i’d really like to hear a liturgy in aramaic...
how does it compare structuraly?
Honestly, I watched it on EWTN once and was not lost at all. We have Chaleans that come to our parish all the time and said that I would do quite alright at their home parish.
You and your lovely wife will just have to join us one Sunday, for the Maronite Divine Liturgy. While most of the liturgy is in English, certain parts of the liturgy are chanted in Aramaic - the Entrance Dialogue, Prayer of Incense (during the incensation of the church), the Qadeeshat (Trisagion) before the Tabernacle and, most importantly, the Words of Institution. To hear the priest chant those words over the bread and wine, is like being at the Last Supper.
During the Consecration of the Cup, the Maronite priests tip the Chalice in the 4 directions of the earth to signify that Christ shed His Blood for all mankind. This practice dates back to the first century when, according to archaeological digs, the first Maronite Churches were constructed on the foundations of formerly Jewish synagogues. It retains the Jewish practice of spilling the blood of the consecrated animal, on the four corners of the altar.
BTW - we have a Greek Orthodox family that attends Sunday liturgy. The wife is from Jordan and wants to hear the Gospel proclaimed in Arabic. The husband is from England, an Anglican convert to the GOC.