THE LITURGY OF THE BLESSED APOSTLES. COMPOSED BY ST. ADAEUS AND ST. MARIS,
TEACHERS OF THE EASTERNS / ELUCIDATIONS
THE LITURGY OF THE BLESSED APOSTLES.
COMPOSED BY ST. ADAEUS AND ST. MARIS, TEACHERS OF THE EASTERNS.(1)
I.(2) First: Glory to God in the highest, etc.
Our Father which art in heaven.
Prayer.
Strengthen, O our Lord and God, our weakness through Thy mercy, that we
may administer the holy mystery which has been given for the renovation and
salvation of our degraded nature, through the mercies of Thy beloved Son the Lord of
all.
On common days.
Adored, glorified, lauded, celebrated, exalted, and blessed in heaven and
on earth, be the adorable and glorious name of Thine ever-glorious Trinity, O
Lord of all.
On common days they sing the Psalm (xv.), Lord, who shall dwell in Thy
tabernacle? entire with its canon,(3) of the mystery of the sacraments.
(Aloud.)
Who shall shout with joy? etc.
Prayer.
II. Before the resplendent throne of Thy majesty, O Lord, and the exalted
and sublime throne of Thy glory, and on the awful seat of the strength of Thy
love and the propiatory altar which Thy will hath established, in the region of
Thy pasture,(4) with thousands of cherubim praising Thee, and ten thousands of
seraphim sanctifying Thee, we draw near, adore, thank, and glorify Thee always,
O Lord of all.
On commemorations and Fridays.
Thy name, great and holy, illustrious and blessed, the blessed and
incomprehensible name of Thy glorious Trinity, and Thy kindness to our race, we ought
at all times to bless, adore, and glorify, O Lord of all.
Responsory(5) at the chancel, as above.
Who commanded, etc.
To the priest, etc.
Prayer.
How breathes in us, O our Lord and God, the sweet fragrance of the
sweetness of Thy love; illumined are our souls, through the knowledge of Thy truth:
may we be rendered worthy of receiving the manifestation of Thy beloved from Thy
holy heavens: there shall we render thanks unto Thee, and, in the meantime,
glorify Thee without ceasing in Thy Church, crowned and filled with every aid and
blessing, because Thou art Lord and Father, Creator of all.
III. Prayer of Incense.
We shall repeat the hymn to Thy glorious Trinity, O Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost.
On fast-days.
And on account, etc.
At the commemoration of saints.
Thou, O Lord, art truly the raiser up of our bodies: Thou art the good
Saviour of our souls, and the secure preserver of our life; and we ought to thank
Thee continually, to adore and glorify Thee, O Lord of all.
At the lessons.(6)
Holy art Thou, worthy of praise, mighty, immortal, who dwellest in the
holies, and Thy will resteth in them: have regard unto us, O Lord; be merciful
unto us, and pity us, as Thou art our helper in all circumstances, O Lord of all.
IV. At the apostle.(7)
Enlighten, O our Lord and God, the movements of our meditations to hear
and understand the sweet listenings to Thy life-giving and divine commands; and
grant unto us through Thy grace and mercy to gather from them the assurance of
love, and hope, and salvation suitable to soul and body, and we shall sing to
Thee everlasting glory without ceasing and always, O Lord of all.
On fast-days.
To Thee, the wise governor, etc.
V. Descending, he shall salute the Gospel, saying this prayer before the altar.
Thee, the renowned seed of Thy Father, and the image of the person of Thy
Father, who wast revealed in the body of our humanity, and didst arise to us in
the light of Thy annunciation, Thee we thank, adore, etc.
And after the proclamation:(1)--
Thee, O Lord God Almighty, we beseech and entreat, perfect with us Thy
grace, and pour out through our hands Thy gift, the pity and compassion of Thy
divinity. May they be to us for the propitiation of the offences of Thy people,
and for the forgiveness of the sins of the entire flock of Thy pasture, through
Thy grace and tender mercies, O good friend of men, O Lord of all.
