The Mass of St. Gregory the Great at St. Patrick's Orthodox Church

The normal Sunday at St. Patrick's begins at 9:00 a.m. with the singing of Matins. The night before, the small (talented and all female) choir sang Vespers while Father heard confessions. At St. Patrick's, we use the "English Office" (aka B.C.P.) hours, even though we use the Gregorian Mass. After Matins the Asperges are prayed in the traditional form. Between Matins and Asperges most of the parishioners have entered the church, venerated the icons kept at the back of the church, and lit a candle. These are eastern practices, but it is virtually impossible to imagine converting to Holy Orthodoxy and not venerating icons. The parishioners stand for both the hours and Mass, sitting only for the Epistle and homily, and kneeling for the Canon of the Mass. You won't find any statues at St. Patrick's, or any kind of modernist Western art for that matter. Ideally we would like traditional pre-schism Western art, but that is hard to find these days! What we do have are hand painted icons of our Lord and his Holy Mother, St. John the Baptist, and St. Patrick Apostle to Ireland. We have a complete set of the festal icons set up around the church in place of the stations of the cross one usually finds in a modern Western church. There is an icon of the crucifixion inside the rood screen which Father hears confessions before. The rood screen is the Western equivalent of the inconostasis found in Eastern churches. In the splendid churches of medieval England you would find iconography on these screens, and hopefully at our permanent home we too will have icons on the screen. Our rood screen bears only a crucifix, and represents traveling through the crucifixion to the Resurrected Lord we find in the Eucharist at the altar beyond the screen. The altar rests beneath a canopy (a bladachinum) which protects the holy table from dust and debris. The sanctuary lamp hangs from the canopy. At the altar we notice first the tabernacle which holds the reserved Body and Blood of our Lord which is mainly used for the sick and infirm. Father will on occasion use hosts from the tabernacle to commune parishioners when he undercounts how many have come to receive. Although we do not practice extra-liturgical Eucharistic adoration at St. Patrick's, we do genuflect when the Blessed Sacrament is present. Our Altar also bears holy relics of a number of saints, including St. Patrick and Pope St. Leo the Great. Six candles also adorn the altar, as well as a crucifix which sits atop the tabernacle. When Father elevates the Body and Blood of our Lord, bells are rung and we kneel in adoration (not in penance.) Those parishioners who have prepared for Communion receive standing at the rood screen with a cloth held under their mouths by servers, just like in Eastern churches. After Mass is complete the Last Gospel is read and the Angelus is prayed at the icon of Our Lady in her honor and that of the incarnation. Then all once again venerate the icons at the back of the church and quietly move to the bookstore/social hall. It is my hope that many who have never been to a Western Orthodox service will read this. There is a great deal of misinformation flying around regarding our worship and it is important that the truth is known. I hope to one day take pictures during one of our liturgies, and perhaps even make a movie.