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THE following is the passage in St. Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians (lix to Ixi), which has seemed to some scholars to be liturgical and even eucharistic.
We shall ask with earnest prayer and supplication:
That the Creator of the universe may guard intact the number of his elect
that have been numbered in the whole world,
through his beloved Son Jesus Christ
'through whom he called us from darkness to light',
from ignorance to the full knowledge of the glory of his Name.Grant us, O Lord, to hope in thy name, the source of all creation;
open the eyes of our hearts to know thee,
who alone 'dwellest highest in the heights, holy among the holy',
thou who 'layest low the haughtiness of the proud',
who 'makest the devices of the nations to be of none effect',
who 'settest up on high those that are low' and 'humblest those that are exalted',
who 'makest rich and makest poor',
who 'killest and makest alive',
who art alone the benefactor of spirits and God of all flesh,
who 'lookest into the abysses',
who dost regard the works of man.Thou art the help of them that are in peril,
'saviour of them that are without hope',
creator and bishop of every spirit,
who multipliest the peoples upon the earth,
and hast chosen from the midst of them those that love thee,
through Jesus Christ thy beloved servant [παιδος],
through whom thou didst instruct and sanctify and honour us.We beseech thee, Master,
be our 'defence and succour',
save those among us who are in distress,
have mercy on the lowly,
lift up the fallen,
show thyself to those in need,
heal the sick,
convert the wanderers of thy people,
feed the hungry,
release our prisoners,
set up the weak,
comfort the faint-hearted.'Let all the nations know thee,
that thou art God alone,
and that Jesus Christ is thy servant,
and that 'we are thy people and the sheep of thy pasture'.For thou hast manifested by thy works the eternal structure of the world;
thou Lord, didst create the earth.
Thou who art faithful in all generations,
righteous in judgements,
marvellous in power and glory,
wise in creating and prudent in establishing the things created,
good in what is seen,
and faithful to those who trust in thee,
O 'gracious and merciful',
forgive us our iniquities,
and our unrighteousness and our transgressions and shortcomings.Lay not to our account every sin of thy servants and handmaids,
but cleanse us with the cleansing of thy truth,
and' order our steps' in pureness of heart'
to do such things as are good and well-pleasing in thy sight
and in the sight of our rulers'.Yea, Lord, 'show the light of thy countenance' upon us for good in peace,
that we may be sheltered ' by thy mighty hand'
and delivered from every sin 'by thine uplifted arm',
and deliver us from those that hate us wrongfully.Give concord and peace to us and to all that inhabit the earth as thou didst give to our fathers,
when they called on thee ' in faith and truth' with holiness,
and make us obedient to thine almighty and excellent Name,
and to our rulers and governors upon the earth.Thou, Master, hast given them the authority of their rule by thine excellent and ineffable power,
that we, knowing the glory thou hast given them,
may submit ourselves to them, in no wise resisting thy will;
grant them. Lord, health, peace, concord, stability,
that they may administer the government thou hast given them without hindrance.For thou, heavenly Master,
King of the ages,
givest to the sons of men glory and honour and power over the things that are on the earth;
do thou Lord, direct their counsel to that which is 'good and right in thy sight',
that administering in peace and gentleness with piety the power that thou hast given them,
they may obtain thy mercy.O thou who alone art able to do these good things with us and more excellent things also,
we praise thee through the High-priest and guardian of our souls,
Jesus Christ, through whom glory and majesty be to thee both
now and for all generations and for all ages, Amen.
Ad Missam. Officium.
Vos qui in Christo baptizati estis:
Christum induistis, alleluja.V. Benedicti vos a Domino qui fecit caelum et terram.
P. Christum.V. Gloria et honor Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto in saecula saeculorum.
P. Christum, &c.
(Roman Introitus, Mal. iii. i: Ps. Ixxi. i. Gloria Patri.)
Oratio.
