Jan 7

Jan 7 "Walk with Me to Church: Being an Orthodox Christian in Jordan" by Xenia Makosky

In Amman, I live with an Eastern Orthodox Christian family who owns an apartment that is less than a half mile from the local Orthodox Church. I am also an Eastern Orthodox Christian, and at Amideast I do not have classes until noon on Sunday, so I am able to attend services regularly. While I was extremely lucky that my Arabic class starts at noon during the week, there is no guarantee that your schedule will be the same as mine. For example, some of my friends have classes at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings. Even if you do have class on a Sunday morning, however, I encourage you to find a church and figure out if there are weekday or evening services you can attend. I also want to note that while Christians generally follow a less strict dress code than Muslims, you should still try to dress conservatively for church. Women can wear pants and blouses, but they should avoid short dresses and should cover their shoulders. If you are receiving Communion, then women need to put on one of the head coverings while approaching the chalice.

I bet this is not what most people expect to hear when I tell them I am studying abroad in the Middle East. If I am being completely honest, I was not expecting to be able to attend religious services with such ease while abroad either. Before I came to Jordan, I was fully prepared to only be able to attend church a few times during the semester, if at all. To my surprise, however, I found myself living with a family whose religious background is similar to my American family, and attending church is even easier in Amman than it is back home. (The closest Eastern Orthodox Church to my home in America is a 30-minute drive away!) While Christians and Muslims do not exist peacefully in all parts of the Middle East, here in Jordan they do and maintaining your Christian faith while studying abroad might not be as hard as you expect.

My First Sunday at Church in Amman

When my family is available, they also come with me to church services. My host mother took this photo of me at the entrance to the church on my first Sunday in Amman. Photo credit: Madanat, 2022

View toward the left side of a paved road with a few parked cars. Large building outlined by sunset, with towers with rounded roofs and crosses — The Church is in View!

After walking a few minutes, the church comes into view. I am usually directionally challenged, but luckily the church is large and the crosses on top are visible from anywhere, so I do not have a problem finding it. While the driving in Amman is crazy, the back roads - even those without sidewalks - are generally quiet and safe for walking, especially on a Saturday evening. The sunset is particularly gorgeous today, which made my walk even more peaceful. I have only been able to walk to church one other time during my life (when I was staying at a monastery this past summer), but I prefer walking to driving. Walking allows me to take in my surroundings and enjoy some quiet time. Tonight, I am going to Vespers, which is an evening prayer service. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

Square pavers in a sidewalk with the road to the left and a colorful garden of flowers and bushes on the right, with a small orange and white cat trotting ahead. The sun is heading toward the horizon — Fancy Houses & Furry Friends

The houses become bigger and fancier as you get closer to the church. I like to admire their gardens and architecture. I also met a furry friend on the way to church! I love watching the street cats of Amman. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

Large, tan and cream stone church, seen from the side. It has red roof tiles, two towers at the right, and a dome in the middle. Crosses are atop the dome and towers. — **Street View of the Church of the Ascension.** If you are standing at the fancy houses, immediately to the left you will see the “Church of the Ascension.” You cannot miss it! Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

The Front of the Church of the Ascension

We have arrived! If you have not already noticed, the church sits on a hill, so you get some exercise walking to the front door. There are not many people here yet, because I arrived half an hour early to take pictures and to have some quiet time. If you notice the sun is setting behind us in this photo, which is to the west, and the church faces east. All Orthodox churches face east because the star that the Wisemen followed to find Jesus in Bethlehem came from the east, and Christians believe that Jesus Christ will also come again from the east. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

View of the hills of Amman from the tan and cream stone veranda, with low ornate stone wall on the left and the church wall on the right — Sitting on the Veranda & Listening to the Bells

I took a few minutes to sit outside and enjoy the sunset on Saturday night. The church, like most things in Amman, is located on a hill, so it has a beautiful view of the surrounding neighborhood of Khalda. While I was sitting outside, the church bells also started ringing. Church bells are rung usually a few minutes before the service begins and then right when it begins. Similar to the Call to Prayer in Islam, the bells call Christians to services. I love hearing the Church Bells and Call to Prayer in my neighborhood. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

Icon of the Ascension of Jesus Christ

Orthodox Churches all have a patron saint or feast day that they are named for. This church is “The Church of the Ascension,” so right when you enter the church there is an icon of the Ascension of Christ. Christians believe that Christ ascended into Heaven on the 40th day after his Resurrection from the dead. The Arabic word for “Ascension” is “الصعود.” Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

**Inside the Church of the Ascension.** This is the view inside the church. The first time I walked into this church, I was in awe of the iconography and woodwork. Everything is immaculate. The first time I walked into the church after arriving in Amman, I felt like I was at my parish in the US because of the smell of burning incense. In the Orthodox Church, we burn incense to engage all the senses in worship, and it is symbolic of prayers being uplifted to God like the incense. The smell of incense always reminds me of church. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

Church of the Ascension *Iconostas*

*Iconostas* is a Greek word that means “Screen of Icons.” It separates the altar from the place where the people sit, also known as the “nave.” Every Orthodox Church’s iconostas has different icons that are important to each Church, but Christ is always depicted on the right, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, is always on the left. On the right-hand side, we see an icon of John the Baptist, the Sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, and an Icon of St. George. On the left, after the icon of Mary, there is another icon of the Ascension, and then St. James. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

Rectangular yellow prayer book with dark brown Arabic script and a religious picture in the center, held by someone's left hand in a pew — Evening Prayer Book Cover

Part of what is so cool about going to church in Amman is that the entire service is in Arabic. While I cannot understand every word of the service, I have been to a lot of Orthodox Church services in English during my life, and the Orthodox services and prayers are the same everywhere in the world. I also know enough Arabic that I can figure out where we are in the service. Here’s a picture of the prayer book for this evening. What we call “Vespers” or “evening prayers” in the US is known as “صلاة الغروب” in Arabic, which literally means “prayers of the setting sun.” I think this is a beautiful way of phrasing it! Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

White page showing Arabic script in black, with a blue ornate border on the page — “Our Father” in Arabic

Another great thing about attending church services in another language is that it is additional language practice. I am learning so many new Arabic words through prayers. For example, I took a picture of “Our Father,” a famous Christian prayer, to practice at home. My goal by the end of the semester is to have this prayer and a few others completely memorized in Arabic. The Church also gives out a weekly pamphlet with that week’s feast days and saints, and I always bring it home and read it with my family during the week. While religious vocabulary is challenging, it is a good way to learn Arabic and diversify my vocabulary. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

Shades of a sunset from dark orange to yellow, pink, pale blue and dark blue, with outlines of buildings. Faint crosses lit up in the distance — Glowing Crosses

By the time church finished, the sun had already set, and it was pretty dark outside, but the church is always visible, even at sunset because the three crosses on top of it light up. If you zoom in on the tall building in the middle of this picture, you can see crosses glowing on top. My family actually picked me up at the church, and we went on an adventure in Amman to finish out the weekend, so I did not get to walk back home today. Photo credit: Makosky, 2022

I am so thankful that I am able to attend religious services while studying abroad. While my religious identity is a major part of my life, I know that it is not the same for all students. I would encourage everyone studying abroad to visit any house of worship, whether that is a church or mosque, and attend a service with your host family or friends. Religious identity is a major aspect of Jordanian life, and it will only help you understand the culture better. And who knows, you might even enjoy it and learn something!

Xenia Makosky is a student from Dickinson College participating on Amideast’s Area and Arabic Language Studies program in Amman, Jordan in Fall 2022.