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- INTRODUCTION TO THE ORTHODOX CHURCH SERIES
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- Session
5 – ORTHODOX WORSHIP
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- INTRODUCTION
- (Quotations
are taken from Fr. Thomas Hopko's book on the Orthodox
Church, volume 2 as presented in the Website of the
"Orthodox Church in America." This is the address for
the series: http://www.oca.org/pages/orth_chri/Orthodox-Faith/Worship.html.)
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- 1. PRAYER AND WORSHIP
- "Prayer is essential to Christian life. Jesus Christ
himself prayed and taught men to pray. No one who does
not pray to God can be a follower of Christ. . . . In
the traditional catechism of the Church three types of
prayer are listed: asking, thanking, and praising. We
can add a fourth type which can be called lamenting
before God, questioning him about the conditions of life
and the meaning of our existence, particularly in times
of tragedy and confusion. We very often find all four
kinds of prayer in the Bible." Constant prayer is
another kind of prayer. We use the "Jesus Prayer for
this purpose: 'Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy
on me, a sinner!'
- Worship is corporate and communal prayer. In
practice personal prayer and worship (communal prayer)
are essential to each other.
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- 2. THE DAILY CYCLE OF WORSHIP
- "In the Orthodox Church the liturgical day begins
in the evening with the setting of the sun. This
practice follows the Biblical account of creation: 'And
there was evening and there was morning, one day'" (Gen
1:5).
- VESPERS: "The Vesper service in the Church always
begins with the chanting of the evening psalm: "...the
sun knows it's time for setting, Thou makest darkness
and it is night...." (Psalm 104: 19Ž20) This psalm,
which glorifies God's creation of the world, is man's
very first act of worship, for man first of all meets
God as Creator." "Psalm 141 is always sung at Vespers.
During this psalm the evening incense is offered: 'Lord,
I call upon Thee, hear me. Hear me, O Lord. Let my
prayer arise in Thy sight as incense. And let the
lifting up of my hands be an evening sacrifice. Hear me,
O Lord.'"(Psalm 141:1-2).
- ORTHROS: "The morning service of the Church is
called Matins (Greek-Orthros). It opens with the reading
of six morning psalms and the intoning of the Great
Litany. After this, verses of Psalm 118 are sung: 'God
is the Lord and has revealed himself unto us. Blessed is
he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
- HOURS, COMPLINE & NOCTURNE: "In addition to the
liturgical services of Vespers and Matins, there are
also the services of the Hours, Compline, and Nocturne.
These services are chanted in monasteries but are seldom
used in parish churches except perhaps during Lent and
Holy Week, and on special feast days." "The services of
Hours are called the First, Third, Sixth and Ninth.
These "hours" conform generally to the hours of six and
nine in the morning, noon, and three in the afternoon.
The services consist mostly of psalms which are
generally related to the events in the passion of Christ
which took place at that particular hour of the day."
- "Compline is called the "after-dinner" service of
the Church." "On days when Vespers are connected to the
Divine Liturgy, such as the eves of Christians and
Epiphany, Great Compline is added to Matins." "Nocturne
is the midnight service of the Church. In monasteries it
usually begins the all-night vigil of the monks."
- Books: Horologion (Book of the Hours),
Octoechos (Book of the "Eight Tones), 12 Menaia
(Books of the Months).
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- 3. THE YEARLY CYCLE OF WORSHIP - THE FIXED CYCLE
- "Although the first of September is considered
the start of the Church year, according to the Orthodox
Church calendar, the real liturgical center of the
annual cycle of Orthodox worship is the feast of the
Resurrection of Christ. All elements of Orthodox
liturgical piety point to and flow from Easter, the
celebration of the New Christian Passover. Even the
"fixed feasts" of the Church such as Christmas and
Epiphany which are celebrated according to a fixed date
on the calendar take their liturgical form and
inspiration from the Paschal feast."
- Books: Horologion, Octoechos which
literally means the "eight tones, and the 12 Menaia.
