One of my cousins married an Evangelical pastor from a charismatic denomination. Over the holidays, we found ourselves at the same family party. As usual, we spent our time discussing Theology and Church History. During our chat, he repeated a sort of "accusation" against the Church I have been recently hearing quite a bit from Evangelicals. He said (somewhat paraphrased), "The Orthodox Church can't be the original Church because you gotta have all those fancy buildings just to worship God. The Early Church met in houses and catacombs. The first Christians worshipped simply. No one needs all that."
Obviously my cousin-in-law skipped a lot of important details about the Early Church. For example, Christian houses used for worship usually had a room reserved for that purpose. The catacombs show early iconography. There were limits to what could be done because of periodic persecutions, but as soon as Christianity was legalized, Christians quickly began building the most beautiful temples the local Christians could afford. Man was created by God with a need for physical beauty, hence the elaborate design of the First and Second Hebrew Temples in Jerusalem.
But does the practice of Orthodox Christianity require "fancy" buildings? Because if so, then my cousin-in-law might have actually had a valid point. Fortunately, as we shall see, he couldn't have been more wrong. Orthodox Christians can, and do, worship practically everywhere, not just in elaborate buildings. Let's look at some examples.
Throughout the world, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Divine Liturgy in rented rooms with posters of icons on easels and a simple table for an altar. More than one mission priest has recounted starting a new mission with practically nothing but a Gospel book.
Orthodox Christians celebrate the Divine Liturgy in little storefront spaces laid out, decorated, and lovingly maintained by the local parishioners themselves to the Glory of God.
In poorer, more remote areas of the world, Orthodox Christians celebrate Divine Liturgy in huts and barns.
Under persecution, Orthodox Christians have celebrated the Divine Liturgy in labor camps, in prison cells, in caves, and basements. In Ukraine, the Ukrainian Government has been seizing Orthodox temples, leaving Orthodox congregations homeless. The Orthodox have, out of necessity, begun having liturgies in the woods, in the streets, in cemeteries. You can seize a building, but you can never defeat the Faith of Jesus Christ.
The Church is the people of God, not a building.
One Orthodox priest wrote that under communism, he would celebrate the Divine Liturgy sitting around a kitchen table. Any nosy neighbors looking in the windows would just see people having a nice chat. Nothing illegal about that, even under the most repressive communist regimes. The inventiveness of the Church in finding ways to worship God, under even the most trying conditions, is truly amazing.
The Orthodox Church is the Early Church. She is the Church of the Martyrs. Not just martyrs in the 3rd Century, but martyrs who are suffering right this moment in Ukraine, Africa, the Middle East, and many other places. Even if their temples are destroyed as in Gaza, or seized as in Ukraine, Orthodox Christians will continue to worship God amid the ruins or in the nearest field. It is absolutely essential that the Divine Liturgy continue. Not only for the benefit of the souls of the Orthodox Christians, but also because the life of the world literally depends on it:
New Martyr Seraphim Zvezdenski in one of his sermons on the Divine Liturgy reminds us that the world exists, the soil produces her fruits, etc., precisely so the Bloodless Sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist may continue to be offered; when it is no longer offered, the world will come to an end. Thus, the Divine Liturgy literally keeps life in continuance upon the earth.
I am not, by the way, dismissing the importance of beautiful worship spaces. Regardless of the poverty of their circumstances, Orthodox Christians everywhere always try to make their worship spaces look the best they can. God honors their efforts, no matter how humble. Where possible, Orthodox Christians should make the commitment, often stretching over more than one generation, to erect inspiring temples to the Glory of God and to the benefit of Faithful. Among those who call themselves Christian in this world, we Orthodox are almost alone in our dedication to preserving Christian aesthetics.
For many potential Orthodox Christians, the physical beauty of Orthodoxy (even in humble, local parish temples) is extremely important. But other potential converts, particularly from Evangelical backgrounds, frequently misunderstand our dedication to glorifying God in physical structures as being, somehow, superficial. As not being in keeping with the Early Church. As being indicative of a Christian Faith that is material and lacking in spiritual depth.
We sometimes reinforce these mistaken impressions by being too quick to immediately defend our gorgeous temples, while not being clear enough that Orthodox Christianity is for everyone, everywhere, and at all times - for the life of the world. Let us never apologize for the beauty of our magnificent temples. But let us also not make them a stumbling block to those who have been fed nothing but lies about Christ's Church. Whether the Orthodox are gathered in a gorgeous cathedral or a snow-covered field, the Holy Spirit is the same. Christ is the same. God is the same. The Orthodox Faith is the same. Amen.
Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America
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