I found this posted on another Orthodox Forum and it touched me rather deeply. There is a lesson here.
Alexandr
Here is a story about "dressing for Church" that I heard years ago:
One of my first contacts with Orthodoxy was a "local color" piece in
the Miami Herald on St. Vladimir's (ROCOR) chapel near the Miami
International Airport. According to the Herald article, St.
Vladimir's attracts an unconventional crowd. As one parishoner put
it, "if these are God's people, and I believe they are, why do they
have to be so strange?"
One night, the priest was conducting a service with a handful of
parishoners when a scantily-clad young women came into the church.
(St. Vladimir's is located in the middle of one of Miami's most
notorious 'red light' districts). She was wearing next to nothing
except for a saucy grin on her face. The male parishoners were
visibly upset, yet nothing was said to the young woman, who continued
her circuit of the church, ensuring that all the worshippers would be
exposed to her presence.
She stopped in front of an icon of the Mother of God and stared at it
intently. After a while she began to whimper, then threw herself on
the floor befor the icon, shaking and sobbing with grief. At this
point the priest and the parishoners no longer saw a temptation, but
only a fellow sinner seeking relief.