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- THE WEEKLY CYCLE "The Octoechos contains
the services for each day of the week. Sunday is always
dedicated to the Resurrection of Christ. Wednesdays and
Fridays commemorate Christ's suffering and crucifixion.
Monday's theme is the "bodiless powers," the angels.
Tuesday is dedicated to the memory of John the Baptist,
Thursday to the apostles and St. Nicholas, and Saturday
to the Theotokos with the memory of the departed."
- 12 MAJOR FEAST DAYS "There are twelve major feast
days of the Church which are universally celebrated: the
Nativity, Epiphany, Presentation to the Temple (called
the "Meeting") and Transfiguration of Christ; the
Nativity, Annunciation, Presentation to the Temple and
Dormition of Mary; the Exaltation of the Cross; and,
from the Paschal cycle, the feast of the Lord's entry
into Jerusalem, the feast of the Lord's Ascension and
the feast of Pentecost. Easter is not counted among the
twelve major feasts of the Church since it is considered
by itself as "the feast of feasts."
- OTHER MAJOR FIXED FEAST DAYS: "The feast of
Christmas has its own cycle of prayer patterned after
Easter. There is a forty-day lent preceding it and a
post-feast celebration following it. The feasts of
Mary's Dormition and Saints Peter and Paul also have
traditional lenten preparations of shorter duration."
There are universally recognized saints’ days and
locally recognized saints’ days. (e.g. Greek & Arabic –
St. Demetrios; Slavic – St. Vladimir; Serbian – St. Sava).
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- 4. THE PASCHAL CYCLE
- "The Easter cycle of worship begins with the
season of Great Lent, preceded by the special pre-lenten
Sundays. The lenten order of worship fulfills itself in
Holy Week and the Great Day of Christ's Resurrection.
Following Easter there are the fifty days of paschal
celebration until the feast of Pentecost. Every week of
the year is then considered in the Church's worship as a
"Sunday after Pentecost."
- Books: Triodion and Pentecostarion.
Date for Pascha is fixed according to the Spring equinox
and the Jewish Passover.
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- PRE-LENT: "The paschal season of the Church is
preceded by the season of Great Lent, which is itself
preceded by its own liturgical preparation."
- The Sundays of Zacchaeus, Publican and the
Pharisee, the Prodigal Son, Meatfare (The Last
Judgment) and Cheesefare (Sunday of Forgiveness).
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- GREAT LENT: "The season of Great Lent is the time
of preparation for the feast of the Resurrection of
Christ, It is the living symbol of man's entire life
which is to be fulfilled in his own resurrection from
the dead with Christ. It is a time of renewed devotion:
of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. It is a time of
repentance, a real renewal of our minds, hearts and
deeds in conformity with Christ and his teachings. It is
the time, most of all, of our return to the great
commandments of loving God and our neighbors."
- Sundays of Lent: 1) Feast of the Triumph of
Orthodoxy; 2) St Gregory Palamas; 3) Veneration of the
Cross; 4) St. John of the Ladder (Climacus), the author
of the work, The Ladder of Divine Ascent; 5) St. Mary of
Egypt,
- Special Lenten Services: Canon of St. Andrew of
Crete; Akathistos Hymn to the Mother of God (Fridays in
Greek Tradition); Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
(Wednesdays and Fridays).
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- PALM SUNDAY: The Entry into Jerusalem
- HOLY & GREAT WEEK: "In the Orthodox Church the
last week of Christ's life is officially called Passion
Week. In popular terminology it is called Holy Week.
Each day is designated in the service books as "great
and holy."
- PALM SUNDAY NIGHT, HOLY MONDAY & TUESDAY: "The
Bridegroom Services" - "the general theme of each of
these days is the end of the world and the judgment of
Christ. It is the common practice to serve the
Bridegroom services at night."
- HOLY WEDNESDAY: The Sacrament of Holy Unction.
Spiritual and Physical Healing.
