First Eastern Experience
This past Sunday I had the honor of being able to experience the Eastern liturgy for the first time. Michael’s child was being baptized, and even though the baptism doesn’t take place during the liturgy, we were all invited to attend the liturgy beforehand. I decided to take them up on the invitation and see just how different the Eastern liturgy is, and so I thought I’d document some very brief thoughts.
For those unfamiliar, the Eastern Orthodox churches follow the Byzantine Rite. It’s a much longer liturgy than most of us in the West are used to. It’s also mostly sung, without instrumentation (kudos to the choir at St. George for doing such a nice job).
One of the things that struck me right off the bat is that the congregation seems to be more of a spectator than in the ‘modern’ Western Rite. The priest is often speaking with his back turned, and there’s a great deal of quiet prayers that the priest is saying while the congregation and/or choir is singing or speaking a different part of the liturgy. It does promote the idea of heaven coming down to us, and we are witnesses to the great mystery, more so than in the Western Rite.
There is also a great deal of repetition in the Eastern Rite. Many litanies are repeated over and over again, which I’m sure contributed to the length of the service. Also, there was many more places where people are doing the sign of the cross, so there was a bit more physical movement.
In terms of things I didn’t like, I have to say I felt a bit lost, but this is probably due to the lack of good congregational materials that are available for the Eastern Rite. Even though the liturgy was incredibly rich, I almost felt that it was too much for me. I felt a bit of overload at times. Perhaps that would lessen in time, as someone would get used to it more, but the initial shock was certainly there. Also, since the liturgy was so packed, at times it seemed that things were a bit rushed.
However, there was a great deal that I appreciated. I enjoyed the lack of instruments frankly. It kinda kills the whole ‘worship wars’ idea. There was a deep reverence as well that seemed to carry into everything that was done, even when it was done quickly. Not just the sacred host, but many elements, were given reverence, including kissing of crosses, and the display of the the Gospel, and reverence towards icons. In fact the entire worship space had a very rich artistic and reverent feel to it.
So it was certainly a very interesting first experience in an Eastern context. I think there’s a lot that both East and West have going for them in terms of their liturgies and I feel like I’m richer for having experienced both.
