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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Saint Teresa of Ávila is the patron saint of people in need. Saint Teresa of Ávila was born in the year 1515. Sadly Saint Teresa died in the year 1582. Saint Teresa of Ávila was born in Spain, she is the daughter of Don Alonso Sánchez de Cepeda and Doña Beatriz Dávila y Ahumada. Saint Teresa was
“Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy.” U.S. History Online Textbook. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
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 Greek Orthodox Church is one of the three major branches of Christianity, which "stands in today's society as one of the communities created by the apostles of Jesus in the region of the eastern Mediterranean, and which spread by missionary activity throughout Eastern Europe" .The word orthodox comes from Greek, this means right-believing. Currently, the orthodox religion has more than 174 million followers throughout the world.
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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)
Behind the elaborate fresco paintings and splendid architecture, Eastern Orthodox Church has played a significant role in the preservation of Christian tradition throughout history. Since the transfer of the imperial capitol of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople, the Eastern Orthodox Christianity has evolved into a distinct branch of Christianity (Steeves). As Timothy Ware, the author of The Orthodox Church, suggests, major intellectual, cultural, and social developments that were taking place in a different region of the Roman Empire were not entirely consistent with the evolution of Western Christianity (Ware 8). These traditions and practices of the church of Constantinople were adopted by many and still provide the basic patterns and ethos of contemporary Orthodoxy. The Eastern Orthodox Church has adopted unique organizational features, beliefs, and traditions constituting itself as a unique branch of Christianity.
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.
On Sunday March 12th and 19th, my husband and I attended Holy Trinity St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church (HTSN) in Finneytown, Ohio. The church conducts Orthros (Matins) at 8:15 am and Divine Liturgy from 9:30-11:30 am. I chose to attend HTSN for two reasons; first, they host the annual Panegyri Festival and two, learning about the 1054 split intrigued me given the current state of the Methodist Church.
Modern literary works have in the past years the changed the way some of the writers and literature fans and enthusiasts change the way they view the world and the religious notions as a whole. In the past centuries, most of the individuals have held on strongly to certain believes and myths. As a result, most of their actions and life was defined by these myths and beliefs. In the 20th century, however, some of these beliefs have been shaken up by literary works. Ideas and thoughts brought forward by writers have changed the way some individuals think and view the world, leading to loss in transcendental certitude. Transcendental certitude usually is a belief in something that cannot be topped. Most of the individuals around d the world have
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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