Worship

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Great Lent Worship

Why do we have a “Fast-free Week,” “Meat Fare Week,” and a “Cheese Fare Week.” prior to the start of Great Lent?

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I understand why we fast on Fridays throughout the year, but why are we supposed to fast on Wednesdays also?

psalms

Why is the Book of Psalms so important?

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Why do we commemorate the day of Christ’s circumcision?

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Christmas Worship

Why on the Sunday before Christmas do we read all those names telling who was the father of who?

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Why aren’t we supposed to have weddings on Saturdays? Wasn’t one recently performed on a Saturday?

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What is the significance of the priest moving the cloth over the Gifts while the creed is being recited?

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Why when we pray the Lord’s Prayer at St. Michael’s do we say “…deliver us from evil” and some other Orthodox parishes say “…deliver us from the evil one?” Is not the latter the proper way to end the Lord’s Prayer and who we want to be delivered from?

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Definitions Worship

What is a Molieben?

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Why do we have a Saints Peter and Paul Fast?

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What is the parish policy regarding clergy honorariums? Do we need to pay for services such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals? What about grave blessings, house blessings, parastas, and visitations?

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What is a Prayer Rope?

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Some reposed members have been laid out in church instead of at a funeral home. Is this something done for “special reasons or circumstances,” or can anyone be laid out in church?

Pascha / Easter Worship

What is the Feast of Mid-Pentecost?

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Pascha / Easter Worship

Why don’t we kneel or perform prostrations (poklons) after Pascha?

Horologion

Definitions Worship

What is the “Horologion?”

Pontius Pilate

Why did Christ keep silent before Pilate?

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Pascha / Easter Worship

Why do we refer to the Feast of Christ’s Resurrection as “Pascha” instead of “Easter?”

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Great Lent Worship

Why do we bless and give out pussy willows instead of palm branches on Palm Sunday?

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Why do people turn themselves to follow the priest or deacon while he censes the interior of the church?

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Great Lent Worship

“How can we participate in Great Lent and spiritually profit from it?” Part 4

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Definitions Worship

What is the ‘Trisagion’?

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Great Lent Worship

“How can we participate in Great Lent and spiritually profit from it?” Part 3

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Great Lent Worship

“How can we participate in Great Lent and spiritually profit from it?” Part 2

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Great Lent Worship

“How can we participate in Great Lent and spiritually profit from it?” Part 1

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Fr. John, great sermon on [January 23rd]! Please help us to become better givers.

Antimension

Definitions Worship

What is the Antimension?

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While on vacation, we once visited a Greek Orthodox Church which used an organ during liturgy. I thought that we were not supposed to use musical instrument such as organs or guitars during our worship service? But then again, when I read the Psalms, they often talk about the use of stringed instruments, cymbals, flutes, etc. Why don’t we use these as part of our worship, it’s in the Bible?

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Why do I always feel so ashamed when I come to Confession?

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What was the role of the priest during Old Testament times?

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Christmas Worship

What can I do to make the Advent Season more relevant and improve my spiritual life?

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What is a catechumen?

Prayer

Why do we instinctively look “up” when we pray or think about God? Why does the priest say, “Let us lift up our hearts unto God” and then point upward to denote where Heaven is?

Church Attire

My wife and I will be visiting your church for “Friends and Family Day,” and would like to know what the appropriate attire is for the liturgy. Is formal clothing (suite and dress) typically worn?

prokeimenon

What is a Prokeimenon?

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I have a collection of blessed pussy willows from over the years and would like to dispose of them properly. How should I go about this?

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I know that we generally pray facing towards the east, yet how would one go about finding east in space?

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Why do the priests wear robes?

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What draws someone to become a monk or nun?

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Why are children baptized on or near the fortieth day after birth?

John Memorich

I have a Protestant friend who insists that we should not be addressing our priests as ‘Father.’ He quotes the following verse from St. Matthew’s gospel to support his view: “Call no man your father upon the earth: for one is Your Father Who is in heaven” (23:9). How did our tradition of calling a priest “Father” begin? And please, explain this verse.

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How late is 'too late' to get to Church for Divine Liturgy in order to receive Communion?

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In our services I often hear the phrase “oneness of mind,” yet how is it possible for believers to be of the same mind? How can we think alike? How can we be unanimous? How can we be in total agreement?

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What is a parable?

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If someone chooses, is it permissible for Orthodox Christians to be married outside of the church – like in a park, on the beach, or on a mountain?

Five Senses

Why do we need to go to church and worship God? What if we don’t get anything out of it?