Saint Nina Orthodox Church · Orlando, FL
We are so glad you are considering joining us. Here is everything you need to know before you arrive.
It will be a joy to have you join us for worship. If you have never been in an Orthodox Church before, your experience may feel overwhelming — Orthodox worship is profoundly different from modern Christian worship. It is not merely attended but entered into. Mystically, we join the heavenly hosts in their eternal worship of the Most Holy Trinity. Please understand that most of us at Saint Nina came to the Orthodox Faith as adults, so we have written this to help you know what to expect.
The beauty of Orthodox worship must be experienced to be understood. The Divine Liturgy is a continuous song of praise and prayer addressed to God. It is focused on God, not on us — there is nothing for amusement or entertainment. Since much of the service is the same every week, worshipers know it and can participate personally, either by singing along or by prayerful attention.
Worshipers are surrounded by icons — pictures of Christ and the saints — which remind us that we are participating while on earth in the worship of all the angels and saints in heaven. The entire service (except the sermon) is sung, in English. No organ or other instruments are used. All the words are drawn from Scripture or ancient Christian texts.
The normal Sunday morning service is called the Divine Liturgy. With sermon, it lasts about an hour and a half. It includes:
The normal Saturday Evening service is called Great Vespers and lasts about 45 minutes. Orthodox Christians, in continuity with the Old Covenant, reckon the new day from the setting of the sun — so Vespers is our preparation for, not a substitute for, Sunday Liturgy.
It consists mainly of Psalms (especially 104 and 141), the "evening offering of incense," and the first-century hymn O Gladsome Light. It carries themes of Creation and Resurrection as the "eve" of the Day of Resurrection, the first day of the week.
The following essay by popular author and speaker Frederica Mathewes-Green has helped many thousands of inquirers understand Orthodox worship for the first time. It is shared here with gratitude. © 1989–2009 Frederica Mathewes-Green · frederica.com
During the early part of the service the church may seem to be in a hubbub, with people walking up to the front, praying before the icons, kissing things, and lighting candles — even though the service is already going on. In an Orthodox church there is only one Divine Liturgy per Sunday, preceded by Matins and several preparatory services with no break between them. Orthodox worshippers arrive at any point across this span. No matter when they arrive, something is already going on, so they proceed with their private devotions — going to icons, lighting candles — without interrupting what they consider one continuous act of worship. This can seem disrespectful to newcomers, but soon you recognize it as an expression of a faith that is intensely personal, not merely formal.
In the Orthodox tradition, the faithful stand for nearly the entire service. Really. Some Orthodox churches have no chairs except a few at the edges for those who need them. Feel free to sit as much as you need — no one minds or even notices. Long-term standing gets easier with practice, and most people find it deepens their attentiveness in prayer.
We make the sign of the Cross frequently — whenever the Trinity is invoked, whenever we venerate an icon, and on many other occasions. Orthodox cross with the right hand from right to left (the opposite of Roman Catholics), holding the thumb and first two fingertips together (for the Trinity) and the last two fingers pressed to the palm (for the two natures of Christ coming down to earth). You are not expected to follow suit. A beginner's imprecise arrangement of fingers will not get you denounced as a heretic.
Generally, we do not kneel — we prostrate. A prostration means kneeling, placing hands on the floor, and touching the forehead down between them. This is common during Great Lent. Not everyone prostrates; some bow, some stand with heads bowed. Standing there feeling a little unsure is fine. In Orthodoxy there is a wide acceptance of individualized expressions of piety.
We kiss icons when we enter (Jesus on the feet, other saints on the hands). We kiss the chalice, the priest's vestment, and the cross at the end of service. We exchange a kiss of peace before communion — "Greet one another with a kiss of love" (1 Peter 5:14). The standard greeting is "Christ is in our midst" with the response "He is and shall be." Chatting and fellowship is for after the service and Coffee Hour.
Only Orthodox may receive Holy Communion. However, anyone may receive the antidoron — blessed bread — distributed at the end of the Liturgy. The round communion loaf is baked by a parishioner; the central section (called the Lamb) is consecrated as Christ's Body during the Eucharistic prayer and placed in the chalice with the wine. Orthodox receive a spoonful of wine-soaked bread from the priest. The rest of the loaf is blessed and distributed to all as a sign of fellowship — if someone hands you a piece, receive it: it is not the Eucharist.
In our experience we do not have any general sins — they are all quite specific. There is no general confession-prayer in the Liturgy. Orthodox are expected to make regular, private confession to their priest, who acts as a spiritual father. He is addressed as "Father Firstname," and his wife holds a special role in parish life — addressed as Matushka (Russian) or Presbytera (Greek), both meaning "the priest's wife" and carrying the warmth of a parish mother.
About seventy-five percent of the service is congregational singing. Traditionally, Orthodox use no instruments; a small choir leads the people in a cappella harmony. The style ranges from very Eastern-sounding chant to four-part harmony, depending on the parish. This constant singing can feel overwhelming at first — like stepping onto an escalator that carries you along for ninety minutes. What keeps it from being exhausting is that it is largely the same song every week. Before long you know it by heart, and you fall into the presence of God in a way that flipping between books and bulletins never allows.
If there is a longer way to say something, the Orthodox will find it. In Orthodox worship, more is always more. When the priest intones "Let us complete our prayer to the Lord," expect to still be standing there fifteen minutes later. The original Liturgy lasted over five hours. The Liturgy of St. Basil edited this to about two and a half hours; the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (which we use most Sundays) further reduced it to about an hour and a half. This comprehensiveness is not excess — it is the accumulated prayer of twenty centuries.
A constant feature of Orthodox worship is the veneration of the Virgin Mary, the "champion leader" of all Christians. We call her Theotokos — Mother of God. When we sing "Holy Theotokos, save us," we do not mean she grants eternal salvation, but that we seek her prayers for our protection and growth in faith — just as we ask for each other's prayers. Icons of the saints surround us to remind us that they are joined invisibly with us in worship.
Every Orthodox church has an iconostasis before its altar — an icon stand that can range from two large icons to a full wall of icons. The central opening is called the Holy Doors or Royal Doors, because there the King of Glory comes out to the congregation in the Eucharist. Only priests and deacons use the Holy Doors. The side openings are the Deacons' Doors. Altar service is restricted to males; women participate fully in every other area of parish life — leading the choir, teaching, reading the Epistle, and serving on the parish council.
In a large city you might see many Orthodox churches: Greek, Romanian, Serbian, Russian, Antiochian, and more. These are not theological schisms — they are all one Church, differing only in which bishops hold authority. There are about 6 million Orthodox in North America and 250 million worldwide, making Orthodoxy the second-largest Christian communion. The OCA — Orthodox Church in America — to which Saint Nina belongs, traces its apostolic succession through the Russian Orthodox Church and uses predominantly English in its services. Orthodoxy seems startlingly different at first, but as the weeks go by it begins to feel more and more like home — and will gradually draw you into your true home, the Kingdom of God.
"All are welcome."
We look forward to meeting you. Come to a service, stay for Coffee Hour, and ask any question you have.
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