We welcome all visitors to our services. No special dress is required
beyond normally modest and respectful church attire.
Personal Worship
Before entering the nave, you may wish to light a candle to accompany a personal prayer.
Sacraments
Orthodox sacraments
such as Holy Eucharist (Communion) and Holy Unction (anointing
with oil) are not given to non-Orthodox Christians or members of
non-Christian
faiths.
Service Times
Sunday services start with Orthros (morning prayers) at 8:45 A.M. Most worshippers arrive for Divine Liturgy at 10:00 A.M., which lasts just over an hour. The homily, announcements and the distribution of the blessed bread continue on to about noon.
Offerings
The collection is taken late in the service. Give if you find it in your heart to do so.
Liturgy
On most Sundays, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is celebrated. The liturgy book is printed in both Greek and English. About half of the service is now conducted in English, and half in liturgical Greek.
The Blessed Bread
At the end of the service, please join us in receiving the Antidoron, or blessed bread. It is a Greek custom, but not an obligation for visitors, to kiss the priest's hand while receiving the bread.
Standing, Kneeling, and the Sign of the Cross
Follow the lead of others in standing and sitting at the appropriate times. When asked to kneel, you may instead stand.
Visitors who wish to make the Sign of the Cross should also follow the lead of others in making the Sign at the appropriate times. Orthodox Christians cross themselves by joining index finger, middle finger, and thumb of the right hand together and touching them to the forehead, chest, right shoulder, and left shoulder.
The thumb, index finger, and middle finger joined symbolize the Holy Trinity while the two remaining fingers symbolize the dual nature of Christ (fully human and fully divine).
Note: Incense is used extensively during the service. If the incense causes you breathing or other problems, it IS okay for you to step outside the nave for "fresh air."
After the Service
As you leave the nave, please sign the guest book in the narthex. Then join us for coffee in the fellowship center. Please introduce yourself to our priest and parishioners and feel free to ask questions.
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The Orthodox Church calendar has many special Holy Days; Holy Week services are of special interest to visitors. The Orthodox Easter (Pascha) usually follows the Western Easter by at least one week, often several. In 2011, however, both Western Easter and Orthodox Pascha fell on the same date, April 24th. The next shared date for both Paschas is April 20th, 2014. Click here to read an article about the calculation of the date of Pascha on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese website. Click here to read the text of the Aleppo Statement, "Towards a Common Date for Easter," available on the World Council of Churches website. This statement is referenced in the previous article and also includes a table for determining the dates of both Eastern and Western Pascha through the year 2025. Call us at (515) 277-0780, email us, or check this site regularly for announcements, dates, and times of special Holy Day services at our church. |
Would you like to bring your group to visit us?
We welcome visiting confirmation classes, school groups, adult education classes and other groups to our services and most functions. If you contact us in advance and let us know when you would like to visit, we will gladly provide you with a guided tour.
Click
here to download an information packet for tour
groups.
The files
in this packet will help you provide some advance
information to your group. We especially recommend printing
out and sharing this material with confirmation and adult
religious education classes. This packet will unzip
into a folder named "visitors" and contains five files
viewable with the free Adobe Reader, Apple Preview (part of the Mac OS
X System Software), or Apple's Safari web
browser (available for both Mac OS X and Windows).
Click
the icon below to download a copy of Adobe
Reader.
Please call us at (515) 277-0780, fax us at (515) 277-7304, or email us for more information