Rex omnium saeculorum, Christe Deus altissime:
qui in diebus Herodis regis de Virgine natus:
Magis quaerentibus novo sidere declaratus:
appareat in nobis virtutis tuae praesidium
ad depellendos omnes principes tenebrarum:
quo sic majestatis tuae sidus in nobis resplendeat:
ut ad te quaerendum nulli se nobis errorum obices interponant:
quo ad te videndum curramus: et te viso jucundemur instanter.
(Roman Oratio:
Deus qui hodiema die Unigenitum tuum gentibus stella duce revelasti:
concede propitius; ut, qui jam te ex fide cognovimus,
usque ad contemplandam speciem tuae celsitudinis perducamur.
Per eundem Dominum, &c.)
Lectio libri Esaye prophetae (Cap. Ix).
Psallendo.
Omnis terra adoret te et psallat tibi.
V. Psalmum dicam nomini tuo, altissime, super filios hominum.
P. Et psallat.
Sequentia epistolae Pauli Apostoli ad Galatas (Cap. iii).
(Rome has for the Epistle the above passage from Isaiah.)
Lectio sancti evangelii secundum Matthaeum (Cap. ii).
(Rome has same passage with the heading: Sequentia, &c.)
Lauda.
Alleluja.
V. Laudate Dominum sol et luna: laudate eum omnes stellae et lumen.
P. Alleluja.
(Rome has Gradual, Is. Ix. 6 and i, and Alleluia, Mt.
Sacrificium.
Omnes de Sabba venient, offerentes aurum et thus et lapides preciosos:
salutare Domini evangelizabant, alleluja alleluja.
F.Viri exceisi ad te transibunt, et tui erunt servisubsequenteste,colligativinculis:
etadorabuntte: quia in te est Deus, et praeter te non est alius:
renovamini insulae Israel et salvamini a Domino in salute aeterna.
P. Salutare.
(Rome Offertorium. Ps. Ixxi. 10.)
Missa.
Omne, dilectissimi fratres, in laudem Dei Salvatoris,
Redemptorisque nostri charitatis excitetur officium.
Spei ponatur integritas:
fidei surgat devota confessio.
Qui nobis per istam suam assumptae camis nativitatem:
illam ingeniti patris dignatus est significare naturam.
Quia Verbum caro factum inde in agnitionem Dei locum generationis ostendit:
unde in Virginem initium originis introduxit.
Ea Christus proditus virtute, qua genitus:
novoque sidere daret infantiae signum, potentiae ministerium, ignorantiae documentum. Et qui terram, factus ex muliere, lege parturitionis inviseret, caelum indiscreto patris jure cohaeres possidet:
novamque elementi, quam creaverat, claritatem habuit Deus in officio, parvulus in testimonio, mundus in nuncio, reges in miraculo, pastores in gaudio, gentilitas in stupore, credulitas in munere, crudelitas in timore.
In hac tremuerunt impii:
in hac exultaverunt commoniti:
in hac adoravere subjecti.
Hacilluminante,quifueratsalvandus, occurrit:
hac terrente, qui fuerat periturus expavit.
Sic caelo nova lampade corruscante,
et illuminata fides est, et caecata perfidia.
(There is a second Oratio probably originally the 'Prayer of the Veil'.)
Post nomma. Oratio.
Ecclesiae tuae, quaesumus Domine, munera propitius intuere:
quibus non jam aurum, thus et mirrha profertur, sed iisdem muneribus unigenitus tuus declaratur, offertur, immolatur, et sumitur.
Offerentibus quoque, Domine, gaudia tribue sempiterna:
et refrigerium quietis defunctis accumula.
Adpacem. Oratio.
Christe, qui ad humana veniens, humilis Deus in sidere declararis,illabere sensibus nostris,quo Ecclesia tua, quae apparitionis tuae festum hodierno die ovando con-celebrat, in pace tua jugi tempore solidata consistat.
Ut et hie opera charitatis instanti devotione retentet:
et ad te remuneratura perveniat gaudens:
qui olim ad liberationem ejus per admirabile sidus apparere dignatus es.
Illatio.
