Волинський благовісник (Oct 2018)
Dogmatic aspects of the Divine Liturgy of St. John of Gold. Part One
Abstract
The article deals with the dogmatic and mysterious aspects of the Divine Liturgy. In the first part, "offering", the sacred ministry is highlighted: the preparation of the holy Lamb for the Eucharist, commemoration of the saints of the heavenly and terrestrial Church. The Golgotha Victim of Christ is portrayed mysteriously. The second part, "announced", reveals the enlightening and salvific activities of Christ, the mysterious appearance of His people and the sermon. The active participation of people in the liturgy, their enlightenment, preparation for the Holy Communion is shown. In the third part, the "faithful", the sacred ministry is analyzed: the mysterious entrance of the Lord to the free suffering and death, the confession of the priesthood and the faithful dogma of faith, the mysterious accomplishment of the High Priest through the visible sacred actions of the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sanctification by the Holy Spirit of the Holy Bread in the Body and wine in the Blood of Christ, Communion and thanksgiving to God. The dogmatic difference in the consecration of the Gifts in Orthodoxy and Catholicism is highlighted. The relevance of this article in theological sense is due to the need for a multilateral and full service to God: to fulfill the will of God; do what God desires; believe in God; hope for God and love God. Divine service has a spiritual and mystical character and is the core of the Christian and non-Christian religions of the world – therefore, the direct practical participation of man in the process of Christian ministry is extremely relevant. It is in this religious sense that ministry to God is the relevance of this article. To serve God is the spirit and the truth (John 4:24). This is an internal ministry to God, called divinely-worshiped. However, worship must be external, because man consists of soul and body. To thank God, to give thanks to Him, to ask His person must and spiritually and bodily, because the soul and body are closely interconnected, mental movements are expressed in the body. "From the fulness of the heart speak the mouth" (Matthew 12: 34). The Word of God inspires us: "glorify God in your bodies and in your souls which are God's" (1 Corinthians 6:20). Therefore, because of the active ministry to God, the faithful receive the blessed novelty of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The statement of the scientific problem and its value is always acutely facing the researcher, requiring him a painstaking analysis of the problem for the possibility of achieving the result and its significance in science. In the liturgical-theological research area there are many scientific problems from which one can determine the following. How much does the content of the modern Liturgy and the sacramental ministry correspond to the ancient Apostolic Liturgy? How is the Epicleasy now practiced in the Eucharist The Sacrament of the Holy Spirit for the consecration of the Gifts in the Liturgy of the Greeks, Arabs and Slavs, and what is the difference between them? From what motives of the Roman Catholics throw away epicles from their mass (prayer for consecration of Gifts): What are they replacing the epicleus and what is their new doctrine? The statement of these problems in this article has a dogmatic and historical significance in theological science, but not all theologians in their liturgical works touch upon this problem. By studying this problem in the liturgical and theological literature and characterizing, in particular, every scientific work, one can prove the following. The authors of works, which in most cases reveal the charter features of the Liturgy, only partially affect this research problem, for example: "Clerical desk book. T. 1 "; "Guide to the study of the Divine Services of the Orthodox Church" Archpriest Constantine Nikolsky; "Liturgy" by Archbishop Averky and liturgical "Servants". There are liturgical works of another meaning, say, "The Scriptures of Apostolic Men. Liturgical heritage of the early Church. Part 2". In this historical study the structure of the Liturgy of the Apostles James and Mark is considered. The Liturgy of Basil the Great is outlined and liturgical broad and profound theological and historical commentary of archpriest Alexander Schmemann and Bishop Vissarion is given. In the book "The Historical, Dogmatic, and Mysterious Explanation of the Divine Liturgy," Ivan Dmitrievsky, the liturgy is explained from the standpoint of the Holy Scriptures and the interpretations of the holy Fathers. The author deals with the problems of history, dogmatics, law, morals, mysticism and symbols of the Liturgy. In the book "Dogmatic Theology" Archpriest V. Vepruk, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, reveals the ratio of the bloodless sacrifice with the Sacrifice of Calvary and other dogmatic questions. In the work "Christianity. Encyclopaedic Dictionary. T. 2, "in the article" Liturgy ", p. 41-44, provides a brief overview and a list of the ancient Liturgy of Christian denominations and paid attention to the Western masses. Archimandrite Cyprian Kearn in his theological work Eucharist, according to Archbishop Averky, details the doctrine of the epilogue's prayer, the consecration of the Holy Spirit to the consecration of the Gifts for the Orthodox and the new Catholic interpretation. A detailed analysis of the available theological literature enables to synthesize the research of the problem, define the purpose and objectives of the article and make full use of the literary potential in the disclosure of this topic. Purpose and tasks of the author of this article: 1) analyze and highlight how the Holy Transmission and Scripture, that is, the earthly life and sacrificial redemptive activities of Christ and the spiritual experience of the holy fathers, are embodied in the liturgical meaning; 2) to reveal and show how our priestly ministry corresponds to the Apostles; 3) to investigate the historical question and to reveal the custom of introducing into the epicles the troparion of the third time at the Liturgy; 4) determine the cause of Catholic loss in the eucharistic service of the epiclesis; 5) reveal the dogmatic and mysterious meaning of the Liturgy. This is the main task. Therefore, without properly describing the whole structure, content and sequence of the Divine service, we will focus in chronological order on the main aspects concerning the mysterious and dogmatic nature of the Liturgy. The structure of the article corresponds to the logic of scientific research according to the defined problem and is formed according to the purpose and objectives of the research. The main material of the article consists of the introduction, the three parts of the Liturgy, the results and conclusions. The study of the Liturgy is carried out in a dogmatic, mysterious and partially historical sense. As a result of the analysis, it was possible to investigate and highlight how the Holy Scriptures, Traditions and creations of the Holy Fathers are embodied in the Liturgy. The dogmatic content in the parts of the Liturgy is determined and the dogmas of faith, confessed by the faithful and the clergy during the time of the sacrament, are revealed. The mysterious side of the Divine Liturgy has been explored and thoroughly proved which unspeakable spiritual goodings through sacred devotion is given by the Lord to the faithful. In the historical context, the structural and theological analysis of the Divine Service in comparison with the Apostolic Liturgies, in particular the Apostle James and Mark, and also the consecration of the Gifts at the Liturgy for the Orthodox doctrine and Catholicism have been presented. The conclusions summarize the research obtained through analysis, in particular, it is noted that in the liturgical sacred activity there is a synergy – a living spiritual cooperation between the faithful, the clergy, the non-believer and the Creator for the sake of the salvation of mankind. For the future, a comparative analysis of the content and form of the mentioned Christian liturgies can be promising.
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