Socrates Boyajian, choir director at St. Mary's in Washington, D.C., offers a perspective on congregational participation during badarak.

This year as we focus on the Divine Liturgy, one question that comes up is congregational participation. Is the congregation there to experience the Divine Liturgy as passive listeners or active participants? Even during Communion, many people remain in their pews and do not come forward. Outside of medical or health reasons, everyone should come forward to share this moment. During the Kiss of Peace, many people remain where they are and make no effort to give or receive the Kiss of Peace. These are just two of the items in the Divine Liturgy that ask for congregational participation. The celebrant, deacon(s), and choir can't do all these things for the congregation. And then there is the singing . . .

Tuning in is important ...

I have heard some people say that there is too much singing in the service and they don't understand what is going on. And let us not forget . . . they also say the service is much too long. My view is a bit different. There is not enough singing, and I learn and understand more every time I participate in the service . . . and the service is much too short. As a choir director, I am painfully aware of how many parts of the Divine Liturgy in many parishes are already cut out--to save time. Saving time for what? What are our priorities?

The reason for these pressing issues about the Divine Liturgy is a general lack of understanding of the jewel that we have. We are not all jewelers. I am not one and I can't tell you the difference between a worthless diamond and a priceless diamond. We also have the same syndrome in our congregation. We have people who come to church almost every week--and tune out. It becomes a ritual for them. Someone makes the sign of the cross--they do the same. Someone stands up--they stand up. Someone sits down--they sit down. (There are no hard and fast rules for things like this, only guidance: stand up through as much of the service that your health permits, when the celebrant makes the sign of the cross--you do the same.)

Participation is the fix ...

I am one of those people that have to do and experience something in order to recognize and develop an appreciation for it. I started my true participation in the Divine Liturgy when I was 19. Prior to that, yes I attended church services. But it seemed to me an elaborate ritual. An opera with a celebrant, deacon(s), choir, choir director, organist--and a few solo singers here and there.

At 19, I decided to really read the pew book. I practiced singing the choir parts. And then there was the text. Yes, it is in krapar, the ancient language of our church fathers. But the pew books don't leave you stranded there. An English transliteration and an English translation are provided. It took me about a year to work through the pew book. I would sing it during my lunch hour or evenings. After that one year, I started to appreciate what we have. Over the years, I have continually discovered the many layers of beauty and variety in our service. How so many wonderfully talented people in our time and in the past have contributed to the Divine Liturgy--and continue to do so. The common complaint of "they sing the same thing every Sunday" all of a sudden had all the earmarks of someone with a significant lack of understanding. And people ask why does it have to be so difficult to understand. The question is: is our religion so easy to understand? Are we all scholars of theology?

We all have to learn to a level that is comfortable to us. The only way to do it is by practicing--by participation. Complaining on the sidelines about how out of touch our service is with reality is not fair--if the benefits of the full service have not been explored and realized.