Dignum et justum est, omnipotentiam tuam, Domine Jesu Christe, per vitae nostrae vel maxima spacia, vel minima momenta laudare, maximeque in festivitate praesenti, in qua multimoda mirabilium tuorum praeconia celebrantur, ex totis praecordiis venerari.
Et licet ea ipsa, quae perstrin-gere de pluribus pauca praesumimus, sacramentis sint preciosiora quam factis, eoque fiat, ut quod mens non con-cipit, lingua non pariat.
Attamen si qua vel forinsecus admirationi fuere perspicua convenit memorare.
Hodierna igitur die quod incarnationis tuae testimonium perhibet, igne rutilum,luce lacteum,contemplatione pladdum, expectatione votivum, novitate mirabile, significatione terribile sidus apparuit.
Cujus splendoris magnitudinem expavit subito Chaldaeorum cervicosa curiositas, et in omni Babyloniorum ritu vetusta superstitione calcata.
Magi sagaces viderunt, quantis jacerent in tenebris, qui nisi discuterent visib ilium luminum qualitatem, nescissent lucis auctorem.
Neque ultra superdlio gentis Assyriae colendos homines inter caelestia quaesierunt, qui caelo judice adorandam divinitatem inter humana repererunt.
Additur his, quod Jotdanis aquas sancti-ficaturus intrasti ad humilitatem exempli, non ad necessitatem peccati.
Et vox patris de filio testificantis audita est, atque novum Adam spiritus gratiae septiformis insedit: hinc in quo baptizari Baptista possit, ostendit.
Nec hunc eundemque Jordanem saeculis anterioribus illustratum esse plus dixerim: cujus gurgitibus abruptis, undifluis fluctibus, qui praecesserant, in mare reconditis, hinc exaltatis, qui substiterant, et in aethera fastigiatis juxta saevam liquentis elementi securas tribus per vada pulverulenta transduxit.
Insuper infudisti aquas hydriis, aquis vinum, atque, ad tuae jussionis imperium botri distinguuntur in aquis, etvindemiae oriuntur ex hydriis.
Nec minori miraculo quondam largitas tua numen irriguum de visceribus aridae cautis elicuit.
Sed non amplius est verbo liquorem sicds, quam saporem acidisse indidisse.
Quinque quoque panibus et pisce geminato quinque virorum milia intra deserta pavisti.
Hoc potentialiter tuae benedictionis operatus, ut tantus populus, qui magno impleri vix poterat, parvo posset impleri.
Ita in ora hominum cibus ipsa sui immunitione profidens, incrementum proprium inter detrimenta sumebat, et edulibus ampliatis fragmine crescente, frustorum plurima relata sunt cophinis, quae non fuerant illata conviviis.
Operante hoc omnipotentia tua ad magnificandam gloriam tuam: cui omnes angeli non cessant clamare, ita dicentes:
(Roman Praefatio:
Vere dignum et justum est, aequum et salutare, nos tibi semper et ubique gratias agere, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, aeterne Deus:
quia cum Unigenitus tuus in substantia nostrae mortalitatis apparuit, nova nos immortalitatis suae luce reparavit.
Et ideo cum Angelis et Archangelis, cum Thronis et Dominationibus, cumque omni militia caelestis exercitus, hymnum gloriae tuae canimus, sine fine dicentes:)
Post Sanctus.
Vere sanctus, vere benedictus Deus, qui observationem did hujus atque reverentiam toto orbe venerabilem triplidter, et acceptionis, et luminationis, et declarationis honore donasti, appare in his solemnitatibus, et accepta orationem plebis tuae, qui solemnitatem hanc ipso acceptionis nomine consecrasti.
Illumina sacrificantem cultui tuo populum, qui festa haec etiam vocabulo illuminasti. Declara cordibus nostris veritatis tuae lucem, qui et ipsam appelationem dedisti his solemnitatibus claritatem.
Quia tu es Deus ac Redemptor aetemus.
(Rome only adds, after the word ' Communicantes' the following:
et diem sacratissimum celebrantes,
quo Unigenitus tuus in tua tecum gloria coaeternus,
in veritate carnis nostrae visibiliter corporalis apparuit:
sed et ...)
