1 November 2008
We began our class today by taking the trolley to the end of the line. It was a bit anxious at first as we had all just bade farewell to our director, John Hasselberg. We were greeted by our professor at the trolley stop and proceeded into the cathedral. The cathedral is 150 years old and beautifully decorated. We saw all of the iconography and it was very beautiful. I thought it very interesting that in the Greek Orthodox churches there are very few statues because of the confusion there was in the past between venerating and idolatry. There are many icons in the church. Jesus and St. John are always on the right side and Mary and the patron saint of the church is on the left. Father Stefanos showed us how to properly cross yourself. This consists of putting your thumb together with your index and middle fingers. The three fingers together represent the trinity and the two fingers apart represent the duality of Christ.
I thought this was really neat. Also Greek orthodox Christians sign themselves in the opposite direction as Roman Catholics. Father Stefanos explained that he thinks this is mostly a difference in how people see the blessing by the priest. Greek Orthodox Christians mirror the priest and Roman Catholics do as the priest does. I thought this was very interesting and perhaps symbolic in that there is a difference in perception between the two churches. This is a visible difference between the churches and is somewhat representative of the schism between the two churches. In my opinion there isn't a right or wrong answer to the question how should one cross themselves which might be one way to look at the differences between the churches. Neither one of them is wrong. They just have different ways of expressing their faith. I am sure there are many other instances which may counter this, but in essence I don't think that there is such a big divide between the churches. I remember from a previous class that some eastern churches have joined in communion with Rome which gives me hope that eventually the schism can be healed and we can all take communion together.
Father Stefanos also showed us the vestments he uses and they were similar to catholic vestments but a little different. It was interesting to know that unlike catholic priests orthodox priests generally don't wear different colors for the different liturgical times.
The most interesting part of class was when Father Stefanos showed us how the Eucharist is prepared. Leavened bread is used and only the middle is consecrated. It is stamped with a seal and people in the church bake the bread for church. I thought it was nice that the community is involved in the making of the bread and the priest is involved in the consecration. The rest of the bread is cut up except for small portions that represent the bishop, the virgin Mary, the living, and the dead. The extra bread is set out so that people can take it as they leave church. I think this is nice.
One of the things I liked least about the church is the iconography screen that separates the altar from the people. To me it seems like it puts distance between God and the people and I don't think there needs to be. I know catholics also have the tabernacle and used to have the screen, but I think the screen implies separation and separation is not what people want or what God wants.
Our class continued to a small church that was the old church for the community. It was very small and a stark contrast to the big new church where we went afterwards. The big new church is also beautifully decorated. It is not finished yet but it is nonetheless beautiful. It is amazing how the community has grown.
The class made me think about the differences between catholic churches and the eastern churches. Without a doubt there are differences but these differences are not so big as they can keep us apart for ever. The schism will heal.
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