An Inkling
Traffic was thick at the
corner of Malvern and Grove this past weekend.
It was the annual Greek festival at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, and
thousands came. Since we live nearby,
Sarah and I walked over to join in.
What fun! It’s no wonder that this annual festival has
become a Richmond event not to be missed.
The “Greeks” serve up marvelous Mediterranean cuisine, and sell their
arts and handicrafts. Troupes of various
ages deck themselves in traditional Greek outfits, and proudly exhibit their
culture’s music and dances.
For those with an observant
eye, the festivities themselves point to a common life our Greek friends have
in Christ. But to make the center of
their life more apparent, they also offer a tour of their sanctuary, which
Sarah and I took. If you’ve not been to
an Orthodox sanctuary, I recommend it.
It’s not just a meeting place; it’s an architectural creed, a
right-brained confession. And the
cathedral on Malvern is a particularly lovely expression.
Our tour guide was a laywoman
who clearly loves the Lord, and delights in the particulars of Orthodox
worship. She explained the candles and
icons in the narthex, and how they use these aids to prepare themselves to
enter a holy place to worship. She
explained the iconostasis (the front wall with all of the icons, shown in the
attached snapshot I took), and the sanctuary behind it, where only the priests
may go. She also showed us the large
baptismal font where they dunk their babies!
To Protestant ears it was a different sort of testimony, but clearly a
testimony to the same One we honor a few blocks west on Grove at St. Giles.
We Presbyterians have our own
strong suits, and our own ways of demonstrating the life we have together in
Christ. But our Orthodox friends serve
as good tutors in what it means to combine fun, fellowship, and
proclamation. May we learn and do likewise!
And may God bless the
Orthodox!
Keith
