Extended version (with the assistance of the Lay Commission of the Chicago Diocese of St. Fr. Nicholas)
Part 2 - During the Divine Service
The Holy Liturgy is the foundation and summit of Christian life. We must remember that attending the Holy Liturgy every Sunday and major holidays is our Christian duty. Voluntary and deliberate omission of this sacrament without a good reason on our part is a grave sin - a violation of the third Commandment of God.
The Divine Liturgy is divided into three main parts: Proskomidia (preparation of the Holy Gifts), Liturgy of the Word (the coming of the Savior through the word of the Gospel) and the most important part – the Liturgy of the Sacrifice (Eucharist), in which the Lord Himself, in a mysterious way, again and again offers Himself as a sacrifice for our sins and the sins of the whole world, here Christ Himself offers each of us His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist as a priceless gift for eternal life. All three parts are closely interconnected and create one whole. Therefore, it is important to remember that we cannot be late for the Holy Liturgy without good reasons. In order to properly prepare for it, we come to the church early to confess, make private requests, light candles, etc., if necessary. If it happened that we were late, then we should enter in such a way as not to disturb the prayer of others. We should not squeeze to the tetrapod to kiss the icon, light the candles or to the front of the temple, if we push other people or in some other way distract them from prayer. It is better to just stop where there is free space and in this case, we do not say private prayers, but immediately join the common church prayer. During the celebration of the Holy Liturgy, in order not to distract the attention of the faithful, we try not to walk around the church unnecessarily, especially at the entrance with incense, the Gospel, or Holy Gifts, at the grand entrance, during readings and during other important moments of the service. If there is a need to light a candle during the service, then we try to do it in such a way as not to prevent others from praying.
It is important to remember our appearance and the clothes in which we come to the temple, because we come to visit the Lord's House where the Creator of the Universe Himself is present! Clothes, in addition to the main function of covering our body, also have another function - expressive. Dressing in certain clothes, we seem to reveal ourselves to the outside, "tell" about ourselves, our intentions, etc. Our clothing should be decent and festive in order to pay due respect to our Lord, but at the same time it should be quite modest so as not to distract the attention of other believers.
If there are children with us in the church, then let's remember that the time of their presence in the church should be commensurate with their ability to concentrate. Parents should see to it that their children behave properly: do not make noise, but learn to revere the shrine and know how to behave in the temple. If the children have to leave the church, they should cross themselves and leave without attracting attention. In some cases, you have to remove them yourself. If a small child cries in the temple, you should immediately go outside with him or, if possible, in a specially designated room. Children in the temple are not given anything to eat, with the exception of antidora or blessed bread at the all-night service.
The Holy Liturgy is not only the greatest sacrament of the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Savior, but it is also the highest common glorification of Our Lord! Therefore, during this majestic sacrament, the faithful should not conduct their private prayers, since the Divine Liturgy is the pinnacle of the Church's liturgical life and translated from Greek means "common work". During liturgical actions, primarily sacramental ones, the Church gives birth to its new children" - it gives them the gift of holy faith and takes care of them in their life's journey, because it provides them with spiritual nourishment. Spiritual sustenance is given to us not as a passive being, but as a creature of God, endowed with an immortal soul with its manifestations of reason, will and feelings. This means that a living believer is already naturally inclined to an active dialogue with the Lord God. It is this dialogue of the believer that is manifested through external behavior: words, body position, symbolic gestures.
In the Liturgy, the Church on earth unites with the heavenly Church in glorifying its Lord. Therefore, the faithful must first of all "with one heart and one mouth" take an active part in all the prayers and chants that take place in the church, responding together with others to the prayer calls of the priest. It is very useful to follow the progress of the service according to one's own prayer book because it helps to focus one's attention on the content and sequence of prayers. We set aside time for our individual, private prayers before and after the Liturgy, as well as before and after receiving Holy Communion.
Rules of conduct for a Christian in God's Temple
Advanced version – with the assistance of the Lay Commission
of the eparchy of St. Nicholas in Chicago
Part 2 – During the service
The Divine Liturgy is the foundation and peak of the Christian life. We must remember that attending the Holy Liturgy every Sunday and on major holidays is our Christian duty. Voluntary and conscious omission of this sacrament without good reason on our part is a grave sin – a violation of the third commandment of God.
The Divine Liturgy is divided into three main parts: the Proscomidia (preparation of the Holy Gifts), the Liturgy of the Word (the coming of the Savior through the word of the Gospel) and the most important part – the Liturgy of the Sacrifice ( Eucharist), in which the Lord Himself sacrifices Himself for our sins and the sins of the whole world, here Christ Himself offers to each of us His Body and Blood in the Blessed Eucharist as a priceless gift for eternal life. All three parts are closely interconnected and form one whole. Therefore, it is important to remember that without good reason we cannot be late for the Holy Liturgy. In order to properly prepare for it, we come to the temple in advance to make confessions, make private requests, light candles, etc., if necessary. If it happens that we are late, we must enter so as not to interfere with the prayer of others. We should not make our way to the tetrapod to kiss the icon, light the candles, or the front of the temple if we are pushing other people away or otherwise distracting them from prayer. It is better to just stop where there is space and in this case, do not say private prayers, but immediately join the common church prayer. During the Holy Liturgy, in order not to distract the faithful, we try not to walk around the temple unnecessarily, especially at the entrance with incense, the Gospel, or the Holy Gifts, during the Great Entrance, during readings and other important moments of worship. If there is a need to light a candle during worship, we try to do so as not to interfere with others praying.
It is important to remember our appearance and the clothes in which we come to the temple, because we come to visit the Lord's House where the Creator of the Universe Himself is present! Clothing, in addition to the main function – to serve as a cover for our body, has another function – expression. Dressing in certain clothes is how we present our outer selves, "tell" about ourselves, about our intentions, and so on. Our clothing should be decent and festive to pay due respect to our Lord, but at the same time it should be modest enough not to distract other believers.
If we have children in the temple, let us remember that the time of their presence in the church should be commensurate with their ability to concentrate. Parents should make sure that their children behave properly: they should not make noise, but learn to reverence in the sanctuary and know what to do in the temple.
If the children have to leave the church, they have to cross themselves and go out without attracting attention. In some cases, you need to remove them yourself. If a small child in the temple cries, you should immediately go out with her, or if possible, to a specially designated room. Children in the temple are not allowed to eat anything except antidor or blessed bread at the altar.
The Divine Liturgy is not only the greatest sacrament of the transformation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Savior, but it is also the highest common glorification of Our Lord! Therefore, during this majestic sacrament, the faithful should not perform their private prayers, because the Divine Liturgy is the culmination of the liturgical life of the Church and means "common cause" in Greek. Dur-ing liturgical actions, especially sacramental ones, the Church gives birth to her new children, ”she gives them the gift of holy faith and cares for them in their life journey, because it gives them spiritual nourishment. Spiritual nourishment is given to us not as a passive being, but as a creature of God, endowed with an im-mortal soul with its manifestations of mind, will and feelings. This means that a living believer who is already naturally inclined to an active dialogue with the Lord God. It is this dialogue of the belief that is manifested through external behavior: words, body position, symbolic gestures.
In the Liturgy, the Church on earth unites with the heavenly Church in the glory of her Lord. Therefore, the faithful must, above all, "with one heart and one voice", take an active part in all the prayers and songs that take place in the church, responding together with others to the prayer calls of the priest. It is very useful to follow the course of worship through your own prayer book because it helps to focus on the content and sequence of prayers. We set aside time for our individual, private prayers before and after the Liturgy, as well as before and after the reception of Holy Communion.
