Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
My friend told me that St John wrote the liturgy centuries ago. While it may be excellent, it still is not the scripture and also limits the Spirit from speaking freshly today.
I get what you and aron are saying about endless Protestant spinoffs, but the EOC does not provide for most a suitable alternative. Sure there are dangers in these spinoffs, but the environment often facilitates fresh pursuits of the Lord Himself, returning solely to His word, which does not seem possible in the EOC.
I'm not so sure that a continuous connection back to the church fathers always is better than freshly returning to the scriptures alone. Comments?
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Ohio, it is a good question. But I don't quite understand what "the Spirit speaks freshly" means. God is always the same, yesterday, and today, and tomorrow. If the Spirit speaks freshly today, does it mean that His yesterday's word is different or not fresh?
Orthodox liturgy is very sober, however, it doesn't limit the Spirit. Yes, you cannot find any kind of exaltation in the liturgical worship. But the goal of the service is not ecstasy or emotional delight or intellectual challenge but communion with God. The liturgy is preparation for communion.
Most of the liturgical service is prayer - prayer of repentance, gloryfication, and thanksgiving. At the middle of the service we hear the words of the New Testament. The pinnacle of the worship is the Holy Communion (Eucharist). The Eucharist, the Lord’s Banquet, is the center of our Christian life. It is the mystical communion of men with God, with each other, and with all men and all things in Him through Christ and the Spirit.
So, we are not looking for a fresh revelation or a modern high peak truth about God. Not only because God is always the same but also because we human beings are not able to comprehend God intellectually, with our limited understanding. Therefore, we are not looking for a new knowledge about God. We are looking for union with Him, in spirit and truth. In other words, our goal is not to know about God but to know God. And that is the goal of the Church, and of the Liturgy, and of our Christian life.
God bless.
PS About the liturgy:
https://oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthod...divine-liturgy
http://www.stnicholastacoma.org/our-faith/liturgy
http://3saints.com/divine-liturgy.html