Bericht Gottesdienstbesuche
ACCOUNT OF EXPERIENCES – LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS
Assyrian Church in Sabtiyyeh (16.10.2011)
The Beginning
As we were not right on time, we couldn’t experience the very beginning of the service, but during the service I got the impression that the beginning is made up by every single listener by himself. The worshippers were by and by coming or going, whenever they felt right about it. Furthermore I noticed a certain initiating or salutation custom: The arrivers kissed the book in the front of the church and greeted a few participants of the service in the first rows by touching hands and kissing it afterwards.
The Setting
Male and female participants are generally seated separately but exceptions don’t seem to be unusual or whatsoever offending. The same occurs to be valid for veiling the hair.
Overall the proceedings seem to be, at least in parts, very unconventional ˗ rules or rather customs are not obeyed too strictly, some women sit on the men’s side, some do not cover their hairs, mobile phones are used, people are coming and going and nobody is compelled to attend the service completely.
The Clergy’s Conduct
The mass is served by the priest together with the help of three deacons, all quite unobtrusively dressed. I could observe a neat motion sequence coming out like a choreography of actions executed by the priest and his deacons. In some sense these events can be compared to a dance or even a play as the arrangements are very symmetrical and well coordinated. The sermon is held in a free speech, as well as the announcements. Both seem to be quite spontaneous but yet authentic and encouraging, even though I didn’t understand a word.
The Course of Liturgy
The Liturgy contains many sung parts accompanied by only few reading parts (as we were told later one Gospel and one Old Testament reading). Similar to the choreography of the priest and his deacons, the songs contain many repetitions and are therefore easily pursuable.
The Eucharist appears to be the core element of the whole service. In my reception everything seems to culminate in this last incident. The liturgy all around the Eucharist occurs to be familiar to most of the worshippers, so I recognize the “Holy, Holy, Holy” being recited or sung by nearly everyone. Right before the Eucharist the community is symbolically purifying themselves through beckoning the incense over to them. I guess the tradition provides children and women to receive the communion first but as I mentioned earlier these customs are not to be followed too strictly. The communion is shared very hospitably, not only by encouraging us to step forward to receive the sacrament but also by inviting us to respond the choir with German songs. In this way the feeling of real participations was possible to evolve and facilitated a unique experience.
The Congregation’s Participation
The community participates in the service through several rites, customs and exercises, for example kissing the book in the beginning, greeting each other, bowing, kneeing and beckoning the incense. All those who are present figure very concentrated and attentive at least until the sermon has been conveyed.
The Nicene Creed is not joined in by the whole congregation, as it is mandatory to be recited in the Old Syriac language and not known by heart by everyone. The Holy Prayer on the other hand is given voice by everyone. In a way the language sometimes seems to distinguish the very pious, deeply in tradition rooted believers from the rest of the congregation as only few worshipers are able to contribute to the entire liturgy.
Maybe as a peculiarity in their praying custom, I noticed them now and then lowering their heads devotionally.
The Symbolism
The proceedings throughout the service convey the impression of the cross and the Holy Scripture being key elements of the Assyrian faith, since they are repeatedly kissed, visually emphasized and frequently involved in the choreography of worship. Besides that the incense plays an important role within the acting of the priest and his deacons. It creates a solemn atmosphere and guarantees that even the sense of smell is included in the act of worship and prayer.
For several common elements within the Christian service they have their own peculiar, distinct traditions and symbols on their disposal, for example the peace greeting, the consecration of the hosts behind closed fences et cetera. Most of these traditions have no theological foundation, as Father Khamis disclosed to us later, but have evolved out of practical or psychological reasons rooted in everyday spirituality.
Overall Impressions
While collecting all these impressions the service can be portrayed to be quite plain, at least from my point of view, yet still solemn and touching. The lack of icons, pictures or other visual symbols is compensated by the abundance of diverse means of symbolism, as for example the smell of incense, the well-ordered choreography carried out by the priest and his deacons and the contribution of the choir.