VI. The Deacons say:--Bow your heads.
The Priest says this secret prayer in the sanctuary:(2)--
O Lord God Omnipotent, Thine is the Holy Catholic Church, inasmuch as
Thou, through the great passion of Thy Christ, didst buy the sheep of Thy pasture;
and from the grace of the Holy Spirit, who is indeed of one nature with Thy
glorious divinity, are granted the degrees of the true priestly ordination; and
through Thy clemency Thou didst vouchsafe, O Lord, to make our weakness spiritual
members in the great body of Thy Holy Church, that we might administer
spiritual aid to faithful souls. Now, O Lord, perfect Thy grace with us, and pour out
Thy gift through our hands: and may Thy tender mercies and the clemency of Thy
divinity be upon us, and upon the people whom Thou hast chosen for Thyself.
(Aloud.)
And grant unto us, O Lord, through Thy clemency, that we may all together,
and equally every day of our life, please Thy divinity, and be rendered worthy
of the aid of Thy grace to offer Thee praise, honour, thanksgiving, and
adoration at all times, O Lord.
VII. And the Deacons ascend to the altar, and say:--
He who has not received baptism, etc.(3)
And the Priest begins the respansory of the mysteries,(4) and the Sacristan
and Deacon place the disk and the chalice upon the altar. The Priest crosses his
hands, and says:(5)--
We offer praise to Thy glorious Trinity at all times and for ever.
And proceeds:--
May Christ, who was offered for our salvation, and commanded us to
commemorate His death and His resurrection, Himself receive this sacrifice from the
hands of our weakness, through His grace and mercies for ever. Amen.
And proceeds:--
Laid are the renowned holy and life-giving mysteries upon the altar of the
mighty Lord, even until His advent, for ever.Amen.
Praise, etc.
Thy memory, etc.
Our Father, etc.
The apostles of the Father, etc.
Upon the holy altar, etc.
They who have slept, etc.
Matthew Mark, Luke, etc.(6)
THE CREED.(7)
VIII. The Priest draws near to celebrate, and thrice bows before the altar,
the middle of which he kisses, then the right and the left horn of the altar; and
bows to the Gospel side, and says:--
Bless, O Lord, etc.
Pray for me, my fathers, brethren, and masters, that God may grant unto me
the capability and power to perform this service to which I have drawn near,
and that this oblation may be accepted from the hands of my weakness, for
myself, for you, and for the whole body of the Holy Catholic Church, through His
grace and mercies for ever. Amen.
And they respond:--
May Christ listen to thy prayers, and be pleased with thy sacrifice,
receive thy oblation, and honour thy priesthood, and grant unto us, through thy
mediation,(8) the pardon of our offences, and the forgiveness of our sins, through
His grace and mercies for ever.
Presently he bows at the other side, uttering the same words; and they respond
in the same manner: then he bows to the altar, and says:--
God, Lord of all, be with us through His grace and mercies for ever. Amen.
And bowing towards the Deacon, who is on the left(Epistle side), he says:--
God, the Lord of all, confirm thy words, and secure to thee peace, and
accept this oblation from my hands for me, for thee, for the whole body of the
Holy Catholic Church, and for the entire world, through His grace and mercies for
ever.
He kneels at the altar, and says in secret:--
IX. O our Lord and God, look not on the multitude of our sins, and let not
Thy dignity be turned away on account of the heinousness of our iniquities;
but through Thine unspeakable grace sanctify this sacrifice of Thine, and grant
through it power and capability, so that Thou mayest forget our many sins, and
be merciful when Thou shalt appear at the end of time, in the man whom Thou hast
assumed from among us, and we may find before Thee grace and mercy, and be
rendered worthy to praise Thee with spiritual(1) assemblies.
He rises, and says this prayer in secret:--
We thank Thee, O our Lord and God, for the abundant riches of Thy grace to
us:
And he proceeds:--
Us who were sinful and degraded, on account of the multitude of Thy
clemency, Thou hast made worthy to celebrate the holy mysteries of the body and blood
of Thy Christ. We beg aid from Thee for the strengthening of our souls, that
in perfect love and true faith we may administer Thy gift to us.
Canon.
And we shall ascribe to Thee praise, glory, thanksgiving, and adoration,
now, always, and for ever and ever.
He signs himself with the sign of the cross, and they respond:--
Amen.
X. And he proceeds:--
Peace be with you:
They respond:--
With thee and with thy spirit.
And they give the (kiss of) peace to each other, and say:--
For all:(2)
The Deacon says:--
Let us thank, entreat, and beseech.
The Priest says this prayer in secret:--
O Lord, mighty God, help my weakness through Thy clemency and the aid of
Thy grace; and make me worthy of offering before Thee this oblation, as for the
common aid of all, and to the praise of Thy Trinity, O Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost.
