Rites and Instructions of the Divine Liturgy

Raising of Incense
Introduction

Some may think, and thus argue, that the raising of incense is
a style of pagan worship. However, there are many evidences
in the Bible that incense is a praise of the heavenly angels.

For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great
among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a
pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations, Says the LORD
of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)

Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four
elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of
incense, which are the prayers of the saints. (Revelation 5:8)
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Raising of Incense
The Divine Liturgy begins with the
Vespers service, which occurs on the
eve of the day of the Liturgy.

PREPARATION FOR VESPERS PRAYER

1
AGPEYA PRAYERS
We pray the prayers of the Ninth Hour,
Vespers (Eleventh Hour), and Compline
(Twelfth Hour).

2
VESPERS PRAISE
The deacons begin the Vespers Praises with
the hymn Ni Ethnos Teero (Psalm 116),
followed by the Fourth Canticle, Psali of the
day or event, the Theotokia of the day,
Lobsh, Antiphonarium, and the Conclusion.
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Raising of Incense
Vespers

Just as every liturgical service in our

1 church, Vespers begins with the prayer of
Thanksgiving.

The Hymn of the Verses of the Cymbals is

2 chanted, praising many of the saints and
angels in our church.

Litany of the Departed is prayed asking

3 God to repose the souls of the departed.

4 The Doxologies are chanted.

The Holy Gospel is chanted and is

followed by the 5 short litanies.
5 Litanies of peace, fathers, salvation of the
world, season, and assemblies.
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Divine Liturgy
The Three Liturgies

1 LITURGY OF SAINT BASIL THE GREAT

SAINT BASIL THE GREAT, BISHOP OF THE CAESAREA OF CAPPADOCIA, WROTE IT

IN THE GREEK LANGUAGE IN YEARS 321-379 A.D. IT IS CONSIDERED AN
ABSTRACT OF THE LITURGY OF SAINT JACOB THE APOSTLE. IT IS USED IN THE
CHURCH ALL-YEAR-AROUND. THE PRAYER OF THE LITURGY IS DIRECTED TO GOD
THE FATHER, O GOD THE GREAT AND ETERNAL, BECAUSE HE LOVED US AND
RECONCILED US IN HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.

2 LITURGY OF SAINT GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN

SAINT GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN, BISHOP OF CONSTANTINOPLE, WROTE IT IN
GREEK AFTER THE EVENTS AND THE DECISIONS OF COUNCIL OF NICEA IN YEAR
325 A.D. THE PRAYER OF THE LITURGY IS DIRECTED TO THE SON WHO WAS
INCARNATE FOR THE SAKE OF OUR SALVATION. THAT IS TO PROVE THE DIVINITY
OF THE SON REJECTING THE HERESY OF ARIUS. OUR COPTIC CHURCH PRAYS IT IN
THE FEASTS AND THE GREAT LENT BECAUSE IN IT WE COMMEMORATE THE
PASSION OF CHRIST.

3 LITURGY OF SAINT CYRIL

IT IS THE SAME LITURGY AS OF SAINT MARK THE APOSTLE. SAINT THE CYRIL I (24TH
POPE OF ALEXANDRIA) ORGANIZED IT. IT WAS WRITTEN IN GREEK, AND THEN IT
WAS TRANSLATED INTO COPTIC. BECAUSE OF ITS LENGTH AND HYMNS, IT IS THE
LEAST USED NOW. HOWEVER, WE STILL USE ITS BEGINNING SOMETIMES TO START
THE LITURGY, AND THE PRIEST CONTINUES WITH THE BASILIAN LITURGY. THERE IS
AN OLD TRADITION TO PRAY IT ON THE LAST WEEK OF THE GREAT LENT.

We mainly pray the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great at all times. We will study the
Liturgy of Saint Basil. First, the Liturgy is divided into three major parts:
The Offertory Offering of the Lamb
Liturgy of the Catechumens
Liturgy of the Believers
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Divine Liturgy
Outline

QUESTION
When does the Priest
When does the Priest use
wash his hands during
water in the Liturgy?
the liturgy?
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Divine Liturgy
Offering of the Lamb (The Oblation)

