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| - In general, I have a rule about not reviewing churches. There's a specifically Biblical reason why I do not (1 Corinthians 6, Matthew 18:15-17) wish to "review" sermons or specific doctrine, so I will not be delving into that here today.
I should start off by mentioning that I am not Orthodox, I am a protestant, although I'm very familiar with it because members of my family have been Orthodox.
If you're coming here and are not familiar with these types of services, I'd suggest doing a tiny bit of research just so you don't feel lost, regardless of whether or not you're planning to participate. If you're Catholic or Episcopal, the services are nearly identical, only more kissing of the priest's rings, the Bible and (what's super verboten for Protestants like me) genuflecting and kissing statuary. Just remember, you're not required to do any of this, nor is anybody even going to bat an eyelash here if you don't.
For me, I feel like I blend in enough if I do the sign of the cross along with everyone else (trust me, in the 3 hours that I was there, I think we ended up doing this about 8,000 times) and I'm fine reciting the Lord's Prayer. Anything else, don't worry about it, if it's not your thing.
Like other Orthodox services, this church has two services in the morning that don't have a definitive "end." The second one starts as the second service finishes.
Orthos (early service that starts at 8:45 AM) is just the preparation service where there is a reading while communion is set up. There was maybe 12 people when I showed up a few weeks ago. Some people only come to this service. Half of the orthos is in Greek, half in English.
Liturgy (second service starts at 10 AM) is where everybody shows up. For the sake of not being rude, show up on time. It gets pretty full in here during this time as all of the kids and babies show up to take communion before being shuffled off to their Sunday school class. This was legitimately 99% in English.
If you've been baptized in the Orthodox church (not Catholic, Episcopal, Protestant, etc) you're allowed to take communion here. There's no way for them to check, so it's really on you what you want to do. I don't subscribe to Orthodox views on the Bible, so I choose to forego taking communion when I'm at Orthodox services, but that's just me. If you're going to take it, make sure to keep your eye on the line because I sat up on the chairs, rather than the pew, and I'm pretty sure nobody even motioned to our section that it was time for us to go up.
I can say that the service I attended had a really good message - it wasn't a feel good type thing, it was about how entitled we are today and only go to God when we're up a creek. I can say I genuinely enjoyed that part.
At the end of the service, all the bread that wasn't used in communion is given to the congregation. Regardless of if you've been baptized or not at all, everyone is allowed to go up and receive some. I was surprised that the priest asked me my name and welcomed me to the church. I didn't realize he even noticed me or knew that I was new because there was easily more than 300 people at the service. That was a positive experience.
I should add that this church is SO gorgeous. I should admit that I loved the fact that it's covered in pictures of the saints because I turned it into a game to check how well I could read Greek during parts of the service (easy, easy.)
There's a mix of Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Coptic Christians who attend here. If that's your thing, I definitely would suggest paying a visit to this church.
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