Liturgical Life
A Lenten Look at Liturgical Music
One's favorite liturgical music setting, in fact, can become nothing more than whatever reflects that person's tastes and how well the setting has been sung by the cantors or choir. And, over time, taste can begin to determine the shape and sound of liturgical music apart from the actual needs of worship, as if music is merely added on to ornament or decorate worship, even to cover or distract from the "duller" moments.
Feb 23, 2010, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Church Reading: A Vital Ministry
Sometimes people say, "I am just a reader," as though this were a petty or insignificant ministry. However, when the reader (whether tonsured or not) begins chanting the selection from the Acts or the Epistles, he or she is performing an evangelical ministry that is absolutely essential to the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and as such it demands the same care and preparation as any other liturgical ministry.

Jan 16, 2010, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Music in the Worship of the Church
"Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit ..." With these words we are invited to "come and see," to enter into and experience the foretaste of a heavenly reality, the Kingdom of heaven on earth, which manifests itself in the Church’s liturgy. In this reality there is already expressed a transformation of our present world and of us who dwell in it. We are not simply inhabitants living in a particular spot on the planet, but we are "standing in the temple of Your glory, and we think that we are in heaven".
Dec 8, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
The Art of God Incarnate
To be deified, to experience theosis, is not to become powerful, as power is normally understood. Christianity is curious in this way. Its understanding of the divine is rooted in the life and teaching of Jesus and as such it has nothing to do with power and achievement. Glimpsing the wonder of creation, remembering the "long lost," the communing love that is central to life, engenders a profound compassion in the faithful, a compassion that leads to a life of service to the world.
Nov 20, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
The Seven-Day Commemoration In The Orthodox Church
"The Week: A Seven Day Holiday"
The two words betrayer and betrayal are resentful and abominable in any language. If on this day we find time to think of our Lord's betrayal, we ourselves could avoid our daily betrayals. We could avoid, in other words the little betrayals with which we choke off our conscience in order to be accepted by the world, and also bigger betrayals when we betray innocent, just, and good people. We would avoid betraying our faith and our conscience for worldly riches and for daily power for glory. For we all know very well that the betrayed sooner or later are resurrected and become heroes, martyrs and saints. The betrayers, however, remain marked and stained forever.
Oct 28, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Let Us Lift Up Our Hearts
The fact is we were created to be worshipers. Fr. Alexander Schmemann once wrote that we humans are homo adoramus – the worshipping man. It is in worship that we are most like who we really are. In a constant attitude of worshipping God, keeping the memory of God and His love always before us, our souls are opened to the healing influence of the Holy Spirit. In other words, worship works wonders!

Sep 29, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Ten Ways to Participate in Worship, Pay Attention, be Still and Pray
These repeated litanies do not contribute to the length of the service, which most Orthodox consider to be a problem But if you begin to participate in the Divine Liturgy and do the things the Liturgy instructs you to do-guess what? The Liturgy gets shorter! You don't notice the length of the Liturgy, why because you didn't attend as a mere observer, just waiting for the final blessing to go home.


Sep 24, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Worship in the Church: The Sanctification of Time
It is vital for us to catch a vision for this, so that we may know why it is we come to Church. It is not to understand God deeper, or to feel better about ourselves. Church is not an aesthetic experience, or a psychological boost. We don't come to Church to "get" anything. We come in order to participate in the joy of the Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is "made present" in our worship.
Aug 22, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Living in the Liturgical Cycles of the Church
The Church sets before us the ideal of daily services, and in earlier times this was not just an ideal, but a norm; this was the standard practice of the Church. But in our time, and especially here in America, daily services have become a rarity, something almost exclusively limited to monasteries and a very few cathedrals. In all honesty, such a situation must be called an aberration.
Jun 26, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Living Liturgy: the Liturgical Method of the Fathers
The Deacon says to all present, “In the fear of God and with faith, draw near!” and Eucharistic participation is expected from all—if not in fact, then at least in theory. (The Fathers, being realists, knew how little theory and fact sometimes went together!) Nevertheless, the liturgical texts themselves called all to Communion (not just the ones who felt they were worthy or ready that Sunday) and the Litany of Thanksgiving assumes that all have in fact received, for the Deacon says “Having partaken of the divine, holy and awesome Mysteries of Christ…”

Apr 8, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
A Call for Liturgical Renewal
The Liturgical Effectiveness of Pews
Are pews, which we borrowed not so very long ago from the Protestants and the Roman Catholics (who borrowed them from the Protestants) a liturgical accretion without consequences? Or, do pews (and pew-like rows of chairs) make a significant difference in the life of the Church? Or is the idea they do make a difference perhaps only the bothersome complaint of reactionaries who want to obstruct the progress of Orthodoxy in the name of a false traditionalism? Asking ourselves these questions, we came up with the following painful observations.
Mar 26, 2009, 10:00

Liturgical Life
The Saturday All-Night Vigil: An Appreciation
Our Saturday evening vigil service anticipates Sunday, defining the liturgical day just as a day is defined in the creation account in the book of Genesis, wherein God’s major creative acts are set off by the phrase, "there was evening and there was morning," making one day.
Sep 24, 2008, 10:00

Liturgical Life
Giving Thanks Is More Than A Once-a-Year Affair
The Divine Liturgy has become so familiar to us that quite often we take no time to see all its sides and aspects, its depths and implications for life. Christ our Savior brought to us the Kingdom of God. His miracles point to that fact. Father John of Kronstadt wrote that the Christian life is a "continuous mystery." The Eucharist is a continual and continuous miracle. Let us wonder at that miracle.


Sep 6, 2008, 10:00