St. Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral — Attraction in Los Angeles

Such a sad story I start it with my fiancé propose I knew we really want it to get married in the Orthodox faith. I was extremely excited to bring family and friends who don’t know much about our faith to learn and see what it is all about. I’m a huge history buff and most of my family live in SoCal so we decided to go to Saint Sophia orthodox church to schedule our wedding and reserve our spot. We have planed our whole wedding around the one day that they have we booked it very early in advance and everything was booked. I have paid deposit was the probability that things will not open up by May 29 yeah I have faith. I was happy even though they said they might not be able to host the wedding due to Covid. Patiently and faithfully I waited for the respond as things start to open up back again and was our wedding only two weeks away they finally sent us a contract for us to sign. Keep in mind I paid a deposit 5 month earlier, Jessica gave us only two days to actually fill paperwork up sign it and send it back. Communication was really terrible. She hardly answer any or our calls. As both my fiancé and I work frontline in covid world, we weren’t able to get things done by Friday as she asked however we sent it first thing Monday morning.. She refused to acknowledge that she received it and she immediately refund our deposit. With no warning or even a curtsy call. Calling and asking why she did so during Holly week even though she knows no one is working during holy week she shouldn’t even be working during holy week, yet she decided to just go to the office just so she could refund the people who haven’t respond back. When I called on Monday trying to understand, She was extremely rude saying that there so much demand on the church if I don’t like her communication skills then fine somewhere else to get married. she refused to acknowledge her responsibility and losing our spot and she asked us to wait a whole week in order for us to communicate back. Calling her back six times for her to be able to answer my phone call she told me the price have now almost doubled just because I didn’t respond to one of her emails. She yelled at me sailing she doesn’t take money from people which not sure why that was relevant. I think she actually does. As we have extremely tight budget the one thing I really want in my wedding was to have my wedding at the church she now left us stranded with no church for us to host our wedding two weeks before the wedding date.

This was really sad and now we have to cancel the whole wedding just because she couldn’t communicate well enough to explain how a one day not responding to emails would have cost us thousands of dollars in canceling our wedding plans that we now can’t host because we can’t have a church. What a sad sad story to be coming out of a congregation that should have preach love and support and communication. I am devastated and have nothing in my hand to do other than cry and pray to God that something will open up. I’m two weeks before my wedding that I plan around this church. One woman have cost us so much!! She is awful and have no communication skills nor should be working at a church! I hate for this to be the church...

In A word, Disheartening.

I was greeted by a peculiar & grumpy man.

He didn't care for me looking around the entrance room of the church.

I went & sat in the sanctuary, in short order he followed me in & started talking at me.

I asked if monastics painted the murals, he is unfamiliar with the word, monastic, so I said monks and nuns...with Great Disgust he said "NO!" they "had Professionals ! from Hollywood come in !"

I have never seen such contempt for monastics.

All he did was drop Hollywood names & money amounts. I told him I'd like to sit in silence, to which he snapped his head in utter disgust and rudely said unnecessary things at me, then he stormed out. In the entrance room and at the doors he talked incessantly on his phone.

I felt unsafe being here.

If your thing is....

-having Hollywood actors being painted into biblical scenes, as was pointed out to me by the peculiar man

-western Roman Catholic style art & stainglass

-to have clueless combative atheists tell you about God ... which at this place include 3 scenes from the Crucifixion, ALL withOUT Jesus ON the cross !? Christ going  on the cross, paying our debt & miraculously defeating death by death, glossing over the Biggest event in the Faith is concerning, guess this is what happens when you have athiests leading the way. Why a place that says they follow the Lord would have non-believers who reject God directing their path is alarming

-bragging of money

-no silence

-Boring Hollywood razzle dazzle vibe

...this might be the place for you.

It is Orthodox architect meets Roman Catholic art done by ungodly Hollywood.

IF your looking for the beauty only the historical and living Orthodox Church gives, for the beauty of Orthodox icons, well you'll likely leave disappointed & if you cross paths with the peculiar man who only talks of worldly things & distain the religious you may add Disheartened to how you feel when you leave this place.

Also they confuse words. They have a set price for candles & such, which is fine. What is Not fine is the word, Donation, they put along with their fixed prices. Donations are free will and you set the price. The Lord is not a God of confusion.

Lord Jesus...

New to LA area. Religious history student . Been orthodox for 10 years, felt like I was starting to lose my faith in it. I saw this was a famous cathedral and I was over the moon exited to go for the Easter holiday. Went on Friday and had security hounding me right away, telling me where to park in an empty lot, that I couldn’t go in and pray and wait. No one greeted me only a nice old lady. Thank goodness I was more concerned with the beautiful temple that I didn’t notice at first.

I then had to work from 2pm-10 pm in Beverly Hills as security . Because us broke college kids need to work strange hours. I got to the church and finally found parking and got to the front at 10:55. But I was stopped by security and said I couldn’t go in for “safety” because I was wearing a blue security polo, (there’s was all black with bullet proof vests) almost like cops.

I’ve never been bared entrance from a church . I then looked at other reviews and I noticed something. This is not a church of Christ, but the rich. A visitor comes and first thing you do is keep an eye on him instead of greeting him. I noticed reviews that the father is rude . After Friday service he didn’t come out to greet the people (this is tradition is it not?)

If one of the biggest Greek churches in America acts like this . Then it’s obviously not the church of Christ . Thanks for sticking the final nail into my deconstruction.

“Blessed are the poor for yours is the kingdom of heaven. “ “Woah to you who are rich for you have received your condemnation”

Reread James chapter 2 on how you treat visitors .

But heyyyy at least the art...