You can also download a free, full-color version of this study guide from the Worship & You website.
The main thing Orthodox Christians do is pray, and nowhere is this clearer than at what roughly constitutes the halfway point in the Divine Liturgy, where we say several litanies of prayers. In one of these litanies—simply called the “Little Litany”—the deacon (or priest) even says, “Again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord…” While these prayers repeat many of the things for which we ask in other prayers, rather …

You can also download a free, full-color version of this study guide from the Worship & You website.
The central activity of Orthodox Christianity is prayer, and nowhere is this more evident than at what roughly constitutes the halfway point in the Divine Liturgy, where we say several litanies of prayers. In one of these litanies—simply called the “Little Litany”—the deacon (or priest) even says, “Again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord…” While these prayers repeat many of the petitions made in other prayers, rather than being …

You can download free, full-color adult and teen discussion guides from the Worship & You website.
Tips for discussion leaders are indented beneath each question.
1. How can Christ’s Incarnation be celebrated through the Little Entrance?
Particularly emphasize that the Gospel symbolizes Christ in the Little Entrance because it tells us so much about Him. For a further patristic explanation of this point, use this quote from St. John of Damascus: “It is one and the same God Whom both the Old and the New Testament proclaim, Who is praised and glorified in …

Here’s a thought you might find a little strange: is it possible to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord every time you worship during the Divine Liturgy? Not only is this case, but there is a specific moment during the Divine Liturgy in which you can celebrate this event: during the Little Entrance.
THE LITTLE ENTRANCE
During the third antiphon (see Unit 3) the priest—accompanied by the servers—carries the Gospel from the sanctuary into the nave. The saints proclaim that this act signifies Christ’s Incarnation: St. Germanus of Constantinople says, “The entrance …

You can also download a free, full-color study guide from the Worship & You website.
Here’s a thought you might find a little strange: is it possible to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord every time you worship during the Divine Liturgy? Not only can you do this, but there is a specific moment during the Divine Liturgy in which you can celebrate this event: during the Little Entrance.
THE LITTLE ENTRANCE
During the third antiphon (see Unit 3) the priest—accompanied by the servers—carries the Gospel from the altar into the nave. The …

You can also download a free, full-color study guide from the Worship & You website.
Here’s a thought you might find a little strange: is it possible to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord every time you worship during the Divine Liturgy? Not only is this case, but there is a specific moment during the Divine Liturgy in which you can celebrate this event: during the Little Entrance.
THE LITTLE ENTRANCE
During the third antiphon (see Unit 3) the priest—accompanied by the servers—carries the Gospel from the sanctuary into the nave. The saints …

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 …

You can also download a free, full-color study guide from the Worship & You website.
It is impossible to talk about true, transforming worship—in other words, about Orthodox worship—without talking about the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is far more than simply our “Sunday morning (and feast day) service;” it is true life in the full, as Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou says, “The Divine Liturgy is worship; there is prayer and a whole life there, the life of Christ. In the Holy Eucharist, we accomplish the exchange of our limited and temporal …

You can also download a free, full-color version of this study guide.
It is impossible to talk about true, transforming worship—in other words, about Orthodox worship—without talking about the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is far more than simply our “Sunday morning (and feast day) service;” it is true life in the full, as Archimandrite Zacharias Zacharou says, “The Divine Liturgy is worship; there is prayer and a whole life there, the life of Christ. In the Holy Eucharist, we accomplish the exchange of our limited and temporal life for the …

You can also download free, full-color adult and teen versions of this discussion guide from the Worship & You website.
Tips for discussion leaders are indented beneath each question.
1. Look at the praise of the Holy Trinity that appears at the end of many Orthodox prayers—what is a part of the Divine Liturgy where all the people make a profession about God?
The Nicene Creed. Look at such statements in the Creed as “the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible,” and “the Holy Spirit, …