Ella Knowlton - Church Visit #1

Church name: St. Peter and St. Paul Orthodox Church

Church address: 6980 County Line Road, Burr Ridge, IL 60527

Date attended: Saturday, October 1

Church category: Orthodox

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

      The worship service I attended was an evening Vespers service which lasted about an hour. When I arrived, I sat down on one of the pews, but when the service started, we all stood and remained standing for the entirety of the service. This service involved much chanting, and in fact, almost the whole service was spoken or sung in a kind of monotone singing chant-like way. Growing up in an Evangelical Free Church of America tradition, I experienced a low church service with worship through song in the beginning, a sermon for the second half of the service, and communion once a month. So in this service, some things that were different were the incense, the many icons around the sanctuary which the congregation bowed to and kissed, and the fact that there were no instruments. Like my church services, Vespers was an hour long, it was led by men, people wore a variety of dress, and all ages of people attended.

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

As I took in the whole service, smelling the incense, crossing myself at appropriate times, and listening to chants that must have been around for centuries, I was transported to a different time, a different century. I was amazed to think about all the various aspects of the service, such as the chants, the carrying of the incense, the ringing of bells, the many times the congregation crossed themselves, the beautiful images all around me. These aspects did not just suddenly appear in the church one day. These must have all been carefully considered and incorporated into the service by the global Orthodox Church. In addition, all of these things showed me how diverse the global church is as well. The church worldwide does not look just like my home church. Instead, it has much rich history and diversity, and this service helped me to see that.  

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

         As I come from a different type of church than the Orthodox tradition, this service spoke to my heart in a much different way than I am used to. It spoke to me in a much more corporate worship way, whereas at home I feel more the individual aspect of worship. At the Orthodox Church, I felt unified with the body of believers as we all stood for the whole service, and we physical turned ourselves to face the incense as it was carried around the room. I felt like I was a part of something much bigger than myself, as the traditions practiced in Orthodoxy have been around much longer than me. This fact also gives me even more confidence in my faith and makes me want to share my faith with others so they can also be a part of this amazing body of Christ.