First, some history
The normal divine liturgy used by the Eastern Orthodox is the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, who was the Bishop of Constantinople from 398 to 404. It’s derived from the older mass of St. Basil, which was derived directly from the Mass of St. James the Lesser, Apostle of Christ. The changes St. John Chrysostom introduced reflected the matured theology from the ecumenical councils - for example, the inclusion of the Nicene Creed - and he streamlined the complex liturgy of St. Basil to be more accessible and understandable to the rapidly growing Christian mission communities. The essential elements are still present, and first century Christians would recognize their mass in the modern divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. There are many echoes of Jewish worship in it. For example, the altar area is distinctly separate from the rest of the church and only those with business on the altar may go there. The use of incense is prevalent, as it was in Jewish services in the first century.
When you enter the Eastern Orthodox church, you come in through the Nave, or entryway. From there you go through the Narthex, which is where the uninitiated attendees would traditionally sit, separate from the main sanctuary. That tradition is rarely observed or enforced today. In the Narthex, you’ll have several icons. The iconography style of the Eastern Orthodox is simply traditional – the eastern church never experienced the photorealistic art renaissance that Western Europe did. To the right of the main entry way to the sanctuary will be the Pantocrator, the Icon of Christ the Ruler of All. To the left of the entrance will be an icon of Mary, the Theotokos, or God-bearer. Typically, there will also be an icon of the patron saint of the church, of which the church is named after, and an icon of the saint whose feast day is currently being celebrated. Most Orthodox pay some sort of homage to the Pantocrator and Theotokos upon entry into the church, typically a metanoia, or bow to the touch the ground and a kiss on the icon. The Eastern Orthodox have a solid historical connection to the Seventh Ecumenical Council which held that veneration of an icon wasn’t idolatry, that the honor paid to an image traverses it, reaching the model, and they who venerate the image, venerate the person represented in that image.
Symbolism is everywhere in the Eastern Orthodox church. Compare the icons of the Pantocrator and the Theotokos. Note that Christ wears a red or burgundy tunic, with a blue cloak over it. Red is the color of the divine, and blue is the color of humanity. Christ is divine, cloaked in humanity. On the other side, the Theotokos is wearing a blue tunic, and a maroon cloak. Human, cloaked in the divine. As you enter the church, if you look back and above, you’ll see you passed under a tapestry depicting the burial of Christ. By entering the sanctuary, you are passing through the grave to eternal life.
You’ll notice that, unlike modern Western churches, the altar is behind a screen or a wall called the iconostasis. The center doors are the Royal Doors, and only ordained clergy may go through them. This is in keeping with the ancient Jewish temple layout, where the holy of holies was physically separate from the main area. There are two doors to either side, for utility and non-ordained acolytes and sub-deacons. Typically, the traffic flows counterclockwise, out the left door and back in through the right. If the priest is speaking on the other side of the screen, he is praying to God. To address the congregation in any way, he’ll come out to our side of the screen.
The layout is reminiscent of the Jewish temple. The area of the altar, behind the iconostasis, is where the Holy of Holies was kept in the Jewish temple. The Ark of the Covenant contained the Law, the promise of God. It's the same in an Orthodox Churchm, the Altar area is where the Holy of Holies is, only now Christ is the living embodiment of the Law. If you look above the altar, there's a huge icon of the Theotokos - Mary, in Greek literally the God-bearer. This icon is referred to as "Bigger Than the Sky" or "Bigger than the Heavens." Mary carried the Christ the son of the Living God, who is everywhere, so her womb is bigger than the universe to hold Him.
Above the center of the church in the domed ceiling is the Pantocrator, Christ the Ruler of All. You may see letters, IC - XC, NIKA. These are Greek abbreviations where they would use the first and last letters of a word. In Greek there is no "J", it follows more the Hebrew "Y" or "I", so IC - XC is Iesus Kristos. NIKA isn''t an abbreviation, it's greek for "Victory" or "Victorious". Jesus Christ victorious.
