Slowly our little church choir will sing all the parts of the Liturgy and record them here. None of the music is very difficult but is accessible for small church choirs. Matushka Elisabeth leads the choir prayerfully. None of them are professional musicians but all do their best to glorify God and enhance the worship in our little parish. Hopefully, by listening to these short recordings, other small choirs starting to learn how to sing the Liturgy in the Russian tradition will find them helpful.
The Holy Liturgy Part 1. Opening blessing until the Little Entrance.
This recording is from the opening of the Holy Liturgy (Blagoslovenu Tsarstvo,,,) up until the end of the Little Entrance. including the Great Litany, Psalms, Little Litanies, Beatitudes and Come Let us Worship... the responses of the Great Litany are in Church Slavonic in a major tonality. The Psalms are in Tone 1. sung in full and in English. The first Little Litany is in Church Slavonic and is in a major tonality, the second Little Litany is sung continuously and is in a minor tonality in Church Slavonic following the "Only Begotten Son and Word of God..." which is also in a minor tonality sung in English. The Beatitudes are sung in English in Tone 1. "O come let us worship..." is sung in English to a simple, traditional chant.
The Holy Liturgy Part 2. The Litanies after the Gospel and The Creed to the Communion Hymn.
The Holy Liturgy Part 3. The Thanksgiving Litany and conclusion of the Holy Liturgy.
This recording includes the Litany of Thanksgiving through to the concluding parts of the Liturgy.
The Litany of Supplication with Lenten responses.
These responses are more somber and in the minor tonality. You can listen to them here. Litany of Supplication with Lenten responses.
Our place of worship is not especially grand nor is the architecture traditional. Yet within the walls of this little cemetery chapel you will find a beautiful atmosphere of prayerful Orthodox worship. Some of our icons are from the old London Podvoria that was our bishop's residence from 1926 until 1993. The great Pokrov Icon of the Mother of God came from Emperor's Gate, our cathedral in London which closed in the late 1980's.. The Calvary came from the parish of St Nicholas in Bradford. One of our candle stands is from the old Imperial Russian Embassy Chapel before it was closed in the Soviet era. These were humble places that gave great comfort to those Orthodox faithful displaced by the upheavals of the Russian Revolution and the Second World War. They now adorn another humble place and bring us close to generations of faithful Christians who clung to their faith in very difficult circumstances.
So who are we?
We are not a huge congregation. We meet together every Sunday for the Divine Liturgy. As Fr Paul is a full time head teacher, keeping the services of the Great Feasts is difficult unless they fall in the school holidays. The parish often marks the Great Feasts on the eve by either a few of us meeting for vespers or an akathist. The Divine Liturgy is the heart and centre of our Faith. And it is here in the Divine Liturgy, that we seek to meet God and worship with one faith and one heart. We hope that we are sent from here to meet God in others too - indeed, to bring something of the Divine to all the people we encounter. So sometimes, when the sunlight shines through the window and picks out rays on the background of incense, or when our voices blend into one, and mostly, when Christ comes to us in his Body and Blood, we feel that God has reached down to us and called us and challenged us to strive to incorporate His beauty into our daily lives, and to see His beauty in the lives of all those we meet.
- Read a detailed explanation of our Divine Liturgy.
- Taking Part in the Liturgy - a series of instructional leaflets for the laity at the Divine Liturgy:
- A guide for altar servers at the Divine Liturgy.
- Music for various services of the Church.
- Service guides for those who play an active part in our worship.
