Month: September 2019

Attending an Antiochian Orthodox Divine Service

~ Philosophical Haligonian ~ Leave a comment
St Antonios Antiochian Orthodox Church, Halifax, NS

On Sunday, 22 October, 2019, I was invited by a friend to attend the local Antiochian Orthodox Church, St Antonios.  

It was my first Orthodox Divine Liturgy.  I thought that even though it was Orthodox, it was still a Christian church, so it couldn’t be that different from other Sunday worships.  I was wrong.   The key parts were there, like the Kyrie, the Epistle, the Gospel, the Creed, the Sanctus, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Consecration/Communion, but because of the other chants/hymns/prayers not found in contemporary Western liturgies, it was very hard to follow.  

For those not familiar with Orthodox Worship, I’ll provide a quick summary. The Antiochian orthodox church uses the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom on most days for the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is divided into two parts (technically, three, but that part is for the priest and deacon and not visible to the laity), the Liturgy of the Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful.

The Liturgy of the Catechumen is first part of the Divine Liturgy and is “equivalent” to the Liturgy of the Word in the Roman Catholic church and primarily focuses on the reading of the Epistle and Gospel. There are additional parts such as the Great Litany and various other hymns and prayers

The Liturgy of the Faithful is the second part of the Divine Liturgy and is “equivalent” to the Liturgy of the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic church, so this is the part that prepares and administers the Holy Communion.

One of the things that made it difficult to follow was that the priest said this own prayers and performed his own actions at the altar (separated by an ornate screen) while the cantors (group of lay people outside the sanctuary/altar area) chanted prayers/hymns at the same time.  Also, they alternated between English and Arabic, making it even more difficult to follow.

This separation of the priest doing his own specific worship from the rest of the congregation was how it was done in earlier Roman Catholic masses, but over time, that distinct separation diminished.

The laity basically stood for the entire service. There were some occasions where people sat down, but most of it was done standing. There was no kneeling, bowing, or genuflecting. There was a lot of crossing oneself (in the Orthodox manner), but I couldn’t figure out when it happened.

The Orthodox practice closed communion, so only communicant orthodox could partake, and unlike the west, they make a “slurry/porridge” of (leavened) bread and wine and the priest gives it to the people using a spoon.  

Because the orthodox take pre-church fasting very seriously, they would then have unconsecrated bread available for people to eat, to hold them over until lunch (the entire Divine Liturgy Service was two hours). The bread was a sweet and spiced leavened bread, almost like a cake. There was an old lady who gave us some bread while we waited for communion to be given to all communicants.

The priest’s homily was a bit more directive and forceful than what we expect in the west. The gospel was the Miraculous Catch of Fish involving Jesus and (Simon) Peter. The gist of his homily was “obey God and there will be miracles.” My interpretation of that gospel is more “trust God/have faith in God and God will deliver,” but I can see how it can be interpreted as obedience to God, especially for a culture that emphasizes obedience.

The church itself was very beautiful and ornately decorated with many icons. The church was converted from an old Anglican church and it was great that they kept the original Anglican style stained glass, though it didn’t quite fit in with the Orthodox style of decor.

The church was very well attended, all the pews were filled and there was almost no empty seats.

They did use incense and their thurible was the orthodox style (with 12 bells on the chains), thought the priest/deacon were the only people who used the thurible (there was no thurifer). The acolytes included two taperers (candle holders), a crucifer, and a liturgical fan holder.

It was an eye-opening experience, to see how differently they worship and how the church and liturgies have evolved over time. The Orthodox way is a very mystical way of worship, and I can see why some would be attracted to that way of worship, but it’s not for me.  I’m going to stick with Anglicanism.

Prayer for the impending arrival of Hurricane Dorian and for ships at sea

~ Philosophical Haligonian ~ Leave a comment

Psalm 107:23-31.

THEY that go down to the sea in ships, / and occupy their business on the great waters;
These men see the works of the LORD, / and his wonders in the deep.
For at his word the stormy wind ariseth, / which lifteth up the waves thereof.
They are carried up to the heaven, and down again to the deep: / their soul melteth away because of the trouble.
They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, / and are at their wits’ end.
So they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, / and he delivereth them from their distress.
For he maketh the storm to cease, / so that the waves thereof are still.
Then are they glad, because they are at rest; / and so he bringeth them unto the haven where they would be.
O that men would therefore praise the LORD for his goodness, / and declare the wonders that he doeth for the children of men!

GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, / and to the Holy Ghost;
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, / world without end. Amen.

THOU, O Lord, that stillest the raging of the sea: hear us, and save us, that we perish not.
O blessed Saviour, that didst save thy disciples ready to perish in a storm: hear us, and save us, we beseech thee.

