How often, living in this world, and surrounded by so many small things that absorb us, do we forget Heaven. What occupies us pulls our hearts like magnets and presents Heaven as if it is very high up, and that reaching it is unattainable. And the danger is even greater if one has not had certain spiritual experiences, if one has not turned one s heart, if one has not on a few occasions put one s foot into, if one s eye has not looked into, Heaven. (Fr Aimilianos)
Proskomide Hidden from the people, like the birth of Jesus Kairon Preparation of Holy Gifts Remembrance of saints, living and dead Covering, censing
Preparation of the eucharistic bread is likened to the immolation of the lamb, and the pouring of wine and water into cup recalls the effusion of blood and water from the ribs of the crucified Christ Covering of the Gifts in this world manifestation of the kingdom of God remains mysterious, known and visible only through faith The liturgy rejects and excludes the contraposition of symbol and reality
Ευλογημένη Βασιλεία του Πατρός και του Υιού και του Αγίου Πνεύματος... Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit... The Divine Liturgy is the Church being itself, that is, being the Kingdom of God
Εν ειρήνη του Κυρίου δεηθώμεν In peace let us pray to the Lord We need to participate in the common prayer with a peaceful and calm spirit.
Υπέρ της άνωθεν ειρήνης και της σωτηρίας των ψυχών ημών For the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls... We are praying here for the one thing needful, the ultimate, highest purpose of our life, that for which we have been created, to which we must strive We are praying for salvation of our soul What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? We are praying for the peace from above = the righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)
Ὑπὲρ τῆς εἰρήνης τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου, εὐσταθείας τῶν ἁγίων τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἐκκλησιῶν καὶ τῆς τῶν πάντων ἑνώσεως... For peace in the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all... That this peace of Christ may be spread over all, that everyone, far and near, might become participants in the Kingdom of God. That the Church be faithful to herself, to her essence, to her purpose that she may be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, that Christians not neglect their ministry to ring out the good news of the kingdom of God and introduce people to the new life Unity of all in God constitutes the ultimate aim of creation and salvation
Ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἁγίου οἴκου τούτου καὶ τῶν μετὰ πίστεως, εὐλαβείας καὶ φόβου Θεοῦ εἰσιόντων ἐν αὐτῷ For this holy house and for those who enter it with faith, reverence, and the fear of God Entering the Church we must examine ourselves do we have a living faith and reverence for the presence of Godthat saving fear of God that we so often lose, being accustomed or used to the Church and the worship services
Ὑπὲρ τῆς κοινότητος καὶ τῆς πόλεως ταύτης, πάσης πόλεως χώρας καὶ τῶν πίστει οἰκούντων ἐν αὐταῖς... Ὑπὲρ εὐκρασίας ἀέρων, εὐφορίας τῶν καρπῶν τῆς γῆς καὶ καιρῶν εἰρηνικῶν... Ὑπὲρ πλεόντων, ὁδοιπορούντων, νοσούντων, καμνόντων, αἰχμαλώτων καὶ τῆς σωτηρίας αὐτῶν... For this parish and city, for every city and town, and for the faithful who live in them... For favourable weather, an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and temperate seasons... For travellers by land, sea, and air, for the sick, the suffering, the captives, and for their salvation... Whenever we narrow our faith and our religious life to ourselves, to our own concerns and wants, we forget that the calling of the Church is always and everywhere to offer prayers, petitions and thanksgiving for all mankind. We need to expand ourselves, and our consciousness to the fullness of the Church.
Τῆς Παναγίας, ἀχράντου, ὑπερευλογημένης, ἐνδόξου, δεσποίνης ἡμῶν Θεοτόκου καὶ ἀειπαρθένου Μαρίας, μετὰ πάντων τῶν ἁγίων μνημονεύσαντες, ἑαυτοὺς καὶ ἀλλήλους καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ζωὴν ἡμῶν Χριστῷ τῷ Θεῷ παραθώμεθα. Remembering our most holy, pure, blessed, and glorious Lady, the Theotokos and ever virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commit ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.
Lord, our God, whose power is beyond compare, and glory is beyond understanding; whose mercy is boundless, and love for us is ineffable: look upon us and upon this holy house in Your compassion. Grant to us and to those who pray with us Your abundant mercy.
Master and Lord our God, You have established in heaven the orders and hosts of angels and archangels to minister to Your glory. Grant that the holy angels may enter with us that together we may serve and glorify Your goodness...
Ἅγιος ὁ Θεός, Ἅγιος ἰσχυρός, Ἅγιος ἀθάνατος, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς (3) Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us (3) What does the word holy mean and express as a word for God? No discursive thought, no logic is capable of explaining this, yet meanwhile it is precisely this sensation of the holiness of God, this feeling for the holy that is the foundation and source of religion. The Liturgy may not explain to us what the holiness of God is, but it reveals it to us.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory! And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. So I said: Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts. Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth with it, and said: Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged. (Isaiah 6)
Illumine our hearts, loving Master, the pure light of Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our minds that we may comprehend the message of Your Gospel. Instil in us also reverence for Your blessed commandments, so that having conquered all carnal desires, we may pursue a spiritual life, thinking and doing all those things that are pleasing to You. For You, Christ our God, are the light of our souls and bodies, and to You we give glory together with Your Father who is without beginning and Your all holy, good, and life giving Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.
