Eastern Orthodox Worship - Structure of Orthodox Worship Services

Structure of Orthodox Worship Services

Orthodox worship services may vary due to the what the service may be commemorating. The services are always sung or chanted and never said, with the exception of occasional sermons. Services involve chanted or sung prayerful dialogue between the priest and the congregants. The orthodox church uses different holy languages during services. Russian, Old Slavonic, Romanian, Greek, Arabic, Serbian, and Georgian can be heard in many prayers and litanies even if services are mostly in English. The services begin and end with the sign of the cross. The most common service is the Divine Liturgy which takes place during Sunday mornings. The Divine Liturgy is the Orthodox Christian sabbath service and centers around the consecration and transubstantiation of the Eucharist. Orthodox Christians use many series of long litany praying for the intercession and peace. Worship invokes all of the seven senses; its main purpose is to bring the worshipers closer to heaven with an experience of heaven on earth through the services. During vespers and matins services, many different series of psalms and other prayers are sung in a fast, movable way while other prayers are sung in the background evoking the urge to worship. The service structures are as follow: Rite of Entrance, Rite of Proclamation, and the prescribed Liturgy. Usually there are several litany: the litany of the catachumens, litany of the faithful, litany of Supplication, Litany of the Departed, and the Great Litany. There are also special hymns that reflect on the service such as the Hymn of the Theotokos or Mother of God Mary.