Christian mystery blok. Priest Daniel Sysoev

Priest Daniel Sysoev

CHRISTIAN MYSTERY The Order of Divine Services with Commentary for Beginners In Three Parts

Translated by DEACON NATHAN WILLIAMS Daniel Sysoev Inc., New Jersey, 2015

Approved for publication by the Publications Board of the Russian Orthodox Church IS 12-121-2170 Priest Daniel Sysoev Christian Mystery. The Order of Divine Services with Commentary for Beginners. New Jersey. Daniel Sysoev Inc., 2015. — 240 pages.

ISBN 978-5-4279-0029-4

For many beginning believers, remaining attentive throughout the church service is no easy task. Numerous thoughts overcome the worshipper, forcing him to remain amid earthly cares. This occurs due to a lack of understanding of the language in which the services are conducted, and of the meaning of the texts read during the sacred rites.

The purpose of this book is to help those desiring to understand the essence and beauty of Orthodox worship to discover the full essence of what is taking place in the church, beginning with the remembrance of the creation of the world at the All-night Vigil, and ending with the very heart of the service, the greatest mystery of the Christian, Holy Communion, at which the believer’s soul invisibly yet palpably unites with the Lord Himself.

For what could be sweeter to the soul than the unfeigned realization of the words, “Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim, and chant the thrice-holy hymn unto the Life-creating Trinity, now lay aside all earthly care, that we may receive the King of all, Who cometh invisibly upborne in triumph by the ranks of angels. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia”?

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CHRISTIAN MYSTERY The Order of the All-night Vigil with Commentary for Beginners

Part I

TYPES OF ORTHODOX WORSHIP Orthodox worship services vary by degree of solemnity depending on the day of the church year. The services are more ordinary on weekdays, more subdued during the fasts, and more festive on feasts.

The central service in the daily cycle of services is the Divine Liturgy (from the Greek word for “service”, “common work”). All the other services may be viewed as preparation for it, a framework.

Next in importance after the Liturgy are vespers and matins. It is these two services in which the meaning and significance of each feast is most fully revealed.

In addition to the above-mentioned services, also served in the Church are compline and the midnight office, as well the hours (first, third, sixth, and ninth). These services are first mentioned in hoary Christian antiquity, in records reflecting the monastic practice of sanctifying various times of day and night with prayer.

Whereas the civil day begins at midnight, the church day begins the previous evening. The custom of considering evening to be the beginning of the new day goes back to the biblical tradition that the world was created in the evening: And the evening and the morning were the first day (Gen. 1:5). In the Russian Orthodox Church vespers is frequently served jointly with matins.

Each day, in accordance with the Church menology, a sacred event or particularly revered saint is commemorated. Services are also served in honor of wonderworking icons (the appropriate hymns are found in the liturgical books called the Menaion and the Triodion). Additionally, each day of the week has its own commemoration: Sunday is dedicated 5

to Christ’s Resurrection, Monday — to the bodiless hosts of angels, Tuesday — to John the Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, Wednesday — to the Lifegiving Cross of Christ, and Thursday — to the holy apostles and to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. On Friday we commemorate the Lord’s sufferings and His death on the Cross, and on Saturday the service is dedicated to the venerable ones and all the saints, and the departed are commemorated (the appropriate hymns are found in a liturgical book called the Ochtoechos).

On weekdays, “daily” vespers and matins are served, while on feast days we serve “great” vespers, matins “with the singing of the doxology”, and matins “with the polyeleos”.

THE ALL-NIGHT VIGIL The evening service on the eve of feasts is called the All-night Vigil.

The name “All-night Vigil” comes from the ancient practice, according to which the service lasted all night long. In modern parish practice the All-night Vigil (or simply “the vigil”) is ordinarily served in the evening.

The All-night Vigil is served on the eve of all the Sundays of the year (except for Holy Pascha, which has its own distinctive liturgical traits), on the eve of all the twelve great feasts, on the five other great feasts (on the feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, but only, according to the Order of Services, “if the church be dedicated to Saint Basil”; on the Beheading and Nativity of Saint John the Forerunner, and on the feasts of the holy leaders of the apostles Peter and Paul and of the Protection of the Mother of God); the feasts of particularly venerated saints (Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker, Saint John Chrysostom, Holy Great-martyr and Trophy-bearer George, the synaxis of the Three Eccumenical Hierarchs), and always on the patronal feast of the church or monastery. The Typicon likewise appoints vigils for Saint Anthony the Great and Saint Sabbas the Sanctified (in the latter case the katavasia even change).

At the rector’s discretion vigil may also be served on other feast days, such as the feast day of a saint of whose relics the church has a piece.

The All-night Vigil consists of two parts: great vespers and matins with the polyeleos. After matins the first hour is read.

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GREAT VESPERS The service served at the day’s end is called vespers. It is preceded by the ninth hour, which begins the daily cycle of services. Vespers contains prayers, hymns, and sacred rites in which the Holy Church glorifies God the Creator for His Providence for the world and for men. It transports the faithful into the Old Testament era, reminding them of our progenitors’ blissful existance in Paradise, of their needs and sorrows after the fall, of the promise given to them and to all men concerning the Savior of the World, of the faith of the Old Testament people, and of the redemption of the human race by the death of the Only-begotten Son of God upon the cross.

In the evening service we give thanks to God for all His blessings which He has manifested to us, and especially for the past day. We repent of our sins committed in the course of the day, and ask the Lord for peace and sinlessness for the remainder of the day and for the night, and for a peaceful life and a blessed end, such as that which Saint Symeon the God-receiver was vouchsafed.

Vespers begins with the opening of the royal doors.

THE PRIEST AND THE DEACON

cense the holy table and the entire altar. The Typicon also calls for censing the soleas, the worshippers, and the entire church.

THE DEACON

carrying a candle exits the altar through the royal doors onto the ambon and, facing those present in the temple, exclaims:

Arise!

DEACON

O Lord, bless!

He returns to the altar through the royal doors.

PRIEST

Giving glory on his own behalf and on behalf of the worshippers to the Most-holy Trinity, he traces the sign of the cross before the holy table and exclaims:

Glory to the holy, consubstantial, life-creating, and indivisible Trinity, always, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

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This exclamation is pronounced at the All-night Vigil. If vespers is served separately, and not as part of an all-night vigil, the opening exclamation is “Blessed is our God ... .” Sometimes vespers continues on without interruption into the order of the Divine Liturgy. In this case the opening exclamation is “Blessed is the Kingdom ... .”

CHOIR

Amen.

PRIEST AND DEACON

O come, let us worship God our King. O ship and fall down before Christ our King let us worship and fall down before Christ and God. O come, let us worship and fall

come, let us worand God. O come, Himself, our King down before Him.

OPENING PSALM V 103 CHOIR

In answer to the call of the priest, the choir sings Psalm 103 on behalf of the worshippers:

Bless the Lord, O my soul. Blessed art Thou, O Lord.

O Lord my God, Thou hast been magnified exceedingly.

Blessed art Thou, O Lord. Confession and majesty hast Thou put on. Blessed art Thou, O Lord. Upon the mountains shall the waters stand. Wondrous are Thy works, O Lord. Between the mountains will the waters run. Wondrous are Thy works, O Lord.

In wisdom hast Thou made them all. Glory to Thee, O Lord, Who hast made them all.

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia. Glory to Thee, O God. (Thrice.)

During the singing the priest censes the entire church with the deacon preceding him, carrying a candle.

This moment reminds the worshippers of the blissful life in paradise of the first people, Adam and Eve, when God Himself appeared to and con8

versed with them. The opening of the royal doors signifies the ability of our sinless progenitors to converse uninhibbited with God in paradise.

After the censing the royal doors are closed as a sign that the doors of paradise were shut to our progenitors after they sinned.

THE PRIEST

standing with bowed head before the closed doors, as Adam once did before the gates of paradise, secretly (quietly, in an undertone, rather than for all those present in the temple) reads the seven evening prayers called the “lamplighting prayers”.

These contain doxologies to the Lord God, Who created the material light, and petitions that spiritual light and all good things necessary for salvation be bestowed upon the faithful.

THE GREAT ECTENIA The Greek word ektenia means “spreading, extended prayer”. There are various types of ecteniae, depending on the moment in and nature of the service.

DEACON

Having bowed to the high place and to the serving priest, the deacon exits the altar by the north door onto the soleas to pronounce the great ectenia (when there is no deacon serving the ectenia is said by the priest):

In peace [with God and neighbor] let us pray to the Lord.

CHOIR

Hereafter at each petition of the ectenia the choir sings, on behalf of all the worshippers:

Lord, have mercy.

DEACON

(continued)

For the peace from above, and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

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For the peace of the whole world, the good estate of the holy churches of God, and the union of all, let us pray to the Lord.

For this holy temple, and for them that with faith, reverence, and the fear of God enter herein, let us pray to the Lord.

For our Great Lord and Father, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill; for the venerable priesthood, the deaconate in Christ, for all the clergy and people, let us pray to the Lord.

For our God-preserved land and for its authorities and armed forces, let us pray to the Lord.

For this city, for every city and country, and for the faithful that dwell therein, let us pray to the Lord.

For seasonable weather, abundance of the fruits of the earth, and peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.

For travelers by sea, land and air, for the sick, the suffering, the imprisoned, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

That we may be delivered from all tribulation, wrath, and necessity, let us pray to the Lord.

Help us, save us, have mercy us, and keep us, O God, by Thy grace.

