Rod Dreher recently wrote an article entitled 'Pews vs. standing: an Orthodox controversy.' I'm not quite sure I see the point of it. It was hard for him to get used to standing during the liturgy when he converted, but now that he does it he shores up his new position on standing by cutting out a blurb from another article on the topic.
If you're Orthodox this is a known entity not really meriting much discussion. I don't see Greek parishes ripping out pews donated by families who remember their great-grandfather paying to have them installed. He could visit a parish and ask someone about getting them removed, but he had better be fleet of foot enough to outrun some wildly gesticulating yayas.
If you're Protestant I could easily see how you could be offended by the tone. The implication is that he is worshipping more completely than they are - he's participating while the Protestant world is unwittingly doing it all wrong.
If you're Catholic the idea seems to be that what you are doing now is a departure from the original tradition. Does he expect a billion Catholics to have the chairs pulled out from under them? Sitting and kneeling on kneelers attached to those pews is as customary to Catholics as the shifting of weight from foot to foot while standing is to an Orthodox believer.
Thoughts?
(Beliefnet) - My family came into Orthodoxy in a parish without pews. St. Seraphim's Cathedral in Dallas observes the traditional Orthodox custom of parishioners standing for the entire two-hour liturgy, though there are chairs lining the sides of the worship space for those who cannot or who don't wish to stand for the service. There is no shame in sitting down; it's just not done by most people. Small children typically sit at their parents' feet for most of the service. When we first started attending St. Seraphim's, this practice was so off-putting; we couldn't imagine standing up for so long! But we did, figuring that something that has been done for so many centuries must have something to teach us. Before long, we came to appreciate standing, and it came to be the most natural thing in the world to us.
Before moving to northward, a number of folks told us that Orthodoxy in this part of the country is different from Orthodoxy in the OCA Diocese of the South. One thing we'd notice is that most Orthodox churches have pews. The Greek Orthodox in America accepted pews some decades ago (indeed, the big Greek parish in the Dallas area has pews today), as an attempt to acculturate its congregations to American standards (more historical info on this here). Today, in both the OCA and Antiochian jurisdictions, you find churches with pews (though the well-known Antiochian parish of the Holy Cross in Maryland does not have them). Let me stipulate here that I do not think that Orthodox Christians who worship in pews are in any way spiritually inferior to those who stand during the liturgy; in fact, at St. Stephen's Cathedral (OCA) in Philadelphia, most of the congregation stands anyway, in front of their pews! But I must say that having worshiped in both styles, I strongly prefer the traditional way. This essay from an Orthodox site explains why this liturgical form is not just empty traditionalism, but trains our way of experiencing God in the liturgy. I'm a bit off-put by the slight sarcasm in the essay, but I do think this point in particular is very true:
1) Pews teach the lay people to stay in their place, which is to passively watch what's going on up front, where the clergy perform the Liturgy on their behalf. Pews preach and teach that religion and spirituality is the job of the priest, to whom we pay a salary to be religious for us, since it is just too much trouble and just too difficult for the rest of us to be spiritual in the real world of modern North America. Pews serve the same purpose as seats in theaters and bleachers in the ball park; we perch on them (even during the Litanies which are the specific prayer of the People) to watch the professionals perform: the clergy and the professionally-trained altar servers, while the professionally-trained choir sings for our entertainment.
Yesterday I mentioned to Julie that I didn't like pews, because they made me feel as if I were part of an audience watching a performance on the altar. Without pews, I felt more like someone gathered around a bonfire. The author of this essay puts it more harshly than I would, but the insight is essentially the same. You wouldn't have convinced me several years ago when I first walked into an Orthodox church that the experience of worshiping without pews would make me feel more integrated into the liturgy (as opposed to merely tired from standing), but having worshiped this way for almost four years, I've experienced the difference, and love it! It makes one feel personally more integrated into the liturgy, I find.
Roman Catholics used to go to mass like this too, but it appears that the Reformation also brought pews into Catholic churches as well (Byzantine Rite Catholics generally still observe the older tradition of standing during mass, though I've attended two Byzantine Rite churches in the US that have pews). It surely must strike most American Christians as interesting, at the very least, to think that pews in Christian churches are a relatively recent innovation in the history of Christianity. For three-quarters of our history, most Christians stood at corporate worship.
Let me ask my Orthodox readers for their thoughts on having pews inside our churches. I'd also like to hear from Catholic and other non-orthodox readers on the topic.
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After being in both situations in Orthodox parishes, I see the opportunity for both piety and vainglory in both. The churches without pews become a "standing contest" and an opportunity to judge those who use the few places provided for the "infirm". I'd say "deal with what you are dealt"... how your inner life responds to the architecture of your church says more about you than the physical surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI like what s-p wrote about one's inner life responding to architecture. It reflects how a human being responds to Beauty inside the celestial Temple.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the comment does not address the need of human beings to move about while serving the Liturgies and other services. The use of seats promotes an attitude of lethargy and sloth, at least for some Christians. Seats also convey a visual analogy of an auditorium where rowed seating provides a "place" where an "audience" listens and watches a production on stage.
