Marcy Watson – Church Visit #1

An experience with Eastern Orthodoxy: Marcy Watson – Church Visit 1

St. Demetrios

893 Church Rd, Elmhurst, IL 60126

October 2, 2016

Greek Orthodox

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

St. Demetrios was very different from my normal Sunday service at the Glen Ellyn Evangelical Covenant Church.  For starters it was almost entirely in Greek, only the scripture readings and the sermon were in English.  The service was entirely conducted by men in fancy white, gold, and black robes.  At GCOV our pastor only wears a white robe on the first Sunday of the month when we have communion.  We also actively include women in our services, we even ordain women.  The only time that women were included in the service at St. Demetrios was in the choir and being commended for raising a great son.  For most of the service the priests were singing, my pastors do not typically sing through the service.  They also seemed to have a system or hierarchy of priests.  There was the main bishop, some lesser guys in different colored robes around him, and then little boys here and there. 

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

            It was definitely a very traditional church service and I would imagine it has stayed the same for many years.  I have thought and talked about global Christianity with others.  However those conversations mostly revolved around the global south, we never really talked about the east.  I have a bit of experience with Eastern Orthodoxy because of Wheaton in the Holy Lands this last summer, but I had yet to go to a service.  Experiencing Eastern Orthodoxy is different from studying it.  There are many things in their theology that I like and think we need to talk about or emphasize more in protestant churches.  However when their theology is put into practice it can sometimes become superstitious or emphasizes too much on a high Christology that Christ becomes inaccessible.  It was good, for me to get out of my comfort zone, and see how other Christians around me (and the world) worship God. 

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

            Even though the service was very different than what I was used to, and very foreign to me, I still got a lot out of it.  I liked that there was a huge emphasis on the imminent trinity.  That God is mysterious and he is to be worshipped.  They really live that out in their service, since it is mostly worship.  Yet I could also tell that this church had been influenced by western culture, because it was a classic three-point sermon.  The sermon was on Luke 6:27-36, about loving one’s enemies.  It is a fairly straightforward passage to preach.  However living it out is an entirely different matter.  How can one love their enemy when every part of their being wants nothing to do with them?  But this is part of being a Christian, we are called to usher in the coming on the new kingdom.  Part of welcoming in that kingdom is loving someone who is difficult to love.