Calling to remembrance our most holy, most pure, most blessed, glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and all our life unto Christ our God. CHOIR

To Thee, O Lord.

PRIEST

For unto Thee is due all glory, honor and worship; to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

CHOIR

Amen.

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BLESSED IS THE MAN After the great ectenia the Typicon calls for the reading of a kathisma — a section of the Psalter. At daily vespers the kathisma is divided into three parts, or “glories”.

At great vespers served on the eve of a feast the first kathisma is appointed to be read, but in practice it has been abbreviated to six selected verses, called “Blessed is the Man”.

CHOIR

Blessed is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly.

Alleluia (thrice).

For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, and the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Alleluia (thrice).

Serve ye the Lord with fear, and rejoice in Him with trembling.

Alleluia (thrice).

Blessed are all that have put their trust in Him. Alleluia (thrice).

Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God. Alleluia (thrice).

Salvation is of the Lord, and Thy blessing is upon Thy people.

Alleluia (thrice).

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

Alleluia (thrice).

Both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia (thrice). Аlleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God (thrice).

“Blessed is the man” consists of selected verses from the Psalter that remind us that, though sin deprived our progenitors of paradise, the descendants of Adam and Eve who lost paradise and bliss lived in the faith that God had not left them forever, but would deliver from their transgressions those who serve Him with faith and trembling and seek their salvation from Him, and would once again restore to them His blessing.

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THE SMALL ECTENIA In this petition the Church again calls the faithful to pray in peace to the Lord, that He preserve us by His grace.

DEACON

Again and again, in peace let us pray to the Lord.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

DEACON

Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God,

by Thy grace.

CHOIR

Lоrd, have mercy.

DEACON

Calling to remembrance our most holy, most pure, most blessed, glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and all our life unto Christ our God. CHOIR

To Thee, O Lord.

THE PRIEST

after the first antiphon1 gives the exclamation:

For Thine is the dominion, and Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory: of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

1

In ancient times vespers began with three antiphons (selected verses from the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd glories of the first kathisma, respectively), each consisting of a single psalm sung antiphonally with the refrains “Alleluia” or “Glory to Thee, O God”. In current practice on the eve of Sundays and feast days only the first antiphon is sung.

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CHOIR

Аmen.

If at vespers (on Saturday night) three antiphons are sung, the small ectenia is pronounced after each of them, and the priest concludes the ecteniae with the following exclamations: after the first, “For Thine is the dominion”; after the second, “For a good and man-befriending God art Thou, and to Thee do we send up glory”; and after the third, “For Thine it is to have mercy and to save us, O our God, and to Thee do we send up glory”.

THE STICHERA AT “LORD, I HAVE CRIED” The choir then sings the psalm verses, “Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me” (Psalms 140, 141, 129, and 116), which express sorrow and suffering of soul due to sins committed, as well as a firm hope in God’s mercy and love for man and in His boundless forgiveness.

CHOIR

Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me. Hearken unto me, O Lord. Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me; attend to the voice of my supplication, when I cry unto Thee.

Hearken unto me, O Lord.

Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee, the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. Hearken unto me, O Lord.

PSALM V 140 CHOIR

Set, O Lord, a before my mouth, and a door of enclosure round about my lips. Incline not my heart unto words of evil, to make excuse with excuses in sins. With men that work iniquity; and I will not join with their chosen. The righteous man will chasten me with mercy and reprove me; as for the 13

oil of the sinner, let it not anoint my head. For yet more is my prayer in the presence of their pleasures; swallowed up near by the rock have their judges been. They shall hear my words, for they be sweetened; as a clod of earth is broken upon the earth, so have their bones been scattered nigh unto hades. For unto Thee, O Lord, O Lord, are mine eyes, in Thee have I hoped; take not my soul away. Keep me from the snare which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of them that work iniquity. The sinners shall fall into their own net; I am alone until I pass by.

PSALM V 141 CHOIR

With my voice unto the Lord have I cried, with my voice unto the Lord have I made supplication. I will pour out before Him my supplication, mine affliction before Him will I declare.

When my spirit was fainting within me, then Thou knewest my paths. In this way wherein I have walked they hid for me a snare. I looked upon my right hand, and beheld, and there was none that did know me. Flight hath failed me, and there is none that watcheth out for my soul. I have cried unto Thee, O Lord; I said: Thou art my hope, my portion art Thou in the land of the living. Attend unto my supplication, for I am brought very low. Deliver me from them that persecute me, for they are stronger than I. THE DEACON

censes the church during the singing of these verses.

The censing reminds us of the Old Testament sacrificial offerings, and also symbolically depicts the fervor of our prayer offered up in sacrifice to God. The church Typicon appoints special hymns, called “the stichera at Lord I Have Cried”, to be sung with the psalm verses.

A sticheron (Greek, pl. stichera, meaning “verse”) is a church hymn written in verse and, as a rule, linked to the verses of a psalm at certain points in the service.

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There is always an even number of stichera — 6, 8, or 10.2 These unveil the spiritual meaning of the event being celebrated — the Sunday, the commemoration of a saint, or other church feasts. The stichera are sung in one of eight melodies, called tones. These tones themselves are therefore called “sticheron tones”. The stichera dedicated to various festal commemorations can have various tones. Thus, the melody of the stichera at “Lord, I Have Cried” may change several times as the latter are sung.

Frequently the penultimate sicheron, dilineated by its content and tone, is sung differently and is preceded by the words, “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit”. This sticheron is called the doxasticon.

READER AND CHOIR

The reader starts by chanting the first half of the verse, and the choir concludes by singing the second half.

Stichera at the ten following verses:

Bring my soul out of prison that I may confess Thy name.

READER AND CHOIR

Hereafter a sticheron is sung following each verse (from the Menaion, the Ochtoechos, etc.) of the day or the feast. The stichera pertain to the variable portion of the service, and hence are not published in the service order.

The righteous shall wait patiently for me until Thou shalt reward me.

Or at these 8 verses of Psalm 129:

Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord; O Lord, hear my voice.

Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.

Or at the next six verses:

If Thou shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee there is forgiveness.

For Thy name’s sake have I patiently waited for Thee, O Lord; my soul hath patiently waited for Thy word, my soul hath hoped in the Lord.

2

With rare exceptions. — Trans.

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Or at the next four verses:

From the morning watch until night, from the morning watch let Israel hope in the Lord.

For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption; and He shall redeem Israel out of all his iniquities.

At the next two verses of Psalm 116:

O praise the Lord, all ye nations; praise Him, all ye peoples.

For He hath made His mercy to prevail over us, and the truth of the Lord abideth forever.

THE CHOIR

sings the sticheron.

READER

Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

THE CHOIR

sings the sticheron to the saint or the feast from the Menaion or the Triodion.

READER

Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

THE CHOIR

sings the dogmaticon.

The last of the series of stichera sung at “Lord, I Have Cried” has a special title: the dogmaticon. It is always sung at the words, “Both now and ever and unto the ages of ages” (or at “Glory, both now” if there is no doxasticon). The dogmaticon is dedicated to the Mother of God, and contains a dogmatic teaching regarding the incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the union in His Person of two natures: the Divine and the human. In magnifying the Most-holy Virgin we glorify the Son of God Who became incarnate of her; the King of Heaven, Who in His love for mankind took on our flesh from the pure Virgin. In confessing 16

that He is truly perfect God and perfect Man, and in singing the glory of Christ God, the Holy Church thereby magnifies His Virgin Mother, to whom we turn in prayer that she entreat her Son to have mercy upon our souls.

On feast days of the Lord and of the Theotokos the dogmaticon is replaced by a special sticheron in honor of the feast.

THE VESPRAL ENTRY During the singing of the dogmaticon the royal doors are opened and the vespral entry takes place. A server exits the altar by the north door, carrying a candle, followed by the deacon, carrying the censer, and the priest. (When serving without a deacon the priest carries the censer at the entry.)

The royal doors are opened [i.e., they are already open at this point. — Trans.].

The royal doors are opened to signify that in the coming to earth of Christ the Savior (Whom the Old Testament forefathers foresaw in ages past) the Kingdom of God was revealed to men.

THE PRIEST AND DEACON

exit the altar by the north side doors.

This indicates that the Lord came into the world not in glory, but in abasement. The censer burning incense in remembrance of the Old Testament sacrifies simultaneously symbolizes that through the mediation of the Redeemer our prayers arise like incense unto God. The carrying of the candle.

This action symbolizes the Old Testament prophecies concerning the coming of the Son of God into the world.

The clergy stop before the royal doors, the priest in the center, the deacon slightly off to the right.

THE DEACON

holding his orarion in his right hand, and inclining his head toward the priest, says quietly:

Let us pray to the Lord.

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THE PRIEST

quietly says this prayer:

Evening, morning, and noonday we praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks unto Thee, and we pray Thee, O Master of all: Direct our prayer as incense before Thee, and incline not our hearts unto words or thoughts of evil, but deliver us from all that hunt after our souls; for unto Thee, O Lord, O Lord, are our eyes, and in Thee have we hoped, let us not be put to shame, O our God. For unto Thee is due all glory, honor, and worship: to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

THE PRIEST

makes a bow at the end of the prayer.

THE DEACON

indicating the east with his orarion, says to the priest:

Bless, master, the holy entry.

THE PRIEST

blesses cruciformly toward the east, saying:

Blessed is the entry of Thy saints, always now and ever and unto the ages of ages.

