With these blessed powers, O Lord, Lover of Mankind, we cry out and say: holy and holy art thou, and thy only begotten Son, and thy Holy Spirit: holy and holy art thou, and magnificent is thy glory, who hast so loved thy world, as thou didst give thy only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but to have an eternal life: He who came, and fulfilled all his care for us, gave himself up in the night, in vain, and even more so gave himself up for the worldly life, receiving bread into His holy and most pure and immaculate hands, thanking and blessing, sanctifying, breaking, giving to His holy disciples and Apostles, rivers: With these with the blessed powers (heavenly) we, O Lord, Lover of Mankind, exclaim and say: holy and holy are You, and Your only begotten Son, and Your Holy Spirit; holy are You, and most holy, and magnificent is Your glory: for You so loved Your world (created by You) that You deigned to send down Your only begotten Son to us, so that none of those who believe in Him should perish, but receive eternal life.
Having come to earth and fulfilled all the providence You had foreseen for us, He, Your only begotten Son, on that night on which He was betrayed (as a disciple), or better to say, He voluntarily gave Himself up for the life of the whole world, He, taking bread into His holy, most pure and immaculate hands, thanking and blessing, sanctifying and breaking it, gave it to His saints, disciples and Apostles, saying:
Take, eat, this is My body, which was broken for you for the remission of sins.
Likewise the cup in the evening, 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.
The words of the Savior: “Take, eat...” and “Drink of it, all of you,” the priest proclaims aloud to the whole church, and the choir confirms them with the word: “Amen.”
After this, remembering the Savior’s commandment: “Do this in remembrance of Me,” the priest continues:
Remembering this saving commandment, and everything that happened to us: the cross, the tomb, the three-day resurrection, the ascension to heaven, sitting on the right hand, the second and glorious coming again -
Yours from Yours brings to You for everyone and for everything.
The priest pronounces these words aloud to the church, raising the holy chalice and paten with the Holy Gifts above the throne, with crossed hands.
The choir and all those present, finishing the priest’s words, sing:
We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, O Lord, and we pray to You, our God.
At this time, the priest, in secret prayer, calls upon the Holy Spirit three times on himself and on the presented Gifts; makes the sign of the cross over the paten, the chalice (chalice), and over both together, asking God that by the power of the Holy Spirit “he would put the bread into the body of Christ, and the wine (in the cup) into the precious blood of Christ.” At this time, the bread and wine are mysteriously transubstantiated, that is, they become the true body and true blood of Christ. Having consecrated the Holy Gifts, the priest reverently bows to the ground before them and prays that these Holy Gifts will serve for those receiving communion not for judgment or condemnation, but for the remission of sins, the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven and eternal life.
This part of the liturgy is the most important and sacred moment for us Orthodox, when we, on bended knees, with the greatest reverence must pray and thank God for His unspeakable mercy in the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts that took place at this moment, that is, bread into the true body, and wine into the true blood of Christ.
After the consecration of the Holy Gifts, the priest secretly prays for all members of the Church for whom these Gifts were offered:
We also offer to You this verbal service about those who died in the faith: forefathers, fathers, patriarchs, prophets, apostles, preachers, evangelists, martyrs, confessors, abstinents, and about every righteous soul who passed away in the faith -
Much about our most holy, most pure, most blessed, most glorious Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.
The choir responds to this exclamation of the priest with a song of praise in honor of the Most Holy Theotokos:
It is worthy to eat as one truly blesses Theotokos... (See above).
While singing “Worthy,” the priest continues (secretly) commemorating the members of the Church, dead and living, and then says aloud:
First, remember, Lord, the Most Holy Governing Synod, and our lord, the Right Reverend (his name), and grant them to Your holy churches in peace, whole, honest, healthy, long-living, the right to rule the word of Your truth.
The chorus replies: “And all (men) and all (women).”
The priest concludes the remembrance of the Church members with a prayer:
And grant us with one mouth and one heart to glorify and sing Your most honorable and magnificent name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages.
This part of the Liturgy of the Faithful ends with the blessing of the priest:
And may the mercies of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
Then preparations for communion begin. The priest pronounces a petitionary litany, which he begins with an invitation:
Having remembered all the saints, let us pray again and again in peace to the Lord.
About the offered and consecrated honorable gifts. - As our God who loves mankind, welcome me into His holy and heavenly and mental altar, into the stench of the spiritual fragrance; will bestow upon us Divine grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit. - May we be delivered from all sorrow, anger and need. Intercede, save, have mercy and preserve us, O God, by Your grace.
This is followed by a litany of petition: “The day of all things is perfect, holy, peaceful...” (See above).
After the litany, the priest proclaims:
And grant us, O Master, with boldness and without condemnation to call upon You, Heavenly God the Father, and say:
Those present sing the Lord’s Prayer while kneeling:
Our Father, who art in heaven... (See above).
Then the priest gives the blessing to the faithful with the benevolence of the world:
Peace to everyone
invites them to bow their heads before the Lord, closes the royal doors, and, inviting them to attention (“Let us attend”), lifts up the consecrated Lamb (holy Gifts) and says:
Holy to holies.
With deep reverence, those present bow to the ground before the Holy Lamb and, in the consciousness of their unworthiness, answer:
There is one holy, one Lord, Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father. Amen.
Having prepared the Holy Gifts for communion, the celebrants receive communion at the altar.
At this time, the so-called sacramental verse is sung in the choir:
Praise the Lord from heaven, praise Him in the highest.
After the communion of the celebrants, the royal doors open, and the deacon (if there is one) appears with the holy cup in his hands, exclaiming:
Approach with the fear of God and faith
Those present reverently worship the Holy Mysteries to the ground, as if they were the risen Savior Himself, and greet Him with the words:
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord: God is the Lord and has appeared to us.
After this, those present, having prepared for communion, fold their hands in a cross shape, proceed to the Holy Mysteries and confess their faith with the following prayer:
I believe, Lord, and confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the sinful world to save, from whom I am the first. I also believe that this very thing is Your most pure body, and this very thing is Your honest blood. I pray to You: have mercy on me, and forgive me my sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word, in deed, in knowledge and ignorance: and grant me, without condemnation, to partake of Your most pure sacraments, for the remission of sins and eternal life. - Thy secret supper this day, O Son of God, receive me as a partaker: I will not tell the secret to Thy enemies, neither will I give Thee a kiss like Judas, but like a thief I will confess to Thee: remember me, O Lord, in Thy kingdom. “May it not be for judgment or condemnation that I receive the communion of Thy Holy Mysteries, Lord, but for the healing of soul and body.” Amen.
Standing at the royal doors, the priest pronounces this prayer loudly, clearly and separately, and those approaching holy communion repeat every word of this prayer. Every Orthodox Christian should know this prayer by heart.
After saying this prayer, believers accept the body and blood of the Lord from the priest, then kiss the edge of the holy chalice, like the rib of Jesus Christ, and, stepping aside, make a bow before the icon of the Mother of God and taste the warmth. At this time in the choir they sing:
Receive the Body of Christ, taste the immortal source.