The mystical change of the gifts of bread an wine into the Body and Blood of Christ in the Epiclesis is followed by a series of pre-communion prayers and hymns - given to continually focus us on the grace and unity of the Holy Spirit, for it is He who has been invited to come down upon us and abide in us. The closing prayer of the Epiclesis, which declares the unity of all saints made righteous by faith, is followed by the Megalynarion - the Magnification of Mary, for it was she who by virtue of her humility and purity and the power of the Holy Spirit provided the world with Christ's Body and Blood - the Incarnation itself. The litanies then lead us to the Lord's Prayer, the extolling of God's Holiness (not ours), and then a final declaration of of our own humility and allegiance before we partake of the Mystery of Mysteries. The now thoroughly inadequate Steve and Bill move through this part of the Divine Liturgy "as usual" - with their familiar, winsome klutziness.

The prayers are said, the clergy have commmuned and we finally come to the people's communion. The Eastern Rite Orthodox communion has no counterpart in Western Christian practice, so we discuss the mechanics of taking communion, the unusual "liturgical spoon", the different ways communion has been served over the centuries, and the minor variations of praxis among Orthodox Churches. The communion ends with several prayers that declare what the Church has been teaching, confessing and praying all through the liturgy: we have found the true faith, worshipping the undivided Trinity. Is this triumphalistic arrogance or something more?

In this final program of the series on the Divine Liturgy we discuss the dismissal prayers after communion. These are more than just a formality as they express the summation of all that we have experienced for the past hour or more: God is the lover of mankind. But the Christian's experience of the Eucharist does not end with the final doxology or the Liturgy. In many parishes there are "post communion prayers" that are read as the people come for the closing blessing and antidoron from the priest. These express in prayer the Orthodox experience of the Eucharist and its meaning to us as we commune and "go forth in peace."

The bread and wine, the gifts of the people, have been moved from the table of preparation (prothesis table) to the altar in the Great Entrance. In this program we further discuss the Cherubic Hymn in which we are admonished to "lay aside all earthly cares" as we confront the reality of the heavenly Kingdom and the unity of all believers both in heaven and on earth who confess "Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided." We enter a liturgical dialogue with the priest as we contemplate the greatness of the grace of God who accepts from us sinners our gifts in order to return them to us as the Body and Blood of His Son. In this liturgical dialogue we acknowledge our life in the Trinity, the love and unity of the Church, the glory of God, our gratitude to God for His mercy and the awesome and fearful prospect of taking the "fire of divinity" into our human flesh in the Eucharist.

What is the difference between mercy and grace? Dn. Michael Hyatt continues going through the book How to Be a Sinner by Dr. Peter Bouteneff.

feature package on new ways religious believers are using new technology, from Muslim VR simulators to Buddhist monks on TikTok #

We regard it as “Scripture”, a holy text, and of course it is. But it is also a personal letter addressed and written to people other than ourselves.

In the Gospel reading Christ even now stands in our midst to speak to our hearts.

Fr. Lawrence Farley comments on the Anaphora, which is a Greek word meaning “offering.”

Imagine my surprise to find that the view that Jesus was not divine was not confined to J.W.’s and Christadelphians. When perusing Facebook (just one of my bad habits) I found a debate televised on Faith Unaltered between Dr. Dale Tuggy (who denied the divinity of Jesus) and Dane Van Eyes (who affirmed it). Apparently cults like the J.W.’s were not the only ones now denying the divinity of Christ. Who knew?

Fr. Apostolos continues his homiletic series on prayer.

Fr. Apostolos introduces a miniseries of sermons about the spiritual depths of Divine Worship and starts by explaining the word leitourgia.

Fr. Apostolos addresses the Sacrament of Kingdom invoked at the opening of the Divine Liturgy followed by a treatment of "Peace" as the precondition for prayer.

This is lesson three in Fr. Apostolos' series on Divine Worship; this installment addressing the historical development of the Small Entrance and the significance of the Readings in view of the centrality of Holy Scripture in the lives of Christian believers.

Fr. Apostolos continues the series on Divine Worship, discussing the beginning of the Synaxis of the Faithful and of the prayers leading up to the Great Entrance.