Another prayer.(3)
O our Lord and God, restrain our thoughts, that they wander not amid the
vanities of this world. O Lord our God, grant that I may be united to the
affection of Thy love, unworthy though I be. Glory be to Thee, O Christ.
Ascend into the chamber of Thy renowned light, O Lord; sow in me the good
seed of humility; and under the wings of Thy grace hide me through Thy mercy.
If Thou wert to mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? Because there is mercy
with Thee.
[The Priest says the following prayer in secret:(4)--
O mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, beseech for me the only-begotten Son,
who was born of thee, to forgive me my offences and my sins, and to accept from
my feeble and sinful hands this sacrifice which my weakness offers upon this
altar, through thy intercession for me, O holy mother.]
XI. When the Deacon shall say, With watchfulness and care, etc., immediately
the Priest rises up and uncovers the sacraments, taking away the veil with which
they were covered: he blesses the incense, and says a canon with a loud
voice:--
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and
the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all, now, etc.(5)
He signs the sacraments, and they respond:--
Amen.
The Priest proceeds:--
Lift up your minds:
They respond:--
They are towards Thee, O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, O glorious
King.
The Priest.
The oblation is offered to God, the Lord of all.
They respond:--
It is meet and right.
The Deacon.
Peace be with you.
The Priest puts on the incense, and says this prayer:--
O Lord, Lord, grant me an open countenance before Thee, that with the
confidence which is from Thee we may fulfil this awful and divine sacrifice with
consciences free from all iniquity and bitterness. Sow in us, O Lord, affection,
peace, and concord towards each other, and toward every one.
And standing, he says in secret:(1)--
Worthy of glory from every mouth, and of thanksgiving from all tongues,
and of adoration and exaltation from all creatures, is the adorable and glorious
name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who created the world through His grace,
and its inhabitants through His clemency, who saved men through His mercy, and
showed great favour towards mortals. Thy majesty, O Lord, thousands of
thousands of heavenly spirits, and ten thousand myriads of holy angels, hosts of
spirits, ministers of fire and spirit, bless and adore; with the holy cherubim and
the spiritual seraphim they sanctify and celebrate Thy name, crying and praising,
without ceasing crying unto each other.
They say with a loud voice:--
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty; full are the heavens and the earth of
His glory.
The Priest in secret:--
Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Lord God Almighty; the heavens and the earth
are full of His glory and the nature of His essence, as they are glorious with
the honour of His splendour; as it is written, The heaven and the earth are
full of me, saith the mighty Lord.
Holy art Thou, O God our Father, truly the only one, of whom the whole
family in heaven and earth is named. Holy art Thou, Eternal Son, through whom all
things were made. Holy art Thou, Holy, Eternal Spirit, through whom all things
are sanctified.
Woe to me, woe to me, who have been astonied, because I am a man of
polluted lips, and dwell among a people of polluted lips, and my eyes have seen the
King, the mighty Lord. How terrible to-day is this place! For this is none
other than the house of God and the gate of heaven; because Thou hast been seen
eye to eye, O Lord.
Now, I pray, may Thy grace be with us, O Lord; purge away our impurities,
and sanctify our lips; unite the voices of our insignificance with the
sanctification of seraphim and archangels. Glory be to Thy tender mercies, because Thou
hast associated the earthly with the heavenly.(2)
And he proceeds, saying in secret this prayer, in a bowing posture:--
XII. And with those heavenly powers we give Thee thanks, even we, Thine
insignificant, pithless, and feeble servants; because Thou hast granted unto us
Thy great grace which cannot be repaid. For indeed Thou didst take upon Thee our
human nature, that Thou mightest bestow life on us through Thy divinity; Thou
didst exalt our low condition; Thou didst raise our ruined state; Thou didst
rouse up our mortality; Thou didst wash away our sins; Thou didst blot out the
guilt of our sins; Thou didst enlighten our intelligence, and Thou didst condemn
our enemy, O Lord our God; and Thou didst cause the insignificance of our
pithless nature to triumph.
Here follow the words of institution,(3) after which:--
Through the tender mercies of Thy grace poured out, O clement One, pardon
our offences and sins; blot out my offences in the judgment. And on account of
all Thy aids and Thy favours to us, we shall ascribe unto Thee praise,(4)
honour, thanksgiving, and adoration, now, always, and for ever and ever.
