Here is the short answer, so you can stop worrying: wear something modest and comfortable, arrive when you can — people come in throughout — stand or sit near the back, do nothing you are not ready to do, stay in your place when the Communion line forms, and take a piece of blessed bread afterward if it is offered. That is the whole of what is expected of a first-time visitor. There is no test, and nobody will ask you to stand and say your name.

An Orthodox service will probably not resemble anything you have attended before. The Divine Liturgy, the main Sunday service of the Orthodox Church, runs roughly ninety minutes, is sung almost from beginning to end, fills the room with incense, and takes place in a church covered in icons. People will be crossing themselves, kissing icons, and lighting candles while it is underway, and none of it gets explained.

One thing deserves stating first. For someone visiting, what matters is less whether a gesture is done correctly than whether it is honest for you. And, as every convert discovers, nobody is watching you.

Before You Go: What to Wear and When to Arrive

First, a word about the names. Orthodox parishes here carry labels like Greek, Antiochian, Serbian, Russian, or the Orthodox Church in America. These are jurisdictions, not denominations: the same faith, the same Liturgy, the same Mysteries (Sacraments), differing mainly in language, music, and custom. Any is a fine place to visit, so use our parish finder and pick the one nearest you.

There is no Orthodox dress code in the sense of a published rule, and what you see differs sharply: a large Greek cathedral may be full of suits and dresses, a storefront mission mostly jeans. Dress as you would to meet someone whose respect you wanted, in comfortable shoes. Head coverings for women vary the same way — usual in Slavic parishes, less common in most Greek parishes here, generally expected at monasteries. As a parish visitor you are under no obligation either way.

Check the parish website. Many parishes first serve Matins (also called Orthros), the morning service of psalms and hymns before the Liturgy, and the two run together with no break — which is why a posted start time can mislead. Aim to arrive about ten minutes before the Liturgy itself begins, and if you are late, walk in anyway; people arrive throughout the early part. The fast before Communion applies only to Orthodox Christians who intend to receive, and even for them it varies by jurisdiction and by their own priest. It does not apply to you — eat breakfast.

Walking In: Candles, Icons, and Where to Stand

You enter first into the narthex, the vestibule at the back, where most parishes keep a stand of candles, a box for offerings, and icons on stands. What people do on arriving usually involves some combination of leaving an offering, lighting a candle while praying silently for someone, and venerating — that is, honoring — the icons. The order varies, and some parishes ask that candles be lit before the service rather than during it. Candles rarely have a fixed price: a dollar or two is normal, many parishes ask nothing, and nobody checks.

Venerating an icon is simple. If you want to do it, this is its shape in most parishes:

  1. Wait your turn, step up to the icon stand, make the sign of the cross, and bow slightly from the waist.
  2. Kiss the icon on the hand or feet of the figure, or on a scroll or Gospel book — not the face.
  3. Cross yourself and bow once more.
  4. Step aside so the person behind you can approach.

That kiss is honor paid to the person the icon depicts, not to wood and paint — a distinction explained in why icons are central to Orthodox worship and in what the kiss means. You are welcome to do all of it and equally welcome to walk straight past; doing nothing, respectfully, is always acceptable.

Then find a place to stand or sit; the back and sides are best on a first visit. Ahead is the nave, where the congregation gathers, and at the front a screen of icons called the iconostasis. It is customary not to cross the open floor directly in front of it during the service; go around the back or the sides.

Why Everyone Is Standing (and Whether You Have To)

Standing is the historic posture of Christian prayer, not an endurance test, and Orthodox Christians understand it as the posture of the resurrection: we stand on Sundays because Sunday is the day Christ rose. The practice is old enough that the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in 325 took it up, its twentieth canon noting that some were kneeling on the Lord's Day and during the Pentecost season and directing "that prayer be made to God standing." The canon is about kneeling rather than sitting, and gives no reason beyond uniformity; the resurrection is the Fathers' explanation, not the council's. Nor has it ever been observed uniformly: in many Slavic and Antiochian parishes people kneel during the long prayer over the gifts even on a Sunday, and everyone kneels for the Kneeling Prayers at Pentecost.

Whether the church has pews depends on who built it. Many Greek, Antiochian, and Orthodox Church in America parishes have them, a Western borrowing now thoroughly normal; many Russian, Serbian, and monastic churches keep an open nave with a few chairs along the walls. Orthodox Christians argue about which is better; nothing in the service changes.