Post Pridie. Oratio.
Appare Domine: cognoscere Domine:
sicut apparuisti manifestus in carne,
ortus ex Virgine,
inventus a pastoribus,
cognitus in virtute.
Declaratus in sidere:
adoratus in munere:
ostensus in flumine:
creditus in fide:
habitus in nube:
promissus in judice.
Ut sacratae solemnitatis gratia ita suscipiat ecclesia tua nunc gaudia:
ut praetulit quondam mysteria.
Ad Orationem Dominicam.
Christe Deus, qui virginali prodiens ex utero,
novum hodie lumen apparuisti in mundo,
agnitus in stella,
adoratus per munera.
Ciba nos favo mellis et sermonibus bonis, orationibus justis, ac responsionibus pietatis.
Ut dulcedo auditus tui sanitas sit animae, vel corporis nostri:
ut gustantes et videntes quam suavis es, Domine, nequaquam percogamur ad amaritudinem saeculi declinare, sed caelestibus suspensi oraculis, cordibus, et vocibus per Patrem impetremus e terns.
Pater noster, &c.
Benedictio.
Jesus Christus Rex noster,
quiprofanum Regem sua nativitate terruit:
ipse in vobis cum suis virtutibus regnet.R. Amen.
Cujusque signum stella radiante Magis apparuit:
ejus vos gratia sine fine clarificet.R. Amen.
Det vobis spiritualem intelligentiam, qui aquarum naturam vini in suavitate fecit esse saporem.
R. Amen.
Et qui populorum milia exiguo panis fragmine satiavit, corda vestra doctrinae suae alimento locupletet.
R. Amen.
Conferens vobis veram innocentiam, qui Spiriti Sancti tranquillam simplicitatem demonstrare voluit per columbam.
R. Amen.
Quod ipse praestare dignetur, cujus regnum et imperium sine fine manet in saecula saeculorum.
R. Amen.
Pos( Communio. Oratio.
Verbum ante saecula ineffabiliter patris ore prolatum, et in tempore hominem pro nobis ex Virgine ortum, humili prece poscamus, ut invocationem nostram de monte sancto placatus exaudiat:
ejusque bene-dictio pectora credentium repleat.
Ac sicut incerta secretorum sapientia manifestans ad se agnoscendum corda excitat nostra, ita catholicam plebem alarum suarum protectione defendat: eisque, cum judex venerit, existat placabilis, pro quibus redimendis in came apparuit humilis.R. Amen.
(Rome:
Praesta, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus:
ut quae solemni celebramus officio, purificatae mentis intelligentia consequamur.
Per Dominum.)
The invariable portion of the Mozarabic Mass consists mainly of Salutations and Proclamations, such as 'Silentium facite', and the like; but there are also the following:
The Gloria in Excelsis, between the Officium and the Oratio.
Offertory Prayers, 'Acceptabilis', 'Offerimus', 'Hanc oblationem', and 'In spiritu humilitatis', with the following Invocation: 'Veni sancte Spiritus Sanctificator: sanctifica hoc sacrificium de manibus meis preparatum'.
The Kiss of Peace.
The Sursum corda.
The account of the Incarnation and the Institution.
The Creed.
The Dismissal.
THE following are the most important passages, apart from the liturgies themselves, from which the history of the Epiclesis must be deduced.
(Rome, m. between 163 and 167)
Apol. l. Ixvi:
For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink;
but as Jesus Christ our Saviour was made flesh by a word of God
(διὰ λόγου Θεοῦ)
and had flesh and blood for our salvation,
so we have been taught that the food which is made Eucharist
through a word of prayer that comes from Him
( τὴν δι’ εὐχῆς λόγου τοῦ παρ’ αὐτοῦ εὐχαριστηθεῖσαν τροφήν),
from which by change
[κατὰ μεταβολὴν, i.e. by metabolism.]
our blood and flesh are nourished,
are the flesh and blood of the same incarnate Jesus Christ.
