I had the great privilege of visiting the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. I visited this Church to witness the Salutation to the Theotokos, an annual service held to honor the annunciation of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. In this paper I will discuss the history of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church along with a detailed description of the architecture and interior of the church. I will also explain the service I attended, Salutations to the Theotokos and my perspective of the service. But In order to fully understand all that I must first explain, leadership within the Church,and iconography.
The Clergy of the Orthodox church are set apart through ordination and are divided into three orders, Deacons, Priest and Bishops. I found out by talking to Father Constantine that a priest can be married or celibate, as long as he is married before he is ordained. If a priest is ordained single he must stay celibate. Celibate priest generally belonging to a monastic order called "Archimandrite." Bishops are usually chosen from the ranks of the Archimandrites. Orthodox clergy of all orders wear the cassock in public, but when participating in a church service wear the vestment of their own order and rank. The colors and fabrics may also change according to the season or service.
A major theme in the Orthodox church is iconography. In the Orthodox church the paintings are not merely pictures they are icons, an icon makes the saint "present." These icons receive prayers and veneration, but are not worshiped. Icons are not portrayals of scenes like some stained glass windows, they are of one or two people, a holy portrait. Iconography is not restricted to the church but can also be displayed in houses or worn as jewelr...
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...altar through the royal doors, and censing the altar. I found this part to be very interesting. Everyone stood while the censing was taking place and the offered up prayers and crossed themselves as the Priest and Bishop walked by.
The service concluded with the bishop standing and speaking to the people for a few minutes he spoke on the importance of the service and He shared some scripture and personal stories. After the service Father Constantine invited everyone next door for refreshments, and stayed in the nave to answer any of our questions, this time was very helpful to me since this was my first time at a Orthodox church. Overall it was a very enjoyable experience I learned a lot about the Orthodox tradition. I don't think I would have been able to grasp the differences between the different branches in Christianity without witnessing them first hand.
Another example of Christian iconography is The Transfiguration. It is located in the Church of Saint Catherine’s monaster...
The adoption of Eastern Orthodoxy by the Slavs marked a new era for the culture of Russia. In the Primary Chronicle we come across many tales that illustrate the transformation from staunch paganism to strict Orthodox Christianity that was adopted by the state. The tale “Vladimir Christianizes Russia” is one such story that glorifies Vladimir’s great triumph in choosing Eastern Orthodoxy and delivering the Slavs to salvation. Through justifying the adoption of Christianity, emphasizing the importance of aestheticism in ceremony, and illustrating the overwhelming Slavic transition from paganism to Christianity we are able to glean the importance of Vladimir’s success in transitioning the Slavs to Eastern Orthodoxy.
The Hagia Sophia is a stunning, spherical-shaped building made of marble and gold (Doc. 4). Justinian built the Hagia Sophia, which means “Holy Wisdom” in Greek, after a church of the same name was destroyed in riots in Constantinople (outside information). Procopius, Justinian’s court historian, described the church as “suspended from heaven by the fabled golden chain” (Doc. 4). Undoubtedly, visitors to the Hagia Sophia are left breathless by its beauty (outside information). Other churches that Justinian built include the Church of St. Salvator in Chora and the Church of the Apostles (Doc. 5). Justinian’s churches were beautiful; however, they were created to be more than just a display. The churches caused people to feel a connection with God, which helped unify the empire under a single faith. The bonding of the Romans under one faith helped strengthen the entire empire. Moreover, the abundance of churches in Constantinople helped make the city the center of religious power (Doc. 5). Evidence of Justinian’s legacy can be found when one realizes that the Byzantine Empire’s revived culture influenced Orthodox Christianity, a major branch of modern
“The Passions of Christ: A Journey Through Byzantine Art.” Kypros-Net: “The World of Cyprus”. 18 Oct. 2004 <http://kypros.org/Byzantine/>.
The towers of the church have cone-shaped tops with one being larger than the other. There is a large circle shaped window in the center of the west facade. There are windows in the towers and windows at the base. There are doors and pedestals.There are details carved into the building which include the image of holy figures.
The Greek Orthodox church is autocephalous, which means governed by its own head bishop. The head bishops of this autocephalous church may be called patriarch, metropolitan, or archbishop. These clergymen are much like the Pope; they decide church doctrine and generally make important decisions on controversial topics.
