These actions signify the official beginning of Great Lent. “Vouchsafe, O Lord” is read very slowly to allow the maximum possible time...

Q: Why is there no uniform, standardized series of service texts mandated for use throughout the whole OCA? A: This is largely a function...

Q: At our parish, we use the traditional liturgical pronouns (Thy/Thou), but some other parishes use more contemporary language...

Choral masterpieces such as Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-night Vigil are undeniably gorgeous, and can play an important evangelistic role in...

The Scriptural source of this text, called the Sanctus in western Christianity, is the majestic vision recorded in Isaiah 6, in which...

Immediately before the choir sings "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Thy glory," the priest chants the...

Certain saints and commemorated events have more unique hymnography than others, determined largely by their prominence on the liturgical...

Most saints have a single troparion and kontakion (which, by the way, autocorrect insists on rendering as "contagion". Alrighty then.)....

In most American Orthodox parishes, the Lord's Prayer concludes with the phrase, "...but deliver us from the evil one." However, we...

A note on context: This was originally published shortly after our parish began hosting a monthly social event that begins with Small...

A note on context: This article was originally published the week following our annual archepiscopal visit, when our hierarch served as a...

When a hierarch gives a blessing, the singers (or those standing about, if in a non-liturgical context such as a diocesan assembly or...

The Kneeling Vespers of Pentecost is a unique form of Vespers served directly after the Divine Liturgy on Holy Pentecost. As Vespers is...

Theotokos is a Greek word that means “bearer of God” * or “she who bore/gave birth to God”. There is no single-word English cognate; in...

The kliros is the area of the nave (the area west of the iconostas) where the choir stands; the term also refers to the podium and...

Clergy, readers and singers are forbidden from serving from memory; the appropriate service book must be open to the proper page, even if...

Although the prayer “O heavenly King” appears near the beginning of almost every service and personal prayer rule throughout the...

Most great feasts are followed by a short festal period, during which time the rubrics prescribe certain hymns of that feast to be...

Bridegroom Matins is a form of Matins served on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week. These services have a distinctly...

Q: How are the hymns of the sixth week of Lent (this week), and also of Holy Week, different from those sung earlier in this liturgical...