THE DEACON

quietly replies:

Amen.

He censes the priest.

The entry with the censer is the most important sacred rite of great vespers.3 The very name entry indicates its essence: the clergy enter the altar, approaching the holy table that they might better intercede for the faithful.

They approach it solemnly, so as to remain there for prayer. In the words of Blessed Symeon of Thessalonika, the entry likewise signifies “that the On3

M.N. Skaballanovich, The Annotated Typicon (Tolkovy typicon), p. 122.

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ly-begotten Son of God Who descended to us from the vaults of the heavens ascended again, raising us up to heaven”. Thus, the action of the entry at vespers corresponds to the content and meaning of the dogmaticon sung concurrently with it.

This is truly the culmination of vespers, its most sacred point. The evening entry is made without the Gospel and without the Holy Gifts, making the priest, who represents Christ, the focal point of the entry. This is the primary difference between the vespral entry and the great and small entries at the Divine Liturgy.

If the Typicon calls for the Gospel to be read at vespers (as on Great Friday or on Pascha), or when vespers is joined to the order of the Liturgy, at which the Gospel is appointed to be read (as on the eves of the Nativity and of Theophany and during Passion Week), the entry at vespers takes place not with the censer, but with the censer and the Gospel.

THE DEACON

at the end of the dogmaticon (the sticheron to the Theotokos) stands in front of the priest, inside the royal doors, and signs the cross with the censer, signifying that

by His sufferings on the Cross the Lord opened to us the path to the Kingdom of Heaven.

DEACON

Wisdom, aright.

In Greek, “Wisdom, aright” is Sophia, orthia, which literally means “wisdom, straight” (one meaning of the Old Slavonic word prosti or prost is “straight”, “straightened”), i.e., stand straight, erect, simply, reverantly perceiving the importance of this moment — the evening entry.

THE DEACON

enters the altar while saying this exclamation and censes the altar and the high place.

THE CHOIR

sings at this time:

O Gentle Light of the holy glory of the immortal, heavenly, holy, blessed Father, O Jesus Christ: Having come to the setting of the sun, having beheld the evening light, we praise 19

the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: God. Meet it is for Thee at all times to be praised with reverent voices, O Son of God, Giver of life. Wherefore, the world doth glorify Thee.

“O Gentle Light” in the Greek means literally “O joyous, merry light”.

The Slavonic words for “gentle” and “merriment” have a common root; here, gentle means “bringing joyous comfort”. “O Gentle Light” is one of the most ancient non-biblical liturgical hymns.

The priest bows toward the holy table and kisses the holy icons on the royal doors, then blesses the candle-bearer and enters the altar. There he bows and kisses the holy table, then goes around to the high place and stands before the holy table, facing the worshippers. The deacon stands to his right.

This sacred action reminds us that the Lord Almighty always looks with love upon the faithful, remaining with them until the end of the world (Mt. 28:20).

Saint Basil the Great wrote concerning the hymn “O Gentle Light”, “Our fathers deemed it good to not receive the grace of the evening light in silence, but rather as soon as grace appears the people exclaim the ancient words: ‘We praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, God’.”

The hymn “O Gentle Light” reminds the worshippers of the coming of the Savior of the world for the enlightement and salvation of men. The “Gentle Light” in this hymn is our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the eternal brightness of God the Father and the image of His person, i.e., His essence (Heb. 1:3). For the sake of His love for man and for the sake of our salvation He took upon Himself the image of a man and became accessible for all, that those who had seen the Son might see the Father Himself (Jn. 14:9).

THE PROKEIMENON The word prokeimenon is Greek, meaning “lying ahead”. It consists of a psalm verse repeated several times, each repititon (or refrain), being preceded by a different verse pronounced less festively. The prokeimenon is proclaimed before a reading from Holy Scripture, and serves to preface the reading. The prokeimenon is a variable part of the service. There are several types of prokeimenon, which are used in the services depending on the day of the week, the feast, and the reading to follow.

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CHRISTIAN MYSTERY The Order of the Liturgy with Commentary for Beginners

Part II

ABOUT THE DIVINE LITURGY The word liturgy comes from the Greek word meaning “common work” — the common work of God and men. At the Liturgy the Holy Sacrament of Communion is performed, and we must remember that the Liturgy is the mystical action of God, established at the Mystical Supper by Christ the Savior Himself, Who on the eve of His sufferings on the Cross supped with the twelve apostles, took bread, and broke it, gave thanks and, giving it to His disciples, said, Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me. Then He took the cup with the grape wine and blessed it likewise, saying: Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Mt. 26:26–28; Lk. 22:19–20; 1 Cor. 11:24–25).

By these words and these actions the Lord established and, through the apostles, bestowed upon all churches the sacrament of the remembrance of His death and Resurrection. During Communion we actually partake of the Lord’s Flesh in the form of bread, and of the Lord’s Blood in the form of wine, and thus we receive immortal life.

WHY DO WE NEED THE LITURGY? We need the Liturgy in order to strengthen and heal people who are afflicted with the illnesses of sins and passions. When a person is gravely ill a physician will frequently give him a transfusion of healthy, fresh blood, and when an internal organ stops functioning the physician resorts to a transplant, and recovery is swift to follow. In this same way the Lord heals a person in the Liturgy. He is united and comingled with us, giving us His Blood and His Flesh, so that we, in communing with Christ through 87

Communion, become blood of the Lord’s Blood and flesh of His Flesh.

In partaking of Him we are enlivened by Christ, and through Him we are enlivened by His Father. Christ said, As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me (Jn. 6:57).

This is the heart of the Divine Liturgy, and in this lies the reason for the world’s existence.

WHAT IS THE LITURGY? In the ancient Church the Liturgy was seen not merely as a sort of meal, not merely as a sacrifice, but as participation in the life of Christ. Gradually a system developed in the Church for coordinating the order of the Liturgy with the events of the Lord’s earthly life. Originally there were two different interpretations (explanations) of the meaning of the Liturgy. The first is expressed in the statement of Maximus the Confessor,10 who believed that all the liturgical events depicting the Lord’s earthly life end with the Liturgy of the Catechumens, since the departure of the catechumens symbolizes men’s banishment the Kingdom of God. Consequently, the Liturgy of the Faithful is participation in the mysteries of the future age — the Kingdom of Heaven. The second, generally-accepted interpretation, however, explains the Liturgy as participation in Christ’s earthly life, from His Nativity to the Ascension. These two interpretations do not actually contradict each other in the least, however. For the earthly life of Jesus Christ is actually a revelation of the mysteries of the future age.

The Liturgy exists so that people might enter into Divine life, and the Liturgy is itself the door by which we enter into communion with God the Father.11 Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt said that water would cease to flow, the grape vine would no longer grow, and the earth would cease to produce wheat if the Eucharist were not performed.

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St. Maximus the Confessor (580–662) — monk, renowned theologian, and defender of the teaching of the two wills of Christ.

11 Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829–1908) — one of Russia’s most revered pastors, a miracle-worker, prolific preacher, and glorified saint. Father John was revealed by God to comfort and strengthen the faithful in the years of civil unrest and persecution of the Church. He was a true “beacon of faith”, a shining example of selfless service to the Lord, dedication to the fatherland, and attention to his flock.

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The Liturgy is a remembrance — not merely a remembrance that Christ walked on earth, but rather our own participation in the events of His earthly life. We do not merely remember the death and Resurrection of Christ, but actually participate in them, and actually partake of Christ Himself, Who died for us and rose again.

According to the teaching of the Church, grounded in Holy Scripture, the Liturgy is a sacrifice offered to God for all the world, for the Sacrament of Communion that takes place at the Liturgy is called the Eucharist, a Greek word meaning “thanksgiving”. The Liturgy is a sacrifice of thanksgiving. At its central point the priest standing at the holy table says, “Thine own of Thine own we offer unto Thee in behalf of all and for all.” That is to say, Thy Gifts (the bread and the wine) in behalf of Thy faithful do we offer unto Thee, God the Father, in a sacrifice of thanksgiving for all men and for all Thy benefactions. The Liturgy is also a sacrifice of propitiation: we propitiate the Lord God for our sins. The Liturgy is also a sacrifice of praise, wherein we praise God for His inexpressible glory, in which He abides outside all temporal bounds.

The Liturgy is the union of God, the angels, and men, both the living and those who have already died. The Liturgy is an “act of war”, for we wage war against Satan, and the Liturgy itself is our greatest weapon in battle the devil.

ORDERS OF THE LITURGY The Liturgy is served according to a specific established order. In the Russian Orthodox Church there are two full liturgies that are customarily served: the Liturgy of John Chrysostom and the Liturgy of Basil the Great.

The Liturgy of Basil the Great is served ten times each year: on the five Sundays of Great Lent, on Great Thursday, on Great Saturday, on the eve of Nativity, on the eve of Theophany, and on the feast of Basil the Great (January 1 old style). The service order is traditionally ascribed to Saint Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. On other days when the Liturgy is appointed the Liturgy of John Chrysostom is served. The Liturgy of Basil the Great may also be served on feast days when the eve falls on a Saturday or a Sunday.

On weekdays of Great Lent the Liturgy of the Presanctificed Gifts is served. This is not a liturgy in the strict sense of the word, since the sac89

rificial offering does not take place. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (of Gregory the Dialogist) is a liturgy at which the Holy Gifts offered in Communion were consecrated previously — at the preceding full Liturgy of Basil the Great or John Chrysostom — and kept in a small vessel, usually on the holy table.

