Other Orthodox Churches: Families sit together ...
Although one of these days I want to attend both an American Orthodox service, found one thing I was searching for at
http://www.berrienhistory.org/greekstudy/pamphlet_print.pdf:
" The priest of the Annunciation and St. Paraskevi Church conducts the service mostly in Greek. One thing that has changed is that in America both sexes sit together, instead of men separately from women, as is the custom in Greece. Also, the choir was a New World innovation."
Also found a photo from St Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA (http://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org). If accepted in Greek Churches, I don't understand how anyone can make an argument that this is "Orthodox".
However, I am 34 years old, and have yet to find an Indian church where kids are not pushed to front, men are in the back or elsewhere and women are crowded on the other side of the aisle. If families could sit together, not only would it help keep the children focused and understand the full meaning of symbolism in the service, but also would make the experience feel more like a church :(
Also found this at the FAQ of the Orthodox Church of America:
http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=79&SID=3
Basically, it seems to be common practice to let the community decide the social norms, as long as the Orthodox belief is upheld. This is encouraging.
But, the FAQ response started with "One piece of advice I might offer you at this point is to focus all of your preparation for conversion on the priest at the parish in which you wish to convert.". Unfortunately, kinda hard to follow that piece of advice in the case of the Indian Orthodox church :( There are many, many good Achens (e.g., Fr. MK Thomas of the St Gregorios Orthodox Church in Oak Park, IL, in which we currently have membership). To be fair, it's easy for me to just stereotype and state that I will not get any help ... burden is on my shoulders to find an Achen who will listen and help me understand.
But, one fact is that despite the many Indian Orthodox churches in Chicago, none target families who are not as much concerned about everything that goes on in India, but rather building an Indian community stronger in faith in Christ. Hence, despite the obvious renewal in interest in the younger Indian people (via MGOCSM), the turnout of people my age continues
http://www.berrienhistory.org/greekstudy/pamphlet_print.pdf:
" The priest of the Annunciation and St. Paraskevi Church conducts the service mostly in Greek. One thing that has changed is that in America both sexes sit together, instead of men separately from women, as is the custom in Greece. Also, the choir was a New World innovation."
Also found a photo from St Mary Orthodox Church in Cambridge, MA (http://www.stmaryorthodoxchurch.org). If accepted in Greek Churches, I don't understand how anyone can make an argument that this is "Orthodox".
However, I am 34 years old, and have yet to find an Indian church where kids are not pushed to front, men are in the back or elsewhere and women are crowded on the other side of the aisle. If families could sit together, not only would it help keep the children focused and understand the full meaning of symbolism in the service, but also would make the experience feel more like a church :(
Also found this at the FAQ of the Orthodox Church of America:
http://www.oca.org/QA.asp?ID=79&SID=3
Basically, it seems to be common practice to let the community decide the social norms, as long as the Orthodox belief is upheld. This is encouraging.
But, the FAQ response started with "One piece of advice I might offer you at this point is to focus all of your preparation for conversion on the priest at the parish in which you wish to convert.". Unfortunately, kinda hard to follow that piece of advice in the case of the Indian Orthodox church :( There are many, many good Achens (e.g., Fr. MK Thomas of the St Gregorios Orthodox Church in Oak Park, IL, in which we currently have membership). To be fair, it's easy for me to just stereotype and state that I will not get any help ... burden is on my shoulders to find an Achen who will listen and help me understand.
But, one fact is that despite the many Indian Orthodox churches in Chicago, none target families who are not as much concerned about everything that goes on in India, but rather building an Indian community stronger in faith in Christ. Hence, despite the obvious renewal in interest in the younger Indian people (via MGOCSM), the turnout of people my age continues
Comments