October 21, 2018 558 0 What Is the ‘Fervor’ Used during the Liturgy? Fervor is boiling water, which is poured into the Chalice after the transmutation of the Holy Gifts. The boiling water is poured into the…
October 11, 2018 152 0 St. Theophan the Recluse on Prayer during the All-Night Vigil He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12). That’s the foundation and the beginning…
October 5, 2018 144 0 The Importance of Visiting Church on Saturday Night “Let us lay aside all earthly cares” (the Hymn of the Great Entrance). Three decades ago, a film came out that codified the…
September 8, 2018 393 0 Anaphora: the Meaning of the Central Prayer of the Liturgy Next in this commentary series we examine the Anaphora, which is a Greek word meaning “offering” (the verb form is used in Leviticus 17:5,…
August 31, 2018 1575 0 “Greet One Another with a Holy Kiss”: the Historical Meaning of the “Holy Kiss” Next in this commentary series on the Divine Liturgy I would like examine the Peace and the Creed. The liturgical exchange of the Peace…
August 17, 2018 129 0 From the Liturgy of the Catechumens to the Liturgy of the Faithful In this commentary series on the Divine Liturgy I would like examine the original transition from the so-called “Liturgy of the Catechumens” (i.e. the…
August 10, 2018 180 1 Three Rhetorical Questions about Divine Liturgy I sometimes cannot help asking myself three liturgical questions whenever I visit churches which serve the Liturgy in the “classic” pattern I learned in…
July 27, 2018 173 0 The Gospel Lesson during the Divine Liturgy: What Is It for? I would like to conclude this commentary series on the Divine Liturgy (or at least the first part of the Liturgy, the so-called “Liturgy…
July 22, 2018 153 0 Why Is Epistle Read during the Divine Liturgy? In the Orthodox Divine Liturgy, after the Trisagion Hymn comes the chanting of the prokeimenon and of the epistle. In many places the prokeimenon…
July 5, 2018 215 0 Some Thoughts on the Usage of the Archaic Language in Liturgical Texts One sometimes comes across mild debates in Orthodox circles about whether or not our Sunday Divine Liturgy should employ the archaic forms (e.g. “Thou…