Divine Liturgy o f the Presanctified o f St Gregory the Dialogist (London,

19 18 ), pp. 8 0 -18 8 ; Father Seraphim Nassar, Divine Prayers and Services, pp. 6 0 4 -9 19 ; Archbishop Joseph Raya and Baron Jos6 de Vinck, Byzantine Missal (Birmingham, Alabama, 1958), pp. 3 7 1- 4 5 5 ; and by the same translators, Byzantine Daily Worship, pp. 773-842. But the greater part of the Triodion - including the Canons for all ten Sundays and virtually all the weekday texts, with the exception o f Holy W eek - seems never to have appeared previously in English.

The translators have had the opportunity to consult unpublished

translations made by the late Revd. Derwas J. Chitty and by Archi­ mandrite Lazarus Moore, as well as some renderings in use at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Seminary, Crestwood, N .Y . W e are most grateful to those who have kindly allowed us access to these manu­ script versions. W e wish to express our gratitude also to all our spiritual helpers, without whom this work could not have been brought to comple­ tion. May the Lord remember them and us when He comes in His Kingdom. 26 January/8 February 1977

Translation of'the Relics of St. Theodore Abbot o f the Studios Monastery. Commemoration of' St. Joseph the Studite Archbishop of Thessalonica

THE STRUCTURE OF THE LENTEN

Prostrations and Bows In the texts that follow, the Greek term metanoia (Slavon i c , poklon) is sometimes rendered as 'prostration' and sometimes as

bow ' : ( 1) By 'prostration' is meant a great metanoia or 'poklon to the

ground'. Here the worshipper prostrates ·the whole body, throwing

the weight forward onto the two hands, touching the ground with

the forehead.

( 2) By 'bow' is meant a small metanoia. Here the worshipper bows from the waist, touching the ground with the fingers of the right hand. Normally a prostration or bow is preceded by the making of the Sign of the Cross. Prostrations are prescribed only at the weekday offices in Lent, that is, from the second half of Vespers on Sunday evening until Vespers on Friday inclusive. At Friday Vespers there are prostrations during the Liturgy of the Presanctified, but fewer prostrations when