Responses
The priest sometimes addresses the congregation in a formulaic statement. If you aren’t familiar with the correct response, well, I feel like an idiot not knowing what to say. The most common, of course is “Peace be with you!” which is used several times in the liturgy. The response, sung by the choir is, “Also with your spirit!” Another common one is “Christ is in our midst!” The response to this is, “He is and always shall be!” During the Paschal season, this will be replaced with “Christ is risen!” and the response is, “Truly He is risen!” This may come in any language, the most common is Greek, “Christós Anésti!” to which you respond, “Alíthos anésti!” In our Arabic speaking Antiochian church, you may also hear, “Almasih qam!” to which you respond, “Haqana qam!”
Orthodox Christianity is a trinitarian theology, and the Trinity is invoked many times in the liturgy. When it’s done so, it’s customary to make the sign of the cross. You’ll see a lot of this during the service. The sign of the cross is done with the right hand with the thumb and the first two fingers drawn together to represent the Trinity, and the last two fingers into the palm to represent the two natures of Christ, divine and human. Unlike in the West, the sign of the cross is done from right to left, mirroring the priest blessing you. St. Peter the Aleut was the first martyr in North America, killed by Spanish priests in California because they didn't like the way he made the Sign of the Cross.
Standing and sitting
In many more traditional Orthodox churches, there are no pews. The congregation stands for the entire service. Standing in the East is the position of reverence. Pews are provided in more westernized congregations. Generally speaking, you’ll stand whenever the priest addresses or blesses the congregation, during the Gospel reading, and especially when he brings out the Eucharist.
Music
Unlike Western churches, the choir’s participation is an integral part of the liturgy and prayers, many times taking the form of a dialogue between the choir and priest. All are encouraged to join the choir if you know the hymns and responses. There are no hymnals as such, the liturgical books provided give the responses, if you can follow them.
The Liturgy
In preparation for the divine liturgy, there are two other services said. The ancient church would observe the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday by attending services in the Temple, and then on Sunday they would gather at the hous eof the Bishop for the Eucharist. Little has changed. Vespers is said the evening before the Divine Liturgy as the Sabbath observance. Orthros is the daybreak service, and begins about an hour before the Divine Liturgy and sort of segues into it. So when you arrive at church and walk in a few minutes before the stated time and things already seem to be happening, don’t worry, you’re not late. The Orthros service is in full swing.
You’ll recognize the beginning of the Divine Liturgy when the priest intones, “Blessed is the kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever unto ages of ages.” This is the opening line of the actual liturgy.
Throughout the Divine Liturgy there are prayers of supplication, praise, and preparation. The priest says these. Some are brief, others are lengthy, and most of the time the priest says them quietly. During these prayers, a deacon will be simultaneously leading an ektenia, or litany, which consists of prayerful petitions, to which the congregation typically responds singing, “Lord, have Mercy” led by the choir. When the ektenia is complete, the priest will say the final portion of his prayer aloud. Most prayer books have both the litany and the prayer, which makes it a little confusing to follow at first, because they happen simultaneously. After the prayer there’s typically a refrain from the choir.
After the opening line of the Liturgy, the priest will say the first antiphon while a deacon leads the Great Ektenia. This is a prayer of praise to God in preparation for the Liturgy.
Then the priest prays the second antiphon while the deacon says the little ektenia. The second prayer is a petition of blessing for the congregation.
Then the priest prays the third antiphon while the deacon says another little ektenia. The third prayer is a petition of blessing for the liturgy being celebrated.
After these preparatory prayers come the little entrance. The priest and the acolytes leave the altar by a side door and form up in front of the Royal doors, with the book of the Gospel held high. The priest will say the prayer of entrance and will carry the Gospel through the royal doors and place it on the altar. The choir will sing the troparia for the day, which is typically a passage from psalms. This entrance seems unnecessary and redundant in today’s churches, but it hearkens back to a time where the Gospel was kept separately in a side chapel and had to be retrieved for the Liturgy and paraded before the congregation. The old forms are kept, even when not strictly necessary.