(Lyons, d. 202-3)
Haer. i. i. 2:
Pretending to make Eucharist of cups mixed with wine,
and extending to a great length the word of invocation,
he (i.e. the heretic Marcus) makes them appear purple and red,
so that it seems as if Charis,
[One of the emanations in the Valentinian Gnostic system.]
one of those beings who are above all things,
distilled its blood into that cup at his invocation.
Ibid. iv. xviii. 5:
For as bread from the earth,
on receiving the invocation of God,
is no longer ordinary bread,
but Eucharist, &c.
Ibid. v. ii. 2:
When therefore the mixed cup and the bread that is made receives the word of God,
and becomes the Eucharist of Christ's blood and body, &c.
Ibid. v. ii. 3:
(These fruits of the earth) by God's wisdom become fit for man's food,
and now, receiving the word of God,
become a Eucharist,
which is Christ's body and blood.
(Rome, d. 235) quotes in Philosophumena, vi. 39 the first passage of Irenaeus.
(Caesarea in Cappadocia, d. 268)
Apud Cypr. Ep. Ixv. 10:
She (a schismatic prophetess) frequently dared to do this—
to pretend to hallow bread and make Eucharist
with an invocation that was by no means contemptible.
Didascalia Apostolorum (Syria or Palestine, c. 250)
Offer a royal Eucharist,
which is according to the likeness of the royal body of Christ...
setting forth pure bread,
which has been made with fire,
and is hallowed through invocation.
Prayer is accepted through the Holy Spirit,
and the Eucharist is sanctified through the Holy Spirit,
and the Scriptures, since they are the words of the Holy Spirit, are holy.
Which is greater, the bread or the Spirit which thou possessest?
(This is the Syrian text, but the Latin translation has:
Which is greater, the bread or the Holy Spirit which sanctifies the bread?)
(Jerusalem, c. 350)
Catech. Myst. v. 7:
We beseech the merciful God to send the Holy Ghost upon the (offerings) lying before him,
that He may make the bread the body of Christ and the wine the blood of Christ.
For assuredly whatever the Holy Ghost has touched that is hallowed and changed.
Ibid. iii. 3:
For as the bread of the Eucharist,
after the invocation of the Holy Ghost
is no longer mere bread,
but the body of Christ,
so the holy myrrh is no longer mere myrrh, &c.
Ibid. i. 7:
or as the bread and the wine of the Eucharist before the invocation of the holy and worshipful Trinity were mere bread and wine, &c.
(Egypt, d. 350)
O God of truth,
let thy holy Word come upon this bread
that the bread may become the body of the Word,
and upon this cup
that the cup may become the blood of the Truth,
and make all who communicate, &c.
(Egypt, d. 373)
Ad nuper baptizatos:
Let us come to the consummation of the mysteries.
This bread and this cup,
while the prayers and supplications have not yet taken place,
are mere (bread and wine).
But when the great prayers and holy supplications have been sent up,
the Word descends on the bread and the cup,
and it becomes his body.
(Syria, d. 373).
There are a number of passages in the works ascribed to him which speak of the consecration by the descent of the Holy Ghost. Their genuineness is, however, doubted.
(Egypt, d. 381)
apud Theodoret, H.E. iv. 19:
On the very altar where we invoke the descent of the Holy Ghost.
(Cappadocia, d. 379)
De Sp. Sanct. xxvii. 66:
Which of the Saints has left us in writing the words of the invocation at the consecration of the bread of the Eucharist and the cup of blessing?
For what the Apostle and the Gospel have brought to our minds are not sufficient,
but we say other things before and after them,
for they have great force with regard to the mystery,
and we receive them from unwritten tradition.
(Brother of Basil, d. c. 394)
Orat. Catech. xxxvii:
Thus we rightly believe that now also the bread which is hallowed by the Word of God is changed into the body of God the Word ... so also, as the Apostle says, the bread is hallowed through the Word of God and prayer, not advancing to become the body of the Word through the act of eating, but changed immediately into the body through the Word, as it has been said by the Word,' This is my body'.
