately result in the inquirer becoming Orthodox. However, to someone raised in the Protestant faith, there remains a large obstacle to conversion: becoming comfortable with attending Orthodox worship.

I’m not going to lie to you: it is a big shock to the system the first time you witness an Orthodox Divine Liturgy. When I tell you that Orthodox worship could not possibly be more different from Protestant worship, you'll think I'm exaggerating...until you attend Orthodox Liturgy.

But please don’t let that scare you. If I, a Baptist since childhood, can do it, so can you. Here are some suggestions to prepare you for what you can expect to encounter at an Orthodox church:

Be ready to do a lot of standing. Orthodox houses of worship have historically not included pews. In fact, I learned recently that until the Reformation, it was unusual for any church, eastern or western, to have pews or chairs of any kind that weren’t specifically reserved for the elderly or handicapped. Most (but not all) Orthodox churches in the United States do in fact have pews, but even so, worshippers stand for nearly the entire duration of the Liturgy. Don't worry, you won't raise any eyebrows by sitting for a while.

Expect to see a lot of candles.

And icons.*

Orthodox Christians cross themselves…a lot. If you’ve ever been to a Roman Catholic Mass, you’ve seen people making the Sign of the Cross once or twice during the service. Occasionally you’ll see Lutherans and other high-church Protestants doing this as well. During an Orthodox Liturgy, it is not unusual for worshippers to make the sign of the Cross somewhere in the neighborhood of a hundred times or more! No kidding. They do it after every “Lord Have Mercy,” and at every mention of the Trinity, and then some.

Don’t be too shocked to see people kissing icons.* Orthodox Christians kiss a lot of things: icons, the Bible, the cross, the chalice, the priest, each other. (But don’t panic, they won’t try to kiss you…at first) Calm down, it’s not idolatry. It’s how they show respect and reverence. It comes from the culture of the Middle East, which, in case you didn’t know, is where Christianity originated. Westerners are squeamish about such things, so it takes some getting used to.

You may even see people prostrate themselves. This is not terribly unusual during Orthodox Liturgy, especially in churches without pews (although people still find a way even in churches with pews). Orthodox Christians prostrate by kneeling, placing their hands palm-down on the floor in front of them, and then touching their forehead to the floor between their hands. (The prostration method you see in the movies where people lie flat, face-down on the floor is the western style, not used in Orthodox worship.)

You’re going to hear a lot of Scripture. Nearly every word you hear during the Liturgy is straight out of the Bible. Much of it is from the Psalms.

Don’t be shocked to see Mary honored. She is certainly not worshipped in the Orthodox Church (that is only for God). But, unlike what you’re accustomed to, she is praised and venerated. Just bear with it. She is most often referred to as Theotokos (this is Greek for “God bearer,” which of course is not so much a statement about her as it is about the Incarnation of Christ).*

The entire Liturgy is sung.

But there won’t be any instrumental accompaniment. Very seldom will you find an Orthodox church that uses instruments. Not sure why. Tradition I guess.

And don’t be too surprised if at least part of the Liturgy is in another language. Even at churches that conduct the Liturgy in English (and most do), they’ll still slip in a “Kyrie Eleison” here and there. But don’t worry if you don’t understand it: God does.

The Orthodox use incense. And it smells really nice. But it has actual liturgical significance as well: it is how God Himself has chosen to be worshipped.

Everything is a big deal in Orthodox worship. At no point should you expect to see anyone casually open their Bible and flip to such-and-such chapter and verse. Everything—and I mean everything—is preceded by prayers and hymns and bowing and kneeling and more prayers and processions and more hymns and incense and more prayers and more bowing. And rightly so; the whole purpose of the Liturgy is to worship Almighty God. Nothing should be done casually.

There are no nurseries or “cry rooms.” Children who are baptized* into the Orthodox Church are full members of the Church and are not excluded from participation in worship.

And, yes that includes Communion. The Orthodox Church does not exclude any of its members—from infants on up—from receiving Communion.* But if you have not been received into the Orthodox Church don’t expect to partake; the Orthodox do exclude non-Orthodox from Communion. Don’t take offense to this, it’s not out of disdain for the non-Orthodox; it’s to preserve the integrity of the Sacrament. In fact, so great is the Orthodox respect for the Body and Blood that not even all Orthodox will receive Communion every Sunday, but only those who have properly prepared for it (i.e. with fasting, confession, etc.).

When you attend Orthodox Liturgy, do so with an open mind. In fact, go ahead and forget everything you ever thought you knew about Christian worship. Stand somewhere in the back, and don’t try to follow along, just watch, and realize that what you're witnessing is an imitation of heavenly worship (Heb 8.5, 12.22-24). What you see will be beautiful and reverential and moving...and you won’t understand any of it the first time. But give it a chance. And when you see something that shocks you (and you will. Believe me), consider the possibility that what you’re seeing isn’t wrong, only different from what you’re used to. It is, after all, the way the Church has done things for two thousand years.

My challenge to all my readers is this: attend Orthodox Liturgy for four Sundays in a row. If after that time you can return to your regular church and not feel that there is something missing—that it lacks reverence or dignity or a sense of sacredness or true God-centered worship—then maybe you should start a blog yourself!

*These items will be addressed more fully in later blog entries.

For further reading:
First Visit to an Orthodox Church: Twelve Things I Wish I'd Known
For Seekers: What To Expect When You Visit