The sense of Divine Order
Inside, as on the outside, the sense of Divine Order prevails. Nothing is placed in the church merely for its decorative qualities, there is no trace of a clever designer working to make the interior appealing and cozy, to give worshipers a comfortable feeling of familiarity and warmth or to dazzle the spectators with opulence and wealth. Iconographers working on frescoes and icons do not have the luxury to pick and choose images and scenes which will be represented on the walls and around the altar, or to reject the ones they might happen to deem insufficiently politically correct or not quite up to their own aesthetic standards. Nor are they given free reign to work on their self-expression and do whatever conforms to their personal concept of what's spiritual, how the angels might look, if Mother of God might have had large breasts or if Christ should be rather more muscular and athletic than Orthodox vision.
What is present follows the order established by the Church since the times immemorial and is, in its entirety, an integral part of Divine Liturgy: in word and letter (prayers, Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition), sound (church bells, chanting), smell (incense, beeswax of the burning candles), taste (Eucharist), motion (making the sign of cross, bowing, prostrations) and picture (iconic images as an illustration of the Holy Scriptures and Holy Tradition). It is not a theatre, a museum or a concert hall, it is the Church. It is not a place of amusement, but a place of worship. It is not there to celebrate talented men, but to glorify God. It does not serve to make us feel good, but to help us on our journey to Christ. And it is not ordained and guided by the whims and wishes of individuals, but by the Holy Spirit working through the Apostolic succession of our Patriarchs, Bishops and Church Fathers.
St. Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich
The Prologue of Ochrid
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Mystical vertical IntersectionFrescoes in Serbian churches (placed under United Nations protection as a world treasure) of Kosovo and Metochia are truly breathtaking. Many of these churches are fresco-painted with Lapis Lazuli, an actual semi-precious stone powdered into pigment and more expensive than gold, so the blue background is of the most brilliant and intense quality, uniting each composition into a vision of unearthly beauty. Starting from bottom to top they depict bishops and hierarchs, saints and martyrs, prophets and archangels all in solemn attendance, the silent ever-present witnesses of the Heavenly Church, higher and higher up to the highest dome where Christ Pantocrator is surrounded by seraphims and cherubim, Theotokos and St. John the Baptist. Being itself an icon of the Heavenly Church, Orthodox Church thus unveils the Heavenly Beauty. It enables us to take part in the Communion surrounded by the image of the Heavenly Community we are invited to. By making a clear distinction between sacral and profane, between transfigured and fallen nature of men, while honoring the creation in its liturgy, worship and art (wine, bread, olive oil, wheat, etc, as well as natural materials used in iconography: mineral and earth pigments, wood, stone, gold, lime, eggs etc.) the Orthodox church transcends temporal and becomes an embodiment of a mystical vertical intersection, a place where Heaven converges with Earth and outstretched hand of God can take a firm hold of our's. | |
Opening the heartEven though I was born into Orthodoxy, the only experience of the church and my faith I had prior to that excursion was attending few services with my grandmother in the early childhood. My grandmother taught me the basics: how to enter and behave in church, how to light a candle, approach the icon and take the Eucharist. She led me to the sacraments and taught me there are some things that are sacred and beyond reasoning, to show respect and pay attention. But not one person can force our heart to open to divine, just like we cannot be made to love another or to believe in the teachings of the Church. For such momentous leaps a different teaching method is required and a unique Teacher is called to such a task. | |
The emerging BridgeI cannot remember which was the first church we were taken to, but I will never forget I was so struck by the sense of sanctity I actually forgot to breathe. Standing in front of the altar, surrounded by my friends and teachers while a young Serbian monk was recounting historical facts, I felt like standing in front of an emerging bridge where, a little while ago, there was nothing but a gaping chasm. The intensity of an unearthly beauty, the air and stone saturated with devotion through the times of glory and the times of horror during five centuries of Turkish occupation, the inaudible whisper of the thousand years of worship spoke directly to my soul imprinting the sense of sanctity in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the heartfelt reverence while standing on the consecrated ground, the profound sense of "Take your shoes off your feet, for the place you stand upon is the holy ground". |
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