Liturgy is ... What is the Divine Liturgy

It is very important to define for yourself such concepts as the Divine Liturgy, the Sacrament of Communion and the Eucharist. In translation from Greek, the Eucharist refers to the "sacrament of thanksgiving". But the liturgy is the greatest church service, during which the Flesh and Blood of Christ are sacrificed in the form of bread and wine. Then the Sacrament of the Sacrament itself occurs, when a person, having consecrated bread and wine, is attached to God, which presupposes his purity both physical and spiritual. Therefore, before Communion it is necessary to confess.

Church worship is daily, weekly and annual. In turn, the daily cycle includes those services that the Orthodox Church commits during the day. There are nine of them. The main and the main part of the church service is the Divine Liturgy.

The circadian circle

Moses described the creation of the world by God, beginning the "day" from the evening. This was also the case in the Christian Church, where the "day" also started from the evening and was called Vespers. This service takes place at the end of the day, when believers thank God for the past day. The next service has the name "Compline", and it consists of a series of prayers that are read in order to ask God for our forgiveness of all sins and to protect the body and soul during sleep from the evil machinations of the devil. Then comes the midnight ministry, inviting all believers to be always prepared for the day when the Last Judgment comes.

In the morning service, Orthodox parishioners thank the Lord for the night and ask him for mercy. The first hour corresponds to our seven o'clock in the morning and serves as the time of consecration by prayer for the coming of a new day. In the third hour (nine o'clock in the morning) the descent into the apostles of the Holy Spirit is recalled . At the sixth hour (twelve o'clock in the afternoon) the crucifixion of Christ is remembered . At the ninth hour (the third hour), the death of the Savior Christ is remembered. Then comes the Divine Liturgy.

Orthodox Liturgy

In church worship, the Divine Liturgy is the main and the main part of the service, which is held before lunch, or rather in the morning. In these moments, the whole life of the Lord is recalled from the moment of his Birth and to the Ascension. In such an amazing way, the Sacrament of Holy Communion takes place.

The main thing is to understand that the Liturgy is the Great Sacrament of Love of the Lord God to man, established by Himself on the day of the Last Supper, which he commanded to create for His apostles. After the Lord ascended into Heaven, the apostles began to perform the Sacrament of Communion every day, while reading prayers, psalms and Holy Scripture. The first order of the liturgy was composed by the apostle Jacob.

All church services in the most ancient times were held in monasteries and at the hermits in the time for them. But then, for the convenience of the believers themselves, these services were combined into three parts of the divine service: evening, morning and day.

In general, the liturgy is first of all the thanksgiving of the Son of God for His benefits, visible and invisible, which He sends through people or all circumstances, for His death on the cross and saving suffering, for His resurrection and ascension, for mercy and the opportunity to address Him For help at any moment. People go to the liturgy to transform their consciousness and change the perception of reality, so that a mysterious meeting with God and with himself, such as the Lord wants to see and expect Him to happen.

Liturgy is also a prayer to God for all his relatives, friends, for himself, for the country and for the whole world, so that he protects and comforts in a difficult moment. At the end of the week, a special thanksgiving service and a Sunday liturgy are usually held.

During the Liturgy, the most important church sacrament is the Eucharist ("thanksgiving"). Every believing Christian by this time can prepare and receive the Holy Communion.

The Orthodox liturgy is divided into three types, which bear the names of the hierarchs John Chrysostom, Basil the Great and the Presanctified Gifts.

Liturgy of John Chrysostom

The church liturgy received this name thanks to its author, whom the archbishop of Constantinople John Zlatoust is considered to be .

He lived in the IV century, they were then put together a variety of prayers and created the rite of Christian worship, which takes place in most of the days of the liturgical year, except for some holidays and a few days of Lent. St. John Chrysostom became the author of the priest's secret prayers, read during the ministry.

Liturgy Chrysostom is divided into three consecutive parts. First comes the proskomedia, followed by the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful.

Proskomidia

Proskomidia is translated from Greek as an "offering". In this part, everything necessary for the performance of the Sacrament is prepared. For this, five prosphoras are used, but it is for the communion itself that the only one used is called the "Holy Lamb". Proskomedia is conducted by an Orthodox priest on a special altar, where the Sacrament itself and the conjunction in the discos of all particles around the Lamb, which creates the symbol of the Church, at the head of which the Lord Himself is, is performed.

Liturgy of the Catechumens

This part is a continuation of the liturgy of St Zelatoust. At this time, the preparation of believers for the Mystery of Communion begins. I remember the life and suffering of Christ. The Liturgy of the Catechumens got its name because in ancient times only mentally trained or catechumens were allowed to prepare for the reception of Holy Baptism. They stood in the vestibule and had to leave the temple after the special words of the deacon: "Announcement, get out ...".

Liturgy of the Faithful

It is attended only by baptized Orthodox parishioners. This is a special divine liturgy, the text of which is read from the Holy Scripture. At these moments, important sacred actions, prepared earlier during the previous parts of the Liturgy, are being completed. Gifts from the altar are transferred to the throne, believers are prepared for the consecration of the Gifts, then the Gifts are sanctified. Then all believers prepare for Communion and receive communion. Then comes thanksgiving for Communion and release.

Liturgy of Basil the Great

The theologian Basil the Great lived in the IV century. He occupied an important church order of Archbishop Caesarea of Cappadocia.

One of his main creations is the rite of the Divine Liturgy, which records the secret prayers of clergymen read during the church service. There he also included other prayer petitions.

According to the Christian Charter of the Church, this ceremony is performed only ten times a year: on the day of the memory of St. Basil the Great, at Christmas and Epiphany, from the 1st to the 5th Sunday of Lent, on Holy Thursday and on the Great Saturday of the Holy Week.

This service is in many respects similar to the Liturgy of John Chrysostom, only the difference is that here the deceased are not commemorated on the ecclesiast, secret prayers are read, certain chants of the Mother of God are taking place.

The liturgy of St Basil the Great was received by the entire Orthodox East. But after a while John Chrysostom, referring to the infirmity of man, produced abbreviations, which, however, concerned only secret prayers.

The day of the memory of Basil the Great is celebrated on January 1 according to the old style and on January 14 by a new style.

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

This tradition of church worship is attributed to St. Gregory the Great (Dvoslov) - the Pope, who held this high post from 540 to 604. It is held only during Lent, namely on Wednesday, Friday and even on some holidays, only if they do not fall out on Saturday and Sunday. As a matter of fact, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is an evening liturgy, and in it a rite is connected before the Holy Communion.

One very important feature of this worship is that at this time the Sacrament of the Priesthood may be ordained a deacon, while the other two liturgies, Chrysostom and Basil the Great, may ordain a priest candidate.