Liturgical structure comparison in Eastern Orthodox Communion

[Episcopalian]

I know there’s Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Syriac etc etc.

Are all the liturgies the same, except different languages? Are they different in other ways?

 

[Vico]

I know there’s Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Syriac etc etc.

Are all the liturgies the same, except different languages? Are they different in other ways?

No there are many liturgies in the different traditions, and they are in different languages also.

 

[Isaac14]

Broadly speaking, there are families of traditions, an incomplete list of examples includes Byzantine, Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian, etc. Within each family, they are quite similar, even if spread across different areas, languages, etc. There are also similarities between the various Eastern traditions, but those similarities are less obvious across families

“Eastern” Orthodox (as opposed to “Oriental”) are pretty much all Byzantine. While the languages are different, the Russians, Greeks, Antiochians, etc. are all pretty similar in practice.

 

[PilgrimMichelangelo]

Among the Eastern Orthodox the main liturgies are the same but are celebrated in different languages according to region: Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, and Pre-sanctified Liturgy of St. Gregory the Dialogist/the Great, Pope of Rome. In the Jerusalem Patriarchate seasonally the Liturgy of St. James is also celebrated. Within the Byzantine Rite there are also slight differences in praxis between the Greek and the Slavic Use, but nothing major enough to classify them as separate rites. Then in small groups in America and Europe the Western Rite is celebrated according to two liturgies: the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great (based upon the Roman Rite) and the Liturgy of St. Tikhon, (based upon the Anglican Rite).

In the Oriental Orthodox Communion, different liturgies are celebrated by different groups of autocephalous churches: " Three very different rites are practiced among the churches: the western-influenced Armenian Rite, the West Syrian Rite of the Syriac Church and the Malankara Church of India, and the Alexandrian Rite of the Copts, Ethiopians and Eritreans."–Wikipedia, Oriental Orthodox Churches

 

[Elvis_George]

The Eastern Orthodox Churches all primarily follow the Byzantine rite, although some churches do other anaphorae occasionally (Mostly the middle eastern ones.) The Oriental Orthodox Churches tend to use different liturgies. The Syriac Orthodox Church uses the West Syriac rite. The Malankara Orthodox and Jacobite Syrian (Under the Holy see of Antioch) use a variant of the West Syriac rite, but there is practicaly no difference in liturgy. The Armenian Orthodox use the Armenian rite, and the Coptic Orthodox Church uses the Coptic liturgy…The Ethiopians and Eritreans use a variant of the Coptic rite. We East Syriacs are either part Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic, or Syro Malabar Catholic. All of these churches are not in communion with the Orieantal or Byzantine Orthodox churches, and the latter 2 are Catholic. The Overwhelming majority of East Syriacs are Syro Malabar (like me!)

 

[OrbisNonSufficit]

I know there’s Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Ukrainian Orthodox, Syriac etc etc.

Syriacs are not Eastern Orthodox but Oriental Orthodox. Just so you know.

Have you ever been to Mass or any Liturgy in two different countries? Country where I study and one I live in used to be one… we have very similar language, culture and so on. Yet Mass is somewhat different in each country. From “when do I kneel” to very different translations, Mass is still Mass but there are some slight variations.

I also have family in the north of my country… Masses there are similar to ones in my town but there are also some variations. Altar Servers ring bells at different times, people say different stuff at the end of Homily etc.

From my experience, Eastern Churches are the same. They have very similar Liturgy, but some local variations may apply. Over the centuries, some grew to be quite significant and used by each self-governing Church, but they are minor differences you almost won’t notice if you aren’t familiar with the Liturgy. Eastern Orthodox all use Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Oriental Orthodoxy has different liturgical families but I am not sure how they differ. You might find differences between Syriac and Alexandrian Liturgical traditions.

 

[Mary888]

The Divine Liturgy served in Eastern Orthodox Church is that of St. John Chrysosthom. There are certain gestures that vary from country to country, like for example the priest spreading incense - does he do it just near the altar or goes all the way to the exit of the church? Well my parish priests even go outside the church if there are so many people attending and they cannot enter the actual building. But over all it is the same Liturgy.
The only other Liturgy used is that of St. Basil the Great read at the beginning of the new year (January 1st for those autocephalic churches that use the new calendar) because it contains certain exorcism prayers that fit the renewal of the year.

 

[RyanBlack]

The only other Liturgy used is that of St. Basil the Great read at the beginning of the new year (January 1st for those autocephalic churches that use the new calendar) because it contains certain exorcism prayers that fit the renewal of the year.

The Divine Liturgy of St. James is also used twice per year. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great 10 times per year. It is celebrated on January 1 because that is the St. Basil’s feast day.