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Welcome to our Orthodox Christian Church
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Welcome to
the Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross. As you
enter the body of the church, you will immediately note several prominent
features.
In
the center of the church, you will see a small table upon which is placed
the central image, or
icon remembered on this particular day of the year.,
or alternately, the icon of the saint or feast to which the particular
church is dedicated. In our church, you will most often, see the icon of the
Exaltation of
the Holy Cross to which our community is consecrated. It is to this
central image that upon entering the church, the faithful will come to
venerate.
To either side of the central
table you will see two more icon stands with candle stands.
The icon stand to the right will present the image of Christ, while the
one to the left holds the icon of the Theotokos, Mary, the birth-giver of
God.
Upon entering an orthodox
church, it is customary for orthodox Christians to venerate icons
with a kiss and offer a prayer, either directly to God, or to the saint as
an intercessory on their behalf to God.
In
orthodox churches, the burning of candles historically stems from the
early days when the candles of the congregants contributed to the light of
the service as well as serving as an offering in the context of the
celebration.
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The Central Table with Icon of
The Elevation of the Holy Cross |
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A unique
feature of our church is the distinctive wooden church furniture and
carved icon screen. All of these were hand made by one of our church
founders, Alexander Leon.
As you look up onto the next
level toward the alter, you will see the large carved wooden screen
comprised of images and passage ways. This is known as the
Iconostasis. It is the Iconostasis which
distinguishes the area of the Altar and High Place from the rest of the
space.
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The
screen itself, often consisting of more than one tier, filled as it
is with the images of Christ, His Mother_the Theotokos_("she who
bore God") as she is known in Orthodox theology, the prophets,
apostles the saints and even the the very feasts by which the church
celebrates the great events of our salvation history is less a wall
of separation between celebrants and the people gathered, than a
point of intersection, of confrontation between the heavenly and
earthly realms. While in some sense reminding us of the division
between the Divine and human realms, the screen unites these same
two worlds into a whole where all separation is eventually overcome,
and where reconciliation between God and man is achieved. It is here
in the very face and lives of Christ, His Mother and the saints that
we come to know God's holiness at work in our lives.
It is here we that join
with them in gathering around the throne of God to offer our praises
and our lives back to Him in thanksgiving and to bear our burdens to
his mercy. |
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The Central Table, Icon
Stands, and Candle Stands with Iconostasis separating the nave of
the church from the altar |
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It is here, gathering as
the faithful do at this boundary, that the images themselves reveal
the many ways of this reconciliation. As you look around the
interior of the church itself, you will see that we are in fact,
surrounded by the images of the saints and the righteous with whom
we gather in perpetual communion and community. |
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The Royal Doors |
The central doors, known as the
Royal Doors, are the place from which the celebrant blesses the
congregation, and both accepts and distributes the eucharistic gifts. It
is the central position from which the celebrant leads the prayers and
liturgical dialogue. The Royal doors are flanked by the primary images of
the Orthodox understanding of our salvation:
Christ and
Virgin Mary, His
Mother and are surmounted by the image of the Apostles gathered around the
Lord' supper.
The very doors themselves bear the images of the four
streams of the Gospel, the Four Evangelists, and are united in the center
with the image of the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary, since
it is this event which is understood as the prelude or the very beginning
of our salvation. At the very apex of the iconostasis is placed the Holy
Cross itself, upon which Christ was crucified, and through which joy has
come into the world.
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The two additional passages, known as
the deacon's doors are used for the entry and exit of the additional celebrants
and servers at the liturgy and bear the images of the sainted deacons or angels
who minister at the heavenly altar as do the earthly deacons during the Divine
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Through the Royal Doors, you
will notice the Central Altar in the Sanctuary, which faces the East. It
is from this table that the celebrant leads the worship services. It is
from this altar that both the word of God is brought out to the
people, and the table of the Lord's supper is offered to the faithful.
Upon it rests the book of the Gospels , the Cross, a Tabernacle which
houses the Eucharistic gifts held in reserve and a seven-branched
candelabrum.
Behind the altar, in the
area designated the 'high place', stands the processional cross bearing
the image of the crucified Christ. . On either side of the cross, stand
the processional images of the Cherubim and Seraphim which surround the
throne of God. Traditionally, the rear wall of the apse would contain an
image of the risen Christ, or Christ enthroned.
On either end of the icons
screen you will notice two large images. On the left, the images of
St.
Herman and St. Innocent, cornerstones of the Orthodox church on this
continent, and on the right, the Image of the
Emperor Constantine and his
Mother, Helena, whose devotion and labors helped to unveil the
location of the Holy Cross to which this parish is dedicated. You will see as well the
images of
John the Forerunner and Baptist of Christ, who announced the
call of imminence and repentance to the world, and of
Mary Magdalene, to
whom was made the first proclamation of the Risen Christ.
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The Central Altar |
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Surrounding the space between this image and icon screen itself individually
stand the images of Christ and His Mother. It is before this central table that
the majority of the scriptural readings and common prayers of the faithful are
read. The Gospel itself is read from the center of the Royal Doors, facing the
people.
The
Divine services celebrated to demark the day, and the week, and the cycle
of the liturgical year itself combine psalms, hymns, structured prayers,
creedal affirmations and proclamations, petitions and Scriptural readings
in continuous discourse and dialogue between the chief celebrant , the
additional celebrants, and the faithful. All prayers and responses, all
utterances in these Divine services are sung rather than spoken, and
offered in the image of " unceasing voice' raised to God.
The
Orthodox Christian asks again and again in these services, that God make
of our prayer a sacrament of His presence. In the Orthodox Church, the
coming to God in prayer and in solemn and joyous festival is in reality
the ceaseless coming of God to us in power and glory. St. John of Damascus
wrote: 'God descends to the soul in prayer and the spirit rises to God'
This intimate and wondrous participation of God in our personal lives is
crucial and decisive to our understanding of life in a Divinely-ordered
universe. He does not come to give orders, but to issue an invitation.:'
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Fr. John reads the Gospel |
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Below, the
choir, with Director Josef Gulka, sing while Fr. John presents the gifts
of communion to the congregation
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone
hears my voice and opens the door , I will come in to him and eat with
him, and he with Me."
(Rev. 3:20)
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