Kurt Pazdra II - Church Visit #1

Church name: The Greek Orthodox Church of St. Demetrios
Church address: 893 Church Road, Elmhurst IL 60126
Date attended: 10/9/16
Church category: Orthodox Church

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

St. Demetrios is as traditional as a Greek Orthodox Church can be, according to Parish Priest, Rev. Fr. Andrew Georganas, who spoke to my friends and I after the service. That being said, my experience within the Divine Liturgy was far removed from my usual Church context as a non-denominational evangelical whose home church incorporates electric guitars and rap in our corporate worship. Icons were everywhere; they were purposefully arranged throughout the sanctuary. A sweet old lady approached us during the closing reception and made sure we understood the rich theological heritage in the main icons always arranged around the table at the front of the sanctuary. The rich ornamentation, incense, candles, heavenly imagery in the dome above the sanctuary, strict observance of sacraments such as communion, and melodic liturgy evoked an out-of-this-world feeling that we were joining the saints and the heavenly hosts in corporate worship.

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

There was a rich observance of God’s faithfulness throughout Church history in the service. The Orthros prior to the Divine Liturgy and every icon served to illustrate the story of the Church, the story of Christ, our story. The story of the saints who have gone before us is the story we share in, the whole Church together striving towards the same destination in Christ; the whole service seemed to embody this Biblical truth, reminiscent of Hebrews 11:1-12:2. After the Service, Rev. Fr. Georganas asked the visiting Wheaties, “So how does it feel to visit the ancient tradition of the original Church of Jesus Christ?” Our being bound to the entire, catholic body of Christ, across space and time, is something which protestant traditions may address, but not nearly as holistically as the Greek Orthodox Church which praises God for this reality with all five senses on a weekly basis.

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

There was an essence of the service which was personally humbling. Perhaps this was largely due to the utter absence of Greek in my daily communications. But beyond barriers of language and culture, the very essence of the sanctuary and the worshipers during the Divine Liturgy embodied this truth: in Christ I am so small, yet I am part of something far greater than myself. When we had the opportunity to speak with Rev. Fr. Georganas, per his request, most of the congregants had gone home or were still milling in the reception behind the sanctuary. The sanctuary was silent, the chanting, singing, and bells were but echoes, the incense had begun to diffuse. This room felt smaller, earthier, we had returned from the mountain top, or perhaps, from the throne room itself. In Christ there is such holy, radiant light; we should be humbled to be made lamps for this light, for Christ.