Attending an Orthodox Service, what should I wear?

[Machachachi]

I'm a Protestant, so I'm used to the whole jeans and t-shirt thing at Church. Is there a dress code, or an expected standard of dress in Orthodox churches? I plan on attending a service in the near future. If you are curious, yes its because I'm deeply interested in Orthodoxy.

 

[ClementofRome]

I will let others chime in with details, but at our parish you get some of everything. Some older men wear ties, most do not. Women mostly wear skirts or dresses, but not all of them. About 1/2 of the women wear head coverings and the other half does not. I am a middle-aged man who wears khakis and a polo and Crocs almost EVERY sunday...

Comfy shoes....right folks?

 

[Nichole]

I go to a Greek Orthodox parish and I wear nice trouser slacks (gray, black, or brown) and a nice shirt with longer sleeves. Many in our parish wear skirts or dresses or khakis also. So.......there is a variety! I hope you enjoy your visit to the Orthodox church!

 

[gzt]

I typically wear business casual, but that's because the last time I wanted to wear jeans somewhere I had to go out and buy a pair of jeans. The key thing to keep in mind is modesty, no matter whether you're male or female. The second key to remember is not to be distracting (this is sort of contained in the first key). So, no short shorts, no Miller Lite t-shirts (I'd recommend avoiding anything with writing on it), nothing like that. Jeans and a t-shirt isn't necessarily wrong, especially if it's all you have. But, on the other hand, you don't want to dress down for church. You may also feel a little out of place if everybody else is wearing suits and you look like you're ready to go to a frat party.

 

[Machachachi]

Thank you for the answers, I know what I'm going to wear now. Thankfully I have a button down and a nicer pair of pants. :-D Thanks so much!

 

[Mary of Bethany]

What Clem said.
As long as you don't wear shorts, or raggedy jeans, or t-shirts with questionable slogans, you'll probably be okay.

And he's serious about comfortable shoes - especially if the parish doesn't have pews.

Mary

 

[Machachachi]

There are quite a few Orthodox parishes within the area I live, since I'm in a big city, so I selected the one that was closest, I've never attended an Orthodox service before, so I was going to attend Vespers, would it be preferable if I waited till Sunday to attend the liturgy?

 

[gzt]

Try both! Vespers is sort of low-key, it's essentially only readings from the psalter and singing the appropriate hymnography of the day. It is part of the daily cycle of services, it is called "vespers" because it is the evening prayer service, it is assigned to be served every day and is themed to match the time of day. The liturgy is the center of Christian worship; it is the eucharistic celebration. The liturgy is sort of outside of time, it is eschatological in nature and the daily cycle of services (including vespers) is sort of a preparation for it (and it too can be served on most days). So, the divine liturgy is far more important, it's the central act of the Church and will give you the most complete understanding of the way we worship, but vespers is nice as a sort of low-impact introduction, especially if you have other commitments at the moment on Sunday mornings.

 

[Orthosdoxa]

Hi Macha

Former Omaha-an here, now sadly exiled to Washington state, but hoping to end up back home at some point in the next few years.

I inquired, was baptized in, met my husband, and later married in, St. Mary's, at the 103rd and Fort area. In my opinion, it's the best one for inquirers to go to - all English, plenty of friendly converts.

I went to the Serbian one several times and it was very nice, but the priest's accent was so thick I couldn't understand, even though it was mostly in English. (He's a wonderful, saintly man, just a little hard to understand.) The people there were friendly, but it's very ethnic.

I haven't met the new priest at the Western Rite (we moved here 4 years ago), but we loved visiting the Western Rite once in a while; we just preferred the eastern Rite.

I didn't know very many people at the Greek church; the original one is in a pretty bad part of town and from my understanding, they've started a new one out in the boonies (279th and Dodge or so? I know all this second hand, haven't seen it myself, having been gone so long. )

I'm pretty sure a new OCA church started there after we moved, too - I can picture the part of town its in, but can't remember the crossstreets. Don't know anything about it other than the OCA priest in Lincoln founded it.

