I Went to Church Today

This neighborhood church is alive and well.  It has Sunday services at 7:00am and 9:00am.  I went to the 9:00 service, and it was full.  While at least half of the worshipers were over 50 years old and the majority were women, there were men and women of all ages at the service, from babies to pensioners.  Of course, I didn't understand the content of the service, but I did enjoy taking in the experience and making some observations about what I saw.

As people entered the gate of the church property, they stopped and crossed themselves.  With the tips of the fingers on the right hand gathered together, they touched forehead, abdomen, the top of the right shoulder, across to the top of the left shoulder, and then with a deep bow, dropped their right hand to their right knee, or at times, all the way to the floor.  Men took off their hats before then entered the church.  The first stop when people entered the building was the small church store, where everyone purchased candles to light in the sanctuary.

One of the large ornate icons in the church.

They then entered the main open part of the church where they took off their coats and hung them on a rack.  The women either took off their hats and covered their heads with scarfs, or left their hats on.  The church is filled with beautiful and ornate icons, both small and large. They are adorned with gold details and reflect the rich tradition and culture of the church in Russia.  There are no pews in the church. People remain standing for worship.  As people arrived with their candles, they lit them and placed them on one of the candle stands.  If there were no available spaces on the stands, they handed their candles to one of the attendants lit them later when needed.  They then  

Each candle station had a female attendant who received
candles from the worshipers and lit them to replace candles
 that were burning out.

proceeded to one of the icons, crossed themselves, and leaned forward to kiss the icon and gently touch their forehead against is, crossing themselves again.   A small group of women, perhaps four or five - I could not see all of them - we in a small balcony above us reading aloud from the Bible before the service began.  During the worship service, they sang beautiful acapella harmonies (there is no instrumental music) that interplayed with the priest's chanted readings.  It felt as if there were angels aloft in the church.

Near the end of the worship, three priests brought out the vessels for communion.  People with children went forward first.  Using a long handled gold spoon, a priest placed something in the mouth of a worshiper who then kissed the gold chalice.  A red cloth seemed to be used to bless the children, who were held by their parents or grandparents.   People flied out one by one, most of them with their arms folded and hands held flat against their chests.  

I wish I understood more of what went on, of the traditions and the symbolism.  Perhaps I will be able to find out and understand more before I leave.  It was a rich experience.

The new church that is being constructed right beside the old.