Prayers Reconciliation from Liturgy of St Cyril

"O Creator of the whole creation, of that which is seen and of that which is not seen, who cares for all things; for Yours they are. O Lover of Souls; I seek Your compassion O Lord Almighty. I, poor, despised, and unprofitable as I am among Thy servants, now drawing near to Your Holy of Holies, and about to touch this holy and mysterious sacrament give me, O Lord, Thy Holy Spirit: that fire immaterial and incomprehensible that devours all infirmity and consumes wicked inventions. Let it kill the earthly senses of the flesh; let it restrain the wanderings of the mind that lead it to imaginations full of aches and passion: And as it is proper for priests, let it make me rise above all mortal thoughts, and grant me the sanctifying words in order to fulfill this offering now laid on the altar which is the mystery of mysteries; in the fellowship and communion of Your Christ. To whom with You and the Holy Spirit, the Giver-of-Life, and of one essence with You, belongs glory now and unto the of ages, Amen."

+ Prayer of Reconciliation, Divine Liturgy of St Cyril, Coptic Rite.

"O Prince of Life and King of Ages, God unto whom every knee bows, of those in heaven, of those on earth, and of those under the earth; to whom everything is subject and in the bond of servitude, bowing their heads to the scepter of Thy kingdom: Unto whom the armies of angels give glory together with the heavenly hosts, and all logical natures, with an unsilenced voice that utters Your divinity. And as You have taken pleasure in us, the poor inhabitants of the earth, that we should service to You, not because of the purity of our hands, for we have not done good upon the earth; but You are willing to grant us, the unfortunate and unworthy, of Your purity: accept us unto You O Good [God] and Lover of Mankind, as we approach Your holy altar according to the multitude of Your mercies. And make us worthy of the heavenly peace that suits Your divinity and is full of salvation that we may give it to one another in perfect love and that we may greet one another with a holy kiss."

+ Prayer before the Deacon Entreats Congregation to Exchange the Holy Kiss, Divine Liturgy of St Cyril, Coptic Rite.

The Church's Life

The importance of Lex Orandi in the Orthodox Church...

"...as long as they are free to participate in the worship of their local church, the Eastern Christians can survive...As long as the mysteries can be celebrated the Church lives, held together not by organization nor authority nor education, but by communion year after year in the regular cycle of feast and fast."

+ Fr Robert F. Taft, "Beyond East and West: Problems in Liturgical Understanding." 2nd Rev. Ed. (Rome: Pontifical Oriental Institute Press, 2001) 146

What we can learn from Orthodoxy in India?

"...The church must stress the need to go back to a simple, frugal life as against the flamboyant exhibitionism wealth tempts. The church’s mission should include propaganda against consumerism. Jesus Christ went in search of the oppressed and marginalized, and the church’s mission should also include the empowerment of the powerless and the marginalized. Tribals, women and children all need the special attention of the church, and mission today has a calling to concentrate on programmes for the benefit of these groups.

The churches while pursuing mission work had, on many occasions, gone away from God’s mission. The conquest, colonizing and destroying of other cultures were all done with a view to do mission in a militant manner. But God’s mission must achieved by respecting each individual’s intrinsic worth, the right to freedom and independence, and respecting differences among peoples. Seeing the divine in the midst of a plurality of experiences is the need of the hour. God’s mission has to be sought in new and varied ways by the churches in the rapidly changing life situations we see in our own time. Rather than the militant missions of yester years, it will be the peace-building, soothing, sustaining activities of Christian mission that will be welcomed as the work of God in the present communally torn Indian situation, and indeed throughout the world."

+ Fr. Thomas Varghese Chavadyel, On Orthodox Mission in India, http://malankaraorthodoxchurch.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=234