Liturgies in the ortodox church

The Divine Liturgy is the primary worship service of the Church. The Divine Liturgy is a eucharistic service. It contains two parts: the Liturgy of the Catechumens, sometimes called the Liturgy of the Word, at which the Scriptures are proclaimed and expounded; and the Liturgy of the Faithful, sometimes called the Liturgy of the Eucharist, in which the gifts of bread and wine are offered and consecrated. The Church teaches that the gifts truly become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, but it has never dogmatized a particular formula for describing this transformation. The Prothesis (or Proskomedia), the service of preparing the holy gifts, can be considered a third part which precedes the Liturgy proper. There are three Divine Liturgies that are in common use in the Eastern Orthodox Church and Byzantine Catholic churches: 1. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (5th century A.D.) , used on most days of the year, and as a vesperal liturgy on the Annunciation. 2. The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (4th century A.D.) used on the 5 Sundays of Great Lent, and onSaint Basil's feast day (January 1). On the eves of the Nativity and Theophany, and on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, it is celebrated as a vesperal liturgy. In some traditions, Saint Basil's Liturgy is also celebrated on the Exaltation of the Life-giving Cross on September 14. All together, St. Basil's liturgy is celebrated 10 times out of the liturgical year. 3. The Divine Liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem (1st century A.D.) , celebrated once a year in Jerusalem (and a few other churches) on the feast day of St. James, brother of the Lord and first bishop of Jerusalem, to whom this Liturgy is traditionally attributed. Additionally, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts (6th century A.D.), is used on Wednesdays and Fridays during Great Lent and on the first three days of Holy Week. It is essentially the office ofvespers with a communion service added, the Holy Gifts having been consecrated and reserved the previous Sunday. It is traditionally attributed to St. Gregory the Dialogist. The Divine Liturgy of St. Mark was also observed in the Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Patriarchate of Alexandria on at least that Saint's day until fairly recent times. The Divine Liturgy of St. James is the oldest Eucharistic service in continuous use. It is the ancient liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem and is attributed to the Apostle James the Just, the Brother of the Lord. It is often celebrated in Eastern Orthodox Churches on the feast of St. James (October 23).

History of the Liturgy The general scholarly consensus is that this liturgy originated in Jerusalem during the late fourth or early fifth century. It quickly became the primary liturgy in Jerusalem and Antioch. Although it was later superseded in Jerusalem and Antioch by the Liturgy of St. Basil and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, it had already spread to other areas of the Church. The oldest manuscript traditions are in Greek and Syriac, and there are also extant manuscripts in Armenian, Ethiopic, Georgian, and Old Slavonic. One leading theory today is that of John Fenwick, who argues that the similarities between this liturgy and that of St. Basil demonstrate their respective developments from a common source, now lost, but which is best preserved in the Egyptian recension of the Liturgy of St Basil. Fenwick suggests that the Liturgy of St. James was composed by St. Cyril of Jerusalem c. 370. Today it is the principal liturgy of the Churches of the West Syrian tradition: the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syrian Catholic Church, the Indian Orthodox Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and the Mar Thoma Church.