St Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church - Essay Example

? Report on Religious Field Service: St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church [Academic Level] Religion must promote unity andpeaceful relationship among all since there is only one Creator and religion is our way of interaction with Him, thus forming a good and close relationship with Him. But how come, it has become a root of misunderstanding, arguments, conflicts, and even worse, wars. Mainly because of differing views on religious practices and beliefs. One thing is our misconception about their beliefs and traditions, as well as their origin. By examining deeply and becoming aware of various religious practices of every religion may contribute to understanding and appreciation of each recognized beliefs and values. This is the purpose of this paper. This will also present a unique experience of attending personally one of the church’s services to actually see what is the strength of a certain religious group that holds each member tightly organized and unified in worship to God. Report on Religious Field Service: St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church Regardless of where we live, we can see the conspicuous effects of religion in the lives of millions of people. Since religion is about our relationship with God, our spirituality, what is more expected from us is the influence of our religious teachings in our personality, daily conduct, and with our relationship towards the people around us. However, religion with its various forms, created a society characterized with conflicts, battles and even wars, instead of a peaceful society. We are all aware of the past, wherein some dominant religions in the world played a role in great wars that devastated mankind and caused untold suffering. This may be one major reason why some people refused to talk or discuss about religion. Or maybe, some may experience a heated argument if they discuss about their differences in their religious practices and beliefs. But on my own point of view, curiosity on world wide diversity of religious expressions that has developed around the world, is at least educational and mind broadening so as to understand what others believe and how their beliefs originated. Understanding various beliefs of every religion will tend to open opportunities for good communication with them, appreciation with their values, and a more concrete hope for the future. Additionally, interest on knowing about other religious beliefs may correct some misconceptions about them. Among the various groups of religion in the world, the dominant one is Christianity. About one quarter of the world’s population claim to be Christian, yet, divided into various sects. The prominent forms are Roman Catholic, the Orthodox Church, the Reformists or Protestants in its numerous sects such as Episcopalian, Lutheran, Calvinist, Baptist, Methodist and other churches. All of these churches consider themselves to be established respectable religion. I am interested to examine and know more about the St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church because on my opinion, as I have observed, its religious beliefs and practices are very similar with the Roman Catholic. So, why does this church has to separate itself and be recognized differently? So, I decided to attend one of its Sunday services to see the actual liturgical ceremony and practices. I believe this is one best way to correct any misconception about them. To my surprise, the church or cathedral itself is far different from the Roman Catholic Church. It is very colorful because instead of various relics and icons, the church is surrounded by hand-painted illustrations of various Jesus Christ’s image, his twelve apostles, angels and even images of Mary, all painted in the walls. All the paintings have relevant stories on the life of Jesus. According to one worshiper I asked, artworks in the wall contribute to a feeling of heavenly splendor while observing the liturgical ceremony, which is very solemn and serene. He also commented that the paintings in the walls constantly reminding him of the faithfulness and the invisible presence of these heavenly beings (J. Simmons, personal communication, February 26, 2012). I was so touched by its frank appeal to my senses. It made me aware of God’s presence through the sense of splendor and beauty around as portrayed by amazing colorful artworks in the walls. There is a room separated wherein the priest or deacon prepare and perform his divine task. I think this is what they called Altar . In the midst of this place is a square table draped with coverings. According to my interviewee, as I asked him, it is called a Holy Table because it represents the Throne of God. The service is initiated by hymns, prayers, then reading from the New Testament. The chanting with a choral singing, plus the incense, and the ritual movements of the priest with some devotees assisting, holds the serenity of the audience that shows that the worship service as a whole is not a mere showy adornment but rather considered as important part of their liturgical ceremony. After almost an hour, there comes the part of offering and consecration of the leavened bread and wine mixed with water. They believe, according to my interviewee, that by consecration the bread and wine are truly changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. As far as I know, the Roman Catholics have the same beliefs. Then what follows is the reception of the Holy Communion. The ceremony event remains its serenity while any one who wishes to partake the holy communion aligns in an orderly manner. After this, the priest, in his dignified attire, a long wardrobe almost reaching the floor, will give his biblical sermon, one