The Greek Orthodox Church

 On August 21, 2013, I had the good fortune of visiting a Greek Orthodox Church in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to learn about the history of this church.  One of the elders from the Lake Superior Elders gave a presentation at this church.  There are so many things to report; however, let’s start with the building sites for this church.  The church was located at two other locations until a church could be constructed at the current site.  Some time ago there was a fire in the church and the entire church did not burn to the ground; however, with insurance money and the help of the parishioners, it was rebuilt.  At one point in time, there was a fulltime priest who held services weekly.  Today, a service is held once a month on a Saturday and the priest travels from Traverse City, Michigan to officiate the service. The church is located at 511 Court St. in Sault Ste. Marie and the next service is being held on Sept. 14, 2013.

The Eastern Orthodox Church was founded in Jerusalem, Antioch, Cyprus, and Greece and arrived in North America through Alaska and Florida.  In 1794 Russian Orthodox missionaries created a mission on Kodiak Island off the coast of Alaska.  When the United States purchased the territory of Alaska the missionaries spread their Christian efforts south of San Francisco.  Although the first colony of Eastern Orthodox Christians settled in New Smyrna, Florida, in 1768, the history of the Orthodox church begins in Florida.

According to a brochure I picked up at the church, the interior of the church is designed to reach out to the parishioners to entice them to preach the Gospel through the architecture and icons.  The walls and windows of the church I visited were lined with icons.  Part of the purpose of these icons I was told when I visited a church in France were put into place because many of the parishioners could not read so the icons were designed to tell them the messages the church wants to portray.  The icons serve as sermons in the form of color.  They are used for inspiration and instruction, which the Eastern Orthodox Church is known to conduct two sermons: one written and the other visual. 

The vestibule symbolizes the world in which people need to be called for repentance.   Passing through the narthex in the vestibule represents the parishioner’s entrance into the kingdom of heaven. The ceiling of the church epitomizes the heavens well the floor is a symbol of this world.  The alter is uplifted from the floor by a series of steps and suspended to serve as a vehicle between heaven and earth which serves as an indication that parishioners can be lifted up to the heavens through the teachings of the Gospel and the Sacraments.  There were two large candlelabras at the front of the church which represented the time God guided the Jews at night to the promise land.  The candlelabras are in place to remind the parishioners that they can be led to the promise land.  The Tabernacle is kept on the center of the holy altar.  In the Old Testament the tablets in which God had written the Ten Commandments were kept in the tabernacle. 

When reading another brochure about the Eastern Orthodox Church, I learned that the Eastern Orthodox Church is considered a Catholic Church which means wholeness of the faith of Christ through centuries without adding or subtracting from what is considered the divinely revealed faith.  The word Catholic cannot be confused with Roman Catholic.  The two churches separated in 1054 A.D. because of too much authority of the pope.  Don’t be confused when reading this blog.  The Greek Orthodox Church is derived from the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

The presenter stated that his family and other Greek families in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan needed a place to take care of their religious needs such as baptisms, worship and death services.  He was happy that this church existed to take care of these needs.  The church attendance has decreased considerably since he began attending some time ago.  I wonder if other churches are dealing with the same problem.