Mystical Supper

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 the early Church once this portion of the   Liturgy was completed, the persons who were potential converts (i.e., catechumens) to the Church were dismissed, they were not permitted to attend the rest of the Divine Liturgy. This is one of the reasons why the weeks after Easter were still weeks of learning about the faith, since the newly initiated into the Church were then allowed to attend the entire Divine Liturgy and, of course, recite the CREED with all of the faithful. They still had more to learn about the beliefs of the Christian Church. That learning was centered around the Divine Liturgy and the other Services of the Church. As I shared in the last issue of this article, a special LITANY FOR THE CATECHUMENS was prayed immediately after the particular Petitions for the Day. This litany is no longer used but can be included if there are people studying to become a part of the Church.

The second part of the Divine Liturgy is called the LITURGY OF THE FAITHFUL and actually begins with two prayers of the faithful. The first prayer begins with: We thank You, O Lord God of Powers, for having deemed us worthy to stand at this time before Your holy altar and to prostrate ourselves before Your mercy, for our sins and for our transgressions. It continues with asking God to accept our prayer.

The second prayer, like the first, states: Grant that we may stand before Your holy altar without blame and condemnation. It continues by asking God to help us grow in our faith, life and spiritual understanding and to partake of Your holy mysteries without blame and condemnation.

In the early Church this prayer was a spontaneous prayer that the presider or presbyter offered on behalf of those who gathered. A common practice in many parishes today is that the two prayers, which have become standardized, are said quietly by the priest. They are the PRAYERS OF THE FAITHFUL and were never originally said silently and only one prayer said aloud.

The Prayers of the Faithful are meant to help us focus on what we have come to do as we celebrate the Divine Liturgy. In both prayers we pray that what we do together and what we receive will be accepted by God without blame or condemnation. They are truly beautiful prayers.