Liturgy of Apostle Mark served at Holy Trinity Monastery

With the blessing of the Holy Synod, the Liturgy of St. Mark was served for the first time at Holy Trinity Monastery on Tuesday May 8, 2007. Archimandrite Luke (Murianka), Dean of Holy Trinity Seminary, and Hierodeacon Seraphim (Baltich), fourth-year seminarian, celebrated. Seminarians were present to assist in the altar and participate in the choir under the direction of Hieromonk Roman. Metropolitan Laurus expressed his thanks to all those who labored in preparation for the festive service. All present were spiritually uplifted and grateful to God for such a blessing.

The service is the original, traditional liturgy of the Alexandrian Church, used by the great hierarchs of Christ Athanasios, Cyrill, Makarios, Dionysios and others. Manuscript texts of this liturgy date back to the fourth century, but more ancient fragments exist. Although the order of the service has developed over the course of many centuries, we are assured that the author of this liturgy is indeed the Apostle Mark. The most recent text (dating to 1585 during the time of the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria Meletios Pigas) was approved and published by St. Nektarios of Aegina.

At the present time, this liturgy is served once a year on the feast day of Apostle Mark in Thessalonica, at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Seminary in Brookline, MA, and now at Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, N.Y.

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