Orthodox Liturgics Pt. 11: The Lenten Order of Services

Описание: St. Tikhon’s Monastery presents the eleventh in a series of twelve lessons on Liturgics for Readers and Choir Directors in the Orthodox Christian tradition.

On weekdays in Great Lent – from Sunday evening through Friday evening each week – the order of daily services (Vespers, Matins, and the Hours) changes from the normal order in several significant ways, ranging from what hymnography is sung, to which litanies are omitted, to when and how many times the Prayer of St. Ephraim is said. All these details are discussed here.

This lesson does not cover weekend services in Lent, as, with a few easily understood differences, they are not different from weekend services throughout the year. The weekday services of Lent, however, are less well known and understood. And yet they are the basis for the services during the first part of Holy Week, which are served in most parishes.

A further topic discussed here is the order of services when feast days (like the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste [March 9] or Annunciation) fall on a weekday in Lent. The hybrid order combines elements of the festal, daily, and Lenten offices, in a way that can be difficult to understand or follow. This is particularly pertinent for Annunciation in most years, and so this is discussed here in some detail, even though it is relatively rare occurrence each Lent.

Hieromonk Herman (Majkrzak), instructor
Ben Cabe, videographer