www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Parish Life & Evangelization More Than One Liturgy On Sunday

I was wondering if any Orthodox churches have more than one liturgy on Sunday, and if not, how is the problem of having more than one language in the parish dealt with. I know that in some Eastern Rite parishes, favoring one language over another can be a source of tension.

I recall one UOC parish in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area some years ago that offered two Divine Liturgies (English and Ukrainian). I have the impression that things can get further complicated if the parish is also following two calendars.

I think the usual compromise is to have a mix of the two within a single liturgy. Where church language is in use though and not modern vernacular, it's something of a moot point.

You can't have two divine liturgies on a single altar in one day whatever you do.

I know a Romanian OCA parish in the area that has two DL on Sun. AM...They have a 100% english liturgy at 9 and I believe the 10:30 is a combo romanian/english...I believe they set up a small holy table that is removeable for the 9:00 DL then use the main altar for the 10:30...what I am still trying to figure out is how do they have a 9:00 and be cleared out for a 10:30???

An Orthodox Church may have two DL on the same day ONLY if there is a second priest AND a seperate Altar.My former parish used the facilities of a sister ROCOR parish here in the Detroit area for the 2 1/2 years that we were without our own building.
The host priest would begin his Liturgy at 9:30 AM,he'd finish up about 11:15,by that time I'd be vested and then I'd move a smaller table in front of the Altar(at that time,they had a makeshift Iconastasis,but no Royal Gates).On this seperate table,my antimins would be placed and I'd begin Liturgy at 11:30.
On Christmas,Pascha,Bishop's visits,and a few other special occasions,and on Feastdays which fell outside of Sunday,we would just have one concelebrated Liturgy.

An old work-around to the "one altar/one liturgy" rule was the parekklesia, essentially a second church (often smaller) built contiguous to the main church. It differs from the Western side-chapel in being a completely self-contained building, essentially sharing only one wall with the main church. These became popular with the "privatization" of baptisms, weddings and funerals, which in the patristic period were seen as public, ecclesial events in which the entire congregation participated.

Can someone explain to this Latin what the reasons are for limiting one priest and one altar for Divine Liturgy on Sunday?
Thanks

The tradition of having only one Eucharistic celebration in a given location is meant to manifest - as I understand it - the unity and Catholicity of the Church in that specific place.

To put it another way, through its once a day celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy the parish becomes the fullness of the Catholic Church in that location.

Many of our Coptic Orthodox Churches are built with one main altar in the center and two side altars. Because of the inability to build churches in Egypt to meet the needs of the number of people, it is very often the case that the churches celebrate liturgy on all three altars (by different priests of course) in the same day.

In our Diocese in California we have many churches that celebrate two liturgies on Sunday. Sometimes they are concurrent in different buildings, one for English/Coptic and one for Arabic/Coptic and sometimes they are subsequent, one early in the morning and the second late morning. The latter can be due to language or sometimes issues with parking!

In a single Coptic monastery in Egypt, you may find several churches, each with three altars. Each altar is prayed on daily!

God bless,
Fr. Kyrillos

Bless, Abouna Kyrillos,

Thank you for that explanation. The forum is sorely lacking in Coptic contributors and we're grateful that you chose to post. The website of St Marina's parish is, btw, very nicely done and I've added it to the ongoing thread titled Parish Websites Worth Seeing in the Parish Life and Evangelization forum.

Many years,

Neil

Thank you Neil. I am happy to be here and contribute when time allows. May the Lord bless you and all here.

Pray for me,
Fr. Kyrillos

Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch. The principle of unity at the one Eucharist is evident in this second-century Martyr's letters to the Ephesians and the Philadelphians.

These writings, coming just one generation removed from the Apostolic era should be regarded with utmost seriousness.