Eastern Orthodox worship

Eastern Orthodox worship in this article is distinguished from Eastern Orthodox prayer in that 'worship' refers to the activity of the Christian Church as a body offering up prayers to God while 'prayer' refers to the individual devotional traditions of the Orthodox.

The worship of the Eastern Orthodox Church is viewed as the church's fundamental activity because the worship of God is the joining of man to God in prayer and that is the essential function of Christ's Church. The Eastern Orthodox view their church as being the living embodiment of Christ, through the grace of His Holy Spirit, in the people, clergy, monks and all other members of the church. Thus the church is viewed as the Body of Christ on earth which is perpetually unified with the Body of Christ in heaven through a common act of worship to God.

This article deals first with the various characteristics of Orthodox worship, aside from its theological foundations as laid forth above, and then continues to give the services of worship themselves and their structure.

As explained above, the Orthodox draw no distinction between the Body of Christ in heaven and that on earth, viewing both parts of the church as inseparable and in continuous worship together of God. Orthodox worship therefore expresses this unity of earth and heaven in every possible way so that the earthly worshippers are continually reminded through all their senses of the heavenly state of the church. The particular methods for doing this are very far from arbitrary but have been passed down from the earliest periods in Christian history through what the Orthodox call "Holy Tradition".

Probably the most striking aspect of Orthodox worship is its visual characteristics. These are many and varied, always conveying in the most striking colors and shapes possible the various phases and moods of the church both as they change throughout the year and in individual services.

Icons are used to bring the worshippers into the presence of those who are in heaven, that is, Christ, the Saints, the Theotokos and the angels. The Orthodox believe these icons do more than visually remind the viewer of the fact that there are saints in heaven, they believe that these icons act as 'windows' into heaven through which we see those saints, Christ and the Theotokos. It is for this reason that God the father is traditionally not represented in icons because He has never shown His form to man and therefore man should not try to represent His form in icons. It is because of the connection which these sacred pictures have with their subjects that Orthodox Christians regularly venerate (but do not worship) them even as Orthodox still living on earth greet one another with a kiss of peace, so do they venerate those who have passed on through their icons.

Both the internal and external forms of Orthodox churches are designed in imitation of heaven. The internal layout consists of three main parts: the narthex, nave and altar. The royal doors divide the narthex from the nave and the iconostasis divides the nave from the altar. The narthex or porch is the entrance to the church building and not yet the actual 'church' proper, and is a small open space often with some candles to buy before entering the church itself. Once through the doyal Doors (a term often applied now to the doors in the center of the iconostasis as well) there is the nave, which is the main and largest part of the church building. Here all the laity and choir stand (there are often few or no seats in the building) during worship; it is shaped rectangularly in the back, opening into two wings forming a cross towards the front. Through the iconostasis (always done through the 'Deacon's doors' on either side except during processions by the clergy) lies the altar (or sanctuary). This area is considered the most holy of the whole church, and laity other than church personnel are discouraged from entering. The altar is square (completing the cross shape of the church building) and at its center is the altar table on which the Eucharist is celebrated and which only clergy may touch. There is no direct entrance to the outside of the church to the altar, only the deacons' doors and a door to the sacristy (which usually leads outside). The main entrance from the nave to the sanctuary, the "beautiful gate", cannot be used by deacons and laity, only by priests or bishops.

All those above lay status (the choir is considered to be lay as it sings in place of the congregation) wear some form of vestment to distinguish their office. There are many offices and each has its own distinctive vestment and each set of vestments becomes increasingly elaborate as the rank of the wearer increases; this principle also holds true for how weighty a service is being served. All these vestments are in the style of robes (or designed to go with robes) made of colored and decorated cloth. The colors of all the vestments change according to what feast the church is celebrating (these changes occur in a seasonal fashion, not with the seasons but on a similar timescale). For instance, for about two months after the celebration of the Resurrection, all church vestments are bright white and red whereas during the solemnity of Lent they are dark purples; thus, vestments serve to express the 'mood' of the church.