You can also download free, full-color discussion guides for adults and teens from the Worship & You website.
Tips for discussion leaders are indented beneath each question.
1. What does it mean to say that Orthodox worship is “true life in the full?”
The key can be found in Archimandrite Zacharias’ statement, “There is prayer and a whole life there, the life of Christ…we accomplish the exchange of our limited and temporal life for the unlimited and infinite life of God.” This ties in with the section on theosis in Unit 1.
2. By responding “Amen” to the opening of “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” how are we “throw(ing) down a gauntlet before the feet of the world?”
It might be helpful to look at how Fr. Lawrence Farley continues on this theme: “The world ceaselessly calls us to bless false gods: the idols of Mammon, Success, Health, Youth, Beauty (as defined by the latest airbrushed models), Fame…The Church, in the opening words of her Divine Liturgy, offers the only true alternative: instead of idols, we will bless only the true God, Triune and undivided, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and among all the alternative paths offered us in the world, we will bless and choose only His Kingdom as the true destination for the human race.”
3. How can we work for the peace for which we pray in the Great Litany?
There are several possibilities mentioned in the “Carry It Into Daily Life” sidebar in the study guide, but prompt the members of your group to discuss some of the specific ways you can work for peace in your community. What problems exist in the community, and what agencies exist—or could be started—to address these problems?
4. How does the Church apply the biblical passages sung in the antiphons to our spiritual lives?
The best way to answer this question is to look at the text of the Divine Liturgy, discussing the litanies that follow each of the antiphons. Guide your group in talking about the biblical texts from which the antiphons are taken, and how the prayers of the priest in these litanies address significant spiritual concerns raised in these texts.
