(Part one in a series of posts encouraging reverence of the Holy things)
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, during the Ambon Prayer, the priest asks God to “sanctify those who love the beauty of your house…”. This reference comes from Psalm 25:8 (26:8 in most bibles) which says “Lord, I love the beauty of your house, the place where your glory dwells”. This psalm is also referenced when a priest washes his hands after vesting and right before he begins the preparation rites for the Divine Liturgy. Thus at the very beginning of the Divine Liturgy, and near the end, we are reminded of the sacred space that is our temple, the dwelling place of God. I would encourage everyone to call our church building the “Temple” because in the Greek it is called a “Naos” which means “house” whereas “Ecclesia”, translated “church” means “gathering”. So we are the “church”, gathered in the “house” of God. This is of course not a hard and fast rule, but I think it’s helpful to acknowledge the sacredness and glory of our beautiful temple.
Sunday, October 30 –
