Photo by Hunter Wilson/Daily NewsWilma Weatherspoon of Morganfield prays Sunday at the church.

Before delving Sunday into the liturgy of Saint Basil the Great, which is read during the Lenten season in the Orthodox Church, Father Michael Corbin spoke of the history of icons and why those icons are celebrated – comparing the tradition to people keeping photo albums.

“We reminisce about those times when we see those pictures of brothers and grandparents,” he said. “Icons bring us the presence of Christ, the presence of his saints. Each icon has a story, and they are our holy photo album so that we reminisce so that we remember.”

Surrounded by a blaze of color, religious icons or images adorning the walls and the penetrating scent of incense, about 40 people worshiped, kissed icons, stood in prayer, made the sign of the cross across their chests and followed the response to the call of the liturgy.

Off of Russellville Road near Campbell Lane nestled behind a brick store front is the Holy Apostles Orthodox Mission – a blue sign with white lettering hangs from the building.

The church is the only one of its kind in Bowling Green. A small group of Orthodox Christians – consisting of Greeks, Serbians, American and a growing compilation of other ethnicities – who longed to see Orthodoxy brought to southern Kentucky first began working toward establishing a mission in the spring of 2008.

“A number of Orthodox people already live in Bowling Green,” member Kevin Burt said. “We’ve been traveling to Nashville or Louisville for the various services and to receive the Sacraments. We all desired to have a local church life.”

Burt said Orthodoxy is inherently a community life. The church, he said, is modeled after the Holy Trinity – three persons in perfect unity in one God. While the church is made up of multiple people, it is one that must exist as a united body.

“To live an Orthodox life requires life together with our brothers and sisters,” he said.

The mission was also started in an effort to share the faith and the beliefs of Orthodox Christians with the local community, Burt said.

“We confess the Orthodox faith as the faith of the Apostles given to them by Christ,” Burt said. “We believe it is the fullest and most ancient expression of the Christian Faith, and we are experiencing it together as life-giving … we desire to bring this life of God to others.”

Holy Apostles is a new mission of the North American Antiochian Archdiocese, in the Midwest Diocese. The mission is under the immediate direction of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Atty of St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church in Louisville. Atty and a number of priests have been traveling here for Holy Apostles’ services, Burt said.

“The Orthodox Church goes back to the Pentecost and has stayed close to what God taught,” Atty said. “It’s unpolluted teachings, and I feel we have a lot to offer society.”

Atty said people are obsessed with material things – “It’s almost like Sodom and Gomorrah,” he said.

“The Orthodox mission … is not just a religion,” Atty said. “It is a way of life.”

The Orthodox Church has deep roots in Christian antiquity and is steeped in a rich biblical tradition. In the beginning of the Christian church, the apostles appointed successors to guide and guard the church – deemed bishops, priests and deacons. While there were many bishops, there were five patriarchs who represented each of the five important cities – Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Rome. However it was in 1054 A.D. the split of the Western and Eastern Church took place – one branch becoming the Roman Catholic Church and the other being the Orthodox Church.

Orthodoxy was introduced to North America in 1794 when missionaries arrived in Alaska. There are about 6 million Orthodox in North America and 250 million in the world.

Atty said Orthodoxy has been practiced in Louisville since 1934. While the Louisville parish has a sizable congregation, in Bowling Green, Burt said, there are about 50 members at Holy Apostles. On average, there are about 45 to 55 people in attendance, he said.

Orthodoxy holds to the fundamental Christian doctrine taught by the Apostles and handed down by their successors throughout the centuries. It is the expression of the Apostles, Burt said. For instance, in some Orthodox churches there’s limited seating because tradition tells that the faithful stand up for Jesus.

“Having this church here may help people seek a deeper connection to God,” Atty said. “What we offer is the unpolluted way of life. The Orthodox mission will challenge you to be better every day of your life. If you are not challenged in your faith, your faith isn’t reaching you.

“God said, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life’ – linked together like a chain.”

The church, Atty said, gives people the strength to go on.

“We feel like God put us here for a reason,” Burt said.

—For more information about Holy Apostles, see www.holyapostlesbg.org.