What is a Liturgical Year?

Our liturgical year is expressed as a calendar, much like the secular calendar. From ancient times, man has been deeply tied to the seasonal cycles of the year. One year, is one revolution of earth in its orbit around sun, thus we have the monsoon rotation and various seasons. Orthodox worship proclaims the centrality of Christ. The starting point of the Christian system of feast was the commemoration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Easter Sunday is thus the foundation of the Christian year. The liturgical year celebrates the presence of the mystery of Christ in the life of the Church and seeks to make the living Christ a renewing life-source for every Orthodox Christian. It is not a year of simply commemorating the past events of the life of Christ. They are made a present experience. Church follows similar pattern; reads scriptures, remembers, celebrates and completes the principal events of our Lord’s redemptive activities in a year-cycle so that the faithful constantly grow in Him, Eph 4:15.

To define the Liturgical Year, is difficult. The worship of the Orthodox Church expresses and represents the saving events of Christ’s life, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven. It is also the living anticipation of the Kingdom to come. The aim of all Christian living – worshipping, praying, studying, working and resting, is to bring us before the awesome and renewing reality of the kingdom of God. Worship is a response to the call of God who has already made known His redeeming love to us through decisive events culminating in the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. Worship has two major aspects: remembrance (anamnesis which means not only historical remembrance but also re-living the events commemorated) and thanksgiving (including praise and doxology).