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Just Another Jim
writes about
Eastern Orthodoxy


Essays on Eastern Orthodoxy

Brenda and I became Orthodox in November 2005. We began attending St. Thomas Antiochian Orthodox Church for Lent and Easter (or Pascha, as it is known in the Orthodox Church) in 2005. We have been floating aound the edges of Orthodoxy since the 1980s and except for a few months back in the early 80s, this was our first real immersion into Orthodox worship and life. The following essays come from that context and are mostly on Eastern Orthodox worship. The first is about the regular Sunday morning worship service, called “The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.” It is prayed on most Sundays. The next several essays are about worship services that are specific to the Lenten season. Beginning with the essay on Mary, the move away from a primary focus on the worhip service and begin to explore other topics related to Orthdox prayer and practice.

I also want to make clear that these essays are from the perspective of a Protestant who is peeking in the door (and the later essays from the perspective of a recent convert). I do not know whether these are accurate representations of Orthodox theology and practice. The purpose of these essays is not to “exegete” the Orthodox liturgical life but rather to record early impressions of it.