Cautionary note: 

The Orthodox Church has been around for nearly 2000 years. Many of its customs stretch back long before that! The Orthodox Church makes use of local custom. In many places there are customs local to that one hamlet which stretch back for generations. Anything said about these customs will instantly be pooh-poohed by someone from a different area who thinks that their customs are those of the universal Church. As with all things it is better to act with love and let the offering come from a pure heart than be over-fussy about correctness. In fact there is a huge variation in the use of flowers in the Temple. 

Ordinary use of flowers: 

In the Orthodox Church flowers are often brought into the Temple by members of the congregation and placed in vases in front of the icons or on the floor underneath icons. It is often the case that completely different colour schemes clash gloriously with each other as one person’s offering sits by another’s.  Flowers are not placed behind the icon screen except when surrounding an icon or Cross that is to be processed.  Frequently, on the feast day of the event or saint, flowers are place on, or round, the relevant icons where they gently wilt and are cleared away the next day. There is usually no roster for bringing in flowers – they appear according to the whim of the bringer. At All Saints you may make an offering of flowers or money for a particular week and have someone else make them up into a pretty arrangement or you may do this yourself. There is a list to sign should you want to donate or pay for flowers on a particular Sunday. 

Special events: 

Pascha (Easter).

The icon of Jesus Christ, risen from the tomb, is sometimes mounted on a staff and carried in procession.  This is decorated with red and white flowers (usually wired onto the frame)  The Flag of St. George  (white background and red cross) is the flag that flies over the empty tomb of Christ in Jerusalem, so the combination of red and white has come to represent the Resurrection. The red and white colour scheme is used generally around the Temple.

Pentecost Sunday:

The Temple is liberally dressed with branches of fresh spring growth. In many places the floor is strewn thickly with long grass. The Pentecost icon is decorated with fresh leaves. 

Nativity:

The Temple is often strewn with straw and the screen and Nativity icon with flowers. 

Holy Cross.

A small cross is placed on a tray of flowers. The flowers are simply laid on the tray. When people come to venerate the cross they receive a flower from the tray. Red flowers are used. 

Great and Holy Week (week before Pascha): 

Palm Sunday.

In Britain sticks of English palm (goat or pussy willow about a foot long) are decorated with other flowers. What usually happens is that a stick is taken and two or three flowers with their stalks are wired onto it. These are placed in baskets and blessed before the Palm Sunday Procession. They are then handed out to the congregation who hold them throughout the rest of the service and frequently take them home and preserve them dried in their icon corners. 

Good Friday/ Holy Saturday.

Some of the services on these days take place about a temporary tomb holding an icon of the dead Christ. The tomb is usually made of wood and is carried in procession. Usually every surface of the tomb is completely covered in foliage and flowers wired onto the structure of the tomb. The decoration is entirely up to the team of church people who will spend many hours planning and executing their design. Frequently there is no discernable design – as many flowers as possible are wired onto the tomb in en exuberant expression of love for God. This is more important than any other factor. This is certainly the main display of floral art in the year. 

Other Occasions: 

Weddings:

This depends on the local customs. In the wedding service, however, the groom and bride are crowned with circlets. These are sometimes of flowers wired on to a basic crown. These crowns are then dried and taken home where they are stored for the rest of the couple’s lives.  One often sees elaborate flowers at weddings – sometimes arches with flowers wired densely on them. These are usually white to match the white clothing (i.e. baptismal robes) of those taking part. There is absolutely no need for these but they are fun. 

Funerals:

Again this depends on the part of the world. British people who are Orthodox Christians tend to follow ordinary British customs. The coffin is left open, of course, and flowers are sometimes inside the coffin.  In other places other customs prevail – in parts of Romania for example small fir trees are cut down and surround the open coffin on its way to the church. These stand upright so it looks as if a small forest is on its way! In parts of Greece huge displays of flowers (wreathes 2m across) are often carried in procession and propped up on easels either side of the coffin. 

Tradition:

The time will come when an authentically Lincolnshire Orthodox way will develop and we will make eyes at each other when noticing other people’s odd ways!