HANDBOOK TO THE CHRISTIAN LITURGY - By James Norman, M.A. - Archdeacon of the Herbert, North Queensland. - first published by the SPCK 1944. - This Edition prepared for katapi by Paul Ingram 2003.

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PART II - COMMENTARY

HOME | Liturgies-Key | Introductory Rites | The Making of the Bread | The Ordering of the Church | The Preparation of the Ministers | The Vesting of the Ministers | The Lavatory | The Prothesis | The Enarxis | top

Introductory Rites

BEFORE the Christian community assembles to offer to God the worship of the Divine Liturgy there are a number of preparations to be made, many of which are carried out with ordered solemnity and appointed rites. All these preparatory services are of a comparatively late date, and for this reason are peculiar in structure and text to the regions in which they have developed. They have therefore little value for purposes of comparison, and need not be described with much detail.
They are concerned with

1. the making of the bread needed for the offering;

2. the spiritual preparation of the ministers;

3. their vesting in the appropriate garments;

4. the preparing of the bread and wine for the moment when they will be offered.

The order of these preliminary rites depends on the degree in which they enter into the public worship. Where a preparatory rite is carried out in the sacristy, or other place separated from the congregation, it will be executed before the more public preparations. In some Churches the Prothesis, the rite in which the elements are prepared beforehand, is part of the public worship, and is scarcely separated from the liturgy proper.

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the making of the bread

It is in the Nestorian Church of Persia that the bread for the Eucharist is most solemnly made by the priest. The rite is printed in Brightman (p. 247). The dough is made of fine flour, olive oil, warm water, and leaven, with a little salt. Psalms are said while it is being made. The leaven, according to the Nestorian tradition, has been derived from the Apostles. It is preserved in two ways, first by incorporating in each batch a portion of the dough from the last batch, and secondly by renewing the supply every Maundy Thursday.

When the dough is made, a portion is set apart for the Mecaprana or Eulogia, then the portion intended for the priest's loaf is hollowed at the top, and a little olive oil placed in it. A small portion of the Maica, or holy leaven, is poured into it, and it is taken to the altar. The form used in signing the dough with the Maica is:

This dough is signed and hallowed
with the old and holy leaven of our Lord Jesus Christ,
which was given and handed down to us by our holy Fathers
Mar Addai and Mar Man and Mar Tuma,
the Apostles, who made disciples of this eastern region:
in the name, &c.

Meanwhile Psalms and appropriate formulas are said, and the Gloria in excelsis and Lord's Prayer follow. When the oven is ready the Trisagion (see p. 151) is said, five loaves are placed in the oven, with the priest's loaf in the centre, and the oven is censed. At this point the Prothesis begins, during which the loaves are taken from the oven and prepared for the liturgy.

The Syrian Jacobites also have a form for making the bread. It consists only of the Lord's Prayer, Ps. li, and a chant, which will be found in Woolley [The Bread of the Eucharist, 49.]. With the Copts the bread is made by a Sacristan appointed for the purpose. In Armenia the priest makes the bread, in a room attached to the church, with specified prayers. In all the Eastern Churches, except with the Maronites, the bread must be made on the day it is to be consecrated.

In the early Church leavened bread was always used for the Eucharist both in the East and in the West, as is shown by the practice of the offering of bread and wine by the members of the congregation. It cannot be determined when unleavened bread first came into use in the Western Church, but it is not till the ninth century that there is any clear evidence for it, while it is certain that in that century leavened bread was still largely used. Woolley attributes the change to three reasons: the need to keep the Host in a fresh condition, the avoidance of irreverent use of domestic bread, and the desire to mark the sanctity of the sacramental element [ibid. 20.]. Once the practice was established, the belief, almost certainly erroneous, that the Last Supper was made with unleavened bread, would confirm and fix it. The utility and convenience of unleavened bread are, however, sufficient justification for its general use.

The Eastern Church, with the exception of Armenia, has always used leavened bread. The first to notice and object to the growing Western custom was Michael Caerularius. Patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1058. The question would probably never have caused much dissension had it not been for other differences. The Easterns had nine hundred years of tradition on their side; in favour of the Western practice was its convenience. The question was not vital, but the Roman Church resented the criticism directed at it, and the Eastern Church was jealous of its independence and its orthodoxy; thus a trivial matter became one of the chief subjects for controversy and occasions for division. The English Church, in reaction against Roman customs, in 1552 allowed the use of ordinary bread, but, especially in the form that the rubric took in 1662, it is implied that this is only for occasions where dissension or superstition make it advisable. Behind this rubric is that of 1549 ordering the use of unleavened bread.