After the little entrance, the choir will sing the beautiful Trisagion hymn while the priest quietly prays the trisagion prayer of praise and invitation to God. The hymn is repeated three times. The form varies from church to church, but in our Antiochian church, it’s sung each time in a different language. The first is in English, “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, Have mercy upon us,” then in Arabic, “Quddῡsun Allāh, Quddῡsun al-qawī, Quddῡsun alladī, lā yamῡt urhamnā,” and finally in Greek, “Hagios o Theos, Hagios ischyros, Hagios athanatos, eleison imas.” Many people cross themselves repeatedly while this is sung. At the end, a deacon will call out, “Dynamis!” which translates to strength, force or power, and this call is echoed back from the choir leader.
Then the scripture is read. First, a reading from the Acts of the Apostles, one of the letters or epistles. A lay person does this, and it may be spoken or sung, depending on the reader. In our church, the readings are in both English and Arabic. Then a priest or deacon reads the Gospel. During the Gospel, it’s customary to stand in the presence of the Word. After the readings will come a short homily.
The homily ends the liturgy of the word and marks the beginning of the liturgy of the Eucharist. This starts out with a series of ektenias and prayers. The ektenia is, again, a call and response between a deacon and the congregation, while the priest prays quietly. The last line or two of the prayer is said aloud by the priest when the deacon finishes the ektenia.
The prayer of Fervent Supplication is a prayer for mercy and compassion preparatory to celebrating the Eucharist. This may be omitted at the priest’s discretion.
Then there’s a prayer for the Catechumens, that they may be made worthy to be baptized. This prayer is omitted if there are no catechumens in the congregation.
The first prayer of the Faithful is a prayer that all present be made worthy to call upon God.
The second prayer of the Faithful is a prayer that all present be made worthy to receive the Eucharist. Both of these prayers may be omitted at the priest’s discretion.
Then begins the Cherubimic prayer. This is lengthy prayer that prepares the altar and the sacred space of the church for the performance of the Eucharistic celebration. The priest blesses altar, the icons, and the congregation with incense. All the while, the choir sings the Cherubimic hymn, which essentially places the congregation in the role of the cherubim, singing the praises of God and setting aside all earthly cares in preparation to receive the Eucharist. The hymn is sung slowly, because there’s not much content to it, and the priest has a very long preparatory prayer to say.
With the altar prepared, the priest, deacons and acolytes perform the Great Entrance. They leave the altar through a side door and process all the way to the back of the church and down the main aisle, carrying the chalice and holy bread. A deacon leads the priest with incense. During the procession, the Priest calls upon the congregation to draw near and attend, and offers blessings to the Metropolitan (Bishop), the civil authorities and the armed forces. Remember that the priest perfoms the liturgy only by the express permission of the Metropolitan. At the end of the procession, before the altar, the priest will pray especially for special intentions for specific people for whom he has been asked to pray. During the procession, many people will touch the priest’s garments in the fashion of the Canaanite woman who was healed by touching Jesus’ cloak. Again, this Great Entrance recalls a time when the bread and wine were kept in a separate chapel, frequently another building.
Having re-entered the altar, the priest quietly prays the ektenia of prosthesis while the deacon leads the litany. This prayer is a prayer of preparation for celebrating the Eucharist, asking God to accept the offering. In some churches, this prayer may conclude with the announcement that “Christ is in our Midst,” to which the congregation responds, “He is and always shall be!” During the time of Pascha, this is replaced with “Christ is risen!” to which the congregation responds, “Truly He is risen!” Either of these is followed by the congregation greeting those around them with the same formula. This greeting can take the form of a cheek-to-cheek kiss, a handshake or a simple bow.
Then the priest cries out, “The doors! The doors! In wisdom let us attend!” This was once a signal to doorkeepers that all who weren’t admitted to Holy Communion would be sent away. The congregation follows this by saying the Nicene Creed. The Eastern Orthodox have a different lineage of translation than does the Western Christian world, so the precise wording of the creed may be slightly different than what you’re used to. Take note that near the end the Holy Spirit is declared to proceed from the Father alone, not the Father and the Son as is common in the Western Christian world. This addition by Western Christianity ultimately precipitated the Great Schism.
