Services/prayers when one cannot attend the Liturgy

[Joshua G.]

I came across a thread that kind of dealt with this issue, but it was more on the grounds as to if it was a "mortal sin" and so on. Such is not the purpose of my question.

Assuming I have a reason "worthy of a blessing" to miss Liturgy, is there something we should be doing instead? I know that this is definitely an "ask your priest" question and I intend to do so, but I have a feeling he is not going to give specifics but rather tell me to pray.

I once heard that we are to pray the liturgy, but obviously that can get into some wierd parts and it's hard to know what to skip. Has anyone heard of this? Do they just read the deacon's liturgy?

I know that every person is different and I know there isn't a dogmatic answer for this question. I suppose I am looking for common prescribed practice.

There have been a few times I have missed for a reason worthy of a blessing (sick family member, huge baby's accident all over your clothes just as you are walking out the door for Church (and already running a little late)... I won't go into details here lol (this happened yesterday). But I still feel guilty feeling relaxed, feeling like I "got away with it". I know that's a terrible attitude, but I struggle weekly with not wanting to go to Church and just wanting to sleep or go to a cafe and read the newspaper or whatever. And I need something specific to do, not just "pray", something structured.

Again, I want to make it clear that I will check with my priest on this. I'm just looking for ideas that have precedence.

Joshua

[Anthony Stokes]

I came across a thread that kind of dealt with this issue, but it was more on the grounds as to if it was a "mortal sin" and so on. Such is not the purpose of my question.

Assuming I have a reason "worthy of a blessing" to miss Liturgy, is there something we should be doing instead? Joshua

The usual "replacement" service for the Liturgy that you can pray at home is the Typica. It contains the typical psalms and beatitudes, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the kontakion for the day, and a place where you can read the Epistle and Gospel for the day as well. Combined with the 3rd and 6th hour, it makes a nice little service (probably about 30-45 minutes with all 3 together).

This is the service that is done on Holy Friday (the one day a year with no Liturgy of any kind) as part of the Royal Hours.

I believe there are a few threads if you search for "typica" on here.

Sbdn. Anthony

[Joshua G.]

The usual "replacement" service for the Liturgy that you can pray at home is the Typica. It contains the typical psalms and beatitudes, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the kontakion for the day, and a place where you can read the Epistle and Gospel for the day as well. Combined with the 3rd and 6th hour, it makes a nice little service (probably about 30-45 minutes with all 3 together).

This is the service that is done on Holy Friday (the one day a year with no Liturgy of any kind) as part of the Royal Hours.

I believe there are a few threads if you search for "typica" on here.

Sbdn. Anthony

Thank you very much! That's what I was looking for. I will speak to my priest about this.

I like that that includes the "hymns" and readings of the day so, although I will have missed a lot of important stuff at the Divine Liturgy, my family and I can still be nourished in some way that holds some form of similarity to that which we would missing.

Having something like this (or whatever my priest prescribes, if he doesn't feel this is the best match for me and my family) will really make me think twice if I am just looking for an excuse to stay home or am truly in a bind.

Thank you Anthony,

Joshua

[Joshua G.]

I'm kind of new (or REnewed after a long time gone) to this site and I am not sure how to navegate it yet. I do realize, however, that there is a lot of information here beyond just the forum.

Is the Typika available here? Does anyone have a link? I googled and I found the Typikon and I am sure that is related but I am not sure if it is the same thing.

Also, any link to the Kontakions and Theotokions and any other hymns of the day (you can tell I am not a liturgist and you would think after almost of a decade of serving and being Orthodox I would know all of this stuff, but honestly, I just follow along and listen to the words, lol) and which Sundays to do them would be great. However, I THINK the GOArch site has this if I am not mistaken. These never differ among jurisdiction (unlike the Epistle and Gospel Readings) correct?

Thank you,

Joshua

[Andreas Moran]

From conversations I've had with a few people, finding it hard to got to church can be a real problem, not for any practical reason but just making the effort, especially if preparation for holy communion is involved. One can feel afflicted by a real lethargy which is hard to combat. My wife spoke at some length about this with her spiritual father the last time we were in Russia. He said it is an understandable problem for those living in a western country such as the UK (or I suppose North America). The fact that we are not in an Orthodox atmosphere and may have to travel some distance means we have a greater struggle. Furthermore, he said, we are so few Orthodox in such a country and so are easier targets for the temptations of evil spirits.

[Father David Moser]

Is the Typika available here? Does anyone have a link? I googled and I found the Typikon and I am sure that is related but I am not sure if it is the same thing.

Also, any link to the Kontakions and Theotokions and any other hymns of the day

Fr John Whiteford of St Jonah of Manurchira mission in Houston maintains a webpage with the reader's service material (http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/services.htm) not only for typica but for other services as well. You can find the typica there and the changeable material for the services for Sunday's and major feast days of the Russian Church.

