#Divine Liturgy

[orthodoxadventure]

Divine Liturgy being celebrated in Gaza

[discoveringorthodoxy]

Hymns of the Orthodox Church

If you've ever read an Orthodox service, you may have noticed the different types of hymns that are often used. There's antiphons, troparions, kontakions, etc. But what do these all mean?

An antiphon is a collection of Scripture verses (usually from the Psalms) that alternate. You can see these, for example, in the Three Antiphons during Divine Liturgy. They are called Antiphons because traditionally, they are sung by two choirs, with each responding antiphonally (alternating) to the other. Below is an example from the Divine Liturgy:

Antiphon 1. Mode 2.

"Verse 1: O Lord, the light of Your face was stamped upon us.

Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, Savior, save us."

A troparion is a brief hymn expressing the main focus of that day's celebration. These are usually one or multiple stanzas. There are several different types of troparions that you might recognize. These include apolytikions, evlogitarias, and theotokions.

An apolytikion ("dismissal hymn") is a troparion that typically honors a saint, Christ, or the Virgin Mary. It is also usually sung at the end of the Vespers Service. Below is an example of an apolytikion from the Sunday of the Veneration of the Holy Cross:

Apolytikion of the Feast. Mode 1.

"Save, O Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance, granting victory to the faithful over the enemy, and by Your Cross protecting Your commonwealth."

An evlogetaria is just a troparia that is sung after the reading from the Psalter. The evlogetaria consists of the refrain "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy statues. (Psalm 118:12)" The two forms of the Evlogetaria is the Evlogetaria of the Ressurrection (which is sung at Sunday Matins after the Kathismata) and the Funeral Evlogetaria (which is sung at Matins for the Dead after Psalm 118 and at funerals). Below is an excerpt from the Evlogetaria of the Ressurrection:

Ressurrectional Evlogetaria. Mode pl.1.

"Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your statutes.

When the hosts of the Angels saw how You were accounted among the dead, they all marveled. You, O Savior, are the One who destroyed the might of death; and when You arose You raised Adam with yourself and from Hades liberated everyone."

A theotokion is a hymn that refers to or praises the Theotokos and it usually concludes a cycle of stichera or troparia. There are several categories of the Theotokia, including the resurrectional theotokia (which is sung after we sing Glory...), the theotokia dogmatica (sung after Both now...), and dismissal theotokia (sung after the dismissal troparia). Below is an example of a theotokia dogmatica:

Both now. Theotokion.

"O Virgin Theotokos, beseech Your Son, Christ our God, who voluntarily was nailed to the Cross and resurrected from the dead, entreating Him to save our souls."

A kontakion is similar to a troparion, however, it mostly expresses the history of the celebration. It used to be so long (18-24 stanzas) that it would have to be rolled up on a pole. However, only short preliminary stanzas remain today. Below is an example of a kontakion from the Sunday of the Publican and Pharisee:

Mode 3. On this day.

"Sinners, let us fall before* the Lord and Master in prayer,* and as once the Publican* let us present Him our sighing.* He desires that all humanity gain salvation.* And to all who are repentant He grants forgiveness.* He became a man for our sake,* though with the Father without beginning as God."

Following the kontakion is the oikos. This is a stanza that develops the ideas that are in the kontakion and usually conclude with the same words as the kontakion. Below is the oikos that follows the kontakion from above:

"Bretheren, let us all garb ourselves in lowliness, and with laments and sighs strike at our conscience, that at the judgment then, which is in perpetuity, we shall be viewed guiltless, attaining our impunity. For there we have true mitigation; to see it, let us make supplication. For there is pain and sorrow's unseating, gone the deep sighs, there in wondrous Eden, of which Christ was fashioner, He being with the Father without beginning as God."

The Biblical Ode's (also known as odes) are hymns that are taken directly from Scripture. These odes are chanted during the Matins service. There are nine odes, however, today only the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55) is read. During Great Lent, however, the original Biblical Canticles are read. Below is an excerpt from the Magnificat:

Ode ix. The Magnificat. Mode 3.

