Saints Constantin and Helen Greek Orthodox Church Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta Monroe Louisiana

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Sacred Spaces: Notes on Orthodox Worship

In the Orthodox Christian tradition, the Church is the instrument by which believers are led to God. By such vehicles as corporate prayer, especially through the sacraments, belief defined and hallowed by the witness of the faithful through the ages, and by the ordering of earthly time into "Seasons of Holiness," the Church nurtures God's children on their path to theosis, or union with God. In the words of St. Athanasius, "God became man that man might become God."

Inheritors of the Judaic tradition of Temple worship, Orthodox Christians maintain the belief that the church edifice becomes a "house of God," a sacred space, a foretaste of heaven. It is therefore richly adorned to remind the congregation of the majesty of God. In worship, all the senses are involved: the fragrance of incense as an "offering pleasing to God;" the sight of icons, vestments, and crosses; the hearing of music and the word of Scripture; the taste of the Eucharist; the tactile sense of handling candles and kissing icons in veneration.

In a typical Orthodox chapel one encounters its distinctive iconostasion or icon wall, which separates the "holy of holies" that is the altar area from the nave of the church. Icons are placed on the iconostasion in a fixed order: the icon of Christ is to the right, the icon of the Virgin Mary (with Christ child) to the left; next to Christ is shown St. John the Baptist, the "Forerunner," last of the Old Testament prophets and first of the New Testament saints; and finally, to the far left, the icon of the saint or Feast to which the church is dedicated.

Hanging vigil lamps remind the faithful of the presence of God as Light and Warmth. Candelabra stand before the sanctuary reminiscent of the Cherubim before the throne of God. On the altar table is the book of Gospels, the revered word of God revealed to man.

The Orthodox worshipper, upon entering this sacred space, bows and signs himself with the cross, the symbol of his salvation. He then lights a candle as a visible sign of his prayer, and he venerates the icon as an image of its prototype; in being so venerated the icon becomes a sacred vehicle of that worship which is due to God alone.

This sacred space, the image of heaven, the symbol of Jerusalem, thus becomes the setting for the Eucharist, the sublime corporate act of Christian worship, in which man mingles with the presence of angels in seeking communion with his God.

Icons may adorn the walls and ceiling of the church, or embellish objects used in worship such as gospels and chalices, or be depicted on vestments and textile coverings. They may show Christ, events of His life, or the saints. They are visual aids, teaching sacred truths without words. They remind the worshipper of the presence of the many prophets, saints, and martyrs who are praying together with him before their common God. Common to all icons is an attempt to illustrate the sanctity of the figure or event. Only hinting at realism, they describe the sacred world in which there is neither space nor time. Eye contact between the icon's figure and the worshipper is often used to draw the worshipper into the icon, into the essential truth which it conveys.

Thus the worshipper is reminded of the events and people that the Church holds up as examples of human conduct and of divine revelation. These define the seasons of our earthly lives and point to the eternal bliss that awaits each person whose life has been lived in holiness.

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