Liturgy for 7.6.25 (Experimental Eastern Orthodoxy + Communion)
Cover image: Andrei Rublev’s Trinity Icon (early 15th century)
The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom* (See note)
Prelude, Procession of Holy Scripture, Lighting of Candles
Mystic Flute— Alan Hovhaness
One: Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever.
Brief Orientation to our worship experience.
GREAT LITANY OF PEACE
One: In peace let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For the peace that comes from heaven above and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For peace throughout the whole world, for the welfare of the holy churches of God and for the union of them all, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For this holy church and for those who enter it with faith, devoutness and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For those who lead our Presbyterian Churches at the national level and for the leaders of all faith traditions, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For our devoted leaders here in Heartland Presbytery – for Rev. Dale Jackson and his staff – for local pastors, lay leaders, deacons, elders, and, for all people, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For the government of our country and all civil authorities and for our armed forces, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For this city and for every city, village and countryside, and for those who with faith dwell in them, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For healthful seasons, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For those who travel by land, by sea and by air, for the sick, the suffering and for those who are held in captivity, and for their safety and salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath and want, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: Help us, save us, have mercy on us and protect us, O God, by Your grace.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: Commemorating our ever holy, ever pure, ever blessed and glorious Lady, the Birth-giver of God and ever Virgin Mary together with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to Christ our God.
People: To You, O Lord.
One: O Lord our God, whose might is beyond description, whose glory surpasses all understanding, whose mercy is without limit, whose love for mankind is beyond expression; O Master, in Your kindness look down upon us and this holy church and bestow upon us and those praying with us Your abundant mercies and compassion. For to You are due all glory, honor and adoration, to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever.
People: Amen.
Opening Hymn:
One: O come, let us adore and bow down before Christ, O Son of God, who rose from the dead, save us who sing to You.
People: Alleluia.
HYMN: #618: O Love, How Deep, How Broad, How High
Unison Confession of Our Need of God: (The “Trisagion” for the Orthodox)
All: Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.
Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us. Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One, have mercy on us.
Sung Response: #568: Amen
THE EPISTLE:
One: Wisdom! The reading is from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Be attentive!
Reader: Galatians 6:7-16.
One: Peace be with you, reader! Wisdom! Be attentive!
People: Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
—this can be sung; #586 in hymnal
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
One: O Master Who loves mankind, illuminate our hearts with the pure light of Your divine knowledge and open the eyes of our mind to understand the teachings of Your Gospel. Instill in us also the fear of Your blessed commandments, that we may overcome all carnal desires, entering upon a spiritual life and understanding and doing all things to please You, for You are the enlightenment of our souls and bodies, O Christ God, and to You we give glory, together with Your eternal Father and Your All-holy, Gracious and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever.
People: Amen.
THE GOSPEL READING:
One: Wisdom! Let us stand and listen to the holy Gospel, Peace be unto all!
People: And with your spirit!
One: The reading of the Holy Gospel according to Saint Luke.
People: Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You!
One: Let us be attentive:
A reading from Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
People: Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You!
SERMON: Becoming Beautiful Icons
PRESENTING OUR OFFERINGS (The “Triple Litany” in Orthodoxy)
One: Let us all say with our whole soul and with our whole mind, let us say.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: O Lord Almighty, God of our Fathers, we pray to You, hear us and have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy.
One: Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy, we pray to You, hear us and have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
One: Furthermore we pray for those who give their offerings and do good works in this holy and venerable church, for those who labor in its service, for those who sing, and for all the people here present who await Your great and abundant mercy, for those who have shown us kindness and for Christians of all traditions, as well as people of other faiths and wisdom ways.
People: Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
OFFERTORY: Lament—Alan Hovhaness, Josh Stark, baritone
THE NICENE CREED: (The “Symbol of Faith”)
All: I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father by Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man. He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate and suffered and was buried, and the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures. And He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom shall have no end.And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets. In one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I profess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
HOLY COMMUNION
EUCHARISTIC PRAYER (“The Anaphora” in Orthodoxy)
One: Let us stand aright, let us stand with fear, let us be attentive so that we may offer the holy sacrifice in peace.
People: A merciful peace, a sacrifice of praise.
One: May 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.
One: Let us lift up our hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
One: Let us give thanks to the Lord.