The Priest signs the sacraments. The response is made.
Amen.
The Deacon.
In your minds. Pray for peace with us.
The Priest says this prayers bowing, and in a low voice:--
O Lord God Almighty, accept this oblation for the whole Holy Catholic
Church, and for all the pious and righteous fathers who have been pleasing to Thee,
and for all the prophets and apostles, and for all the martyrs and confessors,
and for all that mourn, that are in straits, and are sick, and for all that
are under difficulties and trials, and for all the weak and the oppressed, and
for all the dead that have gone from amongst us; then for all that ask a prayer
from our weakness, and for me, a degraded and feeble sinner. O Lord our God,
according to Thy mercies and the multitude of Thy favours, look upon Thy people,
and on me, a feeble man, not according to my sins and my follies, but that they
may become worthy of the forgiveness of their sins through this holy body,
which they receive with faith, through the grace of Thy mercy for ever and ever.
Amen.
The Priest says this prayer of inclination in secret:--
XIII. Do Thou, O Lord, through Thy many and ineffable mercies, make the
memorial good and acceptable with that of(1) all the pious and righteous fathers
who have been pleading before Thee in the commemoration of the body and blood
of Thy Christ, which we offer to Thee upon Thy pure and holy altar, as Thou hast
taught us; and grant unto us Thy rest all the days of this life.
He proceeds with the Great Oblation:--
O Lord our God, bestow on us Thy rest and peace all the days of this life,
that all the inhabitants of the earth may know Thee, that Thou art the only
true God the Father, and Thou didst send our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son and Thy
beloved; and He Himself our Lord and God came and taught us all purity and
holiness. Make remembrance of prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, bishops,
doctors, priests, deacons, and all the sons of the Holy Catholic Church who have
been signed with the sign of life, of holy baptism. We also, O Lord:
He proceeds:--
We, Thy degraded, weak, and feeble servants who are congregated in Thy
name, and now stand before Thee, and have received with joy the form which is from
Thee, praising, glorifying, and exalting, commemorate and celebrate this
great, awful, holy, and divine mystery of the passion, death, burial, and
resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
And may Thy Holy Spirit come, O Lord,(2) and rest upon this oblation of
Thy servants which they offer, and bless and sanctify it; and may it be unto us,
O Lord, for the propitiation of our offences and the forgiveness of our sins,
and for a grand hope of resurrection from the dead, and for a new life in the
kingdom of the heavens, with all who have been pleasing before Him. And on
account of the whole of Thy wonderful dispensation towards us, we shall render thanks
unto Thee, and glorify Thee without ceasing in Thy Church, redeemed by the
precious blood of Thy Christ, with open mouths and joyful countenances:
Canon.
Ascribing praise,(3) honour, thanksgiving, and adoration to Thy holy,
loving, and life-giving name, now, always, and for ever.
The Priest signs the mysteries with the cross, and they respond:--
Amen.
The Priest bows himself and kisses the altar, first in the middle, then at the
two sides right and left, and says this prayer:(4)--
Have mercy upon me, O God, down to the words, and sinners shall be
converted unto Thee: and unto Thee lift I up mine eyes,(5) down to have mercy upon us,
O Lord, have mercy upon us. Also stretch forth Thy hand, and let Thy right
hand save me, O Lord; may Thy mercies remain upon me, O Lord, for ever, and
despise not the works of Thy hands.(6)
Then he says this prayer:--
XIV. O Christ, peace of those in heaven and great rest of those below,(7)
grant that Thy rest and peace may dwell in the four parts of the world,(8) but
especially in Thy Holy Catholic Church; grant that the priesthood with the
government may have peace; cause wars to cease from the ends of the earth, and
scatter the nations that delight in wars,(9) that we may enjoy the blessing of
living in tranquillity and peace, in all temperance and fear of God. Spare the
offences and sins of the dead, through Thy grace and mercies for ever.
And to those who are around the altar he says:--
Bless, O Lord. Bless, O Lord.
And he puts on the incense with which he fumes himself, and says:--
Sweeten, O Lord our God, the unpleasing savour(10) of our souls through
the sweetness of Thy love, and through it cleanse me from the stains of my sin,
and forgive me my offences and sins, whether known or unknown to me.
