This was such an experience!!!

The way protestants talk about Christianity as if its a buffet is fascinating to me.
They have this mindset that Orthodox is just another denomination to assess whether you "like" it or not.
No, Orthodoxy is the true Church of Jesus Christ, the  fullness of the faith that still remains unchanged.
We are the only Church to still hold to the original Creed and councils. Period.
You can be a Christian and not Orthodox, but you are a Christian that is outside of Christ's Church.

You should have stayed and spoken to the parishioners and clergy to answer questions

As a catechumen that was previously Protestant for 29 years, I know the feeling. of walking into something that seems so alien, yet so beautiful. I will never forget my first time experiencing the Divine Liturgy. God bless you both! ☦️

As a Protestant who is practicing Orthodoxy in secret, this is so beautiful!

May you enter the Holy Orthodox Church! The sole Church and Body of our Lord Jesus Christ. ☦

Girl, of course Orthodoxy is not casting spells, on the opposite it's opening the gate of Heaven for the Orthodox Christians, also those are Heavenly Hymns chanted, not earthly songs like in protestantism. It's basically not the same Hymns but could have the same tone but different Hymns throughout the Holy Liturgy

So to clear up some of the confusion here. Kissing the icons is a form of veneration in the East similar to how bowing is in the west. Similarly if you go to Italy, people will greet each other by kissing each other on the cheek, which may seem a bit odd to us as Americans where we of course greet each other with a much less personal hand shake. But these are really cultural differences at their core. And we do venerate the icons. Icon veneration passes through the icons to the prototype, as the Seventh Ecumenical Council puts it. Meaning that veneration passes to the person depicted in the Icon. Most Orthodox Churches you will find in America have service in English. The exception tends to be if you're in an area with a large amount of immigrants from said region or in a Cathedral. We do have strict communion guidelines. I'm not sure where this six day fast number comes from? We fast twice a week which is generally a vegan diet. Some of the rules on that are loosened depending on the individual and their capacity for fasting. And then we don't eat from midnight until after we receive the Eucharist on Sunday so that the communion can be the first thing in our stomachs. Lastly the priest goes behind the iconstasis at different times because it is the new Holy of Holies. It's the continuation of that. Where as only the high-priest in ancient Judiasm could enter the Holy of Holies, similarly there are certain preparations the priest must make behind the iconostasis with only a limited number of people who observe certain obediences. So that's the breakdown for you on some of these elements that are maybe a bit confusing to all new visitors. But, we hope you'll come back either to the church you visited or another Orthodox Church sometime and visit us again

You are always welcome! Always! God bless you!!! ❤️☦️

Proud of you for actually visiting an Orthodox Church! I’m 16 years old and a new catechumen in the Orthodox Church. I have been learning about the different churches for years now, and I have finally found home. Keep learning about the Orthodox Church, Christ is truly present there. Great video btw and bless you!  :)

Very respectful of you two guys despite not being orthodox to go to one, thank you for being respectful and showing patience to the liturgy as long as it lasted.

I am an orthodox and I'll say most of the liturgy, all the chanting and praying, is expressing gratitude to everything and everyone and mentioning it, for example "thank you for the congregation present, for the priests for the chanters, for the military, for the citizens, for etc etc" then asking for forgiveness "have mercy on us all sinners, the military, the priests, the citizens, etc". The liturgy itself is also simbolical of the life that Jesus had. In that "room" where they "hide" they are praying a lot, nominating and praying for literally everyone (living and dead), the priests prepare the incenses, the eucharist, but also the prosfora or the holy bread/communion that is given to everyone towards the end (that is different than the eucharist). At some point they pray the prayer "our Father", and also recite the nicean creed.
True it is a bit difficult to be patient if it's not in your language, but even if it is it's hard to follow without getting distracted, I myself get lost fast, get distracted by a lot of things and try to do introspection on myself in that time, pray and try to focus on the present moment, but it is difficult for everyone (it's supposed to be, just like how harsh fasting or fasting in general is not easy).

