Eastern Orthodox Worship Part I

The rule of prayer is the rule of faith. We pray what we believe and we believe what we pray. Christ handed down to his apostles not only the rule of faith (the doctrine of the apostles) but also the rule of prayer (the worship of the apostles). Perhaps the most provocative questions asked by pastors, ministers of music, and students today are these: Can we know what the worship of the ancient church was like? And can that worship be adapted to our current situation? The answer to both is yes. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom has preserved the ancient practices of the church handed down to us through the apostolic tradition, and it is being used today not only by churches united to the ancient patriarchates in the East (Antioch, Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Constantinople), but also by churches here in North America made up largely of former evangelical, Protestant, and charismatic Christians who have been united to those ancient sees. At first glance the Liturgy of St. Jo…