“This form of worship has more than just a cerebral or emotional appeal. It appeals to the whole person.”

Orthodox Christianity is attracting converts in the Twin Cities:

To outsiders, the Orthodox churches — Russian, Greek, Serbian, Ukrainian, Romanian — that dot the landscape might seem like exotic hallmarks of a fast-fading ethnic past.

In fact, an influx of converts is rejuvenating the Orthodox Church, here and around the country. Today, converts make up about half the students at the nation’s two largest Orthodox seminaries.

The converts interviewed in the article cite telling examples of what attracted them:

Lotti first encountered Orthodoxy as a college student when, on a lark, he worked for a summer at a Russian Orthodox monastery in Finland. "I thought the liturgy was strange but very beautiful," he says.

"Almost every service included Psalm 51, the great penitential psalm: ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy steadfast love; according to thy abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.’ "

"At first, I thought the repetition was crazy," Lotti says. "But after a week, I realized that I had memorized the psalm, which asks for repentance and rejoices in it. It had seeped into my consciousness, and the words became my own."

People are drawn to the Orthodox Church for many reasons. But the primary attraction for converts such as the Lottis is a direct connection to the spiritual wisdom of the past. Michael Lotti gives examples: the ancient monastic tradition, the seven sacraments, the opportunity to have a spiritual guide or father confessor. "It’s like a spiritual ocean in which you can go deeper and deeper," he says.

…

The Rev. Harry Pappas of St. Mary’s Greek Orthodox Church in south Minneapolis says beauty plays a central role in Orthodox worship. "The integration of art, architecture, music, incense, vestments — it’s highly multi-sensory," he says. "This form of worship has more than just a cerebral or emotional appeal. It appeals to the whole person."

Let’s see.  The attractions of Orthodox Christianity include repetitive prayer, connection to the past, a monastic tradition, seven sacraments, confession to a priest, art, architecture, music, incense, vestments.

Tell me again why modernizing the liturgy is a good idea?

"Unlike the old-time sanctuaries, which changed no more than the steeple, the environment in a thoroughly modern Catholic church is apt to change from week to week. And not just the flowers. Even the altar and the flexible seating can move. This change arises from a philosophy that the liturgy changes with both the seasons and the circumstances of the people."

Uh-huh. 

Side note.  The site linked in the above paragraph defines "liturgy" as "Greek for ‘work of the people,’" and I have no doubt that they mean to make a point by that.  An actual definition, rather than an etymology, would have been more useful.  From what I can tell, "liturgy" comes directly from a Greek word meaning simply "public service," and more distantly, from "work in a public building."  Unsurprisingly, "public building" comes from a word meaning "people," but that does not mean that "liturgy" is "Greek for work of the people."

Etymological abuse bugs me.