A second time he takes the incense with both hands, and censes the mysteries;
presently he says:--
The clemency of Thy grace, O our Lord and God, gives us access to these
renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, unworthy though we be.
The Priest repeats these wards once and again, and at each interval unites his
hands over his breast in the form of a cross. fie kisses the altar in the
middle, and receives with both hands the upper oblation; and looking up, says:--
Praise be to Thy holy name, O Lord Jesus Christ, and adoration to Thy
majesty, always and for ever. Amen.
For He is the living and life-giving bread which cometh down from heaven,
and giveth life to the whole world, of which they who eat die not; and they who
receive it are saved by it, and do not see corruption, and live through it for
ever; and Thou art the antidote of our mortality,(1) and the resurrection of
our entire frame.(2)
XV.3 * * *
XVI. Praise to Thy holy name, O Lord. (As above.)
The Priest kisses the host(4) in the form of a cross; in such a way, however,
that his lips do not touch it, but appear to kiss it; and he says:--
Glory to Thee, O Lord; glory to Thee, O Lord, on account of Thine
unspeakable gift to us, for ever.
Then he draws nigh to the fraction of the host,(4) which he accomplishes with
both his hands, saying:--
We draw nigh, O Lord, with true faith, and break with thanksgiving and
sign through Thy mercy the body and blood of our Life-giver, Jesus Christ, in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
And, naming the Trinity, he breaks the host,(4) which he holds in his hands,
into two parts: and the one which is in his left hand he lays down on the disk;
with the other, which he holds in his right hand, he signs the chalice,
saying:--
The precious blood is signed with the holy body of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost for ever.
And they respond:--
Amen.
Then he dips it even to the middle in the chalice, and signs with it the body
which is in the paten, saying:--
The holy body is signed with the propitiatory blood of our Lord Jesus
Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost for ever.
And they respond:--
Amen.
And he unites the two parts, the one with the other, saying:--
Divided, sanctified, completed, perfected, united, and commingled have
been these renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, the one with the
other, in the adorable and glorious name of Thy glorious Trinity, O Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost, that they may be to us, O Lord, for the propitiation of our
offences and the forgiveness of our sins; also for the grand hope of a resurrection
from the dead, and of a new life in the kingdom of the heavens, for us and for
the Holy Church of Christ our Lord, here and in every place whatsoever, now
and always, and for ever.
XVII. In the meantime he signs the host(5) with his right thumb in the form of
a cross from the lower part to the upper, and from the right to the left, and
thus forms a slight fissure in it where it has been dipped in the blood. He
puts a part of it into the chalice in the farm of a cross: the lower part is
placed towards the priest, the upper towards the chalice, so that the place of the
fissure looks to the chalice. He bows, and rising, says:--
Glory be to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast made me, unworthy though I
be, through Thy grace, a minister and mediator of Thy renowed, holy,
life-giving, and divine mysteries: through the grace of Thy mercy, make me worthy of the
pardon of my offences and the forgiveness of my sins.
He signs himself with the sign of the cross an his forehead, and does the same
to those standing round him.(1)
The Deacons approach, and he signs each one of them an the forehead, saying:--
Christ accept thy ministry: Christ cause thy face to shine: Christ save
thy life: Christ make thy youth to grow.
And they respond:--
Christ accept thy oblation.
XVIII. All return to their own place; and the Priest, after bowing, rises and
says, in the tone of the Gospel:--
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and
the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all.
The Priest signs himself, and lifts up his hand over his head, so that it
should be in the air, and the people be partakers in the singing:--
The Deacon says:--
We all with fear, etc.
And at these words:--
He hath given to us His mysteries:
The Priest begins to break(2) the body, and says:--
Be merciful, O Lord, through Thy clemency to the sins and follies of Thy
servants, and sanctify our lips through Thy grace, that they may give the fruits
of glory and praise to Thy divinity, with all Thy saints in Thy kingdom.
And, raising his voice, he says:--
And make us worthy, O Lord our God, to stand before Thee continually
without stain, with pure heart, with open countenance, and with the confidence which
is from Thee, mercifully granted to us: and let us all with one accord invoke
Thee, and say thus: Our Father, etc.
The People say:--
Our Father, etc.