The Orthodox Eastern Churches use a round bread 5 inches across and 2 inches thick. [The different breads are fully described and illustrated in Woolley, op. cit.] It is stamped with a square, which is divided by a Cross into four sections, marked respectively IC, XC, NI, KA, making the legend 'Jesus Christ conquers'; in the Russian Church the bottom of the loaf is larger, and can be more readily detached. Five loaves are used.

The Syrian Jacobite Church has a much smaller loaf, not 3 inches across and about | inch thick. It is round, and divided into eight segments in the outer half and four in the inner. As with the Nestorians, the continuity of the leaven is carried on by putting aside a portion from each batch for the next, but there is nothing corresponding to the Malca. The number of loaves is always odd.

With the Copts the bread is round, about 4 inches across and 1 inch thick. It has a Cross divided into small crosses in such a way that there are four in the intersection and two in each arm; these represent the twelve Apostles. This cross is closely inscribed in a circle round which runs the inscription, 'Holy God, holy mighty, holy immortal', the words of the Trisagion. The Copts do not, like the Orthodox and the Syrians, use oil and salt in making their bread. The four central squares, the Asbadikon, are used for the Commixture.

The Ethiopian bread is of the same size as the Coptic, but it has a cross of thirteen squares, nine making a large central square, the other four being attached to the middle of each side.

The Armenians, alone of the ancient Eastern Churches, use unleavened bread. The custom is not a Roman introduction. Traditionally it goes back to Gregory the Illuminator (302-32), but, together with the rejection of the use of water with the wine, it is probably a protest against the Chalcedonian orthodoxy. It was made binding by the Council of Manazkert (727). The bread is a thin wafer, round, and 3 inches across and .125 inch thick, much resembling the Western priest's wafer. On either side of the Crucifix is a small circle, bearing respectively the letters JS and KHS (Christ). Above the cross is I.N.R.I.

The Nestorian is somewhat smaller and thinner than the West Syrian. It carries a cross with narrow arms, and there are four smaller ones in the comers.

Rome uses a thin unleavened wafer with the Crucifix impressed. Until about the tenth century it was leavened and thicker, at first bearing a simple cross, later (6th to 8th cent.) a crown, then the Crucifix and an inscription. The Roman use of white wine only dates from the fourteenth century.

The Uniat rites in the East use the Roman wafer of unleavened bread, a thin wafer stamped with the Crucifix on one side, and IHS on the other.

THE EULOGIA.

At the end of the liturgy bread that has been blessed is often distributed amongst the congregation. In the Orthodox Church there are no special loaves for this purpose, but the portions of the loaf used which are not actually required for consecration, form the Antidoron or Eulogia, and are distributed at the end of the liturgy. The Nestorians use for the loaves of the Eulogia the first portion of the dough set apart. The West Syrians only use it in Lent and on vigils. The Copts have a special bread in the form of a cross, which is distributed on Maundy Thursday. The Armenians use a wafer, softer and thinner than the Host.

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The ordering of the church

Generally in the East there is only one altar in the church. Behind it is the Bishop's throne. In theory at least the Sanctuary is separated from the rest of the church by a screen. The altar is on the chord of the apse. Nestorian churches usually have a square end, the altar being partly recessed into the wall. The Copts have three apses, each with an altar; thus also Syr-Jac. The Abyssinians have a curious arrangement. The church is usually round, and within it is a domed building of rectangular form, containing an altar. The Armenian resembles the Greek, with one altar only.

The Sanctuary is, or is supposed to be, separated from the rest of the church by a screen (Cancelli), originally of stone lattice, but later of more solid structure, with three doors of entry. It is often of wood in Greek churches, and from the custom of hanging the icons on it is called the Iconostasis. The Copts have also a solid screen of wood; sometimes it takes the form of a folding door. Nest usually have one of stone; sometimes the openings have no doors. There is no screen in Arm and Maronite Churches; but in the former there are two curtains, a small one surrounding the altar and separating the celebrant from the assistants, a large one, which takes the place of the screen. Nest and Copt also have veils that close the Sanctuary.

In the Byz rite, the Chapel of the Prothesis, where the elements are prepared at a table before the liturgy, occupies the northern portion of the Sanctuary. The Nest churches have an oven where the loaves are baked in some chamber handy to the Sanctuary; the vessels when prepared are placed in the Treasury, a recess in the north wall of the Sanctuary.

The only other feature in the church to be noticed is the Ambo, a large platform with railings, originally in the centre of the church, but later on the north side. In the Byz rite the wide raised step before the screen is now used instead of the Ambo for the reading of the Lections and the singing of the Psalms.
[An excellent detailed account of the arrangement and furnishing of Eastern Churches will be found in Salaville, Introduction to the Study of Eastern Liturgies (Eng. trans.), 101, &c.]

