What To Expect
For first time visitors to our site, and to our Church, we welcome you!
This page contains some basic information about the Orthodox faith, our parish and traditional worship for those who haven’t experienced it yet. Many of the visitors and members of our Church come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Our experience is that expectations vary widely (and sometimes wildly!), so this page will get you started!
So, who are we?
We are a parish of the Orthodox Church in America; part of the worldwide Orthodox Church – the oldest Christian Church in the world. This is not a theological statement, it is an historical one. And in every part of the world, there are Orthodox Christians, Churches and Missions: in traditionally Orthodox countries like Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Russia, Serbia, the Middle East, and India but also in Japan, China, the Philippines, throughout Europe including Germany, France, Poland, Finland, across the British Isles, throughout the African continent including Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, across Central and South America, and even continent of Antarctica is an Orthodox Church.
What is the difference?
The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn't non-denominational - it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. We are precisely the same Church across the globe, and across time, preaching the Gospel, teaching the Lord’s commandments, and worshiping God in spirit and in Truth just as we have these many centuries. When you visit our Divine Services, you will experience Worship of the Lord that that is rich with scripture, a beautiful celebration that the Church has preserved going back to the era after Pentecost. In fact, our newest service is 1,300 years old!
When you come for a visit, we want you to know at least this much:
- You are welcome here. We are always honored to have visitors join us for prayer and worship.
- We want to make it easy for you explore the Ancient Christian Faith, so nothing will be asked of you to make you feel uncomfortable. You will see movement as people observe a mixture of customs from centuries of Christianity - just feel free to join in or hang back as you feel so moved.
- We don’t expect visitors to contribute anything to the financial support of our parish or our programs.
- Our children worship with us. If you have young children, they are welcome here, too. If you need to step to the back of the Church with your child for any reason, you are not disturbing us. We expect Christian children to be raised in the Church and to do that, they have to be in the Church.
- You will see us stand through most of the service, as this is the historical practice going back 2,000 years. Feel free to sit when you need to – we simply ask that you stand for the Gospel reading and at the presentation of the chalice for Holy Communion, out of respect for our Lord's Last Supper.
- If you need any assistance at all, please let us know. We are here to be of service to you. All of our facilities are handicap accessible.
