"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age".

These are the words of the Lord, who keeps His promise, by still being present in the world, for His Church, according to the Orthodox teaching, is Christ perpetuated in the centuries to come. The Divine Liturgy is a realization of the mystery of the Church. Christ is in the center together with his Holy Angels, Prophets, Apostles, Martyrs and Holy Ascetics. For, during the Divine Liturgy, heavens stand open and, in a mystical way, the Lord Jesus Christ himself offers the bloodless Sacrifice and is at the same time the Offerer and the Offered.

Thus, when in his first act before the celebration of the Divine Liturgy the priest receives the blessing from either the Bishop (in a parish) or the Hegumen (in a Monastery), he in reality receives the blessing from Christ himself. Then he celebrates the Divine Liturgy in the name and on behalf of the brotherhood, i.e. the full number of the faithful.

To celebrate the Divine Liturgy is to perform a ministry, the highest in position, which is really offered 'in the midst of an ecclesiastical community' and 'with the consent of the full number of the faithful'. This celebration does not have an individual character; it is rather a kind of 'co-celebration'. Everybody contributes to it, others by chanting, others by praying, others by the office they hold and others in silence 'by their heartfelt joy'. The blessing sought by the celebrant indicates that he acts in obedience to his spiritual father, the Bishop/Hegumen, and thus to God. The unanimous consent and unity of the congregation is also necessary in order for the priest to proceed with the celebration of the Divine Office. Needless to say that he must be properly prepared. And if in the realm of the material things the blessing of the Hegumen is necessary in order for the monk to proceed with his daily chores, what can one say of the realm of divine and holy things, where everything should be done in all humility, 'in a fitting and orderly way'?

Having received the blessing of the Bishop/Hegumen, the priest in reality 'receives the permission' or the Kairos, i.e. he readies himself for the entry into the sanctuary or bema in order to make preparations up to the opening of the Divine Liturgy. His personal preparation is aided by a series of sublime hymns with which he asks God's mercy and compassion so as to be able to celebrate the divine Sacrament. Then he venerates the panel icons on the bema screen: the immaculate icon of the Lord, the one of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that of St John the Baptist 'the most venerated among the prophets', as well as the icons of other Saints, which 'proclaim' the work of God for the salvation of humankind. The veneration of the holy icons by the officiating priest shows not only that together with the invisibly present Christ co-officiate, participate and rejoice our Lady the Mother of God and the Saints, but also that for the celebration of the Sacrament the officiating priest requires the power of the Lord and the intercession of the Saints. Such things are included in the closing prayer of the Kairos office. At the end of the above prayer the priest draws back the curtain of the Royal Gates asking for the intercession of the Mother of God and declaring in this way that the heavens stand now open. He then enters the bema to kiss the Altar, showing his love—as well as the love of the congregation that he represents—towards the God of love and accepting the sanctification, which proceeds from the holy Altar.