The DIVINE LITURGY
 

• enables us to praise and worship God together with our brothers and sisters in Christ;
• is always celebrated in thanksgiving for the blessings and mercy offered to us by God;
• unites us to Christ through the reception of Holy Communion  His very Body and Blood  which He offers us for the forgiveness of our sins and unto life everlasting;
• is the very revelation of God's Kingdom in this world.

          THE LITURGY OF THE WORD

          The first portion of the Divine Liturgy is called the Liturgy of the Word because it focuses on the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Scriptures. The Liturgy of the Word consists of the following portions:
 

• the Opening Doxology, "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit," in which we acknowledge that we are entering, through worship, into the very Kingdom of God;
• the Great Litany, during which we pray for the various needs which confront us in our daily lives;
• the First Antiphon, "Bless the Lord, O my soul," in which we joyfully express our praise;
• the Second Antiphon, Praise the Lord, O my soul." in which we continue to praise God while recounting His wondrous deeds:
• the Hymn to Christ, the Only begotten Son of God, in which we proclaim Jesus to be true God and true man while imploring Him to save us; 
• the Third Antiphon, the Beatitudes, in which we are reminded of the blessings we shall receive if we are faithful to Christ:
• the Little Entrance, during which we solemnly invite all to worship the risen Christ;
• the Troparia and Kontakia, through which we hear the theme of the day's Liturgy: and
• the Trisagion, "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us." in which we glorify the Holy Trinity.

           Following these introductory hymns, the Scriptures are read.
 

• The Prokeimenon is a responsorial psalm chanted alternately by the reader and the people. It prepares us for
• the Epistle, which is taken from the epistles found in the New Testament and generally deals with a particular aspect of Christian life
• The Alleluiarion consists of two psalm verses, separated by the singing o "Alleluia," which means "Praise the Lord".
• The Gospel is the public proclamation of the Word of God, taken from the gospels of Ss. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. After the Gospel, we listen to… 
• the Sermon, during which the priest continues to proclaim the good news of Christ while applying it to our daily lives.

        THE LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

          Having been fed by the Word of God, we now turn our sights to the central mystery of our faith  participation in the death and resurrection of Christ through the celebration of the Eucharist The word "Eucharist" refers to the Body and Blood of Christ, for which we now prepare to receive. It literally means 'thanksgiving", but also express our gratitude for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life we receive in Holy Communion. During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, 
 

• the Great Entrance, performed during the singing of the Cherubic Hymn is the offering of our gifts of bread and wine to God We are invited to unite ourselves with the angels and to "lay aside all earthly cares so that we may receive the King of All";
• the Peace expresses our faith that Christ is in our midst, and invites us to worship the Trinity with one heart and one mind;
• the Creed expresses our common faith in the Trinity and the other tenets of our Church's doctrine;
• the Eucharistic Canon recalls the institution of the Eucharist by Christ at the last supper, while proclaiming the holiness and love of God through the death, resurrection and ascension of the Saviour;
• the Consecration is the changing of our gifts of bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of Christ through the mysterious action of the Holy Spirit;
• the Commemorations enable us to recall all for whom our sacrifice is offered:
• the Lord's Prayer is our acknowledgment that God is indeed our Heavenly Father:
• the Elevation, during which the priest elevates the Body of Christ expresses our belief that God alone is holy: and
• the Reception of Holy Communion brings us to the climax of the Liturgy itself, namely the reception of Christ in Holy Communion. We thus fulfill the purpose of our worship by uniting ourselves with Christ "for the forgiveness of sins and unto life everlasting."

• depart in peace, in the name of the Lord in order to bear witness to all that we've experienced during the Divine Liturgy in our daily lives.
• pray for salvation and guidance during the closing prayer recited by the priest in the center of the Church: and
• receive the Lord's blessing, proclaimed by the priest through the veneration of the cross.

          THE LITURGY IN OUR LIVES

          The end of every Divine Liturgy prepares us for the beginning of the next if we strive to live all that we've experienced in our public worship of God. Our lives become a part of the Liturgy and the Liturgy becomes a part of our lives. Having placed ourselves in the very presence of God through thanksgiving, prayer and the reception of His only begotten Son in the Eucharist, we are no more children of this world, but inheritors of the Kingdom of God and everlasting life.