The priest is most of the time facing away or at the altar, because  he is there to pray to God for us and to lead us to Him, so the liturgy is literally the congregation of christians joining the priest in praying to God (doxology, praise, thanksgiving, a certain level of confession/acknoweldging of sins in general and asking for forgiveness, therefore supplication, and intercession to God). Orthodox christians, particularly priests or those seeking sanctification, are trying to be like the apostles and follow in Jesus's steps, that's why the church doesn't try to appeal to modern audiences but rather stay traditional and hope to make modern audiences get back on track and follow Jesus's steps too.

The reason for not using instruments in church for songs, is because the human voice is also creation of God, whereas the instruments (organs, pianos, flutes, guitars, etc) are creation of mankind. If you ever get a chance may I suggest have a listen to "Chant of the Georgian priest in Aramaic language, 50th psalm " here on youtube uploaded by some guy called "badri nozadze" i think, and see how nice it all is without any instruments.

Quick thought about the incense, it is to purify the air from evil and invite the Holy Spirit to be present in the liturgy, so overall the incense is symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit in general.

Anyway, i'm glad to see a couple like you guys who aren't judgemental of each other's denomination, after all we are christians whether orthodox, catholic or protestants, we are all working to get closer to Jesus, God. May God bless you!

I would definitely recommend you to do some more research into the history of icon veneration. This is an ancient tradition that is highly affirmed in the early church council the Second Council of Nicaea. When we venerate an icon of Christ or a saint we aren't kissing a slab of wood, we are kissing Christ or the saint depicted. A common way of thinking about this is as if you go outside and see your father inside. He puts his cheek to the window and you kiss the window. You are kissing your father through the window. Icons are windows into the Heavenly Kingdom. May God bless you and your girlfriend! ☦

That is a beautiful Church, but you need to visit a parish that has the Liturgy in English.

The priest stands behind the iconostasis because the Divine Liturgy is not merely a sermon or a communal gathering, but the worship of God and the offering of the Holy Eucharist. The iconostasis separates the sanctuary from the nave, symbolizing the distinction between the holy place and the world, while the icons reveal that heaven and earth are united in Christ.

This practice has biblical roots. In the Old Testament, the Temple had a Holy of Holies separated by a veil (Exodus 26:33; Hebrews 9:3). Yet when Christ died, the veil was torn (Matthew 27:51), granting us access to God through Him. The Orthodox Church does not believe the iconostasis restores that separation or prevents the faithful from approaching God. Rather, it expresses the mystery of the heavenly worship in which the Church participates.

Notice also that the iconostasis has doors that open during the Liturgy. The priest comes forth at appointed moments, and the Gospel is proclaimed to the people. Most importantly, the Eucharist is offered for the entire Church, not for the priest alone. The priest stands in the sanctuary to fulfill his liturgical ministry, not because he is holier than everyone else.

So the question is not why Orthodox Christians hide their priests behind a wall, but why the Church preserves a sacred space for the Eucharistic mysteries while visibly expressing the union of heaven and earth through Christ.

When the priest grabs the cross and says “Joachim and Anna” that means it’s really over

the truth is that protestantism and catholicism have no Divine Liturgies, nor Holy Eucharist. Only the Orthodox Church have Both ☦🌹

SHES A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY AND HES A LITTLE BIT ROCK N ROLL

Such a beautiful church! Glory to God!

The whole service is prayer, commemoration of a saint if the service is on that day, and recount of the gospel/resurrection. It's work, not play, which is why the worship is I offered up to Christ. The priest is praying the entire time and preparing the Eucharist behind the Iconostasis- not hiding or casting spells.

I hope one day y'all reunite with Christ by reuniting with His body (aka the Orthodox church). I converted to Orthodoxy a couple of years ago and this is probably the best decision I've ever made. May God bless you and guide us all to the fullness of the truth