When God created the universe, time began. The universe had a beginning and will have an ending. We know the Story well because God has revealed to us the start of the Story at the creation of the universe, the middle of the Story (that is, how He has worked and is working in human history), and the end of the Story, when Christ returns.
You were born into this world and you will experience death in the body (unless Christ returns before your death). Your time in this life is a time for repentance. There is no opportunity for repentance after this life. This is the time to become, through the Grace of God, who you want to be after this life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The wheels of a moving bicycle demonstrate our relationship with time. The wheels rotate over and over again, but they do not spin aimlessly in the air like a wheel on a stationary bike or a ferris wheel. The rotation of the wheels propels the bicycle forward on the road toward its destination. Though the cycles of services in the Church may seem repetitious, the whole Church is moving though time and history toward the return of Christ and the fulness of the kingdom of heaven. If you dedicate yourself to living the Way fully each day, week, and year, the cycles of services in the Church will move you toward a greater experience of healing, growth, and transformation. The rotating cycles of time in the Church carry you on the road toward spiritual progress.
The Church makes use of time to teach us the Way, remind us of the Way, and lead us along the Way. Use this time wisely for prayer and repentance.
The Yearly Cycle
The Church’s annual cycle of services begins with the first day of the new Church year every September 1st. The rhythm of the year is primarily provided by the 12 Great Feasts of the Church, spread out from September to the end of each year in August. The greatest feast is Holy Pascha, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Paschal Feast is so great that it is not counted with the 12 Great Feasts, but ranks above them. Here are the central feasts of the year:
1. The Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8th)
2. The Exaltation of the Cross (September 14th)
3. The Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple (November 21st)
4. The Holy Nativity of Jesus Christ or Christmas (December 25th)
5. Holy Theophany or Epiphany (January 6th)
6. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (February 2nd)
7. The Annunciation of the Theotokos (March 25th)
8. Palm Sunday or The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem (Sunday before Pascha)
GREAT AND HOLY PASCHA or Easter – The Feast of Feasts
9. The Holy Ascension of Jesus Christ (Forty days after Pascha)
10. Holy Pentecost (Fifty days after Pascha)
11. The Holy Transfiguration of Jesus Christ (August 6th)
12. The Dormition or Falling Asleep of the Theotokos (August 15th)
These feasts help us to remember the central events in our Story as Orthodox Christians. If we forget what God has accomplished for us in history, we forget who we are and what we are called to do. Make this cycle of services the center of your life throughout the year and, therefore, the most important events on your personal calendar.
Weekly Cycle
Every week in the year provides its own cycle of services. The days of the week hold their own special commemorations:
Monday – The Bodiless Powers of Heaven
Tuesday – The Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John
Wednesday – The Precious and Life-Giving Cross
Thursday – The Holy, Glorious, All-Laudable Apostles and St. Nicholas of Myra
Friday – The Precious and Life-Giving Cross
Saturday – The Holy, Glorious, and Right-victorious Martyrs and our Venerable and God-bearing Fathers
Since Christ was betrayed on a Wednesday and Crucified on a Friday, we typically observe Wednesdays and Fridays as strict fast days (abstaining from meat, dairy, wine, and olive oil). Each week leads up to Sunday, the Eighth Day or the Lord’s Day, when we celebrate the Divine Liturgy. During the week, individually pray, fast, and repent in preparation for our family celebration of the Holy Resurrection on the approaching Sunday.
Daily Cycle
The Church commemorates the lives of different Saints or historical events every day of the year. Specific hymns and Scripture readings are prescribed each day. Every day also includes a complete cycle of services. The daily cycle begins at sundown, which is the beginning of the next liturgical day, and includes the following services:
Vespers (Evening prayer near sundown)
Compline (Prayers in the night)
Midnight Office, also called Lauds
Matins, also called Orthros (Morning prayer near sunrise)
The 1st hour (6am)
The 3rd hour (9am), when we remember the Holy Spirit’s descent at Pentecost
The 6th hour (Noon), when we remember Christ’s Crucifixion
The 9th hour (3pm), when we remember Christ’s Death on the Cross
The Divine Liturgy, the central worship services of the Church, is not part of the cycle of services. This is because the Divine Liturgy involves participation in the heavenly worship outside of our experience of time.
In a monastery church, the monastics may observe a full daily cycle of services. In parishes, few of these services may be held. If your Priest does not lead these services in your parish, you may (with his blessing) pray modified versions of at least some of these services at home or when you are traveling out of town. Whether or not you pray the home-versions of these services, be mindful of the particular times of day traditionally set aside for prayer so that you may be reminded to pray throughout the day, even if briefly.
Use your time wisely in this life. As your time began, your time will end. You do not know when your life in this world will end any more than you know when time itself will end. Walk the Way daily so that you will be accounted worthy to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. Make use of the annual cycle of fasts and feasts, weekly cycle of services, and daily cycles of prayer for the benefit of your salvation. Be reminded through the cycle of services who you really are, who you have been called to be, what you have been entrusted to do, and how to fulfill your destiny. Bring your life into harmony with the regular rhythm of the annual, weekly, and daily cycles of the Church. Allow the Church’s calendar to provide the heartbeat of your daily life.
Read: Genesis 1.1; Psalm 55.17; 103.8-18; Ecclesiastes 3.1-15; Daniel 6.10; Matthew 25.1-13; John 1.1-5; Acts 1.10-11; 2.15; 3.1; Hebrews 9.27-28; 2 Peter 3.8-9; 1 John 2.15-29; Revelation 22.12-21
Text copyright © 2018 by Fr. Symeon D. S. Kees / Image copyright © 2018 by Fr. Symeon D. S. Kees