In the Ecumenical Orthodox Church there are other orders of the Liturgy that may be served. The Liturgy of Saint James is one of the most ancient orders of the Liturgy, compiled by the holy apostle James, the Lord’s brother. Until the 9th century the Liturgy of the Apostle James James was the one usually served in Palestine, on Sinai, in Antioch, in Cyprus, in Southern Italy, in Georgia, and in several other places. Then it was gradually displaced by the orders of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great. When the Slavic peoples were baptized it was not translated into Slavonic, since the enlighteners of the Slavs had adopted the liturgical order of Constantinople. Since 2002, with the blessing of Archbishop Feofan of Berlin, the liturgy of the holy apostle James is served regularly at Holy Archangel Michael Parish in Hettingen, Germany. The choir director, Natalia Lyapina, compiled hymns for serving the Liturgy based on ancient Gregorian chant and the ancient liturgical chants of various nations. Archbishop Feofan blessed these hymns to be sung liturgically in the Berlin diocese on November 5, 2005. This liturgy is sung in our country in Saratov, in the church of the “Assuage My Sorrows” Icon of the Mother of God on the feast of St. James, and in St. Petersburg.

The Liturgy of the Apostle Mark contains elements that are suggestive of an intermediate stage between the Byzantine liturgies and the Roman liturgy. An early 4th-century order of this liturgy survives to this day. It exists in both the Greek and the Coptic languages. The Copts call it the Liturgy of St. Cyril of Alexandria, who apparently compiled the final version, which dates back to the early 5th century.

The Liturgy of the Apostle Peter is a rare Greek order of the Liturgy, which has been translated into Slavonic. It is also commonly known as the Roman-Byzantine Liturgy, and was in wide use in the 15th and 16th centuries.

The essence of all the liturgies was the same, though they varied in the number of their prayers. The Liturgy of Basil the Great is more solemn, more detailed, and it unveils the fullness of the good news. The Liturgy of John Chrysostom is shorter, but retains the same essence and meaning.

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ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS FOR SERVING THE LITURGY The Liturgy is the supreme sacrifice, and to serve it there must be someone to offer this sacrifice, consecrating it to God. That someone is the priest, also called the presbyter. Without the priest there can be no Liturgy. If an ordinary layman were vested in the priestly vestments and given a service book, wine, and prosphora, and made to serve, the Liturgy still would not take place. Rather, this would be sacrilege, for the priesthood is a gift from God, for the purpose, among other things, of performing the Liturgy and the other sacraments. Priests do not act independently, but at the appointment of a bishop, through ordination. And every priest performs the services as a participant in the apostolic grace bestowed upon us by the Lord: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained (Jn. 20:21–23).

Thus, the presence of a priest is an important condition for the Liturgy.

He must be lawful, canonical, not deposed, not suspended from serving — in a word, a person lawfully appointed to the performance of the Holy Mystery of the Eucharist. The bishop is the primary celebrant of the Liturgy, and these same requirements apply to him. The priest, however, may serve the Liturgy only on the antimins12 (a special cloth). In times of persecution, if there was no antimins, Christians would go into the catacombs and serve on the graves of the martyrs. It is not the cloth itself that is essential for serving the Liturgy, but the pieces of the relics of the martyrs that are sewn into the cloth. There have been instances where imprisoned priests, having no antimins, laid down on the table, prefiguring their own martyrdom, while the others served the Liturgy upon them.

In times free of persecution, however, the Liturgy must be served in a church. A portable or field church may be used, but it must still be a church with a holy table consecrated by a bishop. The Liturgy is always served using wheat bread leavened with yeast, preferably baked into prosophora, round in shape and consisting of two parts (an image of the two natures of 12

This is described in greater detail in the section titled “Arrangement of the Church Altar”.

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Christ, the Divine and the human). The upper part of the prosphoron is sealed with a cross and the inscription, “Jesus Christ, Conqueror” (IC XC NIKA). Prosphora are not essential for serving the Liturgy; it may also be served using ordinary leavened bread. The Liturgy must be served using pure, unblended grape wine (in the Russian Orthodox Church it is customary to serve with red wine, though this is not a requirement).

The Liturgy is usually served in the morning, though there are exceptions when it is served at night or in the evening. According to the Typicon, on Great Thursday the Liturgy must be served at 2:00 PM, and on Great Saturday and on the eves of Nativity and Theophany it must begin at 4:00 PM. On all other days the Liturgy is served in the morning, symbolizing the dawn of the future world. When the service is held in the evening, this symbolizes that the sacrifice of the Old Testament world is completed.

ARRANGEMENT OF THE CHURCH ALTAR The altar is the eastern part of the church, somewhat elevated, intended for the clergy and usually separated from the central part of the church by the iconostasis. Only clergy and those of minor ecclesiastical orders are permitted to enter the altar, as well as male persons at the time of their baptism. In practice exceptions are made for those who assist in the altar (the altar servers). In women’s monasteries this role is filled, in accordance with the canons, by nuns of advanced age.

The altar is the most important part of the church. Its name comes from the Latin word meaning “an elevated place, an elevated altar table”. The altar itself symbolizes the Kingdom of Heaven; the altar doors — the door to the Heavens that John the Theologian saw; and the altar curtain — the Flesh of Christ, through which the mysteries of the Kingdom are revealed to us.

In the middle of the altar there is a specially consecrated four-sided table — the holy table. Here the Body and Blood of God’s Son are offered to Him in sacrifice. On the eastern side of the altar table there usually stands a tabernacle, in which Holy Communion is kept for communing the sick at home.

If a person is sick, he summons the priest, who takes the Holy Gifts from the tabernacle and communes the sick person according to a special rite.

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The Precious Cross is kept on the holy table as a symbol of the rod of Aaron that blossomed. It is a symbol of eternal life, for the Cross gave eternal life to us. Beside it lies the Holy Gospel — the scroll of the New Testament between God and men. Beneath the Gospel lies the antimins (from the Greek word for “instead of ” and the Latin word for “table”) — literally, the “substitute holy table”. This is a special cloth, a piece of silk on which Christ’s Body in the tomb is depicted. Particles of the martyrs’ relics are sewn into the antimins. To protect them they are folded into a second cloth, representing the shroud in which the Savior was wrapped in the tomb. The antimins is consecrated by the bishop and anointed with holy chrism, and without it the priest may not serve the Liturgy.

Behind the holy table stands a seven-branched candle stand, representing the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Behind it is the high place, located at the central point of the eastern wall of the altar, directly opposite the holy table. Here the bishop sits enthroned, as a symbol of God the Father. To the left stands a table, usually called the table of oblation.

On this table the bread and the wine are prepared for Communion, and the liturgical vessels are kept: the chalice, into which the wine and water are poured, and the diskos, a round plate on a small pedestal on which scenes from the New Testament are depicted — usually the Infant Jesus Christ. The bread to be consecrated is placed on the diskos. Next there is the star, consisting of two metal arches joined at the center to form a cross — a symbol of the star of Bethlehem. It is needed to keep the coverings from touching the particles removed for the saints, the living, and the departed. Here also lies the spear — a double-edged knife with a triangular blade, symbolizing the spear with which Christ was pierced. It is used to cut out a piece of the bread for Holy Communion. On the table of oblation there is also a spoon. Its Greek name literally means “tongs”, reminding us of the tongs with which the Seraphim took the burning coal from the heavenly altar and touched the lips of the prophet Isaiah (Is. 6:2–7). This small spoon, which has a cross on the end of its long handle, is used to commune the faithful. The special coverings with which the diskos and the chalice are covered signify the wrap with which Christ was swaddled at His birth. In another sense they simultaneously signify the winding sheet and the napkin with which Christ was wrapped after His death.

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THE PRIESTLY VESTMENTS The vestments symbolize the glory of God on the one hand, and the clothing Christ wore during His sufferings on the other. The priest must always be vested when serving the Liturgy, except under extreme circumstances.

The priest has five liturgical items of clothing: the sticharion, the belt, the epitrachelion, the cuffs, and the phelonian. The priest’s everyday dress is the undercassock, which is not a vestment, but rather a long informal garment with narrow sleeves. Outside the divine services it is worn beneath the cassock. The priest cannot perform any services in the undercassock alone.

The first vestment that the priest dons is the sticharion, a long, straight, white garment with wide sleeves. The deacon and the reader likewise wear a sticharion, symbolizing the purity of the grace of the priesthood, and reminding us of the baptismal robes (after baptism every person is clothed in a white garment). The sticharion is a symbol of these white baptismal robes, and reminds us of the robe of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament era, beginning with the time of Moses, the priests had special vestments. In the New Testament era vestments were first worn at the Mystical Supper, for all of Christ’s garments were sacred. The Gospel even describes an instance when a woman with an issue of blood was healed instantly by touching the hem of Christ’s garment (Mt. 9:20–22). The Gospel likewise recounts that whithersoever He entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought Him that they might touch if it were but the border of His garment: and as many as touched Him were made whole (Mk. 6:56). In the Church of Christ the Savior [in Moscow] there is a piece of Christ’s robe, which pours forth healings upon those who touch it.

Before each Liturgy the priest prays to Christ that He cleanse him, and before each Liturgy Christ sanctifies the priest, cleansing him of his sins.

Naturally, this does not exempt the priest from the sacrament of confession, and he must confess his sins as often as possible. After the prayer for cleansing the priest vests in the sticharion, the symbol of the robe of Christ, the symbol of the purity of the priesthood.

