I'd be interested in comments. A few points in no particular order:
- Reminds me of the Lutheran Church. Not the service itself, the service which was more traditional. Same with the Homily, which cited Chrysostom twice. I am referring to the general attitudes of the priests and laity. We talked about issues such as remarriage and gender roles, and they definitely tended towards the more liberal end. Also, being that fundamentalism is foreign to Orthodoxy, this definitely gave me the impression of a more mainline church compared to PCA Presbyterian or Reformed Baptist congregations. I can easily see Lutherans, Anglicans, and Catholics being at home in Orthodoxy being that all of these tend to be more of a liberal bent.
- Icon veneration seemed totally normal. I have been at masses in RC churches before and when Catholics venerate Mary they almost look like they are lost in outer space. This is why we Protestants see veneration as idolatry...because it really looks like it. What I saw today was completely normal. There was kissing and polite bowing--it all looked completely in place and not what I have seen in Catholic churches. For what it is worth, when my wife and I visited Saint Patrick's Cathedral in NYC, they forbade flash photography of a statue of Mary. Yet, pictures of Jesus Christ, and the other saints there, were fair game. I am surprised Orthodox do not have a more negative view of the RC in this regard. Perhaps, this is the benefit of an icon over a lifelike, vivid statue.
- The Lord's Supper appears "unhygienic." I am not too concerned about it because I look forward to the day I can partake in His body and blood. My wife was a little sceeved out when she found out.
- The church as Saturday Vespers and a Sunday service. No Bible study or anything during the week, at least not on a regular basis. It makes me wonder, what does a Priest do all week? And, how to people get more instruction and guidance? I have been immensely blessed by study and conforming my attitudes to what the Scriptures and Fathers admonish.
- I was a little put off with how they described second and third marriages, simply because they said "there can be 100 different reasons someone can get divorced." Jesus only gives one.
- The Liturgy of Saint Chrysostom packs so much great stuff in.
- The singing of prayers and creeds throws you off, it makes you forget how they go when you are used to speaking them.
- My standing muscles need more working out.
- The church had a coffee hour afterwards, people stayed and hung out which was really nice.
- That's it for now. I hope that we can go to Vespers and just continue immersing ourselves some more.