This is the text of the Divine Liturgy with the parts of the deacon, the priest and the people, and the principal prayers of the anaphora, translated from the Greek. Where there is no deacon, the priest says the deacon’s parts. The variable parts (antiphons, troparia, readings) come from the service books of the day. When the antiphons of feasts or weekdays are appointed, they replace the typical psalms below.
The Great Litany
Deacon: Bless, master.
Priest: Blessed is the kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Deacon: In peace let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the peace of the whole world, for the stability of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For this holy house, and for those who enter it with faith, reverence and the fear of God, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For our bishop N., for the honorable presbyterate, for the diaconate in Christ, for all the clergy and the people, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For our country, for all in authority, and for all who serve, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For this city, for every city and land, and for the faithful who dwell in them, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For seasonable weather, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth, and for peaceful times, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For those who travel by land, by sea and by air, for the sick and the suffering, for captives, and for their salvation, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger and necessity, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God, by ThyYour grace.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Remembering our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and all our life to Christ our God.
People: To TheeYou, O Lord.
Priest: For to TheeYou belong all glory, honor and worship, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
The First Antiphon
Psalm 102
(103) A Psalm of David.
1Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his praises:
3who forgives all your transgressions, who heals all your diseases;
4who redeems your life from corruption; who crowns you with mercy and compassion;
5who satisfies your desire with good things: so that your youth shall be renewed like that of the eagle.
6The Lord executes mercy and judgment for all that are injured.
7He made known his ways to Moses, his will to the children of Israel.
8The Lord is compassionate and pitiful, longsuffering, and full of mercy.
9He will not be always angry; neither will he be wrathful for ever.
10He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
11For as the heaven is high above the earth, the Lord has so increased his mercy toward them that fear him.
12As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13As a father pities his children, the Lord pities them that fear him.
14For he knows our frame: remember that we are dust.
15As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish.
16For the wind passes over it, and it shall not be; and it shall know its place no more.
17But the mercy of the Lord is from generation to generation upon them that fear him, and his righteousness to children's children;
18to them that keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them.
19The Lord has prepared his throne in the heaven; and his kingdom rules over all.
20Bless the Lord, all you⌃ his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his bidding, ready to listen to the voice of his words.
21Bless the Lord, all you⌃ his hosts; you⌃ ministers of his that do his will.
22Bless the Lord, all his works, in every place of his dominion: bless the Lord, O my soul.
The small litany:
Deacon: Again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God, by ThyYour grace.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Remembering our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and all our life to Christ our God.
People: To TheeYou, O Lord.
Priest: For ThineYours is the dominion, and ThineYours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
The Second Antiphon
Psalm 145
(146) Alleluia, a Psalm of Aggaeus and Zacharias.
1My soul, praise the Lord.
2While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
3Trust not in princes, nor in the children of men, in whom there is no safety.
4His breath shall go forth, and he shall return to his earth; in that day all his thoughts shall perish.
5Blessed is he whose helper is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God:
6who made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all things in them: who keeps truth for ever:
7who executes judgment for the wronged: who gives food to the hungry. The Lord looses the fettered ones:
8the Lord gives wisdom to the blind: The Lord sets up the broken down: the Lord loves the righteous: the Lord preserves the strangers;
9he will relieve the orphan and widow: but will utterly remove the way of sinners.
10The Lord shall reign for ever, even your God, O Sion, to all generations.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
O only-begotten Son and Word of God, who artare immortal, and yet for our salvation didstdid will to be incarnate of the holy Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, and without change didstdid become man; who wastwere crucified, O Christ our God, trampling down death by death; who artare one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit: save us.
The small litany, as above, ending:
Priest: For ThouYou artare a good God who lovestlove mankind, and to TheeYou we send up glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
The Third Antiphon: The Beatitudes
In ThyYour kingdom remember us, O Lord, when ThouYou comestcome in ThyYour kingdom.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.
Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.
The Small Entrance
Deacon: Wisdom! Stand upright!
People: Come, let us worship and fall down before Christ. O Son of God, risen from the dead, save us who sing to TheeYou: Alleluia.
On weekdays: O Son of God, wondrous in ThyYour saints, save us who sing to TheeYou: Alleluia.
The troparia and kontakia of the day.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Priest: For holy artare ThouYou, O our God, and to TheeYou we send up glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever.
