Guidelines for Maintaining Liturgical Consistency at Home
The main guidelines from the provided materials confirm that home prayer must remain in accordance with the Church’s liturgical standards, meaning it should reflect the same orientation as communal church practice. In particular, one source states:"Essentially and fundamentally, home prayer must be in line with church prayer. The church prayer sets forth one specific path along which all the faithful are to proceed in unison, for the sake of uniformity and to avoid causing disturbance to one another. In home prayer, there is a broader range of ways to pray, but the overall direction must remain the same as in church prayer. Even that broader range should have well-defined boundaries, beyond which deviation from the proper path leads to licentious arbitrariness and self-creation." (source: link txt)Thus, if the recitation of the Prokimenon is an integral part of the established liturgical order, its use in a home setting is permissible provided that the overall liturgical direction is maintained and arbitrary innovations are avoided. Additionally, one source brings up the question of whether certain expressions should be modified when performing the liturgy in private premises. This suggests that some adaptation in home prayer is allowed, but only within the limits that do not contradict canonical regulations:"Should the expressions of the ektenia 'O memorable founders of this holy temple', 'the brethren of this holy temple', 'in this holy and most venerable temple' be altered, and if so—how exactly—if the liturgy (Vsednevna) is conducted in a private space (such as a factory office, a train station hall, etc.)?" (source: link txt)Based on these remarks, one can conclude that the recitation of the Prokimenon in a home setting is a permissible practice, provided it is carried out in strict accordance with the canonical regulations accepted by the Church and does not stray from the generally accepted liturgical tradition.