Really Officially Official

We are officially members of the Orthodox Church. This is a little strange for us, as our identity, until recently, has always laid (lain? I don't know and don't care to research it.) within the bounds of the Nazarene Church. I was a pastor's kid, a 5th-generation Nazarene, and Stephen has a similar, far-reaching heritage. So our decision, prompted of course by God's leading, has been a little hard, a little strange, and more than a little surreal.

On Sunday, after wrangling children through the entire liturgy as well as a memorial service, we stood before the priest, our backs to the entire congregation, with our friends Mike and Priscilla, whom we had asked to be the kids' godparents. (Being a godparent is an important role for Orthodox; they act as spiritual mentors for their godchildren.) We and the entire congregation recited the Lord's Prayer, and the seven of us also read the Nicene Creed together. Since all five Cases have already been baptized, we only needed to be anointed to complete the transition. This is called "Chrismation" (or confirmation), and it is recognized as a sacrament within the Orthodox Church. It represents the coming down of the Holy Spirit on the participant, and our priest used oil to anoint eyes, mouth, nostrils, ears (or at least a close approximation of those) and hands to represent the seal of the Holy Spirit. Priscilla and Mike had bought Baylor, Jack, and Charlotte each their own cross necklace because it is traditional for Orthodox to wear them as a reminder of Christ's sacrifice.

The symbolism within the Orthodox Church is rich, vast, and centuries-old. Everything that is done and said has ties to the earliest days of the Church and even to the Old Testament. This very much fits into Stephen's and my world view, being the old souls that we are, and we love researching and learning about the various symbols and reasons behind practices. If something is done in the Orthodox Church, you can bet it's not "just because"; there is a solid, backed-up reason behind it. Sometimes the reason falls under Church tradition, but more often than not there is actual biblical basis for a practice.

The cross necklaces were fortunate, as until this point Charlotte had been screaming her head off up front. The combination of a delayed nap, someone besides Mom trying to hold her (poor Priscilla), and the priest rubbing oil on her face sent her over the edge, and the congregation got in a few chuckles as they witnessed Charlotte's famous Slowly-Crumbling-and-Taking-Several-Seconds-to-Actually-Dissolve-Into-Tears Maneuver. It's a sight to witness, I assure you. I told a friend who was there that it's a good thing she was wearing a flouncy white dress and her big red hair bow, or they wouldn't have thought she was nearly so cute. Anyway, the necklace provided the necessary distraction for us to get through the ceremony without any more tears, and then it was over. And we were Orthodox.

Stephen pointed out that it's especially fitting that we were confirmed now, as next Sunday is the feast of Pentecost, which, as you may know, is when the Holy Spirit came down on the disciples. Perhaps our crafty priest planned it that way. Hmmm. In any case, next week we can take communion as Orthodox in the Orthodox Church for the first time. We're thrilled.

One wonderful thing about this past Sunday is that my parents, my sister, her husband, and two of our friends, as well as our friends within the congregation, were able to be there and witness what was their first Orthodox service for many of them. We were so happy to have people we love there with us to share in our transition. And Priscilla (who I hope doesn't mind I share this--if you do, P, let me know and I'll delete this) wrote me a lovely email yesterday and shared something that just made my day:

"...it felt as though the church was filled to the point of overflowing yesterday as the faithful watched and participated in that ancient and solemn and joyous rite.  I know I may easily be accused of having an overactive imagination (or worse yet, schizoidal delusions) but it felt as though the saints were among us, stepping down from the iconastasis.  It felt as though the Holy Spirit was surrounding your family and lifting you up.  I could imagine the Mother of God smiling at you - a smile filled with love and compassion and, yes, even a little humor."

Isn't that lovely? We are so fortunate to have the saints with us, those seen and unseen, and we are so fortunate to be Orthodox.