Session 3 - Corporate (Public) Worship

Public or Liturgical Prayer

Moving on now to the second aspect of prayer in the Church, that of public or Corporate prayer, I must at once say that while we talk about there being two types of prayer, corporate and private, they are not two separate entities. In

fact our souls need both, in equal measure. We are better able to pray at home when we regularly worship in Church and conversely, we are better able to pray in Church when we are used to praying at home . While we speak of private
prayer, we are really still in a sense praying within the context of the Church, or as St.John Chrysostom calls it the little Church. Even at home, we need to pray as a family with our husbands or wives and with our children.

Speaking now more specifically of public or liturgical prayer, it is important that we know that the Church prescribes that we pray 8 times a day. Following the example of Moses, who, describing the creation of the world by God, began the "day" with sunset the Orthodox Church begins the day with
the evening service, Vespers

Vespers is the service celebrated towards the end of daylight, in which we express our gratitude to God for the day which has passed.

Compline is composed of the reading of a series of prayers, in which we ask the Lord God for the forgiveness of sins. We also ask that He grant us repose of body and soul as we retire, and to preserve us from the wiles of the Devil as we sleep.
The Nocturne Service is to be read at midnight in remembrance of the prayer of the Saviour during His night in the Garden of Gethsemane. This service summons the faithful to be ready at all times for the day of the Dread Judgment, which will come unexpectedly like "the bridegroom in the night" in the parable of the ten virgins.

Matins is celebrated in the morning prior to the rising of the Sun. In this service we give thanks to God for the night which has passed, and we ask Him His mercy for the approaching day. In Old and New Testament times, an "hour" meant a "watch" that lasted for three of our modern hours. Each service of the daily cycle corresponds to one of these three-hour divisions.

The First Hour covers the time from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. The First Hour sanctifies the already breaking day with prayer.

The Third Hour covers the time from 9 A.M. to 12 P.M. It reminds us of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles.

The Sixth Hour covers the time from 12 P.M. to 3 P.M. It reminds us of the Passion and Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Ninth Hour covers the time from 3 P.M. to 6 P.M. It reminds us of the death on the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

While it is not possible to celebrate these services everyday as is done in most monasteries, we should pause at these times during the day to remember our Lord’s self-emptying love. What I loved so much about the Seminary I attended was the fact that I lived next door to a monastery and got to experience these beautiful services, which are for the most part, quiet and peaceful services, filled with psalms and beautiful hymns that speak of the joy of repentance, of becoming more Christ-like and the glories of Heaven. In these troubled times, we really need to get re-discover the Church’s function as being a house of daily prayer – this is why I will offer many different types of services on weekdays throughout the year to familiarize you with them, and also, to remind myself that the primary calling of the priest is to teach and encourage prayer.

Of course, in addition to the daily cycle of prayer, there is the Divine Liturgy which is not considered to be a part of the daily cycle. Instead we understand the Liturgy to be outside of time. When we pray the liturgy, we leave the world and enter into eternity, where past, present and future are one unbroken reality. If you do not believe this, look at the quiet prayers that are prayed by the priest at the time of the Elevation of the Gifts at "Yours of Your Own", right before we sing "We Praise You," where I pray, "Remembering all those things which have come to pass, the Cross, the Tomb, The Resurrection, the Ascension into Heaven, the sitting at the Right Hand of the Father, AND the Glorious Second Coming." Of course we know that all has come to pass except the second coming. So by participating in the Liturgy, we leave the earth, and go to Heaven. The Liturgy has the power to transform us if we truly pray it and participate in it — that is we prepare ourselves to receive Holy Communion. Coming to Liturgy and not receiving communion is like going to our parents home for Thanksgiving, with a festal table being set, and a delicious meal before us, and us saying no thanks, I am not hungry, can I be excused? We wouldn't do it because we would offend our parents. The same is true for the Liturgy. We need not worry, however, if we think by coming every week to Communion, the Eucharist will lose its intensity and become common place. On the contrary, by frequently partaking of it, we will become more aware of our dependence on God for everything in life, our daily bread, and the great sacrifice of His own blood that He made for you and I.

We are fortunate in our Diocese, having its origins within the Carpatho-Rusyn experience, (our founders came from the humble villages of the Carpathian Mountains in what is now Slovakia, Ukraine, Poland and Romania), That we have a very strong tradition of participation in the Liturgical services, through
congregational singing. The Carpatho-Rusyn Plain Chant, is a jewel in the crown of our diocese and our parish. Unlike many other Orthodox Churches, our people can and are encouraged to participate in the singing of the services. I encourage you to watch the video of the First Liturgy in our newly Consecrated Church at Camp Nazareth, which is posted in the diocesan events video section in the multimedia section of our diocesan website, the singing was phenomenal. Over 500 people were singing with every harmony imaginable. How very powerful it is and how accessible it makes the Liturgy.

In Speaking about Public Prayer and the daily cycle of services, it is important that we also speak about the The Weekly and Annual Cycle of Divine Services

The Weekly, or Seven-day, Cycle of Divine Services is the term for the order of services extending throughout the seven week days. Each day of the week is dedicated to an important event, or else an exceptionally revered saint.

On Sunday, the Church remembers and glorifies the Resurrection

On Monday, the first day after the Resurrection, the bodiless hosts are celebrated. They are the angels created before the human race, who are the servants closest to God.

On Tuesday, St. John the Baptist is glorified, as the greatest of the prophets and the righteous of the Old Testament.

On Wednesday, the betrayal of the Lord by Judas is remembered; the services are thus centered around the Cross of the Lord. This day is a fast day.

On Thursday, the Holy Apostles and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker are glorified.

On Friday, the Passion and death of the Saviour on the Cross is remembered, and the services honor the Cross of the Lord. This day is kept as a fast day also.

On Saturday, the Sabbath or Day of Rest, the Mother of God is glorified (she is also glorified every other day), along with the forefathers, prophets, apostles, martyrs, monastics, righteous and all the saints who have attained peace in the Lord. All those who have reposed in the true faith and in the hope of resurrection and life eternal are also remembered.

The Annual Cycle of Divine Services

The Annual Cycle of Divine Services is the term for the order of services conducted during the course of the entire calendar year. Each day of the year is dedicated to the memory of one or more saints, as well as special sacred events, either in the form of feast days or fasts. Of all the feasts, the greatest is that of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, Pascha. It is thus called the feast of feasts. Pascha occurs no earlier than the twenty-second of March (the fourth of April, new style), and no later than the twenty-fifth of April (the eighth of May). Pascha is on the first Sunday after the equinoxal new moon and always after the Jewish celebration of Passover.

In addition, twelve great feasts are held in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Theotokos throughout the year. There are also feasts in honor of the great saints and of the bodiless hosts of heaven, the angels. Thus, the festivals of the year are distinguished, by their content, into those of the Lord, the Theotokos, and the saints.

The celebration of the feasts is further divided into the immovable and the movable. The immovable occur every year on the same calendar date of the month; the movable occur every year on the same day of the week, but fall on various dates of the month due to their relationship to Pascha.