Church Etiquette

There are times during the Divine Liturgy, which are considered so important that we should know when to enter and when to stand. A guide is always found in the Divine Liturgy book, but an easy rule of thumb is as follows…One should always stand when reciting the Creed or the Lord’s Prayer; when a blessing is offered by the Priest; during the administering of Holy Communion, or anytime we are called upon to rise “Sophia Orthee/Wisdom Arise”.

We should keep in mind that the church is a very holy place and we are there in front of God; therefore we stand in the presence of God, unless we are unable to do so because of advanced age or health reasons. Let us try to keep order and proper decorum within the church.

We should NOT ENTER the church at these times:

• During the Small Entrance
• During the Epistle Reading
• During the Gospel Reading
• During the Great Entrance
• During the Creed
• During the “Se Imnoumen”
• During the Lord’s Prayer
• During Holy Communion
• During the Sermon
• Whenever the priest faces the congregation.