At this time the priest says these words: “My soul shall rejoice in the Lord, for He hath clothed me in the garment of salvation, and with the vesture of gladness hath He covered me; He hath placed a crown upon me as on a bridegroom, and He hath adorned me as a bride with comeliness.” After this the priest puts on the most important of his vestments, called the epitrachelion. It is worn around the neck, and comprises an apron with crosses, 94

sewn of two broad bands that hang down to the ground. Whereas the deacon wears his band, called the orarion, on his shoulder, as a symbol of his grace and of angelic wings, the priest wears this orarion around his neck and doubled at the chest, producing the epitrachelion, as a symbol of his double portion of grace compared to the deacon. Without the epitrachelion no priestly actions may be undertaken (except under extreme circumstances).

The epitrachelion is the symbol of priestly authority, and when vesting in the epitrachelion the priest reads the following prayer: “Blessed is God Who poureth out His grace upon His priests, like unto the oil of myrrh upon the head, which runneth down upon the beard, upon the beard of Aaron, which runneth down to the fringe of his raiment.” In other words, God’s grace at this moment is poured forth.

The epitrachelion reminds us of Christ’s execution. Saint Basil the Great writes that the epitrachelion symbolizes the rope with which Christ was led to Golgotha, and the stripes sewn upon it and upon every vestment are a reminder of the flowing blood of Christ and of the Lord’s sufferings. These stripes are not red in color, but gold, because for us the Lord’s Blood is as precious gold.

Next the priest puts on the belt, or zone, according to the Lord’s words, Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning (Lk. 12:35). This is a sign that the priest must renounce all earthly affairs and gird himself, for a great service lies before him. The belt likewise signifies the Divine might that strengthens the clergy in their calling.

If the priest has received certain awards, he puts on the epigonation or the nabedrennik. The first award — the nabedrennik, or “thigh shield” — is a rectangular cloth bearing a cross, worn on a ribbon by the right thigh.

The nabedrennik is a shield, while the second award, the epigonation, or mace, symbolizes the weapon with which the priest always goes into battle with the forces of evil. Then the cuffs are put on — wide bands with laces that gather the sleeves of the undercassock or sticharion at the wrist. In one sense they symbolize the shackles of Christ, while in another they remind us that God Himself, the grace of God, acts through the hands of the priest.

The final garment that the priest puts on is called the phelonion. The phelonion is a sleeveless outer liturgical vestment symbolizing the purple in which Jesus Christ was clothed when being judged by Pilate. In one sense the phelonion signifies that the priest wears the cloak of a guardian or a warrior, and in another it is the garment of the Lord by which the priest is protected on all sides by God’s grace.

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Part I. THE PROSKOMEDE The priest, vested in the sacred vestments, washes his hands, not just for hygienic reasons, but also for spiritual ones, as a sign that his hands must be cleansed of innocent blood when he approaches the sacrifice of the Lord.

After this begins the preparatory part of the Liturgy, which is performed in the altar and usually concealed from the eyes of the parishioners. It is called the proskomede, meaning “offering�, from the custom of the ancient Christians to bring an offering of the bread and wine required for the Eucharist. The proskomede symbolizes the birth of Christ and His destiny to die.

THE PRIEST

kisses the sacred vessels, then takes the first blessed liturgical prosphoron and makes the sign of the cross over it thrice, saying:

In remembrance of our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

He then cuts out a four-sided piece (a cube), called the Lamb, while reading the words of the prophecy of Isaiah (Is. 53:7):

He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. And as a blameless lamb before his shearer is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth. In His lowliness His judgment was taken away. And 96

who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth. Sacrificed is the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world, for the life and salvation of the world.

Here the sacrifice of Christ that He offered for us on Golgotha is commemorated. Hence, the table of oblation in the temple is itself a reminder of Golgotha, and of the cave of the Nativity, for Christ was born that He might die.

THE PRIEST

cuts into the Lamb on the right side, in remembrance of how Christ was pierced with a spear at His crucifixion, and pronounces the words of the apostle and evangelist John (Jn. 19:34):

One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true.

With these words he pours some of the water and the wine into the chalice.

As St. Cyprian of Carthage said, “The wine in the holy chalice symbolizes the Blood of Christ, and the water symbolizes the people of God, united inseparably with Christ.”

THE PRIEST

takes a second prosphoron, called the theotokian prosphoron, and removes a single particle from it in honor of the Mother of God. He then takes a third, the prosphoron of the nine ranks, from which he removes nine particles in honor of the saints. After this he takes a fourth prosphoron, from which he removes particles for the living.

From the fifth prosphoron he removes particles for the departed. All the particles removed are placed around the Lamb in their appointed places: Christ in the center, the Theotokos to the right, the saints to the left, and the living below, followed by the dead.

Thus, the entire Church is symbolically depicted on the diskos, just as all the faithful are gathered around Christ. All the remaining parts from the Lamb are called the antidoron, from the Greek word meaning “instead of the gifts”. These are eaten by those who for some reason did not receive Holy Communion.

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THE PRIEST

commemorates himself last. Then, blessing the star with incense, he places it on the diskos, as a sign that the star of Bethlehem shone over the newborn Christ.

He then covers it with the coverings, as Christ was wrapped in swaddling clothes in the manger, and with a winding sheet in the tomb, and prays that the Lord will accept this sacrifice.

THE PRIEST

then censes the entire church.

This signifies that God is gone out to the people to sanctify them and to lead them into His Kingdom beyond the Heavens. Thus ends the proskomede, and the Liturgy of the Catechumens begins.

Part II. THE LITURGY OF THE CATECHUMENS The catechumens are those who have not yet received baptism, but are already being taught the fundamentals of the faith and are preparing to be baptized. The word catechumen comes from the Greek word meaning “to teach orally�. For this part of the Liturgy both the baptized and the unbaptized may be present, while those who have been anathematized or excommunicated from the Church may not. If the latter should enter the church the service must cease until they have departed. The Liturgy of the Catechumens begins as follows.

THE PRIEST AND DEACON

kiss the holy table.

THE PRIEST

prays to God, remembering the angelic hymn:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will among men. O Lord, Thou shalt open my lips, and my mouth shall declare Thy praise.

DEACON

Master, bless.

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THE PRIEST

at this time makes the sign of the cross with the Gospel over the antimins, and exclaims:

Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

This means that the Kingdom of the Most-holy Trinity will continue beyond time after the end of the world. It means that we are entering into the Kingdom of the Most-holy Trinity, and from this moment on we are no longer in the earthly kingdom, but in the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, which is worthy of all blessing.

THE CHOIR

answers this exclamation:

Amen.

That is, “Truly so”; “Let it be so”.

THE GREAT ECTENIA After this the deacon pronounces the great ectenia — a protracted prayer. If no deacon is serving, the priest says the ectenia in the deacon’s stead. The ectenia is one of the chief components of the service, and is found in the majority of the services of the Orthodox Church.

Depending on the point in and nature of the service the ectenia may be of four kinds: great, small, augmented, or supplicatory. The majority of the services of the Orthodox Church begin with an ectenia. The great ectenia contains prayerful petitions for the needs of the whole Church and of society. The petitions of the great ectenia gradually shift from the more lofty to petitions for the common needs of the church, then to earthly, societal, and, finally, personal needs.

THE DEACON

pronounces the ectenia on the ambon, facing the altar.* In his right hand he holds the orarion, and at each petition he makes the sign of the cross and bows at the waist. * Here and elsewhere the asterisk (*) denotes words defined in the glossary at the end of “Part III. Commentary on the Six Psalms” (editor’s note).

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DEACON

In peace let us pray to the Lord.

In other words, being at peace with everyone let us pray to the Lord; having made peace with all let us pray to the Lord. The Old Slavonic word for “peace”, mir, has three meanings, and prior to the revolution had three different spellings depending on the meaning, so that when the word was written it was clear which meaning was intended. The word миръ means tranquility, reconciliation with others; when spelled мiръ it means the world, the universe, or society as a whole; and мνръ means fragrance or myrrh. After the revolution the Russian language was reformed, and the different spellings of the word mir were combined into one. This simplified grammar made it harder to determine the meaning of the words.

The ectenia always takes the form of a dialogue with the choir. The choir, depending on the content of the given petition of the ectenia, responds, “Lord, have mercy”; “Grant this, O Lord”; “To Thee, O Lord”; or “Amen.” “Lord, have mercy!” means not only “have pity”, but also “have compassion”. There is a great difference between these words, for we ask God not merely to give us some sort of amnesty, but to have compassion upon us as only the Father can.

THE DEACON

prays:

For the peace from above, and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.

In other words, let us pray for the peace that proceeds from above, for the peace of God Himself, for reconciliation between God and men, and for the peace of the Holy Spirit that we beg for our souls.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

DEACON

For the peace of the whole world, the good estate of the holy churches of God, and the union of all [in harmony and in love], let us pray to the Lord.

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From this petition the Soviets took their famous slogan, “Miru — mir” — “Peace to the world”. The meaning of this petition is for the Lord to bestow peace upon all the world. Thus, first we ask for ourselves that the supernatural peace of God descend upon us, and then we begin to pray for the whole world, that the whole world [mir] may be at peace [mir], that wars might cease. We ask that the churches be well off, and that all the parishes of the Orthodox Church scattered throughout the world stand in rightness of faith and rightness of works, in love for one another. The words “the union of all” are a prayer that all those who call themselves Christians, but who remain in schism from the Orthodox Church, may be reunited to the Church.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

DEACON

For this holy temple, and for them that with faith, reverence, and the fear of God enter herein, let us pray to the Lord.

