Greek Orthodox ChurchGreek Orthodox ChurchGreek Orthodox ChurchI have decided to visit a Greek Orthodox Church, Saint Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox church. I went alone because I figured that this would not draw too much attention during the service. I tried to find a near by church that will give the service partially in English. When I found one near me it was my luck that I went at the time when it was all spoken in Greek. The English service was at six in the evening, and the all-Greek service started at ten in the morning. So to my discouragement I was at a lost at any attempts that I had preplanned to adapt to this new environment. I didn’t even get the name of the priest. While I was there sitting in the back I was able to dissect some of the norms of the church and the culture with in.
The church external appearance was quit different than other churches that I have seen. It was basically a big white stucco block with a gold dome on top and four decorated spikes on each corner of the building that surrounded the dome. The people of course were all Greek and were very well dressed. Most of the men and boys all wore suits, and If not they had some kind of vest on. I don’t know if this was some kind of rule or tradition, but it mostly seemed as a respect to God. The women all wore the basic dresses, and all the skirts fell down below the knee. Everybody was proper and ordered. As I walked in the church I entered a lobby of some kind. What I saw hear was something like social hour. Everybody was in there. They were all speaking Greek, and I felt as if I was in a family reunion party. The children were all together; the adults talked together and the young adults all were together. The way they all socialize is when someone comes up to say hello, they give each other a kiss on the cheek and a hug. These people are all very close to each other. It seems as if the church is the center of their lives. I admire that trait as well. To enter the auditorium you must enter this little room, which has a piece of garment from St. Constantine and St. Helen. Also there were candles lit. As they walked through this little room they lit a candle and knelt down for a moment to pray, and then touched each garment and made a cross over their chest. Then I entered the auditorium. I felt as if I was in heaven. There were incense burning, paintings on the walls, ceiling, and on the dome. The one thing that caught my eye was that there was gold every where. There were gold borders, trim and even gold in the paint. The communion table was all in gold as well.
I sat in the back so I could get a batter look at everybody. When people entered the auditorium, went into a silence as if it was some kind of disrespect. When the sermon started everyone stood up and all the priest came out. The one priest that was the least decorated said one thing and we all knelt and a prayer was said. Having everything said in Greek made this part the most difficult for me to follow. During the sermon we all sat up and sang songs, which were not like any church songs. These songs all had a long whining tune to them. At some points of the service it seems that the priest would read out of a book that seemed like a liturgy book. The priest would sing out a passage and the people would respond to what he said. The responses
The pastor in every congregation had his own style of being a good hymnologist, not a kind hymnologist. And sometimes he would tell us this sort of sermon, a typical hymn. Sometimes he would tell us that we shouldn’t ask our questions but that the priest was able to keep us informed, because he knew what he was doing. We never needed to ask questions; once that happened…
One of the best things about going to the funeral was to get a lot of attention from the other members in the church for the services. For me it was never just about the service I attended; I would just be there and I could get a lot of different responses. We just did. It was very, very hard to get all that attention and we felt like we were all trying to be better and be more engaged in the church and to help support our families. The church is a good place to get that attention, but it’s a very different place to go to.
How did you get involved in the church, how did it come to be the only congregation where a priest was named after you?
Well, I was always an active participant. In my day, I never did anything wrong; I just really felt like attending, and I’d sit around watching as people walked up and down the hall. That’s where I learned to be around. Because I remember, one day when I was talking about the church service I mentioned that I didn’t have enough time to attend, but this one time at breakfast I wanted to ask my husband what his opinion was regarding this. He agreed to bring a few thousand dollars to give him to the church. It was the first time I’d actually called in and asked him his opinion. That’s how I turned it up. I think those were my first public calls for donations. I was just having a really nice time and the first time I realized that something I’d been working on for so long was actually happening. So I just went out and bought my first bag of popcorn. So every time I went to church, I went out in my own church and we all shared an opinion, and we always said that we saw each other for the first time in awhile.
Have you been a member of either the Baptist Church or Anglican Church?
All I can say is that I’ve gone and been a member of both churches on and off for 18 years. I never once had a problem with either church, but once that all changed I was totally appalled. If it weren’t for that I wouldn’t be who I am today. I think it’s nice to be part of a Christian movement without ever feeling the pressure.
But when you are a member of either the Baptist church or Anglican one, do you still feel that you belong in a Baptist denomination?
Well, I love the Baptist community and