A Manual of The Orthodox Church’s Divine Services

Publication Data: Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 2001
Format: softcover
Number of Pages: vi + 176
Dimensions (l × w × h): 22.7 cm × 15.3 cm × 1.1 cm
Additional Information: black-and-white illustrations

   
Archpriest D. Sokolof

“By ‘Divine Service’ the Orthodox Christian Church means a series of prayers, recited or sung in a given order, with certain ceremonies, by means of which prayers Orthodox Christians glorify God and His Saints, express their thanks and offer their petitions, and through the performance of which they receive from God mercies and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Divine service is private or domestic when it is performed in private by one or several persons; it is public when it is performed in the name of the whole Church, or of a community of Christians, by persons authorized to do so. The prayers used in public warship are divided into two categories: those for permanent services, i.e., services performed daily for the benefit of all Christians, and those for occasional services, i.e., services which are performed only on certain occasions, according to the special needs of the faithful, and therefore called tréba, a word which, translated, means ‘need.’”
—“Preliminary Ideas: The Nature of Divine Service”

CONTENTS

Preliminary Ideas.
      The Nature of Divine Service
      The Origin of Divine Service
      External Signs Used In Divine Service
The Christian Church Building
      Names of the Various Church Buildings and Their Origin
      External Appearances
      The Internal Arrangement of Churches
      The Sanctuary and Its Articles
      The Chapel of the Prothesis and Its Articles
      The Vestry and Its Articles
      The Nave or Body of the Church
      Vestibule and Porch
      Articles For Divine Services
         Illumination: Lampadas, Candelabra and Candlesticks.
         Incense.
      Bell Ringing
The Persons Who Perform Divine Services, and Their Vestments
      The Clergy
      The Sacred Vestments
         The Antiquity of the Vestments.
         The Sticharion or Tunic.
         The Orarion and the Epitrachelion.
         The Maniples, or Cuffs, and Zone, or Belt.
         The Phelonion or Cope and the Saccos.
         The Omophorion.
         The Miter, the Skull-cap (“Kamilavka”) and the Scuffia.
         The Epigonation or “Pálitsa,” and the Thigh-shield (“Nabédrennik”)
         The Pectoral Cross, the Panagia, the Crosier and the Orlets (Eagle Rug).
Public Worship.
      The Daily, Weekly, and Yearly Cycle of Services
         The Daily Cycle of Services.
         The Weekly Cycle of Services.
         The Yearly Cycle.
         Feasts
         The Paschal Feast
         Combinations of Daily Services.
      The Daily Services
   Great Vespers.
         The Beginning of the Service and the Introductory Psalm
         The Great Ecténia
         The Kathismata.
         The Small Ectenia
         The Verses of the Psalms, “Lord, I Have Cried,” and Their Stichéra.
         Vespers Introit and Doxology
         The Prokimenon.
         The Paremia.
         The Triple Ectenia and the Ectenia of Supplication
         Conclusion of Vespers.
         The Litiá and the Blessing of the Loaves (Artoklasia)
   Matins.
         “The Six Psalms.”
         The Great Ectenia, “God is the Lord," and the Kathismata.
         The Polyeleos.
         The Magnification and the Sunday Troparia.
         The Antiphons at Matins.
         The Gospel.
         Veneration of the Gospel or the Icon, and Anointing with Oil
         The Scriptural Odes and the Canon.
         The Psalms of Praise, and the Stichera on “the Praises.”
         The Great Doxology.
         End of Matins and the First Hour.
The Liturgy.
      Concerning the Liturgy
   1. The Proskomédia
   2. The Liturgy of the Catechumens.
      Meaning of the Liturgy of the Catechumens, Its Component Parts and Its Beginning
         The Typical Psalms and the Antiphons
         The Entry with Gospel.
         The Trisagion (“Thrice-Holy”)
         The Readings From the Apostle and the Gospel.
         Common Prayers for the Members of the Church and Departure of the Catechumens
   3. The Liturgy of the Faithful
      What the Liturgy of the Faithful Represents, and the Principal Acts Which Compose It
      (A.) Preparation of the Elements and the Faithful for the Sacrifice
         The Great Entry
         Petition for Spiritual Mercies, Exhortation to Love and Peace, and Profession of Faith.
         Invitation to Attend.
