A summary of Orthodox customs

[Stephanos]

Hello,

Now this is pure laziness on my part because I could find it by myself but the sheer size of the Orthodox material on the Internet is truly overwhelming... I am looking for a handy summary of the Orthodox customs, for example, how to make the sign of the cross, what are the body positions in prayer, how to behave in church and during the Divine Liturgy, how to prepare a home altar, etc., etc. Any pointers will be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,

Mariusz

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Here are two Orthodox sites where there is quite a bit of material about behaviour in church, etc.

http://www.fatheralexander.org/

and

http://www.orthodoxengland.org.uk/

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Baroness]

Good question. Now, Mariusz, I don't know if you mind reading books or not, but one of the best and handiest books I was recommended to read when first becoming Orthodox was all about the customs, beliefs etc. etc. The details of this book are as follows:

"A Guide to Orthodox Life - Some Beliefs, Customs and Traditions of the Church" by Father David Cownie and Presbytera Juliana Cownie.
Copyright 1992 by Centre For Traditionalist Orthodox Studies
ISBN 0-011165-22-3

http://www.ctosonline.org/spiritual/GO.html

Hope you'll be able to find this book and read it as it's the most practicle book you'll come across on how to do everything in regards to the traditions of the Church and such. I greatly recommend it :-)

[Stephanos]

Dear Baroness and Fr Raphael,

Thank you very kindly for your excellent advice and links. The Center's website is very impressive, and I ended up ordering five more titles from their catalog. Interestingly, I had run into the Orthodox England website during my Web surfing two days ago but I was overwhelmed by its sheer size and did not do much in-depth browsing.

Best regards,

Mariusz