Getting Ready
a. After the end of the matins prayers, the priest and the deacons dress up with the
vestments of service after the priest blesses them, and that is to bless the vestments and
give the deacons absolution to serve and take the Holy Communion.
b. Whoever dresses in the deacons vestment must take the Holy Communion.
c. As they put on the vestments, they pray Ps 29 (I will exalt You, O Lord) and 92 (The Lord
has reigned).
d. The priest then prays the prayers of the Agpeya with the deacons and the congregation:
On Saturdays, Sundays, and the Lord feasts, we pray the Third and Sixth hours.
On Wednesdays, Fridays, and the fasts, we pray the Third, Sixth, and Ninth hours.
In the Great Lent, Nineveh fast, and Paramoun, we pray the Third, Sixth, Ninth,
Vespers (Eleventh), and Compline (Twelfth).
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Choosing the Lamb

a. The priest washes his hands three times before choosing the Lamb. The washing of
hands stands for the purity of heart and the internal purity, and three times stand for the
Holy Trinity.
i. The first time, the priest prays, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash
me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Ps 51:7)
ii. The second time, he prays, Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones you
have broken may rejoice. (Ps 51:8)
iii. The third time, he prays, I will wash my hands in innocence; so I will go about
Your altar O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all
Your wondrous works. (Ps 26:7-8)

b. The deacon offers the oblation bread, and the number has to be 3, 5, 7, etc.
i. Three - is the symbol of the Holy Trinity.
ii. Five - for the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which are burnt sacrifices, oblation
grain offering, sacrifice of peace, sacrifice of sin, guilt offering.
c. The deacon, carrying the wine, stands on the right of the priest as a symbol of the blood
that came from our Lord Jesus Christs right side.
d. The priest chooses the best oblation bread and wipes it with a handkerchief. He also
examines the wine.
e. The priest puts his thumb in the wine and anoints the bread with it, which is a symbol of
the Holy Spirit descending on our Lord Jesus Christ on the day of baptism.
f. The priest then wipes the bread with water as a symbol of the baptism of our Lord Jesus
Christ by immersion.
g. The priest wraps the chosen oblation bread in a handkerchief and he prays and offers
supplications for his people.
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The Procession of the Lamb

a. Wrapping the bread in a symbolizes the linen cloth that our
Lord Jesus Christ was wrapped in after His death. Putting
the cross on the wrapped oblation bread symbolizes our
Lord Jesus Christ carrying the cross in the way to Golgotha.
b. The priest lifts up the oblation bread on his head and
behind him the deacons carrying the wine and water, and
he says, Glory and honor
c. The deacons respond saying, Pray for these holy
behind the priest while going around the altar.
d. The congregation respond with the appropriate hymn:
Alleluia Fai pe pi (This is the Day) (Ps 117:24-26)
Alleluia Je efmevi (The though of man) (Ps 75:10)
Alleluia E Ei khon (I shall go in )(Ps 42:4, 131:1)

The Consecration
a. The priest blesses the bread three (3) times after putting the bread on his left hand and
close to the deacons carrying the wine and water.
b. The deacon responds, One is the Holy Father and the congregation sings Zoxa
patri.
c. The priest puts the oblation bread in the paten, and pours the wine in the chalice and he
adds water in the water cruet no more than 1/3 of the wine quantity. The priest shakes
the pitcher and then pours the wine and water in the chalice. This symbolizes the water
and blood that came from Jesus side when the soldier pierced Him with a spear on the
cross.
d. Putting the bread in the paten between the handkerchiefs symbolizes the birth of our
Lord Jesus Christ in a manger and His burial in linen cloth in the tomb.
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Prayer of Thanksgiving
a. The prayer of Thanksgiving is a very important and powerful prayer that we pray in all the
events of our church.
b. The priest prays an inaudible prayer then he puts a handkerchief to cover the paten and
a handkerchief to cover the chalice symbolizing the linen cloth that our Lord Jesus Christ
was wrapped in. He covers the whole altar with the Eprosfarine (cover), which symbolizes
the stone that was placed on the tomb of our Lord Jesus Christ. The priest then places
another handkerchief on the Eprosfarine symbolizing the seal that was placed on the
tomb.
c. The priest and the deacons bow before the altar then walk around it and exit of the
sanctuary to pray the Absolution of Servants, symbolizing the dismissal of the people
from the tomb after the Saviors burial.
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Divine Liturgy
Liturgy of the Catechumens

The Divine Liturgy is divided into the Liturgy of Catechumens, which ends with the Orthodox Creed,
and the Liturgy of the Believers. The rite in the Early Church demanded that all believers should
receive the Holy Communion in a holy fellowship, and the deacon commanded that those who were
not prepared or who were not baptized to leave at that point. In like manner, the people would be
trained step by step in the spiritual way.

The Liturgy of Catechumens includes the Pauline Epistlechapters of the Epistles of St. Paul the
apostle; the Catholic Epistlechapters from the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude; the Acts
of the Apostles; and the Synexarion which includes stories of the lives of the saints. All these
precede the Holy Gospel.

1. The Absolution of servants

The deacons bow facing the sanctuary and the priest prays the absolution of the servants.

