On entering a church

First of all, while in church we should show the utmost reverence. When you enter a church, do not imagine that the Lord “needs” it. On the contrary, it is you who need it. It is a great happiness for you that God has moved you to turn to Him and granted you the chance to enter His dwelling.

The house of God is a “house of prayer,” and so, when you enter it, do not forget that you are going in to speak with God, to be joined with Him — to ask of Him the forgiveness of sins, the salvation of the soul and the grace of the Holy Spirit that is necessary for it. When we enter a church we should make the sign of the Cross and say: “I will come into thy house… I will worship toward thy holy temple in thy fear.”

In the middle of the church stands an analogion (lectern), on which lies the icon of the Resurrection, of the church's patron, or of some feast. On entering the church we first kiss it. Then, if our moving about will not disturb the worshippers, we go to the other icons.

By lighting candles before the icons, making the sign of the Cross and bowing before them, we express reverence and love for holy things.

A candle lit in church is first of all a sacrifice offered to God. A sacrifice is what a person gives from his own possessions without expecting any material return. A sacrifice is a gift that we dedicate, as a sign of love, to the one for whom we feel it. The Lord accepts a sacrifice from us when we offer it with a pure heart. It does not matter what material value this sacrifice has. A father will be as pleased on his birthday (if not more so) by a drawing his child has made with his own hand as by an expensive thing bought with money the child's mother gave him.

Some even try to set up a “business relationship” with the Lord. For example: “O God, grant me this request and I will light the biggest candle in the church for You.” God does not want big or small candles from you; He wants to see a loving heart.

When we make the sign of the Cross we show that we are Christians and have hope in God's help. Besides, the sign of the Cross protects us from every misfortune.

Metania is a Greek word meaning repentance. We make a prostration before God as a sign that we recognise our sins and unworthiness, and we express repentance and obedience. When making a small metania we cross ourselves and bow the head, while a great metania is made on the knees, touching the ground with head and hands.

You may pray both in Old Georgian and in modern Georgian. When you grow used to the texts of the canonical prayer book, you will gradually begin to use church Georgian words and expressions yourself, because you will feel that the church language, with its imagery, precision of thought and artistic expressiveness, is far better suited for speaking with the Lord than our colloquial, simplified and distorted speech.

We should come to church before the service begins, so as to have time to hand in a commemoration list, light candles and pray before the icons; then we take up a place — men on the right, women on the left — facing the altar, and we do not leave our place during the service.

If you are infirm or elderly, you may sit during the service (there are benches at the west end of the church for this) and stand only for the especially important prayers.

During the service try to listen attentively to the reading and singing, for the content of the church texts is deep in meaning: they express great repentance before God and tell of the saints and of the great mercy God has sent down upon His creation. Try to receive the service not so much with your ears as, above all, with an open heart; take in the beneficial atmosphere of the church. Put aside worldly problems and speak with God.

It depends only on us, on the depth of our faith, whether we receive peace of heart and grace-filled help, or remain sorrowful and comfortless.

It is impossible to be a hypocrite before God; we cannot deceive Him; “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). The Lord hears only words that rise from a pure heart, and fills it with the grace of the Holy Spirit.

We have strength enough to want to purify our hearts, to compel ourselves to turn to the Lord without guile — the Lord who, to redeem us from eternal death, willingly gave Himself up to torment at the hands of a maddened mob; who endured the greatest humiliation and a terrible death in order to grant us eternal life.

And so it is our duty to compel ourselves and to do good works, to take up the labour of prayer, to cleanse our hearts of defiling passions, to turn to Mother Church for help and protection, and to strengthen our souls with all the grace-filled means that we shall find in abundance in the church.

For the church to become your second and most important home, for you to feel that it is “yours,” for you to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit as fully as you can, you must go to church and be in it; you must teach your soul communion with God, and then the heavenly Father and Teacher, seeing your diligence, will teach you to hold fast and will set you on the way of salvation.