Deacon: Unto ages of ages.
People: Amen. Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.
Three times; then Glory, both now, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us; and once more, Holy God.
The Readings
Deacon: Let us attend.
Priest: Peace be to all.
Reader: With your spirit also.
Deacon: Wisdom!
The prokeimenon of the day, then the reading from the Acts of the Apostles or the Epistles.
Priest: Peace be to you, reader.
People: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
With the verses of the day.
Deacon: Wisdom! Stand upright! Let us hear the holy Gospel.
Priest: Peace be to all.
People: With your spirit also.
Priest: The reading from the holy Gospel according to N.
People: Glory to TheeYou, O Lord, glory to TheeYou.
Deacon: Let us attend.
The Gospel of the day. At its end:
People: Glory to TheeYou, O Lord, glory to TheeYou.
The homily may follow.
The Litany of Fervent Supplication
Deacon: Let us all say with our whole soul and with our whole mind, let us say.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: O Lord Almighty, the God of our fathers, we pray TheeYou, hear us and have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Have mercy on us, O God, according to ThyYour great mercy, we pray TheeYou, hear us and have mercy.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Three times, and after each petition that follows.
Deacon: Again we pray for our bishop N., and for all our brethren in Christ.
Deacon: Again we pray for mercy, life, peace, health, salvation and visitation for the servants of God, the people of this parish, and for the forgiveness of their sins.
Deacon: Again we pray for the blessed and ever-memorable founders of this holy church, and for all our fathers and brethren who have gone to rest before us, and who here and everywhere lie asleep in the Lord.
Deacon: Again we pray for those who bear fruit and do good works in this holy and all-venerable church, for those who labor and those who sing, and for all the people here present, who await ThyYour great and rich mercy.
Priest: For ThouYou artare a merciful God who lovestlove mankind, and to TheeYou we send up glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
The litanies for the departed and for the catechumens may follow. Then:
Deacon: All the faithful, again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
The Cherubic Hymn
People: Let us who mystically represent the cherubim, and who sing the thrice-holy hymn to the life-creating Trinity, now lay aside all earthly cares,
The Great Entrance with the holy gifts.
Priest: May the Lord God remember all of you in his kingdom, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen. That we may receive the King of all, escorted invisibly by the angelic hosts. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
The Litany of Supplication
Deacon: Let us complete our prayer to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the precious gifts now set forth, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That the whole day may be perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, let us ask of the Lord.
People: Grant this, O Lord.
The same response follows each petition below.
Deacon: An angel of peace, a faithful guide, a guardian of our souls and bodies, let us ask of the Lord.
Deacon: Pardon and remission of our sins and transgressions, let us ask of the Lord.
Deacon: All things that are good and profitable for our souls, and peace for the world, let us ask of the Lord.
Deacon: That we may complete the rest of our life in peace and repentance, let us ask of the Lord.
Deacon: A Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless and peaceful, and a good defense before the dread judgment seat of Christ, let us ask.
Deacon: Remembering our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary, with all the saints, let us commend ourselves and one another and all our life to Christ our God.
People: To TheeYou, O Lord.
Priest: Through the compassion of ThineYour only-begotten Son, with whom ThouYou artare blessed, together with ThineYour all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Peace be to all.
People: With your spirit also.
Deacon: Let us love one another, that with one mind we may confess:
People: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided.
Deacon: The doors! The doors! In wisdom let us attend.
The Symbol of Faith
The Symbol of Faith (The Nicene Creed)
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.
In one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages; Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten, not made, of one essence with the Father, through whom all things were made; who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; who was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried; who rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; who ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father; who will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
In the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father, who together with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke through the prophets.
In one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the remission of sins.
I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The Holy Anaphora
Deacon: Let us stand well; let us stand with fear; let us attend, that we may offer the holy oblation in peace.
People: A mercy of peace, a sacrifice of praise.
Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
People: With your spirit also.
Priest: Let us lift up our hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord.
People: It is right and just to worship the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity one in essence and undivided.
