Worship & services.
The Church prays without ceasing. Here is the week as we keep it, and the months ahead.
The week, kept in prayer
The Sunday Liturgy is the centre. The rest of the cycle radiates from it — daily prayer in the chapel, Vespers on Saturday, the Pre-sanctified Liturgies of Great Lent, the long-night services of Holy Week.
What we keep this Sunday
Zacchaeus Sunday
Every week, the same shape
The pattern doesn't change. Add Pre-sanctified on Wednesdays during Great Lent, Paraklesis Wednesdays during the Dormition fast, the Akathist on Fridays of Lent.
The Holy Apostle Andrew, the First-called
Brother of Peter — apostle to the Greeks
On the calendar
What the cycle of services is for
The schedule looks long because it is. Orthodox worship is not a once-a-week appointment but a daily round — sanctifying the hours of the day, the days of the week, the seasons of the year. Even when we cannot attend everything, the cycle goes on; the chapel is open; the candles are lit.
The cornerstones are the Saturday-evening Vespers and the Sunday Divine Liturgy. Make those if you can make nothing else. Beyond that, the Pre-sanctified Liturgies on Wednesday evenings of Great Lent are profoundly nourishing. So is the Akathist Hymn on Friday evenings of Lent. Holy Week — the seven days from Lazarus Saturday through Pascha — has its own dense rhythm we publish separately each year.
For familiesChildren are welcome at every service. Babies cry; nobody minds. The cry-room at the back of the church has a clear window onto the sanctuary if you need it. We have Sunday school during coffee hour for ages 4 through high school.
For visitorsPew sheets in English are available at every service. Ushers will hand you one. Stand when others stand; sit when they sit. Don't worry about getting it perfectly right.