The Old and the New

Back to		This page is devoted to the old and the new. Here you can see the differences between the old church building (a former heavy equipment dealership office) and the new one. The new building is far better.   First, let us look at the signs. We had an old sign that Reader Stephen and Susannah painted. It was designed to be used for when we get a full-time priest to serve Divine Liturgy for us on Sundays. Since we were only able to get a priest once a month on a Saturday, we used to put over the "Sun." small plaques that said "Sat." whenever a priest was coming. On Sundays we did the Typica service -- sometimes with a deacon and other times with only the reader.
		This is our old sign.
		The new sign is much better than the old one. Edwin Neal, a local commercial artist, painted it for us.
		This is the new sign. It looks much better, doesn't it? Click on the image to enlarge it.
		In the old chapel, the Great Entrance - one of the most beautiful parts of the Divine Liturgy - was nothing like it is in the new chapel. There was not as much room for the procession, since the chapel area was considerably smaller.
		The Great Entrance of the Divine Liturgy in the old chapel.
		An Orthodox church's worship area is divided into three parts: the narthex, the nave, and the sanctuary. The narthex is the part that people enter into when they first come into an Orthodox church. The nave is the part where chanting, singing, and Scripture reading is done. The laity, the choir, and the readers are in the nave during the church's services. The sanctuary is the part in which the priest, deacon, and subdeacon serve. It is behind the icon screen (i.e., the iconostasis). Also, any acolytes (i.e., candle-bearers) serve in the sanctuary.   The new nave is much larger and much nicer than our old one.
		This is the nave of our new church. Click on the image to enlarge it.
		Another difference is the kitchens of the old church building and the new one. The old kitchen was much smaller. There was not much cabinet space. The new kitchen in the new church building is much larger and much nicer.
		This is our old kitchen in the building we used to worship in.
		The new kitchen has a pantry area, plenty of drawers and cabinets, and a nice double sink. The women prefer to cook in it. The new kitchen is so nice that some of our parishioners even bake the prosphora loaves to be used during the Divine Liturgy in it. No one ever did that in the old one.
		This is our new kitchen. It looks much nicer, doesn't it? Click on the image to enlarge it.
		We have a beautiful new church to worship in now. We invite anyone who has not seen it to come worship with us.
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