De baptismo Christi:
Again, the bread is up to this time ordinary bread,
but when the mystery consecrates it,
it is said to be and becomes the body of Christ,
so the mystic oil,
so the wine,
are worth very little before the blessing,
but after the hallowing by the Spirit
each of them has a different operation.
Orat. infuner. Bas.:
The priesthood of the teacher imitates the mysteries (αἰνίγματα) of the priesthood of the prophet (Elijah), drawing down the heavenly fire on the sacrifices by thrice repeating the word of faith (i Kings xviii.34) for we have been many times taught by the Scripture that the power of the Holy Ghost is called 'fire'.
(Cappadocia, d. 390)
Ep. clxxi:
When by word thou drawest down the Word, when by a bloodless cutting thou cuttest the body and blood of the Lord, having thy voice as a sword.
Apostolic Constitutions (Antioch, c. 375)
Book viii:
Send down upon this sacrifice thy Holy Spirit,
the witness of the passion of our Lord Jesus,
that he may manifest this bread as the body of thy Christ,
and this cup as the blood of thy Christ,
that those that partake of it may be confirmed in piety,
obtain forgiveness of sins,
be delivered from the devil and his snares,
be filled with Holy Ghost, &c.
Testamentum Domini (date uncertain—Zahn and Maclean c. 350, Funk, 5th cent.)
i. 23 :
We offer thee this thanksgiving, eternal Trinity,
Ο Lord Jesus Christ,
Ο Lord the Father ...
O Lord the Holy Ghost;
we have brought this drink and this food of thy holiness;
cause that it may be to us not for condemnation,
not for reproach,
not for destruction,
but for the medicine and support of our spirit....
Grant that all those that partake ...
may be filled with the Holy Ghost for the confirmation of the faith in truth, &c.
(Milan, d. 397)
De Sp. Sanct. in. xvi. 112:
He who with the Father and the Son is by the priests named in baptism, and invoked in the oblations.
(Africa, d. 400)
De schism. Donat. vi. i: ...
the altars of God, on which you (the Donatists when Catholics) at one time offered, on which the vows of the people and the members of Christ were borne, where God Almighty was invoked, where the Holy Ghost descended in answer to prayer; whence the pledge of everlasting salvation and the safeguard of faith and the hope of the resurrection was received by many, &c.
(Egypt, d. 412)
apud Jerome, Ep. xcviii. 13:
He (Origen) says that the Holy Ghost does not work upon those things that are lifeless nor reach things not possessing reason. In this he does not consider ... that the bread of the Lord, in which the Saviour's body is shown, and which we break for our sanctification, and the sacred cup (which are placed on the table of the Church and are certainly lifeless), are hallowed by the invocation and coming of the Holy 'Ghost.
(Antioch and Constantinople, d. 407)
De Sacerdotio, in. iv. 179:
The priest stands, bringing down, not fire, but the Holy Ghost.
Ibid. vi. iv:
And when he summons the Holy Ghost, and completes the most dread sacrifice.
In coemet. appell. iii:
When the priest stands before the table, stretching forth his hands to heaven, summoning the Holy Ghost to come and touch the (elements).
Horn. xlii. 2, in Joann.:
This bread, through the descent upon it of the Spirit, becomes heavenly bread.
(Cappadocia, d. 428)
apud Mingana (Woodbrooke Studies, vi. 104):
The priest offers, according to the rules of priesthood, prayer and supplication to God that the Holy Spirit may descend, and that grace may come therefrom upon the bread and wine that are laid (on the altar) so that they may be seen to be truly the body and blood of our Lord, which are the remembrance of immortality.
(Sinai, d. c. 430)
Ep. i. 44:
Before the prayer of the priest and the descent of the Holy Spirit
the oblations are mere bread and ordinary wine,
but after these fearful invocations and the descent of the adorable and life-giving and good Spirit,
the things which have been placed on the altar are no longer mere bread and common wine,
but the precious and pure body and blood of Christ.
(Africa, d. 430)
De Trin. in. iv. 10:
That which is taken from the fruit of the earth and consecrated by the mystical prayer
we duly receive for our spiritual health in remembrance of the passion of our Lord on our behalf.
