The Liturgy of St. Basil is a fuller, longer version of the Divine Liturgy that we celebrate about ten times a year on particularly solemn occasions. Most Sundays you’ll experience the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, but on certain feast days and Sundays in Great Lent, we use this older, more theologically expansive liturgy composed by St. Basil the Great in the fourth century.
The difference isn’t in structure. Both liturgies follow the same basic shape, the Liturgy of the Word, the Liturgy of the Faithful, the consecration of the gifts, and Holy Communion. But St. Basil’s prayers are longer, more detailed, more explicit about what’s happening. Where St. John Chrysostom’s anaphora (the great Eucharistic Prayer) might offer a concise thanksgiving, St. Basil’s expands into paragraphs of praise. It’s like the difference between saying “Thank you for everything” and actually listing out each gift one by one.
Who Was St. Basil?
St. Basil the Great lived from around 329 to 379 in Cappadocia, in what’s now Turkey. He was one of the three Cappadocian Fathers who defended the doctrine of the Trinity against the Arians. Bishop of Caesarea, monastic organizer, theologian, pastor to the poor, Basil was the kind of churchman who shaped everything he touched. His liturgy reflects his theological precision. You can hear his concern for right doctrine in every prayer.
The liturgy that bears his name has been used in the Eastern Church since at least the fifth century. Some scholars think it went through development over time, but the Orthodox Church has always attributed it to Basil himself. That’s how we receive it.
When Do We Use It?
You’ll encounter the Liturgy of St. Basil on the five Sundays of Great Lent (except Palm Sunday), on Holy Thursday, on Holy Saturday, on the eve of Theophany (January 5th), on the eve of Nativity (if it falls on a Sunday or Monday), and on St. Basil’s feast day (January 1st). That’s ten times in most years, though the exact count can shift depending on the calendar.
Why these days? Because they’re solemn. They’re penitential or they mark major mysteries of the faith. The Church assigns the longer, weightier liturgy to occasions that call for deeper reflection. When you’re preparing to remember Christ’s death and resurrection, when you’re about to celebrate His baptism in the Jordan, the extended prayers fit. They slow you down. They make you pay attention.
If you’ve only been coming to St. Michael for a few months, you might not have experienced St. Basil’s Liturgy yet. When you do, you’ll notice. The service runs longer, sometimes an hour longer than usual. Fr. Michael will be at the altar for extended periods praying quietly while we stand and wait. It can feel like the liturgy is breathing more slowly.
What’s Different About the Prayers?
The anaphora is where you really notice the difference. In the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the priest prays a beautiful but relatively brief Eucharistic Prayer. In St. Basil’s, that prayer expands into a theological treatise. It includes longer thanksgivings to the Father, more explicit invocations of the Holy Spirit, additional commemorations of saints, and extended petitions for mercy.
Other prayers throughout the service are longer too. The Prayer of the Second Antiphon, the Prayer of the Entrance, various litanies, all expanded. St. Basil doesn’t rush. His liturgy lingers over the mysteries it’s celebrating. The tone is more majestic, more cosmic in scope. You get a stronger sense of the Trinity’s work in salvation, of the Church stretching from earth to heaven, of the Eucharist as the center of all creation.
Some people find it exhausting. Others find it feeds them in a way the shorter liturgy can’t. Both reactions are honest. Standing for an extra hour isn’t easy, especially if you worked a twelve-hour shift at the refinery the day before. But there’s something about those long prayers that opens up space for God to work. You can’t stay distracted through the whole thing. Eventually you have to settle in.
Why It Matters
The Church doesn’t do things arbitrarily. We use St. Basil’s Liturgy on specific days because those days call for a particular kind of attention. Great Lent is a season of repentance, of preparing for Pascha. The longer prayers, with their emphasis on mercy and forgiveness, fit that preparation. Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday mark the most solemn moments of the church year. The expanded liturgy matches the weight of what we’re remembering.
And there’s something else. Using two different liturgies throughout the year reminds us that the Divine Liturgy isn’t a formula we recite by rote. It’s a living tradition with depth and variety. St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom both gave us ways to celebrate the Eucharist, and the Church has preserved both. We’re richer for having them.
If you want to read St. Basil’s Liturgy before you experience it, the Antiochian Archdiocese publishes a service book with the full text. You can also find it online at antiochian.org. Don’t worry if the prayers feel overwhelming at first. They’re meant to be prayed, not analyzed. Come to the service when it’s celebrated, stand with the rest of us, and let the words wash over you. You’ll start to hear what St. Basil was trying to say.
