Liturgical Service Is a Spiritual Service
Liturgical Service Is a Spiritual Service
All the rites of the Church have their own spirituality and the depth of their effect on the heart, when they are performed correctly…
But if the priest performs them in a routine manner with no spirituality, then the fault lies in the routine—not in the rites.
The prayer of the Liturgy is the deepest prayer and the most impactful on the heart and the most effective in heaven. It is not merely a rite; it is prayer, and prayer is a purely spiritual work…
Therefore, we advise the priest to pray it and prepare for it spiritually even more than the people do, and to chant the hymns of the Liturgy in the spirit of prayer and supplication, making the people feel that he is praying and speaking with God.
Likewise, all other liturgical acts must be performed with their inner spirituality. Incense offering, for example—around the altar, before the sanctuary, or before the icons—should be done with spirituality, depth, understanding, and the spirit of prayer that accompanies the incense, with calmness and reverence fitting the purpose of censing and fitting its prayers.
The anointings (rashumat) as well must make everyone feel the spirit of blessing and the spirit of prayer. They are prayers, not merely a rite…
And since the anointings are prayers, then they are a spiritual work…
And the anointings are an act of faith, so they must be carried out in the spirit of faith…
Every sacrament of the Church must have its rites performed with proper spirituality. Baptism, for example: the priest must make those coming to it—and their families—realize that it is a new birth, that in it there is the work of the Holy Spirit, and the salvation of the person. Therefore, it deserves reverent prayers, deliberate anointings, and clear seriousness in understanding the sacrament and its effect. And likewise with the anointings of the Myron…
Here we caution that the excessive speed with which the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Myron are performed during the heavy crowds of saints’ feast days—this speed does not make people feel the spirituality of the sacrament nor the awe of its completion. It often plants doubts in them concerning its proper performance!
Therefore, we advise the fathers to be precise and spiritual during feast-day baptisms.
A spiritual priest, who understands all the spiritual depth that the rites carry, reveals spirituality in his performance of them and gives the rite’s spirituality its full effect.
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