Questions about eastern devotional life

[tafan2]

Ok, I know less than I should about Eastern Catholic practices, but I am curious. As a Roman Catholic, we have such practices as daily masses, Eucharistic adoration, liturgy of the hours, frequent confession, rosaries. Do these all exist in the Eastern Churches?

 

[Vico]

Ok, I know less than I should about Eastern Catholic practices, but I am curious. As a Roman Catholic, we have such practices as daily masses, Eucharistic adoration, liturgy of the hours, frequent confession, rosaries. Do these all exist in the Eastern Churches?

Byzantine:

• daily masses – yes, but there are aliturgical days also and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts
• Eucharistic adoration – no, but there is presentation of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ at communion
• liturgy of the hours – yes, it is called the Divine Praises of which Matins and Vespers are extremely ancient. There are also the other hours 1, 3, 6, 9, Typika, Compline, and Midnight.
• frequent confession – yes, and there are four penitential seasons
• rosaries – instead there are Akathists and Molebens and the Jesus Prayer, but some say Rosaries in private parties

https://mci.archpitt.org/liturgy/DailyCycle.html

Some Byzantine parishes have adopted Latin practices but is it not ideal for the preservation of original practices, since they may displace them. I don’t know much about other eastern Catholic traditions.

 

[tafan2]

daily masses – yes, but there are aliturgical days also and the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

Aliturgical days?, Days where the mass is not to be said? Good Friday I assume? What are some others?

Eucharistic adoration – no, but there is presentation of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ at communion

What is this? Related question, anything similiar to Benediction?

rosaries – instead there are Akathists and Molebens and the Jesus Prayer, but some say Rosaries in private parties

I will look these up.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[RyanBlack]

Aliturgical days?, Days where the mass is not to be said? Good Friday I assume? What are some others?

In the Churches of the Byzantine tradition, weekdays during Lent are aliturgical. On these days, there is no celebration of the Divine Liturgy. However, it is traditional to observe the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent.

 

[RyanBlack]

In the Churches of the Byzantine tradition, weekdays during Lent are aliturgical. On these days, there is no celebration of the Divine Liturgy. However, it is traditional to observe the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent.

An exception to this rule is if the Feast of the Annunciation falls during Great Lent. We do not transfer it. It is observed, even if it falls on Great and Holy Friday.

 

[ziapueblo]

In the East we practice the Liturgy of the Hours. Many eastern churches will have some of the hours in their churches throughout the day. All will have Great Vespers on Saturday night and Matins before Sunday Liturgy. As far as the rosary goes, that is an Latin devotion. We have our own prayers to the Theotokos. One popular devotion is the Jesus Prayer using a prayer rope.

Some Byzantine Catholic Churches have one or two liturgies during the week day but it’s not part of our tradition. Although, in monastery’s you will see liturgies more often. During Great Lent we have a Liturgy of the Presanctifies Gifts on Wednesday’s and Friday’s.

ZP

 

[Vico]

…

Holy Communion is not received on Good Friday, but is on Holy Thursday and at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (reserved from the prior Divine Liturgy). Also in Holy Week are the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts which may be celebrated on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and include a Gospel reading. Full schedule of Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts:

1. On Wednesday and Friday of the first six weeks of Lent.
2. On Thursday of the fourth week of Lent.
3. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week.

https://mci.archpitt.org/liturgy/Akathist.html
https://mci.archpitt.org/liturgy/Moleben.html
https://mci.archpitt.org/liturgy/DivineLiturgyPresanctifiedGifts.html

 

[babochka]

• frequent confession – yes, and there are four penitential seasons

I would also note that fasting plays a significant role in Byzantine spiritual life, especially during the four fasting seasons. Although some Eastern Catholic Churches do not obligate the faithful to a particular fasting discipline during the traditional fasts, the spirit of fasting rigorously is alive and well.

 

[babochka]

All will have Great Vespers on Saturday night and Matins before Sunday Liturgy.

This is ideal, but sadly does not happen in many places, often for logistical reasons.

 

[Phillip_Rolfes]

I think probably the best illustration of the Eastern devotional life I’ve ever seen came in one of the writings of Archbishop Joseph Raya. He described how his mother brought the liturgical books home from their parish church so that they could read and meditate on them, and so that she could properly catechize her children from them.

All the churches of the East - Byzantine, Syriac, Ethiopian, Coptic, etc. - have a strong emphasis on the role of liturgy as both the public worship of the Church, and also as the source from which the faithful draw spiritual nourishment and devotional inspiration. This is why we don’t really think in terms of “private” devotion.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Don’t forget Cheesefare Week!

