Good Friday in the Greek Orthodox Church

Frank Saris

American Religious Texts

Professor Steidl

Blog Post

Sacred Text: Good Friday Procession

Good Friday in the Greek Orthodox Church

Easter is the biggest tradition in Eastern Orthodox Christianity. It is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. God used his Son to free the bonds of humanity from the devil through the pain of dying on the cross. Greek Orthodox Christians go through a vigorous fast for fifty days and on the last week there is thirty hours of church to celebrate this amazing holiday.

On Good Friday it is purely mournful. People try to refrain from listening to music, watching television, and we follow a strict fast. In church on Good Friday there is a “funeral service”.  The priest and the alter boys take a wooden structure with an icon of Jesus, usually made of cloth, called the Επιτάφιος (epitaphios). This structure symbolizes the burial of Jesus Christ in the stone grave. This wooden structure is then carried outside, either around the church or around the block of the church. In my video it goes around the courtyard of the church. The presentation consists of the priest and the people chanting together in unison, asking God to forgive them for their sin and to help them through their lives. It also thanks God for the sacrifice of his Son. The chants are usually sung in a mournful and grieving tone. The first chant is called the Τρισάγιον or "Thrice Holy". It says “God is Holy”, and is showing the power of God and as a text it is asking him to help us in our endeavors. This chant commemorates how Jesus did not split his humanity and divinity all for the safety of the future generations of Christians. The second chant is asking God to have mercy on us, Κύριε, ἐλέησον (Kýrie eléison). Through Good Friday we show the power of God and thank him for what was done for humanity. We mourn the death of Jesus Christ but are not entirely grief stricten because we know that He is doing this to save us. The after the procession around the courtyard everyone in church walks under the epitafios as a symbol from death to life . After everyone walks under the epitafios, the cloth icon goes around the church and then is place at the alter. Before leaving people go to the epitafios, get a flower and kiss the icon.

As a text we can see that the people are all dressed in suits or dresses. This shows reverence for the House of God and for the funeral presentation. The people sing in a mournful tone with their heads down, praying in their heads, and singing loudly. This brings the community together, people with the same values, having sad emotions together. The candles show light in the darkness, and on Saturday the candles are used for the Resurrection ceremony. The chants can also be read as mournful through the tone and mannerisms of the priest and people. The priest sings and the people chant back, showing a conversation to represent like mindedness. The types of processions, outside then inside, shows the severity of the sacrifice, when the icon passes we do our cross. As American we can see the Greek Orthodox church americanized in their church services. In Greece there are no pews to sit in, people stand for all of church. They also translate some verses for the Americans that do not have a strong Greek tongue.

Pope Francis Mural in Midtown - Jack Brennan

        Although he isn’t there anymore this is what remains of a 180-foot mural of Pope Francis. I had seen the mural in mid-town in October after the Pope had already visited the United States and didn't think anything of it. I never thought to take a picture until I was given this assignment. I went back under the impression that he would still be standing there, smiling and waving at every passerby within a ten block radius. Unfortunately, all that is left is a blank canvas. Its ironic that I would take a picture now of a blank canvas and two men painting over a giant picture of the pope, instead of an amazing mural that I somehow didn’t think anything of in the first place. I remember looking up and seeing the Pope’s face, with www.Popeinusa.com underneath and thinking nothing except that his eyes seemed to be following me. Then I immediately looked back down at the Instagram photos on the two inch by five inch screen in my hand. Now that it is gone though, I regret not taking in the full beauty of the mural. It was a 180 foot painting on the side of an entire building, which must have taken weeks to finish. i probably didn’t even look at it more than five seconds.

Two men painted this beautiful mural in unison. They worked as a team, one mind, and discussed what colors were needed in what areas and what needed more shading. They knew exactly how it looked on paper but somehow were able to see the big picture, while they just painted one brick at a time. It is an amazing work of art that most New Yorkers including myself walked past without a second thought or a moment to reflect on the magnitude of this project just to welcome one man.

Although the mural is a religious symbol, the blank canvas is what inadvertently made me reflect on what I believe to be important in my life. I, for some reason, find that looking at pictures of other peoples faces, food, and pets are all much more important than admiring a beautiful piece of art that can be seen for blocks. The worst part is that I have looked at my phone and all those photos on Instagram at least five times since I have started this blog. I have considered deleting all my social media apps a lot lately. I only wonder if it will help me look around and notice the world a little bit more, or will I just replace it with some other mind-numbing waste of time like Candy Crush. It is weird that it look the lack of a painting of a religious symbol for me to reflect on my own life in a meaningful way.

St. Mark's Church in the Bowery and Social Churches by Pei Jie Gao

            

            This is a picture taken in front of the St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery on March 21^st. It is a beautiful church located in the East Village of New York City with rich history. However, it was the banner that says “Black Lives Matter” that really caught my eyes. Churches were usually viewed as a religious institution and as a place to worship. Increasingly, churches took on social issues and became an avenue for social justice as well. The St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery had certainly done so through a quiet but powerful banner.

