Orthodox Liturgy Service Explanation

By: Father Nicholas J. Verdaris

From Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Little Rock, AK

One does not have to know Arabic, Greek or Russian to understand the divine Liturgy. The Liturgy basically is a drama portraying the life of Christ. Now if the Liturgy is a drama, it means that the life of Christ is also acted out before us. If we do not understand the language, we can at least understand the actions that we see going on in the drama. Following is a description with pictures of the main acts of the Divine Liturgy.

This marks the beginning of the liturgy. The priest says a series of petitions praising God, asking forgiveness, praying for the sick, etc. The choir responds with "LORD HAVE MERCY." These prayers are to be found in Church Hymnals.

In the beginning of the Liturgy, We talk to God. Soon, GOD will talk to us. It is a conversation taking place between man and God.

The priest, taking the Gospel Book from the altar, carries it out to the congregation and says, "WISDOM, ARISE !", This dramatic act signifies Christ coming out to the congregation to teach them. The words, "WISDOM, ARISE!", recited by the priest, reminds us to pay special attention to the wisdom of the teachings of Christ that will soon be read to us in the EPISTLE and GOSPEL lessons and in the SERMON. This is called the "SMALL ENTRANCE." and symbolizes the beginning of Christ's teaching ministry at the age of 30. It marks the beginning of the teaching part of the Liturgy.

The EPISTLE lesson is read next, and then the priest reads a GOSPEL lesson. Later he comes again to PREACH the Word of God. Both of these actions represent Christ coming to teach those who are assembled in worship.

In the first part of the Liturgy, WE spoke to God; now He speaks to us.

Prayers of the Fervent Supplication are offered. The priest censes the altar, the prothesis table, the iconostasis, the congregation. While censing, he recites Psalm 50. This action signifies that just as the smoke from the censer rises upward, so we hope that our prayers may rise up to God. Just as the smoke is fragrant, so we hope our prayers will be fragrant, or acceptable unto God, as they rise heavenward.

The priest now comes out to the congregation holding the chalice and paten, containing the congregation's offering of bread and wine. This represents Christ, the Lamb of God, going forth to offer Himself in sacrifice for us. The priest then prays, as did the Penitent thief on the cross, asking Christ to remember each one of us in His Kingdom. At this point, every worshipper should visualize Christ on the cross of Calvary and should repeat inaudibly the words of the thief, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom."

The priest lifts the veil which symbolizes the grave cloth in which the dead body of Christ was wrapped. He waves it over the chalice signifying the resurrection of our Lord. The congregation recites the Nicene Creed which is a summary of our faith. With this, the Teaching part of the Liturgy ends. Now begins the holiest part of the service: The presentation of the offering of bread and wine to God, Who receives it and changes it to the actual Body and Blood of Christ.

Through the priest, WHO ENACTS THE PART OF CHRIST IN THE LITURGY, our Lord speaks the words of the Last supper to each one of us, "Take, eat. This is My body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins." Also, "Drink of this, all of you; this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins." What happened at the Last Supper on Calvary is repeated for us today on the altar through the Liturgy. St. Paul writes, "As often as you shall eat this bread and drink this cup, you shall show forth the death of the Lord till He comes." The Liturgy is an "eternal repetition of the divine act of love accomplished for us."

The priest raises the chalice and paten, offering the congregation's gift of bread and wine to God. The congregation kneels. This is the most sacred part of Liturgy. The priest prays for the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Christ. In raising the gifts, the priest is offering your gifts to God. At this point, we should be offering ourselves to God, saying, "I offer myself to Thee, O Lord, in that chalice and on that paten, with the bread and wine. This is my sacrifice to Thee: To subdue my lower sinful nature and to live completely for Thee. This is the gift that I offer to you today on Your holy altar."

