On May 27th, on Sunday of the Holy Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council, we had a Divine Liturgy celebrated in our church. The Liturgy was served by our Rector, priest Igor Tarasov.
After the Gospel lesson Fr. Igor continued his lectures on the Liturgy. This time he explained the meaning of the petitions of the Litany before Communion. That litany (or ektenia) is also called the Litany of Asking (or Beseeching). In that litany we ask the Lord for a number of things which represent our different needs. To the priest’s (or deacon’s) appeal “Let us ask of the Lord” at the end of each petition, the choir (or the congregation) responds: “Grant this, o Lord!” Fr. Igor pointed out that the needs described in those petitions are, first of all, spiritual needs. In the beginning of the Liturgy and even later, in the course of the service, the priest may pray for the earthly things like peace, unity, for the people traveling, for the sick and so on. Now, at this point when we are preparing to receive holy Communion, we are asking to grant us spiritual blessings. We need them to be worthy to receive the Eucharist. Fr. Igor further described the petitions and their meaning in detail.
After the Liturgy parishioners enjoyed delicious trapeza on the church property.