The Priest.(3)
O Lord God Almighty, O Lord and our good God, who art full of mercy, we
beg Thee, O Lord our God, and beseech the clemency of Thy goodness; lead us not
into temptation, but deliver and save us from the evil one and his hosts;
because Thine is the kingdom, the power, the strength, the might, and the dominion in
heaven and on earth, now and always.
He signs himself, and they respond:--
Amen.
XIX. And he proceeds:--
Peace be with you.
They respond:--
With thee and with thy spirit.
He proceeds:--
It is becoming that the holy things should be to the holy in perfection.
And they say:--
One holy Father: one holy Son: one Holy Ghost. Glory be to the Father, and
to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Deacon.
Praise ye.
And they say the responsory. And when the Deacon comes to carry the chalice,
he says:--
Let us pray for peace with us.
The Priest says:--
The grace of the Holy Ghost be with thee, with us, and with those who
receive Him.
And he gives the chalice to the Deacon.The Deacon says:--
Bless, O Lord.
The Priest.
The gift of the grace of our Life-giver and Lord Jesus Christ be
completed, in mercies, with all.
And he signs the people with the cross. In the meantime the responsories are
said.
Brethren, receive the body of the Son, cries the Church, and drink ye His
chalice with faith in the house of His kingdom.
On feast-days.
Strengthen, O Lord, etc.
On the Lord's day.
O Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
Daily.
The mysteries which we have received, etc.
The responsories being ended, the Deacon says:--
All therefore, etc.
And they respond:--
Glory be to Himself on account of His ineffable gift.
The Deacon.
Let us pray for peace with us.
The Priest at the middle of the altar says this prayer:(1)--
XX. It is meet, O Lord, just and right in all days, times, and hours, to
thank, adore, and praise the awful name of Thy majesty, because Thou hast
through Thy grace, O Lord, made us, mortal men possessing a frail nature, worthy to
sanctify Thy name with the heavenly(2) beings, and to become partakers of the
mysteries of Thy gift, and to be delighted with the sweetness of Thy oracles. And
voices of glory and thanksgiving we ever offer up to Thy sublime divinity, O
Lord.
Another.
Christ, our God, Lord, King, Saviour, and Life-giver, through His grace
has made us worthy to receive His body and His precious and all-sanctifying
blood. May He grant unto us that we may be pleasing unto Him in our words, works,
thoughts, and deeds, so that that pledge which we have received may be to us for
the pardon of our offences, the forgiveness of our sins, and the grand hope of
a resurrection from the dead, and a new and true life in the kingdom of the
heavens, with all who have been pleasing before Him, through His grace and His
mercies for ever.
On ordinary days.
Praise, O Lord, honour, blessing, and thanksgiving we ought to ascribe to
Thy glorious Trinity for the gift of Thy holy mysteries, which Thou hast given
to us for the propitiation of our offences, O Lord of all.
Another.
Blessed be Thy adorable honour, from Thy glorious place, O Christ, the
propitiator of our offences and our sins, and who takest away our follies through
Thy renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries. Christ the hope of our
nature always and for ever. Amen.
Obsignation or final benediction.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we have ministered, and whom we have
seen and honoured in His renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries,
Himself render us worthy of the splendid glory of His kingdom, and of gladness with
His holy angels, and for confidence before Him, that we may stand at His right
hand.
And on our entire congregation may His mercies and compassion be
continually poured out, now and always, and ever.
On the Lord's day and on feast-days.
May He Himself who blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavens,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, and prepared us for His kingdom, and called us
to the desirable good things which neither cease nor perish, as He promised to
us in His life-giving Gospel, and said to the blessed congregation of His
disciples--Verily, verily I say unto you, that every one who eateth my body and
drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him, and I will raise him up at the last
day; and he cometh not to judgment, but I will make him pass from death to
eternal life:
May He Himself now bless this congregation, and maintain our position, and
render glorious our people who have come and rejoiced in receiving His
renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries; and may ye be sealed and guarded by
the holy sign of the Lord's cross from all evils, secret and open, now and
always.
ELUCIDATIONS
I. (Disciple of the holy Peter, p. 551.)
THE early use of the originals of this liturgy in the Alexandrian
patriarchate accounts for its bearing the name of St. Mark,--"sister's son to
Barnabas," as St. Paul calls him.(1) That he was St. Peter's pupil may be inferred from
that Apostle's language,(2)--"Marcus, my son." See Clement's testimony
concerning him (with Eusebius) in vol. ii. pp. 579, 580, this series. That he founded
the "Evangelical See," though resting on great historic authority,(3) seems to
be doubted in our times by some.