When this is by the hands of men made to assume that visible form,
it is not consecrated so as to become so great a sacrament
except by the invisible operation of the Spirit of God.
There is no need to give any later examples from the East.
The Liturgy of
St. James was well established by the end of the fifth century, and that of St. Basil not much later.
But the following passages
from the West are important.
(Spain, c. 636)
De eccles. officiis, i. 15 (describing the seven prayers of the liturgy):
Then comes the sixth,
the 'Conformation' of the sacrament,
that the oblation which is offered to God,
being sanctified by the Holy Spirit,
may be conformed to the body and blood of Christ.
Ibid. i. 18:
But these (bread and wine), while they are visible, having nevertheless been sanctified by the Holy Ghost, pass into the sacrament of the divine body.
The following, generally attributed to St. Isidore, is probably much later.
Etym. vi, 19:
We call it the body and blood of Christ because,
though it is of the fruit of the earth,
it is sanctified and made a sacrament,
by the invisible operation of the Holy Ghost.
(Rome, d. 496)
Ep. ad Elpidium:
For how shall the heavenly Spirit, on being invoked, come to the consecration of the divine mystery, if the priest, even he who prays Him to be present, is found to be full of guilty actions?
(Africa, d. 533)
Ex Frag. xxviii ex Lib. viii contra Fdbianum:
When at the time of the sacrifice we make commemoration of his death, we ask that love be given to us through the coming of the Holy Spirit, &c.
Ad Monimum, ii. 6:
Why then, if the sacrifice is offered to the whole Trinity is the sending down of the Holy Spirit alone asked for to sanctify our oblation, as if, so to speak. God the Father, from whom the Holy Spirit proceeds, cannot sanctify a sacrifice offered to him, &c. ... And so when the Church asks that the Holy Spirit should be sent upon itself from heaven, it is asking that the gifts of love and unanimity should be given to it by God; but when can the holy Church, which is the body of Christ, more fittingly ask for the coming of the Holy Spirit than for the consecration of the sacrifice of the body of Christ?
And other passages to the same effect.
the Roman Canon, in the place that the Epiclesis occupies in the Eastern Churches, has this prayer:
Command these things to be carried by the hands of thy holy angel to thine altar on high, in the sight of thy divine majesty, that so many as are partakers at the altar of the precious body and blood of thy Son may be filled with all heavenly benediction and grace.
The notion of presenting gifts at the heavenly altar is found in liturgies both Eastern and Western, but in different settings. It is already seen in the Litany in Apostolic Constitutions at the Inclination:
We pray on behalf of the gift offered to the Lord God that the good God would receive it through the mediation of his Christ on his heavenly altar for a sweet-smelling savour.
This is after the Invocation and Intercession.
In Jas it is used at the Great Entrance:
Bless this πρόθεσις and receive it on thy heavenly altar;
in an Offertory prayer:
Grant us to offer thee this spiritual and unbloody sacrifice
which do thou receive on thy holy and heavenly and rational (νοερός) altar
for a sweet-smelling odour
and send down to us instead the grace of thy all-holy Spirit.
A similar passage is also in the Litany of the Lord's Prayer.
Syr-Jac has,
Receive this offering ...
make rest and good remembrance on thine holy and heavenly altar
for thy Mother and thy Saints and for all the faithful departed,
in a prayer which precedes the Annaphura, and which is the only
Offertory prayer after the Prothesis.
Before the communion of the people he says,
From thy propitiatory altar let there come down pardon, &c.,
but it is not certain that this means the heavenly altar.
Mk in the Enarxis speaks of receiving the prayers
unto thy holy and heavenly and rational (λογικός) altar.
The Prayer of Incense at the Gospel has the same words as James,
which do Thou receive, &c.
Another Incense Prayer at the Kiss of Peace has
May it be taken up out of the unworthy (πενιχρῶν) hands of us sinners
unto thy heavenly altar for a sweet-smelling savour.