Verse: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

"Greater in honor than the Cherubim, and in glory greater beyond compare than the Seraphim; you without corruption gave birth to God the Word, and are truly Theotokos. You do we magnify."

Finally, a prokimenon is a passage of Scripture that introduces the theme of the Epistle reading to follow. It is usually a verse and a refrain that is read and sung before the Epistle reading. Below is an example of a prokimenon from the Sunday of the Veneration of the Cross:

Prokeimenon. Mode pl.2. Psalm 27.

"O Lord, save Your people, and bless Your inheritance."

Verse: To You, O Lord, I cry; O my God, may You not pass over me in silence."

This prokeimenon preludes Hebrews 4:14-16; 5-:1-6, which talks about how Jesus is our high priest in Heaven who sacrificed himself for us.

The Orthodox has several types of hymns within its services. Hopefully this has cleared it up some more for you all! It definitely has for me.

[apilgrimpassingby]

It is often claimed that the symbols and objects used in traditional Christian worship and the style of beauty which it displays have become outdated and irrelevant in the contemporary world. These symbols, it is argued, are drawn from an agricultural way of life, and are in many instances no longer appropriate to an urban and industrial environment. Why should we worship God with a candle or a censer in our hand, and not with a stethoscope or pneumatic drill? Are we not restricting our worship to one particular type of person and excluding the rest? To this the Orthodox would reply that the acts and symbols which we employ in worship possess a universal significance ... The Orthodox Church in her prayer makes use of the primary realities of human existence, such as bread and water, light and fire. If people in an urban and technological environment no longer find these primary realities meaningful, then is this not a disturbing indictment of the artificiality and unreality of contemporary civilisation? - Kallistos Ware, The Inner Kingdom

[angeltreasure]

Bringing Mom to Divine Liturgy later today for the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Afterwards, we celebrate with the church for brunch homemade by one of the ministries! How beautiful it will be to celebrate with my brothers and sisters! Thank You, God! 😊🙏🏻🩵

[jameslmartello]

The First Antiphon - Psalm 102

[rejoiceunweddedbride]

May the Lord God remember you all in His kingdom, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.

[tpanan]

May God’s mercy and peace be upon us. Amen 🙏

[intrinsicallydisordered]

Reading, Morning Prayer, Wednesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time (Week III)

Been reflecting on this all day

[mindsoccupiedwithheaven]

Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake, watch over us as we sleep; that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in His peace.

[barncultus]

Are you still casting daemons? I'm curious what you would see for me <3

A poetic soul, a prayer smith! Ruby, my beloved New Orleans queen, I have to give you something befitting of your many epithets!

I see you as a mourning dove

[orthodoxadventure]

Divine Liturgy at Saint Porphyrius Church in Gaza

[polyphanes]

Prayer Times and Planetary Hours

So, for The Adocentyn Temple Almanac (TATA) (about which you can learn more here and request your own customized almanac here), one of the big things I wanted to do was incorporate a daily set of planetary hours for every day for a given location.  For those who don’t know, the system of planetary hours is a useful system that’s damn near ubiquitous throughout Western magical literature and…

[thisblogisnotflammable]

I love the way these books smell

[advoir]

What role does gender play in your spirituality? Religious art and liturgy are replete with gendered images and descriptions, but I always treated them as metaphors, at most, and unimportant. God has always been functionally agender to me.

Most Christians (and some others) I've heard on the topic insist that gender is an essential element of one’s spirituality, claiming it speaks to the purpose and meaning of one's life. Jung theorized that the development of Marian devotion within the Church arose organically out of a need to enshrine the feminine along with the masculine. But what if I don’t pray to Mary to experience femininity? Maybe it’s because Mary gets shit done.

I can’t have a gendered spirituality because, as far as I can tell, gender is an arbitrary categorization of human of behavior and not a thing that exists in itself. I can understand the inclusion of various personas and emphases, but I can’t fathom a Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine because to my understanding these are empty distinctions without meaning.

[angeltreasure]

I made new friends again at Divine Liturgy! 🥹🩵🙏🏻