II. (Our holy father Mark, p. 556.)
While St. Mark could not have written this, it may, of course, have been
added at a very early date.(1) This most touching prayer bears marks of great
antiquity, the reference to our "Christ-loving sovereign" comporting better with
the early enthusiasm inspired by Constantine's conversion than with the
disappointments incurred under his Arianizing or apostate successors. Now, this
commemoration of St. Mark would of itself attach his name to the liturgy.
But here is the place to note the principles of these primitive prayers
for saints departed. (1) They could only be offered in behalf of the holy dead
who had fallen asleep in full communion with Christ and His Church; (2) They were
not prayers for their deliverance out of one place into another; (3) They
recognised the repose (not yet the triumph) of the faithful departed as incomplete,
and hence (4) invoked for them a blessed consummation of peace and joy in the
resurrection.
Now, all this is fatal to the Roman dogmas and usages, because (1) they
thus include St. Mark and the Blessed Virgin in these commemorations; while Rome
teaches, not only that these great saints went immediately to the excellent
glory, and there have reigned with Christ ever since they died, but (2) that on
this very ground, and that of their supererogatory merits, the Pontiff holds a
purse(2) of their excessive righteousness to dispense to meaner Christians.
St. Augustine speaks of his dear Nebridius as in Abraham's bosom,(3) but
finds comfort in commemorating him and Monica his mother, "because it is so
comfortable." This is his idea, in a word: "Et credo jam feceris quod te rogo, sed
(Ps. cxix. 108) voluntaria oris mei, approba, Domine."
III. (Holy things for the holy, p. 559.)
Bingham(4) has so fully elucidated this by quotations from Chrysostom
(Hom. vii.) and others, that one might think it useless to attach to it any other
meaning than that which Chrysostom understands in it; viz., "Holy things for
holy persons." It occurs just before the communicating of the faithful, and has
nothing whatever to do with the "elevation of the host,"--a Western ceremony of
the fourteenth century.(5) Yet, in an otherwise (generally) useful manual of
liturgies, an attempt is made to give it this meaning; and the preceding prayer of
"Intense Adoration," addressed to the Great High Priest in the heavens, is
debased to eke out the weak idea. Nothing could be more averse to the primitive
principle of worship;(6) but it is sufficient to note the fact that the
"elevation of the host" revolutionized the eucharistic worship of the West as soon as it
was established. (1) It abolished the Eucharist practically as the synaxis, or
communion of the faithful, and made it only a sacrifice far them in their
behalf; (2) not to be eaten and received, but to be gazed at; (3) not for all the
faithful at all times, excluding even catechumens from beholding it, but to be
displayed to all eyes in pompous ceremonials, carried through the streets, and
dispensed only in half-communion, once a year, to the individual communicant.
All these ancient liturgies, corrupted as they are in all the mss. we possess,
are yet liturgies for communicating the faithful, in their turns,(7) one and all;
and, so far, they are true to the Scriptures and the precepts of Christ and
His Apostles. But well does the pious Hirscher exclaim, with reference to the
Mass, as he was obliged to celebrate it in his own gorgeous cathedral at Freiburg
in the Breisgau: "What would an Apostle think we were doing, should he enter
during Our ceremonies?" Also, "I know all that can be said in their favour. I
know just as well that by them the spirit is turned apart from internal godliness,
and borne away; and that, with such appeals to sense, withdrawal from things
of sense becomes impossible.... God is a Spirit: He looks to be adored in spirit
and in truth, and all ceremonial which dulls the adoration(1) of the spirit is
odious to God. To glorify self, as His minister, before the King of kings,
before the majesty of the Creator, before His Christ, naked and crucified,--is it
not an absurdity, a ceremony of contradictions? The people no longer comprehend
the ceremonial ... to see them satisfied by mere corporal attendance, is it
not deplorable? They do not understand Latin. Is it not melancholy that they take
no real part in the touching offices of the Holy Week? Is not a deplorable
indifference the result; in France, for example? Nay, at Rome also?"(2)
His remonstrances were vain; he was cruelly censured, yet he died in the
Papal communion. Dear Hirscher! The venerable man kissed me when I parted from
him in 1851,(3) and gave me his blessing with a primitive spirit of Christian
charity. I gratefully quote him here.
