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ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN WORSHIP

A Priest in his Vestments for the Divine Liturgy

Artefacts used in Worship and Services

1. Crowns used in the marriage service.  These can be made of metal (in the Slav tradition), or a simple wreath of flowers (in the Greek tradition).  The crowning of the couple constitutes for Orthodox the sacramental union of husband and wife.  The rich symbolism of this act concerns the kingdom of a Christian family and the laying down of one's life in sacrificial love for the other person.  The wedding hymns speak of the crowns of the martyrs.

2. The Shroud or Epitaphios is installed in the nave and used only in the services of Holy Week and Pascha (Easter).  It represents the burial shroud of Jesus and is venerated with great love by the people throughout the Holy (Good) Friday services.  Where possible it is placed in a bier, similar to this one at St. George's Antiochian Cathedral in London.  It is taken into the altar for the whole of the Pascha period to remind us that the Risen Lord is also the one who laid down His life for us all.

Icons and Prayer

The two following fact sheets on ICONS and PRAYER have been used as introductions to these topics for those preparing to become Orthodox.  Students should read them with this in mind and complete the tasks below.  (The fact sheets are "gif" images in A4 format ready for printing).

ICONS (Key Stage 4)
(1)  Why do Orthodox churches always contain icons?
(2)  What role do icons play in Orthodox worship?
(3)  How do Orthodox resist the claim that venerating icons is the worship of images and therefore a breaking of the the Second Commandment (Exodus 20:4).

ICONS (Key Stage 3)
Find out all you can about this icon, who painted it, what it represents, how the icon is designed and put together, its symbolism, its history and anything else you can find out.

PRAYER (Key Stage 4)
(1)  What is "liturgical prayer" and why is it vitally necessary to the Orthodox Christian life?
(2)  Describe and explain the different forms of personal, family or monastic prayer found in the Orthodox Church.  Try to include an account of such prayer from someone who is Orthodox.

PRAYER (Key Stage 3)
(1)  Draw a diagram and explain the different times for prayer in the Orthodox Church, (the Hours).
(2)  Design and draw (or construct a scale model) of an icon corner such as might be found in a typical Orthodox home.  Explain how it is used in Orthodox prayer at home.

HOLY COMMUNION
All the baptised receive Holy Communion ... on a spoon for ease of administration.

A RECIPE AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE COMMUNION BREAD (PROSPHORA)

Taking prosphora (which means ‘that which is offered’) to the Temple is a wonderful way of partaking even more fully in the Divine Liturgy. And because it is such an important gift, we need to make it with care and reverence. A successful prosphora is one that has no cavernous holes within it, and clearly stamped symbols on top. The priest has to allocate different parts of the loaf during the proskimide, dividing and cutting the bread into quite small pieces: it is important that he can see clearly where to cut, and that the bread retains its shape and doesn’t crumble into too many small pieces. The recipe here (and there are many, many recipes!) seems to answer these needs and is one that I was given when I was newly Orthodox.

Equipment:

A prosphora seal

Bowl*, measuring jug, teaspoon and larger spoon

Sharp knife/razor blade* and wooden toothpick/skewer*

2 baking tins (7 or 8 inch sandwich tins are fine)*

2 clean cloths*

Cake cooling rack and polythene bag

*preferably used only for making prosphora

Ingredients to make two small loaves or one medium sized

250g (9oz)strong white bread flour

50g (2oz)strong wholemeal flour, weight after sifting

150g (5.5oz)fine semolina

tsp salt

1 sachet /1½ tsp easy-bake ‘fast action’ yeast

250 ml (7fl oz)warm water (just above blood heat is fine)

Put the dry ingredients in the bowl and mix thoroughly: make a well in the centre and pour in the water. Mix round carefully until all the dry ingredients are incorporated. Sprinkle some flour on a worktop, turn out the dough and knead thoroughly for several minutes. Divide into two pieces and shape each into a round: don’t worry if they look smaller than the seal. Dust the tins with flour and also the seal, tapping away any excess.

Making sure the worktop is still well-dusted with flour, press the seal firmly onto each piece of dough in turn, holding down for three ‘Lord have mercy’s. Unless the seal is very large, the dough should spread out beyond the edge of the seal. Carefully peel away the seal: there should be a clear imprint of the seal with an unmarked border around it. Make a shallow cut with the sharp knife or razor blade around the outside of each loaf to help it to rise with a level top. Put each loaf into a tin, and then, with the tooth pick, pierce the four corners of the central square of the pattern and each corner of the four arms of the cross, repeating ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ as you pierce.

Put the loaves to rise in a warm place until they have doubled in height. Bake at around 180C for 30 mins. Keep checking and turning so they don’t burn. After they look ready, tap the bases and if they sound hollow, they are done. Wrap each loaf in a clean cloth and cover with polythene while they cool: this will stop the crust getting too hard which would make it difficult for the priest to cut it up. These prosphora freeze well if they are not wanted immediately.

The recipe can be doubled or tripled to make large batches of small loaves, or several medium loaves.

RESEARCH

An excellent simple commentary on the Divine Liturgy (partially completed) may be found here:-

http://www.orthodox-islington.org.uk/liturgy_commentary.htm

Further information for these assignments may be gleaned from the OTHER LINKS section of this web site.

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