This is a prayer for those who with faith and reverence enter into the temple of God. We must enter the temple of God with true reverence, with the fear of God, and with love. In the church stand the angels of God, and one of them is standing and watching the attitude with which each person enters the church. Many of us have noticed that upon entering the church we sometimes feel poorly (this is the angel scorching us), or on the contrary we begin to feel very well indeed (this is the angel of God blessing the person who has entered). God’s angel likewise stands above the holy table, lifting up our prayers to God. In the church there are also numerous saints, for the icons on which they are depicted are windows into another world, and the church itself is Heaven on earth.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

Further on we pray to the Lord for the patriarch, for the diocesan bishop, for the priests of the temple, for the deacons, the church workers, and all the parishioners.

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DEACON

For our Great Lord and Father, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill; for our lord the Most Reverend (Archbishop or Bishop N.); for the venerable priesthood, the diaconate in Christ, for all the clergy and people, let us pray to the Lord.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

DEACON

For our God-preserved land, its authorities and armed forces, let us pray to the Lord.

The apostle Paul calls us to pray for civil authorities, since God established hierarchy and government, without which the world would descend into chaos. We ask that the Lord preserve our country and make wise and enlighten its authorities.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

The next prayer is more local in nature: DEACON

For this city (or this town), for every city and country, and the faithful that dwell therein, let us pray to the Lord.

Why do we pray for the city in which we live? We recall that the Lord promised to preserve Sodom by the prayers of ten righteous men who were to pray for it. For this reason Christians always pray for the cities in which they live, that by our prayers God might preserve the city and its inhabitants. It may be said with confidence that it is by the prayers of Christians that our civilization exists.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

DEACON

For seasonable weather, abundance of the fruits of the earth, and peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.

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In this petition we pray that the Lord direct the world’s elements beneficially for men. We pray for a good harvest and for peaceful times.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

The Church then prays for those in difficult situations.

DEACON

For travelers by sea, land and air; for the sick, the suffering, the imprisoned, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

In this next petition we ask the Lord to deliver us “from every tribulation, wrath, and necessity”. Here we refer not to our own wrath, but to the Lord’s wrath that rains down upon us.

DEACON

That we may be delivered from all tribulation, wrath, and necessity, let us pray to the Lord.

CHOIR

Lord, have mercy.

Then we address God with the words: DEACON

Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God,

by Thy grace.

Grace is the uncreated power of God by which He acts in this world, a good gift from God that transfigures us all.

THE DEACON

summons us in the following words:

Calling to remembrance our most holy, most pure, most blessed, glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary with all 104

CHRISTIAN MYSTERY Christian Mystery Explanation of the Six Psalms

Part III

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING THE TEXTS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE In the Christian Church there is a custom of singing psalms and censing with sacred incense at the hours of morning and evening sacrifice. Moses himself at God’s command appointed worship for the morning, at the coming of the dawn, and in the evening, at the setting of the sun — sacrificing a lamb to God, burning incense, lighting the seven-branched candlestick, and offering the greatest worship to God. The custom of praying morning and evening originated still earlier, however, before Moses’ time: the holy patriarch Abraham prayed at the setting of the sun, and the holy patriarch Jacob prayed early in the morning. King David wrote specific psalms for the evening and morning services, though he had a different motive for their composition. In the evening Psalm 140 was sung, “Lord, I have cried unto Thee, hearken unto me”, and in the morning Psalm 62, “O God, my God, unto Thee I rise early at dawn”.

The Spirit of God through King David opens to us the proper means of divine worship. In order to better comprehend worship and to rise to the spiritual heights one must understand the meaning of the psalms, because without understanding there is no prayer. Saint Basil the Great said that it is impermissible for a person in the Church not to understand what is taking place, and the apostle Paul said, Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue (1 Cor. 14:19). There is no excuse for meaninglessly reading through the texts, though Barsonuphius of Optina taught to read Holy Scripture or pray even if one does not under161

stand: “Though you may not understand, the demons do.” This is certainly correct, but it is nevertheless important not only for the demons to understand, but for us to receive edification. Christianity is first and foremost a religion of reason, for the name of Christ is Logos, the Word, God, the Bestower of reason.

PSALM V 3 The Six Psalms begin with the third psalm of the Psalter (the last psalm of “Blessed is the Man” at Sunday vespers), which is titled “A Psalm of David. When He Fled from the Face of Abessalom His Son, in the Wilderness.”

“O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me? Many rise up against me. Many say unto my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God. But Thou, O Lord, art my helper, my glory, and the lifter up of my head. I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy mountain.

I laid me down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord will help me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that set themselves against me round about. Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for Thou hast smitten all who without cause are mine enemies; the teeth of sinners hast Thou broken.

Salvation is of the Lord, and Thy blessing is upon Thy people.”

King David committed a terrible sin when he took another man’s wife, Bathsheba, to be his own. At the time war was being waged with the Ammonites, and David gave orders for Bathsheba’s husband to be placed in the most dangerous area of the fighting, so that he was killed. Then the Lord sent the prophet Nathan to King David, who told the latter that in punishment for his secret transgression David’s son would rebel against him. As the Lord had foretold, so it came to pass: David’s son Abessalom stirred up a rebellion against his father. He declared himself king, his supporters anointed him to kingship, and he began a war against David, who knew this to be his punishment from God. David fled from his son, and as he climbed the Mount of Olives he spoke the words of the prayer which became Psalm 3. These words should remind us how we ought to behave in times of temptation and trouble, when our enemies persecute us.

“O Lord, why are they multiplied that afflict me? Many rise up against me. Many say unto my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God.” Why does the psalm begin with these words in particular? David had learned that all his friends had sided with Abessalom. In commenting on 162

this psalm John Chrysostom said that there is no greater blow than betrayal by your closest friends, but this occurs frequently, because by this means God cures us of our old sins. David was punished by God through his own household because he had wrecked the home of another man, and it was for this that David’s home was likewise wrecked, and by his own son’s hand. John Chrysostom notes that frequently a husband may have a bad-tempered wife, like a dog who barks from the doorstep; your children may rebel against you, or your friends may persecute you and stab you in the back, or your servants and underlings may oppose you in every way.

The wife does not understand what she is doing, just as the surgeon’s knife does not understand, but the physician knows what needs to be done. Thus God puts the malice and impiety of men to good use, and through them heals a man.

The attacks of those near to us are either our comeuppance for old wrongs, or a means of cleansing us of certain passions inherent in a person, or, most frequently, both the one and the other. Frequently sinful behavior becomes a person’s normal state: he fornicates once and it becomes the norm for him; he gets drunk and it becomes a habit. David asks why his enemies have been multiplied. We know that David’s closest advisor, Achitophel, who was so intelligent that no man could oppose his words, likewise sided with Abessalom and advised him on how to kill his father. David was told that there was no salvation for him, to destroy his hope in God, and this for him was the most terrible thing of all. When Scripture speaks of enemies we understand these primarily to be evil spirits, the demons, who in tempting a man attempt to plunge him into despondency and ennui, avowing that God will not help him. In the same way David’s enemies are telling him that there is no salvation for him in his God, because the best way to take away all hope from a person is to take away his reliance on God. In the Hebrew text of the psalm there is a special mark at the end of this line, indicating a change in pitch, a musical pause of sorts. After the phrase “There is no salvation for him in his God” there is a rest, a pause in the music, so that the listener might consider the logic of these enemies (it should be pointed out that in ancient times the psalms were sung to music or had a specific melody). After this pause David says, “But Thou, O Lord, art my helper, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.”

A helper, meaning a champion, is one who istands up for the weak. We know that one name of the third Person of the Holy Trinity is “Comfor163

ter”. The Holy Spirit does not merely comfort and pity; He is the defender of people. In becoming man God championed mankind, taking our place and engaging the devil in combat. He became as we are, while remaining as He was: He became man, while remaining God. He came among men, and became one of us, but retained His Divine personality. The pinnacle of this intercession took place on Golgotha. There Christ cried out on the Cross, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me? (Mt. 27:46), crying out in our place, specifically because He is our champion. God forsook sinners, and Christ took their place and cried out to the Father in their behalf.

The words “Thou ... art ... my glory” imply that a person must have the utmost glory in God. Ordinarily people wish to glory in knowledge, talents, nice clothing, fancy cars. People want to be praised, but David seeks glory from God. He cares nothing for the opinion of men; he glories not in his own deeds, but in God. Hear what the Lord says in the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah: Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight (Jer. 9:23–24).

The glory a person receives in God is indestructible. For example, a person may glory in a car, and then lose it in a crash. He may glory in his work, and then be fired. But if a person glories in God, God’s glory never fades.

David goes on to say, “Thou art ... the lifter up of my head”. Ordinarily a person bears the burden of his problems himself, and because of this his head hangs down; he is unable to lift up his eyes to heaven. But God lifts up a man’s head, raising him, taking the weight from his shoulders, and thereby enabling him to see God and the world around him. There is a second meaning of the expression “to lift up one’s head”, and this is “to glory in God to the utmost”. For example, in the Book of Genesis it is said that Joseph’s head was lifted up, meaning that he was appointed to a post equivalent to that of our modern prime minister. This means that David, being a king on earth, hopes to reign in heaven also.