Let us the faithful... Who is serving is not the clergy, not even the clergy with the laity, but the Church, which is constituted and made manifest in all fullness by everyone together. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Peter 2:9)
Priest: For the peace of God and the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord. People: Lord, have mercy. Priest: Wisdom. Arise. Let us hear the holy Gospel. Peace be with all. People: And with your spirit. Priest: Let us love one another that with one mind we may confess: People: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Trinity one in essence and inseparable.
Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you. People: And with your spirit. Priest: Let us lift up our hearts. People: We lift them up to the Lord. Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord. People: It is proper and right.
Οἱ τὰ Χερουβεὶμ μυστικῶς εἰκονίζοντες, καὶ τῇ ζωοποιῷ Τριάδι τὸν τρισάγιον ὕμνον προσᾴδοντες, πᾶσαν τὴν βιοτικὴν ἀποθώμεθα μέριμναν, ὡς τὸν Βασιλέα τῶν ὅλων ὑποδεξόμενοι ταῖς ἀγγελικαῖς ἀοράτως δορυφορούμενον τάξεσιν. Ἀλληλούϊα. Ἀλληλούϊα. Ἀλληλούϊα. We who mystically represent the Cherubim sing the thrice holy hymn to the life giving Trinity. Let us set aside all the cares of life that we may receive the King of all invisibly escorted by the angelic hosts. Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.
Πάντων ημῶν, μνησθείη Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ πάντοτε νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. May the Lord God remember all of us in His kingdom, always, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Reminiscent of the thief on the cross. We too are about to be present at the sacrifice of Christ. Remember us and regards us as your own...
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart These, O God, You will not despise. 18 Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar. Psalm 50 (51)
Αγαπήσωμεν αλλήλους Let us love one another... St John Chrysostom: When the time comes for the mutual reception of the peace, we all kiss each other... the clerics greet the bishop, the laymen the men, the women the women... To love is the new commandment. The newness of Christianity lies not in the commandment to love, but in the fact that if has become possible to fulfil the commandment. In union with Christ we receive His love and can love with it and grow in it.
...because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us (Romans 5:5) Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. (John 15:4,5,9)
That this whole day may be perfect, holy, peaceful, and sinless, let us ask the Lord. For an angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask the Lord. For forgiveness and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask the Lord. For all that is good and beneficial to our souls, and for peace in the world, let us ask the Lord. That we may complete the remainder of our life in peace and repentance, let us ask the Lord. For a Christian end to our lives, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good account before the awesome judgment seat of Christ, let us ask the Lord.
Τὰς θύρας, τὰς θύρας. Ἐν σοφίᾳ πρόσχωμεν. The doors, the doors; in wisdom let us attend. In the early Church, this was a reminder to the door keepers to not let any unfaithful in, as the gifts were about to be uncovered. Today, a reminder that we should not let other thoughts into our mind, but attend in wisdom
Η ΑΓΙΑ ΑΝΑΦΟΡΑ Διάκονος: Στῶμεν καλῶς στῶμεν μετὰ φόβου πρόσχωμεν τὴν ἁγίαν Ἀναφορὰν ἐν εἰρήνῃ προσφέρειν. Λαός: Ἔλεον εἰρήνης, θυσίαν αἰνέσεως. THE HOLY ANAPHORA Priest: Let us stand well. Let us stand in awe. Let us be attentive, that we may present the holy offering in peace. People: Mercy and peace, a sacrifice of praise.
Ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς καὶ ἡ κοινωνία τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος εἴη μετὰ πάντων ὑμῶν. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Exists in every Eucharistic prayer. The blessing s Trinitarian formula is irregular. I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. (John 14:16). Christian life begins with the encounter with Christ.
Ἄνω σχῶμεν τὰς καρδίας Let us lift up our hearts even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:5 6) Let us beware that we do not remain in the earth (St John Chrysostom)
Εὐχαριστήσωμεν τῷ Κυρίῳ. Let us give thanks to the Lord And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3) All Christianity lies in these words of Christ. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32)
It is proper and right to sing to you, to bless you, to praise you, to worship you... Because it is of Christ and from above, this thanksgiving raises us up to paradise, as anticipation of it, as partaking while still on earth of the kingdom which is to come. Man again stands where God placed him, restored to his vocation: to offer to God a reasonable service, to know God, to thank Him in spirit and in truth, and through this knowledge and thanksgiving to transform the world itself into communion in the life that was in the beginning with God (John 1:2), with God the Father, and was manifested to us.
for You are God ineffable, beyond comprehension, invisible, beyond understanding, existing forever and always the same; You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You brought us from non being into being, and when we fell, You raised us up again. You did not cease doing everything until You led us to heaven and granted us Your kingdom to come. For all these things we thank You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit; for all things that we know and do not know, for blessings seen and unseen that have been bestowed upon us. We also thank You for this liturgy which You are pleased to accept from our hands, even though You are surrounded by thousands of Archangels and tens of thousands of Angels, by the Cherubim and Seraphim, six winged, many eyed, soaring with their wings, In our lukewarm religiosity we tend to perceive sin as something normal, which arises self evidently out of the weakness and imperfection supposedly inherent to our nature, while holiness, conversely, we see as something supernatural. The Liturgy exposes sin as falling away, not only from God, but also from ourselves, from our true nature, from the honour of the high calling to which God has summoned us.
