Attending First Byzantine Liturgy

  • Thread starter Thread starter holdencaulfield
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

holdencaulfield

Guest
Tomorrow I am attending my first Byzantine (Ruthenian) Divine Liturgy. What should I expect. Should I just watch and take it all in?
 
My own advice is to look at the service book before Liturgy, but don’t get too caught up in it during the Liturgy itself that you miss all the action because your nose is in the book.
 
General things:
  • The custom is to stand the whole time, but you can sit down if you need to
  • The priest faces east, toward the altar and God
  • There will be lots of incense
  • Cross yourself backwards (right to left). Put the first two fingers and thumb together in a point, and bend the last two fingers towards your palm. See this image
  • Communion is leavened bread mixed with wine, dropped into your mouth with a golden spoon. Note: you can’t receive communion at a Byzantine Catholic church unless you’re a Catholic in good standing or in an Orthodox church unless you’re an Orthodox Christian in good standing, but you probably knew that already.
  • Everything is sung/chanted
  • If you don’t know what to say, chances are the correct response is “Lord, have mercy”
You might also want to read this page: 12 Things I Wish I’d Known Before My First Visit to an Orthodox Church. You don’t specify whether you’re going to an Orthodox or Byzantine Catholic church, but Orthodoxy and Byzantine Catholicism share the same worship and practices so it will still apply.

Also, one thing I would like to mention was that the first few times I attended a Divine Liturgy, I was lost. The Mass clearly delineates everything that is happening, with breaks and pauses between the “parts.” Comparatively, the Divine Liturgy will seem like just one continuous song, with litanies separating most of the “parts.”

May I ask which church you plan to attend?

Have fun 🙂
 
I’m pretty sure that a Roman Catholic may receive Holy Communion at a Byzantine Rite. It’s the Orthodox churches which are not in union with Rome. Orthodox does not include the Byzantine, Melkite, or Marionite Rites, as far as I remember. You better look that up before you go.
 
sheila0405 said:
I’m pretty sure that a Roman Catholic may receive Holy Communion at a Byzantine Rite. It’s the Orthodox churches which are not in union with Rome. Orthodox does not include the Byzantine, Melkite, or Marionite Rites, as far as I remember. You better look that up before you go.
Click to expand...
Yes, I know that all Catholics can receive the Eucharist regardless of rite, however I’m not yet Catholic.
 
wynd said:
General things:
The custom is to stand the whole time, but you can sit down if you need to
Click to expand...
Since you’re going to a Byzantine Ruthenian parish, you will not be standing the whole time. You will be standing and sitting during the first part of the Divine Liturgy until the Great Entrance when the priest brings in the Holy Gifts of bread and wine. After that, since it is still the Paschal season, you will be standing.

There are a number of parishes where they still kneel during the consecration except during the Paschal Season.
The traditional greeting during this time of year is CHRISTOS VOSKRES and the response is VO ISTINNU VOSKRES or CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

Feel free to just do what everyone else is doing and above all, enjoy yourself…
 
sheila0405 said:
I’m pretty sure that a Roman Catholic may receive Holy Communion at a Byzantine Rite. It’s the Orthodox churches which are not in union with Rome. Orthodox does not include the Byzantine, Melkite, or Marionite Rites, as far as I remember. You better look that up before you go.
Click to expand...
From the Code of Canon Law:
Can. 923 The Christian faithful can participate in the eucharistic sacrifice and receive holy communion in any Catholic rite, without prejudice to the prescript of ⇒ can. 844.
Click to expand...
 
Patchunky said:
Since you’re going to a Byzantine Ruthenian parish, you will not be standing the whole time. You will be standing and sitting during the first part of the Divine Liturgy until the Great Entrance when the priest brings in the Holy Gifts of bread and wine. After that, since it is still the Paschal season, you will be standing.

There are a number of parishes where they still kneel during the consecration except during the Paschal Season.
The traditional greeting during this time of year is CHRISTOS VOSKRES and the response is VO ISTINNU VOSKRES or CHRIST IS RISEN! INDEED HE IS RISEN!

Feel free to just do what everyone else is doing and above all, enjoy yourself…
Click to expand...
Why wouldn’t a person stand the whole time at a Byzantine Ruthenian Church? We do. One half of our congregation does. Plan to stand.

CDL
 
GregoryPalamas said:
Why wouldn’t a person stand the whole time at a Byzantine Ruthenian Church? We do. One half of our congregation does. Plan to stand.

