Christmas Eve

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Hello, as I have started attending a ruthenian parish, and my father has decided to attend it’s services for Christmas eve, I was wondering what to expect. (divine liturgy, vespers,etc…) thank you!
 
Depends on the parish. There should be Vespers and Matins but more Latinized parishes would just go into Divine Liturgy similar to an RC parish.

Its best to check what your parish is actually offering.
 
russialover said:
Hello, as I have started attending a ruthenian parish, and my father has decided to attend it’s services for Christmas eve, I was wondering what to expect. (divine liturgy, vespers,etc…) thank you!
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From the Metropolitan Cantor Institute:
Liturgical Services of the Feast
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The service of Vespers on the afternoon or evening of December 24 marks the transition from the Christmas Fast to the Christmas feast. When this day falls on a weekday, Vespers is combined with the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil, which thus forms a fitting ending to the fasting of the day of Vigil. (The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil is not only the older liturgy of the city of Constantinople, home of the Byzantine Rite; its prayers recount the whole history of salvation, making it particularly appropriate on the eves of the great feasts of our redemption, Christmas, Theophany and Pascha.)
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During the evening of December 24, the service of Great Compline is held. This service of Psalms and hymns, with its great liturgical hymn God is with us, is accompanied by litija - a procession to the narthex or “porch” of the church, where prayers are said for the well-being of the whole world.
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Traditionally, the service of Matins is celebrated immediately after Compline, with its great canon which begins, “Christ is born! Glory Him!” The hymns of Great Compline and Matins are particularly rich in imagery and theology. (Unfortunately, Matins is seldom celebrated in our churches - partly because of the lack of service books in English with music for the service, and partly because it has been replaced by a Divine Liturgy as “Midnight Mass.”)
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On the morning of December 25, the Divine Liturgy is celebrated - of Saint John Chrysostom if the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil was used the previous evening, and of Saint Basil otherwise. The Communion Hymn at this service summarizes the meaning of the feast very simply: “The Lord has sent deliverance to his people. Alleluia! Aleluia! Alleluia!”
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It should be noted that, among Ruthenians in Europe, this feast-day (like most Sundays and great feast-days) was concluded with Vespers of the folowing day (in this case, December 26, the Synaxis of the Theotokos). The celebration of this service in the late afternoon or evening was also kept by the Russian Orthodox “Old Believers.”
Popular Customs
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On the evening of December 24, after Vespers and before Compline, it is traditional to hold a Holy Supper (Svjatyj Večer) which is meatless but festive. In many places, Christmas carols or kolady are sung, sometimes from door to door.
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On the feast of the Nativity, and for some time afterward which may range as late as the feast of the Meeting (February 2), the customary greeting, “Glory to Jesus Christ!” and the response “Glory forever!” are replaced with the opening words of the Matins canon: “Christ is born!”; “Glorify Him!” (In Slavonic: “Christos raždajetsja!” - “Slavite jeho!”)
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Vespers/Basil Liturgy in the afternoon.
Great Compline/Matins in the evening.
There are many variations at the parochial level.
 
russialover said:
Hello, as I have started attending a ruthenian parish, and my father has decided to attend it’s services for Christmas eve, I was wondering what to expect. (divine liturgy, vespers,etc…) thank you!
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Expect about 1:10:00-1:45:00 for liturgy, plus possibly an additional 15-40 minutes for vespers; it’s also not uncommon to have a half-hour of carols prior.
(While vespers SHOULD be done, not all parishes do.)

Expect to stand for about 2/3 of the services. Comfortable shoes are a must.

Wear layers - even if the parish is normally cold, Nativity services are usually packed. There will be people who show up 2-4 times a year there… plus lots of curious, and a few very confused, Romans, and often, a few Orthodox.

Expect everything to be sung.

Communion from a spoon.

