Earlier this month I attended the 32nd annual Greek Festival at
San Jose’s St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. This event
highlighted many aspects of Greek culture with food, dancing,
travelogues of Greek tourist attractions and authentic Greek items
to purchase: clothing, jewelry, music CDs and more.
Earlier this month I attended the 32nd annual Greek Festival at San Jose’s St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. This event highlighted many aspects of Greek culture with food, dancing, travelogues of Greek tourist attractions and authentic Greek items to purchase: clothing, jewelry, music CDs and more.
Of particular interest to me was the insight into the traditional Christianity of Greece. There were tours of the church, and a bookstore was open which sold books and religious items like incense, crosses and icons (stylized artwork in which wood and paint “are transformed through faith … to become a window to heaven”).
When Orthodox Christians enter a church, they often bow, make the sign of the cross, offer a prayer and kiss an icon.
If you would like to know more about Greek culture and religion, future festivals are planned for Belmont (Aug. 30 through Sept. 1,
(650) 591-4447) and Santa Cruz (Sept. 5 through 7, (831) 429-6500).
In his classic book, “The Orthodox Church,” Timothy Ware tells a story about how Christianity came to Russia. Vladimir, the pagan Prince of Kiev, sent some missionaries to visit various countries and report back to him about the religions they observed there. They witnessed Muslim and Catholic worship but were not impressed. Then they attended a Greek Orthodox service in Constantinople.
“We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere on earth. We cannot describe it to you: only this we know, that God dwells there among men, and that their service surpasses the worship of all other places. For we cannot forget that beauty.”
Russia thus became fertile soil for missionaries of the Greek Orthodox Church, and missionaries from Russia in turn brought the faith to our country when Alaska was a Russian colony; missionaries from Constantinople also were responsible for spreading Christianity throughout Eastern Europe. Thousands of Orthodox immigrated to the United States in the last century, and today total membership in all of North America is approximately 6 million.
A gradual process of estrangement between the Eastern and Western branches of Christianity resulted in a final break in relations: the Great Schism of 1054. One of the main points of contention was the increasing claims of special authority by the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.
Eastern Orthodoxy is today a family of self-governing churches held together by common doctrine and shared sacraments. The honorary head is the Patriarch of Constantinople, known as the Ecumenical Patriarch, but he has no real power over the independent Orthodox churches in other countries (like Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria).
The Orthodox recognize seven sacraments (Holy Mysteries): Baptism, Chrismation (similar to confirmation but administered immediately after baptism), Holy Eucharist (communion), Penance (confession), Marriage, Holy Unction (anointing for physical healing) and Ordination.
Other characteristics of Orthodoxy are reverence for the Bible (which includes some extra books referred to as the “Apocrypha”), and a belief in the Nicene Creed (a summary of the Christian faith dating from the fourth century).
