Orthodox Christianity Essay

Orthodox Christianity developed as a branch of Christianity but it was always quite different from Catholicism as the major Christian rival of Orthodox Christianity. In such a situation, I was extremely interested in attending an Orthodox Christian temple, where I could observe the rites, which were traditional for Orthodox Christians and marked specificities of Orthodox Christianity. At the same time, Christianity is one of the global religion and it seems as if Christian traditions are well-known but, in the US, Orthodox Christianity is not so popular as Catholicism and Protestantism. As a result, attending an Orthodox Christian temple was a new experience for me, since I have never been in such temples before. This is why I have chosen the Saint George Antiochian Orthodox Christian Cathedral, 320 Palermo Avenue, Coral Gables, Florida. In fact, this is a prominent Orthodox Christian Cathedral, which attracts many Orthodox Christians and which is open to attend for representatives of other religions.
At any rate, I being an atheist and a person, who has never belonged to Orthodox Christianity was welcomed to attend the Orthodox Christian Cathedral, as I called to find out whether I can attend the cathedral. In such a way, the Orthodox Christian Cathedral has proved to be open for non-believers as well as representatives of other religious groups, because as I told that I am an atheist I was not banned to attend the church and, when I asked about the possibility of attending the church by representatives of other religions, I was told that all true believers are welcomed to join the Orthodox Christian church. Nevertheless, I have never had the experience of attending the Orthodox Christian Cathedral and I was a bit anxious how I would attend the church and how worshippers and believers will perceive me in the temple, which was actually absolutely new for me. Moreover, I did not know anything about traditions and rites of Orthodox Christianity and I needed to match norms and traditions acceptable in this temple in order to avoid offending believers in the church.
When I arrived to the Orthodox Christian Cathedral, I found the building of the church quite different from Catholic or Presbyterian temples. At any rate, I believed that the Orthodox Christian Cathedral will look like a Catholic Cathedral but, in actuality, the Orthodox Christian Cathedral was quite different. Unlike Catholic Cathedrals, which are constructed in the Gothic style, the Orthodox Christian Cathedral was built in a sort of Roman or Byzantine style with round dooms and large crosses on the top of each doom. The entrance of the Orthodox Christian Cathedral was decorated with paintings of some Christian saints, although they are not familiar for me. The entrance to the church door was closed for I arrived when the Sunday Divine Liturgy has just started and the Sunday Orthros has just ended. In such a way, I arrived just between two rites, which were celebrated each Sunday only and on the eve of Christian Orthodox holidays. The Divine Liturgy is an important event, which accomplishes the week of Orthodox Christians and marks the celebration of the day, when Orthodox Christians have a rest honoring God and Jesus Christ.
As I entered the Orthodox Christian Cathedral I found the interior of the church impressing. To put it more precisely, the interior was decorated with icons and paintings. The paintings depicting saints and different scenes from the history of Christianity were covering the walls and ceiling of the Orthodox Christian Cathedral. There were heavens and the depiction of saints just far in the top of the Orthodox Christian Cathedral, just right on the ceiling. The decoration of the interior was really impressive, especially taking into consideration the size of the building. The ceiling of the Orthodox Christian Cathedral seemed unreachable and so did the heavens depicted on the ceiling. At the same time, the paintings depicting saints and scenes from Bible and Christian history descended as if becoming closer to believers. The walls and columns were either painted or had icon hanging there, depicting Orthodox Christian saints. The center of the church was lighted by the sunlight and, in spite of the fact that a large number of people attended the cathedral, the Orthodox Christian Cathedral was still spacious.
As I entered the Orthodox Christian Cathedral, I saw the large wall covered entirely in icons and painting, which depict the deeds of Jesus Christ and his entire life, from the birth to resurrection. The story of Jesus’ life and deeds covered almost the entire wall and this was the most honored sacred place, which believers could not enter without the permission of priests, which they obtained only in the course of certain rites. In fact, the area behind the wall depicting the life of Jesus Christ was restricted to enter for believer, whereas this was the main area, where the priests were and where they conducted the Liturgy. In the course of Divine Liturgy, the priest moved closer to the believers and walked almost to the center of the Orthodox Christian Cathedral. He prayed and conducted the rite, which lasted for more than an hour.
In the course of the Divine Liturgy, the believers were standing in front and by sides of the priest. At this point, I noticed that the location of the believers in the Orthodox Christian Cathedral was very specific and, as far as I understood, determined by Christian Orthodox traditions. To put it more precisely, female believers stood on the left side of the wall depicting the life of Jesus Christ, whereas males stood on the right side from the wall. In such a way, the entire audience was divided strictly, although both males and females could move throughout the church, lit the candles and put them close to the icons or special places destined for candles, which were next to icons. However, in the course of the Divine Liturgy, the believers were divided into two groups on the ground of their gender. There was a moment, when they were separated and the priest was going to and fro blessing, as I understood, the believers.
By the end of the Divine Liturgy, the believers gathered again around the priest and formed a semi-circle around the wall depicting the life of Jesus Christ. In such a way, the believers came prepared for the last prayer and the last words being said by the priest. The priest completed the Divine Liturgy and blessed the believers giving them a piece of bread and wine and pointing the cross and waving with the cross on them shaping a symbolic cross on the believers.
After the Divine Liturgy I talked to the priest, who run the Divine Liturgy to learn some details about the rite and the church. The Priest’s name was Louis Secabe. He has been working in the Orthodox Christian Cathedral for several consecutive years and I noticed the respect the believers felt in relation to the priest. He was a reputable priest and, in the course of conversation with Louis Sacabe, I found out that he was a very intelligent person. He provided me with detailed information on the Orthodox Christian Cathedral, which was the major Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Miami and played an important part in the life of Orthodox Christian community of Miami. At the same time, he pointed out that the church being important is still insufficient to make people true believers for they need to have a strong faith and back up their faith with deeds.
Thus, on attending the Orthodox Christian Cathedral, I have learned a lot of information about the life of Orthodox Christians through their rites. For instance, I found out that the gender biases still persist in the Orthodox Christian community. At the same time, the Orthodox Christian Cathedral is open for representatives of other religions and atheists. At any rate, the priest explained that Orthodox Christian church is ready to accept any individual, who is ready to believe and find salvation.