Man offers God a sacrifice: Bread, which is the staff of life. This signifies that man lays his life on the altar in surrender to God. God accepts man's gift, changes it into the Body and Blood of Christ, and gives it back to man, no longer as bread, but as His Body . Thus, communion with God results. An exchange of gifts takes place between man and God. We give God a gift, (our life) expressing our love; then He gives us a gift (His Body), expressing His love for us. In this scene, we see the priest approaching the congregation with the chalice, containing the precious Body and Blood of Christ. The action of the priest coming out to the congregation with the holy cup, signifies the Risen Christ bringing the eternal life to the faithful. Everyone who wishes to receive communion walks up to the altar at this point.

Prayers of the Fervent Supplication: The priest censes the altar, the prothesis table, the iconostasis, the congregation. While censing, he recites Psalm 50. This action signifies that just as the smoke from the censer rises upward, so we hope that our prayers may rise up to God. Just as the smoke is fragrant, so we hope our prayers will be fragrant, or acceptable unto God, as they rise heavenward.

The priest now comes out to the congregation holding the chalice and paten, containing the congregation's offering of bread and wine. This represents Christ, the Lamb of God, going forth to offer Himself in sacrifice for us. The priest then prays, as did the Penitent thief on the cross, asking Christ to remember each one of us in His Kingdom. At this point, every worshipper should visualize Christ on the cross of Calvary and should repeat inaudibly the words of the thief, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy Kingdom."

The priest lifts the veil which symbolizes the grave cloth in which the dead body of Christ was wrapped. He waves it over the chalice signifying the resurrection of our Lord. The congregation recites the Nicene Creed which is a summary of our faith. With this, the Teaching part of the Liturgy ends. Now begins the holiest part of the service: The presentation of the offering of bread and wine to God, Who receives it and changes it to the actual Body and Blood of Christ.

Through the priest, WHO ENACTS THE PART OF CHRIST IN THE LITURGY, our Lord speaks the words of the Last supper to each one of us today "Take, eat. This is My body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins." Also, "Drink of this, all of you; this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the forgiveness of sins." What happened at the Last Supper on Calvary is repeated for us today on the altar through the Liturgy. St. Paul writes, "As often as you shall eat this bread and drink this cup, you shall show forth the death of the Lord till He comes." The Liturgy is an "eternal repetition of the divine act of love accomplished for us."

The priest raises the chalice and paten, offering the congregation's gift of bread and wine to God. The congregation kneels. This is the most sacred part of Liturgy. The priest prays for the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Christ. In raising the gifts, the priest is offering your gifts to God. At this point, we should be offering ourselves to God, saying, "I offer myself to Thee, O Lord, in that chalice and on that paten, with the bread and wine. This is my sacrifice to Thee: To subdue my lower sinful nature and to live completely for Thee. This is the gift that I offer to you today on Your holy altar."

Man offers God a sacrifice: Bread, which is the staff of life. This signifies that man lays his life on the altar in surrender to God. God accepts man's gift, changes it into the Body and Blood of Christ, and gives it back to man, no longer as bread, but as His Body . Thus, communion with God results. An exchange of gifts takes place between man and God. We give God a gift, (our life) expressing our love; then He gives us a gift (His Body), expressing His love for us. In this scene, we see the priest approaching the congregation with the chalice, containing the precious Body and Blood of Christ. The action of the priest coming out to the congregation with the holy cup, signifies the Risen Christ bringing the eternal life to the faithful. Everyone who wishes to receive communion walks up to the altar at this point.

The priest appears at the altar door with the chalice and paten. Then he disappears behind the screen, just as our Lord disappeared in the clouds when He ascended into heaven. The Body and Blood are removed from our view to signify the Ascension of Christ. To denote that our lord, although He is now in heaven, will be with us o earth till the end of time, the priest says, "Always, now and ever and to the ages of ages."

The priest now stands before the icon and prays to the ascended Christ.

At the conclusion of the Liturgy, the congregation comes forward to receive a piece of bread (not Communion) which has been blessed. This is reminiscent of the "agape" or love feasts which the early Christians held after their worship service. They would assemble to break bread together before leaving for their homes. Essentially, this is what we do today. we break bread together before leaving to denote our brotherhood in Christ.

Copyright © 1997 Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church