The Priest then says the Anaphora, which is the prayer of mystery of the Eucharist, calling upon the Holy Spirit to descend upon the gifts and turn them into the body and blood of Christ. The recollection of the last supper is taken from the Gospel of Mark, which is unusual in Western Christianity. This series of prayers is lengthy. Some of them are said quietly by the priest, punctuated with proclamations. The belief in the real presence of Christ, foreign to most Protestants, goes all the way back to the mass of St. James the Lesser, Apostle of Christ, whose prayer before communion includes the words, “I believe also that this is truly Thine own pure Body, and that this is truly Thine own precious Blood.” This prayer is still used today.
A deacon will come out from the altar to lead the congregation in the litany in preparation for the Lord’s Prayer. During this litany, the priest will be praying quietly that those present be worthy to partake of the Eucharist, ending with, “. . . and Vouchsafe, oh Lord that with boldness and without condemnation we may dare to call upon thee, the heavenly God, as father and say:” At this point, the Congregation responds with the Lord’s Prayer, which may be done in multiple languages.
After the Lord’s Prayer, the priest concludes the Eucharistic prayer while the choir leads the congregation in the Eucharistic hymn. The priest and deacons then prepare the Eucharist for distribution by cutting the bread and mixing it with the wine in the chalice. The Orthodox use leavened bread made of flour, water and salt, unlike the Western Christian tradition, which uses unleavened bread in the form of the Passover feast. The Orthodox believe that Christ provided the leaven for Passover, and that the feast of the unleavened bread has been replaced. The bread is shaved in thin cuts, and with each cut the deacon says a quick, quiet, prayer of remembrance for someone identified by the person who made the bread. This can be a long list. As this takes place, the congregation recites the beautiful prayer before communion.
Once the communion is prepared, the priest(s) and arch-deacons begin the distribution. If there are any recently baptized, they come forth first to receive communion, followed normally by the children and the choir. Because the body and blood are mixed, communion is distributed from a small spoon. Acolytes hold a cloth under the chin of the communicant to prevent anything from falling to the ground. When communing someone, the minister will say, “The servant of God [name] partakes of the precious and all-holy body and blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, unto remission of sins and unto life everlasting.” You may see small children and even babies being communed, for the Orthodox believe that baptism makes one a full member of the church, able to partake of all the mysteries. If you aren’t a baptized Orthodox, it’s best to just remain in your place during communion, standing reverently.
After receiving, the communicant may take some antidoron, which is parts of the bread that was blessed but not consecrated, to eat back in their place. They may also distribute this to other members who didn’t receive communion as a sign of fellowship. This bread isn’t consecrated as part of the Eucharist, so anyone can partake.
Once everyone has received communion and the priest has returned to the altar, a deacon will lead a short litany while the priest makes a brief prayer of thanksgiving. After this the priest says a prayer for the church and the congregation. In this prayer the Church is meant to include all Orthodox churches.
Then the prayers of dismissal are said. The priest leaves the altar and prays before the icons of Christ and Mary the Theotokos in turn, then blesses the congregation.
Normally there’s a brief pause here for announcements. Unlike western churches there’s no general dismissal. After the announcements, the priest will stand before the congregation and the people will come forward to be dismissed individually. He will usually have a small cross, and it’s customary to venerate the cross with a kiss. If this is uncomfortable for you, you may simply touch the cross and bow. The priest may greet you, and if he doesn’t know you, may inquire more about you. Orthodox priests take their charge as shepherds very seriously and want to know who’s in their church. A bowl with the antidoron will be available to grab some as you depart.
Advice from one of the saints is that if you encounter a priest and an angel on the path, kiss the hand of the priest first, because his hands have touched the body and blood of our Savior. For this reason, you'll see Orthodox kiss the hand of a priest in greeting.
But wait! The service isn’t over yet! The celebration of the divine liturgy was the community participating in the liturgy, but now the community participates with each other. Coffee and food are normally available in the parish hall for all to partake. Part of the Orthodox preparation for communion is to fast since the night before, so people are famished. If you’re new, or a visitor, a deacon or priest may seek you out during the fellowship and ask more about you and answer any questions you may have. Please don’t leave right after the dismissal, come be a part of the community.
Unlike Western churches the whole community gathers to participate in the divine liturgy. Canon law states that a priest may only conduct a divine liturgy once a day, and an altar may only host a divine liturgy once a day. There are no multiple services. The whole community comes together as one.
