Everything about Divine Liturgy Of St John Chrysostom totally explained
The
Divine Liturgy is the primary worship service of the
Eastern Orthodox Church and those
Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the
Byzantine Rite. The two primary forms of the
Divine Liturgy are those of
St. John Chrysostom and
St. Basil the Great. The Divine Liturgy is a
eucharistic service. It contains three parts: the
Liturgy of Preparation, at which the clergy pray, vest and prepare the bread and wine for the offering; the
Liturgy of the Catechumens, sometimes called the
Liturgy of the Word, at which the
Scriptures are proclaimed and expounded; and the
Liturgy of the Faithful, sometimes called the
Liturgy of the Eucharist, in which the gifts of bread and wine are offered and
consecrated and
Holy Communion is distributed to the faithful. The Church teaches that the gifts truly become the body and blood of
Jesus Christ, but it has never dogmatized a particular formula for describing this transformation.
Liturgy of Preparation
Before the public part of the Divine Liturgy begins, the
priest and a
deacon, if one is serving, serve the Liturgy of preparation, known as the
prothesis (or
proskomedia). The prayers of this portion of the liturgy are said quietly, and symbolize the
nativity and early "hidden" years of Jesus' life. The rite begins with the priest and deacon saying
entrance prayers in front of the
iconostasis. They then enter the sanctuary and put on their
vestments, each of which is blessed and a special prayer is said as it's put on. After this, they go to the Altar of Preparation (
prothesis) and prepare the gifts of bread and wine for use in the service. Over the centuries, this preparation has developed into a very full service. More than simply setting aside the bread and wine (as in the
offertory of the Western Church), a robust ritual has developed with elaborate symbolism, and almost every action is accompanied by a prayer, many of which are taken verbatim from the
Psalms or other
scripture. Though the ritual is similar for most Eastern Orthodox churches, there may be some slight differences based on which
typicon a particular jurisdiction uses.
During the prothesis, the priest cuts out a cube called the
Lamb from the main loaf of bread (
prosphoron). This will be consecrated during the Liturgy of the Faithful to become the Body of Christ. He also removes small particles and places them on the
diskos (or paten) in commemoration of the
Theotokos, various saints, and the living and departed faithful. The remainder of the bread is blessed and will be distributed to parishioners and visitors after the service. This bread is called
antidoron.
After all of the particles have been placed on the diskos, the priest blesses wine and water, which are poured into the
chalice (
potirion) by the deacon. (Later in the Liturgy, boiling water (
zeon) will be added to the chalice after the
epiclesis.)
Next, two smaller
veils are
censed and placed, one over the diskos and one over the chalice. A third, larger veil, known as the
Aër will be censed and placed so that it covers both the chalice and the diskos. Then the prepared gifts are
censed, as the priest says the final prayer of the Liturgy of Preparation. Next, the deacon censes the entire temple (church) as he recites
Psalm 50. The conclusion of the prothesis leads directly into the beginning of the Divine Liturgy.
Liturgy of the Catechumens
Beginning of the Liturgy
When it comes time for the public part of the Liturgy to begin, the priest and deacon, if one is serving, conduct a brief, quiet dialogue, during which the deacon asks the priest's blessing and then goes out to stand in front of the
Holy Doors. The Divine Liturgy begins with the memorable exclamation from the priest, "Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages." The assembled faithful respond, "Amen."
The deacon (or priest, if no deacon is serving) continues with the
Great Litany, so called because it's longer than most litanies and its petitions touch on the needs of the world: peace and salvation, the Church, her bishops, her faithful, captives and their health and salvation, deliverance from anger and need. This litany (
ektenia) is also known as the Litany of Peace, since its first petition is, "In peace, let us pray to the Lord." It is concluded, as with most litanies, by calling to the remembrance of the faithful the witness of the
Theotokos and the saints. In light of that powerful witness, the faithful are each charged to commend themselves, and one another, and their whole lives to
Jesus Christ. During each of the litanies, the priest will pray special "secret prayers" silently. At the end of the litany, the priest will make an exclamation (
ekphonesis) glorifying the
Holy Trinity.
There follow three
antiphons which vary by day and . Each of the first two anitphons is followed by a brief litany (known as the "Little Litany") with its own silent prayer and the priest's ekphonesis. The third anitphon is followed by the
Little Entrance, at which is sung, "Come, let us worship God, our King! Save us, O Son of God, who sing to you! Alleluia." "Son of God" is normally followed by an insertion, such as "risen from the dead" or "wondrous in your saints."
Troparia and
kontakia prescribed for the day, season, and temple follow next.
Having fully entered the church liturgically and gathered together around the Word, the gathered body chants the
Trisagion ("Thrice-Holy Hymn") to the Holy Trinity: "Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal: have mercy on us."
Scripture Readings
The proclamation of
Scripture is announced with the
prokeimenon, a psalm or canticle refrain sung in responsorial fashion. Then, a
reader proclaims the
Apostol: a New Testament reading from an apostolic
Epistle or from the
Acts of the Apostles. This reading is usually chanted, but a spoken reading may be allowed out of economy for local situations. (In some traditions, the reader starts the chant in a very low voice, and steps up to end of the reading with a high voice. This is a reminder of how the Young Church rose up from the catacombs.)
A triple
alleluia is sung, also with verses as at the prokeimenon. This alleluia announces the Gospel reading. Following the alleluia, there's a short exchange between the priest and the people, after which he or a deacon
chants the
Gospel.
