Dr. Law Chi Lim The highlights of any trip to Russia must include visits to some of the Russian Orthodox churches which, with their flamboyant colours, are very different from the rather plain Roman Catholic churches we are used to seeing in Hong Kong.
History of the Russian Orthodox Church It can be said that, from around the year AD30, what is now known as the Christian faith started off as a Jewish sect with its own interpretation of the scriptures and new doctrines among a number of Jews who are followers of Jesus Christ. According to the Book of Acts (11; 26), it was during the early part of the ministry of St. Paul ( who lived approximate from AD5 to AD67) that the word “Christian” was coined in the city of Antioch ( Note 1). Up to the year 313, the Christian Church struggled in the face of official Roman persecution as Christians refused to worship the Emperor of the Roman Empire. All this changed in AD 313, when Emperor Constantine the Great ( AD 272-337), after a vision of the Christian cross which he believed help him to win a major battle, officially grant full tolerance to Christianity and all religions in the Empire. On, February 27, AD 380, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I officially adopted Christianity as its state religion.
Although Christians in different parts of the Roman Empire had their own different churches and church leaders, the Church itself basically remained a united body ( apart from minor splinter groups, such as the Nestorians). In the year 324 AD, Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople (present day Istanbul), thus starting an era ( lasting over one thousand years) known as the Eastern Roman Empire ( also known as the Byzantine Empire). In fact, before its fall to the Turks in 1453, Constantinople, with its proximity to ancient Greek, Persian and Egyptian civilizations, was the centre of culture and learning of the Roman Empire (and the precursor of what we now know as the West). Over the subsequent centuries, the practices of the churches in the east started to evolve along a different path from those of the western churches (which looked to Rome and the Pope for leadership). The rift between the two bodies got wider and wider due to complex geographical, political, cultural and linguistic reasons. Finally, in 1054, the two bodies ex-communicated each other, each blaming the other for the schism.
In time, different Eastern Orthodox churches adopted different national titles: Russian Orthodox, Bulgarian Orthodox , Greek Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox , etc. While the basic teachings are the same, local language is always used in the different churches, and there may be some variation in the traditions and practices because of local customs. Among these churches, the Russian Orthodox Church is by far the largest, claiming a current following of over 150 million world-wide. As much as 65% of all ethnic Russians now indentify themselves as Orthodox Christians.
Characteristics of the Russian Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church claims to trace its development through the Eastern Roman(Byzantine) Empire to the earliest church established by St. Paul and the Apostles. It practises what it understands to be the original ancient traditions. In fact, the Russian Orthodox Church still uses the ancient Julian Calendar to calculate the date of Christmas. Currently, their Dec 25 corresponds to January 7 on the modern calendar (note 2.). So Russia, these days, celebrates the birth of Christ on January 7. To a certain extent, some scholars consider the Eastern Church to be a little closer to early Christianity then its Western counterpart (note 3).
Approaching a Russian Orthodox Church, one is immediately struck by the “mushroom” shaped towers symbolizing a flame (Zoroastrian influence from nearby Iran/Persia ?). Typically, there are 5 towers with a bigger one in the centre ( signifying Christ) surrounded by four other towers on four corners ( signifying the four Evangelists : Mathew , Mark , Luke and John).
The Russian Cross on top of the church towers is also unique. This three-barred Suppedaneum Cross is also known as Crux Orthodoxa, Byzantine cross, Eastern cross, Slavic or Slavonic cross. The short top bar represents the inscription over Jesus' head ( I.N.R.I , an acronym of the Latin inscription which can be translated as “ Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews) , and the lowest (usually slanting) short bar, placed near the foot, represents his footrest (in Latin, suppedaneum) ( Note 4). This cross existed very early in Byzantium times, and was adopted by the Russian Orthodox Church and especially popularized in Slavic countries. On top of some of the churches, sometimes one sees a crescent symbol instead of the slanting bar which is meant to resemble an anchor, symbolizing the hope for salvation.
Entering the church, one is immediately struck by the presence of the iconostasis ------a wall of icons and religious paintings separating the nave( main body) of the church from the sanctuary and alter beyond. In fact, in a lot of the churches, not just one, but all the walls inside the church may be covered with icons or paintings ( Note 5) with their abundance of bright colours and gold mosaics, making them a really dramatic spectacle. .
Unlike the churches in the west, there are no chairs for worshippers as it is believed that one has to stand in humility before God in worship. Traditionally, men stand to the right and women to the left. Women are required to wear a head scarf to cover their heads as they enter a sacred place as prescribed by St. Paul (1 Cor. 11:13). One can see that this custom was not unique to the Muslims but was shared by the original Christians as well.
Notes 1. Antioch is an ancient city about 22 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea in modern day southern Turkey near the border with Syria. 2. The Julian Calendar was initiated by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. The modern calendar that we use is based on the Gregory Calendar decreed by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The error in the Julian Calendar means it differs from the Gregory Calendar at a rate of 3days/century , requiring major adjustment every few centuries. 3. See Huston Smith, The World’s Religions, ( San Francisco: Harper, 1991), p 346-347. 4. Another tradition holds that the slanted bar represents the repentant thief and the unrepentant thief that were crucified with Christ, the one to Jesus' right hand repenting and rising to be with God, and one on his left falling to Hell and separation from God. 5 For more details , see Arthur Voyce , Russian Orthodox Church ---Early history and art. http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~mes/russia/moscow/history.html ,