You led us to heaven and granted us Your kingdom to come And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom (Luke 22:29 30) Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9) and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3 ) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3 5)
Λάβετε, φάγετε, τοῦτό μού ἐστι τὸ σῶμα, τὸ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν κλώμενον, εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. Πίετε ἐξ αὐτοῦ πάντες, τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ αἷμά μου, τὸ τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης, τὸ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ πολλῶν ἐκχυνόμενον, εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν. Take, eat, this is my Body which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins. Drink of it all of you; this is my Blood of the new Covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. What an amazing mystery! What an unbelievable honour! What Divine grandeur!... if at some Divine Liturgy our Lord comes out of the royal door and calls us by our first name and we approach Him, not to write our name onto a marble plaque, but to hug us and lift us, together with Him, to heavenly dwellings in His Kingdom!..do this in remembrance of Me (Luke 22:19)
Μεμνημένοι τοίνυν τῆς σωτηρίου ταύτης ἐντολῆς καὶ πάντων τῶν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν γεγενημένων, τοῦ Σταυροῦ, τοῦ Τάφου, τῆς τριημέρου Ἀναστάσεως, τῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς Ἀναβάσεως, τῆς ἐκ δεξιῶν Καθέδρας, τῆς δευτέρας καὶ ἐνδόξου πάλιν Παρουσίας. Remembering, therefore, this command of the Savior, and all that came to pass for our sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand of the Father, and the second, glorious coming.
Τὰ σὰ ἐκ τῶν σῶν σοὶ προσφέρομεν κατὰ πάντα καὶ διὰ πάντα. Your own from your own we offer you, in every way and for everything κατὰ πάντα = according to the way You directed us and the way we were directed by the Apostles The Divine Liturgy is love. Whoever accepts this love in Divine worship melts, becomes overwhelmed! He says, it is enough! As the priest lifts the Precious Gifts and says, Your own from your own... he is passing on a very serious message. Which one? That the Lord is close... In front of us! This calling of the celebrant is a door, that opens for the people to see, to enter and take part in the Sacrament
Ἔτι προσφέρομέν σοι τὴν λογικὴν ταύτην καὶ ἀναίμακτον λατρείαν, καὶ παρακαλοῦμέν σε καὶ δεόμεθα καὶ ἱκετεύομεν κατάπεμψον τὸ Πνεῦμά σου τὸ Ἅγιον ἐφ' ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ προκείμενα Δῶρα ταῦτα. Once again we offer to You this spiritual worship without the shedding of blood, and we ask, pray, and entreat You: send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here presented. The sacrament still occurs even of the priest is unworthy of his calling. It is worth noting however that we first ask that the Holy Spirit come down on us, and then upon the gifts.
Priest: And make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ. Deacon/People: Amen. Priest: And that which is in this cup the precious Blood of Your Christ. Deacon/People: Amen. Priest: Changing them by Your Holy Spirit. Deacon/People: Amen. Amen. Amen.
Καὶ ὧν ἕκαστος κατὰ διάνοιαν ἔχει, καὶ πάντων καὶ πασῶν. And those whom each of us has in mind, and all men and all women In earlier times there was then silence for 2 3 minutes, and all would pray silently for people, alive or dead, they had in mind, and then a little bell would ring
Καὶ δὸς ἡμῖν, ἐν ἑνὶ στόματι καὶ μιᾷ καρδίᾳ, δοξάζειν καὶ ἀνυμνεῖν τὸ πάντιμον καὶ μεγαλοπρεπὲς ὄνομά σου, τοῦ Πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων And grant that with one voice and one heart we may glorify and praise Your most honored and majestic name, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages One of the main consequences of the fall is disunity, which arises because of our egoism and passions
Ἱερεύς: Πρόσχωμεν. Τὰ Ἅγια τοῖς ἁγίοις. Λαός: Εἷς Ἅγιος, εἷς Κύριος, Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ Πατρός. Ἀμήν. Priest: Let us be attentive. The holy Gifts for the holy ones. St John Chrysostom: The celebrant Priest, standing at the altar, with a thunderous voice that creates fear, with his hand holding the allholy Body, in the midst of deep silence calls out, The Holy to the Holy Thus some he calls to commune and to others he forbids it... If someone is not saintly, he should not approach. He does not simply call those who are clean from sins, but saints. For the saint is not just one from whom sin is absent, but the presence within him of the Holy Spirit and the richness of his good works. Saints are not only those who have reached perfection in virtue, but also those who are struggling to reach such perfection.
Man was created to liturgize. He was created to be offered to offer to God his creator thanksgiving, doxology and divine worship... And within this continual offering and worship, to be united with God, to be sanctified, to live!