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The preparation of the ministers

In many liturgies forms of devotion for the celebrant and his assistants are prescribed. These are always late, and they have no connexion with one another. In the West and Armenia the priest vests in the Sacristy, and his preparation is of a private nature, though in both cases the original private prayers have been transferred to the public service, and additional ones have been provided for the Sacristy. In the East the priest generally enters the church and then makes his preparation and that of the altar and vessels. It will here be sufficient briefly to describe the devotions appointed by the Orthodox and Roman churches and to mention a few features of other rites.

In the Orthodox Church, while the Choir sings the Orthros, or Morning Prayer, the priest and deacon enter and bow three times before the Holy Door (the central door of the Sanctuary). After a blessing the deacon offers a short series of Supplications, ending with the threefold Kyrie and the Lord's Prayer, to which the priest responds with the Doxology, and together they say the following:

Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us:
for inasmuch as we are sinners without excuse,
we offer to thee, O Master, this supplication:
have mercy upon us.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost.
Have mercy upon us, O Lord;
for in thee have we put our trust;
and be not angry with us overmuch:
neither remember our transgressions;
but look down upon us in thy tender compassion,
and deliver us from our enemies:
for thou art our God,
and we are all thy people, and the works of thy hand,
and we call upon thy Name:
Now and for ever, world without end, Amen.
Open unto us the door of thy loving-kindness, O blessed Mother of God;
we have set our hope on thee,
may we not be disappointed,
but through thee may we be delivered from the things which beset us,
for thou art the salvation of all Christian people.

Then coming to the Icon of Christ, on the right of the Holy Door, they kiss it and say a Hymn to Christ, and then go to the Icon of Our Lady on the left side, kiss it, and say a Hymn to the Virgin. After another short prayer for strength for the coming service, they enter the Sanctuary, saying Psalm v. 7 to end,

But as for me I will come into thy house, &c.

The Roman Missal prescribes certain Psalms and prayers to be said 'pro opportunitate sacerdotis', but a preparation is also made with the ministers when, after having vested in the Sacristy, they have arrived at the altar and made their reverence. It begins with the Invocation:

In the Name, &c.;

Ps. xliii. 1-5,

Give sentence with me, O God,

is said with antiphon,

I will go in unto the altar of God, &c.;

then the versicle:

Our help is in the Name of the Lord;
R. Who hath made heaven and earth.

Sarum and Bangor used, while vesting in the Sacristy, the hymn, Veni Creator Spiritus, and the prayer: 'O God, unto whom all hearts be open', which is the Roman Collect for the 'Missa ad postulandam gratiam'.

[An early translation of this prayer in a manuscript of c. 1420 is printed by Maskell, Ancient Liturgy of the Church of England, p.7:

God, unto whome alle hertes bene opene,
and unto whome alle wylle spekyth,
and unto whome no prive thing is hyd,
I beseche the for to clence the entent of myn herte wt.
the unspekeable gift of the holy goste,
that I may perfytely love the and worthyliche prayse the,
and also have the here by grace and in hevene be joy everlastynge.
Amen.]

This is in Angl used with the Lord's Prayer in the preparation at the altar. At this point Eng had the Kyrie and Lord's Prayer, still in the Sacristy, and the rest of the preparation at the altar.

The priest and ministers alternately say a Confession to which the reply is a prayer for forgiveness, the priest then giving Absolution. After four further versicles and their responses the priest says aloud:

Let us pray,

and going up to the altar says secretly these prayers:

Take from us, we beseech thee, O Lord, our iniquities,
that we may be worthy with pure minds to enter the holy of holies,
through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Before this prayer in Sarum and Bangor the priest gives the Kiss of Peace to the deacon and subdeacon.

We pray thee, O Lord,
by the merits of thy Saints, whose relics are here,
and of all the Saints,
to vouchsafe to pardon all my sins, Amen.

This last prayer is not in Sarum and other Eng uses, which have instead, 'In nomine &c.'

Syr uses Ps. li, 'Have mercy upon me, O God,' and, on entering to the altar, Ps.v.7, as above, and Ps.cxviii.27, - Bind the sacrifice with cords &c.

Eth has a long preparation said at the altar, consisting of several Psalms and prayers.

Arm has a long form consisting of prayers for the intercession of our Lady, confession, and absolution, a request by the people:

Remember us before the immortal Lamb of God,

with the reply:

Ye shall be remembered before the immortal Lamb of God, Ps. c,
O be joyful in the Lord, Ps. xliii,
Give sentence with me, O God

in antiphon, and prayers.

