1. The Concept of Liturgics

Preliminary information

"Liturgics" is the name given to theological science, which has as its subject the teaching of Christian worship, in which the Divine Liturgy occupies the first place. The word "Liturgy", as a derivative of "Liturgy", comes from the Greek words: "λειτος", which means popular, social, "common"; and "εργον" "deed". Thus, the word λειτουργια among the ancient Greeks meant "common cause", common service performed for the people or with the participation of the people. This term is used in the Old and New Testaments, although not in the same sense. In the Old Testament, the word liturgy defined public service in the tabernacle in honor of God and for the benefit of the people (see 2 Chronicles 35:3). In the New Testament, this term is applied to the service of Zechariah in the temple of Jerusalem (Luke 1:23); then to the service in the Tabernacle, in which the vessels are sprinkled with the blood of Christ (see the Epistle to the Hebrews); to the service of Christ the Saviour, Who is the one who acts sacredly through all His service to His neighbor (1 Corinthians 9:1; Heb. 12:24). The word liturgy is especially clearly applied to the Eucharist in Clement of Rome (2nd century), in his 1st Epistle to the Corinthians, where the ministry of the apostles, bishops and presbyters is denoted by the term προσφεριν τα δορα (to make offerings and liturgies). Hence this term was adopted to designate our Eucharistic worship, the Divine Liturgy. This name indicates the "public" nature of Christian worship as a "common cause" in which everyone should take part. In a broader sense, the word λειτουργια means any service established by the Holy Church to the glory of the Triune God.

Therefore, Liturgics is the science of Christian worship in general. The term "liturgical" means something related to worship in general, and not just to the Divine Liturgy alone.

Thus, "Liturgics, as Archimandrite Gabriel points out, considers the Christian religion precisely in the sense that it should be correctly and legitimately externally expressed in the society of many people bound together in one grace-filled kingdom of Christ, or in the Church of the Living God (2 Cor. 6, 16). And the Church, or the community of believers in Jesus Christ, maintaining the Christian faith, must, first of all, reveal in itself the inner spirit of this faith, and secondly, must edify, nourish the pious souls of believers: for this purpose it has sacred rites, and sacred rites... Thus, Liturgics should be concerned with the consideration of how the religion of Christians is expressed in the sacraments and rites of the Church as a community of believers."

"But we know that the so-called Christian churches, according to the difference in their confessions, are different; hence Liturgics must be and is the science of the Divine services of the Orthodox Church. Therefore, speaking of divine services, we must exclusively speak of the divine services of the Orthodox Church. And the latter name will be appropriate to our science only when it examines (studies) and explains the liturgical rite (ordo – order) of the Orthodox Church, when it gives a definite idea of each sacred thing and of each sacred action that is part of the divine service; in the same way about each rite of the Church, indicating, at the same time, if possible, the time of their origin, and the reason or sacred intention of introducing them into the circle of divine services, and their inner dignity, and their spiritual-mysterious meaning" (Guide to the Liturgy, Archim. Gabriel, Tver, 1886, pp. 3-4).

There can be different approaches to the science of Liturgics. Since the science of liturgics embraces a number of areas of liturgical life and everyday life, it is divided into several sections. In textbooks and manuals on Liturgics one can observe: 1. the historical-archaeological approach; 2. ritualistic or statutory; and 3. theological.

1. The historical-archaeological method of the science of Liturgics deals with the firmly established forms and structure of worship, which Liturgics must explain. The historical approach tries to indicate whence a certain form originates, how it changed, and when it was finally established. Using the historical-archaeological method, it is easier for us to understand the inner meaning of liturgical forms, which are confirmed by the authority of antiquity. Further, this approach highlights the gradual development and change of liturgical rites and hymns, church utensils, vestments, various styles of church building, icon painting, etc.

Although in some textbooks on Liturgics we encounter the view that church rites are equated with dogmas, since this or that form of worship, or this or that rite, became generally used as a result of a conciliar institution. But, nevertheless, we must bear in mind that church rites in general were created by history and they are subject to the laws of historical development. The internal life of the Holy Church was evoked by this or that custom, or rite, which, in the end, received ecclesiastical recognition.

For example, let us cite the explanation of the "Little Entrance" at the Liturgy, as we now interpret it. The Little Water signifies the procession of the Lord Jesus Christ to preach, and the lamp symbolizes the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist. In reality, however, the rite appeared first, and then its explanation. How did the small entrance appear? The Little Entrance is a historical phenomenon and was caused by the needs of the church life of that time. In ancient times, during the Little Entrance, the sacred vessels were transferred from the vessel, or deacon, to the church, for from this moment the most important part of the Liturgy actually began. Over time, this custom of need became a rite and then acquired a symbolic meaning.

2. The second approach, the statutory or ritualistic one, aims to study our Orthodox worship exclusively within the framework of the current church rule or Typikon, with the application of those rules and rites that we use and are guided by for the splendid, statutory and prayerful performance of divine services. It often happens that this is limited, and at the same time, if possible, it is also necessary to pay attention here to the history of the development of the Ustav itself, the Typicon, how it was gradually formed, enriched, and finally, how it was formed and established in its present form.

3. The theological approach to the science of Liturgics consists in considering Liturgics not only as a subject of historical or archaeological origin and content, and even not only as a set of rules governing the celebration of divine services at the direction of the Typikon, but in order to perceive the teaching on our worship and to treat it as a theological discipline. Why exactly should Liturgics be perceived in this way? Because the liturgical texts, especially the "Trinitarian" canons, vividly and figuratively tell us about the great truth of the "Triune Unity" of the Triune Divine Being; and the "Theotokos," among which the "dogmatics" stand out, tell us about the great mystery of the incarnation of the Son of God from the Bride and Most-Pure Virgin Mary, they speak of the dogma of the "ever-virginity" of the Most Holy Theotokos confessed by the Church, and contain other theological truths.

It should be noted that the liturgical texts contain a wealth of theological thought, especially on dogmatics, but also on moral theology, and on the basis of this material it would be possible to create an entire discipline called Liturgical Theology. Unfortunately, the liturgical material has been little studied and little developed in this direction. True, there are some works on this issue, for example, "Readings on Liturgical Theology" by Bishop Benjamin (Milov), Brussels 1977, "In the World of Prayer" by Protopresbyter Michael Pomazansky. Jordanville, N. I. 1957 and others.

Note: In 1961, the YMCA Press published the work of Fr. Archpriest. A. Schmemann: "Introduction to Liturgical Theology", Paris. The book is an "introduction" to the author's special course of liturgical theology. The author looks at this book as the initial stage in the creation of a special branch of Orthodox theological science, "Liturgical Theology."