Divine Liturgy in Saint Petersburg
How are Russian churches different than western churches? How are they similar? What is religious life in Russia like, generally speaking?
For most Russians, faith is a cultural thing. The majority of locals I’ve talked to about the topic say they have been baptized but don’t actively go to church, except maybe on Easter. However, the bible and Eastern Orthodoxy weave themselves into every aspect of Russian society, from Russian literature, moral attitudes, family values, film, art, to modern Russian language, and many faithful modern Russians still actively participate in church, carrying on the spirit of ancient Russian faith traditions to the present day.
Where are the pews?
The first question one may ask when attending an Orthodox service is: where are the pews? The truth is, there are no pews. Of course, if you’re unable to stand during the entirety of the service, chairs are placed in the back of the sanctuary on which to sit. I learned that one of the reasons there are no pews is there are times during the service where worshipers bow down to the floor, and pews aren’t exactly conducive to this.
Music and dress
The other thing that is unique to Russian Orthodox liturgy is almost the entirety of the service is sung. The choir sings from the balcony. The priests and deacons sing. The Scripture reading is sung rather than read. The congregants sing. All is done without any instrumental accompaniment.
Parishioners don’t dress as fancy as you might expect, considering the opulence of the cathedral interior and clerical vestments. Most men where jeans and women where dresses or jeans. Youth wear clothes they would normally wear to school. Most women cover wear head coverings, but not all congregations require this.
Language
Most of the text used for the liturgy is not in modern Russian but in Church Slavonic. If you look at the Lord’s Prayer for instance, in modern Russian “our Father” would be “Отец наш” but the Church Slavonic version is “Отче наш.”
There are no hymnals and no bulletins. The congregants know everything by heart. A moment occurred during the service where the congregation sung the apostle’s creed from memory.
One of the priests delivers a five-or-so-minute homily in modern Russian. There is a time for greeting your neighbor, but don’t worry about what to say. Here’s the secret code. When you hear «Христос среди нас!» You will answer «и так и будет!»
Communion and blessing
The Eucharist is to be taken by Orthodox believers only. In Russian, the Eucharist is called «причастие» or “the sacrament.” The Eucharistic is central to every Orthodox service, given by the priests to the congregation.
At the end of the service, there was a time for blessing of male children where the priest carries the baby behind the alter, and then returns him to his family as a symbol of acceptance into the family of believers. At this point, a little boy, probably one year old, waited for his turn to be blessed but was crying uncontrollably. As soon as the priest took him and carried him behind the alter, he instantly calmed down. Everyone witnessing it could barely believe their eyes!
Concluding thoughts
Overall, Russian orthodox services are more experiential than intellectual. The connection with history and tradition is apparent in every aspect of the service. The Divine Orthodox Liturgy places emphasis on experiencing the presence of the Divine with all the senses.
