Extended version (with the assistance of the Lay Commission of the Chicago Diocese of St. Fr. Nicholas)
Part I - Entering the temple
The temple is heaven on earth, where the Lord God resides and lives. Aware of this reality, a Christian, approaching God's Temple - the church, must already internally prepare for proper calm behavior. This inner state is also revealed through external signs, symbols that are inherent in both spiritual and physical human nature.
When entering the temple, the faithful (men removing the covering from their heads) make the sign of the cross on themselves three times: folding together the first three fingers of the right hand, they successively touch first the forehead, then the chest, the right and left shoulders, while uttering (mentally) the words: In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen". We thereby outwardly acknowledge faith in the Holy Trinity, the Triune God and Christ the Savior, who died for us on the cross. Confession of our faith through the symbol of the cross should be done with great reverence, living faith and heartfelt love.
Next, upon entering the temple, you need to cross yourself and make a simple bow to the Eucharistic Jesus Christ, who is always in the ark in the Sanctuary. It is worth remembering that this should always be done when crossing the central part of the temple (in front of the iconostasis or tetrapod). If there is such an opportunity (when the divine service has not yet begun), we approach the tetrapod without haste to honor by bowing and kissing first the Holy Gospel (if it is present there at this time), the Holy Cross, then the temple icon (or the icon of the corresponding holiday). , we usually do it from left to right according to the placed relics. Having crossed ourselves twice before and once after kissing, we leave the tetrapod in order to greet the Lord in His house in private prayer and to give Him the first due honor and respect. After that, if possible and if necessary (when the Divine Service has not yet begun), we can greet those present with a slight bow of the head or (if this does not prevent others from praying) quietly and privately greet with our Christian greeting. Here it is worth mentioning that for greetings in our Ukrainian Christian tradition throughout the year there is a generally accepted greeting: "Glory to Jesus Christ!" - we answer: "Glory forever!". Also, to honor the greatest Christian holidays in the Christmas season (from Christmas to the Epiphany), we use the greeting: "Christ is born!" - we answer: "Let's praise Him!", and during the Easter holidays (from the Resurrection to the Ascension) to the greeting: "Christ is Risen!" we answer: "Truly he is risen!".
These special greetings are not only inherent in our national Christian tradition, but above all are a bold, conscious and public confession of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who said: "Everyone, therefore, who confesses me before men, him I also confess before my heavenly Father. Whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my heavenly Father." Matthew 10, 32-33.
If we came to the church only for a private prayer for a short time, then after the private prayer, (in case there are no services in the church), we approach the tetrapod again and after making the sign of the cross twice, we again kiss the Holy Cross and the icon, again once we cross ourselves with a knee bow, we quietly leave the temple.
Rules of conduct for a Christian in God's Temple
Advanced version – with the assistance of the Lay Commission at the Diocese of Chicago of St. Nicholas
Part 1 – Entering the Temple
The temple is heaven on earth, where the Lord God resides and lives. Realizing this reality, a Christian, approaching God's temple – the church, must already internally prepare for proper calm behavior. This inner state is also manifested through external signs, symbols, which are inherent in both spiritual and bodily human nature.
At the entrance to the temple, the faithful make the sign of the cross three times: folding together the first three fingers of the right hand, touch successively first the forehead, then chest, right and left shoulders, saying the words: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen". In this way, we acknowledge faith in the Holy Trinity, the Triune God and Christ the Savior, who died for us on the cross. The profession of our faith through the symbol of the cross must be done with great reverence, faith and heartfelt love.
Then, upon entering the temple, you need to cross yourself and make a small prostration or bow to the Eucharistic Jesus Christ, who is always in the ark (tabernacle) of the Sanctuary. It is worth remembering that this should be done whenever we cross the central part of the temple (in front of the iconostasis or tetrapod). If there is such an opportunity (before the service has started), we approach the tetrapod without haste to honor first the Holy Gospel (if it is present at that time), the Holy Cross through veneration, then the temple icon (or the icon of the corresponding holiday). We usually do this from left to right according to the holy items are placed. Crossing ourselves twice before and once after the veneration, we walk away from the tetrapod to greet the Lord in private prayer in His house and be the first to give Him due honor and respect. After this, if possible and when needed (when the service has not yet begun), we can greet those present with a slight bow of the head or (if this does not prevent others from praying) quietly and privately greet with our Christian greetings. It is worth mentioning here that for greetings in our Ukrainian Christian tradition throughout the year, there is a common greeting: “Glory to Jesus Christ!” - we answer: "Glory forever!". We also use the greeting “Christ is Born!” To celebrate the greatest Christian holidays at Christmas time (from Christmas to Christmas Eve). – we answer: “Glorify Him!”, and during the Easter holidays (from Resurrection to Ascension) to the greeting: “Christ is Risen!” we answer:
"Truly He is risen!".
These special greetings are not only inherent in our local Christian tradition, but are first and foremost a bold, conscious, and public profession of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:32-33.
If we come to the temple only for private prayer for a short time, then after the private prayer (if there are no services in the temple), we approach the tetrapod again and after making the sign of the cross twice, we kiss the Holy Cross and the icon again, once more crossing with a small prostration (bow), then we quietly leave the temple.
