Liturgy of the Catechumens (Liturgy of the Word)

A catechumen is literally one being "sounded into" — instructed by the living voice, the same verb St. Luke uses for Theophilus, who had been "instructed" in the faith (Luke 1:4). In the early Church, catechumens attended the service of readings and preaching, and were then dismissed before the Eucharist began: hearing the Word was open to all, but the Mysteries belonged to the baptized. Today everyone stays for the whole service, yet the old structure — and in many churches the old dismissal litany for the catechumens — remains, a standing reminder that the Liturgy has two movements: the Word that teaches, and the Gift that feeds.

The shape is remarkably old. St. Justin Martyr, describing Christian worship in Rome around the year 155, already shows both halves in order: "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits" — then instruction by the presider, common prayers, and the bringing of bread and wine. An Orthodox Christian can follow Justin's outline in any parish this Sunday.

The public service opens with the priest's blessing — "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages" — announcing where the Liturgy is headed before it takes a single step. Then comes the Great Litany, the Church's all-embracing prayer: "In peace let us pray to the Lord"; "for the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls"; "for the peace of the whole world, for the welfare of the holy churches of God, and for the union of all" — and on through clergy and people, city and countryside, travelers, the sick, the suffering, and captives, the people answering each petition with "Lord, have mercy."

Next are sung the antiphons — psalm verses anciently sung by two choirs answering each other. On most Sundays these are the psalms beginning "Bless the Lord, O my soul" and "Praise the Lord, O my soul" (Psalms 102 and 145 in the Septuagint numbering; 103 and 146 in most English Bibles), with the Beatitudes as a third antiphon in the Slavic use; feasts have their own festal verses. After the second antiphon comes the hymn "Only-begotten Son," attributed by tradition to the Emperor Justinian in the sixth century — a compact confession of the Incarnation sung at every Liturgy.

During the third antiphon the clergy come out through the north door carrying the Gospel book and enter the sanctuary through the Royal Doors — the Little Entrance, with its exclamation "Wisdom! Let us attend!" The Gospel carried into the midst of the assembly is Christ coming to teach; the book is the icon of the Teacher. The troparia and kontakia of the day follow — the short hymns that name what and whom the Church celebrates today — and then the Trisagion, sung in the Church since at least the fifth century: "Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! Have mercy on us."

The Word now takes the center. A prokeimenon — a refrain of psalm verses — introduces the Epistle, read by a reader — in many churches from the midst of the congregation; the Alleluia is sung with censing; and the deacon or priest reads the Gospel appointed for the day. The homily — the preached word breaking open the read word — traditionally follows the Gospel, though in some parishes it is preached later in the service. "Faith cometh by hearing," St. Paul writes, "and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17): this half of the Liturgy exists so that faith may catch fire from hearing, as it did for the disciples on the Emmaus road whose hearts burned within them while the Scriptures were opened.

Litanies follow the homily, ending with the ancient prayers over the catechumens and the call for them to depart — words many churches retain, and others quietly omit, since the catechumenate today is lived differently than in the fourth century. Either way, the hinge is the same: the teaching half is complete, and the doors of the Liturgy of the Faithful are about to open.