New to Orthodoxy

What does it mean to go to an Orthodox church?

It means coming to worship God — not to watch a performance. You are stepping into the Divine Liturgy, the Church’s ancient and continuous worship, and you are welcome here as a guest and as ‘ohana.

For nearly 2,000 years, Orthodox Christians have gathered for the same pattern of worship: Scripture read and sung, prayer offered together, chant, incense rising, and icons all around — the saints who have gone before us. It can feel unfamiliar at first, and that’s okay. You don’t need to understand everything on your first visit. You are invited to be present, to listen, and to let the worship carry you.

This is what we mean at St. Mark by Encounter the Transcendent — in the Liturgy, heaven and earth meet. Worship isn’t centered on us, our preferences, or a stage. Our eyes are lifted to God — holy and present with us — and we leave changed by being in His presence.

Come as you are. Stand or sit as you are able. Follow along in the service book or screens if you’d like, or simply be still and take it in. No one will single you out. Stay as long as you wish — and stay after for coffee hour. That fellowship time is part of who we are.

A gentle note about Holy Communion: in the Orthodox Church, Holy Communion is for Orthodox Christians who have prepared through baptism in the Orthodox church, prayer, fasting, and recent confession. If that isn’t you yet, you are still fully welcome to worship with us, to receive the fellowship and the blessed bread shared after Liturgy, and to stay for coffee and conversation. Please don’t let this keep you away — come and see first.

And Orthodoxy is more than a Sunday visit. It is a way of life — daily prayer, fasting through the seasons of the Church year, repentance and forgiveness, and love of neighbor lived out day by day. A first visit is simply the doorway. Walk through it at your own pace; there is no rush and no pressure.