Whoops

I missed yesterday. Didn't even make it a month.  Early in the morning, some friends called me and all of a sudden I had my whole day planned for me.  I suppose I could have done it late in the evening, but I did not.  So today I will post two hymns in order to make up for lost time.  I have been entertaining an idea to do a double post on Saturdays to cover the weekend anyway.  This is like that, but on Sunday.

To start, I'm listening to this Greek Orthodox Chant.

I'm not sure what the chant is, but it is beautiful to listen to. The Greek Orthodox Church traditionally used Koine Greek, the language in which the New Testament is written in.   We've already listen to a chant by the Russian Orthodox Church, which is very similar to the Greek Orthodox. In fact, they more or less see themselves as different branches of the the same Church.  The Orthodox church is distinguished by their iconography.  I cannot claim to fully understand iconography.  My experience with it is pretty much limited to one visit to the Greek Orthodox Church in Charlotte for class.  The priest did make clear that the icons were not worshiped, but used as an aide in to worship.  The images were meant to raise the thoughts and hearts of the congregation to the God.  That explanation wouldn't fly in the PCA. Everything about the church was designed for worship. They had incense which symbolized prayer going up to heaven.  Even the design of the building was meant to put the congregant in the right mindset of worship.  The sanctuary was shaped like a cross and the center point was domed, raising the view upwards.  The church in Charlotte had two services, Greek and English.  50% of the English service was done in Greek. It really was a neat visit, and if you ever find the opportunity to visit, you should take it.