During the dialogue with the priest in the aftermath of the service I understood that his conduct as a clergyman is determined by a distinction between the obligation of certain ecclesiastical rules and the policy of everyday life. This principle is reflected in the reasonable usage of or abstaining from the Old Syriac language (as big parts of the service are held in modern Syriac), in the dealing with the prohibitions of images (in everyday life believers are permitted to “use” or rather decorate their environment with icons or images), and finally in the attitude towards the Chaldean Church (their congregation is allowed to use the Assyrian Churchbuilding for their service).
Especially in comparison to the Syrian Bishop Georage Saliba, the Assyrian Priest Father Khamis conveyed the impression of a very affable, wise, good-natured, but yet convinced, encouraged and sincere representative of his church.
He seems to be well disposed to Christian communion ˗ as he states, on the bases of three general common confessions: The doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the incarnation and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
A very significant and remarkable statement, which in my opinion portrays his attitude in the most appropriate manner, shall complete this account:
“Whoever can glorify God, let him!”
Greek-Orthodox Church in Hamra (30.10.2011)
The Beginning
The beginning is marked by the canto of a little choir so to speak, consistent of three male and one female singer gathered around a round desk. While entering the church I was not quite sure if the service had already officially begun or if the Morning Prayer, which is placed right before the official Sunday service, was still in course of action. All the events preceding the solemn entrance of the priest convey the impression of an extended preparation for the Holy service accompanied by a warm-up of the choir with several hymns. The preparations are executed very inwardly and remote in the apse. Most of the time before his official entree the priest is carefully concealing his countenance and the congregation is only permitted to face his back.
The Setting
The congregation is well mixed between male and female believers and the seating plan is not dictating any separation between both genders. As it seems to be usual in the Arabic regions the visitors and participants are appearing and leaving whenever it feels right for them. The Church is sumptuously decorated with icons, chandeliers, paintings on the ceiling et cetera.
The listeners are all decently dressed, albeit not much covered or veiled. Their appearance suggests their ranking among the upper-class population of Beirut. The service is astonishingly well-attended, especially during the period of time beginning with the sermon up until the Eucharist.
The Clergy’s conduct
As I would suggest, the official “plot” begins with the opening procession, when the altar boys and girls carry a big cross and two large candles from the apse to the space in front of the congregation, followed by the priest carrying the Holy Scripture and, as I assume, followed by his deacon. Similarly to the Assyrian custom the priest shows his respect and devotion to the Holy Scripture by kissing the book. The congregation greets and shows respect towards the clergyman by bowing at the very beginning of the procession. The priest as well as his deacon wear green colored, splendid and solemn gowns.
The Course of Liturgy
The liturgy consists to a large part of musical performance. The Epistle and Gospel readings are recited in litanies, as well as the hymns, psalms and other remaining elements of the service, such as prayers, thanksgiving, petitions and so forth. The only spoken parts are the commonly recited Holy Prayer, the (Nicene) Creed, the sermon conveyed by the priest, the words of institution and a longer passage, which I could not identify, right before the second procession through the entire church building with the consecrated elements of the Eucharist. This second procession is again headed by the altar boys and girls carrying candles and the cross and followed by the priest and his deacon carrying the elements of the Holy Communion. During the procession, which is leading throughout the rows of the church, another peculiar custom is to be observed: The worshippers reach for the elements of the Eucharist, symbolically kissing their hands afterwards.
The offertory is requested before the distribution of the Holy Communion.
The elements of the Holy Communion are kept in a golden tabernacle placed on top of the altar. For the performance of the Eucharist there seems to be no special order. Everybody who is allowed to receive it queues up in front of the altar, men as well as women and young children. Additional to the consecrated bread and wine the worshippers receive Antidoron, as a sort of agape, which is also provided for the non-orthodox visitors. My neighbor delivered some of the unconsecrated bread to me so that there was at least a bit of a communal feeling, though I wasn’t allowed to participate in the Holy Communion itself. More than few participants left immediately after receiving the Eucharist, as it seems to be one of the core components for this Greek-Orthodox service and therefore marks a common ground for all Christian denominations I encountered so far.
The Congregation’s Participation
The first impression concerning the role of the congregation, which I experienced in this Greek-Orthodox service, is determined by a large variety of diverse personal habits, customs and peculiarity of the various worshippers. A very common way of expressing attendance, which is carried out by almost everyone, is the frequently executed sign of the cross. Unfortunately I didn’t manage to determine any certain cues which would initiate this symbolic exercise. Maybe it is only an expression of the prevailing, devotional mood in a particular moment.
