Sadly, many people do not have any understanding of liturgical worship. These people are sadly deprived of a wonderful, sacred service where they could experience the presence of God in a very beautiful way. Since they don’t understand, they don’t appreciate the value of Liturgy. They might think it is just a ceremony, something archaic or even something evil.
For Orthodox Christians, the Liturgy is much more than just a ceremony. It is one of the most important things that we do. A lot of people are passionate about the Sacred Liturgy. Some of these people become priests. In the Divine Liturgy, the faithful receive the Body and Blood of our savior, Jesus Christ. When the Eucharistic elements are consecrated, bread, wine, water and oil become more than just bread, wine, water and oil. The priest asks the Holy Spirit to come down and transform the aforementioned elements into the Body and Blood of Christ. This is the high point of the Divine Liturgy. The faithful then receive Communion.
This is an extremely important sacrament that should not be neglected. Participation in the Liturgy is one of many things a devout Christian should do, but is a very important part of the Christian life. The objective of any Christian is to become closer to God and to remove from his life things that distance himself from God. This process is a lifelong struggle that in Orthodoxy is called Theosis. This is a necessary and difficult duty of every Christian. Participation in the Liturgy by itself won’t save anyone, but it is not dispensable.
When the Divine Liturgy is celebrated, Heaven and Earth mystically meet in that space and time. We are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. We sing Holy, Holy, Holy with the angels. We ask the Holy Spirit to come down and bless us and He does. Then, we come into contact with God, who made us and gave us life! Right there! At the Last Supper, Christ took the bread and broke it and said “this is my body which is broken for you…”. Then He took the cup and said “This is my blood which is shed for you…”. Before the Consecration takes place in every Liturgy, the priest recites these words.
How wonderful it is that God who created the universe loves us so much that He came here and became a man and died and resurrected for us!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Finding Home in the Orthodox Church
All my life, I've never had a strong sense of belonging. I never quite fit in. Making it in social groups has always been difficult.
I never felt like I was a part of something, until I found the Orthodox Church. After studying Orthodox Christianity for a little while, I decided I needed to check it out. I went to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy for the first time on October 15, 2006. When I did, I saw something I had never seen before. Truly reverent worship. The music was moving and powerful. There was no need to re-invent faith or worship and everything was authentic and genuine.
After a year of catechises and regular dialogue with the local parish priest, I was baptized. That was a beautiful day. I had never been baptized before I became an Orthodox Christian. As it turns out, that was fine, because the Orthodox rite of baptism is so much more awesome than any other practice that I am aware of. The service was about an hour long!
The traditional Orthodox form of baptism is by three full immersions in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. We are buried with Him through Baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of life.
As soon as I came out of the water, I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was light. Then, a white vestment was put on me and I was chrismated and tonsured. The Chrism is the sweetest smelling oil I have ever smelled. This is like Confirmation in the West. When the priest anointed me, there was a feeling of warmth and love that cannot be described. It reminded me of the description of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the snow in Russia being warmed by the Holy Spirit.
This was the first time I had a sense of purpose and belonging. There was nothing I had to offer, but everything necessary for salvation was freely offered to me. I became a part of a spiritual family where there is warmth and love.
I never felt like I was a part of something, until I found the Orthodox Church. After studying Orthodox Christianity for a little while, I decided I needed to check it out. I went to an Orthodox Divine Liturgy for the first time on October 15, 2006. When I did, I saw something I had never seen before. Truly reverent worship. The music was moving and powerful. There was no need to re-invent faith or worship and everything was authentic and genuine.
After a year of catechises and regular dialogue with the local parish priest, I was baptized. That was a beautiful day. I had never been baptized before I became an Orthodox Christian. As it turns out, that was fine, because the Orthodox rite of baptism is so much more awesome than any other practice that I am aware of. The service was about an hour long!
The traditional Orthodox form of baptism is by three full immersions in the name of The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. We are buried with Him through Baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we should walk in the newness of life.
As soon as I came out of the water, I opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was light. Then, a white vestment was put on me and I was chrismated and tonsured. The Chrism is the sweetest smelling oil I have ever smelled. This is like Confirmation in the West. When the priest anointed me, there was a feeling of warmth and love that cannot be described. It reminded me of the description of St. Seraphim of Sarov in the snow in Russia being warmed by the Holy Spirit.
This was the first time I had a sense of purpose and belonging. There was nothing I had to offer, but everything necessary for salvation was freely offered to me. I became a part of a spiritual family where there is warmth and love.
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