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The vesting of the ministers

In the earliest days of the Church the clergy in ministering wore no special apparel, but it was soon felt that the majesty of the liturgy called for an appropriate garb to do honour to the Divine presence that was being invoked. At first this merely took the form of requiring that the ministers should wear pure white vestments, as we see in Origen [In Lev. hom. iv. 6.]. But, in accordance with a natural instinct that shows itself in all human ceremony, dignity of apparel was attained by a conservatism that retained fashions that were passing away, rather than by adopting any special dress. As the vestments thus became archaic they were also made more ornate, and precious and splendid materials were used. Gradually, too, the vestments, which were originally merely ordinary articles of wear, were given symbolic meanings and associated with scriptural analogues.

In the East the vesting is usually at the altar; but in Arm in the vestry. Often there was a prayer before vesting, sometimes of great length, as in Eth, Arm. In Eth after the prayer the vestments are blessed and put on, the Lord's Prayer being said. In Arm there is a beautiful hymn sung during the prayer and vesting:

O, mystery, deep, unsearchable, eternal,
which hast decked with splendid glory the heavenly dominions,
the legions of fiery spirits in the chamber of 'light unapproachable'.
With wonderful power didst thou create Adam in a lordly image,
and didst clothe him with gracious glory in the garden of Eden, the abode of delights.

Through the sufferings of thine only-begotten all creatures are renewed,
and man hath again been made immortal,
clad in a garment that none can take from him.

O chalice of rain of fire that wast poured on the apostles in the holy upper-room,
O holy Ghost, pour thy wisdom on us also along with the vestment.

'Holiness becometh thy house', who 'art clothed with majesty'.
Like as thou art girt about with the glory of holiness,
so also 'gird us about with truth'.

Thou who didst spread thy creating arms to the stars,
strengthen our arms with power to intercede when we lift up our hands unto thee.

Bind our thoughts as the crown wreathes our head and our senses
with the cross-decked stole woven with gold and flowers
like Aaron's for the honour of the sanctuary.

Supreme divine Sovereign of all beings,
thou hast covered us with a robe as with love to be ministers of thine holy mystery.

Heavenly King, keep thy Church immovable
and maintain in peace the worshippers of thy holy Name.
[Translation from Br. 412 ff.]

There is sometimes a prayer at the putting off of the ordinary clothes, as Syr-Jac (alluding to Zech. iii. 3).

1. THE CROWN OR AMICE.

The former is the Eastern, the latter the Western, form of what seems to be a similar vestment, but in some Eastern rites the Crown is only used by bishops. In the East it is a crown, bonnet, hood, or helmet-like head-gear; in the West a piece of linen arranged round the neck like a hood, and tied under the arms or round the waist, before the alb is put on. The Arm and Eastern Uniats wear it over the alb, the Arm having a metal collar.

Lord, put upon me the 'helmet of salvation'
to fight against 'the power of the enemy'
(diabolicos incursus, Rom)
by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c.

Arm (for the Crown - Saghavart) Rom. For the Amice (Vacas) Arm has

clothe my neck, O Lord, with righteousness,
and cleanse my heart from all filthiness of sin.

2. THE ALB.

'Clothe me, O Lord, with the garment of salvation,
and with the robe' of gladness.

Arm. Similar Byz and Syr-Jac. Rom asks to be made white in the blood of the Lamb.

3. THE GIRDLE.

This is usually included in the prayer for the Alb, but Rom thus:

Gird me, O Lord, with the girdle of purity,
and quell the power of lust in my loins,
that the virtues of continence and chastity may dwell within me.

Arm similar; Syr-Jac is for girding with strength (Ps. xviii. 39-40). So Byz (Ps. xviii. 32).

4. THE STOLE.

Return to me, O Lord, the robe of immortality
which I lost in the depravity of the first parent;
and although I go unworthy to thy sacred mystery
let me nevertheless obtain eternal joy.

Rom; Chrys refers to the myrrh that goes down to Aaron's beard (Ps. cxxi. 2); Arm has same as for the Amice; Syr-Jac 'Gird me with thy sword', &c. (Ps. xlv. 3), as for the Genual in Byz.

5. THE CUFFS, which, though not connected with the Western Maniple, take its place in the East. The forms differ entirely in their interpretation of these ornaments. Usually there are separate prayers for the left and right. Byz refers to the work of God's hands; Syr-Jac asks that the priest's hands should be instruments of righteousness, and adds 'teach my hands to fight', &c. (Ps. xviii. 34-6). Arm asks for strength, and that filthiness may be washed away. Rom (for the maniple) speaks of carrying it with a tearful mind.

6. THE CHASUBLE.

Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness,
and thy saints sing with joyfulness (Ps. cxx. 9).

