In the past, the gifts were prepared not behind the Iconastasis but in a side chapel. People would bring the bread and wine. As is the tradition in the Orthodox Church, people who were desirous of the priest praying for … Continue reading
Category Archives: Divine Liturgy
As I stressed in the last issue of this article on the Divine Liturgy, the sobornal character of the Liturgy is something that we should think about when we gather for our communal worship of God. Truly one of the … Continue reading
As you probably know from experience, our Divine Liturgy is a concelebration of people and celebrant. This finds particular expression in the eucharistic prayers which are all, without exception, structured as dialogues. Every prayer is sealed by the gathering with … Continue reading
I know that in some ways the article has been a little disjointed. I have tried to present some historical information together with some thoughts about the meaning of the Liturgy. I will be taking a slightly different approach during … Continue reading
In the last issue I presented Justin’s basic format the early Church used to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. If you compare later liturgical developments to Justin’s first format you will find that the evolution respects this primitive outline in what … Continue reading
In the last issue of this article, I began sharing with you the evolution of the Divine Liturgy and suggested that in the beginning even the frequency with which it was celebrated was uncertain. This is partially due to the … Continue reading
The New Testament (NT) has Jesus say, “Do this in memory of me”. He does not say how often and the problem before us is the various answers given to that question throughout history. In considering this point, we must … Continue reading
I don’t know whether this article on the Divine Liturgy is making any sense to my readers. I thought that I would regroup and focus a little more on my understanding of the Liturgy. I’ve tried to give a little … Continue reading
It was only in the fourteenth century that the altar area (i.e., sanctuary) came to be distinguished from the nave by what we now call the iconastasis. Earlier church buildings had a series of columns and or panels that served … Continue reading
It was not until the fourteenth century that the Byzantine Liturgy reached the full term of its development and a process of consolidation was under way. Local variations in practice continued to exist in the world of Byzantine Christianity. But … Continue reading