If there are seats, sit when you need to. Nearly everyone stands for the Gospel reading, for the two processions in which the clergy carry the Gospel book and then the bread and wine out through the church, for the long prayer over the gifts, during Communion, and for the closing blessing. Follow the room half a beat behind everyone else. If your back or knees will not allow standing, sit throughout; the Church has always made room for the infirm.

Crossing Yourself, and Whether You Should

Orthodox Christians cross themselves frequently: at every invocation of the Holy Trinity, when venerating an icon, when receiving a blessing, and often simply when moved to. The form is specific. The thumb and first two fingers of the right hand are joined at the tips for the three Persons of the Trinity, the last two folded to the palm for the two natures of Christ, divine and human. The hand touches the forehead, the chest, the right shoulder, then the left.

That last detail, right shoulder before left, is the reverse of Roman Catholic practice, worth naming so you do not wonder whether you misremembered. Neither direction is a correction of the other; East and West simply settled into different habits, and no Orthodox Christian will read anything into how a visitor does it.

Should you do it? If you are not Orthodox, you are under no obligation whatever. Cross yourself when it expresses what you actually believe rather than out of conformity, and let that come in its own time. We treat the gesture fully in our article on the sign of the cross.

What You Will Hear: Singing, Incense, and Repetition

The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, served on most Sundays, usually takes about ninety minutes, longer on great feasts. Almost everything but the readings and the sermon is sung: priest, deacon, chanters or choir, and often the whole congregation carry it in music. Orthodox worship is traditionally unaccompanied, human voices only, though some Greek and Antiochian parishes use an organ. Many parishes now serve entirely in English, others partly in Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, or Romanian.

The shape of the morning is easier to follow than it sounds: opening litanies and hymns, the Epistle and Gospel readings, a sermon, a procession bringing the bread and wine to the altar, the Creed sung by everyone, the long prayer over the gifts, the Lord's Prayer, Communion, a closing blessing. Where the sermon falls varies — after the Gospel in some parishes, near the end in others — and it is the one sustained stretch of plain speech you will hear, usually the easiest part to follow.

You will also hear a great deal of repetition, above all "Lord, have mercy," sung many times over in the litanies — the long sets of short petitions, each answered by the people with the same response. The petitions themselves change even when the response does not. The repetition is meant to draw the heart in rather than to inform the mind — though Orthodox hymnography teaches a great deal besides. The incense is heavy by Western standards; if you have asthma, stand near a door, as parishioners with the same difficulty do.

One line may startle you. Partway through, the deacon or priest chants a dismissal of the catechumens — those formally enrolled and under instruction, whether preparing for baptism or, having been baptized elsewhere, for chrismation. In the ancient Church they really did leave at that point. In most parishes today nobody leaves, and many omit the litany altogether. Unless someone asks you to leave, stay.

The Communion Line: Why You Should Stay in Your Place

Near the end of the Liturgy the priest comes out through the central doors of the icon screen holding the chalice, and the congregation forms a line. Orthodox Christians receive the Body and Blood of Christ, given together from a common spoon. This is the part that most often stings, so let us be direct.

If you are not an Orthodox Christian, you should not receive Communion. This is not a verdict on your sincerity or your love of Christ, and it is not something the parish decided about you when you walked in. The Orthodox Church practices what is usually called closed communion: the Eucharist is given to those baptized and chrismated — anointed with Holy Chrism, the consecrated oil by which Orthodox Christians are sealed as members of the Church — and prepared to receive.

In Orthodox understanding the Eucharist is not a means of creating unity among people still divided; it is the seal of a unity already confessed. St. Paul puts the logic in those terms: "For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:17). To receive is to say, with your body, that you hold the whole faith of this Church. Orthodox Christians are held to that themselves, mindful of St. Paul's warning about eating and drinking unworthily (1 Corinthians 11:29): they fast, go to confession, and are sometimes told by their priest to wait. How someone baptized elsewhere is eventually received — by chrismation or by baptism — varies between jurisdictions and is a bishop's decision. We take the question up in why non-Orthodox are not admitted to Communion.

