Although the Eastern Fathers were aware that in the West the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son was taught, they did not usually regard it as heretical: “a whole series of Western writers, including popes … Continue reading
Category Archives: Learning About the Practices of Our Religion
The next second in the Creed is devoted to the Holy Spirit. Again, the Nicene Creed of 325 was added to. The Creed of Nicea simply stated: And in the Holy Spirit. The Constantinopolitan Creed of 381 added the words … Continue reading
The CREED that we pray each and every Divine Liturgy is really the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed which is really a modified version of the Nicene Creed of 325. The Council of Constantinople made a few additions to more clearly express our … Continue reading
Before my digression about the word mercy, which is so frequently used in our worship, I had reached a point in this article on the Divine Liturgy which is called the Liturgy of the Faithful. As I shared, non-initiated people … Continue reading
In the last installment I began sharing thoughts about the word hesed which we have translated in our Divine Liturgy as mercy. I shared the fact that hesed is associated with ‘emet or faith. Hesed is also associated with mispat, … Continue reading
As I shared in the last installment of this article, the Liturgy of the Faithful begins with an Intercessory Prayer. Like all prayers, the formula used was similar to that which people used to petition a favor from the emperor. … Continue reading
As I have indicated, the first part of the Divine Liturgy, from the very beginning to the Litany after the Gospel, which is known as the Petitions For the Day, is said to be the Liturgy of the Word. In … Continue reading
In the last installment of this article, I had reached the point in the Liturgy where the Trisagion Hymn is sung. It was in 433 C.E., when Saint Proclus was Patriarch of Constantinople, that the city was evacuated due to … Continue reading
In this article I have been reflecting more intensely on the Divine Liturgy and its various parts. The Small Entrance is the first significant movement of the Divine Liturgy. It follows the primary liturgical action which is the gathering of … Continue reading
One of the things we know about the development of our Divine Liturgy is that it rarely eliminated things that became a part of it over the years. The prayers that follow the Great Litany, namely the First Antiphon, the … Continue reading