We were a little disappointed upon our arrival, because we discovered that the priest of the church was not available to give us the tour, but one of the parishoners was kind enough to give us a tour, and he did his best to inform us of some of the Orthodox viewpoints.
The best way to summarize the Orthodox beliefs is by going to the Orthodox Research Institute.
I took some pictures inside the church:
Saints: Peter and Paul:
Saints: Nektarios, Anasdacia, and Athanasios:
Telling the Biblical stories in pictures:
Stained Windows:
Christ watching over his flock:
I'm realizing that worshipping God is not something we do with our minds only, but with all our being, all our senses: seeing the icons, smelling the insense. Entering the church felt like entering the very presence of God, because we were surrounded by so much beauty.
It leaves me wondering about my own faith heritage. I am thankful that I grew up attending churches that focused on preaching the word. However, I feel like I've only been told half of the story, the "mental" part. The "body" part is missing. It seems that we have allowed the Enlightenment - with its arrogant disregard for beauty and it's dismissal of the sacred - to infiltrate our places of worship. That's why churches in the western world look more like hospitals or gymnasiums - plain, white, practical, efficient, lacking any sort of creativity and beauty.
I yearn to worship God with all my being, not just with my head.
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