II.

THE FACTORS OR TERMS OF WORSHIP

The factors between which the action of the worship moves, in general, are two: God and man.
- God is the object of our worship. Our manifestations of honor, respect or adoration are directed
towards Him.
- Man is the subject of worship. These manifestations come from him.

1. The subject of worship

- man, taken as an individual being, is the subject only of private worship.
- in terms of the public divine worship, worship that has a communal character par excellence, the
true subject of the worship is the Church (the community of believers).

2. The object of worship

Regarding the object of worship, unlike the worship of the Old Testament, which worshiped God
(Yahweh) in the unity of His nature/essence, the Christian worship, which is on a higher level of
revelation, honors God both in the unity of His essence, as well as in the third of His persons.
a. Thus, our prayers are generally addressed to God the Father, as the principle of the Godhead,
the One who gives birth to the Son and proceeds the Holy Spirit. "All that is good and everything that
is perfect is given us from above, coming from You, the Father of all lights." The classic example of a
prayer addressed to God the Father is the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father").
b. God the Son is invoked and glorified in the Christian worship especially as Redeemer or Savior
of the world. He appears both as an object (receiver) of our worship and as a mediator of our worship,
so as God-incarnate.
Our worship is a Christ-centred one. Through Christ, as mediator, we reach the Father. Our
worship is the prolonged and continuous life of Christ in us and in our lives, of believers, who live in
Christ, the God-Man, the living and eternal One.
c) But the Holy Trinity, directed to the world through the human figure of the Son, is revealed in
living form through the Holy Spirit. Christ continues to work in the Church through the Holy Spirit.
That is why God-the Holy Spirit is invoked and worshiped as the source of divine grace and the principle
of the sanctification of the world and our union with the Father. All the most important holy actions in
divine worship are regarded as works of the Holy Spirit.
- the incarnation of the Savior was done by the power of the Holy Spirit
- the sanctification of the water at the Service of Blessing of the Water and Baptism, as well as the
sanctification of the Gifts at the Liturgy, is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Church is the place of the
work of the Holy Spirit and through this, the place where salvation is continuously carried out.
d) In the hymns and prayers of the Orthodox worship, the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are
very rarely invoked or worshiped separately (Heavenly King...). They are usually mentioned together,
thereby showing the same essence, the unity of being and equality: "To You belongs all glory, honor
and worship, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit"; "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
the love of God the Father and the sharing of the Holy Spirit, be with you all" (II Cor. 13.13); "Glory
to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit".
But, above all, the prayer of the anaphora shows itself as a prayer to the Father, through the Son,
in the Holy Spirit. This prayer begins by addressing God the Father, as the Creator of the world,
continues, briefly recapitulating the saving work of God the Son and ends by requesting the descent of
the Holy Spirit, to transform the gifts of bread and wine into The Body and Blood of the Lord.