Max Boyd - Church Visit #1

Church Name: St. Athanasios Greek Orthodox Church
Church address: 1855 E. Fifth Avenue, Aurora, IL 60504
Date attended: February 28, 2016
Church category: Greek Orthodox

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

I think it is safe to say the orthos service I attended at St. Athanasios was extremely different from my regular context as an Assemblies of God member. The very first thing one is struck with is the pure iconography within the church. The beauty and aesthetic of the church was in the intricate and deliberate icons throughout the church depicting Biblical and church heroes throughout the centuries. It was magnificent, and the space was prepared for worship, much unlike my church which lies as just a building in which the aesthetic lies in modern architecture and soft lighting. The very next thing I did was introduce myself to a man there, and he introduced himself as Lou. To what I saw, Lou was just a faithful member of the church, a leader, and a part of the choir. He might have been on staff, but what hit me was how much he knew about his own tradition and his own church. He took me on a tour of the church, explaining parts of the church as well as parts of the service. He addressed why they hold so tightly to tradition, and why they have services in Greek, why St Athanasius was an intricate part of their tradition, and many other of my questions before the service began.

I could list out a thousand different differences, from the inclusion of the Greek text to the incense that was shaken at members, from the singsongy reading of the Scriptures to the stoic stances of the members. However, with all of this being true, one thing that I happily held tightly to is the same God that was worshipped as I was in the place. Although the service was so different, I felt that although St Athanasios and my home church might be drastically different, God hears and honors the prayers and worship that go on in both circles, and what a beautiful experience to understand that.

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

The service definitely illuminated the understanding of historicity of the church. In a more Protestant and Evangelical tradition, you can very easily lose sight of the history of the church and where you stand inside of it. In this church, it was well-illuminated from the iconography to the tradition to the language that what we are participating in is a whole host of believers as Hebrews talks about. Not only does that encourage courage as a believer, but also it enlightens who you are as a Christ follower. On top of that, the service encourages an understanding of how we are worshipping in a Christian context in America. Not often is one reminded of how the gospel has moved to get to a point of where one is in the church. I think that this is holistically something that needs to be re-assimilated into Protestant churches.

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

As I have stated before, I think that for me, the pure tradition of the Orthodox church called me deeper into the understanding of my own faith and the history it comes from. The entire service I was extremely grateful for the opportunity to study Bible and Theology at Wheaton and be able to take classes like this one. And while being thankful for that, it also brought a point of sadness in understanding that only a very few go to study such things, but who are also inside of the church. And for me, it made me long for a better marrying of traditions within denominations. To hold too tightly to one's own tradition is admirable, but to a certain extent, I feel as though you miss parts that other traditions have largely held up and preserved as a vital part of relating to God. This was shown also in Lou, who knew so much about his church, his tradition, and why he believed these things. I seriously took into consideration if members at my church could do this, and was saddened by the answer to my own question in my mind. Again, I was made glad by the understanding that God intercedes far more than we think he does. In our shortfalls, He is glorified, and I believe that far extends beyond our petty personal sin. I think it is also attributed by our understanding in the imperfections of the church, but the constant grace of God in each tradition, in each belief, in each person. Which was such a beautiful idea as I exited the church and headed to my home church, where I volunteer as a leader. How great a God we serve.