We, the faithful at St. Herman of Alaska
welcome all to worship with us in person or through the
live stream of liturgical celebrations
We invite you to enter with us “into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise: Be thankful to Him and bless his name”. (Psalm 100:4). If this is your first time participating in an Orthodox worship service, you will find it different than most western churches.
Please know, we will not ask you to do anything you might find or would make you feel uncomfortable. We will not expect you to know how or why we worship as we do, so, even though we will stand, sit, make the sign of the Cross, bow, venerate (kiss) Icons and the Cross, you are not expected to do anything except to join us in the worship of the Holy, Undivided Trinity, with reverence and godly fear.
It is our custom to stand in the presence of God; however, you may sit as often as you need.
If you have young children, do not worry or be anxious if they make some noise. Children are part of the Body of Christ; we expect and prefer our children to worship with us. If needed, there is a room in the back, or space in the back of the church that is available for a brief time away.
The guides linked to below contain the fixed parts of the Liturgy: the variable parts are indicated as hymns to be sung, the Epistle to be read, etc. Receiving Communion is, however, offered only to faithful Orthodox Christians. All are invited to receive Prosphora, after the dismissal and veneration of the Cross. Prosphora is the remaining part of bread not used in in Communion.
It is our hope that these guides will be helpful to you in following the service. Please follow along with the aid of these guides as you wish and feel comfortable.
Following our services, we have a coffee hour. If you are joining us in person or on line, please feel free to stay as long as you want; we always have plenty and will continue to interact with you as long as you wish.
If you have any questions, the priest will be available to answer them after Liturgy, or at a time of your convenience.
We do ask you to sign our visitor registry when you join us in person as we hope to keep in contact with you.
In Christ,
Archpriest Gregoryâ™± Madlom