June 23, 2005
The Faithful Clergy of
the Holy Metropolis of
Denver
Beloved in the Lord,
As I visit our parishes in this Metropolis on a regular basis � and I apologize for not visiting a few as often as I would like � I continue to witness liturgical irregularities on the part of some of our priests. Even though I have mentioned certain things in past encyclicals, it is necessary that I repeat some of these as well as mention a few others.
Vespers:
When the priest begins the Vespers with �Blessed is our God, ...� he remains at the altar to read the seven silent prayers.
When the priest censes, he wears the felonion over the petrahili.
If he wears the kalymafhion, he does so during the censing, but does not wear it for the entrance.
At the end of the Dismissal the priest does not �commemorate� a feastday at the place where the saint of the day is mentioned. If the feastday is mentioned, it is done at the beginning of the dismissal prayer in conjunction with the name of the Lord, or His holy Mother if the feastday is in her honor.
Orthros:
When the priest begins the Orthros he reads the twelve silent prayers. The first six are read standing before the altar. After the third Psalm is read, during �Glory to Father ...,� the priest exits through the Beautiful Gate and reads the second six standing before the icon of Christ. He then reenters through the Beautiful Gate.
The Holy Gospel Book is not taken out for veneration by the faithful after the Matins Gospel reading, except for the eleven Sunday resurrectional Gospels. The symbolism is that the congregation venerates the Lord�s resurrection by kissing the resurrection side of the Holy Gospel Book.
On Sunday the Holy Gospel Book is not taken to the narthex and left there. By doing so the priest unintentionally invites the late comers to arrive at church after the resurrectional Gospel is read, and not to be there earlier to venerate the Gospel held in the hands of the Priest.
Divine Liturgy:
If the priest wears the kalymafhion, he does not do so at any time in the Divine Liturgy except when he is censing before the Great Entrance and at the Dismissal (Apolysis).
If a bishop is present in the church, even if he is not serving or presiding, but is in the altar, the priest does not bless the congregation at the times of blessing, but only chants the words with his hands by his sides. This gesture indicates to the congregation that a bishop is present.
When the priest cuts the Amnos (Lamb) at the Proskomide, it must not be too small or too large. The priest should anticipate the number of congregants at each Divine Liturgy. It is incredible how much Holy Communion is left over after the congregants partake.
In the Proskomide the priest must use a freshly-baked prosforon which has not been refrigerated. The refrigerated prosforon, especially those frozen, becomes too flaky and the Holy Body of the Lord breaks apart among the particles which commemorate the living and those who have reposed.
If for some good and valid reason the priest does not have a fresh prosforon, he should remove it from the refrigerator the night before the Divine Liturgy and place a damp cloth on it. This will prevent the flaking of the prosforon the next morning when he does the Proskomide.
Again I reiterate that two altar boys should hold the communion cloth when people are receiving Holy Communion. They should hold it in such a way that should anything fall it will not roll off but be contained on the cloth.
In giving Holy Communion the priest should hold the lavida closer to the spoon part so that he has more control of it and it does not sway. If he holds it at the end of the handle, he cannot control it as well.
Other Matters:
If the Holy Chrism becomes low, please ask me for more. You must not add oil to it, as was done many years ago when priests did not know any better.
Sermons must be given immediately after the Gospel reading in the Divine Liturgy, or at the very end of the service. For a priest or bishop to offer the sermon after he has received Holy Communion, and just before the people are invited to Holy Communion, is a sign of disrespect to the Lord. By doing so, the clergyman, knowingly or unknowingly infers that his sermon is equally important as the Body and Blood of the Lord. Here we can apply the words of the Lord and ask, �Which is more sacred, the gold or the altar which sanctifies the gold?� In the same way we may ask, �Which is more important, the sermon or the holy Body and sacred Blood of the Lord which silences everything?�
When a Hierarch is Present:
When a bishop presides at Vespers, the clergy stand at the throne during the entrance and not in the center of the solea.
When a bishop presides at the Divine Liturgy, at the entrance the deacon or the priest takes the Gospel to the bishop to venerate. The Bishop will bless saying, �Blessed is the entrance of Your holy ones ...� The deacon or priest then returns to the center of the solea to proclaim �Wisdom! Rise!�
When a bishop celebrates at the Divine Liturgy, the priest does not read the three prayers at the beginning of the Liturgy after the Litany of Peace and the two small litanies, since the bishop recites these prayers at the throne.
I hope that these reminders help you to serve more properly in the holy services. I do realize that some of our priests have come from the Slavonic tradition which preserves much of the monastic teleturgical aspects of the holy services. However, for the sake of conformity we must preserve the Typikon of the Great Church of Christ.
With Paternal Blessings,
+Metropolitan Isaiah of Denver