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Greek Orthodox Catechism
Constantine Callinicos, London, 1926
Part III. Ceremonial, 44. The Divine Liturgy
Why do you characterise the Divine Liturgy as the crowning Service of all the Christian Services?
Because on that Service are dependent all the other Services and from that they draw their central sanctification. That Service, alone of all the others, was directly celebrated by our High Priest and Saviour at the Last Supper. That Service joins us, by the communion of the Body and Blood, to the Source of all the graces. That Service perpetuates in a bloodless way the one and only Sacrifice of Golgotha, that has put an end to all the sacrifices of beasts, by which humanity sought in vain to propitiate the divine wrath. That Service, when performed by man, constitutes his most noble, pregnant and edifying work; hence its name Liturgy, which means: the work par excellence. For, if the worship of God is the highest occupation of the soul, the Divine Liturgy is the flower and crown of this occupation.
Is the Divine Liturgy always celebrated in the same manner?
The acts of worship, found in the Divine Liturgy and forming its framework, are nearly always alike. But the length of the prayers and their phraseology differ according to traditional Services. For there exist in our Church, dating back to the most ancient times, four liturgical Services:—(1) The liturgical Service of the Apostle James, the oldest and longest of all the liturgical Services, which is celebrated most rarely, and perhaps only in Jerusalem; (2) that of St. Basil, shorter than the first, and celebrated ten times a year throughout the Orthodox world, especially on the Sundays during Lent; (3) that of St. John Chrysostom, shorter than that of St. Basil, the most usual of all the liturgical Services; and (4) that of the Presanctified, celebrated on the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent, the shortest of all, of which the Eucharistic elements have been consecrated on the Sunday before.
Examined according to its most usual and permanent form, of how many parts does the Divine Liturgy consist?
Of three parts:—(1) The Credence; (2) the Liturgy of the Catechumens; and (3) the Liturgy of the Faithful. The Credence is the preparatory part to the whole. Its aim is to make ready the Eucharistic elements or “Holy Gifts” on the side-table, which, from the act of ritual performed on it, received the name of “Prothesis.” The Liturgy of the Catechumens is that part of the Divine Liturgy, at which the Sacrament of Communion has not yet taken place; but by Psalms, passages from the Bible, sermons and hymns the congregation prepares itself spiritually for initiation into the sacramental act. Its name is explained by the fact that, during its performance, the Catechumens are allowed to stay, and, at the end, hear prayers specially offered for them. The Liturgy of the Faithful is the sacramental part of the whole Service, the act of initiation, the penetrating, so to speak, into the innermost shrine, and not the entrance to the narthex only, or to the nave of the Church; for which reason Catechumens and unbaptised persons are excluded from this part of the ceremony, only the faithful being present, in order to participate in the Lord’s Supper. A general characteristic of the Divine Liturgy is, then, that it rises by steps from the lowest to the highest.