To the Right Reverend, Very Reverend
and Reverend Clergy; Choir Directors, Chanters and Faithful of the Diocese of
Los Angeles and the West:
Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. In her daily cycle of services,
the Orthodox Church gathers together several components for accurate and
uplifting prayer to our Savior Jesus Christ. One of these elements is the
referencing of service books such as the Menaion, the Octoechos and the Lenten
Triodion. Our clergy, choir directors and chanters must often juggle these books
and pick the correct changeable verses and hymns to be used during worship. This
preparation of the divine services ensures accurate commemorations of the feasts
of our Lord, His Holy Mother and His venerable saints. However, confusion often
seems constant, as we frequently do not know exactly which hymns we chant during
certain days, weeks or seasons throughout the year; and how we rank their
importance when arranging services such as Great Vespers and Orthros. When the
clergy and chanters are confused, most often the laity follow suit.
To remedy this problem, the website of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the West
will be publishing “Weekend Services Texts”, which are word-for-word
compilations of Saturday Great Vespers and Sunday Orthros. The Texts will be
made available online early each week, and are compiled from translations
published or sanctioned by the Antiochian Archdiocese and this Diocese.
These are to be downloaded and used in all
parishes from this point forward. These are the only texts approved for use
within our Diocese for these services.
However, each parish is to still
keep Archdiocese publications at its chanter stands, especially the music, such
as the “Byzatine Project” series by the late Professor Basil Kazan. These
supplement the Texts that the Diocese publishes every weekend.
The Diocese publishes these Great Vespers and Orthros Texts to create more
uniformity—and to eliminate confusion and mistakes—in our Holy Orthodox Church
services. These Texts provide greater ease for the clergy and chanters, as they
do not have to shuffle through the various books needed for complete and
accurate weekend services. Also, our laity can print out the Texts and follow
along with clergy and chanters. Thus, with chaos eliminated from the chanter
stands and choir lofts—and with the laity better equipped to participate—our
worship will be more prayerful, uplifting and unified. Our “liturgia” will be in
accordance with the instruction of
St. Paul, who says, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1
Cor.
14:40).
May the Lord God continue to bless and perfect the “work of the people” of this
Diocese inside our churches.
Your Father in Christ,
+ JOSEPH Bishop of Los
Angeles and the West
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Throughout this
site you will find video, audio and PDF document files.
In order to view each respective section, please make sure you have the
appropriate software.
Only two applications are required, both of which are free.
NOTE: Pages are best viewed with a screen
resolution of 1280 x 1024 or greater.
