St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church

Last August I made an Icon of St. Kateri. The group that put on the workshop, have kept us informed of things over the past year. I got an email the other day that said that St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, which is located in Northridge California, was having their yearly Festival.

I have gone to this festival occasionally, over the past 30 years, so it wasn't news to me. What was news, is that they give tours of the Church itself, all afternoon. Being it is a Greek Orthodox Church, it has Icons all around the altar area.
I was encouraged to go check them out...and so I did.

The Icons are not actually painted. They are mosaics and as you can see, stunning mosaics. The tour guide explained many things about the layout of the Church.
The most prominent part of the altar area is the iconostasis. Here is an explanation, via Wikipedia.

The iconostasis, also called the τεμπλον/templon, it is a screen or wall between the nave and the sanctuary, which is covered with icons. There will normally be three doors, one in the middle and one on either side. The central one is traditionally called the Beautiful Gate and is only used by the clergy. There are times when this gate is closed during the service and a curtain is drawn. The doors on either side are called the Deacons' Doors or Angel Doors as they often have depicted on them the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. These doors are used by deacons and servers to enter the sanctuary. Typically, to the right of the Beautiful Gate (as viewed from the nave) is the icon of Christ, then the icon of St John the Baptist; to the left the icon of the Theotokos, always shown holding Christ; and then the icon of the saint to whom the church is dedicated (i.e., the patron). There are often other icons on the iconostasis but these vary from church to church. The curtain is also drawn and opened at various points in the service.

Above and behind the iconostasis (if the iconostasis does not reach the ceiling) is the Πλατυτέρα των Ουρανών/Platytera ton Ouranon ("more spacious than the heavens"), the icon of Virgin Mary with Christ blessing all. Oil lamps burn before all the icons.

So, in St. Nicholas Church, you have an iconostasis with - from right to left, St. Michael the Archangel, St. John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Past the door in the middle you have Theotokos (Mother of God) aka Mary and the Christ Child, St. Nicholas and St. Gabriel the Archangel.

Above the iconostasis is the icon of Mary and the Christ Child, with 2 angels surrounding them.

The second photo is a relic of St. Nicholas. As you can see, it is highlighted with a spot light.

The dome is also absolutely beautiful and it contains Jesus Christ, so that he is symbolically at the highest point in the Church.

I am so glad I spent a few hours of my day, visiting the Church and Festival.

More on the festival, tomorrow.