Daily Tours

You might want to take a break from all the festivities by visiting the church which will be open to the public throughout the weekend, with guided tours to be conducted by the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Verdaris. You'll have an exceptional opportunity to see the church's brand-new handmade in Italy Byzantine wall mosaic, as well as its other iconography and hand-carved icon screen, while learning about the history and traditions of the Orthodox Christian Faith.

Church Tour Schedule

Friday

5:30pm, 7:30pm

Saturday

3:30pm, 5:30pm, 7:30pm

Sunday

1:30pm

All Are Welcome!

We are delighted to have you join us at the International Greek Food Festival of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church. We hope that you will not only experience the exciting food, festivities and culture, but will take a moment to learn about our faith. If you’ve never been to an Orthodox Christian Church before, we encourage you to participate in one of our guided tours to be conducted by our very own Rev. Dr. Nicholas Verdaris. But first, here are some things that will help you understand our church and our Christian faith.

America’s Best-Kept Secret

Do you know that there are 250 million Orthodox Christians worldwide with more than five million right here in the United States? It is the second largest denomination in all Christendom. Despite its size, relatively few Americans are aware of the Orthodox Church. It’s America’s best-kept secret. Our church aptly refects America and is made up of men and women from around the globe all witnessing to the Good News of Christ. The Annunciation is a vibrant parish that adheres to Orthodox Christian principles which are concurrently Scriptural, Traditional, Apostolic and Eucharistic.

Though you can learn a lot about Orthodox Christianity by hearing it described, it really must be seen and experienced firsthand to be fully understood. And there is perhaps no better place to see and experience the heart of Orthodoxy than in its worship. Let’s look at a few characteristics of Orthodox worship which may be different from any of your past experiences.

The Work of the People

The main Sunday morning worship service of the Orthodox Church is called the Divine Liturgy. The term Liturgy means “work of the people.” Participation is the key word here. The whole congregation is active in worship, even the children. The Divine Liturgy is the common act of prayer, worship, teaching and communication of all those who constitute the Church. In the Liturgy all are invited to participate, by grace, in the life of Christ. It is through worship and service that we thereby come to know Christ, the source of our hope. What happened almost 2000 years ago becomes vital, alive and contemporary to us in the Divine Liturgy.

The Physical Side of Being Spiritual

Since the times of the New Testament, Christians have believed that when worshiping God, we who are earthbound enter by the spirit into “heavenly places.” In Orthodox worship, we can step out of the pandemonium of time into the peace of eternity. You’ll have an exceptional opportunity to see the church’s brand-new handmade in Italy Byzantine wall mosaic, as well as its other iconography and hand-carved icon screen, while learning about the history and traditions of the Orthodox Christian Faith. Therefore, everything in our worship has heaven as its point of reference. But this heavenly focus by no means turns worship into a mental religion. In the Orthodox Church, a human being coming before God involves the unity of soul and body. Accordingly, worship calls for the action not only of the mind, the emotions and the will, but also of the body with all its senses. So, as the Scriptures describe, in worship there are things to see, hear, touch, taste and smell. Our whole being is to participate actively in the worship of God.

Windows to Heaven

One of the first things you’ll probably notice as you enter the Annunciation are the icons or pictures — images of Christ, the Virgin Mary with her Child, angels, Saint John the Baptist, along with three brand new icons that have just recently been installed. An icon (a Bible word meaning “image”) is a dramatic and constant reminder that there is infinitely more to reality than what we see day by day on this earth. Icons serve to illustrate the Bible as well as highlight the presence of heaven to us in our worship. We don’t worship the icons, of course: worship is for God alone. But we do use them as vital tools to draw near to God, His servants and the Truths of Christian faith, and as such they have long been called “windows to heaven.”

We hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse into the Orthodox Church. For more detailed information, please visit the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church’s website or simply visit us on any given Sunday at 10:00am to behold a dynamic 2000-year-old tradition come alive at the Annunciation in Little Rock.