Similar to this very individual conduct, the conduct of standing up and sitting down does not suggest a specific, fixed arrangement. It rather seems to be up to everybody’s personal decision and based on individual feelings and preferences. Besides symbolically making the sign of the cross I observed diverse postures for praying, as for example kneeing, bowing, opening the hands up to the sky, symbolically washing hands and face, reaching to the ground et cetera. The same loose concept of participation is reflected in the differing ability of the worshippers to join in the litanies. Only few appear to have learned them by heart, although there shouldn’t be any language obstacle for them as the liturgical elements are entirely translated in Arabic language.
Overall impressions
It might sound odd, but especially in this seemingly well-educated, wealthy and decent congregation I noticed a certain eager and endeavor, maybe even a kind of competition in behaving ὀρθός, showing off how truly attached they are to God. Any bad-mannered or indecent behavior, as for example a ringing mobile or a yelling baby, is countered with a despising glance at the “guilty” one, which reminded me of a certain manner in old-fashioned, traditional services back in Germany. Moreover I had the feeling – and it might occur all too presumptuous - that people are competing in standing up as the first one, making the sign of the cross most frequently and thereby being concerned with looking most pious and devoting. As it is depicted even in the briefest introductions to the Orthodox churches, the belief does not only consist of the right δοκεω, meaning the right opinion or the inheritance of the right doctrinal belief, but also of the right δοξαζω, meaning the correct and true worship and glorification of God. In my point of view this approach is on the one hand depicted by the very solemn and majestic liturgical conduct of the clergy with all their appearance and gesture, with the festive hymns and with the very ceremonial processions accompanied by the distribution of incense and on the other hand by the habits of the congregation, whispering devoutly their prayers, performing diverse praying rites and postures, even by a certain facial expression. To summarize my impressions in this case I would rather speak about a very individual, private, serene and introverted spirituality than about a communicative, commonly shared worship time.
As there was no revealing dialogue with the Church’s representatives in the aftermath of the service a few questions and uncertainties remain: Is there no reading from the Old Testament? Does the liturgy contain no announcements in the end? What was the long spoken part right before the distribution of the Holy Communion? For which region is this perish responsible, how come this is such a large congregation? Is there any fixed order concerning the congregation’s response and participation, which for example decides on the right moments to stand up and sit down? How important are these rules? What does the symbolic touching of the ground resemble?
Maronite Church in Qadisha Valley /Mar Antonius Monastry (13.11.2011)
The Beginning
The service is initiated by the priest and his welcoming words in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The perish answers with the sign of the cross. Even if it is no more than 7:30 in the morning in a rather remote location, the church is very well-attended by a diverse audience, containing monks as well as layman, old pious believers as well as young worshippers, tourists as well as locals.
After the welcoming part carried out by the priest, the female precantor begins with the first worship songs, in which the congregation immediately joins.
As I recognized most of the participants of the service make a courtesy or bow down towards the icon of Saint Maroun (at least I assume the icon depicting St. Maroun and not St. Antonius) as they enter the church. Some additionally use the holy water to purify themselves.
The Setting
In the church there is no seating chart. Women and men are sitting mixed up in the rows. Except for the precantor no woman wears a veil to cover her hair.
What immediately attracts my attention in the church is the extensive icon of St. Maroun at the spot, where I would normally expect a cross. A crucifix is only to be found at the altar and merely occupies the size of a hand. This is quite unfamiliar and even a bit odd in my perception, since I usually focus my eyes at the cross above the altar while praying. With this large icon replacing the cross I almost get the feeling of worshipping a person, which is completely foreign and unimportant to me.
Furthermore the ostentatiously used memorial candles lead me to the impression, that the popular Maronite belief is in some sense connected to a cult of martyrdom similar to traditions in Coptic spirituality, but the reasons for the frequent usage of these candles may also be of a merely practical nature.
