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The Byzantine
Empire
The Orthodox
Church
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Today the Orthodox Church
is the largest religious organisation in Russia, Eastern Europe and
Greece. It is very well represented in France too. In Paris the
Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky is an active centre of Orthodox
worship and an excellent example of Orthodox church architecture. For
our visit, we may visit the Cathedral of
Alexander Nevsky where we can experience many of the ideas we have
studied in Byzantine history.
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Visit to an
Orthodox Cathedral
Questionnaire
See if you can answer these questions during your visit to the
Cathedral. Make sure you listen carefully.
Perhaps you can ask the
guide or teacher the answers to some of the
questions.Outside the Cathedral there
are many things to see;
What shape is the roof?
What can you see on the roof of the
Cathedral?
Inside, the Cathedral is separated into two parts, a main centre
of worship upstairs and a crypt downstairs;
Upstairs there are very few windows, but
many candles. Can you find out why?
What different sorts of religious objects
can you find upstairs? (describe each!)
Downstairs in the crypt there are no windows at all, but there are
many pictures. What is the special name for
these pictures?
Why are the paintings in the
crypt different
from ordinary pictures? (write a sentence.)
In the crypt you can see a painted wooden wall with three doors.
What is it called?
Who is allowed behind the wooden wall
through the doors, just anybody?
There are many paintings of Saints in an Orthodox Church.
One of
the most important is St Nicholas.
Who does he protect? |
Visit to an
Orthodox Cathedral
Guide
Today you are visiting the most impressive Russian
Orthodox church in France - in the opinion of many people it rivals by
its beauty even the famous church of Saint Basil in Moscow's Red Square
just next to the Kremlin and the great church of Alexandra Nevsky Lavra
in Saint Petersburg.
As you approach the cathedral (preferably by way
of la
rue Pierre le Grand) the first things you will notice are the large
hemispherical golden mosaic and the
gilded onion domes. These
domes, by the way, are purely Russian in style. You will not see them on
Greek Orthodox churches.
Once you enter the cathedral you will be able to see
things that all Orthodox churches have in common:-
- no stained glass windows as in western churches.
- no statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary or the saints.
- no benches or pews to sit on (the worshippers are obliged to stand
unless they are old or ill - notice that there are several chairs by
the walls).
- you cannot see the altar as you can in western churches.
- there is no organ or any other kind of musical instrument because
in an Orthodox church the only music you will hear is that created
by the human voice. (For music lovers Orthodox masses are really
something to be experienced, whatever your religious beliefs).
You will certainly be
immediately struck by the iconostasis immediately in front of
you. This is the wooden screen with doors in the centre. This screen
separates the worshippers from the altar and is covered with
icons and
for most of the time only the priests are allowed to pass through its
doors.
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The
Open Door Web Site 
