The most important element in an Orthodox Christian's life is the
worship
of the Church, especially the Divine Liturgy. LITURGY means "common
work"
or "common action." The liturgy of the Church is the work of all God's
people priest, laity, choir, servers who come together to
proclaim
their common belief, faith and vision, and to reaffirm that they belong
to God.
The DIVINE LITURGY
- enables us to praise and
worship
God together
with our brothers and sisters in Christ;
- is always celebrated in
thanksgiving for the
blessings and mercy offered to us by God;
- unites us to Christ through
the
reception
of Holy Communion His very Body and Blood which He offers
us
for the forgiveness of our sins and unto life everlasting;
- is the very revelation of
God's
Kingdom in
this world.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
The first portion of the Divine Liturgy is called the Liturgy of the
Word
because it focuses on the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ
as recorded in the Scriptures.
The Liturgy of the Word consists of the
following portions:
the Opening Doxology, "Blessed is
the Kingdom
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," in which we
acknowledge
that we are entering, through worship, into the very Kingdom of God;
- the Great Litany, during
which
we pray for
the various needs which confront us in our daily lives;
- the First Antiphon, "Bless
the
Lord, O my
soul," in which we joyfully express our praise;
- the Second Antiphon, Praise
the
Lord, O my
soul." in which we continue to praise God while recounting His wondrous
deeds:
- the Hymn to Christ, the Only
begotten Son
of God, in which we proclaim Jesus to be true God and true man while
imploring
Him to save us;
- the Third Antiphon, the
Beatitudes, in which
we are reminded of the blessings we shall receive if we are faithful to
Christ:
- the Little Entrance, during
which we solemnly
invite all to worship the risen Christ;
- the Troparia and Kontakia,
through which we
hear the theme of the day's Liturgy: and
- the Trisagion, "Holy God,
Holy
Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us." in which we glorify the Holy Trinity.
Following these introductory hymns, the Scriptures are read.
- The Prokeimenon is a
responsorial psalm chanted
alternately by the reader and the people. It prepares us forthe Epistle, which is taken from the epistles
found in the New Testament and generally deals with a particular aspect
of Christian life
- The Alleluiarion consists of
two
psalm verses,
separated by the singing o "Alleluia," which means "Praise the Lord".
- The Gospel is the public
proclamation of the
Word of God, taken from the gospels of Ss. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
After the Gospel, we listen to…
- the Sermon, during which the
priest continues
to proclaim the good news of Christ while applying it to our daily
lives.
THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
Having been fed by the Word of God, we now turn our sights to the
central
mystery of our faith participation in the death and resurrection
of Christ through the celebration of the Eucharist The word "Eucharist"
refers to the Body and Blood of Christ, for which we now prepare to
receive.
It literally means 'thanksgiving", but also express our gratitude for
the
forgiveness of sins and eternal life we receive in Holy Communion.
During
the Liturgy of the Eucharist,
- the Great Entrance,
performed
during the singing
of the Cherubic Hymn is the offering of our gifts of bread and wine to
God We are invited to unite ourselves with the angels and to "lay aside
all earthly cares so that we may receive the King of All";
- the Peace expresses our
faith
that Christ
is in our midst, and invites us to worship the Trinity with one heart
and
one mind;
- the
Creed
expresses our common faith in the Trinity and the other tenets of our
Church's
doctrine;
- the Eucharistic Canon
recalls
the institution
of the Eucharist by Christ at the last supper, while proclaiming the
holiness
and love of God through the death, resurrection and ascension of the
Saviour;
- the Consecration is the
changing
of our gifts
of bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Christ through the
mysterious
action of the Holy Spirit;
- the Commemorations enable us
to
recall all
for whom our sacrifice is offered:
- the Lord's Prayer is our
acknowledgment that
God is indeed our Heavenly Father:
- the Elevation, during which
the
priest elevates
the Body of Christ expresses our belief that God alone is holy: and
- the Reception of Holy
Communion
brings us
to the climax of the Liturgy itself, namely the reception of Christ in
Holy Communion. We thus fulfill the purpose of our worship by uniting
ourselves
with Christ "for the forgiveness of sins and unto life everlasting."
After we receive God's greatest blessing in the Eucharist, we express
our
thanks to God for receiving the heavenly Spirit by worshipping the
Trinity,
who saves us. We are invited to...
- depart in peace, in the name
of
the Lord in
order to bear witness to all that we've experienced during the Divine
Liturgy
in our daily lives.
- pray for salvation and
guidance
during the
closing prayer recited by the priest in the center of the Church: and
- receive the Lord's blessing,
proclaimed by
the priest through the veneration of the cross.
THE LITURGY IN OUR LIVES
The end of every Divine Liturgy prepares us for the beginning of the
next
if we strive to live all that we've experienced in our public worship
of
God. Our lives become a part of the Liturgy and the Liturgy becomes a
part
of our lives. Having placed ourselves in the very presence of God
through
thanksgiving, prayer and the reception of His only begotten Son in the
Eucharist, we are no more children of this world, but inheritors of the
Kingdom of God and everlasting life.
Published
by THE ORTHODOX PRESS
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