Divine Service (Eastern Orthodoxy)

Divine Service (Eastern Orthodoxy)

Divine Service is the term used in the Eastern Orthodox Church to describe the daily cycle of public services celebrated in the temple (church building).

The word may be used also of the Divine Liturgy, though its normal connotation is the Daily Office. For Orthodox Christians, the serving of God in divine worship is an obligation of every Christian. This obligation involves both private and public worship.

In Orthodox theology, the first divine service was offered by Adam and Eve together in the Garden of Eden. In Paradise, divine worship consisted of freely glorifying God, which came naturally to them as a result of their unimpeded theoria (vision of God in his Divine Energies). After the Fall of man, this theoria became clouded, and worship required effort on the part of man. Now divine service was accomplished in the form of sacrificial offerings, penance and prayer. These sacrifices were later codified in the Law of Moses. Thence forward, only specific offerings were made, by specific persons (priests), in a specific manner, and at a specific place (eventually, the Temple in Jerusalem), and specific liturgical days and feasts were instituted. In Orthodox theology, any efficacy in these Old Testament sacrifices is dependent upon the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

After the Resurrection of Jesus and Pentecost, the Early Church originally continued to participate in the rites of the Jewish Temple (Acts 2:46-47; 3:1; 5:21, etc.), in addition to their own celebrations of the Eucharist and agape feasts. But after the Second Destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD, Christians began to develop their own distinct forms of worship. They did retain, however, some elements of Old Testament worship (chanting of the Psalms, use of incense, etc.) and the setting aside of specific times of the day for worship (Psalm 119:147-148; 119:164).

These periods of prayer eventually developed into seven distinct services, held (a) during the three major periods of the day (evening, morning, and noonday) and (b) during the night watches.