As I walked into the first gallery, I saw a wood sculpture that stood in the center of the room. This carving depicted “the crucified Christ, flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist with Angels holding instruments of the Passion”. It was painted oak and very appealing to the eye. It stood approximately 15 feet in the air. The origin of this sculpture is unknown, but it was found in a Belgium church. This kind of sculpture usually stood at the entrance or at the center of the alter in the church facing the congregation. This image of the suffering Christ relates to the Christian ideas of suffering and Christ’s salvation of all mankind.
One quarter is called the Athenian Quarter. This quarter is small, but holds an important beautiful aspect in the Old City. In this quarter, is the most beautiful church in the world, called the St. James Cathedral. This church is built on the ground where the Byzantine Church once stood. In the middle of the church, a dome and four pillars let the light from the sun shine in the church on the paintings, which make it appear more beautiful. There is a Patriarchate, which is an office for the male head of a family, in the southwest corner of the Old City. This building holds one-sixth of the city. The Armenian Patriarchate, The Brotherhood of St. James, and the Greek and Roman patriarchs, are the main guardians of the Dominical Sites, the holiest sites in Christendom. These statements are from an author from an article, “ In the dominical sites in Jerusalem, the patriarchate occupies the monastery of St. James located in the Armenian quarter.”...
Ouspensky, Leonid Theology of the Icon, Volumes I & II, 1992, St. Vladimir's Seminary Press
The church external appearance was quite different than other churches that I have seen. It was basically a big white stucco block with a gold dome on top and four decorated spikes on each corner of the building that surrounded the dome. The people of course were all Greek and were very well dressed. Most of the men and boys all wore suits, and If not they had some kind of vest on. I don’t know if this was some kind of rule or tradition, but it mostly seemed as a respect to God. The women all wore the basic dresses, and all the skirts fell down below the knee. Everybody was proper and ordered. As I walked in the church I entered a lobby of some kind. What I saw hear was something like social hour. Everybody was in there. They were all speaking Greek, and I felt as if I was in a family reunion party. The children were all together; the adults talked together and the young adults all were together. The way they all socialize is when someone comes up to say hello, they give each other a kiss on the cheek and a hug. These people are all very close to each other. It seems as if the church is the center of their lives. I admire that trait as well. To enter the auditorium you must enter this little room, which has a piece of garment from St. Constantine and St. Helen. Also there were candles lit. As they walked through this little room they lit a candle and knelt down for a moment to pray, and then touched each garment and made a cross over their chest.
St. Thomas University’s Chapel of Saint Basil is the most prominent building on her campus with its playful façade that is different from the typical style of the rest of its campus; it is a place of importance. In addition to the San Joaquin campus being designed as an ‘American’ style campus, the chapel itself takes ‘Protestant’ floor plan, Fernandez does not hide this fact stating takes precedence with the “historical allusion to the courts of the American temples of evangelization” . Nevertheless, the characteristics are emphasize placed on the acoustics and visual connection to the pulpit with seating taking an auditorium style layout in the square or rectangular space. This goes against the classical Catholic churches and chapels which place emphasize on the plan. Other than taking the shape of the cross, many churches try to tell a story as one walks from the doors to the pulpit, which allows for the possibility of a ‘transformative’ experience to the user.
During the 15th century, Europe started to have different cultural traditions that impacted the type artwork of artwork that was produced. There are several elements that have evolved during this time. Two artworks will be compared so that we will be able to evaluate how various techniques that are used can be used to portray the meaning of the painting as well as how the audience views the scene as well. One of the paintings that we will compare is a Annunciation panel (from the Merode Triptych), which was painted by Robert Campin in 1426. This painting will be compared to Holy Trinity, which was created by Masaccio in 1425. By comparing these two paintings, we will get a sense of what themes and ideals were valued during this time period.
The representation of divinity was clearly defined in Christ in Majesty with Symbols of the Four Evangelists through its subject matter, technique, and style. Christ acts as the focal point, but the artist also used different subjects from the Old and New Testament to decorate the apse. Unlike the mosaics in the apse of Byzantine churches, the artist employed the technique of classical fresco painting. The artist also applied decoration to the figures with the hierarchy of scale, and through the geometric style in the drapery instead of maintaining a sense of realism.
Although the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church ultimately had more differences which ended up causing their split, they once had quite a few a similarities. The churches shared “many of the same prayers and liturgies” (“Eastern Orthodox”, 2001 para.1). Both the Eastern and Western churches had a difference in opinion in defining and numbering sacraments but they did agree on what the seven major sacraments for their churches should be. They also agreed upon that the male clergy should consist of bishops, priests, and deacons.
These Byzantine icons are more than paintings, they are a creation made with a deeper meaning. The icon is not a box. The icon does not represent what the artist has before his eyes, but a model to which he must adhere.