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"Liturgical teaching consists, therefore, in explaining how everything in worship concerns us, as the Church of God, makes us the living body of Christ, and concerns me, as a living member of that body."
Fr. Alexander Schmemann
In our discussion yesterday evening about "Children in Church," we also spoke of parents learning more about the Divine Liturgy, so as to further enhance their living experience of the Liturgy, which in turn can be related to their children in an age-appropriate manner. So, I thought to open this up to the entire parish, so anyone interested in further studying the Divine Liturgy, can also find some helpful titles below.
A good starting place would be Vol. II of Fr. Thomas Hopko's series, The Orthodox Faith. This is actually a very detailed description of all of the components of the Divine Liturgy, including what is called the "Proskomedia/Prothesis," served by the priest and deacon in preparation of the bread and wine that will be offered during the Liturgy. Here is the link:
Another excellent book, that I turned to yesterday evening is: Liturgy and Life - Christian Development Through Liturgical Experience by Fr. Alexander Schmemann:
Then, there is Fr. Schmemann's magnum opus, The Eucharist:
The late Archbishop Paul of Finland, wrote a compact but very helpful book:
If you are looking for a more detailed and somewhat scholarly book on how the Liturgy developed though the centuries, this particular book by Hugh Wybrew - and endorsed by Met. Kallistos Ware - is quite well done:
https://svspress.com/liturgy-and-life/?searchid=0&search_query=Liturgy+and+Life
Nothing can quite match the direct experience of the Divine Liturgy as it unfolds within the liturgical life of the church, but these books can build up our knowledge of the meaning of the Liturgy and that can further deepen our experience.
I am planning on organizing a class in the new year in which we will take a detailed look at the entire Liturgy.
In Christ,
Fr. Steven
