FAQs
FAQs
All visitors are welcome!
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions we encounter when visitors come for the first time to an Orthodox Church, or contact us about attending a service:
Only baptized, Orthodox Christians who have recently made a confession are able to receive the Eucharist in the Orthodox Church. Even baptized Orthodox can not always participate. In addition to a required confession, there are special prayer & fasting rules that must be observed. Speak with the priest if you have questions about your eligibility prior to the service. Those who are not recognized by the priest will be given a blessing but turned away from the Chalice.
Confession should have been to the local priest who is conducting the service that day or to a priest he and our bishop have designated to receive confessions, and should have been made within the past 14 days.
If you are Orthodox and regularly confessing to your own spiritual father, Ask your priest if you would like to request an exception be made and he may consider it. Please be understanding if he does not honor your request.
We consider the Eucharist to be the literal Body and Blood of Christ, and also a symbol of unity, oneness of mind and doctrine between Orthodox Christians.
Our order of participation aligns with ancient Cherokee tradition.
Therefore, the Eucharist is served in order of age, with the eligible men served first, women next, and mothers with children under seven following. Servers in the liturgy (such as choir, chanters, altar boys, deacons, etc.) will be served last of all.
Those who participate in the Eucharist may not leave the service until the conclusion of the post communion prayers.
Orthodox tradition allows for the Eucharist to be served either early in the service or near the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy. Our tradition is that the homily (aka Sermon) will follow the gospel reading and that the Eucharist will be served near the conclusion of the service. Those who do not participate in Eucharist may leave after the blessing but those who do participate are required to remain quietly until the conclusion of the communion prayers of thanksgiving.
Participants in Eucharist must also not arrive late to the service. If you are not on time, you are not allowed to participate in the Eucharist. Speak to the Priest prior to the service if you have extenuating circumstances to see what accomodations can be made for you. You are considered late if you arrive after the pronouncement before the first litany aka the Great Litany of Peace:
ᎠᏥᎸ-ᎨᎶᎸᎯ Ꭷ! Ᏹ--Ꮀ--Ꮹ--! ᎣᏏᏳ ᎤᏤᎵᎪᎯ ᎤᎬᏫᏳᎯᏱ ᎨᏎᏍᏗ ᎢᎩᏙᏓ, ᏃᎴ ᎤᏪᏤ, ᏃᎴ ᎦᎸᏉᏗᏳ ᎠᏓᏅᏙ, ᎾᏉ ᏃᎴ ᏂᎪᎯᎸ ᏃᎴ ᏂᏚᎩᏨᏂᏒᏉ ᏃᎴ ᏥᎨᏒ ᏃᎴ Ꮎ ᏭᏩᎫᏗᏗᏒ ᏂᎪᎯᎸ!
Please dress respectfully as befitting for a holy service. It’s traditional Orthodox practice for women to have a head-covering and wear a modest maxi length dress or long skirt and wear long sleeves.
To participate in Eucharist, you should be dressed appropriately and modestly. Men are asked to wear long pants and sleeved shirts. Women are asked to wear skirts well below the knees, long-sleeved shirts, and are to have their heads covered with a scarf. (No hats, sheer scarves, pants, shorts, tight skirts or blouses, etc.) Everyone is asked to wear socks. Smoking is strictly forbidden, and small children should be kept under parental supervision at all times.
Ask and a head covering may be provided for you if you did not bring one. You may certainly forego a head covering during the service, but it must be worn if you participate in the Eucharist.
Cherokee women traditionally wore a red or scarlet head covering. Today, any color is acceptable. Some choose to wear colors of the liturgical season but this is not a requirement.
Men should wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt. Ties are not expected and are generally discouraged. If it is your heritage or tradition, regalia of the southeastern Cherokee may be worn if it is complete.
Also, it is general practice that women stand together on the left side of the church and men stand together on the right. Children under age 7 may stand with their mothers. Male children older than 7 are expected to stand with their male relatives on the men's side.
However, our community consists mostly of converts to Orthodoxy, so we understand that these traditions might be new to you. In all, we want you to feel comfortable and at home so no one will be enforcing this.
Children should also be attired modestly.
One enters the Holy Orthodox Church by becoming a Catechuman. Ask your priest to explain this process to you or to let you know of how to attend the inquirer's classes. Inquirer's classes are a prequel to becoming a catechumen.
