03/04/2013
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
By
His
Eminence
Metropolitan
Panteleimon of Antinoes
The Liturgy of the
Presanctified Gifts, informally the Presanctified Liturgy, is a liturgical
service for the distribution of the Holy Gifts on the weekdays of Great Lent.
Communion during Great Lent: Because Great Lent is a
season of repentance, fasting, and intensified prayer, the Orthodox Church
regards more frequent reception of communion as especially desirable at that
time. However, the Divine Liturgy has a festal character not in keeping with
the season. Thus, the Presanctified Liturgy is celebrated instead; the Divine
Liturgy is only performed on Saturdays and Sundays. Although it is possible to
celebrate this service on any weekday of Great Lent, the service is prescribed
to be celebrated only on Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent, Thursday of the fifth
week of Lent (when the Great Canon of St. Andrew is read), and Monday to
Wednesday of Holy Week. Common parish practice is to celebrate it on as many as
possible of these days.
During Lent, many
Orthodox faithful fast sometimes from midnight and sometimes the entire
workday, not eating anything after the morning meal until they break the fast
with Holy Communion at this evening service. They have this anticipation to
help them with this somewhat difficult ascetic discipline.
Presanctified Liturgy: The service consists of Daily Vespers
combined with additional prayers and communion. The communion bread has already
been consecrated and intincted with the precious Blood and reserved at the
previous Sunday's Divine Liturgy. Unconsecrated wine is placed in the chalice.
Local practice also varies as to whether or not this wine must be thought of as
the Blood of Christ. The only practical effect of this variety is that the
celebrant who must consume all the undistributed communion at the end of the
service might or might not partake of the chalice when he communes himself.
The service is preceded
by the reading of the Typical Psalms, and the Divine Liturgy's opening
blessing, Blessed is the Kingdom... is used at the start of the part of the
service that resembles daily vespers. Psalm 103, Bless the Lord, O my soul is
read. The Great Litany is then intoned and then Psalms 119–133 are read. Then
the choir sings Lord, I have cried unto Thee with stichera. The priest makes an
entrance with the censer. If the occasion is a feast, the entrance is with the
Gospel Book and there is then an epistle and gospel reading for the feast day.
The choir sings O
Gladsome Light, and the first reading, from Genesis (or Exodus), is read with a
prokeimenon. Then the priest intones Wisdom, let us attend. The Light of Christ
enlightened all men, and those praying prostrate themselves. The second
reading, from Proverbs (or Job) is read.
In the second part of
the service, the choir chants Let my prayer be directed as incense before Thee,
after which the prayer of St. Ephraim is read. After a litany the choir sings
Now the powers of Heaven with us invisibly do worship, and the presanctified
Gifts are brought into the holy altar in a procession resembling the Great
Entrance at a Divine Liturgy but in silence. There is no anaphora because the
gifts are pre-consecrated.
The prayer of St.
Ephraim the Syrian is repeated, and the Litany of Petition is proclaimed. The
choir sings the Lord's Prayer, after which the priest intones: The
Presanctified Holy Things are for the holy. The Holy Sacraments are brought out
through the Royal Doors, and the faithful receive Holy Communion. After the
Litany of Thanksgiving and the prayer before the Ambo ("Every good and
perfect gift is from above..."), the believers venerate the Holy Cross.
Second Sunday οf Lent St. Gregory Palamas
By
His
Eminence
Metropolitan
Panteleimon of Antinoes
On the second Sunday of Lent our Church
commemorates St. Gregory
Palamas, who played a leading role
in the triumph of Orthodoxy at a very difficult time in
its history.
St. Gregory was
born in the Emperor's palace in Constantinople.
He grew up there and was educated as a prince. Although the Emperor showered
favours on him and established him in a
high position, St. Gregory's heart leaned towards Christ. For this reason he
left the palace at an early age and went to Mount Athos
to become a monk.
His stay on Mount Athos
enabled him to go deeply into the writings of the Fathers and to experience the
fruits of the Prayer of the Heart.
The “Prayer of the Heart” or the “Jesus Prayer” is
that of the Publican, "Lord Jesus Christ Son of God, have mercy on
me a sinner", is a prayer that is repeated constantly and which has as its
aim the cleansing of the heart of all thoughts and desires, so that he who
prays, may with the Grace of God, experience the Divine Light.
The Divine Light is uncreated and is revealed only
after great and intense spiritual struggle, which the monk undertakes under
obedience to his Abbot or Spiritual Father. It is the same light that the three
Apostles, namely Peter, James and John, saw on Mount
Tabor, when our Lord was
Transfigured before them. His face becoming as radiant as the sun and His
clothes as white as snow. The vision of Divine Light may be vouchsafed to any
Orthodox Christian who sincerely strives to clean his heart, soul and body, of
all unclean thoughts and desires, thus becoming a true temple of the Holy
Trinity. Our Lord promised that He would come down and make His abode in
the heart of any man who loves Him and keeps His commandments.
