Usual Beginning
The usual beginning is the series of prayers with which most Divine Services begin in the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite. Normal form The usual beginning starts with a blessing by the priest, which is usually: *Blessed is our God, always now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. However, if there is no priest, the reader says: *Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us. Then, the reader continues: *Amen. lory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee!ref name="[]" group=note>The portion in brackets is sometimes omitted. *[O Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, Treasury of good things, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every sin, and save our souls, O Good One!] *The Trisagion: Holy God, holy Mighty, holy Immortal, have mercy on us ''(three times, everyone making a bow at the waist each time)''. *Glory t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Daily Office
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of Fixed prayer times#Christianity, fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, canonical hours are also called ''offices'', since they refer to the official set of prayers of the Church, which is known variously as the ("divine service" or "divine duty"), and the ("work of God"). The current official version of the hours in the Roman Rite is called the Liturgy of the Hours ( la, liturgia horarum) in North America or divine office in Ireland and Britain. In Lutheranism and Anglicanism, they are often known as the daily office or divine office, to distinguish them from the other "offices" of the Church (e.g. the administration of the sacraments). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite, Byzantine Catholic Churches, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pharisee And The Publican
The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican (or the ''Pharisee and the Tax Collector'') is a parable of Jesus that appears in the Gospel of Luke. In Luke 18:9–14, a self-righteous Pharisee, obsessed by his own virtue, is contrasted with a tax collector who humbly asks God for mercy. This parable primarily shows Jesus teaching that justification can be given by the mercy of God irrespective of the receiver's prior life and that conversely self-righteousness can prohibit being justified. Further coming as it does in a section of teaching on prayer it demonstrates the need to pray humbly. It immediately follows the Parable of the Unjust Judge, which is also about prayer. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the ''Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee'' commemorates the parable and begins the three-week pre-Lenten Season. Narrative To some who trusted in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went to the temple to pray ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Troparion
A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The wider meaning of troparion The word probably derived from a diminutive of the Greek ('something repeated', 'manner', 'fashion'), since the earliest function of the troparion was a refrain during the recitation of the cantica (biblical odes) and the psalms, as such the term was used as a synonym of . The early meaning of ''troparion'' was related to the monastic hymn book '' Tropologion'' or Troparologion. Hence its forms were manifold, they could be simple stanzas like apolytikia, theotokia, but also more elaborated homiletic poems like ''stichera'' composed in psalmodic hexameters (probably from ''stichos'', “verse”), or in a more complex meter like the odes composed in cycles called canon. Since these Tropologia in their earliest ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ascension Of Jesus
The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the New Testament narrative, the Ascension occurred on the fortieth day counting from the resurrection. In the Christian tradition, reflected in the major Christian creeds and confessional statements, God exalted Jesus after his death, raising him from the dead and taking him to Heaven, where Jesus took his seat at the right hand of God. In Christian art, the ascending Jesus is often shown blessing an earthly group below him, signifying the entire Church. The Feast of the Ascension is celebrated on the 40th day of Easter, always a Thursday; some Orthodox traditions have a different calendar up to a month later than in the Western tradition, and while the Anglican Communion continues to observe the feast, many Protestant churches have aban ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Great Feast
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha (Easter), is the greatest of all holy days and as such it is called the "feast of feasts". Immediately below it in importance, there is a group of Twelve Great Feasts (Greek: Δωδεκάορτον). Together with Pascha, these are the most significant dates on the Orthodox liturgical calendar. Eight of the great feasts are in honor of Jesus Christ, while the other four are dedicated to the Virgin Mary — the Theotokos. The Twelve Great Feasts are as follows (note that the liturgical year begins with the month of September): #The Nativity of the Theotokos, #The Exaltation of the Cross, #The Presentation of the Theotokos, #The Nativity of Christ (Christmas), #The Baptism of Christ ( Theophany, also called Epiphany), #The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Candlemas), #The Annunciation, #The Entry into Jerusalem (Flowery/Willow/Palm Sunday), the Sunday before Easter #The Ascension of Chr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thomas Sunday
