The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Activities and Schedule

Saturday
5 - 6 P.M.: Evening Prayer
6 - 8 P.M.: Bible Study

Sunday
9 A.M.: Morning Prayer
10 A.M.: Divine Liturgy

The church also holds Sunday School for children and adults of all ages. Additionally, the community has been divided into twelve groups. Each has its own patron saint (St. Mary, St. Mark, etc.) and meets once a month, at a member's home or in one of the church's extra rooms, for informal hymn-singing and spiritual discussion.

History

Medhanealem ("Savior of the World") Eritrean Orthodox Church was founded in the late 1990s, shortly after the outbreak of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998. Many Eritrean families had been attending the local Ethiopian Orthodox Church but were not happy with the church's position on the war. These tensions led a group of Eritrean faithful to send a letter to the synod of bishops in Eritrea, petitioning to be sent a priest so that they might form their own church. (The Eritrean Church, formerly a part of the Ethiopian Church, had received ecclesiastical independence in 1993.) The Eritrean Church responded by sending Father G. Michael Yohannes to the United States in 1999; he was the first priest to be sent specifically to found an Eritrean church in America. The Eritrean community began meeting at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Tucker, Georgia. In December 2002 they moved to their present building (formerly a Protestant church) in Lithonia.

The Church and Its Liturgy

Worshippers entering Medhanealem Eritrean Orthodox Church remove their shoes as a sign of reverence, either leaving them in the small narthex at the entrance or carrying them inside and placing them at their feet. Men stand on the left. A few wear suits, while others dress more casually. Those who will be taking communion wear a traditional white shawl, draped crosswise over their regular clothes. Women stand on the right, wearing modest dresses and white prayer shawls, which they use to cover their heads. At the beginning of the morning prayers that precede the Divine Liturgy, relatively few worshippers are present, but by the middle of liturgy the pews are quite full. In the back of each pew there are bibles in the native Eritrean language of Tigrinya, as well as plastic binders containing songs in Tigrinya and in Ge'ez, the liturgical language of the Eritrean Orthodox Church. There is no need to refer to a service book, thanks to a digital projector that displays the text of the service on a large screen in the right front of the church. The text is arranged in three columns: Ge'ez, Tigrinya, and English. Most of the service is in Tigrinya, while parts are in Ge'ez; the English translation is for the benefit of the younger generation.

During the liturgy proper, the only instrument used is a single handbell, which is rung rhythmically at important points in the service, such as the administering of Holy Communion. People stand for most of the service, though prostration or kneeling are called for at the more solemn moments. After the Divine Liturgy, the people are seated, and the choir leads the church in a number of hymns in Ge'ez and Tigrinya. These are less restrained than the chants used for the liturgy: some of them are sung to the rhythm of drumming and clapping, and women occasionally lift their voices in ululation at the rests between verses. A synthesizer hidden in a corner of the church provides a simple melodic accompaniment to this part of the service. The Sunday service concludes with a sermon in Tigrinya.