Gwen Farber: Church Visit #1

Church name: Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church

Church address: 1449 North Quentin Road, Palatine, Illinois 60067

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?

The Divine Liturgy I attended at Holy Resurrection was absolutely beautiful. There was a huge dome in the center with icons of Jesus, angels, and the four Gospel writers. A beautiful wooden partition separated the Scriptures and the Eucharist at the beginning. The church is parish of The Orthodox Church of America, and the service was completely in English. After the Liturgy, I was able to converse with multiple people who told me that 50%-60% of their congregation are actually converts to the Orthodox tradition. There was a liturgical choir singing back and forth with the priest at the front of the sanctuary, which I was able to follow along with because I was provided with a liturgical book at the beginning of the service. The priest and the altar boys wore beautiful white and gold robes as they went through the weekly traditions of the Divine Liturgy. The priest’s sermon was devoted to the Prodigal Son, and the Eucharist was an impressively complex and beautiful ceremony. I, of course, did not partake in the Eucharist, but to see the care with which they treat the body and blood of Jesus was inspiring to me. Their focus on this Holy Communion was similar to my own church background, but the traditions surrounding it made me realize the beauty of it that I sometimes forget. 

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?
Although this parish was not Greek or Russian or another nationality in nature, the iconography around the church relating back to the Byzantine artists and era was evident. Walking into the church was like stepping back in time for me and made me remember the stories of a time when Christianity was much more unified than it is now. I was surrounded by other Americans who craved and valued a return to the early Church fathers and their theology. As I read through the liturgy, I could see theological points that we as Christians have agreed on for centuries, not just in Evangelical Protestantism, but all the way back to the Orthodox tradition. The emphasis on the Trinity as one God in three was especially powerful. As I listened to the liturgy washing over me, allowed the smells of incense to cover me, and watched the intricate traditions of the Orthodox church take place, I was able to remember Jesus Christ in a way that I can often forget when I'm in my normal church setting. There is something truly stunning about the ancient weight of this tradition.

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?
At the end of the serving of the Eucharist, the congregants would receive from the priest the bread and wine, and then they would walk over and receive excess bread that had been blessed that they could then eat because they were no longer fasting (in preparation for the Eucharist). Three different people came to me, even though I was sitting in the back (having not participated in Communion), and gave me pieces of the bread. Afterward, a young woman explained to me that this was their way of including me in the body of Christ--that even though I am not of the Orthodox tradition, I am still a member of the unified Church. I loved that reminder that as a Christian, we are more than just our church splits. The people were incredibly warm to me and loving--they were willing to answer my questions and tell me about their own journey with Jesus. I was thrilled at the opportunity to see the icons, smell the incense, taste the blessed bread, hear the liturgy... As a Christian, I was able to be a part of the Church because Jesus is at the root of all of this, guiding people in different ways.