Shelby Knowles-Church Visit #1

Shelby Knowles—Church Visit #1

Church: Kimissis Tis Theotokou

Address: 1335 South Green Bay Road, Racine, Wisconsin 53406

Date: 10/11/15

Category: Greek Orthodox

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

The worship service I attended followed the ordering of the Divine Liturgy. Hymns were sung at the beginning while the congregation stood, which was followed by readings from Titus and Luke. The priest would sing prayers in Greek, the choir would echo in either English or Greek, and a few others sang in the front in Greek. While I didn’t understand the hymns, they were written in English in our bulletin, and contained lyrics pertaining to the resurrection and a prayer for the Theotokos to intercede on our behalf. Following the singing, I was able to mostly follow along in the Divine Liturgy book as the congregation and priest went back and forth in short prayers leading up to the Eucharist. At this point, only those who were baptized Greek Orthodox were allowed to take communion (about 2/3 of the congregation). The service was entirely different from my regular context. I was unaccustomed to following a liturgy and being guided through prayers by a priest. It was also a new experience to not take communion. I would have thought that the profession of faith in Jesus Christ and being baptized into the Church would have “qualified” me for communion; however, I was instructed that only those baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church would take communion.

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

The ritual of following the Divine Liturgy has been done dating back to the earliest Christians, and thus I loved to be able to follow along and repeat in the same tradition as those before us. It is also incredible to know that these same words are being repeated worldwide, unifying the body of Christ across continents. I appreciated within the liturgy the prayer for the global church—a prayer that should be constant within our lives.  I also appreciated being in the presence of those either directly from Greek-speaking places or those raised in this tradition, and was reminded of the vast differences in our worship styles, but also the unity we have as we all proclaim our faith in Jesus Christ.

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

The strict service that held to the liturgy and the constant rituals of forming crosses reminded me of the reverence and respect we must have for the Lord. It’s interesting to compare this service to the very casual services I’ve gone to for the majority of my life, and makes me appreciative of the way we repeated the same words that have been repeated for centuries, even if to many contemporary Christians they are considered “boring” or not engaging enough for their preference. After attending this service, I have a better sense for how a large part of the world worships—repeating the same pattern of words and holding fast to the tradition that has been repeated throughout time. However, it makes me sad to think of the division between Churches of the West and the Orthodox churches. For this reason, I was not allowed to take communion. We continue to pray for unity.