Andrew Grorud - Church Visit #1

Church name: Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Christian Church

Church address: 28W770 Warrenville Road, Warrenville, IL 60555

Date attended: February 28, 2016

Church category: Orthodox

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

I attended the Divine Liturgy service at Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Christian Church. The first thing I noticed when I walked into the sanctuary was the massive amount of icons on the walls and in the front of the church. Nearly every surface was covered with some sort of icon. Immediately I was hit with the strong scent of incense, which continued to be used throughout the service. The service followed a set liturgy that was approximately 140 pages long. Nearly everything that occurred was sung and the congregation was standing for nearly all of it. Having the background of an Anglican church, much of the liturgy was familiar, such as the Trisagion and the greeting of others in the congregation, however, nearly every piece of the liturgy was slightly different than what I am used to. This came from the unaccompanied singing by the small choir or the priests, or from constant veneration of the Virgin Mary, and even in the set formula for greeting one another, "Christ is in our midst" and the response "He is and ever shall be!", or especially the praying to the saints, and the veneration of the icons, through kissing the images. The biggest difference however was in the communion liturgy. The words surrounding the transubstantiation were different than what I am used to, and the method of distributing communion was also very different. Each person walked up to the front and was fed a piece of bread soaked in wine on a spoon by the priest. They also held a towel underneath the bread and wine so that none would fall to the floor which showed the great veneration that they have for the elements of communion, since they believe it is truly the body and blood of Christ.

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?

I think that this worship service helped me to identify the great diversity that exists within the body of Christ. This service was very different than what I am used to or have attended and so it was interesting to see the different ways that Christ is worshipped. I also think it showed me the deep history of the orthodox church. Intermingled within the liturgy were texts written by John Chrysostom and Basil the Great, this appeal to the great figures in the history of the church I thought was especially interesting since many protestant churches that I have attended spend very little time focusing on the texts of these great figures. I think that this reminds us of the great people whose shoulders we are standing on when we worship Christ today and the value in reading their writings. The link to the historical church is more clear to me in the Orthodox church then in any other church I have previously attended. Also, I think that being in a different environment helps me to be more conscious of global Christianity. Even though this was a small taste of the wide range of Christian churches that exist around the world, I think being reminded that something so different exists so close to home, helps me to remember how much of a world there is beyond the pews that I sit in on Sunday morning.

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?

I think that this service has helped me to confirm the Protestant identity I already have. There were things within this service that made me very uncomfortable, from the veneration and prayers directed to Mary, to the kissing and bowing to icons, to even the way that communion was distributed and it being so formal that it felt inaccessible. I understand better why I am a protestant and why the things I believe are important to me. On the other hand, however I think that the discomfort that I experienced also made me realize that I need to broaden my view of what is acceptable within the church. As we have talked and learned about the practices of the church both in this class and others, I have often been surprised that things such as the veneration of icons was a disputed issue. It seemed to me that clearly these people knew not to worship the icons and that they were simply there to remind us of these great figures. However, actually experiencing this type of worship, the dispute seemed very real in a new way. There were times where I felt like the icons were being worshipped and not God. However, knowing that this practice has not been deemed heretical by the church but is allowed and then actually experience it, will help to me to better appreciate the history of the church and understand why these issues were so important. It also has helped to start me on a path towards wider acceptance of practices of the church that I am not always challenged by while at Wheaton. Attending the Orthodox church was certainly an experience that I will not soon forget.