I attended a mass at Saint Haralambos Orthodox Greek Church. The church is located in Niles which is a suburb of Chicago on Caldwell Street in between Touhy and Howard Street. The mass I went to was on the Sunday of Orthodox which is known as the first Sunday of Lent where they honor the icons. The most important foundations that are highlighted in Greek Orthodoxy are the Bible and Holy Traditions that have been passed down (“Greek Orthodox Church”). The Greek Orthodox Church believes that the bible is motivated by God. Some important dogmas of the church include things such as the Holy Trinity, Jesus, the role that Virgin Mary had, and honoring the icons. The holy sacraments are what lead Greek Orthodox believers that they are reaching the ultimate prize of deification through Christ.
The Church was very beautiful, which big wooden doors at the entrance. The Church looked very modern from the outside with a cross on top of a circular roof top. Upon entering the Narthex, which is the room before you enter the Nave which is the place the mass is conducted, there were about ten pictures of Saints around the room. People were lighting candles around them and kissing their pictures. The Narthex was very dark and the only source of light was the candles. The Nave on the contrary was very well lit with natural light coming in through the glass windows on the ceiling. The Altar was behind a wall that had pictures of angels and saints. There was a giant chandelier known as a Horos. There was also a dome ceiling that around the edges was surrounded by more angels and saints, all of their names which were written in Greek, and then in the middle of the dome was Christ’s picture which they call the Ruler of the Universe. The focal point of ...
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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 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.
This loss of power was a direct result of several factors: the patriarchal canons of early Eastern and Western Church councils, the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, and the decree of Emperor Theodosius that made Christianity the state religion of Rome (Lynch,10). These events led to positions in the Church such as presbyter, deacon, and bishop being held in high regard, and also hi...
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The word Transcendentalism, as used at the present day, has two applications. One of which is popular and indefinite, the other, philosophical and precise. In the former sense it describes man, rather than opinions, since it is freely extended to those who hold opinions, not only diverse from each other, but directly opposed. (1)
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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.
Orthodox Catholics - Orthodox Catholics are the most devout members of the Catholic Church. They adhere to the Church’s teachings rigorously by regularly participating in Church practices and rituals such as attending mass and other catholic ceremonies. They are fully immersed in the institutional life of the Church. Their Catholic identity is publicly manifested in their social, political, and economic life. Their social structure is almost entirely based around the church’s teachings, as well as immersing themselves around people who have the same strong catholic beliefs as themselves. It is likely that if conflict occurred between the Church’s teachings, family, work or social life, that the orthodox members will favour with the church. This was seen during the church’s child abuse scandals in 2009, members of the Catholic Church who didn’t have rigorously strict catholic beliefs tended to move away from the church after the scandals however the orthodox members remained loyal to the church. Orthodox Christians prevailed through Ireland from 1880-1990’s. Now however it is often regarded as just a ‘stereotypical viewpoint of Irish Catholism’ or something that is linked with previous generations. There has been a significant orthodox Catholics have also disappeared from the fields of education, health, and social welfare. DISAGREE ON ISSUES SUCH AS--- PROTESTS.
The Jewish people have proved themselves to be able to make a tremendous difference in the world. Even though this divine difference has come from people of each movement of Judaism, the Modern Orthodox movement has taken it to the next level. Orthodox Judaism began back when G-d revealed the Torah on Mount Sinai (The American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2011). Orthodox sages believe that both the Oral and Witten Torahs were given to the Jewish nation in 1312 B.C.E. This is when they consider that ‘Orthodox’ Judaism as we know started (Rabbi Lawrence Keleman, 2010). While there are many Modern Orthodox Jews around the world, the 10 main communities are in Israel, New York, Los Angeles, Florida, Paris, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco and London (World Jewish Population, 2001). In a recent study, all sects of Orthodox Judaism were found to have between 33% - 45% of...
Transcendence is not a subject for science. It is a subject for metaphysics and poetry.
The Church is typical of linear typology, long and tall. There are no openings in the lower walls. Higher up there are stained glass windows which allow an altered light to enter the space thus giving it a surreal, otherworldly atmosphere. Being nowhere to see out of the church the eye is drawn along the linear form to the end of the church where the altar is placed, and also higher to the imposing stained glass windows. Hence fulfilling the function of the typology which is to purposefully create movement through the space towards either end. In the case of the church the entry is at one end, the user enters and is drawn toward the other end. In religion the meaning of this is very important. The church must draw followers and remind them of a higher being. The space created by the form of the long and tall church is designed to draw not only the eye, but also the spirit, higher. To change the focus from body and worldly life to a higher consciousness and purpose. The space must also be to imply its own power. The user is awed and belittled by the extreme size and ethereal quality of the space and light. This quality would have been much more extreme a thousand years ago when a building of this size and grandeur would have seemed incredible to those visiting it. The form and materials used (diagram of materials) are a demonstration of power and money. “Beautiful, expensive, permanent buildings confer prestige upon the institution, and in that way they are a manifestation of cultural prominence and power. “[ Journal of Architectural Education (1984-) 38, no. 1 (1984): 10-13.
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