bound for Russia

About 12 hours from now, I’ll be outbound on a plane headed for Russia. Our long anticipated short term mission trip to Kalmykia has arrived…

Perhaps this is a preview of coming attractions (tho’ we probably won’t see an Orthodox service in person This Philip Yancey excerpt is from www.christianityonline.com/ct/current/0207/0207d.html

“Traveling gives me glimpses of a variety of church styles. I remember my first Russian Orthodox service, designed to express mystery and majesty. The service goes on three to four hours, with worshipers entering and leaving at will. No one invites congregants to “pass the peace” or “greet the folks around you with a smile.” They stand–there are no pews–and watch the professionals, who are very professional indeed.

I did not understand a word of the service, but then I learned that none of the other congregants did either: Russian services are conducted in Old Slavonic, which only the priests understand. In Egypt I attended a service conducted in a Coptic language that none but the priests could speak. Whereas publishers in the U.S. bring out a new version of the Bible every six months or so, in much of the world worshipers can?t understand a single word read to them from the pulpit.”