Byz; so Syr-Jac. Arm speaks of a robe of splendour for protection against the wiles of the evil one. Rom asks for worthiness to carry the yoke of the Lord.

Prayers are also provided for other vestments peculiar to particular churches or to other assistants. There is the Byz Genual, originally a napkin or pouch hanging from the girdle, which seems to symbolize the sword; the Tunicle of the Western subdeacon, which in the prayer for the bishop's vesting is associated with joy (jucunditas), and the Dalmatic, which is made to symbolize salvation and joy (laetitia) and righteousness. There are numerous episcopal vestments, the Shoes, tor the 'preparation of the Gospel of peace'; the Cope, for ' putting on the new man', the Pectoral Cross; the Gloves, which are associated with the goat-skins placed on Jacob's hands; the Mitre, the 'helmet of salvation'.

After all the vestments have been assumed there is in Arm a prayer for the whole, which is the same as that in Byz and Syr-Jac for the alb.

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The lavatory

The ceremonial washing of the hands is a natural action preparatory to the handling of the sacred offerings. In early Churches, both in the East and the West, vessels of water were placed in the atrium of the church, in which the people used to wash their hands and their faces. The practice disappeared at an early date, and in the East only the priest retained it after, or in some cases before, the vesting. In the West also the priest washes his hands before Mass with a prayer; here it precedes the vesting.
The Byz form is Ps. xxvi. 6-12, which Arm also uses:

I will wash my hands in innocency, &c.;

Rom has a prayer:

Grant me, O Lord, the power to wash away every spot from my hands,
that I may be able to serve thee without defilement of mind or body.

York had a different prayer.

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the Prothesis

Originally the elements used in the Eucharist were brought to the church by the faithful, and presented before the Anaphora. At first this would be at the Offertory, but it must in time have been necessary to present them to the church officers on arrival. From these offerings the deacons selected what was required for use, prepared them for consecration, and placed them upon the altar. In course of time this became inconvenient, and the desire arose to prepare the oblations before the service and with some solemnity. Consequently the faithful no longer brought the bread and wine for consecration, but made their offerings symbolically in the form of money or otherwise. At the same time the deacons or priest with varying degrees of solemnity prepared the oblations. In the East the bread and wine were 'set forth' in the Prothesis, or northern part of the Sanctuary [Thus the term Prothesis is used both for the 'setting forth' of the elements, and for the part of the Church in which they are set forth (see p.112).]; in the West they were less formally prepared, no ceremonial being appointed in the Roman Missal, though the Gallican rites provide for a preparation before the service. The Moz rite also has a ritual of preparation of the elements before Mass, but it is not ancient. Originally the offering was made at the Offertory.

The Prothesis is thus late in date, and in its most developed form seems to be a Byzantine product, the other churches of the East having adopted a Prothesis under the same influence, though quite different in form. The stages of growth of the Byz rite can be seen from the texts given in the Appendix to Brightman, pp. 539 ff. In the eighth and ninth centuries the offerings had come to be prepared before the liturgy began, as St. Theodore the Studite (d. 826) witnesses: 'The whole preparation (τελεία προσκομιδή - teleia proskomide) is made at the beginning' [De Praesanctif.]; 'he also mentions the spear [Adv. Iconomach. i.]. This procedure only became possible after the disuse of the discipline of the penitents and catechumens. During the next few centuries the prayers and ceremonies were elaborated, and it was not till the sixteenth century that it had reached its present form.

THE BYZANTINE PROTHESIS

(The following omits many of the deacon's requests and other late additions.)

On entering the Prothesis the priest and his assistants say a prayer for purity privately, and then the priest gives a blessing:

Blessed be our God at all times,
now and ever, world without end.

He takes the whole loaf in his left hand and with the Spear, a small instrument used for cutting up the holy bread, signs it three times with the sign of the Cross, saying each time:

In remembrance of our God and Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is mentioned by Nicolas Cabasilas (c. 1350) [Lit. exposito, Br. 546.], and Arm has it when the bread is placed on the paten, and wine in the chalice.

He thrusts the spear into the right side of the Seal (or Lamb, the square central portion), then the left, then the top and the bottom, saying:

(Right) He was led as a sheep to the slaughter.

(Left) And as a spotless lamb before his shearers is dumb,
                        so he opened not his mouth.

(Above) In his humiliation his judgment was taken away.

(Below) For his generation who shall declare it.

These words, from which the name 'Lamb' was given to the portion consecrated, are found in Peter (12^thcent. at latest), Chrys (12th cent.), and Mk (13th cent., probably imported from Byz, 11th cent.). Syr-Jac uses them when the Seal is arranged in the paten.

