My beloved spiritual children in Christ Our Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.
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ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN WORSHIP: 'HEAVEN ON EARTH'.
New Testament
"Then I saw another Angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth--to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people--saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him Who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water" (Revelation 14:6-7).
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Old Testament (The Ten Commandments)
"You shall not make for yourself an idol or a likeness of anything in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God, am a jealous God, recompensing the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me; but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My Commandments...
Remember the Sabbath (Lord's Day or Sunday), to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God...Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:4-8).
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"...An altar of earth you shall make for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your whole burnt offerings, your peace offerings, your sheep and your calves. In every place where I record My name I will come to you and bless you..." (Exodus 20:24).
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New Testament
"Then Jesus said to him (Satan), "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve" (Matthew 4:10).
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Old Testament
"Also, you shall make Me a sanctuary, and I will appear among you. According to all I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, so you shall make it" (Exodus 25:8-9).
New Testament
"Jesus said to her, 'Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship; the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is a Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:21-24).
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In our Holy Orthodox Christian Tradition, worship is 'heaven on earth.' Unlike other Christian traditions Orthodox worship is "God centered." The true celebrant of the Divine Liturgy is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. During the Divine Liturgy we are indeed in the presence of God. The Divine Liturgy unites the Heavenly with the earthly world. Both in heaven and on earth the Divine Liturgy is one and the same divine service - one altar, one sacrifice, one presence. During the Divine Liturgy the Orthodox Christian worshippers are transported into the 'heavenly places;' in every place of worship where the Holy Sacrifice is offered, not merely the local faithful are present, but the Katholiki (universal) Ecclesia - the Theotokos, the Angels, the Saints and of course Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself, the Lamb of God.
The Orthodox Christian believer not only attends the Divine Liturgy but participates through prayer, worship, and by receiving the Precious Body and Blood of our Savior. Through Holy Communion the believer is united to Christ and all the other believers who have also received the Holy Eucharist. It is through the Holy Eucharist that we receive "forgiveness of sins and life eternal." We are truly reconciled to God and we are fortified and saved.
It is most important for the Orthodox Christian to understand that what experience during worship is not just an 'ancient ritual.' The Divine Liturgy must never be trivialized and marginalized by any member of the Church. Speaking to the priest, Saint John of Kronstadt says, "When you are celebrating the holy Mysteries, it is God the Father Himself Who, by His Holy Spirit, changes the bread and wine into the very Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ: you are only His instrument. God--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--through you celebrates the Divine Liturgy and consecrates the Holy Gifts. "Thou, O Christ our God, art He that offerest and art offered."
Worship, as mentioned in the Holy Scripture, must be offered "in Spirit and Truth" and must be "well pleasing unto God," Who is the only One we strive to "please" by and through our worship. We are assembled on the Lord's Day to partake of the Body and Blood of Christ "as often as you come together" lest, as we read in the words of our Lord Himself in the Gospel of Saint John, we have no life in us; that we are to "lay aside all earthly cares".
Orthodox Christian worship reflects the fullness of Truth as preserved and proclaimed by our Holy Church. It is "sacramental"--that is, it strives to "make holy." It is the Eucharistic--that is, all worship flows from the one, essential act of worship and thanksgiving, the "common union" with the Holy Trinity and with God's People into which the "koinonia" enters through the reception of Holy "Communion."
"The Divine Eucharist 'is not an image and prefiguration of sacrifice, but an actual Sacrifice', because Christ is sacrificed and offered to the faithful. Saint John Chrysostom says: 'You are approaching an awesome and Holy Sacrifice...Christ lies before you slain.'
The Sacrifice on Golgotha and the sacrifice of the Divine Eucharist are one, because 'we always offer the same Christ. We do not offer one sheep today and another tomorrow, but always the same one. Thus the sacrifice is one...The sacrifice that was offered then is the one we offer now, the sacrifice that is never expended.' Christ 'having brought Himself as an offering once... He is ever being slain, sanctifying those who partake."
The Divine Eucharist is the Mystery of Christ's death on the Cross. So as we participate in this Mystery, we taste the fruits of Christ's Sacrifice. Through the Cross of Christ, 'death was abolished, resurrection was granted to us, the gates of Paradise were opened...we became children of God.' Man was freed from enslavement to the Devil, and his original beauty with which he was endowed when first created was restored: 'When Christ ascended the Cross and died and rose again, the freedom of mankind was firmly established, and form and beauty [that of the first-created man] were fashioned.' Man and the cosmos were sanctified for all ages: 'A few drops of blood re-create the entire world.'
On the holy Altar we see the root that put forth the Tree of Life: God's love for man. We ask ourselves, 'What could compare with this love?...What mother ever loved so tenderly? What father so loved his children? Who has ever loved their beloved with such mad desire?'
Upon the Table of Life we encounter the loving Father, Who 'through the Passion of His Son was reconciled with the human race, and showed love to His enemies'. Divine Love is at once the root and the fruit of the Cross." (The Divine Liturgy by Hieromonk Gregorios)
The true Orthodox Christian does not attend the Divine Liturgy to be entertained. Worship must always be seen as focused on the Almighty God, period, and not on the "person."
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"Glory Be To GOD For All Things!" - Saint John Chrysostom
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With sincere agape in His Holy Diakonia (Ministry)
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+Father George