The Liturgy of St. Basil The Great.
The Liturgy of St. Basil the Great in its content and order is almost identical with the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The only differences are the following:
- The prayers which the priest reads privately in the altar, especially that of the Eucharistic Canon, are significantly longer, and therefore the chanting for this Liturgy is of longer duration.
- The words of the Saviour by which He instituted the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist are as follows, “He gave it to His holy disciples and apostles, saying: Take, eat; this is My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins.” And then, “He gave it to His holy disciples and apostles, saying: Drink of it all of you: this is My blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.”
- Instead of the hymn, “It is truly meet to bless thee…,” a special hymn in honor of the Mother of God is chanted, “In Thee rejoiceth, O Thou who art full of grace, all creation, the angelic assembly and the race of man…”
In addition to these, when the Liturgy of St. Basil is celebrated on Great and Holy Thursday, the Cherubic Hymn is replaced by “Of Thy mystical supper, O Son of God,…” and on Great and Holy Saturday: “Let all human flesh keep silence…”
The Liturgy of St. Basil is celebrated only ten times throughout the year, on the eve of the feasts of the Nativity of Christ and the Theophany (or on the feasts themselves if they fall on Sunday or Monday), the first of January (the day St. Basil is commemorated), on the five Sundays of Great Lent (excluding Palm Sunday), and on Great Thursday and Great Saturday of Passion Week.