This involves not only study of the history and doctrines of the Orthodox Church, but also regular attendance of the cycle of services. In a word, it’s about becoming a member of the Body of Christ through your local Orthodox community. If you are interested in joining the Orthodox Church, the first step is to contact the parish priest, who will guide you through the process.
Even through our services are performed according the Orthodox tradition, our services are 100% in English with some parts repeated in Old Cherokee Dialect. For example, the Epistle reading is in both English and Cherokee. Some hymns are also chanted in a combination of English and Cherokee.
While our parish is a part of the canonical Orthodox Church, we are largely a result of the missionary efforts that started in the 1700's. In fact, our community is indeed home to many ethnicities, yet we are all “one in the Body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27).
So, don’t be surprised if you hear some Cherokee in our services; just know that nothing is being left out in the English language.
We do occasionally have services that are conducted entirely in the Cherokee language. These will be indicated as such when posted or shared.
Will the congregation sing?
The Chanters will lead the songs and hymns of the service, but the men are encouraged to sing along. Congregational singing is encouraged with one notable exception: Traditionally, Cherokee women do not sing in worship services. The women may teach their sons the songs at home, but are not expected to sing in services.
We compromise on this because liturgy is the work of the people. Women may and are encouraged along with all men and children to sing along with the choir when there is singing. Women however will not serve as Chanters. This is reserved for tonsured readers. This preserves the traditional role of men as singers but allows everyone to participate in the work of the liturgy.
And we must remember that both women and men are both expected to answer out loud in the various litanies that will be offered as these are the prayers of the people and are not considered songs. Also included as congregational elements of the service are chants such as The recitation of the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer (aka The Our Father), The Creed, The pronouncements of the congregation before Communion, The Cherubikon or Cherubic Hymn, The Trisagion prayers, Seasonal responses and all instances of "Emenv" that are said by the laity.
One more thing: Songs are NEVER sung in "harmony". This is Cherokee tradition of the old ways and it matches the early church practice as well:
It must be remembered that these choirs did not sing different parts; they were not "polyphonic." To quote the renowned patristic scholar Johannes Quasten:
"With the understanding that unity and harmony stood in opposition to duality and disharmony the primitive Church rejected all heterophony and polyphony. The greatest possible harmony was pursued as the musical expression of the union of souls and of the community, as it prevailed in the early Christian liturgy" ("Music and Worship in Pagan and Christian Antiquity," Washington: 1983, Pg. 67).
The "harmony" referred to here was not the singing of different voices in parts, but rather, the natural harmony of different voices all singing the same part: just as prostopinije (plain chant) has only one voice, one part.
St. Ambrose of Milan in the fourth century wrote this about the effect homophonic or monophonic singing had on the singers: "a pledge of peace and concord, like a cithara putting forth one song from different and equal voices."(PL, 14:924).
The songs are all in unity and call / response is the traditional Cherokee format. In other words, there is NO division of the song into SATB singing but rather all sing in unity.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ directs us to stand during prayer (Mark 11:25), and the Apostle Paul says: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith” (I Cor. 16:13); ”Stand, therefore, having your loins girt about with truth (Ephes. 6:14); “Stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved” (Philippians 4:1). If a Christian must always stand on guard spiritually over his salvation, then he must do so even more during the divine church services which represent an expression and an enrichment to private everyday service to God.
Our building, like many other Orthodox churches, is not furnished with pews or chairs.
However, sitting is sometimes necessary for those with infants in arms, the elderly, and persons with handicaps or other conditions that make standing difficult or impossible.
Visitors who are unaccustomed to standing for long periods of time may also need to take a break. Many choose to sit on the carpets provided on the floor.
There is seating along the back of the nave in case you need it. Children are not allowed to use this seating. It is reserved for the elderly, mothers with children under age 3 (yes! of course this includes expectant moms!), and those unable to stand due to physical conditions.
Children are expected to attend the entire service as they are considered to be full members of the Orthodox Church upon baptism.
Although you might expect that this would cause chaos, even young children behave very well throughout the typical 90-minute Liturgy on Sunday. Children should stay in close proximity to their parents.
We have a room set aside for those who are trying to manage the needs of children under age 7 for short durations. Ask for directions if you are in need.
However, we encourage parents to limit their stay in that room to ten minutes or less.
If you are with us on a Sunday, please join us for coffee hour (sometimes called the trapeza) following the communion prayers after the service.
The atmosphere is informal and you will have an opportunity to meet the Father and other members of the parish.