He then removes the Lamb, lays it on the paten, and cuts it crossways, saying:

Sacrificed is the 'Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world',
for the life of the world and its salvation.

The order and accompanying acts for this and the following texts vary. Originally this seems to have been said when the bread was signed, while 'as a sheep', &c., was used when it was cut (so Bodl. MS., 13th cent.). In the Latin translation (Br. 544) the order is as here, but the division is made at ' sicut ovis', and so in the fifteenth century (Br. 545) and Nicolas Cabasilas. The differences may have arisen from the development of the complex bread requiring two texts, one for the removing of the Lamb and one for dividing it.

Then he turns up the other side, which bears the emblem of the Cross, and pierces the right side with the Spear, saying:

One of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear,
and there came forth blood and water.
And he that saw it bare witness,
and his witness is true.

So also Paris MS. (Br. 549) and Cabasilas, but it was originally used when the water and wine were mixed. So Peter, Leo Thuscus (Br. 544), Paris (545), Goar (548). Syr-Jac also uses this for mixing the chalice. Nest has it immediately after the mixing, when a second pouring of wine into the chalice takes place.

The deacon pours wine and water into the chalice, and the priest blesses it.

Blessed be the union of these holy things, now and ever.

The only parallel to this is 'The unity of the Holy Ghost' of Grottaferrata MS. (Ital., l4th cent.). Nest has ' Water is mixed with wine and wine with water, and let them be one'. But see Commixture, p. 286. The mixture is mentioned by Justin [Apol. i. Ixv. 5.], Iren. [Adv. haer. iv. xxi. 2 ' temperamentum calicis'; ibid. v. i. 3.], Clem-Alex [Strom,, i. 19.]. The latter says that some heretics used water only. This mixture was originally not in Chrys, but is referred to in Trull. 32 as being in Jas and Bas.

He takes the first portion in his hands and says:

In honour of and for the commemoration of our most blessed Lady Mary,
Mother of God and ever-Virgin,
through whose intercession we beseech thee, O God,
to accept this sacrifice upon thy most heavenly altar.

He cuts out a portion with the Spear and lays it on the right side of the holy bread:

On thy right hand stood the queen in a garment
wrought about with gold and divers colours.

Nine particles are now removed and placed in three rows on the left of the holy bread, in commemoration of various groups of Saints; further particles are placed below the holy bread for the king, and any persons to be remembered, whether living or departed, and for the priest. The particles below the holy bread are then swept into the paten. Next incense is blessed:

We offer incense unto thee, O Christ our God, for a sweet-smelling odour;
accept it upon thy heavenly altar,
and in its stead vouchsafe to us the grace of thine all-holy Spirit.

The Asterisk, a star-shaped cover for the paten, is censed, and placed over the holy bread, with the words:

The star came and stood over the place where the young child was.

Three veils are censed (only two in Russ) and placed over the paten and chalice with the words of Ps. xciii. 1-5, 'The Lord is king', and Hab. iii. 3, 'His glory covereth the heavens', and Ps. xvii. 8, 'Hide me under the shadow of thy wings' respectively, the Table of Oblation is censed, and the following prayers said:

O God our God,
who didst send forth the heavenly bread,
the life of the whole world,
our Lord and God Jesus Christ,
to be our saviour, our redeemer, and benefactor,
and to bless and sanctify us;
bless this oblation and receive it upon thy heavenly altar.
Remember of thy goodness and loving-kindness
those who offer it and those for whom it is offered,
and keep us without sin in the celebration of thy holy mysteries;
for thy most honoured and majestic Name is hallowed and glorified, &c.

Chrys from Bas-Barb, where it is called 'the prayer which the priest makes when the bread is placed on the paten in the sacristy'. Chrys-Barb has a prayer that is interesting:

O Lord our God, who didst offer thyself
as a 'lamb without blemish' for the life of the world,
look upon us and upon this bread and upon this cup,
and make it thy pure body and precious blood
for the communion of souls and bodies.

St. Nicephorus (806-15) says that the signing must not be made over the holy cup at the prayer in the Sacristy [Canon 12, P.G. c. 855.]. The first of these two prayers is used in Jas as the Prayer of the Great Entrance.

There is an ἀπόλυσις - apolysis consisting of the following, with a blessing varying with the season. It is the lesser Apolysis used also at the Offices.

Glory to thee,
ΟChrist our God and Hope,
Glory to thee.

The Armenian Prothesis is based on an early form of the Byzantine, being much shorter, and having no ceremonies connected with the ordering of the bread and of the veils. A hymn (Meghedi) proper to the day is sung by the clerks, the prayer given above ('O God our God') is said after the wine is put in the chalice. Ps. xciii is used as above, and there is a prayer of incense.