The Clergy’s Conduct
The Priest wears a very solemn and precious white gown with a red scarf. He is assisted by a monk, resembling the deacon but he can also count on the extended participation of the parish in the liturgy. The priest seems to be very experienced and proficient in his conduct. He performs all the mandatory actions in a very solemn and serene mode. Furthermore he occurs to be acquainted to the visit of foreigners and tourists, as he spontaneously explained the theme of today’s Gospel reading in English language. As an “instrument” of blessing and consecration he carries a cross in his hands, which he solely discards during readings at the pulpit. He is using several signs of worshipping and glorifying God, for example by opening his hands towards heaven, kissing the altar during the consecration of the elements of the Holy Communion or kneeing down in front of the altar. Furthermore he touched the heads of his assistants with the Holy Scripture after the readings, regardless whether clergy- or layman.
In the Holy Communion he follows different customs than I am used to: He eats the host all by himself before distributing and sharing it with the congregation and he finishes the cup of wine after the Eucharist.
The Course of Liturgy
The Course of Liturgy again was very familiar to me. Although I did not understand everything I could easily follow the four parts including readings and prayers (1) at the beginning, followed by the Pre-Anaphora (2) containing the creed, transfer of the offerings and incensation, making a way for the Anaphora (3) including the Eucharist Prayer, the commemoration and the consecration of the elements and finally concluding with the Holy Communion (4) as the climax of a Eucharist service.
I could identify the Old Testament-reading as a passage in Genesis dealing with Abraham and Sarah and later on with Esau and Jacob.
The Gospel reading is again initiated by the procession of the Gospel with incense, similar to what I already experienced in the Assyrian and the Greek-Orthodox Sunday service. As we were told, the Gospel reading contained the story of the birth of John, which marks the beginning of Advent season in the Maronite Church. The approximately 10 minutes lasting sermon dealt with the same subject and was probably written in advance and not held spontaneously. This fitted to the overall picture of a fixed and well-ordered course of liturgy, in which everybody could find his precise role of participation.
It is also notable that this parish collects no offertory at the end of the service.
The Congregation’s Participation
The liturgy is ruled by a responsive structure. The spoken parts in the liturgy covering readings, several prayers and the sermon are actually more frequent than for example in the Assyrian or Greek-Orthodox service, but at the same time the congregation participates to a greater extent by answering to the priestly parts with songs and confessions. Everybody seemed to know his part very well so that there was no hymnbook or anything similar required. Since most of the liturgical parts are rather in Arabic than in the old Syriac language most of the worshippers are able to follow and participate in the liturgy throughout the whole service. The responsive structure guarantees that everybody, especially the laity, is completely involved in the worship. This perish-orientated attitude is also reflected by the engagement of a young girl carrying out one of the readings.
With the transmission of peace by covering the neighbor’s hands I am already familiar, since the Assyrian worshippers inherit the same custom. Besides that I could also observe the reaching for the ground, which I had encountered in the Greek-Orthodox church. As far as I experienced by now, a common gesture for the oriental Church practice is furthermore the opening of hands towards the sky during the creed.
Throughout the preparation for the Holy Communion some worshippers were kneeing down at the footstool, similar to the Catholic praxis during their Holy Mass. The vicinity to the customs of the Roman Church could also be acknowledged by the usage of hosts for the Holy Communion instead of real bread.
Overall Impressions
At long last three impressions remained in my mind after experiencing a Maronite Service: First of all I acknowledged the feeling of familiarity and foreignness at the same time. On the one hand I could easily follow the course of liturgy as it was familiar and comprehensible for me. Furthermore I could observe several customs and symbolic performances, which I know from the Catholic mass, as for example the kneeing or the usage of a host for the Holy Communion. On the other hand I reencountered several customs characteristic for the Churches of the Eastern Syriac rite, for example the procession of the Gospel, the transmission of peace with covering each other’s hands or the reaching to the ground.
Secondly I was astonished by the participation of the worshippers and their involvement in the liturgy. No handouts or hymnal books are required. Confessions, prayers and songs are known by heart, clergy and laity seems to cooperate perfectly during the service.
As a third point I was very pleased by the feeling of being welcomed and invited by the priest, his assistants and the congregation. This feeling occurred not merely because we were able to join at least in one song (the Qadishat aloho-o), but moreover because we were invited to take part in the Eucharist. The impression of communion beyond the boundaries of Christian denominations was again revealed to me, as it had already been in the Assyrian Church, yet not so much in the Greek-Orthodox Service.