|
Saint Luke's Serbian Orthodox Church by Lynne Borneman |
|
I visited St. Luke's Orthodox Church for the 10:30 service on Sunday November 3, 2002. I was surprised at the size of the church; it was smaller than the Lutheran and the Baptist churches. I guess Northern Virginia does not have a large population of Serbian people. I sat and watch as people entered the church. I saw things I was familiar with because they are also part of the Catholic Church, like the crucifix and people doing the sign of the cross. I also saw things that were different from any service I had attended such as the front of the church and the entrance ritual of its members. The front of the church was filled with paintings. There were painted images, or icons, of Jesus, Mary, and many Saints. Many of the painting were illuminated with candles. As people entered the church they walked to the front and kissed something that was on a table. It appeared to be a book or a picture. After that they moved to the left or to the right and lit candles, lots of candles and placed them into large candleholders. By the time the service started there were approximately thirty to forty lit candles on either side of the front of the room. I was expecting to see an altar in front of the church, but from my initial observations there did not appear to be one. However, when the service started the priest opened doors behind the wall of paintings to reveal a secret chamber. Inside this chamber was an altar, lit candles, and more paintings. During the service only the priest and altar boy entered this room, sort of separating them from the remainder of the congregation. During the service the priest faced into this room with his back to the congregation. This seemed strange, but I could remember a time when the priest at my church said mass with his back to us. The service started with church bells ringing. I always like to hear the church bells and miss them now that my church does not ring them every Sunday. The priest walked around the room with incense, again this reminded me of the High Mass at a Catholic Church. The priest chanted the entire service in English. I like the reverence of the chanting and enjoy the formality. The people stood almost the entire service and it seemed they crossed themselves constantly. When it came time to read the Gospel the bells rang again. This was the only time the priest came out of his private room and faced the congregation. He read from St. Luke's Gospel. After the reading he spoke to everyone about the meaning of the reading. He had a friendly, slow, almost grandfatherly way of speaking and I enjoyed listening. He performed the consecration of the bread and wine. All the adults received communion. There was singing as the service ended. People at this service were not as friendly to me as those at the Baptist or Lutheran Church. However, because of the similarities to the Catholic Mass I felt at ease. The service was pleasing to my senses because of the bells, incense, icons and chanting. It was also fun to hear a mass so similar to what I was used to and yet with many differences. I could feel the formality of the service because it was so rich in rituals and I felt comforted. |
| Created by Laura Ellen Shulman |
Last updated: December 2002
|