Fr Stavros N Akrotirianakis

Blessed Is the Kingdom, Now and Forever Fr Stavros N Akrotirianakis

Pray the Divine Liturgy instead of just watching it. Understand and appreciate the mystery so that the Divine Liturgy becomes more powerful and meaningful for your life.

Many Orthodox Christian "witness" the Divine Liturgy without being real participants in it. Perhaps this is why Orthodox Christians are perpetually late or miss the Divine Liturgy altogether. After all, for many, it is just a ritual that will be repeated virtually the same way next week. When we examine each petition and action of the Divine Liturgy, we realize that each one calls us to participate.

The word "liturgy" comes from two Greek words: "leitos" (meaning "people") and "ergon" (meaning "work"). Liturgy literally means "the work of the people" and implies that this is a divine work of all the people. When one comes to worship and truly does the work of the Divine Liturgy, it becomes more than a ritual; it becomes alive.

The Divine Liturgy is a parable. To the untrained eye and the unopened heart, it is a ritual involving a man in robes, a choir, altar boys, processions, incense, and candles. But to the one whose heart is open, whose eye is trained, and who yearns to experience God in the Divine Liturgy, the Divine Liturgy opens the gates to the kingdom of heaven and allows the most common of people to enter the kingdom of heaven for a short period each week.

Blessed Is the Kingdom, Now and Forever: Reflections on the Divine Liturgy will help the reader understand and appreciate the mystery that unfolds before us each time this service is celebrated. This book will arm you with knowledge on how to pray the Divine Liturgy so that this service will become more powerful and meaningful in your life.