Byzantine Liturgy

Sacred Time

The daily, weekly and yearly services make up what is termed the "liturgical year." While monasteries can celebrate all services, most parishes follow a weekly cycle that may include Vespers, Matins and the Divine Liturgy. We also celebrate these and other services on additional fast and feast days throughout the year.
Sunset Begins the Day.
In liturgical time, day begins at sunset as recorded in the Book of Genesis, "And there was evening and there was morning, one day" (Genesis 1:5)
Likewise, Moses said, "From evening to evening, shall you celebrate your Sabbath" (Leviticus 23:32)

Vespers
For this reason, the Church begins the Lord's Day on Saturday evening with
Vespers, which commemorates the beginning of the world at Creation. During this service, the faithful praise God as Creator. We remember our expulsion from Paradise and ask for forgiveness. With the hymn "O Joyful Light," we glorify Christ as the Light of the world, who reconciles us to God.

Matins
We begin Sunday worship with Matins. This service celebrates the appearance of God at His Birth and to the Myrrh-bearing Women at dawn after His Resurrection. We sing psalms that express mankind waiting in darkness for the dawn. We hymn Christ's appearance as the Light. We rejoice in the blessings His Resurrection bestows on us.
Following Matins is the Divine Liturgy, the only service not linked to a specific time of day. This is because the Liturgy celebrates the Mystery of the Eucharist, which takes place outside of time. We celebrate the Liturgy on feast days and every Sunday, in some parish and monasteries each day,
which is the day Christ rose from the dead. This is why the faithful call Sunday "the Lord's Day" or "the Day of Resurrection." As the Church has done from the first century, we celebrate a "little Pascha" at every Sunday Liturgy, rejoicing in the Resurrection of our Lord.

Our Presence and Participation
As beings created for union with God, we are called to be present in the church during the services and to participate reverently. When we bow towards the sanctuary of God, the holy icons and the priest, we express humility, reverence and gratitude. With this attitude, we acknowledge our place within the created order and before God.
When possible Eastern Catholic churches face east, with the sanctuary in the easternmost part of the building. This is because the Church refers to Christ as the Star in the east that illumined His Nativity, and as the Sunrise who will come again in the east. When in church or at home therefore, we pray facing east. We recall with joy Christ's appearance on earth, and watch with expectation for His Second Coming.
The church's structure and her services paint an icon of our salvation. By entering our churches with reverence and making the Church's prayer our own, we participate in a reality designed for us by God. This is the true life on earth that touches eternal life in heaven. The icon screen reminds us that the saints are praying before the heavenly throne of God now! As be bow before God in one common movement, our prayers are united with theirs.

Adapted from
"The Way the Truth The Life"
of the OCEC 2003