The St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery is an Episcopal Church, a denomination traditionally associated with the Anglican Church in England. Recently, the Episcopal Church in the United States clashes with their Anglican peers on social issues such as gay rights. Thus, it is not surprising to see that as a member of the Episcopal Church, the St. Mark’s Church in the Bowery would actively engage with social issues. According to the church’s blog on the Huffington Post, the banner was put up last year, after the decision not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, who choke Eric Garner to death in Staten Island. The Church participated in the social movement “Black Live Matters”, and intended to use its populous location to speak out against the “racist system”, according to Rev. Winnie Varghese of St. Mark’s Church. She quoted the Bible “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out”, and the St. Mark’s Church intends to be the stones that cry out against the injustice for the oppressed.

Throughout this semester, there are examples of religious institutions or individual steps into the public sphere and address a social issue;  Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement, Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement, and the Universalist Unitarian Association and LGBT rights. These successful religious movement all have roots from religious teachings. St. Mark’s Church arguably played a similar role in the Black Live Matters movement. Indeed, the church does not play a prominent role like MLK or the UUA at their respective movements; it did not organize a march on Washington or a rally in Charlotte, but merely puts up a banner. Nonetheless, it is unfair to disqualify or reduce the importance of St. Mark’s Church as an agent of social change because of its relative passive approach to social issues. In my opinion, the success of any social movement depends upon making people aware of the issue, and the Church had done it through the banner; it has caught my attention and perhaps many others that walked by East Village every day. Smaller things may seem insignificant, but it could eventually become a force that drives social change. For example, how many people in the 1950s would have thought that Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat would eventually lead to Civil Rights for African Americans? We cannot know with certainty what the influence of this small step taken by St Mark’s Church will have on the future of the movement, but we should be glad that it has done something to promote a right cause.

On the other hand, there will be a relevant discussion on whether it is the role of the St. Mark’s Church to take on a social issue.  Some might argue while the Church had done a good thing, it acted outside of its boundaries. As we learned earlier in the semester from Robert Bellah, there has always been a conflict between the public and private spheres in the United States. Sometimes it is not welcomed for a religious institution to declare its position on a social issues, especially controversial ones.  The St. Mark Church tackled a relatively “safe” issue and there were not any meaningful backlash, as most people would agree that racism is wrong nowadays. However, making a stance on some “challenging” issues such as LGBT right could incite public outrage, and even criticism from religious peers. As previously mentioned, the Episcopal Church of United States was censured by the Anglican Communion due to its progressive view on LGBT right. Another example can be seen from our class, many students seem to dislike the USCCB’s defense of marriage and denial of LGBT rights, because it did not fit with the classes’ general opinion on the issue and the USCCB was playing the villain role in this case. After all, it seems religious institution needs significant courage to take on the role as a social institution. Thus, I would argue the banner is not a small act, but a significant symbol of bravery of the St. Mark’s Church.

I believe religious institutions will continue to exert its influence on social issues, as it has always done so, despite secular pressure. There are many churches like St. Mark’s Church, and I am sure there will be more churches to shift into a social institution. It is not a bad thing for the society, despite sometimes opinions from different churches might conflict with the general public. After all, religious institutions are part of the society just like any other secular institutions, and their voices should be heard as well. We will debate and argue on many issues, but that is the essence of a democratic society, we cannot ignore the voices of religious institutions simply because we do not like what they are saying (however, exceptions should be made for extremist group like the KKK and ISIS). Religious institutions had been powerful social institutions that drive positive changes in the past, and hopefully new generation of social churches like St. Marks’ Church will continues to do so.

Reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-winnie-varghese/the-stones-cry-out_b_6271452.html

National 9/11 Memorial By Matthew Modzelewski

            The National 9/11 Memorial is a place of a million meanings. To some, it is a monument to a decisive moment in American history, while to others, it is hallowed ground, similar to that of a cemetery.

Large bronze plaques encircle the reflecting pools that are placed where the World Trade Center buildings once stood, bearing the names of the victims of that tragic act of terror. The plaques have meaningful adjacency. This means that all of the names on the bronze plaques have been placed in such a way that they reflect relationships and friendships of those that died without divulging the connection shared between those placed next to one another. Those that visit the memorial can take a rubbing of the names on the plaques with paper and wax markers distributed by the memorial. This act is meaningful for those that lost someone on that day, but even more meaningful for those that lost someone who remains remain unidentified. The rubbing of their name serves as a way for their family to finally bring them home.

