Litany of Royal Hours?

[Momzilla]

St. John has Royal Hours at 12:00 on Friday. It's probably the only Holy Week service I'll be able to attend. Has anyone been to one of these? If so, what is it like? I'm a little afraid I'll be the only one there, and I'd like to know what to do with myself....

 

[Oblio]

They are pretty benign
IIRC it is the 1st,3rd,6th & 9th Hours with the following readings (OCA):

ROYAL HOURS

1st Hour: Zechariah 11:10-13
Galatians 6:14-18 Matthew 27:1-56

3rd Hour: Isaiah 50:4-11
Romans 5:6-11 Mark 15:16-41

6th Hour: Isaiah 52:13-54:1
Hebrews 2:11-18 Luke 23:32-49 or Amos 8:9-12

9th Hour: Jeremiah 11:18-12:5,9-11,14-15
Hebrews 10:19-31 John 18:28-19:37

There is also a censing of the temple at the beginning of each hour so if you are sensitive to that you might be prepared for a bit more olfactory fun . Each 'hour' lasts about 10 minutes (exclusive of readings), so perhaps 15 min each for the Royal Hours.

 

[Matrona]

Yes, Royal Hours is pretty easy as far as services go. I helped with the readings for it at Holy Trinity last year since there weren't many people willing to go to church at 8:00 AM on a Friday. I don't think there are any prostrations or anything wild so you don't have to worry about any of that.

I can't remember how long the service was, but I had a 10:00 class then, and I talked to Father a while afterwards, and I still made it back in plenty of time to get to class. I think Royal Hours is only about an hour. It's pretty good, but as far as Orthodox services go, nothing beats Pascha.

 

[Momzilla]

I'm actually glad it's a short service--maybe I'll finally get a chance to talk to Fr. Marcus without being constantly distracted by my kids (who won't be there).

 

[Matrona]

I'm actually glad it's a short service--maybe I'll finally get a chance to talk to Fr. Marcus without being constantly distracted by my kids (who won't be there).

Royal Hours is a quiet, mournful little service, from what I remember. Definitely seize the opportunity to talk to Father. The Holy Trinity church here in Columbia is big, and they had a very small turnout for Royal Hours. St. John's might have better turnout just because yours is at a sane hour. Tomorrow morning I'm going to Holy Thursday liturgy at Holy Trinity at 7 AM!

Are your allergies acting up, too? Mine have gone haywire in the past week. I think Amy hid a tree branch in the air duct just to drive me crazy.

My allergies did this last year during Holy Week, too--in fact, Royal Hours sticks out in my mind because I was sneezing so heavily during the service that it about drove me mad. Father asked me later why he could barely understand what I was reading during the service, and I said, "By doze iz thtuffed ub!"

 

[Momzilla]

Funny you should ask about allergies--I've been having sinus trouble this week, which almost never happens to me. It hasn't been too bad, fortunately!

I hope you feel better soon.

 

[MariaRegina]

Funny you should ask about allergies--I've been having sinus trouble this week, which almost never happens to me. It hasn't been too bad, fortunately!

I hope you feel better soon.

To all:

Don't forget to drink lots of water -- that really helps with the allergy and sinus problems.

We even bring a small bottle to church just in case we start coughing due to the incense. It does help.

Have a Blessed Pascha.

Yours in Christ our God,
Elizabeth

 

[Nikolas222]

water is good, but it wont help to a degree of immunity. Once a person attends many many services with lots of incense, they start to adapt to it but the best thing to do is to just take it if its not that bad. Otherwise, you can step out for a breath. Take it from someone who knows (altar boy ).