Practically: stay in your place and pray while the line moves. A few parishes have borrowed the Western practice of inviting non-communicants forward for a blessing, but most have not — and crossing your arms over your chest is how an Orthodox communicant approaches the chalice, so doing it uninvited can end with your being communed by mistake. For a blessing, ask the priest afterward.

Antidoron: The Bread You Can Receive

There is, however, bread for you. The loaves used at the Liturgy are called prosphora, "offerings." A square is cut from one to be consecrated; the rest is blessed but not consecrated, cut up, and handed out at the end. It is called antidoron, "instead of the gifts," because it is given in place of the Gifts to those who have not received them. It is not the Eucharist.

In most parishes here the antidoron is offered to everyone present; the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese tells visitors as much, noting that the Mysteries (Sacraments) themselves are reserved to Orthodox Christians. It is not universal, though — some parishes of stricter observance reserve it for the Orthodox faithful, so ask if you are unsure; nobody will be offended. In many parishes the priest holds a hand cross to be kissed as he gives the bread; venerate it if you wish, or simply take the bread and step aside.

Afterward: Coffee Hour and Meeting the Priest

Most parishes have coffee hour afterward, and you should go. You will learn more about a parish in twenty minutes over bad coffee than in ninety minutes of watching the back of someone's head.

Introduce yourself to the priest, who is addressed as "Father" followed by his first name. You need no prepared speech; "this was my first time here" is enough, and it will be met with pleasure. Orthodox Christians often ask a blessing by cupping the right hand over the left, palms up, and saying "Father, bless"; the priest makes the sign of the cross over them and lays his right hand in theirs to be kissed. You are not expected to do this, and a handshake is fine.

Parishes differ in how quickly they notice a stranger, and you may leave without anyone having spoken to you; that is inattention, not rejection. And if the service moved you more than you expected, or you could not take any of it in, you are in ordinary company. Step into the narthex and sit if you need to.

If You Want to Come Back

Come back several times, and to the same parish. A first visit gives you the atmosphere more than the meaning; that is how everyone starts. By the third or fourth Sunday the shape emerges and you begin to hear words rather than noise.

Consider an evening service too. In many parishes Vespers — the short evening prayer service, usually under an hour, mostly sung, with no Communion — is quieter and less crowded, a gentler entrance than Sunday morning. In parishes of Slavic tradition, though, Saturday evening may be an All-Night Vigil of two hours or more, so check the schedule.

Nobody will pressure you toward a decision; there is no appeal at the end and no card to fill out. Orthodox inquiry is deliberately slow: those who seek reception spend a period as catechumens under instruction, and how long that lasts is fixed by no rule — the parish priest and the bishop set it, and it varies widely. If you want to know where the road leads, start with becoming an Orthodox Christian. But that is not today's question. Today there is only the invitation Philip gave Nathanael: "Come and see" (John 1:46).

Common Questions

Do I have to be Orthodox to attend an Orthodox service?

No. Orthodox services are public worship and visitors are welcome. The one thing closed to you is receiving Holy Communion; you may pray, sing, light a candle, venerate an icon, and stay to the end.

Is it rude to arrive late or to leave early?

Arriving in the early part of the service is common enough that you will not stand out, though before the Scripture readings is better form. Leaving early is fine; slip out quietly by a rear exit.

Should I put money in the collection?

Many parishes pass a tray during the service. Visitors are under no obligation, and letting it go by is entirely normal.

Can I bring my children?

Yes, and do not worry about noise. Orthodox parishes are used to children moving and whispering; they are communed from infancy and counted as full members.

I am a practicing Catholic or Protestant. Is visiting disloyal to my own church?

That is a question for your own conscience and, if you have one, your own pastor. From the Orthodox side, attending as a visitor commits you to nothing.

Further Reading

  • Welcome to the Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity — Frederica Mathewes-Green (Paraclete Press). Structured as visits to a parish.
  • The Orthodox Church: An Introduction to Eastern Christianity — Metropolitan Kallistos Ware (Penguin). The standard one-volume introduction to Orthodox history and belief.
  • For the Life of the World: Sacraments and Orthodoxy — Alexander Schmemann (St. Vladimir's Seminary Press). Short, and the best account of why Orthodox worship is shaped as it is.
  • Orthodox Worship: A Living Continuity with the Synagogue, the Temple, and the Early Church — Benjamin D. Williams and Harold B. Anstall (Ancient Faith Publishing). A walk through the Liturgy.