St. George Greek Orthodox Church

† † † † † † † † † † Home of the Annual Grecian Festival - St. George Greek Orthodox Church is one of the few Eastern Orthodox Catholic churches in New Mexico.

Between the fourth and tenth centuries, the Greek Orthodox Church separated from the Roman Church to follow the Byzantine Rite. The church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission with two great sources of authority:

HOLY SCRIPTURE AND HOLY TRADITION
They follow holy Sacraments, which they believe are "the visible means by which they believe are imparted the invisible Grace of the Holy Spirit:"

                                   Obligatory:

1.      Baptism
2.      Chrismation (anointment with holy oil)
3.      Confession
4.      Holy Communion
Optional:
1.      Matrimony
2.      Holy Orders (Ordination)
                                   3.      Unction (anointment of the sick) (GOARCH)

The Greek Orthodox Church traditions and ceremonies are far more expansive than I can detail here. Their ceremonies are rich in culture and history and their goal is to, "achieve union with Jesus Christ and unity with each other through the Sacrament of Holy Communion." 

Prior to attending the service, I acquainted myself with the ceremonious services by visiting the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America's site. It explained the different services and even provided the words and prayers that would be used.

Sunday services include:
Orthros at 8:15 am
Divine Liturgy at 9:30 am

I attended the Divine Liturgy service. They perform the same liturgy service that has been used since the beginning of the Orthodox Church. When I first arrived, a small group was still leading the Orthros Chant. The transition from Orthros was without interruption. They had a Divine Liturgy book that provided the words to the service. The service was largely conducted in English but some parts were in Greek and the Lord's prayer was additionally done in Slavonic. I cannot say that I did not get lost a few times, so I was happy to have the guide.  

Father Conan Gill & Deacon George Collaros conducted the service. 

The service is very formal but the feeling of the church is comfortably casual. It is a welcomed diverse congregation, I heard several different languages being spoken by the members. The sanctuary is amazingly, beautiful filled with ornate fixtures and vibrant portraits. 

Most of the service was chanted except the sermon. In his sermon, Father Conan made parallels of the massacre at Sandy Hook to the massacre of children in Matthew 2:18 and predicted in Jeremiah 31:15. He spoke of the archetype of the mourning mother Rachel. He assured his congregants that doubting faith or the faith of God during the quake of such tragedies was not bad. In fact, this is "what lead us to wonder and awe." We may not know what work God is doing during these tragedies, but we can be assured that:

"Even in the darkest moment, when it seems that God is not around - 
                        He is doing his greatest work"   ~ Fr. Conan 

After the sermon, more people entered the church, many of them with children. Holy Communion was then given and was only for those who have been baptized and chrismated in the Orthodox church. After the completion of the service, there was fellowship in the building adjacent to the church. 

It was very interesting to see an Orthodox service being conducted, I felt almost transformed in time. 

THANK YOU St. George for letting me experience an Orthodox worship service.