2. The Incense Circuit

The priest puts five (5) spoons of incense into the censer symbolizing the five men of the
Old Testament who offered sacrifice: Abel, Noah, Melchizedek, Aaron, and Zechariah.
The priest goes around the altar for three times and before him are the deacons as a
symbol of evangelizing the Holy Trinity in the world.
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The priest leaves the sanctuary by his back and left foot while carrying the thurible (censer), and
he goes one complete round in front of the sanctuarys entrance. He offers incense at the
reading stand where the book of liturgical readings is placed. He goes around the whole church
from the left to the right symbolizing our movement from darkness to light by the word of God
Your word is a lamp unto my feet.
During the incense circuit, the congregation and the deacons sing the hymn of Hiteni which
is the hymn of intercessions and prayers through Saint Mary, the angels, the apostles, the
martyrs, and the saints.
Following the Hiteni, we read the Pauline Epistle and the Catholic Epistle respectively.
There is no incense circuit for the Catholic Epistle because the apostles were present in
Jerusalem and they did not leave the city to evangelize in the world between the period of the
Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles, as our
Lord advised them.
There is another Incense Circuit done before the reading of the Acts, but it is shorter than the
Paulines circuit as our teacher St. Paul labored more than the rest of the apostles (1 Corinthians
15:10).
The Praxis is then read, followed by the Synexarion.

3. Trisagion (Agios)
The Tradition of the Church tells us that while Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were
wrapping the body of our Lord Jesus Christ in linen cloth, they heard the voice of angels
singing, Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal... Therefore, the church added this angelic
song in all the prayers, and we repeat it three times. It is chanted before the Gospel.
a. The first time Who was born of the Virgin have mercy on us
b. The second time Who was crucified for us have mercy on us
c. The third time Who rose from the dead and ascended into the heavens have mercy
on us
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4. The Gospel
The priest prays the Litany of the Gospel asking God that He may make us worthy to hear
His word and live with it.
He goes around the altar one time with the incense and says secretly, Lord, now You are
letting Your servant depart in Peace, according to Your word (Luke 2:29), symbolizing
Simeon the elder when he carried Jesus, the Word of God. Going around the altar
symbolizes the evangelism of the Gospel in the whole world.
No one should move around while the Gospel is being read. If someone is entering the
church, he/she must stop at the door until the reading is finished.
After the Gospel, the priest gives the sermon followed by the three great litanies.
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Divine Liturgy
Liturgy of the Believers

What the Lord did for us can be summarized in

three points:
1.) He Created Us Out of Nothing.

2.) He Redeemed Us Through His Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection.

3.) He Granted Us That Salvation is a Mystical Way Through The Church.

The Father Created us; The Son Redeemed us by His Blood; and in the Holy Spirit we are given this

FBI
wonderful work in the mysteries.

From the Father, By the Son, In the Holy Spirit

St. Cyril the Pillar of Faith

1. The Orthodox Creed

The deacon stands at the altars entrance and says, Aen Sophia which means, In the
wisdom of God, let us attend. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy. In truth.
The congregation, clergy, and deacons start saying the Orthodox Creed.
The priest washes his hands three times and repeats the same prayers as done earlier
before choosing the oblation bread. Then, he stands at the altars entrance and sprays
the water toward the congregation saying, I am innocent of the blood of whoever takes
communion from these holy mysteries without worthiness and my knowledge. This
symbolizes what Pontius Pilate did when they wanted to crucify our Lord Jesus Christ and
he found nothing wrong with Him. He said, I am innocent of the blood of this just
Person. You see it. (Matthew 27:24)
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2. Prayer of Reconciliation
The first part is a meditation on the
formation of man in incorruption, his
fall, then the manifestation of the Son
of God who came and reconciled us
with the father. The prayer of
Reconciliation is prayed at the
beginning of the Liturgy as a symbol
of our reconciliation with God through
Christ.
The second part of it, the priest lifts up the handkerchief on the Eprosfarine and the
deacon stands holding the cross and facing the priest. The priest prays to fill his heart
and the heart of the congregation with peace and to purify them from every evil and
malice so that they may be worthy of taking communion. The deacon says, Greet one
another because the reconciliation was completed by the Cross.
The congregation sings, Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, because with the
reconciliation the heaven became opened for us with the prayers of St. Mary and the
saints.
Then the priest lifts up the Eprosfarine as a sign of the angel who removed the stone
from the tomb to announce the resurrection of Christ.