The usual for a Ruthenian liturgy, really, only an extra 10-45 minutes due to many more people than normal.
 
dvdjs said:
Thanks for this link. With Christmas on a Sunday this year, the pattern of services are a little different than the usual one that I noted above.
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I am glad it was helpful. Notice that except for Sunday or Monday Christmas you see on the eve:

Afternoon or evening:
Vespers with Divine Liturgy (Basil)
What may happen is that some parishes will not realize that for Sunday and Monday Christmas that the eve is different, no Divine Liturgy, rather Vespers:

Afternoon or evening:
Vespers
and Nativity (Sunday or Monday) has the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil instead of Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.
 
Also, I would like to ask how long matins and compline with litya would be on Christmas eve at an orthodox church? Thanks! Christ is born!
 
If you don’t mind me asking, which Ruthenian parish are you attending for Christmas Eve?
 
russialover said:
Also, I would like to ask how long matins and compline with litya would be on Christmas eve at an orthodox church? Thanks! Christ is born!
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It would vary from parish to parish. We’re doing Great Compline and Divine Liturgy at 10pm. I expect it to go for about 90-120 minutes. We don’t have the army of altarboys, a deacon, and even subdeacons so some parts are omitted or condensed.
 
I used will be attending holy trinity orthodox in new Britain ct
 
russialover said:
I used will be attending holy trinity orthodox in new Britain ct
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Holy Trinity is an Orthodox church (Orthodox Church in America, or OCA). While OCA does follow from Ruthenian custom, their order of services and the duration may vary from what has been posted thus far in this thread (which was in large part from the perspective of the Byzantine Catholic Ruthenian Church, especially with regard to the Metropolitan Cantor Institute links and text).

I just checked their website & online calendar, which indicated the following service schedule:

12/24 - Eve of the Nativity

9:00 Divine Liturgy & Vespers

4:00 Compline & Matins

12/25 - NATIVITY OF THE LORD

9:30 Festal Divine Liturgy

I would very much suspect that Sunday’s Divine Liturgy would be the shortest of these services.

S’nami Boh!
 
russialover said:
Thank you! I imagine I will b standing for 2+ hours:D
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I do hope your dear father will be able to endure it!

BTW - I had forgotten that there is also a Holy Trinity Byzantine Catholic Church in New Britain (on Beaver St.). Is this the church you plan on attending?

I am not certain as to what there service schedule is for the Eve and Feast of the Nativity. That said, if you plan to go here, the guidance given in earlier posts certainly applies!
 
ByzCathCantor said:
I do hope your dear father will be able to endure it!

BTW - I had forgotten that there is also a Holy Trinity Byzantine Catholic Church in New Britain (on Beaver St.). Is this the church you plan on attending?

I am not certain as to what there service schedule is for the Eve and Feast of the Nativity. That said, if you plan to go here, the guidance given in earlier posts certainly applies!
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P.S. As you are a Catholic, I suggest you go here as to fulfill your holy day obligation.
 
I will hear mass Christmas day t a Latin parish, so I will be attending an orthodox service for the vigil
 
Vico said:
Details:

metropolitancantorinstitute.org/liturgy/Christmas_2.html
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But if Christmas Day is on Sunday, the arrangement of services has to change. Fasting is forbidden on Saturday (with the one exception of Holy Saturday); so the strict fast is transferred to Friday, December 23, along with the Royal Hours. Since it IS a strict fast day, there is no Divine Liturgy.
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Apparently Ruthenians and Russians are different on this. 🙂 Our wall calendar from SVS press which we follow has Sat. 12/24 “Eve of the Nativity strict fast”, pink as are all fast days. Friday was already a strict fast day. Unfortunately our Holy Supper together will be in the afternoon… no sending the kids out to look for the first star to appear before eating can begin. 🙂
 
Do orthodox allow Catholics to participate in an anointing at the end of lytia?
 
russialover said:
Do orthodox allow Catholics to participate in an anointing at the end of lytia?
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In my experience, yes. This anointing is not a Holy Mystery.
If you are able arrive early and then you can meet one of the priests, get his blessing and ask him or ask a deacon. Perhaps you will return to this Church in the future for other festal services.

I’m glad you’ve found a solution for your Nativity. May you have a joyful time with your parents and grandmother.
S nami Boh!
 
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