Orthodox Cathedral in Miami - Essay Example

A Visit to Christ the Savior Orthodox Cathedral Miami I am extremely fascinated about learning diverse spiritual ideas from different religions. My visit to Christ the Savior Orthodox Cathedral in Miami was a different journey, for this improved my religious knowledge and spiritual outlook to a large extent. Being an atheist, I was quite curious to see the Christian worship place and various religious rituals they followed. The beauty and grand ambience of a church was something which I enjoyed only in films. I was a bit nervous when I arrived at the church, for I knew little about the religious practices usually followed in any Christian worship place. I had already witnessed the rituals of some other religions, and I was sure that experience inside the church would be much different from other worship places. I collected some preliminary knowledge about church and Christianity from my Christian friends. I also made a bit of internet research on the religion and the common rules to follow while visiting a church. From what Slick Matt describes in Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry website, Christianity is a religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ. According to Christianity, God is ‘Trinity’ which includes Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ, the Son is the second person in trinity. Christianity believes that one can attain salvation and save oneself from righteous judgment of God only through the faith in Jesus. According to the Orthodox point of view, as described in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America website by Conciliar Press, an orthodox church is the church founded by Jesus, and it is described in the New Testament. It is the church which could be traced back historically by all other Christian sections and churches. When visiting an orthodox church which is considered as the God’s house one should cross oneself and prepare for prayer. Everyone is supposed to be reserved and modest within the church, and must wear proper attires that suits God’s house. Women usually cover their heads and men do not wear any caps. Everyone stands in an orthodox church and there are separate sections for both men and women. But weak or old age people can make use of seats if they need. I visited the church on a Sunday morning with two of my orthodox Christian friends. As I reached the place, I saw the beautiful huge white church building with a golden dome on the top. Since it was a Sunday, there were several men and women who came for the Sunday observance. Church building is oriented west to east with the main entrance on the west side. Over the entrance there was a belfry erected with the church bell hanging on it. One of my friends explained me about the various parts of the church. We entered the church through a portion called narthex and reached inside to a part of building called ‘nave’ where worshippers gather. Finally there was a sanctuary, the altar area, which is restricted only for altar servers and clergies. As I entered inside, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the church, for its every inch of space has beautiful sacred pictures. There was a principal icon on the ceiling of the dome called pantocrator on which there was the image of Christ holding New Testament. As we entered, one of the church officials asked us to sign the guest book and also handled me a booklet having prayers, hymns and scriptures. I introduced myself to her and requested her to guide me on the various rituals and traditions going on within the church. She gladly accepted my request and guided me to nave. On entering the nave there was a huge portrait of a saint. The lady bowed her head and kissed the portrait. She guided me to the place where candles are kept, and offered me to light one. I obeyed. Then she guided me to the nave in the front, which is the main sanctuary. The sanctuary is a huge wall space where there was a beautiful mosaic of Mary and Jesus. The enormous view of the sanctuary can make anyone humble with a sense of reverence. Nave of the church was looking amazing with holy Icons. The Iconostasis or icon screen divided the sanctuary from the rest of the parts. The church official told me that the service going on was matins which will be followed by liturgy. There were several men and women standing in separate rows, and we also joined with the congregation. There was a priest and three readers who read the matin script. It was read in half singing manner. I tried to read the script in the exact manner how others were chanting. The whole church ambience, chanting, and people’s attitude added great reverence in me, and it was a memorable moment. After the matin services, I approached the church official who was very keen in helping me understand the various rituals. I requested her that I am willing to have an interview with one of the priest, which she readily accepted and arranged for me. Fortunately, priest was also very much interested in giving an interview because he knew that I am a foreigner and also an atheist. We both started walking around looking at the magnificent structures. We talked about Orthodox Churches and beliefs in particular. When I asked him about the history and formation of Orthodox Church, he was quite happy with my interest to know about the religion. According to his explanation, Orthodox Church was founded by Jesus through apostles. After thousand years in 1025 AD, great split took place which separated Latin or western churches from eastern Christendom. The eastern non oriental churches then became eastern orthodox churches and other section became Roman Catholic Church. (Admittedly, other Christian denominations may have different opinion about the origin of the true church). Then I was curious about the approach of orthodox believers towards non orthodox believers. When I asked him, he told that orthodox believers do not condemn non orthodox Christians, though some of the beliefs of non orthodox Christians are considered to be unchristian according to orthodox belief. He told, orthodox aim is to seek union with Christ. He told me that the primary aim of a Christian is to attain eternal salvation. I asked him how to get eternal salvation. I also asked him whether faith or work has the most importance in attaining salvation. The priest told me that orthodox believe in good work and right belief as the key to attain eternal salvation. he explained that, in the scripture there are quotes like” “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone.” (James 2:24). And, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26). But it is impossible to please the God without faith. In order to attain god’s acceptance, first of all, one should have faith in God, and the life and activities should be developed accordingly. I thanked the priest for the wonderful conversation and for enhancing my knowledge about Orthodox Christianity. I also expressed him my desire to visit the church more often for knowing everything better. Priest welcomed me to talk more about Orthodox Christianity. It was a wonderful and most memorable visit in respect to intellectual knowledge as well as spiritual sensitivity. Appendix Interview Questions A) How and from where the Orthodox Church originated? B) What is the approach of Orthodox believers towards non Orthodox believers? C) Do Orthodox Christians worship icons? D) Explain how Orthodox worship is? E) How can a Christian attain eternal salvation and what comes first in your belief – faith or work? Works Cited Conciliar Press. “What Orthodox Christians Believe”. Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Web. 06 May 2014 http://www.antiochian.org/whatorthodoxbelieve The New Testament. King James Version. Slick, Matt. “What is Christianity?” CARM. Web. 06 May 2014. http://carm.org/what-is-christianity Read More