First, on Saturday evening, I caught a small part (about 20 minutes) of the Orthodox Liturgy at the church inside their cemetery at Wolska. The pictures below just give a non-intrusive feel of the place on early Saturday evening when the Liturgy is taking place.
Similar to Gregorian chant, Slavonic chant can send a massive tingle down my spine. For me, religious experience is mainly about aesthetics, and not many (if any) Churches sing better than the Orthodox.
Second, on Sunday morning, I went to the Morning Service (10.30-12.15) at the Holy Trinity Lutheran church in the centre of Warsaw. I'd only been to parts of Lutheran Services twice before, so this was my first full-on encounter with Lutheran religiosity, and it was very impressive.
This church building, itself, is also used for Classical concerts, because the quality of the accoustics inside is amazing. The music throughout the Lutheran Service, which lasted nearly two hours, reminded me a little of well-done Anglican music. It had a certain kind of northern European grandeur if I can put it that way.
The Service today was a special one, as the church seemed to be (my Polish isn't great) welcoming visitors from Sweden (a Swedish Lutheran clergyman and youth choir), and officially bringing five converts into their fold, probably from post-Vatican II Catholicism, as many (especially young) people are disillusioned/ disenchanted with this.
When I got outside after the Service, I felt incredibly uplifted, and no doubt, will be returning to this Lutheran church in the near future, maybe next week. I really loved it there today. For an 'outsider', it was a real fantastic way of spending Sunday morning.
Hi Pat, We have Lutheran churches in Cork and Killarney. Think they conduct the services in German. Great pictures of the architecture.
ReplyDeleteWhat religious variety do you get in Bantry, Dave? I know you have the Jehovah's Witnesses and an Evangelical group besides the mainstream (post-Vatican II) Catholic Church and Church of Ireland. Is there anything else on offer there?
ReplyDeleteYes you're right they are the only religious variety here in the Bantry area. Think there is also a Polish Catholic service held in the hospital chapel weekly. Then it's the Methodist church in Drimoleague if you want a non-conformist church.
ReplyDeleteI have never really liked any of them enough to go on a regular basis. I hope there is a God but I don't identify with any of their labels these days. Think a lot of people feel they have become spiritually dis-enfranchized these days Pat?
I think many Western people are spiritually disenfranchised in themselves, Dave.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it's not all the fault of the Churches. They are like businesses, they have to economically survive in a hostile climate.
Having said the above, I like to be left alone when I visit any Church/church, because I don't want any possible 'sense of the sacred' or enchantment to be blocked by any excessive social networking. Through observing new religious movements (e.g. the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses), I've discovered that excessive social networking can destroy the earnestness and excitement of a genuine religious search.
Hope the above makes some kind of sense, Dave. Not that sure it does.
I think you raise a lot of good points Pat. A lot of modern people seems to want an instant 'emotional high' fix or just some kind of musical entertainment. You sound like your motivation to visit different churches is to find spiritual enchantment.
ReplyDeleteAre there any Evangelical churches near you?
Hi Dave,
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are several Evangelical (Charismatic) churches round Warsaw with different names, and I guess funded from the US. Most non-conformist churches in Warsaw are said to be funded by American benefactors.
The Pentecostal Church is also successful in Poland with about 25,000 members. I might try to get to a Pentecostal service in Warsaw city centre next Sunday.
The most successful non-conformist group in Poland are the Jehovah's Witnesses with about 125,000 members. This makes them the third biggest religious group in Poland behind Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. This is because the JWs have been established in Poland a lot longer than any other non-conformist group.