Learning the Services

A Resource for Learning the Structure , Rubric, and Music for Liturgical Worship

Service Structure

horologion3.pdf

The Horologion

The Unabridged Horologion is a comprehensive guide to the daily cycle of Orthodox liturgical services, including the hours, vespers, matins, and other prayers. This essential text preserves the full richness of the Church's prayer tradition, providing clergy, monastics, and laity with the complete texts needed to maintain a life of prayer and worship. Grounded in centuries of sacred tradition, the Unabridged Horologion offers a profound resource for those seeking to deepen their spiritual practice through the rhythms of the Church's daily worship.

Rubric

festal_menaion-compressed.pdf

Festal Menaion: Services of the 12 Great Feasts

The Festal Menaion is a cornerstone of Orthodox liturgical worship, containing the hymns, prayers, and readings for the Twelve Great Feasts and other significant celebrations of the Church year. Rich in theological depth and poetic beauty, it reflects the Church’s living tradition, drawing the faithful into the mystery of Christ’s life, the Theotokos, and the saints. This invaluable resource guides worshipers through the sacred rhythms of the liturgical calendar, offering a profound connection to the timeless truths of Orthodox Christianity.

Music

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom.pdf

Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom by Robert Hutchinson, University of Puget Sound

Music Theory for the 21st–Century Classroom is an openly licensed, four-semester online music theory textbook designed to modernize and enhance traditional music theory education. Departing from the conventional focus on SATB voice leading, this text emphasizes harmony within the context of the phrase, as well as motivic analysis and melodic construction, addressing a common gap in existing curricula. Students are introduced to concepts like motive, subphrase, inversion, augmentation, diminution, and melodic alteration to better understand and create melodies with continuity and harmonic logic. The text progresses from basic pitch and rhythm to advanced topics like twelve-tone technique and minimalism, incorporating examples from popular music, film, and theater to contextualize key concepts.