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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE | Up
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Roman Catholic |
Most Christian bodies would follow a form of worship which
to, or a variation of the liturgy or rites used by one of
groups:
Eastern Orthodox
Roman Catholic
Anglican
Lutheran
Presbyterian and Reformed
Free Church
Where no specific description of
is very similar
the following
liturgy is given, reference is made to
texts where the liturgical forms of a particular group may be found.
Eastern Orthodox
The Eastern Orthodox faith tradition has three main worship services:
Divine Liturgy, Great Vespers, and Matins.
THE DIVINE LITURGY.— The Divine Liturgy is the term used to
express the Eucharistic celebration in the Orthodox churches. The Divine
Liturgy is celebrated on Sundays and all major feast days. Variations in the
Divine Liturgy may occur in different national groups. The Eastern
Orthodox Divine Liturgy utilizes both leavened bread and wine for its
Eucharistic rite, There are twelve major feasts during the year, in addition to
Easter. Easter is known as Pascha (Greek for Passover). The Divine Liturgy
has three main parts:
The Preparation (Proskomedia)—This part of the service is per-
formed by the priest alone prior to the actual beginning of the Liturgy.
The Liturgy of the Catechumens—This part includes the Great
Litany, antiphons, the little entrance, scripture readings and the sermon.
Liturgy of the Faithful—This part includes the great entrance, the
creed, the offertory, the thanksgiving, the consecration, the intercession, and
communion.
GREAT VESPERS.—This service takes place on Saturday evenings and
all other evenings when the Divine Liturgy is to be performed the following
day. It is primarily a preparatory service in that it prepares the faithful for
the Divine Liturgy the next day. The service of Vespers normally lasts 30
minutes.
MATINS.—This is also a preparatory service performed either in
conjunction with Vespers (then called a vigil service) or performed separately
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