I believe that, in addition to a great need for evangelism among an overly sacramentalized group of Orthodox Christians, we need to reintroduce the rhythm of full and partial prostrations that pews forbid.
Moreover, pews and kneelers not only make our temples look like houses of worship for Christians with whom we are not in Communion, but may well form spatial barriers that contribute to prevailing ignorance and indifference to full participation in the Church by an arguably significant percentage of Orthodox Christians.
Therefore, I return to s-p's comment, with which I agree: "I'd say "deal with what you are dealt"... how your inner life responds to the architecture of your church says more about you than the physical surroundings."
Does "inner life" assume that there is an informed and repentant inner life, or else something like personal preference? For example, "You like pews, I like no pews. Let's get along--it's like you like chocolate and I like vanilla."
Or does it mean that introverts like to nest on pews, whereas extroverts like to meet and greet?
Or else, again, maybe there are reasons for keeping pews that merit no spiritual value in reference to an "inner life." Might the preference for pews mean that many Christians in Greek jurisdictions show up 20 minutes before the Anaphora, and do not want to be seen entering late by neighbors already seated in fixed pews? It's easy to slip into a back pew late, sight unseen for the most part. [Parenthetically, why do priests routinely commune chronic late-comers whose tardiness is known by the priests to represent indifference to everything that precedes a late-comer's arrival?]
Could it be that late-comers are counted among those who resist removing a memorial bench for an ancestor?
Does it really take that much text to say "Since I stand I'm better than you. And for God's sake I KNOW I'm better than the Greeks"? Vainglory, indeed.
ReplyDeletes-p: Very well put.
ReplyDeleteedinmiami: I will agree that pews tend to stifle movement. You will notice that a metany is replaced with a bow at the waist or an inclination at the head. It's also worth noting that in those parishes where the idea of pews is anathema and where rows of chairs are used instead, they act exactly like pews. So while they maintain a mental line where pews are concerned, the actual line has already been stepped over - albeit with cheaper seating.
Certainly the open space where chairs would be allows for more full participation, but you are just as likely to see people milling about the back of the nave in a pew-less church as you are to see people sitting in the back few rows. It's the same behavior with less organization.
I tend to treat people as if they are all struggling through the process of perfection. To that end I don't see any nefarious intent in pews. I doubt the person who comes to church late and barely participates is the same person who would pay thousands of dollars to get their own seating.
matthewmoore: That was my problem with the article. It might (I go so far as to say probably wasn't) not have been his intention to look down his nose at the handi-pewed, but it certainly gave off that air.
Interesting topic Mr. Dreher chose for the beginning of Lent. I attend a parish with pews but semi-regularly visit other parish's without them. I don't know that I see much difference in piety between the two practices. I find people moving around in either tradition to be distracting. I'm not sure why it's better in a non-pew parish. For myself, I find pews to be quite cumbersome and down right uncomfortable. Even though we have pews, it seems that many (most??) people stand for a goodly portion of the service anyway. Practically speaking, pews are not made to be stood in front of, especially if you are tall and not as thin as Kate Moss. But, pews do help keep the little kids from spreading out and becoming a tripping danger for older adults.
ReplyDeleteI've just tended to adopt the attitude that s-p suggests: "when in Rome..." Do I like them...not particularly, but there are so many bigger issues I need to work on in myself.
So what's up for next week .. headcoverings? ;)
"I tend to treat people as if they are all struggling through the process of perfection. To that end I don't see any nefarious intent in pews. ..."
ReplyDeleteThere is a mausoleum quality of perpetual ownership by families, which occasionally reaches levels that idolize ancestors, Donate pews and other furnishings in the holy temple and the Church is reminded of its responsibilities not only to pray for the dead [truly important!], but also obligated to reserve that pew for an annual memorial service [I am not sure about the importance of this obligation except to keep the peace and the pew].
But your comment made me pause. I had never thought that expensive donations correlated with high levels of participation in services. In fact, it has gone the opposite direction in my experience. The more money someone donates, the less willing he is to engage in the work of being Church. However, I will re-think things, and open my mind to see if I had excluded examples from observations now or in the past.
Point well taken, though, about removing the pews and watching a swarm of late-comers huddled just inside the doors from narthex to nave. "And the last will be first."
edinmiami: Having spoken to parish treasurers in the past there is (anecdotal data I know) a corollary between who comes to church with who gives money to keep the parish going monthly. Not sure if the same is true to people that give big, one-time donations to the church. This motivates me to do a post on the most discussed issues of Eastern Christian blogdom most people wouldn't expect to be issues: pews, prayer ropes, head coverings, and pot luck. :)
ReplyDeleteJosephus, I too find the "most discussed issues" on the "convert internet" to be ironic. I'm sure there are some upcoming Orthographs on these issues. :)
ReplyDelete