Following the Gospel, the priest will often give a
homily, a short or medium-length excursus on the Scripture, the season, or the present festival or commemoration, roughly equivalent to the Protestant sermon (the homily may also be given after the communion or even after the dismissal).
The service continues with the
Litany of Fervent Supplication, which is marked by an insistent triple repetition of "Lord, have mercy."
The
Liturgy of the Catechumens is concluded by a litany praying for the continued growth of the
catechumens in faith, leading up to the day of their baptism. Though many churches don't have catechumens in attendance, this litany remains in the Liturgy and serves as a constant reminder of the
Great Commission, the foundation of the Church as
mission to the world.
Liturgy of the Faithful
The Great Entrance
As the assembly begins chanting the
Cherubic Hymn, the celebrants go to the
prothesis or table of preparation. The priest presents the
diskos to the deacon and takes the
chalice himself. The deacon leads the priest through the north door of the icon screen. The clergy bring the gifts in procession to the holy doors, the central doors of the icon screen, while the deacon calls the faithful to attention, asking that the Lord will remember all people in his kingdom. As the holy gifts are carried solemnly through the holy doors, the assembled faithful conclude the Cherubic Hymn.
(Note: if a deacon isn't present, the priest makes this entrance with the diskos and chalice alone.)
After the priest blesses the faithful the deacon exclaims, "The doors! The doors!" This famous exclamation once marked the point in the service at which the doors to the temple were locked, only faithful Christians remaining. Over the centuries, visitors have been allowed to stay, though the solemnity of what follows is still recalled with this phrase.
Then, the Church professes its common faith by reciting the
Creed. The liturgical name for this creed is the
Symbol of Faith, indicating its importance to early Christians in determining the Orthodoxy of persons claiming to be of the
Church.
The Eucharistic Prayer
Following the Creed, the priest begins the
anaphora, the great eucharistic prayer over the gifts, so called because of the initial phrase: "Let us lift up our hearts." The two principal anaphoras in use in the Orthodox Church are those of St.
John Chrysostom and St.
Basil the Great.
After remembering the history of our
fall and
redemption and the
institution of the eucharistic meal, the priest invokes the Holy Spirit, asking that he be sent down on the gifts, "changing" them into the Body and Blood of Christ. It is sometimes noted that this invocation, known as the
epiclesis, is the moment of transformation of the gifts of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, but Orthodox tradition doesn't define specifically when the moment of transformation takes place. It is certainly true that the prayers of the service treat the gifts as consecrated and transformed after this point.
Having invoked the Holy Spirit and consecrated the gifts, the priest commemorates the saints, beginning with the
Theotokos. At this point, the assembled faithful chant the ancient hymn in honor of the Virgin,
Axion Estin (
Slavonic:
Dostoina Yest’): "It is truly meet to bless you, O Theotokos, ever blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the
cherubim, beyond compare more glorious than the
seraphim, without corruption you gave birth to God, the Word. True
Theotokos, we magnify you." During the
Great Feasts of the
church year, and
Holy Week this hymn is replaced by a hymn, called in Slavonic,
Zadostoinik (usually the
irmos of the Ninth
Ode of the
Canon of the Feast),
The priest prays the bishop, in whose name he's celebrating the Liturgy, will be kept in the Orthodox Faith and preserved in health and years.
The Communion and Dismissal
After consecrating the gifts, commemorating the saints and praying for the local bishop, the priest lifts up the consecrated gifts, exclaiming, "The holy things are for the holy!" To which the faithful respond, "One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father, amen." This phrase unfortunately loses something in English, since we've two words for
holy and
saint. In most other languages, this dialogue has a connotation of, "The holy things are for the saints! / Only one is a saint! Only one is Lord: Jesus Christ...." This is a rather prominent reminder that our holiness finds its source in God alone, and particularly in our participation in this communion.
The faithful communicate in Orthodox tradition by receiving in both kinds (bread intincted in the wine) from a spoon, a tradition which dates to the fourth century. Having received the body and blood of the Savior, they take a small piece of bread,
antidoron, which is a part of the same loaf from which the Lamb was taken.
Antidoron isn't consecrated to be the Eucharist, but it's blessed and so it's treated with reverence. In Russian tradition, a small cup of wine is also offered.
After a
dismissal common to the services of the Church, the faithful come forward to venerate the
cross and leave the church.
Bibliographical Resources
- Bradshaw, Paul, ed. Essays on Early Eastern Eucharistic Prayers (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1997) ISBN 081466153X » Essays on eucharistic prayers (anaphoras) from various periods and locales.
- Cuming, Geoffrey J. and R. C. D. Jasper. Prayers of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1987) ISBN 0814660851 » Includes the texts of eucharistic prayers no longer extant as well as early redactions of the anaphoras of St. James, St. Basil the Great, and St. John Chrysostom.
- Schmemann, Alexander. The Eucharist (Crestwood, NY: SVS Press, 1987) ISBN 0881410187 » A classic reflection on the meaning of the Divine Liturgy from one of the pioneers of liturgical theology.
- Taft, Robert, SJ. Divine Liturgies — Human Problems in Byzantium, Armenia, Syria and Palestine (Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2001) ISBN 0860788679
- Taft, Robert, SJ. A History of the Liturgy of St. John Chysostom (Rome: Pontifical Oriental Institute) » This is a multi-volume work in progress. Currently, no ISBN are available. See the SVS Press website
.
*Volume II: The Great Entrance » *Volume IV: The Diptychs
*Volume V: The Precommunion Rites
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