Father John Caparisos at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday. Dana Clark Felty Saturday, September 13, 2008 at 12:30 am
Jolene Yasar will never forget the day her new husband called from Korea to tell her he was converting to Orthodoxy.
Then a Pentecostal, Yasar blurted out all the questions that immediately came to mind.
"Why do you worship icons? Why do you pray to Mary? Why do you do confessions in front of a priest?" she recalled asking him.
"The best way to answer questions about Orthodoxy is just to come and see," he told her.
Today, the Yasars are among a growing number of converts to the Orthodoxy, the second-largest Christian body in the world next to Roman Catholicism.
Orthodox Christians consider themselves followers of the original faith of the 12 apostles chosen by Jesus Christ to spread his message. The church considers other Christian bodies, including Roman Catholicism, as break-away denominations.
About 350 families are members of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, a 100-year-old congregation located on Bull and Anderson streets. About 50 people are members of St. Mary Magdalene Church, a 20-year-old Orthodox congregation in Rincon.
Local members use the term Greek Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox as an umbrella term to describe all the various ethnic branches of Orthodoxy represented in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Like many Orthodox churches, St. Paul's once served as the hub of the local immigrant community. Held entirely in Greek, services once looked and sounded similar to any in Athens or Thessaloniki.
However, today's congregations increasingly reflect the diversity of Christianity in America.
The key to survival, some local members say, is finding a balance between winning over converts and preserving heritage.
Changing times
Discrimination against eastern European immigrants was rampant during the early 20th century. But Greek Americans were generally integrated and respected by the time Tommy Danos' family moved to Savannah from New York in the early 1970s.
"Everybody knew I was Greek, and I never had any negative response from that," said Danos, who grew up attending St. Paul's and convinced his Southern Baptist wife to convert when they married.
In 2007, members celebrated the 100th anniversary of St. Paul's, the first Orthodox parish in the Savannah area.
Danos, president of the parish council, is among longtime members who wonder about the changing face of the congregation.
Its Greek roots remain a unifying force, even as converts bring new passion to the congregation.
"Converts are the best Orthodox because they treat it like they did their Protestant religions which is (they) never miss a Sunday," he said. "I mean, ours is a Christian religion and a big part of it is spreading the word and getting new members."
Although the Greek Orthodox church is known for its resistance to change, American culture has forced some changes from the inside out.
Orthodox families once sent their children to after school programs at the church to learn Greek language and culture. But as interest and the number of teachers declined, the program eventually died out in the 1980s.
Services once spoken only in Greek are now mostly in English.
Where Orthodoxy once required that worshippers stand throughout the service, most U.S. churches allow followers to sit in pews.
Chatham County Commission Chairman and lifelong Orthodox Pete Liakakis recalls when women were required to wear a hat or head covering to church.
"Then about 25 years ago, women stopped. Very seldom do you see a female wearing a hat anymore," he said. "I think the females in our community saw how other people were (dressed) at church."
Despite their full immersion in American society, St. Paul's members remain committed to one cultural event that will never die, Danos said. The annual Greek Festival, held for three days in October, serves as the biggest fundraising event of the year and an enormous cultural export for the church.
"We were taught to be proud of our heritage," Danos said. "I think it would be very hard to completely take away all the Greek culture and the Greek aspects because it's so dominating in our culture and in our lives."
An ancient faith
Many outsiders know little about Orthodoxy.
"Some people when they see 'Orthodox,' I believe they connect it to Orthodox Jewish people," Danos said. "Other people, they think it's some kind of Greek religion. They don't understand it's a Christian religion."
While giving tours of the church during the annual Greek Festival, the Rev. Vasile Mihai often is asked if Orthodox Christians believe in Jesus.
His reply: "Not only do we believe in Jesus Christ, but we kept his faith unadulterated, unchanged," he said. "We do not add or subtract what Jesus Christ and the Apostles gave to us. We do not change. We are stubborn."
Amid centuries of divisions among Christian denominations, Orthodoxy considers itself "the one undivided church." The church believes it is "the only one which preserves intact" the faith of the first Christians, according to the Web site of the Greek Orthodox Church.
To members, Orthodoxy means "right belief" as defined by the earliest scriptures and traditions of Christianity.
Reverence for antiquity is what originally attracted Jason and Veta Bateham to Orthodoxy.
Formerly, Southern Baptists, the Batehams became interested in the faith during a visit to Veta's native Ukraine.
After moving to Savannah in 2005, they began attending services at St. Paul's. But it would be a year-and-a-half before they would make the commitment to become members.
At first, Jason didn't understand the liturgical service, the prayers and certain practices like praying to saints and the baptism of babies. And the congregation didn't seem as "warm" as Baptists, he said.
"But we felt really confident that the faith was what we were there for and not necessarily the camaraderie," he said. "After a while of attending the church, people started to warm up a bit and be more open with their personalities and beliefs."
"I felt this is what I'd been looking for," he said.