The Syrian Protheses are quite different; whatever occasional parallels occur have been noted above. Jas has a prayer of penitence and a petition for the sending of the Holy Ghost. In Syr-Jac Ps.cxvi.12 to end is sung after the mixing of the chalice ('I will receive the cup of salvation'). There is a Sedro of penitence with triple Kyrie and Lord's Prayer. Then follows the Qurbono, consisting of penitential prayers, and a long prayer commemorating the living and departed.

THE EGYPTIAN PROTHESIS

The Protheses of the Coptic and Ethiopian rites are closely related, and must go back to a much earlier date than the modern form of the Byzantine. In both liturgies it begins with the 'Prayer of Severus' (so-called in Copt), during which the altar is prepared. This confesses the unworthiness of the ministers, but asks for grace and mercy to fulfil the holy ministry and that it (in Eth the incense) may be a sweet-smelling savour. The priest in the Copt-Bas rubric now uncovers the masob, cleans the chalice, and puts both in their proper places. The masob (pot) is a round box with a cover, in which the bread is brought to the altar, originally, as the prayer indicates, the paten.

Next is the prayer after the preparation ' to the Father'. It is in Copt-Cyr-Bas and Eth (not Tasfa), and there is a similar one in Copt-Greg. It is that they may be meet in the power of the Holy Ghost to present the sacrifice of praise and glory and beauty. In the middle of this prayer in Copt the priest takes the Lamb, places it on the altar, washes his hands, and afterwards says Ps.li.7, 'Thou shalt purge me with hyssop', and xxvi. 6, 'I will wash my hands in innocency', and rubs the Lamb with his hand above and below. In the present Eth (Mercer 3) there is a long address to the communicants not to leave the church during the service, which, with a rubric that occurs a little later, suggests that this was a habit that had to be forbidden with some severity. It does not occur in the other manuscripts, though the rubric is in all (not Tasfa). The Lord's Prayer follows in Eth.

At this point in Eth the veil is drawn, and the priest says this prayer, which is really an Exhortation:

How awful is this day, and how marvellous this hour,
wherein the Holy Ghost will come down and overshadow this oblation and hallow it.
In quietness and fear and trembling stand ye up
and pray that the peace of God be with me and with you all.

In both Copt and the present Eth (Mercer 3) there is a memento:

Remember those who have brought to thee this oblation, &c.

The Eth form ends curiously:

Hail, holy Church, the decoration of whose wall and ceiling is of stone and topaz;
now hail, holy Church, possessor of the Cross ...
'Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped Jesus in linen clothing and spices',
who rose from the dead in a marvellous manner.

In Eth there is a prayer over the masob:

Lord our God, that saidst unto Moses, &c.,

to which the people reply:

Thou art the 'pot of pure gold', wherein is hidden the Manna,
'the bread which cometh down from heaven,
and giveth life unto the whole world'.

In Eth there is here a Blessing of Christ as God, while a sign is made over the bread. The Lamb is then put in the paten (Eth masob); it is before doing this that the Eth priest rubs the bread. The wine and water are poured into the chalice. There is a short prayer, 'Christ our very God', for a blessing on the bread for the remission of sins, and the assistant wraps the oblation in a veil, saying,

Like as Joseph and Nicodemus, &c.,

and the priest says,

The hallowing is accepted, &c.

Here comes the procession in both liturgies while 'Alleluia' is sung. In Copt practice the singing often starts at the beginning of the prayers and is continued during this procession. With it is sung Ps.Ixxvi.10, 'The fierceness of man shall turn to thy praise', and 'Alleluia'. Other words are used for the chant in Lent, the fast of the Ninevites, and at Easter. The Lamb, wrapped in a silk veil in the hands of the priest, and the cruet, borne by the deacon, are carried on their heads round the altar.

There now follow in Eth a number of prayers:

1. That the oblation may be accepted, as were those of Abel, Noah, Abraham, Elijah, David, and the widow who gave her mite;

2. as the host is placed in the paten, that it may be 'filled with live coal, even thine own holy body';

3. over the chalice, that Christ may place his hand on the cup and cleanse it;

4. a 'Prayer of the nuptials', based on the Wedding-feast at Cana, and asking that the chalice may be our joy and life;

5. Prayer over the Cross-spoon, based on Isaiah's vision of the Seraph taking with the tongs a coal from the altar;

6. an exclamation: 'Purity and sweetness and blessing be to them that drink of thy precious and true blood'.

In both Copt and Eth there is, after the circuit, or in the latter case after these prayers, a series of salutations and responses:

1. A threefold blessing, of the respective persons of the blessed Trinity, with Amens, said over the bread and the chalice;

2. a Gloria to the Trinity.