The Second Sunday of Easter is the day that occurs seven days after the Christian celebration of Easter. Those churches which give special significance to this day recognize it by various names. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, this day is generally known as Divine Mercy Sunday. Across Western Christianity more broadly, this day is also known as the Octave Day of Easter, White Sunday ( la, Dominica in albis), Quasimodo (or Quasimodogeniti) Sunday, Bright Sunday, and Low Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, this day is known as Antipascha, New Sunday (or Renewal Sunday), and Thomas Sunday. Biblical account The Second Sunday of Easter is the eighth day after Easter using the mode of inclusive counting, according to which Easter itself is the first day of the eight. Christian traditions which commemorate this day recall the Biblical account recorded to have happened on the same eighth day after the original Resurrection. It is because of this Scriptural episode that this day ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pentecost
Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ while they were in Jerusalem celebrating the Feast of Weeks, as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1–31). In Western Christianity, Pentecost is celebrated on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. In the United Kingdom, traditionally the next day, Whit Monday, was (until 1970) also a public holiday. (Since 1971, by statute, the last Monday in May has been a Bank Holiday). The Monday after Pentecost is a legal holiday in many European countries. In Eastern Christianity, Pentecost can also refer to the entire fifty days of Easter through Pentecost inclusive; hence the book containing the liturgical texts is called the "'' Pentecostarion''". Since its date depends on the date of Easter, Pen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Proper (liturgy)
The proper (Latin: ''proprium'') is a part of the Christian liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the liturgical year, or of a particular saint or significant event. The term is used in contrast to the '' ordinary'', which is that part of the liturgy that is reasonably constant, or at least selected without regard to date, or to the '' common'', which contains those parts of the liturgy that are common to an entire category of saints, such as apostles or martyrs. Propers may include hymns and prayers in the canonical hours and in the Eucharist. West The proper of the mass, strictly speaking, consists of the Introit, Gradual, Alleluia or Tract, Sequence, Offertory, and Communion - in other words, all the variable portions of a mass which are spoken or sung by the choir or the people. These are sometimes called the "minor propers" to distinguish them from the collect, secret, postcommunion, and readings - in other words, all the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel Pepys, Volume 2'') as well as the single word "Easter" in books printed i157515841586 also called Pascha (Aramaic, Greek, Latin) or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary . It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus Christ, preceded by Lent (or Great Lent), a 40-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. Easter-observing Christians commonly refer to the week before Easter as Holy Week, which in Western Christianity begins on Palm Sunday (marking the entrance of Jesus in Jerusalem), includes Spy Wednesday (on whic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bright Week
Bright Week, Pascha Week or Renewal Week ( el, Διακαινήσιμος Ἑβδομάς) is the name used by the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite Catholic Churches for the period of seven days beginning on Easter and continuing up to (but not including) the following Sunday, which is known as Thomas Sunday. The entire week following Easter is to be set aside by Orthodox Christians for the celebration of the Resurrection. According to the 66th canon of the Council in Trullo: "from the holy day of the Resurrection of Christ our God until New Sunday (i.e. Thomas Sunday) for a whole week the faithful in the holy churches should continually be repeating psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, rejoicing and celebrating Christ, and attending to the reading of the Divine Scriptures and delighting in the Holy Mysteries. For in this way shall we be exalted with Christ; raised up together with Him. For this reason on the aforesaid days that by no means there be any horse races or any ot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Daily Office
In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of Fixed prayer times#Christianity, fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, canonical hours are also called ''offices'', since they refer to the official set of prayers of the Church, which is known variously as the ("divine service" or "divine duty"), and the ("work of God"). The current official version of the hours in the Roman Rite is called the Liturgy of the Hours ( la, liturgia horarum) in North America or divine office in Ireland and Britain. In Lutheranism and Anglicanism, they are often known as the daily office or divine office, to distinguish them from the other "offices" of the Church (e.g. the administration of the sacraments). In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Rite, Byzantine Catholic Churches, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Prostration
Prostration is the gesture of placing one's body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee, especially the hands, touching the ground. Major world religions employ prostration as an act of submissiveness or worship to a supreme being or other worshiped entity (i.e. God), as in the ''metanoia'' in Christian prayer used in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches and the ''sajdah'' of the Islamic prayer, '' salat''. In various cultures and traditions, prostrations are similarly used to show respect to rulers, civil authorities and social elders or superiors, as in the Chinese kowtow or Ancient Greek '' proskynesis''. The act has often traditionally been an important part of religious, civil and traditional rituals and ceremonies, and remains in use in many cultures. Traditional religious practices Many religious instituti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |