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DO'S AND DON’TS AND ETIQUETTE

The time to arrive at Church is before the service starts. If you arrive after the Divine Liturgy begins, try to enter the Church quietly and observe what is happening. The best way to avoid this situation is to arrive on time.

You should also not enter the Church during the reading of Epistle or the Gospel.

It is customary when venerating an icon, especially the principal icons, to make two reverences (sign of the cross followed by a bow), sign of the cross a third time followed by kissing the icon, then a final reverence (sign of the cross followed by a bow).

When venerating (kissing) an icon, pay attention to where you kiss. It is not proper to kiss an icon on the face,you should kiss their hand. When you approach an icon to venerate it, kiss the Gospel, scroll, or hand cross in the hand of the person depicted, or kiss the hand or foot. In fact, the hands and feet on some icons are covered with metal for just this purpose and so as not to damage the icon itself. As you venerate an icon, show the proper respect due to the person depicted; the same respect you would show them in person. Remember blot off that lipstick first!

It is not proper to light candles during the Epistle and Gospel readings, during the little or great entrances, the sermon and most of the times when the faithful are standing.

It is not appropriate to greet people and have conversations during the services. Talk to God while in church through you prayers, hymns and thanksgiving.

Leaving church before dismissal deprives us of a blessing.

For the attire inside the Church always remember we should offer Christ our “Sunday best” not our everyday common wear. And we should dress modestly, not in a flashy way that would bring attention to ourselves - and certainly not in a provocative or alluring way. Our dress should always be becoming to a Christian - especially in the Church.To give an example to this we will be going to use the uniform and dress code at our school. For girls we have skirts which is supposed to be longer than our knees, any appealing dress ware is strictly prohibited, for boys the pants should also be longer than the knees. This also applies to the Church in which any kind of shorts is inappropriate and there should be no t-shirt with any kind of drawing in it.

         DOS AND DON’TS AND ETIQUETTE

The time to arrive at Church is before the service starts. If you arrive after the Divine Liturgy begins, try to enter the Church quietly and observe what is happening. The best way to avoid this situation is to arrive on time.

You should also not enter the Church during the reading of Epistle or the Gospel.

It is customary when venerating an icon, especially the principal icons, to make two reverences (sign of the cross followed by a bow), sign of the cross a third time followed by kissing the icon, then a final reverence (sign of the cross followed by a bow).

When venerating (kissing) an icon, pay attention to where you kiss. It is not proper to kiss an icon on the face,you should kiss their hand. When you approach an icon to venerate it, kiss the Gospel, scroll, or hand cross in the hand of the person depicted, or kiss the hand or foot. In fact, the hands and feet on some icons are covered with metal for just this purpose and so as not to damage the icon itself. As you venerate an icon, show the proper respect due to the person depicted; the same respect you would show them in person. Remember blot off that lipstick first!

It is not proper to light candles during the Epistle and Gospel readings, during the little or great entrances, the sermon and most of the times when the faithful are standing.

It is not appropriate to greet people and have conversations during the services. Talk to God while in church through you prayers, hymns and thanksgiving.

Leaving church before dismissal deprives us of a blessing.

For the attire inside the Church always remember we should offer Christ our  “Sunday best” not our everyday common wear. And we should dress modestly, not in a flashy way that would bring attention to ourselves - and certainly not in a provocative or alluring way. Our dress should always be becoming to a Christian - especially in the Church.To give an example to this we will be going to use the uniform and dress code  at our school. For girls we have skirts which is supposed to be longer than our knees, any appealing dress ware is strictly prohibited, for boys the pants should also be longer than the knees. This also applies to the Church in which any kind of shorts is inappropriate and there should be no t-shirt with any kind of drawing in it.

Such activity is disrespectful of the sacred services and disruptive to others in attendance. At the very most, a bottle may be brought for very small children and babies. Eating snacks (or even whole meals) is totally inappropriate. If a child has an immediate need for nourishment, they should be fed before the services, or taken outside the church to eat a snack. If a child did eat something during the service, parents should clean up any mess before leaving the church. Children who are going to receive Holy Communion should learn to fast Sunday mornings by the age of seven. chewing gum is not allowed during Liturgy for everyone.