There is no question that the Memorial is “American”, as it represents one of the darkest days in our history by documenting the lives lost on that day. Christians, Jews, and Muslims died on that day together, not as individual members of their respective faiths, but as Americans that were targeted by an extreme force of evil that did not act within the confines of a rational being. Furthermore, the Memorial is the resting place for hundreds of unidentified remains and a place of mourning for those families that were never able to see their loved ones again.

            Despite the special meaning this place holds to many, it is also the source of conflict and hatred. It remembers a time when the nation perceived there was ill intent coming from an entire religion, a religion that is built upon teachings not too dissimilar from those of the Judeo-Christian beliefs. Following the 9/11 attacks, Muslims across the world, especially in the United States were persecuted endlessly due to their religious beliefs. Ignorant individuals, caught up in the tragedy that unfolded, used it as an excuse to release their pent up anger on many individuals very loosely tied to the extremist views of a few individuals. Muslims were denied their basic rights, verbally beaten down, and physically attacked.

            Personally, this site has a particularly positive meaning to me. The meaning transcends the unjust hatred of an entire religious group to reveal that there can be good found in even the worst acts of violence.

Growing up, my mother told me she would never be able to visit the National 9/11 Memorial once it was completed. Unable to grasp why she said this, I played it off as normal emotions, a lifelong New Yorker could not bear the pain involved with seeing a memorial dedicated to the nearly 3,000 lives lost in the matter of minutes. But, once I grew up, I realized it was much deeper than this. My mother knew John J. Badagliacca as a business contact through her position as a portfolio manager at Retirement System Group Inc. His office was located on the 104^th floor in Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. Over a span of 14 years, he worked his way up the corporate ladder at Cantor Fitzgerald, earning himself promotion after promotion, eventually getting a position selling bonds for the Treasury. Despite being a busy man dedicated to his work, he always found time in the morning to call my mother to see how she was doing and how her morning was going. Instead of greeting my mother with “Hello Deb” or something of that nature, he would say “Good morning sunshine!” On September 10^th, 2001, my mother received a special call from John. The call was not special because of its content, but instead because this would be his last call to my mother. John was one of the 2,753 that perished on September 11^th, 2001. His office was located three floors above the location where American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into Tower 1. His name now is memorialized on panel N-52 at the National 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan.

            John J. Badagliacca was a family man that had a profound impact on all those that knew him. John gifted me a red wagon when I was born that I only have fond memories of. Although I never got to meet John, he has taught me a valuable life lesson. I now go through life knowing that it can only take three words to have profound impact on someone’s life.

Christmas Tree at Bryant Park by Chris Laffin

Although seasonal and not even the most famous holiday tree, this landmark captures the winter festival spirit and represents the glow and cheer that come with Christmas and other holidays while in New York. Sitting in the shadow of the Empire State Building and an easy two blocks away from the transit hub of Grand Central Terminal, this destination is one that inspires awe and instills joy in the hearts of tourists and New York natives alike. The bright lights serve as a multi-purpose metaphor; anyone who gazes at it can relate the decoration to the starry night sky or the ever-glowing lights that shine in the city that never sleeps. Although it isn’t technically a religious destination or pertains to a specific Christian denomination, the evergreen is undoubtedly a unique text in the New York landscape. It captures the underlying warmth out in a cold night; the Christian traditions that are sewn into American history are exemplified in the country’s most iconic city during the year’s best holiday. 

The tree overlooks an ice skating rink that is filled with children and adults all doing their best to stay on both feet to avoid the embarrassment of falling while laughter fills the air. This symbol best captures what is great about winter and what is great about New York and it can only be seen during a religious holiday once a year. The tree represents the setting around it- it does not belong to one group or faith but belongs to all who can simply appreciate it. There are temples of every religion within a mile radius of its location, and that speaks volumes to the atmosphere of tolerance and peace it promotes.

The tree is the center of a community free space. Its location and prominent placement is a testament to the grandiose emotions it inspires. Even though the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza is larger or the one at home is decorated with personal ornaments, I truly feel that what makes this one unique is the remarkable belonging it has to it. This tree doesn’t seem like an attraction or a political/religious statement even though one could argue either is true. It just seems to me that its main purpose is to bring joy to people who have seen it either once or a hundred times. It will never be typical or normal. It will always be incredible.

It is because of all these many characteristics that I feel the Christmas Tree at Bryant Park deserves to be included in the conversation about religious texts within the confines of New York City. It has the undeniable glow of its metropolitan home all while conveying the holiday spirit that is most associated with Jesus. Just as one gets lost in one’s own imagination when reading a book, you can truly lose yourself when looking in to its illuminated branches and decorated pines. As a text, it perfectly embodies religion and America.

Kate McGrath

Professor Steidl

May 2^nd 2016

I discovered this church in the Belmont area of the Bronx while walking home from lunch one day.  I took a different path that usual due to construction on the sidewalks and fell upon this small church.  The bright red awning immediately caught my attention and I stopped to inspect the building.  Although the building wasn’t very large I was drawn to its perplexing demeanor.  Although small, its words spoke loudly. 