of the highlights of their Sunday worship. I asked my interviewee more information regarding their doctrines, which are the Holy Trinity, the salvation in heaven, the damnation of the eternal punishment in hell, the veneration of the saints which include Virgin Mary, and the festivities of Christmas, Holy Eucharist and the rest. All of them are almost the same with the Roman Catholic beliefs. So, I asked him what do you think is your difference from the Roman Catholic? He cannot give a clear answer. He just mentioned that in this group he can sense the real commitment for a more united society, wherein even the parish clergy have worked together in building a strong relationship with other Orthodox group, that every member is seriously devoting themselves in the church activities, and festivities being aware of the value of every traditions and practices they are participating. Though he cannot explain in words, he strongly believes that in this group, as he said, he is worshiping God in spirit and truth, the way the apostles and the early Christians did. His answer reminds me of the meaning of the word ‘Orthodox’. Being derived from the two Greek words, ‘orthos’ which means right, and the word ‘doxa’ which means teaching or worship. Therefore, it literally means right teaching or right worship (Alexander, n.d.). Thereby, any orthodox church claims that they are true followers of Christ, the true foundation of Christianity. Yet, this is also the notion of the Roman Catholic Church. To answer my confusion I tried to examine the history of St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church. Every avid and matured member of this Orthodox Church is aware of the identity of the so-called St. Athanasius. Jori, my interviewee, knows that St. Athanasius was an ancient Pope from Alexandria during the time of early stage of Christianity. Somehow, he was also a venerated saint of the Roman Catholic, giving me the idea that Roman Catholic is nearly related to the Orthodox Church. On reviewing some articles on history of St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church, I found out that each group of St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church in the US has its own record of origin. In one article in their homepage, it stated that a small group of students from University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), way back in 1966, dreamed of converting the world into one, showed enthusiasm on listening to an evangelical talk by a representative of Campus Crusade for Christ. The speaker, being impressed by their wish, inspired this group of students that they have the capacity to convert the entire country, so he initiated the first Campus Crusade group in the UCSB. This group had grown into full steam with their weekly meetings and surprisingly grown that it became the founding core of the existing St. Athanasius Greek Orthodox Church today. Their frequent interaction to the Greek Orthodox Church and with the support they obtained from the respectable priests this group grown tremendously in faith and in their enthusiasm to serve God through the use of the bible. They conducted their regular bible studies and perform some liturgical worship. Until in 1987, the Metropolitan Philip and Bishop Antoun welcomed them into the church and challenged them to convert the Americans into Orthodox faith, and granted them their request to be named as St. Athanasius Orthodox Church, giving them as their patron, St. Athanasius, the great hero of the Council of Nicea (“Early Beginnings”, n.d.). Therefore, St. Athanasius Church is considered a branch, or a segment of the known Greek Orthodox Church. What I believe, the Greek Orthodox Church is one of the sect that sprouted from the Roman Catholic Church, that’s why they have many things in common in their beliefs and traditions. However, when I examined the history of Christianity I found out that the Greek Orthodox Church is somehow older than the Roman Catholic Church. Tracing back the history of Christianity, it was Emperor Constantine Constantinople who marked the beginning of Christianity when he recognized this group and ended the period of persecution, thereby, establishing the Christian Empire of Medieval Byzantium, an old Greek city. Yet, this is not their established assumption of their origin, Having in mind the meaning of the word ‘orthodox’, they claimed that their Church was established during the Pentecost of 33 CE when the disciples of Christ received the power of the holy spirit (Papadakis, n.d.).. So, it turned out that the Roman Catholic emerged later when the Holy Roman Empire was established after some years. No wonder, they have similar doctrines and some religious practices and traditions. They both venerate the beatified saints of ancient times. Though it is noticeable, that Roman Catholics beliefs variably change according to cultural traditions inherent to a certain nation or population, while the Greek Orthodox Church strictly conform to it religious practices and beliefs wherever place or region it is spread out. In this way, they are promoting unity between them regardless of race and ethnicity and proving true with the meaning of the word ‘Orthodox’. Lists of References Alexander, M., (n.d.). The Orthodox Church. Missionary Leaflet E2b Holy Trinity Orthodox Mission. Retrieved March 09, 2012 from the http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/catechism_ext.htm Early Beginnings: The campus crusade years. (n.d.). St. Athanasius Homepage. Retrieved March 09, 2012 from http://www.stathanasius.org/about/our-history/ Papadakis, A., (n.d.). History of the Orthodox church. Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America. Retrieved March 09, 2012 from http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7053 Read More