Bryan Kinas Orthodox Visit

Church name: Holy Transfiguration Orthodox

Church address: 28W770 Warrenville Rd., Warrenville, IL

Date attended: Sunday, October 11, 2015

Church category: Russian Orthodox Church

Describe the worship service you attended. How was it similar to or different from your regular context?

The church that I am a member of is slightly liturgical, while HTO used a liturgy that was influenced by or developed by John Chrysostom. The view of their service was that it was a spiritual worship offering unto God through Christ, and there was a large emphasis on the throne room of God and singing and praising God like the cherubim and seraphim. Also this church spends a large portion of the 2 hour service singing and chanting texts and phrases, not particularly songs, where at my church we sing only a couple worship songs.

How did the worship service illuminate for you the history and contours of global Christianity?

A huge part of my experience with HTO was not only the service and hearing the mentions of Basil the Great and John Chrysostom and seeing the iconography, but in my interactions with the people and the pastor. A pleasant lady from the church saw my fiancé and I looking befuddled right as we entered the church and she sat next to us and helped us through the liturgy and explained what was going on to us, which was so cordial and warm, when I felt so out of place. Also the priest said that he was an evangelical, so he must be going with Bebbington’s definition rather than Larsen’s, but I still appreciated that he was attempting to find continuity between us and not division. Lastly my interactions with the families and laity of the church was so perplexing, for while my church service seems to fit within my framework of normal, the singing and chanting, and passing of friendship bread was all so foreign to me that it was hard to imagine these people in everyday life. So realizing that Orthodox Christians are not just groups of cult-like foreigners, but are the people I work with, see at McDonalds, and watch the Cubs with was a really huge shift in my conception of the Orthodox Church.

How did the worship service illuminate for you your personal identity as a Christian?

I was honestly really blessed by the opportunity to worship outside of my usual context, and while my theological beliefs were not changed, they are illuminated as being unique, not typical. I also was greatly blessed in seeing how diverse the tradition of Christianity is, and experiencing different ways to talk about God and worship Him. I would love to just sit down with an Orthodox pastor and ask questions upon questions. With aspirations of being a pastor in the future, I honestly value this experience. For no longer do I view the Orthodox believers as millennium old heretics, but do see them as people, and people who are striving to know and worship God. I hope that I can guide my congregation into a paradigm of love and seeking unity rather than division and treating Christians who are not the same as other and threats.