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{{liturgy}}
The '''Divine Liturgy''' is the primary worship service of the [[Orthodox Church|Church]]. The most commonly celebrated forms of the Divine Liturgy are the [[Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom]], the [[Liturgy of St. Basil]], and the [[Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts]], but there are other extant liturgies, such as the [[Liturgy of St. James]], the [[Liturgy of St. Mark]], the [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]], and the [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]]. The Divine Liturgy is a [[eucharist]]ic service. It contains two parts: the ''Liturgy of the [[Catechumen]]s'', sometimes called the ''Liturgy of the Word'', at which the [[Holy Scriptures|Scriptures]] are proclaimed and expounded; and the ''Liturgy of the Faithful'', sometimes called the ''Liturgy of the [[Eucharist]]'', in which the gifts of bread and wine are offered and consecrated; the faithful then partake of them in the [[Sacrament]] of [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]]. The Church teaches that the gifts truly become the body and blood of [[Jesus Christ]], but it has never dogmatized a particular formula for describing this transformation. The ''Prothesis'' (or ''[[Proskomedia]]''), the service of preparing the holy gifts, can be considered a third part which precedes the Liturgy proper.
== Preparation ==
=== Rites of Proclamation ===
The proclamation of [[Scripture]] is announced with the [[prokeimenon]], a [[Psalter|psalm]] or canticle refrain sung in responsorial fashion. Then, a [[reader]] proclaims the apostolic reading from an [[epistle]] or from the [[Acts of the Apostles]]. This reading is usually chanted, but a spoken reading may be allowed out of economy for local situations. (In some traditions, the reader starts the chant in a very low voice, and steps up to end of the reading with a high voice. This is a reminder of how the Early Church rose up from the [[catacombs]].)
A triple [[alleluia]] is sung, also with verses as at the prokeimenon. This alleluia announces the Gospel reading. Following the alleluia, there is a short exchange between the priest and the people, after which he or a deacon [[chant|chants]] the Gospel.
The service continues with the [[Litany of Fervent Supplication]], which is marked by an insistent triple repetition of "Lord, have mercy." On certain days this litany is followed by the [[Litany for the Departed]].
The ''Liturgy of the Catechumens'' is concluded by a litany praying for the continued growth of the catechumens in faith, leading up to the day of their baptism. "Catechumens Depart" or similar as said by deacon or priest symbolizes the end of Liturgy of the Catechumens and the beginning of the Liturgy of the Faithful. Most churches in this tradition will expect catechumens to leave as they are not baptized yet and should not witness Holy Communion. Though many churches do not have catechumens in attendance, this litany remains in the liturgy and serves as a constant reminder of the [[Great Commission]], the foundation of the Church as [[mission]] to the world.
== Liturgy of the Faithful==
Then, the Church professes its common faith by reciting the [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed|Creed]]. The liturgical name for this creed is the ''Symbol of Faith'', indicating its importance to early Christians in determining the Orthodoxy of persons claiming to be of the Church.
=== The Eucharistic Prayer Anaphora ===
Following the Creed, the priest begins the ''[[anaphora]]'', the great eucharistic prayer over the gifts, so called because of the initial phrase: "Let us lift up our hearts." The two principal anaphoras in use in the Orthodox Church are those of St. [[John Chrysostom]] and St. [[Basil the Great]].
After a [[dismissal]] common to the services of the Church, the faithful come forward to venerate the [[Blessing cross|cross]] and leave the church. Renewed by the eucharistic meal, they are sent forth as witnesses to Christ in the world.
== Forms of the Divine Liturgy ==
The most commonly celebrated forms of the Divine Liturgy are the [[Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom]], and the slightly older [[Liturgy of St. Basil]]. The former is celebrated on most Sundays and Feast Days, throughout the year, whereas the latter is celebrated in on the six Sundays of Lent (unless the [[Annunciation]] should fall on one of them), and in [[Holy Week]], on Holy Thursday and Great and Holy Saturday, in total, ten times throughout the year. Most of the differences between the two liturgies are in the prayers said by the Priest behind the iconostasis, which were historically inaudible to the congregation, but increasingly in some parishes are heard. A third liturgy, the [[Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts]], is celebrated on weekdays in Lent, when the celebration of the Divine Liturgy is forbidden, due to its festal nature. The Presanctified Liturgy, documented by [[Gregory the Dialogist]], and historically attributed to him, but according to recent scholarship, very possibly having originated with the [[Oriental Orthodox]] patriarch [[Severus of Antioch]], is celebrated in the early evening, and features the reception of the reserved sacrament, consecrated at the previous Divine Liturgy.
There exist Less commonly celebrated liturgies such as the ancient [[Liturgy of St. James]] and the [[Liturgy of St. Mark]]. The Divine Liturgies of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom are said to derive from the former, which was the ancient Rite of Jerusalem, the see of St. [[James the Just]], with influence from the ancient [[Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles]] historically used in Antioch, whereas the latter is the ancient rite of Alexandria, the See of the [[Apostle Mark]]. The former is increasingly widely celebrated on October 23rd, the Feast of St. James (and also remains the basis for the liturgy of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], while the latter has in recent years been celebrated in some seminaries on the Feast of St. Mark; a variant of it named for [[Cyril of Alexandria]] is occasionally used, mainly in Lent, in the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]]. Recently, Metropolitan [[Seraphim (Mentzelopoulos) of Piraeus]] celebrated the Divine Liturgy according to a reconstruction based upon the [[Euchologion of Serapion of Thmuis]], an Alexandrian Rite liturgy similar to that of St. Mark; this may have been the first celebration of that ancient Orthodox liturgy in more than one thousand years.
In the Antiochian [[Western Rite]] Vicarate, two liturgies are used, the [[Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great]], derived from the [[Roman Catholic]] Tridentine Mass, and the [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]], based on high church Anglican liturgics; in both cases, the liturgies have been corrected to reflect Orthodox theology. The Western Rite parishes in [[ROCOR]] primarily celebrate the [[Sarum Rite]], the ancient use of the Cathedral of Salisbury prior to the Great Schism.
==See also==
* [[Typika]]
* [[Sacraments]]
* [[Blood in the Bible]]
* [[Eucharist]]
*[http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/taft_evolution.html The Evolution of the Byzantine ''Divine Liturgy''] Robert Taft S. J.
*[http://www.archive.org/details/liturgiesofsmark00nealuoft The Liturgies of S. Mark, S. James, S. Clement, S. Chrysostom, and the Church of Malabar; translated, with introduction and appendices]. Rev. John Mason Neale. London: T. Hayes, 1859.
* [http://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/download/Number/1617/filename/Study-Liturgicon-Chrysostom.pdf Byzantine Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom] (Ruthenian Recension - with footnotes & Scriptural references)
* [http://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/download/Number/1618/filename/Study-Liturgicon-Basil.pdf Byzantine Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great] (Ruthenian Recension - with footnotes & Scriptural references)
{{Orthodoxchristianity/wide}}
[[el:Θεία Λειτουργία]]
[[fr:Divine Liturgie]]
[[it:Divina Liturgia]]
[[ro:Sfânta Liturghie]]
