Welcome to St. Mary's Orthodox Church!
Glory be to Jesus Christ!
It is with this customary greeting in the Orthodox Church that we welcome you to our website and our parish family. If you have found us because you are curious about Orthodoxy, are looking for a Church to call home, or have seen our Church or our name somewhere and wanted to know more about us, we invite you to learn about us and come visit! We are always willing to meet new people and extend a warm welcome. On this page, you can find a number of helpful resources about Orthodoxy. If there are any questions, feel free to contact us!
1. Am I welcome?
You sure are! In fact, you’ll often find people hanging out around the front door just because they care enough to make sure that you feel welcomed and your questions are answered. If you’re just here to explore the Orthodox Christian Faith, please let us know. Many of the people at Saint Mary's were once in your shoes, so they can relate to how you must be feeling on your first visit.
2. How should I dress?
In an Orthodox Church, there is a great sense of reverence & holiness. We’ve all come to reverently stand in God’s presence and to offer worship to Him in all His magnificence. Outfits that are modest and put together are best, something you could wear to a nice business dinner. This is a time when we’re here to direct all of ours and everyone else’s attention to God, not to ourselves.
3. What in the Liturgy?
Orthodox Christian worship is “liturgical,” primarily involving a structured, ritual pattern of worship—a call and response of prayer—that involves both the priest and the people in the pews. From the very beginning, God’s people, the Israelites, followed a ritual pattern of worship given to them by God. Also, when we read the prophets’ portrayals of the worship happening in heaven, we soon discover that the worship pattern that God gave the Israelites followed after that pattern of worship already taking place in heaven. In heaven there’s the smoke from incense and splendid vestments, and all of God’s creation gathered around in His light to offer praise and worship to Him. This is the form of worship that was given to Moses in the desert, that David sought to build a temple for, and that the Apostles participated in their whole lives. Our worship is not conformed to our ideas of what we think it should be, but follows the patterns and commands that God has always given His people.
4. Why do you stand so much?
When you find yourself in court, and the judge walks in, what do you do? You stand in deference to the honorable role that he holds. When the President of the United States walks in, what do you do? You stand, out of respect for the significance of his office. When the King of Glory enters and fills the room, what do you do? You stand, in exaltation of His majesty, saying, “Here I am Lord!” So plan ahead, by wearing some comfortable shoes. Don’t worry, with a little practice, you’ll soon find that standing for worship begins to feel more and more natural. If you do need to sit, do so respectfully and attentively, but know that no one is going to judge you.
5. What’s with all of the artwork?
At the front of the Church and on the walls all around you, you’ll see a plethora of picture what we call “icons”. They depict Christ and the saints who have come before us, who are cheering us on and interceding to God on our behalf, as Hebrews 12:1 describes the “great a cloud of witnesses…” who surround us. Orthodox Christians believe that when people die, they continue to be alive in Christ, the One who conquered death and the One who is the God of the living.
6. Isn't praying to the Saints idolatry?
It’s important to understand the difference between the meanings of the two words, “pray” and “worship.” We Orthodox consider God to be the only one worthy of Worship, which in the strictest sense, both traditionally and scripturally, means to make a ritual offering to. Although we give honor to the saints as heroes of the faith the only one we Worship is God. However, the word “pray” has a distinctly different meaning. It simply means, “to ask.” Anyone who’s ever read any Shakespeare will have seen the original use of this word in English. For instance, in Hamlet, act 5, scene 1, Claudius says, “I pray thee, good Horatio, wait upon him.” Claudius is simply requesting that Horatio wait. He’s making a prayer (a request) and it’s neither worship, nor idolatry. As Christians, we make requests of God…and we also make requests of our trusted, spiritually mature Christian friends that they pray to God for us. In James’ universal epistle to the Church (James 5:14-16), he advises, “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
In Hebrews 12:23, Saint Paul refers to the “great cloud of witnesses,” of those saints who had gone before us as, “the righteous made perfect.” So it stands to reason that if “the prayer of a righteous person avails much”…and those saints who have gone before us are “the righteous made perfect,” then who is there better to ask to pray for us than the heroes of the faith who have gone before us? Since we all need a great deal of help as we struggle through this life, we make a lot of requests of these heroes of the faith (saints who have beautifully set their lives apart unto God) to pray to God on our behalf. We also sing occasional songs, honoring them for “fighting the good fight,” and running the race with perseverance all the way to its end. Christians have done that from the earliest times. It is not that God requires them in order to answer prayers, but rather they are God's family, His brothers and sisters and mother. He wants us to know them, because He loves them, and He loves us.
7. Why is so much attention given to Mary?
In the Orthodox Church, Mary has a lot of significance for us. Where Eve rejected God on behalf of all of us, Mary accept Him on behalf of all of us. When the Holy Spirit reached out she says "Yes!" so that in Jesus' incarnation we could say "Yes!" She was the first to bear Him forth into the world just as all Christians are supposed to bear forth Christ into the world. In essence, Mary shows us exactly what it means to be a follower of her Son, Christ, as Lord! Who has more love for someone than their mother? So, we constantly make Mary present in the life of the Church and we ask for her prayers to help us grow in unity with her Son and God.
A few helpful resources:
- Worshipper's Guide to the Divine Liturgy - Understand our Sunday morning service!
- A guideline for respectful worship - A quick understanding of acting properly in Church (pardon the printer version).
- The Body of Christ - A little about the joy of being a member of our community and a part of the Body of Christ and the Body of His Church!
- Come and See - Why should you visit our Church at all? Why care? Come and see!
- Engaging in stewardship - The Church is kept vibrant by its members! Want to help but don't know how? Fill this out!
- Holy Communion - Learn the fundamentals of Holy Communion as viewed by Orthodoxy!
- The Nicene Creed - Read about and understand the statement of our core beliefs in Orthodoxy!
Some Links for discussion about conversion to Orthodoxy: