Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
tourist attractions may be more flexible. Women and men both must have their knees
covered.
As you enter any Russian Orthodox church, you can join in the standard routine:
Drop a coin in the wooden box, pick up a candle, say a prayer, light the candle, and
place it in the candelabra. Make the sign of the cross and kiss the icon.
Where's the altar? Orthodox churches come with an altar screen covered with cur-
tains and icons (the “iconostasis”). The standard design of the iconostasis calls for
four icons flanking the central door, with Jesus to the right, John the Baptist to Jesus'
right, Mary and the Baby Jesus on the left, and an icon featuring the saint or event that
the church is dedicated to on the far left.
The iconostasis divides the lay community from the priests—the material world
from the spiritual one. The spiritual heavy lifting takes place behind the iconostasis,
where the priests symbolically turn bread and wine into the body and blood of
Jesus. Then they open the doors or curtains and serve the Eucharist to their faithful
flock—spooning the wine from a chalice while holding a cloth under each chin so as
not to drop any on the floor.
Notice that there are few (if any) pews. Worshippers stand through the service as
a sign of respect (though some older parishioners sit on the seats along the walls).
Traditionally, women stand on the left side, men on the right (equal distance from the
altar—to represent that all are equal before God).
The Orthodox faith tends to use a Greek cross, with four equal arms (like a plus
sign, sometimes inside a circle), which focuses on God's perfection. The longer Lat-
in cross, more typically used by Catholics, more literally evokes the Crucifixion, em-
phasizing Jesus' death and sacrifice. Many Orthodox churches have Greek-cross floor
plans rather than the elongated nave-and-transept designs that are common in Western
Europe.
Unlike many Catholic church decorations, Orthodox icons (paintings of saints)
are not intended to be lifelike. Packed with intricate symbolism and cast against a
shimmering golden background, they're meant to remind viewers of the metaphysic-
al nature of Jesus and the saints rather than their physical form. You'll almost never
see statues, which are thought to overemphasize the physical world and, to Orthodox
people, feel a little too close to the forbidden worship of graven images.
Most Eastern Orthodox churches have at least one mosaic or painting of Christ in a
standard pose—as
Pantocrator,
a Greek word meaning “Ruler of All.” The image, so
familiar to Orthodox Christians, shows Christ as King of the Universe, facing directly
out, with penetrating eyes. Behind him is a halo divided by a cross, with only three
visible arms—an Orthodox symbol for the Trinity (the fourth arm is hidden behind
Christ).
Orthodox services generally involve chanting (a dialogue that goes back and forth
between the priest and the congregation), and the church is filled with the evocative
aroma of incense, combining to heighten the experience for the worshippers. While
many Catholic and Protestant services tend to be more of a theoretical and rote cover-
ing of basic religious tenets (come on—don't tell me you understand every phrase in
