In the last issue of the article I introduced the notion of the interpretation of the Liturgy. I also raised this question in an indirect manner in last week’s sermon. What is our religion all about, especially that communal ritual … Continue reading
Category Archives: Divine Liturgy
The meaning of what is done in the Eucharist, the Divine Liturgy, is conveyed to the worshipper in the first place by the prayers which are said. This is one reason why I invented the Liturgical Scavenger Hunt. It is … Continue reading
In understanding the Divine Liturgy we must realize that the Church, influenced by Judaism, saw the importance of calling together the People of God into a visible community in order to manifest and make real the unity that belief in … Continue reading
The advent among men of the redeeming Word of God (i.e., Jesus Christ) required the development of a new liturgy – a new form of God-worship – a liturgy no longer intended solely to recall and maintain the natural relations … Continue reading
Gestures ritualized by the liturgy take their value less from what they are than from what they evoke in us. For example, do you, during the Little Entrance, think about God’s Gospel coming into the world in order to lead … Continue reading
The Divine Liturgy is meant to facilitate our encounter with God. While we are led to do this by remembering what Jesus did while He was here on earth, the reason we do this is so that we might have … Continue reading
In the last installment of this article, I began sharing thoughts about what Liturgy is. The word liturgy means the work of the people and was borrowed from the political language of Greek cities. It originally had no special religious … Continue reading
After sharing with you that Thanksgiving (Eucharistia) and Commemoration (Anamnesis) are an essential part of the Liturgy, it dawned on me that, perhaps, I should answer this fundamental question: What is the Liturgy? While the question is easy enough to … Continue reading
Many have been the influences on the structure of the Liturgy. The Fathers of the Church, in writing about the Liturgy, also helped shape it into the experience of worship of God that we have today. From the earliest times, … Continue reading
In the last issue of the article, I suggested that there was a great interplay between Byzantine church architecture and the Liturgy. For example, two parts of the Liturgy directly impacted the structure of the church building, namely the Little … Continue reading