OK, who told the babushkas?!?!

[kamikat]

Why didn't y'all told me that now I have "catechumen" stamped on my forehead:D All of a sudden, I had little old ladies grabbing my arm and telling me what to do. Maybe it was because this was the first time I've been there early enough for the begining of the reading of the third hour. I don't know. I had one telling me to watch and bow as the deacon incensed everyone. I had another one grab me out of my pew to venerate the cross and grabbed a big handful of antidoran for me to take home. I'm sure she would have dragged me downstair for coffee if I hadn't told her that I had hungry kids and husband waiting for me to come home. Wow! I guess the little old ladies really do run the churches.

kamikat

[choirfiend]

Hehehe, they love you!

[repentant]

Yes, the yiayia's are great. Strong too, you should see when they try to push you out of the way during Easter time to venerate the Epitaphion, lol.

[choirfiend]

My priest was telling tales of the Babas in Romania under the Communists....The secret police would 'hire' hooligans to go into the Church and yell and disrupt the services. When one came in (the babas knew who they were, or once they started to be disruptive), without speaking, the babas would just silently surround the person, always looking ahead, always focused on the service. Very slowly, this clump of babas would begin moving collectively towards the back or an exit with the person trapped in the middle, forced to move along. When they reached a door, the babas in the back would split and the person would very quietly be backed out the door. The babas would then return to their previous places and continue worshipping:)

They are a force to be reckoned with, especially the ones who come from the old country who know and remember the persecutions.

[Jacob4707]

I had another one grab me out of my pew to venerate the cross and grabbed a big handful of antidoran for me to take home.

Pews? :confused:





(just joking!)

[Greg the byzantine]

What would we do without the yiaiyia/babas. :cool: My very own yiaiyia reprimanded a priest once, for not doing a mnymosyno over the koliva with all the prayers etc. He insisted he read the names inside the altar, but my grandmother became upset, argued with him, and threatened to get the Bishop on his tail. Suffice it to say he always does the mnymosyna now.

Yiayia's the true defenders of Orthodoxy :crosseo: ;)

[MariaRegina]

My priest was telling tales of the Babas in Romania under the Communists....The secret police would 'hire' hooligans to go into the Church and yell and disrupt the services. When one came in (the babas knew who they were, or once they started to be disruptive), without speaking, the babas would just silently surround the person, always looking ahead, always focused on the service. Very slowly, this clump of babas would begin moving collectively towards the back or an exit with the person trapped in the middle, forced to move along. When they reached a door, the babas in the back would split and the person would very quietly be backed out the door. The babas would then return to their previous places and continue worshipping:)

They are a force to be reckoned with, especially the ones who come from the old country who know and remember the persecutions.


Good tactic to remember.

Surround and conquer. :D

[MariaRegina]

What would we do without the yiaiyia/babas. :cool: My very own yiaiyia reprimanded a priest once, for not doing a mnymosyno over the koliva with all the prayers etc. He insisted he read the names inside the altar, but my grandmother became upset, argued with him, and threatened to get the Bishop on his tail. Suffice it to say he always does the mnymosyna now.

Yiayia's the true defenders of Orthodoxy :crosseo: ;)


Yes, you are right.

And they are to be feared.

[Dewi Sant]

That is so True!^_^


I have my own little old lady (well she isn't that old) who drags me to do everything.


In the second week of joining the church she was forcing coffee and biscuits down my throat then she made me join the choir.

This week we didn't have the basses or tenors at choir and I had a bad singing voice but she kept giving me hand gestures to sing up^_^ .

After the DL she makes me eat food again and then when I try to escape from the church she comes running out to drag me inside again:eek:





It is very true, but if there were no little old ladies I wouldn't have the same enthusiasm to go to church.


My Priest isn't much better, he goes round randomly hugging people and making them eat food:P .

[kamikat]

Pews? :confused:

(just joking!)

Our building was bought from another church, so we even have an arched roof, no dome. I guess ya take what you can get! I get the impression that Father would like to remove the pews and we usually have about 20 people clustered in the very front, in front of the first pew, who stand through the whole thing.

kamikat

[MariaRegina]

That is so True!^_^


I have my own little old lady (well she isn't that old) who drags me to do everything.


In the second week of joining the church she was forcing coffee and biscuits down my throat then she made me join the choir.

This week we didn't have the basses or tenors at choir and I had a bad singing voice but she kept giving me hand gestures to sing up^_^ .

After the DL she makes me eat food again and then when I try to escape from the church she comes running out to drag me inside again:eek:





It is very true, but if there were no little old ladies I wouldn't have the same enthusiasm to go to church.


My Priest isn't much better, he goes round randomly hugging people and making them eat food:P .


Hey, you are a growing young man. They love to mother people.

[Tsarina]

Why didn't y'all told me that now I have "catechumen" stamped on my forehead:D All of a sudden, I had little old ladies grabbing my arm and telling me what to do. Maybe it was because this was the first time I've been there early enough for the begining of the reading of the third hour. I don't know. I had one telling me to watch and bow as the deacon incensed everyone. I had another one grab me out of my pew to venerate the cross and grabbed a big handful of antidoran for me to take home. I'm sure she would have dragged me downstair for coffee if I hadn't told her that I had hungry kids and husband waiting for me to come home. Wow! I guess the little old ladies really do run the churches.

kamikat

Aw, lol.. that's cute.

The Babushka's at my Church just smile and speak in Slavonic with me. I have no idea what they're saying, but i can't stop them because they won't understand what i'm trying to say to them, (No, they don't speak English).

Oh, and for those who know about my little language mix-up with the Deacon at my Church (who always speaks in Russian to me and doesn't pick up that i don't understand him)... Guess what? He said his first English word to me the other day in the Church kitchen. The word was "eat!".

[Gnisios]

Pews? :confused:

It depends on the culture. In Greece all Churches, even the traditional ones have chairs or pews. The only difference is that the traditionalists will seperate men from women but others will allow married couples or families to sit together.

[Greg the byzantine]

Hey, you are a growing young man. They love to mother people.
:D Yiayias will not rest until you have eaten twice your weight in food.

[Gnisios]

:D Yiayias will not rest until you have eaten twice your weight in food.

LOL Good one!!

[Annoula]

GO YIAGIA GO!!!

:D :D :D