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Weekday Services at St. Mary's
Throughout the Nativity Lenten Period, we have an opportunity to attend special services each Wednesday and Friday evenings. Here's a brief explanation of each of the services in the hopes that you will join us and make more meaningful your Advent experience:
Paraklesis (Wednesdays 6:30 pm)
Throughout Christian history, no woman has been more loved, more lauded, and more cherished than the blessed Virgin Mary. She herself prophesied: "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). In the poetic-hymnography of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Theotokos, the Mother of God is revered for her unique role in the salvation of the human race. The Greek name of this service carries several meanings, all related: Supplication, intercession, advocacy, consolation, comfort. It is a variation of parakletos, a Greek word used in the New Testament for both Christ and the Holy Spirit (see e.g. Lk 2:25; Jn 14:16). During the Paraklesis service, we ask the Most Holy Theotokos to "save us" not in the sense of the eternal salvation found only through Christ, but in the sense that those drowning call out to those on dry land for assistance in their plight. We customarily sing the Paraklesis during the Nativity Fast as a means of asking the help of the Theotokos for ourselves and the world as we prepare to commemorate her all-important role in God's plan of salvation. Those attending the Paraklesis may give the priest names of those in need of particular assistance to be read aloud in the designated portions of the service.
Akathist to our Sweetest Lord Jesus (Fridays 7 pm)
The Akathist form of praise and thanksgiving consists of a series of sections containing an introductory hymn that sets a theme, a series of exclamations that all begin with the same word, and a concluding hymn that ends with a repeated "Alleluia." The Greek akathistos means "not sitting" and refers to the way in which the original Akathist (to the Theotokos) was sung in a spontaneous all-night service of thanksgiving for the miraculous deliverance of Constantinople from a Persian invasion fleet. An Akathist is frequently set within the context of the night service of Compline. This particular Akathist, which we customarily sing during the Nativity Fast, is addressed to the Lord Jesus and recounts the many attributes and qualities manifested in His Incarnation. It thus forms an extended meditation on the mercies of God towards humankind and prepares us to enter more deeply into the wondrous and extravagant Divine Love manifested in the Nativity of the God-Man Jesus Christ.
Check our calendar to join us for our next liturgical service.
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