The Elements of the Liturgy

“But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
St. John the Theologian, John 4:23-24.

Sacraments

A sacrament is a liturgical service in which we call upon the Holy Spirit to affect a change or transformation. This invocation of the Holy Spirit or epiclesis is an essential element of both Baptism and the Eucharist. In this way we customarily speak of seven sacraments: baptism, chrismation, eucharist, repentance, matrimony, ordination, and unction. However it should be understood that because Christ took on our entire humanity, all of human nature has been transformed. Therefore we are each called upon to make every action sacramental in that everything we do should draw us closer to Him. The Church expresses this transformed reality not only in these sacraments but in every action she takes: the blessing of bread, water, icons, anointing with oil, the burial service, prayers for the departed. All of these things are sacramental to one degree or another and all serve to reorient us towards Christ. For now these pages concentrate on the sacraments of baptism, eucharist, and matrimony. We plan to add pages that will cover the other sacraments as well as the sacramental life of the Church.

Languages

Although Orthodox Christians worship in a variety of languages (e.g. English, Romanian, Greek and Slavonic) the language of the bible is essential. There are first and foremost the Biblical texts themselves appointed for reading at all services and for each day of the year. Through this constant hearing of scripture, the Orthodox Christian becomes intimately familiar with biblical language. Amen means “so be it.” Alleluia is a joyful exclamation of those who see and experience the presence of God. Blessed is the basic Biblical form of adoration and respect. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the wicked.” “Blessed are you full of grace.” “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” “Holy, holy, holy” “God is the Lord and has revealed Himself to us.” All of these words and many more from the liturgical texts make us familiar with the language of the bible.

Litanies and Petitions

A litany is a fixed sequence of petitions or calls for prayer addressed by the deacon to the congregation. They are common to all liturgies and maintain the corporate nature of worship. There are four types 1. The Great Litany begins all liturgical services. It begins with “In peace let us pray to the Lord,” and contains petitions for all the needs of the Church, the world, the community, and the individual. It is the prayer of the Church. 2. The Little Litany is an abridged form of the Great Litany containing the essential elements of prayer: peace and mercy. 3. The Augmented Litany focuses on the needs of the community. Here the congregation answers with “Lord have mercy” three times after each petition. 4. The Litany of Supplication focuses on private personal needs of the individual.

Entrances and Processions

Little Entrance Great Entrance Procession Around the Baptismal Font These rites symbolize the history of salvation: God’s movement towards His people and the movement of His people towards Him

Hymns

There are several types of hymns, the most familiar being Troparia, Kontakia, Stikhira, and the canon. A Troparion is a short hymn expressing the main theme of the celebration. There are eight resurrectional Troparia and one for each feast and saint celebrated by the Church. The Kontakia are similar to the Troparia but were originally liturgical poems in 24 stanzas. These longer hymns eventually disappeared from liturgical use but remain today in the form of a short hymn sung at Matins after the 6th ode of the canon, at the Divine Liturgy after the Little Entrance, and at the Hours. Just like the Troparia, there are eight resurrectional Kontakians and one for each feast and saint celebrated by the Church. The Stikhira are a sequence of hymns appointed for certain moments of the service such as the “Lord, I Call” and the “Apostikha” at vespers, “The Praises” at Matins and the “Antiphons” at the Divine Liturgy. These hymns are sung every time the service is performed. The canons are composed of nine odes which are sung at Matins. The Canon of the Resurrection begins with “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.” (Exodus 15:1-20). The Canon of Pascha begins with “This is the day of Resurrection let us be illumined by the feast.” The Canon of Christmas begins with “Christ is born, glorify Him.”

Throughout these pages you can listen to hymns by our choir.
To see a full list of available sound clips please follow this link.

Sign of the Cross

This is an act of Christian blessing, which expresses the faith of the Church in the saving power of the Cross.

Standing, Kneeling, and Prostrations

Standing is the basic liturgical position. It is particularly important during the Gospel reading and communion. When the deacon commands us to “Stand upright, let us attend” he calls on us to stand with beauty before the Lord, not to stand as if we were impatiently waiting on a bus to arrive. This is why we do not stand with our arms crossed behind our back or with our hands in our pockets. In Christ we stand in our original human state raised from the death of sin and freed from submission to the animal part of our nature. This is why kneeling and prostrations are reserved for the penitential seasons of the year and are inappropriate on the Lord’s Day when we proclaim Christ’s victory over death and enter into the Kingdom of God. The intent of kneeling and prostrations is to instill a sense of repentance in the act of worship. Sitting is limited to the teaching portions of the service: the sermon.

Piety

Piety– religious sense – is strong respectful belief and strict observance of religious principles and practice. It is godliness. It is righteousness. It is a sense for holiness.

The Holy Apostle Paul writes:

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness [piety]." I Tim. 3:16.

Piety requires a certain disposition, a temperament that is characterized by quietness, stillness, humility and obedience. It not only informs how we pray, it touches how we dress, how we stand, how we enter, and how we leave the church. Unfortunately our culture does not foster such a disposition. In its drive to protect the rights of the individual we have left behind and forgotten the value of respect between persons, regard for the other. The principle of individual rights has become individualism. Individualism has become disregard for the other and ultimately disrespect for others and disintegration of the self. The very word pious has been turned into an insult. This is one of the most difficult things we have to overcome when we enter the church. We pray in a certain way not for ourselves but for the other. We dress in a certain way not for ourselves but for the other. We enter and leave the church in a certain way not for ourselves but for the other. And by doing so, we do not enter the church as individuals who have come to fill ourselves with our own personal spirituality without regard for the person standing next to us. We become one body in Christ and stand together, united in the Kingdom of God.

“The preaching of the Apostles and the dogmas of the Fathers have strengthened the unity of the faith in the church. Thus, she (the Church), in wearing the tunic of Truth, which is woven with the Theology from above, teaches aright and glorifies the great Mystery of piety.” (Kondakion of the Fathers of the Fourth Ecumenical Council).

Preparation

The Church teaches us how to live the divine life through a natural rhythm of preparation and fulfillment, fasting and feasting, prayer and worship. Preparation is an essential element of Christian worship. If we ignore preparation we have no fulfillment. Our prayer becomes irrelevant, full of empty words. Our feasting becomes gluttony. And our worship becomes dry and ossified. Through the natural rhythm of preparation and fulfillment we transform the whole of life into constant prayer and worship. Each day, week, and year – indeed every moment is transformed. We learn to pray without ceasing. I Thes. 5:17.