Catechism Class 1-A

Catechism Class

Class 1-A: Beauty - Patterns of Life - Worship

Three Concentric circles of worship:

• Heavenly (eternal)
• Temple (corporate)
• Heart (personal)

Intro and The cycles of Worship

Exodus 24, 25:40

⁹ And Moses went up, and Aaron, and Nadab and Abiud, and seventy of the elders of Israel. ¹⁰ And they saw the place where the God of Israel stood; and under his feet was as it were a work of sapphire slabs, and as it were the appearance of the firmament of heaven in its purity. ¹¹ And of the chosen ones of Israel there was not even one missing, and they appeared in the place of God, and did eat and drink¹²And the Lord said to Moses, Come up to me into the mountain, and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, the law and the commandments, which I have written to give them laws¹³And Moses rose up and Joshua his attendant, and they went up into the mount of God¹⁴And to the elders they said, Rest there till we return to you; and behold, Aaron and Or are with you: if any man have a cause to be tried, let them go to them¹⁵And Moses and Joshua went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain¹⁶And the glory of God came down upon the mount Sina, and the cloud covered it six days; and the Lord called Moses on the seventh day out of the midst of the cloud¹⁷And the appearance of the glory of the Lord was as burning fire on the top of the mountain, before the children of Israel¹⁸And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and went up to the mountain, and was there in the mountain forty days and forty nights…
^25.40 See, thou shalt make them according to the pattern shewed thee in the mount.

ICONS — smaller iterations of the heavenly worship. it is simply a part of the tapestry of worship given by God to Moses - the tabernacle / temple were iconographic. :)

In modern mindset, ritual is reduced to language. It is a vehicle for communicating certain content to an audience. And because rituual is only the vehicle for carrying the message, it can be transmogrified for different audiences. Liturgical worship is one more taste, one more language in which some audiences prefer to receive communications. Even with this watered-down understanding of worship, however, the offering of incense stands at the center as the censer is the source of both the proverbial “smells” and the proverbial “bells.”

Ritual is one of several ways in which human persons interact with reality. Others include language, music, and art. [When] ritual is reduced to text and communications…the liturgy is treated as symbolic… This approach severs ritual from reality-- making it a performance. While drama and storytelling evolved out of ritual, their power is grounded in the ritual elements still contained therein. This is why the explanation of the symbolism of art never carries with it the same power as the art itself. One of the central affirmations of the Seventh Ecumenical Council is that the Eucharist, the center of the Divine Liturgy, is not an icon.
[Ritual is not a symbolic action or metafor.]
Ritual, in contrast, does something.
Paraphrased from The Whole Counsel Blog, “The Offering of Incense” by Fr Stephen De Young

Pascha (Easter) stands at the center of our entire cycle of worship. It is the destination we are constantly moving toward or flowing from. It is the reality that all of our worship references.

Worship / Veneration

Latreia is worship directed to God alone.

Proskynesis is veneration of saints, relics, and icons.

Cycle of Life

Birth - Baptism - Chrismation - Regular Communion and Confession - Periodic Unction - Marriage - [Holy Orders]- Death - [Resurrection/Pascha!]

Pashcal Cycle

Triodion

Pre-Lent

(Zaccheaus)

Publican and Pharisee - Prodigal Son - Last Judgement

Lent

Expulsion from Paradise / Vespers of Forgiveness

Sunday of Orthodoxy

Sunday of Gregory Palamas

Sunday of the Cross

Sunday of St John Climacus

Sunday of St Mary of Egypt

Lazarus Saturday

Holy Week

Palm Sunday

Holy Wednesday

Holy Thursday Vesperal Liturgy

Holy Friday Cross, epitaphion, tomb

Holy Saturday

Pascha

Pentecostarion

Ascension (Pascha +40)

Pentecost (Pascha + 50)

Fixed Feasts

• Sept 8 Nativity of the Theotokos
• Sept 14 Exaltation of the Cross
• Nov 21 Entry Into the Temple
• Dec 25 Nativity of Our Lord
• Jan 6 Theophany of our Lord
• Feb 2 Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple
• Mar 25 Annunciation
• Aug 6 Transfiguration
• Aug 15 Dormition of the Theotokos

Weekly Cycle

Each week is counted as N after Pentecost and The Tone of the Week is 1-8, beginning with Tone One on Sun. after Pascha)

• Sunday - Resurrection (counted as Sunday after Pentecost)
• Monday - Angels
• Tuesday - Prophets / John the Forerunner
• Wednesday - The Betrayal and Cross
• Thursday - Apostles, St Nicholas
• Friday - Cross and Crucifixion
• Saturday - The Dead, Saints, Theotokos

Daily Cycle

• Vespers - Sunset
• Compline - After dinner
• Midnight - Nocture
• Matins - Othros - Sunrise
• First Hour - 6am “O Christ the True Light”
• Third Hour - 9am Trinity
• Sixth Hour - Noon “by His precious Cross”
• Ninth Hour - 3pm “hang upon the life-creating Tree”

Festal Pattern

• Preparation Forefeast, fasting, hymns of anticipation
• Feast
• Synaxis - Gathering
• Afterfeast
• Leave-taking