Fr. Apostolos continues the homily series on Divine Worship, addressing the Sacrament of Offering and the potential that exists to redeem our work-a-day lives through the offering up to God of a portion of our labors, in this case the bread and wine of Holy Communion.

Fr. Apostolos examines John Chapter 6 and the Holy Eucharist in the Epiklesis and how that, unlike our Western counterparts, we Orthodox leave off trying to explain the mysteries to the satisfaction of our intellectual curiosity, content to accept the words of our Lord as plainly stated (and thrice repeated!) in the Gospels. A brief review of the Epiklesis in the liturgy ensues.

Fr. Apostolos concludes the miniseries of sermons about the Divine Liturgy. He encourages the faithful to work through their understanding about the intricacies of the Liturgy in the laboratory of corporate prayer in the Church.

Fr. Apostolos speaks about Divine Judgement and the pardon offered to all through the blood of Christ.

Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

On the last Sunday of preparation before we begin the Great Fast, the Church calls us to offer and receive forgiveness from everyone. Fr Tom reminds us that we are commanded to forgive precisely because this action allows us to participate in and experience the Divine Life of God Himself.

After a tumultuous week in the nation, Fr Thomas teaches us that the parable of the Good Samaritan commands that we must not only physically serve our neighbor who is beat up and in need, but spiritually heal them as well.

Tying together the Gospel readings from this week and the week prior, Fr. Tom lays out the reality that the One who prays, the One who walks on water, the One who gives us Himself in the Eucharist is always present . . . especially in our trials.

Fr. Gregory preaches on All Hallows Eve or Hallowe'en taking his text from the rich man and the poor beggar in the Gospel.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn says St. Paul sets before us a model—that we should be as “beloved children”—that is children who are deeply loved by their parents and others, because God first loves us before we learn to love Him.

Fr. Gregory gives a math lesson in the abundance of God's grace.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn preaches on the Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council.

Bobby interviews Jane G. Meyer and Megan Gilbert, the creators of the new book A Child’s Guide to the Divine Liturgy, published by Ancient Faith Publishing.

Bobby Maddex interviews Fr. John Strickland, the author of the new AFP book The Age of Division: Christendom from the Great Schism to the Protestant Reformation. This is volume two of a four-volume series called Paradise and Utopia: The Rise and Fall of What the West Once Was.

Metropolitan Kallistos Ware addresses the theme of Passion within the 2010 IOCS Summer School, which approached the wider theme of "Passion: Human and Divine." In this lecture, Metropolitan Kallistos explores the question, "Does God suffer?"

Dr. Rossi is in Cape Cod by the surf as he reflects on Elder Porphryrios' book Wounded by Love.

Fr. Eugen Pentiuc examines the use of metaphor and the importance of maintaining a sense of wonder.

We talk with Alexander Lingas about this new beautiful 2-CD production from Cappella Romana. Also available from Liturgica.

Dr. John Mark Reynolds speaks at the Acton Institute on "Beauty and the Destruction of the Individual." Dr. Reynolds is the President of The Saint Constantine School, a K-college classical Orthodox school in Houston. He is also a Senior Fellow of Humanities at The King’s College in New York City, and a Fellow of the Center For Science and Culture at The Discovery Institute.

Fr. Pat explains the Holy Eucharist as Flaming Coal and Divine Bread.

In this homily given on Great and Holy Thursday, we meditate with Fr. Pat both on the encounters that Moses, Job, and Isaiah had with God, and on Jesus’ agony in the garden, and the significance of these various events as they pertain to our daily practice.

Preaching from Ephesians 2:4-10 and Luke 16:19-31 (The Rich Man and Lazarus), Fr. Pat Reardon looks at God’s grace in the world and in the life of the believer.

On the occasion of the third night of Hanukkah, Fr. Pat talks about the divisions God built into creation, about the consecration and desecration of sacred space, and about dedication of God's temple and of ourselves.

An inquest into patients linked to Ian Paterson is told the disgraced surgeon was seen as difficult.

Hunters claim it is a "way of life", but their opponents say they are breaking the law.

Police say no life-changing injuries were reported in the incident.