Fr David Moser

[Christophoros]

Fr John Whiteford of St Jonah of Manurchira mission in Houston maintains a webpage with the reader's service material (http://pages.prodigy.net/frjohnwhiteford/services.htm) not only for typica but for other services as well. You can find the typica there and the changeable material for the services for Sunday's and major feast days of the Russian Church.

Fr David Moser

You can also find services on Bishop Basil of Wichita's website, which follows the Greek typikon:

http://www.dowama.org/node/19

And a helpful free program for the daily troparia and kontakia (and lives of the saints) can be found at the Menologion 3.0 website:

http://www.orthodox.cn/software/menologion3_en.htm

[Father David Moser]

You can also find services on Bishop Basil of Wichita's website, which follows the Greek typikon:

I suspect that Bp Basil will be on the New Calendar, whereas the query was from a person in the MP which is Old Calendar


And a helpful free program for the daily troparia and kontakia (and lives of the saints) can be found at the Menologion 3.0 website:

I believe the Menologian can be structured to accomodate either calendar


Fr David Moser

[Father David Moser]

Also, any link to the Kontakions and Theotokions and any other hymns of the day (you can tell I am not a liturgist and you would think after almost of a decade of serving and being Orthodox I would know all of this stuff, but honestly, I just follow along and listen to the words, lol) and which Sundays to do them would be great. However, I THINK the GOArch site has this if I am not mistaken. These never differ among jurisdiction (unlike the Epistle and Gospel Readings) correct?

The Epistle and Gospel readings are going to be more consistent with the only "variance"in the resurrectional cycle being whether or not the particular diocese or parish uses the "Lucan jump" and that would affect only the Sundays from the Exhaltation of the Cross until the beginning of the triodion.

The tropaia and kontakia, on the other hand are linked to the saint/feast of the day on the fixed calendar and thus will vary depending on whether the parish follows the old or new calendar.

Fr David Moser

[Joshua G.]

I'm glad to know that it doesn't vary amongst jurisdictions as much as I had thought. But I do remember several times going to the local Greek parish (which is New Calendar just like my MP parish) and hearing a different reading than I would later find out was read at my parish.

Since I am on the verge of derailing my own thread could anyone post a link or a Monachos thread that speaks about exactly why, how and when the readings differ amongst jurisdictions?

If I don't get a response to that, I'll just start a new theread.

Thank you everyone for your time!

Joshua

[Ryan]

Saint Tikhon's Monastery Press publishes "The Hours and the Typica" as a booklet which can be ordered here: http://www.stspress.com/detail.aspx?ID=3045

[Joshua G.]

Thank you. To be honest, I am having a hard time making sense out of what I am looking at online.

I used to read the Epistle at Church and I hated it (not the Epistle but actually doing it) because in the Slavic tradition (seemingly 100 times more complicated than the Greek one, to the GOArch's credit!) you have to find the whatever of the day, read the full thing, then a verse and go back to half of it and then follow up by blessing the priest and then read the Scripture and then do some complicated thing with the Alleluia. It was like figuring out calculus every week. I never got the hang of that. The typikon looked like that... times 1000. lol If it can be spelled out in a nice book, I will be happy :)

Joshua

[Kseniya M.]

In addition to the above suggestions, Orthodox Christian Network broadcasts a live Divine Liturgy via the internet every Sunday at 10am US eastern time. I believe it's Greek Orthodox and new calendar, but you may derive some comfort from it. You can find it at http://www.myocn.net/index.php/The-Divine-Liturgy.html

-Kseniya

[Michael Stickles]

... you have to find the whatever of the day, read the full thing, then a verse and go back to half of it and then follow up by blessing the priest and then read the Scripture and then do some complicated thing with the Alleluia. It was like figuring out calculus every week.

Heh. I wish it was as easy as calculus :-)

Fortunately, the one time I read the epistle at a Liturgy (the deacon had laryngitis and all of our regular and backup readers were either sick or out of town; I was the only available person), the deacon handed me a sheet of paper which had the prokeimenon and alleluia stuff on it; everything except the reading itself. Otherwise I'd have been lost halfway through. I'd already gotten mixed up trying to do the hours. Our choir director is planning to do some classes on reading the rubriks, so if a situation like this comes up again any one of us in the choir can handle any part of the service (except the priest's parts, of course).

Thanks for starting this thread, by the way. I was already planning to talk to my priest about the same thing, and was wondering if there were other things besides the Typica to think about. I'll have the situation come up on a trip in June (no church within a four hour drive), but if Typica's even half as complicated to organize as the liturgy, I figured I'd want to start the planning now :-)

Michael

[Joshua G.]

In addition to the above suggestions, Orthodox Christian Network broadcasts a live Divine Liturgy via the internet every Sunday at 10am US eastern time. I believe it's Greek Orthodox and new calendar, but you may derive some comfort from it. You can find it at http://www.myocn.net/index.php/The-Divine-Liturgy.html

-Kseniya

Thank you!