Dear Friends,

Our municipality has an "Open House" with respect to numerous buildings in our area.

Our Ukrainian Catholic parish of St Volodymyr the Great in Thornhill will be part of this and this will allow people of all faiths and backgrounds (yes, non-Ukrainians Mr. Administrator ) to come in and see our Church.

I will act as tour guide for the day, even though this isn't my parish (I'm really not that parochial after all ).

But I need help in developing an informative tour of the Church that won't be "over the top" in terms of getting into all sorts of information that may not be understandable to visitors.

What should I cover? There is the icon shrine of Our Lady of Zhirovitsi there, the new iconostasis - I think I should discuss those.

Any ideas?

And how long should my tour be, do you think?

Alex

Alex,

i think the greatest thing you could bring out is the Eastern Christian view of the Church as the Earthly "Heaven". That the beauty that adorns the Church gives us a glimpse (for us) of that eternal beauty.

Alex,

The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation here in Cow-lumbus gives regular tours.

What I've observed is that the "regular" tour covers the iconostasis, the dome, basic church architecture, and the opportunity for questions - which usually open up whole new topix. When I give the nickel tour of our church (I'm totally unofficial, but I have a thing about not letting strangers go ungreeted) I always begin with the iconostasis; the Royal doors & what their role is, the Deacon doors, (which leads to a snippet on the role of the deacon) why "who is where" on the iconostasis, etc. No more than 5 minutes uninterrupted, or as long as it takes if they have lots of questions which spur discussion. We also have three stained glass windows in the arched spaces under our dome, so we chat about those (all three are on a resurrection theme) and about all the saints and the Pantocrator looking down at us. That's enought for most folks. The really interested need a peek through the iconostasis into the altar, and a tour of the icons and the plaschanytsa etc. on our walls.

Average is 15 or 20 minutes. I don't think I've ever spent more than 2 hours...


Have a blast!

Sharon

Alex,
Glory to Jesus Christ!
I conduct church tours at our annual festival. It takes about 45 minutes, and is addressed to an audience of varied background, and is usually received very well. Since a lot of visitors are either Roman Catholic or at least familiar with Roman Catholics, I base some of the presentation on the areas of identity (i.e., faith) with the Romans, along with areas in which our expression of the faith is unique.
The abbreviated overview is:
1. Church history- 2000 years in 3 minutes- apostles, 5 patriarchal cities, Constantinople, Cyril & Methodius, 1054 split, 1646 union, emigration to US, own US bishop in 1924, current church structure: 4 eparchies; other Eastern Churches, Church vs. Rite.
2. Fundamental teachings of faith- same throughout Universal Church- mystery of God, revelation, Christ, Holy Spirit, Trinity, Church, Mysteries, Theosis, Theotokos
3. Uniquely Eastern Traditions: Divine Liturgy, Iconostas, sign of Cross, priest blessing, vestments, use of Tetrapod, profound bow, Altar
4. Divine Liturgy- preparation, incense, liturgical relation to life of Christ, English/Slavonic language, chant, Litany, entrances, Epistle/Gospel/Homily, Great Entrance, Anaphora, Communion
5. Other: Feast days (those same as Latins, those different); Fasting: in East and West, other miscellaneous.
6. Questions

I have a more complete outline if you contact me privately.
Good luck,
Deacon El

Friends, Byzantines, Countrymen!

Thank you ever so much!

I'm going to have to take this all in. I also have to prepare, so I've just been informed, a page of notes for distribution.

I thought I might also include the fact that the church itself was built by one of Ontario's greatest architects and that it was visited by our Methodist saint, Holy Ann Preston, whose cottage and prayer-shed is just one block away . . .

I'll do tours on the half-hour and I'll leave at least ten minutes for discussion at the end so as not to bore people.

You know I can be boring . . .

I'll develop more points than necessary, just in case I can go quicker with some groups who aren't very . . .

Alex

SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU!

Hey Alex!

I do the "church display" when we have our Christmas bazaar at our church.

This is what I do. I rent a couple of mannequins, usually a pair for $75 for 3 days over the weekend. Then we vest them in priest's robes and deacon's robes. Last year, we did the priest and Bishop.

I also set up a couple of long tables and display the Chalice and Diskos, Gospel Book, Plaschanitsa, Troitsja and other items that we use for the various Holy Days and Divine Liturgy.

Keep some incense going in a corner and if you can, have a CD playing with some Liturgical music.

I also demonstrate ikon writing in the back.

I generally let people come into the Church and look around and I'm available if they have any questions. We've actually had several families and individuals join our community as a result of this "display".

If you have any questions, email me and I help anyway I can.

marko

ps

How's the "ikon" coming along?

Dear Marko,

That really is a very comprehensive display, Big Guy!

I don't think I can match it - I'm not that sophisticated!

As for the kadylo, some of our parishioners do enough of that with respect to our bishop already . . .

Which "Ikon" is that?

Alex

Hi Alex

The one for behind the Altar, Our Lady of Zhirovytsa...

mark...

Dear Marko,

Ah, yes, that one!!

It has been completed and will be blessed in the near future.

I'll send you a picture!

Quite beautiful!

Alex

Hi Alex!

OH,that's GREAT NEWS!!!

Can't wait to see the pics!!!

If you do the table display thing, get some of the pre-made display boards. I had one that showed how the Lamb and the Particles were arranged on the Diskos and also had the Lance and Spoon also on display.

I also had some prosphora there and had a couple that had been cut into pieces for those who wanted to sample it.

Hope this helps...

marko

Dear Marko,

To paraphrase my bishop, how come you aren't a deacon or priest?

How come people like you aren't ordained but others, not nearly as good, are?

That really IS a problem in our Churches, you know!

Alex

Alex,

Just wondering when the Big Day is?

Please let us know how it goes.

Sharon

Hi Sharon!

Sounds like a ROAD-TRIP to me!

Think we could get a bus to go???

mark

Dear Friends,

Just an update - the municipal government is really interested in our Church and has provided me with all sorts of historical material about the history of our Ukie Church that people will be visiting in about a month's time.

The church was built in 1859 by local Irish farmers and served the Irish Catholic community ever since.

Three cheers for the Thornhill Town Council for including this parish in their festivities!

They've already "canonized" Holy Ann Preston and now they're promoting our Church - separation of church and state? NOT!

Alex

Alex,
A thought occurs [ beware danger ahead ]
You said
<<The church was built in 1859 by local Irish farmers and served the Irish Catholic community ever since.>>
Does that mean that the Church is populated by Irish speaking Ukies ?

For a small fee I could supply you with a copy of the Divine Liturgy in Irish Gaelic and Ukrainian. It is most beautifully printed with very nice line drawings

Anhelyna

Dear Anhelyna,

I'm afraid the descendants of those Irish farmers today identify more with Smithwick's Ale and St Patrick's Day hoopla more than with such intellectual topics!

I understand that the most useless thing to a woman on Saturday night is . . . an Irishman . . .

Alex