This picture represents the diversity within the catholic church in the United States..  The awning is an eye-catching bright red with bolded white letters.  The banner’s aesthetic represents the church’s confidence in their practicing and their desire to be heard.  If the church had been a simply black and white banner it would have blended in with the apartment building it is situated under and not have caught as many people’s eyes.  Although the establishment does not seem up-to-date and accommodating to large amounts of people, it’s banner speaks for its purpose.

People who likely originated from a Spanish-speaking country will find themselves at this church.  Because of their travels and new land, they are probably searching for a piece of their old country here in the United States, or more specifically Bronx, NY.  Whether they were born here or elsewhere, this denomination allows these people to not lose touch with the religion and practices they once followed.  Below what appears to be an apartment says: “Iglesia de Cristo” which translated from Spanish to mean “Church of Christ.”  Underneath the heading reads: “Columna y Baluarte de la Verdad”, “meaning the pilar and bastion of the truth”.  This congregation represents Latin American preservation of what they believe to be the truth and essence of their religion.  This church appears to promise the same core values that they follow, and abide by the ‘pillars’ of the Christian faith.  I also noticed that 1 Timothy 3:15 was cited on the awning.  1 Timothy 3:15 says:

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

Although some of the members may be many miles from their home, they have their bearings through the Iglesia de Christo here in Bronx, New York.  This Church has the ability to anchor these worshipers in a foreign land.  “…thou mayest know how thou oughest to behave thyself in the house of God” This quote is the epitome of what this Church claims to represent.  It states that no matter where you live you must still abide by the rules of God.   You have a set of rules given to use by God, and the church will guide us to properly follow the core beliefs of this religion.  

            This establishment, in my mind, represents the diversity in the United States, especially within the religion realm.  People travel far and wide to come to the United States for better opportunities both financially and politically.  While people travel they are leaving their homes, loved ones, and a part of their culture.  The Iglesia de Christo is meant for these people as a both source of community and place of worship.  Although it is not in their native land, it has the ‘pillars and bastions’ of the religion they followed in their native lands.  It is meant to bring a piece of home, they are still within the “house of God” and are able to follow the “truth.”

The Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, by Elliott Copeland

           The Bethesda Fountain is located by The Lake in Central Park and was constructed in 1868 by Emma Stebbins. The fountain is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists, visitors, joggers, couples, etc. every year, as the fountain and surrounding terrace are a focal point of the park. The fountain has a religious significance and was created with intentional symbolism. The center of the fountain is a female winged angel who is touching down on the top of fountain, where the water then overflows and cascades down into the two lower basins beneath. Below her are four cherubs that were made to represent Temperance, Purity, Health, and Peace. The angel’s backstory can be found in the Gospel of John and the basin below was constructed to represent the Pool of Bethesda that the angel blesses in this text. The religious symbolism of this piece is profound and the story behind it is fitting for the purpose and placement of the fountain.

            I believe that this piece is not only skillfully crafted and aesthetically pleasing, but the message that is conveys is the most exceptional part. The Bethesda Pool was described in Chapter 5 in the Gospel John to have healing powers once the angel touches it. This is fitting during its construction as it was made to allude to the Croton aqueduct that gave New York City the first source of dependable purified water in 1842. The Bethesda fountain is therefore a fitting symbol to remark the first source of dependable purified water, but what I believe is interesting is how the symbol is taken from a Christian narrative. The United States was founded on protestant Christian principles, and these undertones are present throughout many aspects of society such as our currency, our laws, and even our public schools.  This fountain is again another Christian image and even though we do not live in a secular state, we are surrounded by Christian influences. Thomas Jefferson remarks how the United States should be founded as a religiously free country in his A Bill for Establishing Religious Freedom. This is true today as every American is allowed to practice whatever religion they deem fit for them. Thomas Jefferson advocated for religious freedom, but he never advocated for the equal representation in common society of other religions in the country.  I do not believe this unequal representation in society is wrong, as the majority religion in a country will ultimately be most present throughout society as opposed to other minority religions.

            I found this fountain to be a reflection of the religious landscape of the United States and it appears to be appreciated by the majority of those who visit it. The ornate piece appears to insult none and I do not believe that anyone should take offense to the fact that the creator of this piece chose this narrative. Although this piece is accepted widely by society, other public displays of Christian influence have caught some discrimination as our country begins to become more religiously diversified and reluctant to have religious ideals pushed upon us. The religious landscape of America is changing and the influence of rapidly growing religions, such as Islam, will begin to influence society more greatly in the near future. This is exactly the environment that Jefferson advocated for, and religious tolerance should continue to be practiced by our society if this country is to continue to progress.