O Lord, hear us.
O Christ, hear us.

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Lord, have mercy upon us.

God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, have mercy upon us, save us now and evermore. Amen.

Almighty God, we pray that the impending storm that you bring pass us quickly and allow us to return to peace and quietness.  Calm the winds and rains that are about to come upon us, strengthen us in faith and respect in the powers of God and nature.  May the damage caused by the storm be minimal and return to our normal lives be quick.  Let us be a community during these trying times, and may those able to do so, help those who are less fortunate or have suffered destruction or loss.  We pray that we may give thanks after the storm surrounded by the comfort of friends and family around us.

Finally, we pray for all those at sea, all mariners, the NATO fleet that put to sea today, our fleet and our sailors at sea:

O ETERNAL Lord God, who alone spreadest out the heavens, and rulest the raging of the sea; who hast compassed the waters with bounds until day and night come to an end: Be pleased to receive into thy Almighty and most gracious protection the persons of us thy servants, and the Fleet in which we serve. Preserve us from the dangers of the sea, and from the violence of the enemy; that we may be a safeguard unto our most gracious Sovereign Lady, Queen ELIZABETH, and her Dominions, and a security for such as pass on the seas upon their lawful occasions; that the inhabitants of our Commonwealth and Empire may in peace and quietness serve thee our God; and that we may return in safety to enjoy the blessings of the land, with the fruits of our labours; and with a thankful remembrance of thy mercies to praise and glorify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Anglo-Catholicism in England

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Altar at the Church of All Saint, Margaret Street, London
Altar at the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London

During my second Anglican pilgrimage to England in Aug 2019 (see my other post), I had the opportunity to experience Anglo-Catholicism worship at two Anglo-Catholic churches, the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, and the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street, London.

The University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford, was the church where John Henry Newman was vicar and considered the birthplace of the Oxford Movement and Anglo-Catholicism. I attended a Book of Common Worship (BCW) Said Communion on Friday.  For it being the birthplace of the Anglo-Catholic movement, it wasn’t very high church (at least what I was expecting), the liturgy and rituals were very similar to what I experienced at a said Eurcharist at St. Paul’s Cathedral. The priest was people facing rather than altar facing and there actually was not altar cross (since the priest had to stand behind the altar).

Back in London, I attended a BCW Low Mass on Saturday at the Church of All Saints, Margaret Street. It was a beautiful church, the interior was richly decorated, no flat surface was left undecorated. Though it was a BCW liturgy, those in attendance performed very Roman Catholic rituals and actions during the service.

I spoke with the priest of All Saints after the service and how I found Anglo-Catholicism in England very different than Anglo-Catholicism in Canada. He told me that Anglo-Catholics in England despise the Book of Common Prayer, and either use the English missal or BCW. He said that Anglo-Catholic movement in England was to be more Catholic (in line with the Church of Rome and its practices) and almost undo the actions of Cranmer (and hence despising the Book of Common Prayer). This is a rather different philosophy than in Canada where “high church” usually means the use of the Book of Common Prayer (vice the Book of Alternative Services) and the use of traditional catholic liturgical practices (i.e. vestments, incense, bells, and altar facing rather than people facing).

It was an eye-opening experience to see how Anglo-Catholicism worked in the Church of England because clearly Canada and England has a different philosophy on what it means to be Anglo-Catholic.

While not specific to Anglo-Catholicism in England, I found that all the Church of England churches I attended used white wine rather than red wine for the Eucharist.

December 2019 update: In December 2019, I was once again in London and attended a Saturday noon-hour low mass at St. Stephen’s, Gloucester Road. This was the most Latin style worship I had ever attended in an Anglican Church. The liturgy was basically the current Roman missal, and the priest wore a fiddleback chasuble (the first time I had actually seen a fiddleback chasuble used), and the wine was rose coloured. It was also interesting for me because this was a Forward in Faith (FiF) parish (a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic movement that takes a traditionalist position on doctrine and opposes ordination of women), so it had a “flying bishop” (formally known as alternative episcopal oversight) to provide episcopal oversight.

The use of flying bishops does not happen in the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) and is a very interesting approach to prevent schism and breakaways in the Church of England. When the ACC approved of the origination of women in the 1970s, the hardcore traditionalist parishes that opposed and had no chance of reconciliation broke away from the ACC and joined breakaway Anglican groups such as the Anglican Catholic Church of Canada. The ACC would also undergo another breakaway schism in the mid 2000s with the authorization of blessings of same-sex marriages and the ordination of non-celebrate LGBT clergy, with people leaving for the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).