Despite the slightly gaudy extravagance; still at the heart of the church lies a peaceful holy sense of God’s presence. Together all these different features, symbolisms and sanctities create the perfect recipe to do justice to the omnipotent God. The Orthodox Church takes the view of dark mysterious atmosphere as being the best tone to worship God.
In contrast to the numerous over-elaborate symbolisms of the inside of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its dark mysterious feeling. The Anglican Church is much more plain; however it doesn’t lose the divine power that both the churches have. Upon entry to an Anglican Church, traditionally a font is found near the door, this symbolizes the entrance into the Church. More recently however, the fonts are often placed in the centre of the church for all to see during a Baptism service. In all Anglican churches however, the layout always places the altar in the center of the sanctuary and is the focus of every Eucharist. Here Holy Communion is taken, where bread is broken and wine poured in remembrance of Christ. Nevertheless, the altar is different even within the Anglican Church. In High Anglican (Anglo-Catholic) Churches the altars are decorated with elaborate cloth, and often have candles and a crucifix. In lower Anglican Churches the altar is increasingly plain and often only has a simple cross on it. As the churches evolve to be more modern and welcoming the altar has been drawn into the centre of the church (this is done in the hopes of helping the priest communicate with the congregation more effectively) with pews circling it. The change in the traditional seating to a circular arrangement also tries to get the congregation to feel more involved.
The lectern is used for reading of the Bible during services. The lecterns are often in shape of an eagle. This is a simple symbol to remind us of Isaiah’s words “those whom wait upon the Lord…Shall mount up with wings as eagles”. The basic Anglican interior allows the congregation to not be distracted by the colors and paintings that typify the Orthodox churches. Some basic worship practices are also different. Anglicans sit down for most of the Eucharist service while Orthodox worshippers often stand throughout the whole service. There is also a distinct lack of the Orthodox Church’s mystery in the Anglican Church.
In conclusion, regardless of the stark contrast between the two churches that trace back to the Great Schism of 1054, the Orthodox and Anglican Churches are special in their own right. Each serve their purpose effectively in providing a fitting place for worshipping God.
AO2- Explain why the worship you have described is important for Christians. In your answer you should explain the reasons for the differences between the denominations that you have highlighted.
Christian values are a lot less influential in the modern era in which we live, but nevertheless still play an important role in the lives of many people all around the world. Many figure heads, leaders of state and average human-beings, place their trust in God to help and guide them to do what is right. The trust that Christians gain in God is through the worship they give him. Whether it is through reading the Bible, praying or attending a Eucharist or Holy Liturgy it is important for the Christian to show his/her love for God.
The Anglican Sunday Services called Eucharists remind us of what God has done for us in our lives. The most important parts of the Christian faith are personified in Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The Holy Communion reminds us of this through the blessed bread and the wine that is taken. The bread symbolizes the body of Christ and the wine symbolizes the blood of Christ. When we take this sacrament of Holy Communion we are sharing a meal together at the altar. This is also intended for us to be drawn together as a community all sharing in God’s grace and power. However, in the Orthodox Church the Holy Liturgy contains the same significance but, is more mysterious. The bread and wine are prepared behind the iconostasis where the congregation cannot see, unlike the Anglican Church where everyone is able to see the consecration of the bread and wine. The dark candlelit atmosphere of the Orthodox Church helps add the mystery behind God. The flame from the candle lets everyone know that he is present, and providing them with the light in a dark world. The contrast in approach to the services is due to the belief that the Orthodox Church wants to represent the distance from God and his mysterious darkness, but also his glory. The Anglican Church wants its people to know that God is near and not as far away as we think. This is the reason that arguably the holiest of the Sacraments, the Holy Communion is done for everyone to see.
The prayer aids such as icons are there to help the members of the Orthodox Church pray to God. Anglicans don’t usually use prayer aids but are still allowed to do so.
Central to all Christian denominations is the cross; it’s a reminder of the salvation that we received. This shown to us through the cross and crucifixion, however the Orthodox have another version of the cross called the Three-Bar-Cross. The Orthodox also use the cross for prayer while the Anglicans use it more as a symbol and reminder of Jesus’ work on earth. Both crosses symbolize the same themes but, nevertheless are part of the varying degrees of differences within the Christian denominations. Similarly as with many parts of the two denominations there are indeed differences in worship styles, aids, and structures used in the services, but all the same provide each worshipper with a platform on which they can build upon to be better Christians. I have highlighted the above features because I believe that this shows there are numerous ways of worshipping God and no way is better than the other, and ultimately it is down to the worshipper’s preference.
AO3- ‘It would be better for Christianity if the money spent on buildings and maintaining special places of worship was spent on alleviating poverty instead.’ Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer showing that you have considered more than one point of view.
The statement is complicated and controversial but in my view there is a middle ground which everyone can agree on.
On one hand the preservation of cathedrals is essential to the remembrance and appreciation for what was achieved before our time, and understanding the origins of our religious roots. Often when one walks into a cathedral there is a plaque stating, “built for the glory of God”. This in essence depicts their belief and devotion to God. They gave all their efforts and resources; remembering that this was hundreds of years ago, it was quite a feat to build a cathedral. These cathedrals are symbols of what man built in thanksgiving to God, and should we not aspire to the same as Christians ourselves? After all, the first commandment is to love God and the construction of majestic churches, costing money and risking lives illustrates how Christians in the past placed such emphasis on worship.
In addition there are already large multilateral institutions, such as the IMF and World Bank, which are spending billions of pounds on alleviating poverty. Many governments, religious organizations and individuals are also giving a lot of money as aid. This raises the question how much all this money really helps the alleviation of poverty in the world. The number of poor in the world changes little. In contrast only a handful of charities donate money for the building and preservation of religious buildings. In other words, far less is spent on church buildings than on the poor.
On the other hand however, bearing in mind Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, shelter and safety are man’s most basic needs and without them one cannot contemplate worshipping in a restored cathedral. Extravagant and expensive religious buildings are simply a luxury and there are indeed many other tribulations, such as poverty that this wasted money can solve. In a modern era where Christianity is secondary to many things, appreciation of historical heritage amongst the youth is almost non-existent and even considered wasteful. Worshipping God can take place in the most humble of places; think back to when the Jews were hiding from the Romans and how they used the most simple of places to praise God. Jesus also says in the gospel of Matthew that to truly worship him you must love your neighbor. Not only is it one of the Ten Commandments but, time and time again repeated throughout the Bible.
I believe that it is both important to maintain and build special places of worship, while at the same time it is also important to think of the poor who find it hard to live day-in day-out. This question suggests one has to make a choice between the two tenets of the Christian faith of loving thy neighbor or worshipping God. At first glance it may seem an impossible decision to make but, in reality it’s a case of finding the right balance. Worshipping does not have to be done in extravagant luxury; because of this minor sacrifice the money saved could then be used for easing poverty.
Bibliography:
Christianity for GCSE
The Bible- New International Version
