A glimpse of beauty
"Orthodox, inspired by a vision of 'heaven on earth,' have striven to make their worship in outward splendor and beauty an icon of the great Liturgy in heaven.
At every Liturgy, as at every Matins and Vespers, incense is used and the service is sung, even though there may be no choir or congregation, but just the priest and a single reader. Every service is served as if all of the One Church is present, both the visible and the invisible.
In Orthodox worship, people come and go freely, and nobody is surprised if one moves about during the service, arrives late, or does not stay to the end. The absence of pews, at most churches, adds to the feeling of being at home when at church, or like children in their Father's house, and not patrons at the opera.
The same informality and freedom is in the behavior of the clergy. Ceremonial movements are not so minutely prescribed as in the west, priestly gestures are less stylized and more natural.
This informality can lead to irreverence at times, but it is this precious quality which allow the Orthodox to “glimpse the beauty.”
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