www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Went to a Russian Orthodox church, comments and requests!

Well In a quest to obtain a Jordanville prayer book locally, I called a Russian Orthodox Church in Lorain, Ohio SS Peter and Paul and The Parish Priest said he did in fact have a copy but he had asked me to come in and attend a Pre-Sanctified Liturgy.
I was actually going to attend one anyway right around the corner at the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Im kind of wishing I did.
Well I go into the Church and its small but beautiful. The Iconostasis is really incredible for a smaller one. Bout as nice as you can get without the huge ones in huge Churches but pound for pound I couldnt imagine a nicer one. Any way beautiful small church perfectly ornamented. We even put the kneelers to use heheh. There was a choir and they were good. The Tenor was very good. He was wearing a cossak so I imagine he was clergy or clergy in training. The music was nice but I prefer the Carpathian Byzantine Catholic music. Still nice though. Very reverent service and a bit long but I normally wouldnt have minded that. I just was to be someplace at 7pm and the Service ended at 7:20ish. The service aside from the minute differences already described are pretty much identical to the Byzantine-Ruthenian Catholic services I attended. I kind of expected that. Good on Eastern Christianity. Well one of the ladies brought me up the blessed bread since I did not go up for communion as the service was ending. I did not prostrate during the service as the booklets didnt tell you precisely when to do stuff. The Byzantine one did so I could then. I think at the Byzantine services I was the only one prostrating (aside from the clergy). The Orthodox one at least half if not more of the people prostrated themselves. There was a nice looking woman in the front who was locked on and I took my cues from her. They did sing a hymn after the service was over and Im used to the choir doing that but not the entire faithful. It was very reverent and lovely. This was after the kissing of the Cross.

The Priest came up to me after the Liturgy and brought me the prayer book and a crap load of other stuff. Calendars, an Icon of Sergius of Radonezh, The Way of the Pilgrim book etc... Then a Monk Priest comes up and gives me a bag with prayer beads, more Icons and other stuff. Im kind of embarrassed at all the generosity. It is really much too kind. I would love to attend again and feel the clergy and parishioners are all very devout. Thing is I am loyal to Rome and his Holiness, and to the also wonderful Byzantine Catholic services clergy and parishioners. So unfortunately my going for services there would be limited, even though I would love to go weekly (only because of other commitments to other parishes,I would go more often if the first place I went for sure.) I feel great going to two parishes but a third under a different master is pushing it. They notice me when Im gone because I typically am the only one attending Vespers or Matins and Im the new gung-ho guy. So that is what I mean by kind of wishing I hadnt gone. It was a wonderful experience. Perhaps it was just the Priest going out of his way to try to get a new guy in the door, but I felt it was sincere. Its very touching.

Now there are some differences that perhaps some people can help me out with on technique. Like for instance the deep bow. People would venerate the Icon on the Tripod and before they did they did three very deep bows while making the sign of the cross (not at the same time). The swept their hand on the ground as they did so. I just bow perpendicular at the waste, rise up, sign the cross (all this once) and then venerate the Icon. Some did as I did. Can someone explain the deep bow and when it is done in the Liturgy? When is that done as opposed to a short bow or no bow with the sign of the Cross? I also noticed that some (like locked on hottie)made the sign of the cross at every Kyrie Eleison and others did not. Prostrations were the same. Though some in the Byzantine parishes bow and Cross themselves while being incensed and the Orthodox simply bowed. I knew to do that for some reason, must have been something I watched on a video.
I believe in "While in Rome do as the Romans do" this being a case of the opposite, and Id like to polish up my technique for both when I go back to the Orthodox Church and also when I am at my regular Byzantine Parishes.
Thanks for any help! Im hoping Hesychios will see this and chime in. Experiences like this make me long for the communion of the East and West.

The Tenor was very good. He was wearing a cossak so I imagine he was clergy or clergy in training.

Welcome to the confusing world of Orthodoxy, the OCA, parishes of Rusyn/Ruthenian background and the conflict between the old school and new school. The differences you witnessed in things like bowing and prostrations can be found in many OCA and ACROD parishes as most of them in the old 'rust belt' were formed as a result of schisms within the Greek Catholic community. Much has been written on this forum and elsewhere about those issues so I won't bore you with them.

Some parishes have adopted a more Russian influenced praxis while others, particularly in ACROD, have retained more of the Rusyn/Ruthenian modalities.

Hope this helped you understand some of what you witnessed.

I wish the Byzantine Catholic and Orthodox Churches could have intercommunion

I place the blame on this entirely on man.

Let us pray for this day!! Our vocation as Eastern Catholics is to work towards this! I would also add that I can't wait for the Latin Catholic Church to return to communion with the Orthodox Churches and vis versa.

Yeah, well, what I have to say on this point ain't exactly sweetness and light.

No wonder Orthodox don't take us Gk. Catholics seriously. Look back in history and see all the times Roman authorities went back on their word and tried to dilute and latinize the authentic liturgical and disciplinary practices of our Churches (remember the Synod of Zamosc, Ea semper & Cum data fuerit?) once we accepted communion with them.

I do think today we are slowly reclaiming our respective identities while retaining our union with Rome.

http://www.saintspap.org/

This is their website. I guess they are affiliated with OCA. I dont know what the difference is between all the Patriarchs. Im sure most here do, but for myself it is very confusing.

It was very kind of them. Very kind.

Oh the Tenor is the Subdeacon.

I do have a question for others here. I see that this Russian parish has pews. I've only been to a few OCA parishes in my area and the local OCA cathedral (and the ROCOR Cathedral) and there are no pews there. I thought the use of pews was a Greek "thing" here in the US, and sadly also seen if a number of Eastern Catholic temples, thankfully not mine. Are pews found in many OCA parishes? I don't mean to begin a discussion of pews only to clarify, since as I say until now I thought it was not something one would find in a Russian Orthodox temple.