 

[Margaret_Ann]

A few years ago the Feast of the Annunciation fell on Great Friday. Our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia issued booklets to properly celebrate Vespers with Divine Liturgy for Great Friday and the Feast of the Annunciation.

The only thing that confuses me when that happens is whether or not one should fast that day. Great Friday is strict fast and abstinence but
fish, wine and oil are permitted on the Feast of the Annunciation. In My Divine Friend (1959) it says that the faithful are dispensed if the Annunciation falls on Great Friday but I don’t know if that still applies.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

Our pastor has Presanctified Liturgy on Fridays and at our sister parish on Wednesdays throughout the Great Fast up to Lazarus Saturday.

 

[Vico]

Don’t forget Cheesefare Week!

OK. I guess I did not include it because the Ruthenian (Metropolitan - Pittsburgh) calendar does not prescribe it, so I have never experienced it in the week before Clean Monday.

 

[babochka]

Margaret_Ann:

Don’t forget Cheesefare Week!

OK. I guess I did not include it because the Ruthenian (Metropolitan - Pittsburgh) calendar does not prescribe it, so I have never experienced it in the week before Clean Monday.

My Ruthenian parish always observes Cheesefare Sunday with a meatless potluck. And even thought abstinence from in that week is voluntary in the Ruthenian church, many still observe it.

 

[Vico]

A few years ago the Feast of the Annunciation fell on Great Friday. Our Ukrainian Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia issued booklets to properly celebrate Vespers with Divine Liturgy for Great Friday and the Feast of the Annunciation.

The only thing that confuses me when that happens is whether or not one should fast that day. Great Friday is strict fast and abstinence but
fish, wine and oil are permitted on the Feast of the Annunciation. In My Divine Friend (1959) it says that the faithful are dispensed if the Annunciation falls on Great Friday but I don’t know if that still applies.

In the Byzantine (Ruthenian) Eparchy of Passaic, 2016 (which had March 25 on Great and Holy Friday) these were the instructions:

† All adults who receive Communion in the Eparchy of Passaic are required to abstain from meat, eggs, and milk products on the first day of Lent, Monday, February 8, and on Great and Holy Friday, March 25

 

[RCIAGraduate]

Four fasting seasons! Just once a week or throughout the whole season? Is that tied to history meaning that the early/first Christian practices continue to be substantially incorporated in the Eastern Rite? And if ever a Western Rite (or even a wandering Non-Catholic Christian) wanted to be like the first Christians/Catholics, the Eastern Churches might not be that far off the mark? Are the eastern Rite much closer to that history?

 

[Vico]

Vico:

Margaret_Ann:

Don’t forget Cheesefare Week!

OK. I guess I did not include it because the Ruthenian (Metropolitan - Pittsburgh) calendar does not prescribe it, so I have never experienced it in the week before Clean Monday.

My Ruthenian parish always observes Cheesefare Sunday with a meatless potluck. And even thought abstinence from in that week is voluntary in the Ruthenian church, many still observe it.

Oh, I thought you meant the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts on the aliturgical days that week: Wednesday and Friday.

The Cheesefare week is unusual, ending with Cheesefare Sunday, where meat and other animal products are prohibited, but eggs and dairy products are permitted, even on Wednesday and Friday.

 

[Margaret_Ann]

I was thinking of the aliturgical days in Cheesefare Week. Thank you for jogging my memory!

 

[dochawk]

An exception to this rule is if the Feast of the Annunciation falls during Great Lent. We do not transfer it. It is observed, even if it falls on Great and Holy Friday.

Which happened two years ago, but won’t happen in either our or our children’s lifetimes. I took pictures of the Holy Table with the triple vestments . . . normally, black over white, with the black removed during Saturday evening’s liturgy. For that day, though, blue over black over white, with the blue removed at a transition in the Divine Liturgy. We also changed from light to dark vestments for priest and serves at that point.

And Holy Thursday has divine liturgy for the Institution of the Eucharist.

Otherwise, we fast from the Divine Liturgy during the week, alleviated by the presanctifieds on Wednesday and Friday.

My parish not only printed and bound them, but saved them for next time

In My Divine Friend (1959) it says that the faithful are dispensed if the Annunciation falls on Great Friday but I don’t know if that still applies.

We were told hag it wasn’t so much a dispensation but rather that the far older observance of Annunciation trumped Good Friday.

hawk