“I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and He heard me out of His holy mountain.” It is essential to pray not only in thought, though it is sometimes useful to pray silently, but also aloud. Then we can be more attentive to our prayer. Here singing is especially important, for when a person sings 164

he prays not only with his mind, but also with his body (which is useful for the body, as well). Hence, the Church does not invite us to pray “silently” at the services, as do certain sectarians (such as the Quakers); rather, we sing many of the prayers together. In Orthodox churches certain hymns are sung as a congregation: “Having Beheld the Resurrection of Christ”, the “Symbol of Faith”, “Our Father”, and “O Theotokos Virgin, Rejoice”, though the Typicon calls for congregational singing at all of the ectenias and even the Eucharistic Canon. All this is necessary so that a person might cry out to God with his voice, and that God might hear him out of His holy mountain.

The holy mountain is the temple mount, the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. It is the place where God revealed Himself to men, where He could tell men His will. When the high priest entered into the Holy of Holies he would hear God’s voice from above the Ark. We even have a record of God’s words: the entire book of Leviticus consists of Divine revelation recorded in precisely this manner. Many people who have been in Jerusalem at the Lord’s tomb and prayed there have had the same experience, when God literally revealed Himself to them. The priests know that during the Liturgy God can likewise reveal His will.

But here we speak not merely of the earthly holy mountain. The Kingdom of Heaven is also called the holy mountain of God. From Holy Scripture we know that the New Jerusalem is on a high mountain, as a sign of man’s elevation. The symbol of the mountain is used to point out that a person must be raised up in order to meet God. Man cannot reach God [on his own], but we must labor in the virtues in order to ascend the mountain and meet God. God does not descend to the plain, because He wishes for man to bring to fruition the powers He has given him.

“I laid me down and slept; I awoke, for the Lord will help me.”

King David says that he lay down to sleep in despondency, but upon awakening he understood that the Lord is His defender. Despondency must absolutely be combated through prayer, which must be intertwined with physical labor, as despondency cannot be cured through intellectual labor. And if we follow the rules of Anthony the Great, which were revealed to him by the Angel of God, despondency will be conquered. These rules are as follows: first pray, then labor physically, then pray again, then labor physically again, and so on, and so despondency will recede. Sometimes, however, the enemy attacks with particular intensity, and the remedy for 165

these attacks is as follows, according to Isaac the Syrian: “One must cross oneself and fall asleep.” This is how King David acted: he fell asleep, and was healed by the Lord Himself of his despondency. It is a known fact that the impure spirit of despondency can only be driven away by the Creator Himself, but we often forget this, or think it irreverent to call upon God to hear us at such a time. This is a demonic deception.

Certain fathers of the Church, in commenting on this passage of the psalm, say that this refers to the prophecy of David that God would intercede for him, delivering him from the jaws of death, and resurrect him, and that he trusts that the Lord will raise him up from the grave in both soul and body. In soul King David was restored when the Lord descended into Hades, and he will rise in body at the end of days.

“I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people that set themselves against me round about.”

David says that his enemies are everywhere, but he does not fear them, because he has the Lord to defend him. But these lines also have a spiritual meaning that we must consider. In commenting on this passage the holy fathers understand the “tens of thousands” to mean the demons. How do the demons set themselves against us round about, i.e., attack from all sides?

The demons attack from the front by suggesting to a person that he can do anything; he need only believe in himself. But the opposite is true: the moment a person begins to believe in himself, rather than God, nothing he attempts is successful. The demons attack from behind thus: they incite a person to think of all the evil he has committed throughout his life. Here they tell him: “There is no salvation for you. You’re a sinner. Don’t go running to God; He won’t forgive you. Remember all the horrible things you’ve done?” In this way they attempt to halt a person on the path to repentance.

They want him to constantly delve into his past instead of moving forward, instead of repenting of his sins before God and moving on. Another method is this: if a person feels no repugnance for a sin and has not yet decided whether to commit it or not, the demons tell him, “What’s your hang-up?

You’ve done this plenty of times before!” This is an attack from the rear.

The attack from the left is this: “Everyone else does it, and it’s no problem. You go ahead and do the same!” The attack from the right comes from the demons pushing a person to do a good work, then telling him, “What a good person you are!” When attacking from above they suggest to a person that he is growing spiritually, that he’s doing just fine. And there are indeed 166

tens of thousands of such enemies that attack a person from all sides. Nor is this an exaggeration; it is rather an underestimate.

Holy Scripture says this on the subject, Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Pet. 5:8). This danger is experienced by every person, and not once, but several times a day, and only by fleeing to God’s help can one escape these attacks of the enemy. Theophan the Recluse gives the following example: some bullies approach a boy intending to hurt him. What does the boy do? He calls to his father to protect him. His father comes out, and the bullies run off. But if the boy thinks it shameful to call his father, and decides to handle the bullies himself, they naturally beat him up. The same thing is true of the demons, who goad us to deal with them ourselves, without turning to God. This is their favorite pastime, and the moment a person decides to take on the demons he is naturally beaten badly by them.

Here it is appropriate to cite the example of the drug addict who has been told that he needs to pray at the precise moment when he is being offered drugs. Instead he prays at some other time, and succumbs to temptation time and time again, because he did not cry out to God for help, depending instead on his own willpower. King David, too, says we should not fear the demons, but should go and do the works of God. “Arise, O Lord, save me, O my God, for Thou hast smitten all who without cause are mine enemies; the teeth of sinners hast Thou broken.”

Here David is asking the Lord to arise and mete out justice. The Lord’s arising is the miracle of His Resurrection, when the Lord arose from the dead to give life to all things, and to crush the dark power of the prince of darkness. As John of the Ladder says, “When God does not actively protect us He appears to us to be sleeping, but in actuality God does not manifest His might visibly.” When God arises to mete out His justice or to bestow His mercy it appears to us that He has arisen. And these special manifestations of the Lord are called arisings. David says that “all who without cause are mine enemies” will be smitten. David speaks of this in the past tense, for being a prophet he knows that the uprising of Abessalom will fail (Abessalom himself became entangled by his hair while riding under an oak on a mule, and there was shot with arrows). The Russian translation reads like this: “You strike the face of all my enemies, you shatter the teeth of the ungodly”. The Hebrew original reads, “You hit the cheeks”. Why this imagery? Because the rebels dared to raise their hands against God, saying 167

to David that there was no salvation for him in his God. In interpreting this passage of Holy Scripture John Chrysostom says that David’s enemies are compared with predators, which die if they lose their teeth. So the Lord breaks and shatters all their predatory cunning, meting out vengeance.

Many people think of God as a sort of kindly Santa Claus, doling out various mercies to people. The image of God we see revealed to us in the psalms, however, is quite different. God is the mighty Defender, Savior, and Glory, Who defends the righteous and wages war against sinners, knocking out their teeth, striking their cheeks, and flinging them from their paths. Is this God anything like a kindly Santa Claus? Not in the least.

This is the mighty, living God, the Lord of all history, Who arranges the world as He sees fit, as He Himself wills, and this is a more accurate picture of God. “Salvation is of the Lord, and Thy blessing is upon Thy people.” Salvation belongs to the Lord; this is a property of God Himself. Here King David is mystically implying the holy name: Jesus, the Lord and Savior, Yahweh, Who came to save. Upon His people, who belong to the Lord, His blessing rests. He creates all men, but blesses only His people. John of the Ladder says: “... some are His friends, others are His true servants, some are worthless, some are completely estranged from God, and others, though feeble creatures, are equally His opponents.” The opponents of God are the God-opposers; those estranged from God are the heretics; the people of God are the Christians; the true servants of God are Christians who strive to make fulfilling His commandments the chief purpose of their life. And God’s friends are those who have achieved perfection.

Upon those who have been redeemed by the Blood of Christ, who have become His own people, His blessing rests, while upon other nations rests His judgment. It is important to remember that God distinguishes sharply between nations. Indeed, all men are brethren through Adam and Eve, but not all nations are equal before God. This occurs not because there are different nations, but are determined by whether or not they are in any way related to God. The Orthodox Church is a separate Christian nation that is God’s own, and it includes all the ethnoses of the world who have accepted Divine revelation, regardless of their ancestry.