The priest prays:
It is right and just to sing of TheeYou, to bless TheeYou, to praise TheeYou, to give thanks to TheeYou, and to worship TheeYou in every place of ThyYour dominion. For ThouYou artare God ineffable, incomprehensible, invisible, beyond understanding, ever existing and always the same, ThouYou and ThineYour only-begotten Son and ThyYour Holy Spirit. ThouYou didstdid bring us from nonexistence into being, and when we had fallen away, ThouYou didstdid raise us up again, and didstdid not cease to do all things until ThouYou hadsthad led us to heaven and granted us ThyYour kingdom to come. For all these things we thank TheeYou, and ThineYour only-begotten Son, and ThyYour Holy Spirit; for all the benefits, known and unknown, manifest and hidden, that have been bestowed upon us. We thank TheeYou also for this liturgy, which ThouYou hasthave been pleased to accept from our hands, though there stand before TheeYou thousands of archangels and ten thousands of angels, the cherubim and the seraphim, six-winged, many-eyed, soaring aloft on their wings,
Priest: singing the triumphal hymn, shouting, crying aloud and saying:
People: Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of ThyYour glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
The priest prays:
With these blessed powers, O Master who lovestlove mankind, we also cry aloud and say: holy artare ThouYou and all-holy, ThouYou and ThineYour only-begotten Son and ThyYour Holy Spirit. Holy artare ThouYou and all-holy, and majestic is ThyYour glory. ThouYou didstdid so love ThyYour world as to give ThineYour only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. He came, and having fulfilled all the dispensation for our sake, in the night in which he was given up, or rather gave himself up, for the life of the world, he took bread in his holy, pure and blameless hands, and when he had given thanks and blessed it, sanctified it and broken it, he gave it to his holy disciples and apostles, saying:
Priest: Take, eat; this is my Body, which is broken for you, for the remission of sins.
People: Amen.
Priest: Drink of it, all of you; this is my Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins.
People: Amen.
The priest prays: Remembering, therefore, this saving commandment, and all that has come to pass for our sake: the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand, and the second and glorious coming,
Priest: ThineYour own of ThineYour own we offer to TheeYou, on behalf of all and for all.
People: We praise TheeYou, we bless TheeYou, we give thanks to TheeYou, O Lord, and we pray to TheeYou, O our God.
The priest prays the Epiclesis:
Again we offer to TheeYou this spiritual and bloodless worship, and we ask, pray and entreat TheeYou: send down ThyYour Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here set forth. Make this bread the precious Body of ThyYour Christ. Amen. That which is in this cup, make the precious Blood of ThyYour Christ. Amen. Changing them by ThyYour Holy Spirit. Amen, amen, amen.
So that they may be to those who partake of them for sobriety of soul, for the remission of sins, for the communion of ThyYour Holy Spirit, for the fullness of the kingdom of heaven, for boldness toward TheeYou, and not for judgment or condemnation.
We offer to TheeYou this spiritual worship also for those who have fallen asleep in faith: the forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and every righteous spirit made perfect in faith,
Priest: especially for our most holy, most pure, most blessed and glorious Lady Theotokos and ever-virgin Mary.
People: It is truly right to bless you, O Theotokos, ever blessed and most pure, and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the seraphim, without defilement you gave birth to God the Word. True Theotokos, we magnify you.
On great feasts, the hymn of the feast replaces „It is truly right.” The priest commemorates Saint John the Forerunner, the apostles, the saint of the day and all the saints, the departed and the living.
Priest: Among the first, remember, O Lord, our bishop N.: grant him to ThyYour holy churches in peace, safety, honor, health and length of days, rightly dividing the word of ThyYour truth.
People: Remember also all of ThyYour servants, men and women.
Priest: Grant us with one mouth and one heart to glorify and praise ThyYour most honorable and majestic name, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: The mercies of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with all of you.
People: With your spirit also.
The Litany Before the Lord’s Prayer
Deacon: Having remembered all the saints, again and again in peace let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: For the precious gifts offered and sanctified, let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: That our God who loves mankind, having received them upon his holy, heavenly and spiritual altar as an odor of spiritual fragrance, may send down upon us in return his divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray.
People: Lord, have mercy.
The petitions of the litany of supplication follow, as above, with „Grant this, O Lord.”
Deacon: Having asked for the unity of the faith and the communion of the Holy Spirit, let us commend ourselves and one another and all our life to Christ our God.
People: To TheeYou, O Lord.
