The Divine Liturgy sung rather than said, icons as windows, and a very old, very patient way of praying.
The Eastern Church, continuous with the first centuries and largely unchanged in shape since. Worship there is not primarily taught — it is entered. Everything is aimed at the senses as much as the mind.
Read the storyA service
People arrive gradually, light candles, and venerate the icons near the door.
Litanies sung back and forth between priest and choir, psalms, epistle, and the Gospel carried out among the people.
The gifts are carried through the church to the altar behind the icon screen.
Bread and wine given together on a spoon, then blessed bread shared with everyone at the end.
The room
A screen of icons standing between the congregation and the altar, with doors in the middle.
Not a barrier but a threshold — the saints painted on it are the ones you're standing with. Things happen behind it because some things are approached rather than watched.
Seen in · Every Orthodox church
Painted images of Christ and the saints, in church and in a corner of the home with a lamp burning before them.
Icons are treated as windows, not decoration. You kiss them the way you'd kiss a photograph of someone you love — the honour passes through to the person.
Seen in · Church and home
A censer swung through the church, beeswax candles lit by hand, and unaccompanied singing.
Smoke rising is prayer rising. There are no instruments because the human voice is thought to be enough.
Seen in · Every service
Words
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Prayed slowly, over and over, often with the breath. The heart of Orthodox personal prayer.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of truth, everywhere present and filling all things, treasury of good things and giver of life: come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Good One.
Language
The Sunday service — the Orthodox equivalent of the Mass.
The icon screen in front of the altar.
'God-bearer' — the usual title for Mary.
The bread offered, and the blessed bread shared at the end with everyone.
Evening and morning services, often sung the night before a feast.
The long spring fast, stricter than in the West.
The year
Deeply seasonal, with four fasting periods a year and feasts that begin the evening before. Easter (Pascha) is the centre of everything, sometimes on a different date from the West.
The colours, the clothing and the furnishings in more detail.
Illustrations are artist's impressions, drawn to show the usual pattern. Every church varies.