3. Prayers of Glorifications
The priest prays these prayers while covering his hands.
He starts saying, The Lord be with you all while blessing the
congregation and they respond, And with your spirit.
The priest says, Lift up your hearts while blessing the deacons on
his right side, and the congregation responds, We have them
with the Lord.
Then he crosses himself and says, Let us give thanks to the
Lord and the congregation responds, Its meet and right.
The priest prays three parts of glorifying God with the angels
and the Cherubim and Seraphim.
The congregation respond saying, The Cherubim

4. Agios
The priest moves the handkerchiefs. He places the one from his left hand on the altar.
The one from his right hand on his left hand. And the one from the cup on his right hand.
Then he moves the first one on the cup. He blesses three times while saying Agios
the first on himself, the second toward the sanctuary deacons, and the third toward the
congregation.
The blessing is done while hes holding the handkerchief because the consecration is
done by Christ only.
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The priest prays a part on the creation, the fall, the exile from the paradise of joy, the
coming of the prophets, and the manifestation of Christ.
The second part, he prays it while putting incense in the censer and saying was
incarnate and became Man. This stands for the appearance of the old death, which is
the incorruption, then the death of Christ, His resurrection, ascension, and the Day of
Judgment. There the congregation cries, According to Your mercy, O Lord, and not
according to our sins.

5. Prayers of Consecration and the Descent of the Holy Spirit

The priest puts his hand on the censer getting ready to hold the bread and the chalice.
He puts the bread on his left hand and blesses it three times. He breaks it into 1/3 and
2/3 without separation. Then he blesses the chalice three times with his fingers.
Here we commemorate the life of Christ, His death, resurrection, ascension,
and His second coming, and what Christ did on the Last Supper with His
disciples. The deacon prays saying, Worship God in fear and trembling.
The priests kneels and stands up three times saying a prayer each time
to call upon the Holy Spirit to descend on the bread and wine. After
that, the change of the bread and the wine into the Body and the Blood
of Christ is complete.

6. Seven Litanies
Prayer for peace for the peace of the church
Prayer for the fathers for the Pope, the Bishop of the Diocese, the Aritrian and Syrian
Patriarchs, and the Bishops.
Prayer for the clergy for the priests and deacons
Prayer for mercy to ask God to have mercy upon us all
Prayer for the place for the peace of the world and the city
Prayer for water, herbs, and air
Prayer for the oblation to remember those who offered it and whom it was offered for.

7. The Commemoration of Saints

Mentioned in it are the fathers, the prophets, the apostles, the
evangelists, the martyrs, the confessors, and all the saints, and
Saint Mary first with full glory, followed by the patriarchs,
bishops, and saints (cloud of martyrs). Everyone, mentioned in
the commemoration of saints, has an important role in our
church whether in preserving the faith or establishing monastic
life.
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8. The Departed
The priest mentions those who departed while putting incense in the censer after the
commemoration of saints.
The congregation sings, May their holy blessings

9. Fraction and Absolutions

The priest prays, Again let us give thanks
The priest removes the handkerchief from the chalice. He holds the Holy Body on his left
hand saying, the Holy Body. He puts his fingers on the chalice saying, the precious
Blood. Then he consecrates the Body with the Blood saying, Of His Christ, the
Pantocrator, the Lord, Our God.
The priest prays the fraction according to the event, or the annual fraction if no specific
church season is celebrated. It ends with the Lords Prayer.
While kneeling, the priest prays, the Holies for the holy, while taking the Esbadicon,
and he immerses it in the Blood and anoints the Body with it. He repeats this three times.
The priest then takes the Esbadicon up-side-down, blesses the chalice with it, and places
it in the chalice up-side-down because the soldiers put Christ on the cross on His back
and nailed Him in His hands and feet.
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10. Confession and Concluding Prayers

The priest lifts up the paten and prays the confession declaring his Orthodox faith and
then he kneels.
The priest starts giving Communion first to other priest, if present, followed by the
sanctuary deacons, and the rest of the deacons respectively. He blesses the people twice
with the paten, and the congregation responds, Blessed is He who comes in the name
of the Lord.
o The first time stands for the coming of Christ and entering Jerusalem. (Matthew
24:9)
o The second time stands for His second coming. (Matthew 23:39)
The fasting requirement for communion:
o Its known that its 9 hours before communion, which are the hours when Christ
was in pain on Good Friday from 9 o'clock in the morning when the judgment
began until 6 o'clock in the evening when they took Christ down from the cross.
o Six hours of fasting are allowed for the little children, and three hours for the
babies.
After the end of the Communion, the priest consumes everything left in the paten as well
as the chalice. He starts washing the vessels and he drinks all the water from washing the
vessels.
No one should sit down during the Communion because it is one the most important
moments of the Liturgy. It is also considered a time when the angels are singing to praise
God (Psalm 150), so it would be a lack of respect if we sit down and the angels are
praising God.
The priest prays inaudibly and dismisses the angel of the sacrifice.
He then sprays water upon the congregation, and everyone sings the conclusion hymn,
Amen Alleluia.
The priest then distributes the Eulogia (blessed holy bread) to the congregation.