Ashley Edwards--Church Visit #1

Church Name: St. Joseph’s Orthodox Church
Church Address:  412 Crescent St, Wheaton, IL 60187
Date attended: October 30, 2016
Church category: Orthodox Church


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


I was struck by the incorporation of all five senses in the worship service. The priest sang songs and then the congregation joined. Our voices filled the room with The Resurrection Troparia, three Little Litanies, the first three Antiphonies, the Alleluarion, and many more songs and provided an auditory experience. The smell of incense burning gave an olfactory experience. The icons gave a visual experience. The Eucharist gave a taste experience (it would have...I didn’t partake because they asked that only Orthodox Christians who had prepared themselves by fasting partake). Lighting and holding the candles and crossing oneself gave a tactile experience. People came all throughout the service. When I arrived, it was about one-third full, and when I left there were no seats available. At my church, coming late is considered disrespectful, but here it seemed perfectly acceptable. The structure of the service was interesting too. While it was very scheduled, people walked about as they pleased mid-service. My church is less formally scheduled, but people don’t typically walk around during the service time.


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


It was interesting to see an American Eastern Orthodox service. I have been to Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in Ukraine and they are quite different from the one I attended today. The cultural influences at work in the congregation and service were clear. I consider this a good thing, because the church should be adapted, as far as is in keeping with biblical standards, to the community which it is serving. This service maintained much of the historical, more traditional Orthodox elements of worship, such as liturgical practices, but was a lot less formal than what I have previously been exposed to. Only one family wore head-coverings, while in Ukraine you cannot get in the door without one. Some of the priests were dressed in yellow robes and red sashes, but some were in khakis and button down shirts. The atmosphere was much lighter here, as is customary to the relatively informal American culture. Nonetheless, there was a beautiful reverence characteristic of Orthodoxy. This is one aspect of the Orthodox church that I really appreciate, because I think in some Protestant circles it is easy to walk into church without feeling we are in a place that demands respect and quietude of spirit. I think the Orthodox church is admirable for its cultivation of this spirit.


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


I really enjoyed engaging my senses in worship. I am a tactile learner and I think this is something that is missing in the kinds of churches I typically go to. I was able to really be present in the act of worshiping God because my body was participating. It was calming and centering to take part in this service. I enjoyed the structure for its predictability and constancy. It was nice to participate in one voice as a congregation, lifting up songs that have been sung for centuries, joining in worship across chronology and geography. We said the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, which reminded me of the history of where we come from and the fact that my relationship with God is unique and my own, but also part of the larger picture of the story of Christianity.