Church Etiquette and Some Things You Should Know While in Church

In the Orthodox Church, there are a lot of customs and traditions that are important parts of our worship.  Some are cultural; some are pious customs. Some are essential; some are not. From time to time, we need to address some of these various etiquette issues to inform our community how we can best understand each other and work together to worship the All-Holy Trinity.

Standing vs. Sitting

The traditional posture for prayer and worship in the Orthodox Church has been to stand.  Sitting is acceptable for the elderly, infirmed, and those who need to sit for personal reasons.  If you need to sit during the Divine Liturgy, remember to try and stand at these times:

• When the Liturgy begins (“Blessed is the kingdom...”)
• During the Little and Great Entrances
• When the faithful are being censed
• During the Gospel reading
• At the Anaphora
• For Holy Communion
• At the final blessing. 

It should go without saying that young adults and teens should be able to stand for the entire liturgy. (All may sit during the homily.)

Entering the Church (Late)

The time to arrive at church is before the service starts. The best way, to avoid the problem of being late is to arrive on time.  Then no one will have to wonder if it's a proper time to enter or not.  If you arrive after the Divine Liturgy begins please be courteous and try not to interrupt the Liturgy with your entrance.  Please be respectful of others who are trying to pray.  

In and Out

In and out? In and Out is a hamburger place in LA, but should not be the traffic pattern by the back door during services. On some Sundays, it almost seems like we have a revolving door in the back of the church, and it is used by both children and adults.  Use the restroom before coming to church. You shouldn't need to get a drink of water during the service (especially if you are taking Communion!). Don't come to church to go to the fellowship hall - come to pray.  Again, it should go without saying that adults and teens should be able to hold their place for the entire service, without moving around or going in and out of the nave during the time of the service.

Leaving Before Dismissal

Leaving church before the Dismissal - besides being rude - deprives us of a blessing.  Worship has a beginning ("Blessed is the
Kingdom...") and an end ("Let us depart in peace..."). To leave immediately after Communion is to treat church like a fast food restaurant where we come and go as we please.  (Hosting coffee hour would be an exception.) 

We live in a fast-paced world where we seem to be hurrying from place to place.  But in God's presence, we need to make every attempt to fight this pressure to move on to the next thing on the day's agenda.  We deprive ourselves of blessings by not being still and participating in God's holiness.  Eat and run at McDonald's - but stay in church and thank God for his precious gifts.