Lectures on Liturgy: The Holy Altar скачать в хорошем качестве

Lectures on Liturgy: The Holy Altar

Another in the lecture series produced by St. Volodymyr Cathedral of Toronto and St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Fr. Bohdan Hladio describes the most important aspects of the Holy Altar — the sanctuary in the ecclesiastical East of Orthodox church buildings, found behind the iconostasis, where the laity may not enter without a blessing. Fr. Hladio explains the common features of the Holy Table and the items on it: the Artophorion (Tabernacle), Gospel Book, Blessing Cross, Communion cloths, oil lamps, Seven-branched Candlestick, Repidia (liturgical fans) and Processional Cross. He delves into the form and function of the Antimension — the Altar cloth into which a martyr's relics have been sewn. Consecrated and signed by the bishop, it is the basis of a bond between a bishop and the community he oversees, authorizing the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. It is onto the Antimension that the Holy Gifts are borne during the Divine Liturgy; without it celebration of the Liturgy is impossible. From the Holy Table, attention is turned to the High Place, the apse behind the Tabernacle, traditionally the place where the Synthronon — a tiered and elevated platform with benches for the clergy flanking the cathedra (the Bishop's throne) is located. It was from this throne that bishops of the early church delivered homilies instructing the faithful. Following the High Place, Father Bohdan briefly touches on the Diakonikon, a side table to the ecclesiastical south of the Holy Table (in much larger ancient churches, this might have been a separate room or vestry) — and its counterpart on the opposite side (the ecclesiastical north) of the sanctuary, the Table of Oblation — where the Proskomedia (the Liturgy of Preparation ofthe bread and wine that become the Body and Blood of our Lord, God and Saviour, Jesus Christ are prepared) takes place.