Of course, you may also be talking about Lincoln and none of the above applies . I know bits and pieces about the parishes there, too. If you have any questions, please feel free to pm me.

 

[Machachachi]

I actually live in the Bellevue area being as I'm military, a burden I hope to not bear much longer, but that is another issue entirely. Thanks for pointing out that church though! There are a number of Orthodox churches in the area, so its nice to hear a recommendation!

 

[-Kyriaki-]

Sounds like you've already heard the advice you needed - but I'm going to second (third? fourth?) the advice about comfy shoes. People are serious - you stand for a LONG TIME. I have a pair of black suede laceup sneakers I wear to Church under my long skirts! Don't wear shoes you only wear 'for church and funerals' to an Orthodox Church. You want to be able to walk the next day

 

[MamaBug]

Don't wear shoes you only wear 'for church and funerals' to an Orthodox Church. You want to be able to walk the next day

Of course, this advice only applies if you are a typical under-50 American. 80-year-old russian ladies are expected to where 3in+ heels.

 

[Julina]

an easy way to remember is to avoid wearing jeans (except i still wear denim skirts) to the liturgy, but i've gotten away with it at vespers services.
some very strict places won't let you wear printed tshirts.

 

[Kolya]

I usually wear what I wear to work - Business Casual. Comfy shoes are a MUST! I have worn jeans to church, but with a button-up shirt, no T shirts.
The ladies at our parish mostly wear Dresses or Skirts and blouses, most cover their hair - we're Russian!

 

[Chocolatesa]

Lol @ the 80+ Babushkas wearing heels I have a few of those in my parish too. How on earth do they manage?!?!
I always wear a denim skirt, plain sweater/long-sleeved shirt, running shoes and a scarf.

 

[E.C.]

We aren't kidding on the comfortable shoes!


Because I am an acolyte and have been "drafted" on many occasions, I wear:
-black slacks
-long sleeved white button-up shirt
-black shoes
-black socks
-leather jacket.

The one time we went to a ROCOR cathedral, I wore my usual getup and blended in perfectly with the 16-50 year-old Russian male crowd!

 

[heart of peace]

About the comfy shoes, I confess, I love my high heels. After years of wearing them, they really are not terribly uncomfortable! I don't think any women in my church besides the yiayias were comfy shoes. It's not a 6 hour event (the DL) or anything.

I have worn jeans during the summer months, but the jeans were a dark denim. Summertime tends to be a more casual dresscode in my parish. Open toe shoes are commonly worn. Men wear those polo shirts and khaki dress shorts, etc.

 

[-Kyriaki-]

LOL to those who mentioned the yiayias/babushki.

Yes, they're crazy. My friend who's Greek and a cradle wears heels too, a lot of the time - and she (like me) suffers from fibromyalgia. I tell her she's crazy on a regular basis.

I also see a lot of shoes kicked off during the service itself if I look properly...you'd be amazed how many women in my parish just don't wear shoes for most of the service and kick them on to receive communion or leave.

I love my sneakers.

Speaking of denim skirts, I bought a pile of lightweight denim to make myself a nice long skirt to wear to less formal services - like, after my fellowship meeting/bible study/undefinable thing on thursday nights we often go into the church for Compline, and I need a skirt for stuff like that (I, and my parish are still kind of 'thingy' about that) but want to dress reasonably casual. I figure the guys wear jeans so why can't I!

 

[Julina]

About the comfy shoes, I confess, I love my high heels. After years of wearing them, they really are not terribly uncomfortable! I don't think any women in my church besides the yiayias were comfy shoes. It's not a 6 hour event (the DL) or anything.

i was actually more comfortable when i wore my heels, surprisingly.

 

[Julina]

I also see a lot of shoes kicked off during the service itself if I look properly...you'd be amazed how many women in my parish just don't wear shoes for most of the service and kick them on to receive communion or leave.

i've been tempted to take my shoes off (i hate wearing them in the summer) but i wasn't sure how appropriate that would be.