To the 2nd Salutations to the Theotokos
By
His Eminence
Metropolitan Panteleimon of Antinoes
The
incarnation of “Christ’s presence”
was for man’s history the miracle of all miracles, the greatest of all
miracles. Man because of his fall day by day was alienated from his God and
Creator. AS time was passing, he was going down to the path of catastrophe. The
heart of the fallen man was infected and his will was crushed.
From
the ruins of man’s moral and spiritual condition, the joyful sound of the angelic
hymns was heard, glorifying “the presence
of Christ’s incarnation”. The Word
and Son of God is incarnated and becomes perfect man. God descends from heaven
to raise man to heaven. The Son of God takes up all the human nature in order
to make man a god. God the Word, who created man in the “image and likeness” of God, vests Himself with that which He
Himself had created. The Son of God humbles Himself in order to correct the
pride of His creation.
This
incarnation of “Christ’s presence”
was the saving solution which God provided to save man. Man by his own was
unable to be saved and to restore his relationship with God. All men were
guilty of sin. No one was just, so that he might offer the unique Sacrifice
which was required “for the world’s life
and salvation”.
01/04/2013
Program of Holy Services April 2013 - May 2013
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of New Zealand
Holy Church
of the Dormition of Virgin Mary, Christchurch
Program of Holy Services April 2013
3 Wednesday
9th Hour, vespers and
Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
8:30 – 11:30 am
5 Friday 2nd Salutation to Theotokos 6:00 pm
7 Sunday It will not work the church
12 Friday 3th Salutation to Theotokos 6:00 pm
14 Sunday 4th
Sunday of Lend. St. John Climacus Matins,
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 9:00 –
11:30 a.m.
17 Wednesday Small Compline and the Great Canon of
Saint Andreou of Creta.
5:00 – 7:00 pm
19 Friday The
Akathist Hymn. 5:30 – 7:00 pm
21 Sunday 5th
Sunday of lend. St. Mary of Egypt.
Matins, Divine Liturgy of St.
Basil 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.
24 Wednesday 9th
Hour, vespers and Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
8:30 – 11:30 am
27 Saturday Lazarus
Saturday. Matins, Divine Liturgy 9:00 –
11:30 a.m.
Great Vespers 5:00-5:45 pm
28 Sunday Palm
Sunday: Triumphant entry into Jerusalem
(Fish permitted )
Matins, Divine Liturgy 9:00
– 11:45 a.m.
Divine Service of the Bridegroom (Nymfios). 6:00 – 7:30 pm
29 Monday Great
and Holy Monday. Divine Liturgy of the
Presanctified
9:00 – 11:00 am
Great Compline 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Divine Service of the Bridegroom (Nymfios)
6:00 – 7:30 pm
30 Tuesday Great and Holy Tuesday . The 10 Virgins .
Divine Liturgy of the
Presanctified Gifts 9:00 – 11:00 am
Great Compline 5:00 – 6:00 pm
Divine Service of the Bridegroom (Nymfios)
and Hymn of Cassiane 6:00 – 7:30 pm.
Program of Holy Services May 2013
1 Wednesday Great
and Holy Wednesday.
Divine Liturgy of the
Presanctified Gifts 9:00 – 11:00 am
The Sacrament of the Holy Unction 5:00 – 7:00 pm
2 Thursday Great and Holy Thursday. The Mystical Supper
& the Passion of the Lord
Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 9:00 – 11:45 a.m.
Divine Service of Nymfios , Our Lord’s Passion & the 12
gospel readings
6:30 – 9:00 pm
3 Friday Holy & Great Friday Unnailing &
Burial of our Lord
Royal hours, Vespers,
Apokathelosis 8:30 –11:00 am
Lamentation and Holy Ceremony of the Burial of Christ. 7:00 – 9:30 pm.
4 Saturday Great
and Holy Saturday. Divine Liturgy of St. Basil 7:00 – 8:30 am
Matins, Divine Liturgy of Our Lord’s Resurrection 23:00 pm
– 1:45 am
5 Sunday Great and Holy Pascha.
Service of Love 11:00am
– 12:30 pm
6 Monday Renewal Monday. George the Great Martyr
& Triumphant
Matins, Divine Liturgy 9:00
– 11:45 a.m.
7 Tuesday Renewal Tuesday Matins, Divine Liturgy 9:00 –
11:45 a.m.
Father Amphilochios, along with the president and the
Community Council wishes you a Holy and Blessed Easter.
Christ is Risen!
Truly Risen!!!
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