Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - May/95

Contributor - Rev. Charles Webster

Title - Two Sanctuaries- "Two Simmering Solitudes"

Topic - Church In The World

HE world celebrated with the Romanians in their December 21, 1989 Revolution that deposed their megalomanic dictator. The exile of a popular Reformed Church pastor in Temesvar (Timisoara), Tokes Laszo, to a tiny prison church in a remote village precipitated a street protest. Outside media assistance and crucial timing contributed to country wide protests against the regime. Tokes became one of the Reformed Church's first freely elected Bishops since 1948. Although the Church is relatively free, people can freely travel, and the store shelves are full, little else has really changed. Some now question whether there really was a revolution. WHY? The question can be answered by first exploring two very different worship experiences, Orthodox and Reformed. Looking behind the sanctuaries one can discover two very different civilizations, thought processes, and role of church and state.

PART I -TWO SANCTUARIES

The Fortress Church (Vadrtemplom), over 600 years old, is located on a hill top in the north end of the city Sepsiszentgyrgy (Saint George). The Church is surrounded by a high stone wall that was built to protect it from attacks by the Mongols and later the Turks. The high white tower and silver spire is probably a later addition. Inside, the church is typical of any Reformed or Presbyterian church in terms of simplicity. The most distinctive feature is the round communion table in the centre of the nave. Several steps lead up to the high central pulpit on the side wall behind the table. All the pews face the table. The gothic lines in the old chancel altar area from the era of Catholicism, indicating a latter addition, has given way to balcony containing pipe organ and choir loft. There is another balcony at the other end of the building. Clear light shines into the very plain nave which lacks stained glass windows. In some of the oldest churches, where the white wash has fallen off, one can find pale frescoes of biblical characters painted on the walls. The liturgy is simple and the Geneva Psalter and indigenous Hymns are sung slowly and solemnly with fervour. You might hear them sing "Draga Uram", a translation of the American Gospel Hymn 'Precious Jesus". It is great when you are trying to learn the language! Communion has a second meditation from the table. The people file forward to, or gather around, the table and receive the bread and homemade wine from the common cup.

The second church to visit is Orthodox, the National Church of Romania. They are usually recognizable by their high dome. In Sepsiszentgyorgy the dome on this sixty year old church is so high that a ten floor apartment building was erected by the communists to hide it. For the purposes of this article the writer will take you to an Orthodox monastery for the liturgy. One enters a dimly lit gathering room for the people. You can see tables full of small votive candles representing people's prayers. You pass through a dark room, the only light coming from a tiny rectangular window. The room of death as it is called contains the tombs of people very significant to the monastery. After passing through death one enters life eternal expressed in the grandeur of the relatively small, poorly lit, nave. There are no pews. The two side apses have prayer tables (chest height) from where the monks sing the Prayer of the Church. Your gaze is drawn upwards into the high dome where you see a painted icon (two dimensional) of Christ looking down upon the worshippers. Around the base of the dome are twelve windows representing twelve apostles. The walls of the dome and nave are all painted with icons which have darkened over the years with the build up of smoke from the incense and candles. A huge chandelier hangs in the middle of the dome.

Two icon stands are placed in front of the high wall (veil). The wall contains three curtained doorways into the Holy of Holies and the altar. On one side of the centre curtain, a large icon of the Madonna with Child mounted in a silver frame, while on the other an icon of the Patron Saint. In this room, symbolic of the 'Mount of Transfiguration', they teach that Christ is Transfigured whenever the Eucharist is celebrated. I was taken by a Priest into their most Holy place, but was not permitted to stand in front of the Altar. In the centre of the Altar was a large silver Crucifix over a metre in height (So what's changed since the Reformation? - Ed.).

The liturgy sung in the language of the people remains unchanged in probably 1500 years. Monks on either side of the nave antiphonally chant the liturgy while the Priests behind the veil are chanting the mass. It was interesting watching the Priest coming in and out through the veil, first to bless the people by touching them with the chalice, then generously incensing the place and finally coming out with the Eucharist. During Eucharist the chandelier lights in the dome are turned on giving an atmosphere of majesty and heavenly splendour. When the mass is over the priest returns behind the veil, lights are turned off, and the people depart.

The simplicity of a very plain sanctuary full of light has been contrasted with the grandeur, symbolism, and the darkness of another. The contrast between Orthodox and Reformed is more than just architecture and theology, but two civilizations which are centuries apart. The second article in this series will appear in the June issue and will explore growing tensions between two civilizations and mind sets in conflict today.

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