Priest: Make us worthy, O Master, with boldness and without condemnation, to dare to call upon TheeYou, the heavenly God, as Father, and to say:
Our Father, who artare in heaven, hallowed be ThyYour name. ThyYour kingdom come, ThyYour will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For ThineYours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Priest: Peace be to all.
People: With your spirit also.
Deacon: Let us bow our heads to the Lord.
People: To TheeYou, O Lord.
Priest: Through the grace, compassion and love for mankind of ThineYour only-begotten Son, with whom ThouYou artare blessed, together with ThineYour all-holy, good and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Deacon: Let us attend.
Priest: The holy things for the holy.
People: One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The communion hymn of the day, for example on Sundays: Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the highest. Alleluia.
Holy Communion
Deacon: With fear of God, with faith and with love, draw near.
People: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. God is the Lord, and he has revealed himself to us.
The faithful who have prepared approach and say the prayer before Communion.
Prayer Before Holy Communion of Saint John Chrysostom
I believe, O Lord, and I confess that ThouYou artare truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who camestcame into the world to save sinners, of whom I am first. I believe also that this is truly ThineYour own most pure Body, and that this is truly ThineYour own precious Blood.
Therefore I pray TheeYou: have mercy on me and forgive my transgressions, voluntary and involuntary, in word and in deed, in knowledge and in ignorance. Make me worthy to partake without condemnation of ThyYour most pure Mysteries, for the remission of sins and for life eternal. Amen.
Of ThyYour mystical supper, O Son of God, receive me today as a communicant. I will not speak of ThyYour mystery to ThineYour enemies, nor will I give TheeYou a kiss like Judas, but like the thief I confess TheeYou: Remember me, O Lord, in ThyYour kingdom.
May the communion of ThyYour holy Mysteries be neither to my judgment nor to my condemnation, O Lord, but for the healing of soul and body. Amen.
As each communicant receives, the priest says: The servant of God N. partakes of the precious and holy Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins and for life everlasting. The people sing:
People: Receive the Body of Christ; taste of the immortal Fountain.
Priest: O God, save ThyYour people and bless ThineYour inheritance.
People: We have seen the true Light, we have received the heavenly Spirit, we have found the true faith, worshiping the undivided Trinity, who has saved us.
Priest: Always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen. Let our mouths be filled with ThyYour praise, O Lord, that we may sing of ThyYour glory, for ThouYou hasthave made us worthy to partake of ThyYour holy, divine, immortal and life-giving Mysteries. Keep us in ThyYour holiness, that all the day long we may meditate on ThyYour righteousness. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
The Litany of Thanksgiving
Deacon: Stand upright! Having partaken of the divine, holy, most pure, immortal, heavenly, life-giving and awesome Mysteries of Christ, let us worthily give thanks to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Help us, save us, have mercy on us, and keep us, O God, by ThyYour grace.
People: Lord, have mercy.
Deacon: Asking that the whole day may be perfect, holy, peaceful and sinless, let us commend ourselves and one another and all our life to Christ our God.
People: To TheeYou, O Lord.
Priest: For ThouYou artare our sanctification, and to TheeYou we send up glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Let us go forth in peace.
People: In the name of the Lord.
Deacon: Let us pray to the Lord.
People: Lord, have mercy.
The Prayer Behind the Ambo
Priest: O Lord, who blessestbless those who bless TheeYou, and sanctifiestsanctify those who put their trust in TheeYou: save ThyYour people and bless ThineYour inheritance. Preserve the fullness of ThyYour church; sanctify those who love the beauty of ThyYour house. Glorify them in return by ThyYour divine power, and do not forsake us who hope in TheeYou. Give peace to ThyYour world, to ThyYour churches, to the priests, to all in authority, and to all ThyYour people. For every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from TheeYou, the Father of lights, and to TheeYou we send up glory, thanksgiving and worship, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and forevermore.
Three times. Psalm 33 may follow, while the antidoron is distributed.
The Dismissal
Priest: The blessing of the Lord and his mercy be upon you, through his divine grace and love for mankind, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
People: Amen.
Priest: Glory to TheeYou, O Christ our God and our hope, glory to TheeYou.
People: Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy. Bless.
Priest: May Christ our true God, who rose from the dead, through the prayers of his most pure Mother, of our holy and God-bearing fathers, of our father among the saints John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople, of the saint of the day, and of all the saints, have mercy on us and save us, for he is good and loves mankind.
People: Amen.
