TIME CHANGE REMINDER:
SATURDAY GREAT VESPERS NOW AT 6:OOPM
Photo: Xenophontous Monastery – Mount Athos, Greece
Great Vespers is the principal evening service where we hear the Psalms, offer incense, and sing various hymns together. Great Vespers
The liturgical day in The Orthodox Church begins in the evening with the setting of the sun. This makes sense when one considers the Biblical account of creation; “And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). The service of Vespers takes us through creation, sin, and salvation in Christ. It leads us to the meditation of God’s word and the glorification of his love for mankind. It guides us in the right-praise of God for the events and persons (saints) being commemorated by the Church – that we may grow deeper in our faith and understanding.
The service of Vespers is not a substitute but rather a preparation for the next day. In attending and praying in this manner together, we are prepared for the sleep of the night and the dawn of the new day to come.
The restful repose we receive from God is His gift to us to prepare us for the challenges of the coming day. It is also why the Church serves Saturday evening Vespers as a liturgical preparation for Sunday morning Liturgy. First comes the preparation, then the fulfillment.
In serving Great Vespers on the evening before the Divine Liturgy, we begin our movement into the most perfect communion with God as we prepare to receive His life-giving Body and Blood – the Holy Eucharist.
