Greek Orthodox Practices

[Nektarios14]

OOD,

I think I am in somewhat of an oasis for the GOA as we have vespers about 90% of Saturday and Orthros every Sunday morning. My priests urges frequent confession and communion - although he does not rigidily demand confession before every communion. He recomends once a month for most people, but more or less frequent depending on a person's spiritual state. Also only an hours drive away is the monastery... Attendance at vespers though is low, but Father keeps trying to get people to go. Alas there have been weeks when it was just Father and I at vespers

I had a discussion with monk about the topic of cutting out parts of the liturgy. He told me the Litany of the Catechumens was made a silent prayer of the priest back in Greece because there simply were no catechumens in Greece. Obviously in America where there is a plethora of catechumens it is ridiculous to leave it out! He did say when this happened in Greece, but he did say that it orginated there before spreading to the GOA.

I'm curious if the other things I mentioned (censing during the epistle, reading the beatittudes ) are done are your church - if it is just a difference in Greek practice from Slavic or if it is more GOA style shortcuts.

[Logos]

I have heard the same things about Greeks just not showing up to Vespers. At times, the GOA seems to be very modernist. Although there are GOA parishes out there that do have Vespers and confession.

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

Nektarios,

We read the beatitudes, but as far as censing during the Epistle reading, do you mean actually during, or after?

[Nektarios14]

I mean right during the middle of the epistle - but very carefully as to make almost no noise. I have seen a Serbian priest do this and the priests at Saint Anthony's do this. One of the readers at my parish told me it was a Slavic/Greek Monastic practice.

[Savva24]

I think that most of the world's Orthodox jurisdictions don't call for confession as a kind of requirement before communion. I think this may be almost unique to ROCOR practice.

The Japanese Church does.

Nichoals

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

Nicholas,

I somehow missed your post, just so you don't think I was ignoring you.

================

Nekarios,

Our priest quietly censes immediatly after the Epistle reading - for some reason I don't recall if this is common among the new-calendarists.

Another difference between Greek practice and Russian practice is the Little Entrance and the Great Entrance. As everyone knows, this symbolizes Christ's entrance and preaching in the world (little entrance) and Christ's final walk to Golgotha (great enrance).

In the Greek practice, the priest walks out the North door and goes all the way to the rear of the Church, then returns down the center. On days other then Sunday and between Pascha and Pentecost, everyone drops and maintains a position on the floor with their foreheads touching the floor. As the priest (who represents Jesus) passes by, people grab his vestments, and or kiss his vestments, which symbolize Christs robes and the passage where the crowds were "pressing" against Jesus, yet one person reached out and touched Him, and He said, who touched me? MANY PEOPLE were touching Him, yet one person touched Him with FAITH!

The Russians, as far as I know, walk out the North door and immediatly turns and goes before the Royal Doors, missing the chance for any of this to happen.

[Nektarios14]

Intersting...my priest at the GOA church I attend does the small entrance the Russian way. But this could also be because my priest isn't Greek and spent a number of years in very Slavic Alaska - I don't know how the other GOA churches here are. At Saint Anthony's there is also no touching of the priest's vestments. The one place I have seen that is an Antiochian Church though (the one time I left my little traditional section of the GOA).