After these two the Copts place the host on the paten, and the wine in the chalice.

3. 'One is the Holy Father, one is the Holy Son, one is the Holy Ghost' (see Elevation, p. 279).

In Copt it is said by the deacon during the signing which precedes (1); Eth, by the priest after (2);

4. Ps.cxvii. 'O praise the Lord, all ye heathen', with Gloria;

5. Alleluia.

The Nestorian liturgy has also a developed Prothesis, which is closely connected with the making of the loaves. It has little relation to the other rites; but the Trisagion is repeated, having already been used at the making of the bread; there is a series of intercessions, the passage ' One of the soldiers with a spear pierced the side of the Lord', &c., is said as in Byz, but here for the pouring into the chalice, as in Syr-Jac, and not as in Byz for the piercing of the Lamb.

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The Enarxis

Introduction | Byzantine Enarxis | the 3 Antiphons | Egyptian Enarxis | Other Enarxes | top      

Before the liturgy proper begins, an Office is sung called the Enarxis. It has now become so closely incorporated with the liturgy as to be looked upon as the beginning of the rite, as the name, which is possibly borrowed from an earlier introduction such as exists in parallel liturgies, indicates. It has a close resemblance to the Office τυπικά - typika which is said on ordinary days after Sext. The typika consists of Ps. ciii and cxlv (both ' Praise the Lord, O my soul'), the chant Monogenes, the Beatitudes, the Epistle and Gospel for the day, the ἀπόλυσις - apolysis, the Benedictus qui venit and Ps. xxxiv, 'I will alway give thanks'. Its structure suggests that it was formed for use on days on which the liturgy was not celebrated, and as a substitute for it; later the portions that were not already in the liturgy were placed there at the beginning. A typicon of the ninth century says that when there is a litany (Am;) there are no antiphons. The typika is, indeed, almost the liturgy without the Anaphora.

It is peculiarly Byzantine; the Egyptian and Nestorian Enarxes are of different origin, and the word Enarxis used by Brightman in other liturgies, has the more primitive sense of 'Opening prayers'. Baumstark believes that the Typicon corresponds to the triple synaxis of prayers and chants of Etheria [Die Messe im Morgenland, 80-2.], but De Meester says that the triple antiphon corresponds simply to the three stages of the division of the Psalter [D.A.C.L. vi. 1627.]. It will be necessary to show the various Enarxes separately, as they have nothing in common, except that the Egyptian form in Mk shows also, a triple arrangement as in Byz.

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The Byzantine Enarxis

The Byzantine Enarxis begins with a Blessing, preceded by the deacon's usual request 'Bless, sir'.

Blessed be the kingdom of the Father
and of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost
now and ever.

Chorus,        Amen.

So Barb and Arm. Russ adds a versicle at Easter.

Next follows a litany (συναπτή - synapte).

Deacon: In peace let us beseech the Lord.

Chorus:  Lord, have mercy.

There are nine petitions beginning with ὑπέρ, as follows:

1. For the peace and salvation of souls,

2. the peace of the world,

3. this house,

4. the clergy,

5. the kings,

6. the monastery or city,

7. the season and fruits,

8. those in difficulties, and

9. preservation from injuries.

A petition for safe protection (ἀντιλαβοῦ σῶσον k.t.a.)is added, and a memorial of the Saints, to which the reply is, 'To thee, Ο Lord'.

Jas has this litany after the Little Entrance; it contains 1, 2, 4, 9, and the memorial. This litany and the Monogenes must have entered the Byz and Syr liturgies before the Office of Enarxis was added; Egypt is doubtful. The litany is repeated in Jas after the Alleluia, and after the Gospel with some differences.

Then follows an ecphonesis [The 'ecphonesis' is the ending of a prayer, said in a loud voice by the priest.] by the priest:

For unto thee are due all glory, honour, and worship,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost, now and ever.

This litany is not set out in Barb, which gives only the priest's parts; but it is found, without the petition for the king, in B-Cout; it is also in Peter. Arm has the same litany later, after the Trisagion. It is the Great Litany (ἡ μεγάλη ἐκτενή. At this point Arm has the two petitions that are repeated below in Byz, also a Blessing and the Pax. Before these petitions there is the Shamamout, an antiphon proper to the day, for festivals; and on ordinary Sundays the Monogenes (see p. 133).

For variations in the ecphonesis see below.

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the triple antiphon.

This consists of three antiphons [See Introit, p. 141.], each of a Psalm, refrain, and Doxology, together with a prayer of the antiphon, and a short ectene (litany).

ANTIPHON I

Psalm ciii, 'Praise the Lord, O my soul', and Doxology, with the refrain: