When you first arrive you will probably think you have come late, even though you may have come in several minutes before the Liturgy is to begin. That is because in the Orthodox Church there are services called Matins that occur during the hour preceding the Liturgy. Matins consists mainly of prayers and readings that are designed to help participants focus on the worship ahead. There is no pause between the end of Matins and the beginning of the Liturgy, but once the Liturgy begins (almost always precisely at 10:00 in our parish) you should have no difficulty following along, especially if you have a service book. Orthodox worship is extremely focused on God and the Holy Trinity, and the service itself is slightly longer than those in many Western churches. The earliest known Liturgy lasted about five hours (!), but around A.D. 400 St. Basil edited it down to about half that. St. John Chrysostom later reduced it down even more, to about one and a quarter to one and a half hours. Most Sundays St. George uses the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, so the Liturgy generally concludes between 11:15 and 11:30.
