Hayley Bennett Church Visit #1

Church Name: St. Peter & St. Paul Orthodox Church

Church Address: 6980 County Line Road, Burr Ridge, Illinois 60527

Date attended: February 14, 2016

Church Category: Orthodox

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

The service was absolutely beautiful. As I walked in and was surrounded by paintings, vaulted ceilings, and the smell of incense, I felt a sense of reverence instilled in me. I often miss the beauty in church when I attend a protestant, windowless, concert hall-like church. Someone explained to us how to venerate—to pray to a saint and kiss his feet. She explained to us that the icons were meant to direct our attention to “those who are with us”, because the spiritual world and physical world are one. We were attending the early Matins service that was characterized by chanting and ritual movements. At one point a book was brought out (which I assumed to be either the Gospels or New Testament) and people rose to kiss it. It reminded me of my one visit to a synagogue when the congregation kissed the Torah. I appreciate how reverence is built into the church— the architecture, paintings, incense, and chants, they all demand reverence of God. I miss this in my Evangelical-Free home church, where reverence is something I often must think about and manufacture.

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

The pride of the Orthodox Church for being the “original church” and ongoing resentment towards the Chalcedon ecumenical council was obvious in talking to people and reading their informational pamphlet. However, it would do the church a disservice to stop there. The far back paintings that dominated the sanctuary were of the nativity, the theotokos, and the resurrection. While the crucifixion was important to the church, its icon stood off in the left corner. I appreciated how the Church emphasized life. While it is understandable that protestants would emphasize the cross and grace of God having been birthed out of a reaction against indulgences and works-based faith, I think we often over emphasize the death of Christ. I could see how the long tradition of the Orthodox church maintained rituals pristinely- which could reflect on their devotion to maintaining church doctrine over hundreds of years. 

        

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

         The worship service showed me that I ought to revere God more . It taught me to value the long-standing traditions of the church and the power in unity.  I also noticed myself becoming impatient through the long rituals and chants. This is but one example of how the progress-oriented, time-oriented, and goal-oriented American culture has pervaded my worship. It was good  to be forced to slow down and re-commit my time to God-- to wait patiently, sit silently, be still, and know that He is God.

         The emphasis on the resurrection rather than the cross emphasized my identity as one who is saved and a new creation rather than one locked in sin.  This along with the communal nature of the church set up, the venerations, an d the chants,  brought me out of this individualized, pietist Christianity that I have grown up with and into the greater body of Christ.