 They call their church the original church, the one from which all other Christian churches evolved. They are members of the Eastern Orthodox faith and they represent both new immigrants and 4th generation Chicagoans. Hello, I'm Chaplain Dean with the Chicago Police Department. This is the latest in a series of videos to expand your knowledge and understanding of the many diverse communities within our city. Having even a basic knowledge of a person's customs and culture enables police officers to conduct their duties in a more efficient and respectful manner. Today, we explore the Eastern Orthodox faith. We have to realize that Orthodox is not really a faith or a religion, it's a way of life, it's how you live your life, that's the whole thing. There's a family of Orthodox churches, which is correctly called the Eastern Orthodox churches. There are 14 what we call autosophilus or self-governing churches throughout the world, but in this country, since it's a pluralistic country, different ethnic groups have come here, different times, different Orthodox jurisdictions have been set up. No, there is Romanian, Bulgarian, Russian, there is even Polish Orthodox and then the Greeks and Serbs, they're Ethiopian. The distinctions come from the ethnicity. The faith is the same thing. We are united in the faith. We can go to each other's churches, receive communion. The clergy can serve with each other in the various churches. Basically, in Orthodoxy, each of the various nationalities has a patriarch, but they are not like the Pope, what do you call it? The patriarch is one among equals, and the patriarchs themselves then elect the necumenical patriarch who happens to sit in Constantinople in Turkey. Greek, Serbian and Russian ethnic groups represent some of the largest Orthodox congregations in Chicago. Chicago is the third largest Greek city in the world after Athens Thessalonica in Greece. I think Chicago is beautifully ethnically diverse and offered probably a lot of job opportunities after Chicago fire when most of the influx of immigrants came from Greece. Serbians were among the first settlers in Chicago, but a new wave of immigrants arrived in the 1990s. When you talk about Serbia, it's one of the countries of Yugoslavia, but Serbs live all over Yugoslavia. You know, they live in Slovenia, they live in Croatia, they live in Bosnia, they still are. In Croatia, there is, because they all were expelled like seven years ago, about 400,000 of them. They had the wars there, and a lot of them became refugees, and a lot of them came back to the United States, a lot of them went to Canada, and a lot of them went to Australia. The Russian Orthodox Church draws from several countries. Most of them are either from a Russian land like Russia, Belarus, Ukraine. Some of them are from Poland, but that's because Poland's border changed many times in the course of history. Or they're of that background, but not everybody. As in the Western Church, Sunday is the day of worship for Orthodox Christians, and both the Eastern and Western Churches celebrate Christmas on December 25th. The churches however differ on the date for Easter. Saints' Day celebrations are of special significance to Orthodox individuals and families. Every person has a Saints' Day, they're named after a particular saint possibly, and that person would celebrate their name day or their feast day, much like we in America celebrate our birthday. Only men can be priests in the Orthodox Church, but Orthodox priests can marry. There are two ranks of clergy that are married and unmarried. The married clergy, you have to be married before you're ordained a deacon, and you can become a deacon and a priest and have children and family, but you cannot rise up in the hierarchy past priests. They came to my door, they saw, and my son answered the door, and he saw me with my collar standing behind. They should not be surprised to that. Though many times I have seen many people that are surprised because they have the mentality that when they see the collar they think automatically Catholic priests and no marriage. There are Orthodox monks too. Igumen, Vladimir, is a monk and parish priest. Igumen is a title of rank. Being a parish priest, I try to keep my head covered, it's a sign of respect, it's a monastic obedience, but I certainly take my head off for a number of things and I would have no problem being asked to remove it for some official reason. It's no problem at all. Some Orthodox women wear head coverings in church or in the presence of church dignitaries. For example, women coming to church would traditionally not wear pants, they would wear dress or skirt, and also traditionally from old times they are instructed to cover their heads. In some cases it may be very strictly observed, in other cases not. Mostly the ones that do put on the kerchief over their head are the ones that are widowed. A lot of them that are widowed do that, especially the elderly ones. Orthodox men and women typically wear crosses that are of special significance and must be treated respectfully. Usually when they get baptized their godfather always gives them a cross on the day and so they wear it all their life, or they buy another one maybe so they wear two. If you see a bishop, he has a round piece called an engolpion. They're beautiful pieces, it's not a problem to say what a beautiful engolpion or what a beautiful piece that is and ask if you can touch it and usually there's no problem. Orthodox Christians wear wedding bands on their right hands and cross themselves right to left, not left to right as members of other denominations do. We go right to left is the same issue of what God said that we always want to be on God's right side in the last day of His judgment and not on His left as He separates the good people from the evil people. Most Orthodox homes have what is called an icon corner. This is an area set aside for prayer and reflections. Most Orthodox homes do have an icon corner or a prayer corner and those icons should certainly have been blessed and should be treated with utmost respect. Orthodox Christians do not have three-dimensional statues or crucifixes with a body of Christ affixed, but you will often see a clover design on the tips of the cross or three horizontal bars in the case of the Russian cross. Many Orthodox Christians also carry an article of faith called a prayer rope. It is a knotted strand of wool or silk. As with most churches, it is disrespectful to chew gum, smoke, or bring any food or drink into an Orthodox church. Men are asked to remove their hats and police officers are asked to refrain from displaying a weapon in a church unless there is a law enforcement emergency. We have a prohibition against guns in churches and we had an issue where a police officer Greek Orthodox police officer came for Palm Sunday and his gun was in full view and this is the concept of sanctuary safe place is really alive in our church and we asked him to please remove it, cover it, do something with it. But if there is a call, if somebody comes in the church to make a problem, I think in that instance they can walk in there with the gun and you know as a person to leave or try to apprehend it. Also within the church, it is disrespectful to sit with your legs crossed. Arms should be kept crossed in front or hanging down by a person's side and hands should not be kept behind the back. In the Orthodox church we have a real keen sense of a space being sacred so just be as respectful as you can but you know you have to do what you have to do if it's you know like if it's a medical emergency or whatever you know you just you have to go about your business but try to be as respectful as you can. Keep these things in mind when dealing with members of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Eastern Orthodox churches may serve different ethnic groups but all are of the same faith. Articles of faith important to Orthodox Christians include crosses on neck chains and prayer ropes. Most Orthodox Christian homes have icon corners an area set aside for blessed icons. Male police officers should remove their hats in church. Police officers are asked not to display a weapon in the church unless there is a law enforcement emergency. All of the people we encounter on a daily basis expect to be treated with dignity and respect. Those who practice the Eastern Orthodox faith are no exception. It is our hope that this video was served to enlighten and foster a new awareness and understanding. Thanks for watching and as always stay safe.