The Meaning of Sunday

Dear Parish Faithful,

I have been receiving a series of relatively short, but nicely-expressed passages concerning the meaing of Sunday and the liturgical cycle surrounding the "Lord's Day." I thought you may also find a good deal worth reading here.

~ Fr. Steven


About 15 years ago the Orthodox Churches of Central Florida held a festival at St. George Orthodox Church the Sunday of the Lake Eola Festival. A series of pamphlets that were passed out. This is the first of that series...

THE MEANING OF SUNDAY

In the Orthodox Church, Sunday is celebrated as the First Day of the New Creation, the day of Light and the day of new time. It is also celebrated as the eighth day, the day beyond the day or time of this world. It is the day of Resurrection, the day we celebrate Christ and our passover in Him to new life in His Kingdom.

In the Orthodox Church we continue to celebrate what the early Church celebrated on Sunday. It was then and is now the day of the assembly of God's people, the day of the Eucharist. It was and still is the day we celebrate the time we now live in, the time between the Ascension of Jesus and His second coming. Every Sunday is the day symbolic of all days. In the liturgical cycle in every Orthodox Church, in the Liturgy, we celebrate Christ the very cornerstone, the very foundation, of our lives. In the Sunday Liturgy that which is to be revealed, is experienced now as reality. This was the liturgical experience of the early Church. It is the liturgical experience of the Orthodox Church today.

In the Orthodox Church, Sunday doesn't mean something. It means everything. To express this, two important themes stand out in the Orthodox Liturgy; it is the day of light and the day we celebrate the mystery of our passover in Christ.

In Christian antiquity these themes were celebrated universally in the Church with a Vigil and the Eucharistic Liturgy. The Orthodox Church, being the bearer of the Tradition from apostolic times, remains faithful to this Lord's Day, Sunday, and the ancient Liturgy for this day. It is not man made. It is God given in His Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the day of the manifestation of the Kingdom of God, in Christ, through the power of His Holy Spirit. It is the day we give "glory to the Holy Consubstantial and Life-Giving Trinity". It is the day we bless the "Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit". It is the day we "mystically represent the Cherubim" and "lay aside all earthly cares," "so that we may receive the King of all." It is the day beyond all days, the day beyond all time. This is revealed to us when we gather on the eighth day, the day of the new creation brought about through Christ's Passover. We enter into it every Lord's Day in the Lord's Day Liturgy beginning at the setting of the sun.