Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
I say assuredly that prescribed liturgy is one of the biggest frustrations to real worship of the New Covenant. Structured liturgy, in fact, just as in the days of Isaiah, causes most people to honor God with their lips, and not their hearts. The fact that the EOC liturgy was not established until the 3rd or 4th century proves it is not "original."
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Ohio, the meaning of the liturgy is worship and the living experience of God so that to enter into union with Him through the Eucharist (Holy Communion). Thus, I find liturgical practices to be a treasure in Orthodoxy. Of course, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (347-407) is not 100% the same like in the primitive Church but it follows the same pattern. If ancient Christians or the Church Fathers were to walk into an Orthodox liturgy, they would immediately recognize where they were — in a Christian church.
The key give away would be the Eucharist (The Holy Communion, or "Thanksgiving" in Greek). This is because the Eucharist was central to Christian worship. In the days following the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost the early Christians met in homes and celebrated “the breaking of bread” (the Eucharist). Paul He made the celebration of the Eucharist a key part of his message to the church in Corinth (I Corinthians 11:23).
The most ancient description of the order and time of the Holy Eucharist (Divine Liturgy) is preserved in the 1st Apology by Justin the Martyr, Ch. 67, written in 138 A.D. In brief, he refers to the day, which he calls the day of the sun (the Lord's Day, the day of Kyrios, that is Kyriake, Sunday, the first day of the week, in memory of the Resurrection of the Lord.) On this day the Christians gathered together to participate in the Divine Liturgy.
As to the order of the diagram of the Liturgy, Justin refers to: the reading of the Scriptures, the exhortation by the Notable, Proestos, the offering of prayers, the offering of bread, wine and water, the long thanksgiving, eucharistic, prayer of sanctification by the Notable, the partaking of Holy Communion, and the collection for charity.
Justin the Martyr gives us only a diagram and not the actual prayers and words. But it is the same order that St. Chrysostom follows in his Liturgy used today.
http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7117
Orthodox worship follows the pattern of Old Testament worship and is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. The Evangelical approach to worship seems to be based on the assumption that Jesus abolished the Old Testament. Because of this Evangelicals ignore the Old Testament teaching on Tabernacle worship and focus on the New Testament for instruction on how to worship God. The paucity of New Testament passages on worship has been taken as grounds for an anything goes approach to worship. But, this assumption is wrong. Jesus made it clear he did not come to abolish the old covenant but rather to fulfill it:
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them (Matthew 5:17).
Orthodox worship is more than an imitation of Old Testament worship. It is also a fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies. The Old Testament prophets besides describing the coming Messiah also described worship in the Messianic Age. Within the book of Malachi is a very interesting prophecy:
My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord. (Malachi 1:11)
The phrase “from the rising to the setting of the sun” is a poetic way of saying from east to west — everywhere. Here we have a prophecy that the worship of God which was formerly confined to Jerusalem would in the future become universal. This was confirmed by Jesus in his conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well. In response to her question whether Jerusalem or Mt. Gerizim was the proper place for worship (John 4:19), Jesus answered that in the Messianic Age true worship would not depend on location (Jerusalem or Mt. Gerizim) but on worship of the Trinity. His statement about worshiping the Father in spirit (Holy Spirit) and truth (Jesus Christ) (John 4:23-24) is a teaching that true worship is worship of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God wants neither Jewish animal sacrifices in Jerusalem nor Samaritan animal sacrifices on Mt. Gerizim. He wants a spiritual worship, in spirit and in truth, which is not linked to a certain locality. BTW, this doesn't mean that it can't be the liturgical worship. Eastern Orthodox liturgical worship is almost non-stop prayer where most of the service is chanted or sung.
In the last chapter of Hebrews is a strange verse that many Evangelicals and Protestants skip over:
We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat (Hebrews 13:10).
What the author is asserting here is that the priests and Levites working at the Jerusalem Temple have no access to the Christian Eucharist. The Eucharist is only for those who confess Jesus as the promised Messiah and his death on the cross as the ultimate Passover sacrifice. The reference to the altar tells us the early Christians celebrated the Eucharist on real altars and that they had priests.
Protestants today have the habit of calling the platform area altars and spiritual songs as sacrifice. This involves a significant spiritualizing of the meaning of Hebrews 13:10. Furthermore, if we take this spiritualizing approach the phrase “have no right to eat” would not make sense. In the early Church if one did not confess Jesus as Christ, one could not receive the Eucharist. Contemporary Protestant worship on the other hand welcomes everybody and makes no distinction between believers and nonbelievers in its worship. The early Church’s worship style was radically different from Protestant churches that have dispensed with the altar and the idea of the Eucharist as a spiritual sacrifice.
https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/ortho...orary-worship/
Brother Ohio, I am not sure if you have ever been to an Orthodox church during the Divine Liturgy. Just for experience, could you, together with your neighbor friend, attend the nearest Ukrainian Orthodox church? I am almost sure that you won't like it. Orthodox worship can be a foreign land for you. But I would be grateful to you if you could share your experience. Even your negative review is welcomed. Since it's a different topic, you could post your message to
my blog. Thank you!
PS
Here is what Protestants (Lutherans) say about liturgical worship: Top Ten Reasons Why We Use the Liturgy. (As an Orthodox Christian, I absolutely agree with this Protestant author):
http://higherthings.org/myht/article...easons-liturgy
Ohio, if you really decide to attend the Divine Liturgy with your friend and then post your review, here is a guide for your first venture to an Eastern Orthodox Church: "Things I Wish I’d Known Before Attending"
http://www.orthodoxroad.com/things-i...ore-attending/
You can also check this transcript of
the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom:
http://www.ocf.org/OrthodoxPage/liturgy/liturgy.html
http://www.orthodox.net/services/slu...chrysostom.pdf
God bless.