The
Priest's Service Book states that, before celebrating the Divine Liturgy, the priest must be reconciled to all men, keep his heart from evil thoughts, and be fasting since midnight. The same rules apply to the deacon. The beginning of the Liturgy of Preparation should be timed so that it is concluded slightly before the
Reader finishes reading the
Third Hour and
Sixth Hour.
Kairon The
priests and
deacons celebrating the liturgy stand together in front of the
holy doors of the
iconostasis,
venerate the
icons, and say special entrance prayers before they enter into the altar. At the end of these prayers, they bow to the throne of the
bishop who oversees the church, or, if it is a monastery, the
abbot, acknowledging the authority of their spiritual superiors, without whose permission they may not celebrate the divine services.
Vesting Next, the priests and deacons venerate the holy table and
vest. For each vestment, the priest blesses it, kisses the cross on it, and dons it reciting a Biblical verse, usually from the
Psalms. The deacon brings his vestments to the priest to bless, kisses the priest's hand, and likewise for each vestment kisses the cross on it and dons it, but only for the
sticharion recites a verse, the same verse for it as does the priest. Each
subdeacon,
reader, and
server vests in the same manner as a deacon, except for not reciting anything. If a bishop who is not celebrating is present, he, rather than the priest, may bless their vestments. After vesting, the priest and deacon wash their hands, saying the Prayer of the Washing of Hands (Psalm 26:6-12) They then go to the
Prothesis (Table of Oblation) where the Gifts are to be prepared.
Proskomedia If there are several priests concelebrating, usually only one—traditionally, the most junior— celebrates the Proskomedia. Others may assist in taking out particles for the living and the dead. In the Greek traditions (Constantinople, Antioch, etc.) all particles are frequently taken from one large prosphoron which is stamped with a seal that serves as a template, but in the Slavic traditions there are several (usually five) prosphora, from which particles are taken as described below.
The Lamb and particles placed on the
diskos. The large triangle to the viewer's left of the Lamb is the particle for the Theotokos; to the right of the Lamb are the particles for the nine ranks (saints); below the Lamb are the particles commemorating the living and the departed. The priest takes a
prosphoron and blesses it three times, making the sign of the cross over it with the liturgical
spear. Then, cutting on all four sides of the square seal on the prosphoron, he removes a
cube (the Lamb), taking from both layers of the loaf, and places it in the center of the
diskos. He then cuts the underside of the Lamb, making a cross, then turns the Lamb right side up and pierces it with the spear, saying the words from the Gospel (). (See
Lamb for more details). The deacon mingles a little water with the wine that is poured in the chalice and presents it to the priest for him to bless. The deacon then pours the wine and water into the chalice, as the priest says, "Blessed be the union of Thy holy things, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
The Theotokos Next the priest takes up the second prosphoron, blesses it with the spear, and cuts a large, triangular particle from it, which he places on the diskos next to the Lamb in commemoration of the Theotokos. This loaf (if it is a separate loaf) is sometimes sealed with an icon of the Mother of God, or with her monogram.
The ranks Next, the priest takes up the prosphoron of the Nine Ranks. From this loaf are taken smaller triangular particles in commemoration of the various ranks of
saints. There are some differences between the Greek and the Slavic texts as to which particular saints are named, but the intent is that all of the saints are included. Saint
John the Forerunner and the
Patron Saint of the church or monastery are always named. The number nine was chosen because that is the traditional number of the ranks of
angels. These nine particles are placed to the left of the Lamb (i.e., to the priest's right, as he looks down on the diskos).
The living reading the names of the living and the departed during the Liturgy of Preparation. Then the priest takes up the prosphoron for the Living. He takes out a larger particle in commemoration of the Patriarch (or Synod of Bishops), and a second larger particle in commemoration of the Ruler (in former times, this would have been the Emperor, but nowadays it reflects the government of the local nation in which the church is located). He then takes out smaller particles in commemoration of others among the living. He must always commemorate the Bishop who
ordained him (if he is still among the living), the clergy who are concelebrating with him, and any living Orthodox Christian whom he wishes. Churches and monasteries often have
diptychs (memorial books) of the living and departed who should be commemorated at every Liturgy. Among the Slavic peoples, it is customary for the laity to offer small prosphora in commemoration of those living and the departed whom they would like to have prayed for during the Liturgy. These often are smaller than the five prosphora used by the priest. They hand these to the priest together with their list of names, and he takes particles out (living from the top of the loaf, departed from the bottom) and place them on the diskos. The loaves are returned to the faithful. All of the particles for the living are placed in a line below the Lamb and the particles for the Theotokos and saints. Only Orthodox Christians may be commemorated on the diskos at the Proskomedia.
The departed From the prosphoron of the departed the priest takes a larger particle as a general memorial of the departed
hierarchs, rulers and the founders of the local church or monastery. He then takes out smaller particles in commemoration of departed Orthodox Christians. He commemorates the bishop who
ordained him (if he is departed) and any of the departed whom he will, as well as the names in the diptychs and those presented by the faithful. All of the particles for the departed are placed in a line below the particles for the living. Before the conclusion, any concelebrating priests who would like to make their own commemorations of the living and the departed may do so.
The celebrant himself For the last commemoration, the priest takes out a particle for himself, saying: "Remember, O Lord, mine unworthy self, and pardon me every transgression, whether voluntary or involuntary."
Conclusion and
chalice covered by the
Aër at the conclusion of the Proskomedie. The deacon places incense in the censer and holds it up for the priest to bless. The priest blesses the incense saying the Prayer of the Censer. Next, the priest takes the
Asterisk (star cover), holds it over the censer and then places it on the diskos, saying: "And the star came and stood over the place where the young child was." He then holds each of the smaller
veils over the censer and places them on the discos and the chalice, respectively, saying appropriate prayers for each. Then he takes the larger veil, called the
Aër, wraps it around the censer and then covers the chalice and diskos together. Finally, he takes the censer from the deacon and
censes the covered Gifts. He then says the concluding Prayer of Offering (unless a bishop is celebrating; see below). Afterwards, the deacon performs a full censing of the prothesis, the holy table, the sanctuary, the entire church and the people while he recites the following hymn and
Psalm 50 quietly to himself: In the
Tomb with the body, and in
Hades with the soul, in
Paradise with the
thief, and on the Throne with the
Father and the
Spirit, wast thou, O Christ, who art everywhere present and fillest all things. ==Hierarchical Liturgy==