      (B.) The Fulfillment of the Sacrament
         The Prayer of Thanksgiving, the Offering, and Consecration of the Gifts.
         Commemorating the Members of the Church
      (C.) The Preparation for Communion and the Act of Communion
         The Preparation of the Faithful for Communion.
         The Preparation of the Gifts for Communion and the Communion of the Celebrants
         The Communion of Laymen
         The Blessing and the Last Appearance of the Holy Gifts Before the People.
      (D.) Conclusion of the Service
         Giving Thanks for Communion.
         Blessing for Going Forth Out of the Church;—Prayer Recited Before the Ambo;—Distribution of Holy Bread or Antidoron;—and Dismissal
Special Features of Divine Service On Feast-Days and In Fast-Times
      Immovable Feasts and Fasts
      The Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.
      The Universal Feast of the Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord
      The Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple.
      The Nativity of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
      The Baptism of Our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
      The Meeting of our Lord Jesus Christ.
      The Annunciation.
      The Day of the Holy and Most Glorious Apostles Peter and Paul.
      The Transfiguration of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
      The Dormition of the Mother of God.
      The Beheading of the Honorable Glorious Prophet and Forerunner, John the Baptist
      The Procession of the Holy and Life-Giving Cross
      Movable Feasts and Fasts
         The Weeks of Preparation for Lent
         Peculiarities of Lenten Services.
         The Lenten Hours.
         The Liturgy of the Presanctified.
         Special Features of the Services In Each Week of Great Lent
         Special Features of the Services On Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday
         Special Features of the Services On the First Three Days of Passion Week.
         Special Features of the Services On Great and Holy Thursday.
         Special Features of the Services On Great and Holy Friday.
         Special Features of the Services On Great and Holy Saturday.
         Special Features of the Services On the Day of Holy Pascha.
         Special Features of the Services From the Paschal Week to All-Saints’ Sunday
The Different Ministrations
      Administering the Sacraments of Baptism and Chrismation.
         Prayer For a Woman Who Hath Given Birth to a Child, and Naming the Child
         Prayer on the Fortieth Day After Birth
         The Rite of Reception Among the Catechumens.
         Exorcism,—the Renunciation of the Devil,—the Declaration of the desire to join Christ, the Profession of Faith, and the Worship of the Holy Trinity.
         The Order of Baptism and Chrismation
         The Rites of Ablution and Tonsure.
         The Rite of Joining the Church.
      The Rite of Admission Into the Orthodox Church of Followers of Other Christian Confessions
   The Rite of Anointing Tsars at Their Coronation
   The Order of the Consecration of a Church.
      Rite at the Laying of the Foundation of a Church
      The Rite of the Consecration of a Church.
      Consecration by a Bishop.
      The Rite of the Consecration of a Church by a Priest
   The Rite of Confession.
The Rite of the Sacrament of Orders
      The Ordination of a Deacon
      The Ordination of a Presbyter (Priest)
      The Consecration of a Bishop
The Order of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
      The Rite of Betrothal
      The Rite of Marriage
      Conditions of the Legality of a Marriage
      The Order for a Second Marriage
   The Sacrament of Holy Unction.
   Molébens
         The order of the moleben with canon
         The moleben without canon
   The Order of the Consecration (Tonsure) of a Monk.
         The Order of Investing With the Robe.
         The Order of the Lesser Schema.
         The Order of the Great Schema, or Highest Angelic State.
         Consecration of an Abbot or Archimandrite.
   The Burial and Commemoration of the Dead
         The Prayers for a Departing Soul.
         The Preparation of a Deceased Christian’s Body for Burial.
         The Reading of the Psalter by the Coffin and the Requiem Services
         The Bearing forth of the Body to the Church.
         The Funeral Service.
         Burial, or Laying the Body in the Grave.
         Prayers and Rites After the Burial
         Special Features of the Burial of Priests and Babes.
   Books Containing the Divine Service.