Liturgical Services

Throughout Great Lent, many liturgical services are celebrated in Orthodox Churches.

Click below to access information on the service, along with the text of the service.

The Akathist Hymn

The first 5 Fridays of Great Lent are marked with a very beloved service  of the Orthodox faithful, dedicated to the Theotokos. The Salutations of the Theotokos, together with a supplicatory canon, are incorporated to the Small Compline service (this is the only time of the week the Small Compline is held). If we wanted to get to know the Mother of God a little better, all we have to do is listen to the hymns of this service—it’s like her biography, “in poem form".....

Great Compline

Compline service is a service which is held at the end of the day. It takes place after dinner (hence the Greek name of the service, Apodeipno). Any other time of the year, people hold the Office of Small Compline. Since it is the end of the day, it deals with thanking God for the day that passed, and to ask Him for help during the coming night, so that all temptation might be averted from the people, and that they might rise to praise His Name again. In Lent, though, things are a little different.   The Service of Great Compline is a service that has many beloved !  hymns and  prayers of Great Lent. This service is called Great Compline because it is longer… much longer (where Small Compline is about 15-20 minutes, this service is approximately 1 hour). The theology in the prayers and hymns, however, is fantastic. The contents of this service are about the same as Small Compline, with a stress on the theme of repentance (μετάνοια, “changing one’s mind”) and salvation....

Saturdays of the Souls

Although every Saturday is dedicated to our departed brothers and sisters in Christ, four Saturdays throughout the year are especially dedicated to praying for them, called Saturdays of the Souls. After the Divine Liturgy, those who have departed for eternal life are commemorated by the Priest in a memorial service. People usually come to Church, preparing kollyva as an offering....

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is performed in conjunction with the evening Vespers service. This Liturgy is usually celebrated on Wednesdays in our Churches (and, in some Churches, also on Fridays). The last Presanctified Liturgy of the year is celebrated on Holy Wednesday.

Holy Week Services

Services here are in Greek, from the Matins of Lazarus Saturday to the Agape Vespers on Pascha.