Characteristics of Orthodox Worship

Orthodox Worship Services quote Holy Scripture

As stated on the first page in this section, the principle public Orthodox worship service, the Divine Liturgy, is completely drawn from Scripture.

The book The Bible In The Liturgy by Bishop Demetri (Matta) Khoury provides “Bible References” for each line of Divine Liturgy.

Orthodox Worship Services follow Scriptural forms of worship

Orthodox worship not only uses the words of Scripture but also continues the forms and patterns described in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. It, in fact, evolved organically from Synagogue and Temple practices.

Not only is Orthodox worship the continuation of these ancient, divinely-established worship norms but it has remained constant and consistent since the Apostolic era of the early Christian Church.

Orthodox Worship is “Liturgical”

Strictly speaking, any religious service becomes “liturgical” once it takes on an established pattern or order. Orthodox worship services follow an established, traditional, order.

The Old Testament worship of the Hebrew people is very clearly liturgical. Moreover, the pattern and order of worship was given by God to Moses. One of the first five books of the Bible, Leviticus, dedicated to “liturgical” matters.

About the term “Liturgy”

The word “liturgy” comes from the Geek λει-τουργ-ία (lee-tourg-éa, in antiquity: λητ-ουργία) which derives from λαός (la-ós, people) and ἔργον (ér-gon, work).

In ancient Greece, λειτουργία meant public service, work, or function. It also described any public (pagan) religious service as well the service or ministry of priests.

In modern usage, “liturgy” means the rituals – the customary format of hymns and actions – for the conduct of worship services. The word “liturgical” describes those things that pertain to religious ceremonies.

The Orthodox faithful do not sit as spectators in an audience during worship services, but are invited to stand and be active participants.

Orthodox Worship is “Traditional”

The Orthodox Christian faith is absolutely traditional in its entirety. We exclusively hold to “that which Christ taught, the Apostles preached, and the Orthodox Church has faithfully maintained throughout twenty centuries without change.”

The Greek word for “tradition” is παράδοσις (parádosis)which means handing down, handing over, bequeathing, transmiting, and transferring. It is specifically used to indicate transmission of teaching, doctrines, etc.

Etymologically παράδοσις is the noun form of the verb παραδίδωμι (paradidōmi” which means “to give over” or “hand over”. The preposition παρά (para) means “beside” or “alongside” and the verb δίδωμι (didōmi) means “to give”.

The Latin word for tradition – indeed from which our English word derives – is tradítio which means delivering or handing over. It is specifically used to indicate the delivery of opinions, doctrines, practices, and customs from one generation to the next.

Etymologically tradítio is the noun form of the verb tradere which means to hand over or deliver. The preposition trans means “across” or “over” and the verb dare means “to give”.

Orthodox worship services are consistent with both Jewish and early Christian practices. They are celebrated today as they have been handed down to us and as we have received them, and thus they are said to be traditional.

The shape and form, as well as the intent and purpose, of our worship services remain fixed and consistent. This does not imply that nothing new might be included, but this done so always in keeping with these norms.

Orthodox Worship follows a “Sequence”

Orthodox worship services are not “free-form,” “made-up,” nor chosen (much less dictated or composed!) by a “liturgical committee.”

Each “service” has a “fixed framework” (unchanging parts) into which “movable elements” are inserted. These latter reflect the ever-changing seasons and feasts of the Church “liturgical year.”

The technical term for a “service” in Greek is ἀκολουθία (akolouthía) which means something that is followed in an orderly sequence with rhythm, consistency, and coherence. In Church Slavonic the term is послѣдованїе (posledovánie) which likewise means something that is followed.

Orthodox Worship has both “Consistency and Variability”

The elements of the services are consistent throughout time and place. They remain the same throughout history and the are the same throughout the worldwide Orthodox Church. Basically, they consist of a “fixed framework” (unchanging parts) into which “movable propers” are inserted according to the liturgical season, and the calendar date.

The order in which these elements occur within the services may differ somewhat depending on the geographic locale and the type of church or monastery.

Although “things are the same” whether in a small village church or a large city cathedral, they may obviously differ in scope and complexity.

Likewise “things are the same” in whatever language the services are celebrated, yet they will differ in the musical style.

Orthodox Worship has “Rubrics” – the Typikón

The daily order of services is set forth in the Typikón, or Rubrics, established by long tradition in various regions for specific types of churches. A “rubric” is simply a set of instructions that provide a rule, or norm, for the conduct of a liturgical service.

Service books used by the Priest and the Reader typically contain rubrics which prescribe what is to be done and the text which is to be read or chanted.

Customarily the text of a service is printed in black,and the rubrics are printed in a different style or color – often in red italics – for emphasis. In fact, the word “rubric” derives from the Latin rubrica, meaning “red ochre” or “red chalk,” which was commonly used in medieval manuscripts.

There are significant distinctions among various the Typiká (i.e., Typikóns) used for the conduct of divine services in cathedrals, parishes, and monasteries. These differences do not change the elements of the services, but describe how these are carried out in different settings. more....

Orthodox Worship and “Language”

For many centuries worship services have been celebrated in prescribed, sacred, liturgical languages. The most well-known in the Orthodox Church are Greek and Slavonic. Other churches have used Latin, Syriac, Amharic, etc.

These are ancient languages that are often not well understood by the faithful. Liturgical Greek can be compared to contemporary Greek, Slavonic to Russian, Latin to modern Italian.

The languages spoken in the era of the Protestant Reformation effectively established liturgical languages for certain European church traditions. These include Elizabethan (or King James) English and Lutheran German.

The ancient tradition of the Orthodox Church has always been to translate the Scriptures and the Divine Services into the “vernacular” – the language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.

Thus the language used in the services celebrated in churches and parishes of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is generally English. Spanish and Alaskan native languages are also used in OCA parishes located in Mexico and in Alaska.

The English used in the OCA parishes might be either in the traditional “thee/thou” or the colloquial “you/your” form.

Nevertheless the fundamental fact is that the form and the text of the services have always been, are today, and will always remain fundamentally the same.