Liturgy of Saint Tikhon

The Liturgy of St. Tikhon is one of the Divine Liturgies authorized for use by the Antiochian Western Rite Vicariate (AWRV) of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, itself part of the Eastern Orthodox Church.

It is authorized for use in the AWRV in two English language texts—that of the Orthodox Missal and that of the Saint Andrew's Service Book.

The text of the liturgy, therefore, is based upon the Episcopal Church's 1928 Book of Common Prayer (BCP), along with certain features of the Tridentine Mass (the dominant Mass of the Catholic Church prior to its reform after the Second Vatican Council), as well certain modifications to make it conform to Orthodox theology and practice, including a strengthened epiclesis and the omission of the filioque from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

[1] Some Episcopalians who wished to become Orthodox asked Bishop Tikhon whether they might be allowed to continue to use their Anglican liturgy, that of the American 1892 Book of Common Prayer (BCP).

The final report addressed the changes that would need to be made in the BCP in order to make it suitable for Orthodox worship, but neither the commission nor Bishop Tikhon actually approved a rite.