CDL
Click to expand...
Not everyone is like you. The majority of the Byzantine Ruthenian parishes in North America sit and stand for the Divine Liturgy.

Don’t plan on anything.

Just do what everyone else does.
 
Patchunky said:
Since you’re going to a Byzantine Ruthenian parish, you will not be standing the whole time. You will be standing and sitting during the first part of the Divine Liturgy until the Great Entrance when the priest brings in the Holy Gifts of bread and wine. After that, since it is still the Paschal season, you will be standing.
Click to expand...
What happens if you stand the whole time?
 
wynd said:
What happens if you stand the whole time?
Click to expand...
Something magical. I don’t know. I think the only reason the mentioned it, is because old people might not like that.
Is veiling required for women?
 
wynd said:
What happens if you stand the whole time?
Click to expand...
You draw attention to yourself and away from the Divine LIturgy as people will wonder who the “newbie” is and is the person another SSPX’er who’s come to see the quaint customs of those “foreigners” or “Satanists” as we’ve often been refered to since we don’t use Latin and we stand for the consecration…

Doesn’t make for pleasant conversation at the Coffee Hour or the Meet & Greet after the Divine Liturgy.
 
Patchunky said:
You draw attention to yourself and away from the Divine LIturgy as people will wonder who the “newbie” is and is the person another SSPX’er who’s come to see the quaint customs of those “foreigners” or “Satanists” as we’ve often been refered to since we don’t use Latin and we stand for the consecration…

Doesn’t make for pleasant conversation at the Coffee Hour or the Meet & Greet after the Divine Liturgy.
Click to expand...
Quite untrue. Are you trying to start an argument? Your comment is rather rude. Is your Church rather Latinized or something?

CDL
 
GregoryPalamas said:
Quite untrue. Are you trying to start an argument? Your comment is rather rude. Is your Church rather Latinized or something?

CDL
Click to expand...
Why would I want to start an argument? I’m simply tell the OP what they will find when the attend a Ruthenian Catholic church. They will find pews and they will find people sitting and standing during the Divine Liturgy.

By standing for the entire Divine Liturgy, they will call attention to themselves.

Most people, when they are visiting a new church for the first time, do not want to call attention to themselves; although most Eastern parishes are small enough that they will be “noticed” anyway.

Are you one of those who wants to call attention to yourself and away from the Divine Liturgy where the attention should be???

My parish gets it’s fair share of SSPX’s and “others” who are searching for “something” - be it a pre-Vatician II TL mass or whatever. They get upset when we use OCS and not Latin, often going further into the name calling, yes, I’ve been called a Satanist because I don’t like and prefer OCS. Sometimes, the come and stay a few weeks or months and then find out that there is a TL Mass some place close by and they leave or they get bored or discover the Orthodox down the Expressway and they go there and things get back to “normal” and life goes on…
 
Patchunky said:
Why would I want to start an argument? I’m simply tell the OP what they will find when the attend a Ruthenian Catholic church. They will find pews and they will find people sitting and standing during the Divine Liturgy.

By standing for the entire Divine Liturgy, they will call attention to themselves.

Most people, when they are visiting a new church for the first time, do not want to call attention to themselves; although most Eastern parishes are small enough that they will be “noticed” anyway.

Are you one of those who wants to call attention to yourself and away from the Divine Liturgy where the attention should be???

My parish gets it’s fair share of SSPX’s and “others” who are searching for “something” - be it a pre-Vatician II TL mass or whatever. They get upset when we use OCS and not Latin, often going further into the name calling, yes, I’ve been called a Satanist because I don’t like and prefer OCS. Sometimes, the come and stay a few weeks or months and then find out that there is a TL Mass some place close by and they leave or they get bored or discover the Orthodox down the Expressway and they go there and things get back to “normal” and life goes on…
Click to expand...
Do not extrapolate your experience to a universal principle. I’m sorry if your parish is afflicted by SSPXers. We have none. Yet half of our people, including myself, follow the ancient pattern of standing. As I understand it, sitting is a Protestant habit absorbed by Western Roman Catholics. Perhaps if you had no pews except for the few elderly or infirm you might stair at them and cause a scandle with your complaints. We don’t have that problem. Those who choose to sit, sit. Those who choose to stand, stand. Ancient and modern meet and don’t make snide remarks about the other. I encourage you to do the same.

CDL
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top