- HOLY THURSDAY MORNING: "Holy Thursday is
dedicated exclusively to the Passover Supper which
Christ celebrated with his twelve apostles." "The
'Mystical Supper of the Son of God' which is continually
celebrated in the Divine Liturgy of the Christian
Church, is the very essence of what life in God's
Kingdom will be for eternity.
- GREAT THURSDAY NIGHT: "The Matins of Holy Friday
are generally celebrated on Thursday night. The main
feature of this service is the reading of twelve
selections from the Gospels, all of which are accounts
of the passion of Christ."
- GREAT FRIDAY: The Service of the Hours
commemorating the Crucifixion of Christ is read in the
morning.
- "The first service belonging to Holy Saturday --
called in the Church the Blessed Sabbath -- is the
Vespers of Good Friday. It is usually celebrated in the
mid-afternoon to commemorate the burial of Jesus." The
Epitaphion Icon is carried in procession to the flower
decorated Bier/Tomb.
- The Orthros of Holy Saturday is the Service of
the Lamentations, conducted Great Friday night. The
Epitaphion Icon on embroidered cloth (Epitaphion) is
placed in the Bier or "Tomb" of Christ. We sing the
Lamentations. It is like attending Jesus' wake or
viewing. The theme is the paradox of the "Author of
Life" now dead in a tomb. The procession of the Bier is
followed by the removal of the Epitaphion Icon and its
placing on the Altar. Christ is buried.
- HOLY SATURDAY: The "First Resurrection." The
Divine Liturgy is preceded by an anticipatory service in
which "Psalm 82: 'Arise O Lord and judge the earth, for
to Thee belong all the nations'" is chanted as flower
petals are scattered throughout the Church, anticipating
the new life of the Resurrection of Christ.
- PASCHA-CHRIST'S RESURRECTION: (The
Pentecostarion) At night, usually just before
mid-night of Pascha, "the Nocturne service is chanted"
and the Church is darkened. The Priest presents the
Paschal Candle representing the Resurrected Christ, as
he proclaims, "Come, receive the Light, from the
Unending Light and glorify Christ, Who has risen from
the dead." The candles of the faithful are lit and a
procession follows with the reading of the Gospel of the
Resurrection in the center of the Church or outdoors.
The Resurrection is signaled with the repeated singing
of the victorious Paschal Hymn, "Christ is risen from
the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those
in the tombs bestowing life."
- This is followed by the triumphal Easter Divine
Liturgy and the reading of the Paschal Sermon of St.
John Chrysostom. Pascha evening The Vespers of Pascha in
which the Gospel is read in many languages.
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- BRIGHT WEEK: - A Single Liturgical Day "Every day
during the week of Easter, called Bright Week by the
Church, the paschal services are celebrated in all their
splendor."
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- THE PASCHAL PERIOD – Highlights: Midpentecost
Feast; 40 Days - The Ascension of Christ. 50
Days-Pentecost - The Descent of the Holy Spirit
- POST-EASTER SUNDAYS: St Thomas Sunday; The
Myrrhbearing Women; The Paralytic; The Samaritan Woman;
The Blind Man; Pentecost: The Descent of the Holy
Spirit. "Pentecost Sunday is also called Trinity Day in
the Orthodox tradition. Often on this day the icon of
the Holy Trinity -- particularly that of the three
angelic figures who appeared to Abraham, the forefather
of the Christian faith - is placed in the center of the
church. This icon is used with the traditional
pentecostal icon which shows the tongues of fire
hovering over Mary and the Twelve Apostles, the original
prototype of the Church, who are themselves sitting in
unity surrounding a symbolic image of "cosmos," the
world."
- "The Great Vespers of Pentecost evening features
three long prayers at which the faithful kneel for the
first time since Easter. The Monday after Pentecost is
the feast of the Holy Spirit in the Orthodox Church, and
the Sunday after Pentecost is the feast of All Saints."
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Question and
Answer Time.
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