Finding Orthodoxy
For Army Spc. John Yasar, the decision to become a Christian was far more complicated than the search for his denominational preference.
Yasar grew up a secular Sunni Muslim in Turkey. He moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue his dream of becoming a military pilot.
In 2001, he met Jolene on an Internet match-making site and they became engaged.
After they married, John Yasar moved to Jolene's native South Dakota, began attending her Pentecostal church and eventually decided to become a Christian. He was baptized in the church, though something "didn't feel right" about Pentecostalism, he said.
Yasar asked his friends, wife and colleagues in the military about Christianity.
"I started asking the question, 'Why are there so many denominations?' Wasn't there a time when there were no denominations?" he said.
Then, while stationed in Korea, a friend and Lutheran pastor introduced Yasar to Orthodoxy. He decided it offered the historic tradition and doctrine he had been looking for and began the work of sharing it with his wife.
A lifelong Protestant, Jolene Yasar knew nothing about Orthodoxy, except that the services looked something like Catholicism to her. But after the couple moved to Savannah, she joined John at worship services at St. Paul's and eventually converted.
Standing in the church, the Yasars combine two traditions: Jolene's Christian upbringing and John's Old World roots.
"All the icons are surrounding you, even on the ceiling, to the back of you, left, right, everywhere," John Yasar said.
"You feel like you're in the presence of something."
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About Orthodoxy
Numbers
Local: About 350 families are registered members of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church; 50 people are members of St. Mary Magadalene Church in Rincon
Worldwide: More than 250 million members
Religious texts: The Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible, King James Version.
Deity/who they worship: One God, who is considered both one in substance and existing in three persons: "the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."
Lifestyle
Members are expected to follow the rules of fasting. They are also encouraged to pray twice a day.
What happens when people die?
The heads of the church teach that after death, the immortal soul will hover over the body for three days. It then travels to heaven and then to hell to witness paradise and punishment.
Depending on the believer's deeds while living, their soul will wait either in heaven or hell for the second coming of Jesus, who will decide ultimately where souls will spend eternity. Until then, living believers may influence where another person's soul goes through prayer .
How the faith began
Followers of Orthodoxy believe the church represents the original faith of the 12 apostles chosen by Jesus Christ to spread his message. After "The Great Schism" led to a split between the eastern and western European Christians in the 11th century, Roman Catholicism, centered about the Pope of Rome, and Eastern or Greek Orthodoxy, centered about the Patriarch of Constantinople, went their separate ways.
Sources: goarch.org, New Georgia Encyclopedia, Rev. Vasile Mihai, Savannah Morning News archives
IF YOU GO
57th Annual Savannah Greek Festival
The three-day event offers Greek cuisine, vendors, dancing, tours and more.
When: Open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Oct. 16, 17 and 18. Guided church tours will take place at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Hellenic Community Center, 14 W. Anderson St.
Cost: Free admission until 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday. A $2 donation is requested after 4 p.m. and all day Saturday when a live band is performing.
For information: Call 236-8256 or visit stpaul.ga.goarch.org/SavannahGreekFestival.html
SAVANNAH GREEK HISTORY 1900: The first Greek Orthodox congregation in Savannah is organized. 1907: St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church receives its charter after the congregation purchased a building on Barnard and Duffy streets from an Episcopal church. Late 1920s: First Sunday school for children is organized. 1941: The parish purchased the Lawton Memorial cultural building from the City of Savannah and began transforming it into a new church. 1943: St. Paul's is dedicated at its current location at Bull and Anderson streets. 1951: Hellenic Community Center is built on property purchased next door. Parish launches the Savannah Greek Festival to share religion, culture and hospitality with the public. 1957: St. Paul's celebrates 50th anniversary. 1970: John Rousakis becomes first Greek mayor of Savannah. 1982: St. Paul's celebrates 75th anniversary. 2001: The congregation launches major renovation of the interior and exterior of the church. 2007: Celebration of the 100th anniversary of St. Paul's Greek Orthodox parish. Source: St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church, Savannah Morning News archives
ABOUT THIS SERIES
Faith Communities is a monthly series exploring the beliefs and lifestyles of local religious groups. The series has included Savannah-area congregations of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Buddhists, Baha'is and Christian Scientists. An archive is available on the Web at savannahnow.com/features/faithforward.
Nominate a local religious group to be featured in "Faith Communities" by sending an e-mail to reporter Dana Clark Felty at dana.felty@savannahnow.com
Zachariah Sherman, 7, lights a candle at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday. By lighting the candle, he is recognizing that Christ is the light of the world. 
Candles are lit at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday to recognize that Christ is the light of the world.
Timothy Newport, 9, is an alter boy during the Sunday service at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church. 
Father John Caparisos reads the bible to the congregation at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday. 
St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday. 
Father John Caparisos at St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church serves Communion on Sunday. 
St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday. 
St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church on Sunday. 
John and Jolene Yasar speak about their faith and about St. Paul's Greek Orthodox Church at their home. 
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