People: It is proper and just to adore the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity consubstantial and undivided.
One: Sing, cry out and proclaim the triumphant hymn, saying:
People: Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts! Heaven and earth are full of Your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!
One: After Your Son had come and fulfilled everything in the divine plan for our redemption, on the night on which He was betrayed, or rather, on the night on which He gave Himself up for the life of the world, He took bread into his holy, all-pure and immaculate hands, and having given thanks, blessed, sanctified and broke it, and gave it to His holy disciples and apostles, saying:
Take and eat, This is My Body which is broken for you for the remission of sins.
People: Amen.
One: In like manner after the supper, He took the chalice, saying:
All of you drink of this, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.
People: Amen.
One: And offering to You Yours of Your Own, in behalf of all and for all.
People: We praise You, we bless You, we give thanks unto You, O Lord, and we pray to You, O our God.
One: Send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts lying here before us, and make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ. And that which is in this chalice the precious Blood of Your Christ. Changing them by Your Holy Spirit. That to those who partake of them, they may be for the purification of the soul, for the remission of sins, for communion in the Holy Spirit, for the fullness of the kingdom of heaven, for confidence in You, and not for judgment nor condemnation.
THE LORD’S PRAYER:
All: Our Mother and Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen.
THE COMMUNION RITE
One: Peace be unto all!
People: And with your spirit!
One: Bow your heads to the Lord.
People: To You, O Lord.
One: Through the grace and bounties and love towards mankind of Your only-begotten Son with Whom You are blessed, together with Your all-holy, gracious and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever.
People: Amen.
One: Be attentive! Holy things are for the holy!
People: Only One is Holy, and that One is the Lord Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
THE COMMUNION HYMN #533: In the Singing
THE COMMUNION PRAYER
One: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
All: I believe, O Lord and confess, that You are truly the Christ, Son of the living God, Who came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the first. O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant of Your Mystical Supper, for I will not speak of this Mystery to Your enemies, nor like Judas will I give You a kiss, but like the penitent thief I confess to You: O Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. O Master, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. O Holy one, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. Let the partaking of Your holy Mysteries, O Lord, be not for my judgment or condemnation, but for the healing of my soul and my body. O Lord, I also believe and confess that this, which I am about to receive, is truly Your most precious Body and truly Your life-giving Blood which, I pray, I may worthily receive for the remission of all my sins and for life everlasting. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. God, cleanse me of my sins and have mercy on me. O Lord, forgive me, for my sins are many.
Instructions for receiving communion.
One: In the fear of God, with faith and with love come forward!
People: Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of the Lord, the Lord is God and has revealed God’s very own life to us.
Receiving the elements . . .
One: O God, save Your people and bless Your inheritance
People: We have seen the true light. We have received the heavenly Spirit. We have found the true faith. We adore the undivided Holy Trinity, Who has saved us.
One: Always, now and ever, and forever!
People: Amen. Let our lips be filled with your praise, O Lord, that we may sing your glory. For You, O God, have deigned to make us participants of your holy, divine immortal and life-giving Mysteries. Strengthen us, O God, in Your holiness, that all day long we may live according to your righteousness. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Welcome: News In, Around, and Beyond the Community
THE DISMISSAL:
One: May the blessing of the Lord be upon you, God’s grace and love for all of us, always now and ever, and forever.
People: Amen.
One: Glory to You, O Christ our God, our hope, glory to You.
People: Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, always now and ever and forever. Amen. Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy; Lord, have mercy. Master, bless.
Priest: May Christ our true God risen from the dead, through the prayers of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for God is gracious and loves us all.
People: Amen.
Postlude: Tarantella on a Russian Folksong—Mikhail Glinka
*The Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom is the most celebrated divine liturgy (order of worship) in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. The liturgy and its prayers are attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople in the 5th Century. Today is an attempt at playfulness. We take God seriously. But we don’t take ourselves all that seriously. We are not “pretending” to be Orthodox Christians today. Today’s worship experience is simply an attempt to draw on Eastern Orthodox/Russian theology, liturgy, iconography, and art in ways that can enrich and challenge our predominately American spirituality. (Also, it’s possible to admire Dostoevsky’s fiction and to learn from the Russian Orthodox Church – even while condemning whole-heartedly Putin’s warmongering in Crimea and Ukraine).
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