Church name: Holy Transfiguration Antiochian Orthodox Church
Church address: 28W770 Warrenville Road, Warrenville, IL 60555
Date attended: October 9, 2016
Church category: Orthodox Church
Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?
The church service that I attended was quite different than my regular context. I normally attend College Church, so I'm not as far removed as a person who attends a service with contemporary worship and such (though I have attended those types of churches before - my church back home in Virginia is exactly that type), but even so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had no idea that the sanctuary would have so much incense in it, and I didn't know that there would be so many images (icons?) displayed. There was also much more call and response than I'm used to (though my dad is Catholic and I grew up going to Catholic church, so I'm not completely foreign to a lot of call and response). Also, this call and response was often sung, which I'm not used to. Another thing that surprised me is that it looked like the wine used for communion was some type of paste. I wish that I would have asked the priest or one of the congregants after the service what it was. One thing that really caught me off guard was that the congregants all kissed the cross at the end of the service. This is another thing that I wish I would've asked about.
How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?
The worship service helped me to get a glimpse of how the Orthodox Church developed. I know that the Orthodox Church has largely kept many of the traditions that it began with (unlike many of the Protestant sects), so in a way I was able to participate in a service that was hundreds of years old. Also, I had been to seemingly countless Catholic and Protestant services but never an Orthodox service, so I was certainly missing out on an experience of a large sect of Christianity. Now, I understand much more (though there is still a lot to learn) about what the Orthodox Church tradition values.
I've never actually wanted to call myself a member of any sect of Christianity; rather, I just call myself a Christian in general - I feel that basically all churches have strayed in some ways. Thus, going to this service gave me a chance to connect with God in a way that I hadn't done before but that I certainly still feel to be completely legitimate. While I won't be "converting" to Orthodox Christianity, I do certainly feel like this church service grew me closer in my relationship to Him. I think that reaching out to those in the body of Christ that you don't usually spend time with is a great way to grow in your faith.
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