What was God’s relationship with the Hebrew nation, for example? God remembers the promises He gave to the patriarchs of the Hebrew nation, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; He remembers what was promised to the 168

CONTENTS Part I. THE ORDER OF THE ALL-NIGHT VIGIL WITH COMMENTARY FOR BEGINNERS Types of orthodox worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 THE ALL-NIGHT VIGIL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Great vespers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Opening Psalm 103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The great ectenia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Blessed is the Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Stichera at “Lord I have cried” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Psalm 140 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Psalm 141 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 The vespral entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 The prokeimenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The paremias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 The augmented ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Vouchsafe, O Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 The ectenia of supplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The litiya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Stichera at the aposticha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 231

“Now lettest Thou Thy servant” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 The Trisagion Prayers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 The troparia after “Now lettest Thou Thy servant” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 The blessing of the loaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Psalm 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Matins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 The Six Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 The great ectenia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 God is the Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 The troparia at “God is the Lord”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The reading from the Psalter: the kathismata . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The sedalen following the kathisma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The polyeleos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 The troparia following “The Blameless” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 The hymns of ascent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 The reading of the Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 The resurrectional hymn following the Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 The resurrectional sticheron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 The canon: ode 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 The canon: ode 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 The canon: ode 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 The canon: ode 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The kontakion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 The canon: ode 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 The canon: ode 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 The song of the Most-holy Theotokos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 The canon: ode 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 232

Holy is the Lord our God! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 The exapostilarion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 The praises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 The stichera at the praises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 The evangelical sticheron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 The theotokion, tone 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 The great doxology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 The Sunday troparia following the great doxology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 The augmented ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 The ectenia of fervent supplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 The dismissal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 The small dismissal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Part II. THE ORDER OF THE LITURGY WITH COMMENTARY FOR BEGINNERS About the Divine Liturgy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Why do we need the Liturgy? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 What is the Liturgy?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Orders of the Liturgy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Essential conditions for serving the Liturgy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Arrangement of the church altar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 The priestly vestments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 THE DIVINE LITURGY Part I. The proskomede . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Part II. The liturgy of the catechumens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 The great ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 The antiphons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105 The first antiphon (typical) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106 The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 The second antiphon (typical) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 233

The small ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 The third antiphon (the Beatitudes) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111 Small entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 The Trisagion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114 The prokeimenon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 The reading of the Apostol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 The reading of the Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116 The augmented ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118 The ectenia for the departed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120 The ectenia of the catechumens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 Part III. The liturgy of the faithful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 The first prayer for the faithful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 The abbreviated great ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 The second prayer for the faithful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 The Cherubic Hymn. Part I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 The great entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 The Cherubic Hymn. Part II. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 The ectenia of supplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129 The prayer of oblation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132 The Symbol of Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134 The Eucharistic Canon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135 The prayer of the holy oblation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136 The ectenia of supplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 Our Father. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146 The final ectenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153 The prayer in blessing the people as they leave the church at the end of the Liturgy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154 Psalm 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155 The dismissal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157 The many years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .157 234

Part III. CHRISTIAN MYSTERY EXPLANATION OF THE SIX PSALMS The importance of understanding the texts of Holy Scripture . .161 Psalm 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162 Psalm 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171 Psalm 62 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .179 Psalm 87 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189 Psalm 102 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203 Psalm 142 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

OTHER BOOKS

BY PRIEST DANIEL SYSOEV INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE IMMORTAL, OR WHAT TO DO IF YOU STILL DIE

I

n the few months since it appeared, this unusually-titled book by the famous priest and missionary Fr. Daniel Sysoev has quickly become a bestseller. What should you do if you end up dying after all?

Unfortunately, many people try to avoid the question of death; yet death, like it or not, is unavoidable.

Following divine revelation and the experience of the Church, Fr. Daniel paints a perfectly logical picture of the human soul transitioning from mortality to eternity. The author gives us advice on how to behave correctly at this most important of events for every person, how not to be afraid, how to pass through the aerial toll-houses, and what will await us after death. The author likewise describes the church doctrines regarding heaven and hell.

A PROTESTANT’S WALK THROUGH AN ORTHODOX CHURCH

T

ruth can endure no falsehood, and herself finds those who seek her. But there is one condition: one must reject one’s own opinion and prefer the Lord’s, and seek not oneself, but God. It is no easy thing to leave off your former way of life and the things of which you were convinced when you thought you were on the right path. But it is those who are willing to do this whom God calls His chosen.

This book is an actual conversation with a young Protestant, who himself approached an Orthodox passer-by one spring morning. Was he seeking the truth? What answers did the Orthodox Christian give him and how did he behave? Did anything change in their hearts after their dialogue, and who was proven right? The reader will witness their conversation and will hear numerous arguments grounded in Holy Scripture.

MARRIAGE TO A NONBELIEVER?

H

ow often young men and women, when choosing their companion for life, think his or her faith to be of no importance!

“We love each other, and he (or she) doesn’t mind that I go to church.”

And yet this stance conceals multitudinous dangers for a Christian. At fi rst all is well — the young couple is even married in church (at the insistence of the believer), and it seems a compromise has been reached. But then everyday life begins, and ever more frequently one hears, “You don’t care about anything but your church” ...

PRIEST DANIEL SYSOEV AND DEACON GEORGIY MAXIMOV. HOW OFTEN SHOULD ONE COMMUNE?

E

very Christian gives thought to the question of how often one should commune. In asking the advice of various priests, one may hear opinions that discourage frequent communion by the laity, or on the contrary one may be advised to approach the Holy Chalice as often as possible, especially on holy days. In certain churches it has been the practice since Soviet times not to commune parishioners on Pascha and Bright Week.

But what does the Church say about this? What canons and rules exist to determine the frequency with which the faithful take part in the sacrament of Holy Communion?

This booklet explains the necessity of frequent communion, presenting the reader with detailed supporting arguments from the works of the Holy Fathers and the church canons.

WHY GO TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY?

E

ven some people who call themselves Orthodox are of the opinion that going to church every Sunday is bordering on fanaticism.

There are plenty of justifications for this view: “Sunday is my only day off”; “I can pray just as well at home”; “It annoys my family”, and so on.

In this book an Orthodox missionary priest invites the reader to see for himself the invalidity of such views.

TALKS ON THE PASSIONS

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e must know our enemies. The passions and those who help to reinforce them are the enemy’s seed. And God summons us to do battle with them throughout our life. But how do we learn the tactics? Using the experience of the Church and the works of the holy fathers, Fr. Daniel explains how sin operates in a person’s soul, and the techniques for fighting it. These lectures will move each to give thought to the need for making a concentrated effort to cleanse his soul for God.

CATECHETICAL TALKS

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his book is compiled from the catechetical homilies presented by missionary priest Daniel Sysoev, beginning in 2001 in Moscow.

The printed texts of the homilies preserve his spoken conversational style, which draws the reader in with numerous straightforward examples and clear answers to the catechumens “tricky” questions. The majority of those who attended Father Daniel’s homilies became regular parishioners at Orthodox Churches following their baptism.

This book will benefit catechisers, clergy, theology students, and all who in their lives and work find themselves needing to explain the principles of the faith. Being actual dialogues on questions of faith and the Church, these homilies will likewise be of interest to those who are catechumens themselves.

EDITOR’S NOTE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION OF CHRISTIAN MYSTERY

The text of the psalms is taken from The Psalter According to the Seventy, published by Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Brookline, MA. All rights reserved, used with permission. All other text from Holy Scripture is taken primarily from the King James Version of the Bible. The English translation of the invariable portions of the divine services is primarily that of Monk John (Campbell, formerly Rassaphore-monk Laurence). The English translation of the variable portions of the divine services is primarily that of Isaac E. Lambertson.

Certain errors in the text and order of the services have been corrected for this English edition.

DANIEL SYSOEV INC. was founded as a USA-based subsidiary of the Rev. Daniel Sysoev Missionary Center Benevolent Fund. The corporation’s primary goals are: — Creating high-quality translations of Orthodox texts from Russian into English and preparing these texts for print — Distributing books, CDs, DVDs, and church supplies in the US and Canada, in English and in Russian — Promoting projects to further the mission of Orthodoxy in the world.

The company’s primary area of activity centers on the works of the priest Daniel Sysoev, who was killed November 19, 2009, in Moscow, leaving behind numerous recordings of his lectures, sermons, and literary works. Fr. Daniel’s books touch with grace the minds of those who read them. Father Daniel had a profound understanding of the texts of Holy Scripture, in keeping with the explanations of the holy fathers of the Church. His God-given ability to interpret and explain the Bible, to preach and speak to a person’s heart, and most importantly to love God and neighbor have enlightened and continue to enlighten many. Upon reading his works many decide to change their path, find answers to difficult questions, and are strengthened in their faith and desire to inherit eternal life with God.

It is our desire that people on American soil might have spiritual food in abundance in the form of Orthodox literature, and that each person be able to acquire these books as needed. In this day and age life goes by at a frantic pace: people race about, never having enough time, and suddenly we find that we have done nothing for eternal life. This rhythm of life is not of God. Father Daniel said that we must hasten to sow more fruits for the Kingdom of Heaven, running to cleanse our heart with tears of repentance and put on the garment of good deeds performed for Christ’s sake. To do this we must learn to stand still amid the whirlpool of earthly vanities, raise our eyes to heaven, think about God and pray to Him. We must make time to read spiritual books for our mind’s edification, for the vanity of this world strives to darken the mind: the devil wishes for man to be left with no time to think of God. One effective weapon against the enemy’s vanities is a book – one capable of turning our thoughts and feelings toward our heavenly homeland to which we are called.

It is our goal to bring back the laudable tradition of reading Orthodox books.

If you share our goals and feel able and inclined to assist in achieving this common goal, write to us at mission379@gmail.com. It may be that our joint efforts will bear much fruit.

If you would like to contribute to this work, you may use one of the following methods:

1. Check: Make checks payable to Daniel Sysoev Inc, and mail them to Daniel Sysoev Inc, 41 Las Brisas Blvd, Voorhees, NJ, 08043.

2. Wire transfer: ABA/Routing Number 021000089 CITIBANK, N.A. 2201 86th street, Brooklyn, NY, 11214 Daniel Sysoev Inc, account Number: 4989398433 3. PayPal: ssv379@gmail.com

Priest Daniel Sysoev

Christian Mystery The Order of Divine Services with Commentary for Beginners Translated and edited by Deacon Nathan Williams Design Igor Yermolaev Layout Olga Bochkova mission-center.com mission-shop.com mission379@gmail.com +1(267)237-37-68 Format 70´901/16. Printed sheet size Offset printing. Offset paper.

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