In the Intercession is a passage which joins it with the other passage in the Roman Canon (Supra quae):
Accept, O Lord, the sacrifices, oblations, and thank-offerings (εὐχαρειστήρια) ...
upon thy holy and heavenly and rational (νοερός) altar in the highest heaven through the ministry of thy Archangels ...
as thou didst accept the gifts of thy righteous Abel,
the sacrifice of our Father Abraham,
the incense of Zacharias,
the alms of Cornelius,
and the two mites of the widow receive also their thank offerings,
and give them in return incorruptible things for corruptible,
heavenly for earthly,
everlasting for transitory.
Copt at the censing at the beginning of the Mass of Catechumens says,
Grant us to offer before thee reasonable oblations and sacrifices of praise and a spiritual sweet savour, entering within the veil of the Holy of Holies.
In the Prayer of Incense at the Acts,
Accept our sacrifice of this incense,
and send us in recompense thereof thy rich mercy.
In the prayer after the Gospel,
Receive from us our petition and our penitence and our confession upon thy holy altar stainless in heaven.
When putting incense into the censer in the prayer for the Patriarch both in the prayers of the Faithful and the Intercession (where incense is not mentioned):
Accept his prayers on thy reasonable altar in heaven for a sweet-smelling savour.
The passage in the Intercession also occurs here, but the names mentioned are only Abel, Abraham, and the Widow.
Eth in a Prayer of Incense,
Grant us to offer before thee a reasonable oblation ...
the which thou wilt make to enter within the inner chamber of the veil,
the Holy of Holies,
thy dwelling-place.
So in the prayer before the Catholic Epistle,
Make us to offer unto thee a pure oblation,
a reasonable offering, and spiritual incense:
let it enter into the holy temple of thy holiness.
In another incense prayer,
Accept from us our oblation and this savour of our incense,
and send unto us from on high in recompense thereof the riches of thy loving-kindness.
Nest in the Cushshapha of the Departed, though actually between the departed and the living,
May this offering be accepted in the heights above from my hands,
sinner and offender that I am,
like the offering of Abel in the plain,
of Noah in the ark,
and of Abraham ... Elijah ...
the Widow in the treasury,
the Apostles in the upper room,' &c.
Bas at the Prothesis,
Bless this Prothesis,
and receive it on thy heavenly altar.
At the Offertory,
this Sacrifice, which do thou receive on thy holy and heavenly and rational (νοερός) altar for a sweet-smelling savour;
this also refers to Old Testament sacrifices. In the Intercession is the passage,
Give them heavenly for earthly (see above).
Arm at the incense at the Prothesis,
Receive it (incense) for a sweet-smelling savour on thy holy, heavenly,
and immaterial place of offering:
do thou in its stead send upon us the graces and gifts of thy holy Spirit.
Though this idea is more commonly expressed in the Egyptian liturgies than elsewhere, it was evidently from an early date in use all over the East, and is especially associated with incense, and with the Offertory.
The places in which occurs the salutation ' Peace be to all' (Ap-Const., 'The peace of God be with you all') are shown in this table. It will be seen that, while it may precede almost any prayer or action, it is especially associated with the Inclination before Communion, the Kiss of Peace, and the Gospel.
Ap.C. | Jas. | Syr.J | Nest. | Mk. | Copt. | Eth. | Byz. | Arm. | Rom. | Amb. | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Enarxis |
Y |
Y |
Y |
||||||||
Little Entry |
Y |
Y |
Y |
||||||||
Trisagion |
Y |
Y |
Y |
||||||||
Bef. Epp. |
Y |
Y |
|||||||||
Bef.Gospel |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|||||
AfterGospel |
Y |
||||||||||
Prayers |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|||||||
Before Crd. |
Y |
||||||||||
Kiss |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
||
Great Entry |
Y |
Y |
|||||||||
Dipt. |
Y |
||||||||||
Anaph. |
Y |
||||||||||
Invocation |
Y |
||||||||||
Lord’s Pr. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|||||
Inclinination |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|||||
Man. Acts |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |
|||||||
AfterComm. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
Y |