Concerning Guidelines Concerning Evening Liturgies
The Pious Pastors
of the Holy Diocese of Denver
Beloved in the Lord,
It has been the practice in many parishes throughout the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in America to permit pastors to schedule and celebrate the Divine Liturgy on the evening before a weekday feast day.
This is done when there would be a positive spiritual benefit to the faithful by providing them an opportunity to attend the Divine Liturgy in celebration of a significant feast of the Church that falls on a weekday, when they would otherwise not be able to do so.
I ask you, the pastors, entrusted with the spiritual care of the faithful, to consider the following when you are deciding whether to celebrate the Liturgy in the morning as is customary or to schedule it for the preceding evening.
First, a primary reason for celebrating the Divine Liturgy in the evening is the argument that the majority of the faithful cannot attend daytime (morning) Liturgies on workdays. Yet, this has always been the case throughout human history: our daily work, be it in the fields or in city stores or in factories, demands our time and attention during the work day.
Second, you must be very careful to avoid perpetuating the erroneous notion that the only type of public worship we celebrate is the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist. Also, people must not be led to think that they come to church only to "receive their Communion;" the Church is not a fast-food restaurant.
Third, it can be difficult to be properly prepared to receive Holy Communion in the evenings. On the one occasion each year when we do this, Holy Pascha, we have prepared throughout the Great Fast and Holy Week and have customarily observed the strict fast of Holy Saturday with prayer and contemplation. The frenzied pace and the many demands of the workplace during the day are not conducive to preparation for an evening Liturgy, nor is the often hectic drive in rush hour traffic from work to church (or the more hurried drive from work to home to church!).
Fourth, if the purpose of an evening Liturgy is to commemorate the feast of a saint or an event in the Life of Christ, you might consider that the prescribed evening worship service of the Orthodox Church (Vespers) provides much more liturgical material apropos to the celebration. Moreover, it is a shorter service than the Divine Liturgy and affords an optimum opportunity for the priest to preach about the feast.
Fifth, it might be useful to educate the faithful about the "other" services of the Church, and to encourage their attendance at Vespers, the Paraklesis, the Akathist, etc. in the evenings.
Sixth, it is not unacceptable for there to be only a few people at a weekday morning Divine Liturgy. The Liturgy, after all, is not a "performance" or a "show" for the people, but it is prayer on behalf of the faithful. Those who are absent from the Divine Liturgy for honorable reasons are mentioned in the Proskomide and are included in the liturgical prayers. It is the obedience of the priest who celebrates and the privilege of those who participate in the Divine Liturgy to pray for their fellow parishioners and indeed for the whole Church.
Seventh, consider that the Church has not previously transferred the Divine Liturgy from the morning to the evening; in fact, the Liturgy was an evening celebration in the earliest days of the Church that was transferred to the morning because it was celebrated in the homes after the evening services in the synagogue. Note that even the true "Vesperal Liturgies" of Christmas, Theophany, Holy Thursday, and Holy Saturday are specified to be celebrated in the mornings by anticipation although the celebration itself is certainly of an evening character reflecting its origins. In regard to the period of Great Lent, evening Presanctified Liturgies are acceptable because the faithful by far and large make extra efforts to prepare themselves for receiving Holy Communion.
Finally, please keep in mind that I have not prohibited the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the evenings for a weekday feast in the parishes of this Diocese, so long as the priests have a good pastoral reason for doing so. Such Liturgies, however, must be celebrated in accordance with the rubrics set forth for the complete Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, and not truncated and conjoined to an abbreviated Vespers. The evening Liturgy may be preceded by Vespers and by Matins, so that in effect a parish vigil is celebrated. Also, the Liturgy must be celebrated on the evening before the feast (e.g., an evening Liturgy for the feast of Saint Nicholas would be scheduled on the evening of December fifth, not on the evening of the sixth). This, however, must never occur with a Sunday evening Liturgy, for such would constitute two liturgies on the same day
I do ask, however, that the Divine Liturgy on major feasts (e.g., March 25th, August 15th) be celebrated during the morning as is customary.
As we prepare to enter the holy Triodion season, I ask you to consider scheduling at least Saturday evening Vespers Ð and feast day Vespers as appropriate Ð so as to teach your parishioners that we have these beautiful services for our spiritual edification as well as the customary Sunday Divine Liturgy.
May our merciful Lord strengthen each of you in His service, and inspire you to do all things in accordance with His holy will.
With Paternal Blessings,
+Metropolitan Isaiah
Presiding Hierarch
of
the Diocese of Denver