In Germany a passing stranger often sees the pious peasantry at Mass,
singing with all their hearts their beautiful German hymns. It misleads, however.
They are not attending to the Mass, but consoling themselves by spiritual songs,
while it goes on without their assistance. The bell rings: they adore the
host, but that is all their relation to the worship of the Christian liturgies.
Hirscher loved their hymns, but bewailed the utter loss of their liturgic
communion, once common to the faithful.(4)
IV. (Teachers of the Easterns, etc., p. 561.)
The apostle Thaddeus is called Addai in Syriac. Maris is said to have been
one of the seventy disciples, but his name is not on the list ascribed to
Hippolytus. He was the first bishop of the people now called "Nestorians," but whom
Dr. Badger(5) prefers to call "the Christians of Assyria."
We have this liturgy in another form in Dr. Badger's important work,
Nestorians and their Rituals. He selects that called "the Liturgy of Nestorius" from
three which are in use among the Assyrians, but criticises the translation of
Renaudot as not entirely faultless. It is selected by Dr. Badger because of its
reputed Nestorianism; while Hammond gives us what is here translated, in
Renaudot's Latin.(6) We must bear in mind, that, since the Ephesine Council (A.D.
431), these Christians have been separated from the communion of Eastern
orthodoxy.
The Malabar Liturgy should be carefully compared with this by the student.
A convenient translation of it is to be found in Neale and Littledale. A most
important fact, by the way, is noted in their translation;(7) viz., that in
this Malabar "the invocation of the Holy Ghost, contrary to the use of every other
Oriental liturgy, preceded the words of institution;" that is to say, in the
work of the Portuguese revisers, a work from which Dr. Neale and his colleague
feel justified in making "a considerable alteration" as to the order of the
prayers.
The words of institution are found in the Malabar, and suggest that they
belong not less to this Liturgy of the Assyrians, though, ex summa
verecundia,(8) they are omitted from the transcript, as the Lord's Prayer is omitted in the
Clementine.
The normal form of this corrupted liturgy is credited with extreme
antiquity by Dr. Neale. To his learned and cogent reasoning on the subject the student
should by all means refer.(1)
V. (For all the prophets and confessors, p. 565.)
These commemorations of the dead, it will be noted, are in behalf of the
most glorious apostles and saints, and for martyrs who go straight to glory.
Obviously, as Usher has said,(2) for whatever purpose, then, the departed were
commemorated, it was not to change their estate before the resurrection, much less
to relieve them from purgatorial penalties. This comes out in the "Liturgy of
St. Chrysostom" (so called), where it is said: "We offer to Thee this
reasonable service for those who have fallen asleep in faith, ... patriarchs, apostles,
evangelists, martyrs, ... and every just one made perfect in the faith:
especially our all-holy, undefiled, most blessed Lady, Theotokos and ever-virgin
Mary," etc. But she, they tell us, was assumed into glory, like Christ Himself, and
reigns with Him as "Queen of Angels," etc. See Elucidation II. p. 569.
VI. (The propitiatory blood, etc., p. 566.)
The peril of confounding the early use of this idea of propitiation with
the mediaeval theory, which is quite another, is well pointed out and enforced
by Burbidge.(3) The primitive writers and the ancient liturgies "do not regard
the Eucharist as being itself a propitiatory offering," but it is the perpetual
pleading of the blood of propitiation once offered. Thus St. Chrysostom: "We do
not offer another sacrifice, but always the same." So far, his words might be
quoted to favour the Middle-Age doctrine; but he guards himself, and adds:(4)
"or, rather, we make a memorial of the sacrifice."
The rhetoric of the liturgies and of the Fathers was unhappily made into
the logic of the Schoolmen, and hence the stupendous system of propitiatory
Masses, with Masses for the dead, and that traffic in Masses which so fearfully
defiles the priesthood of Western Europe and the Spanish and Portuguese colonies
in America. In vain does the pious Hirscher complain:(5) "The rich, then, are
the happy sinners in this respect: they can buy innumerable Masses, and establish
them in perpetuity; their privileges have no limit, and their advantages over
the poor extend through all eternity."His book was put into the Index (Acts
xvi. 19, xix. 27), but it was never answered.
VII.
Let me now recur to Elucidation III. on p. 507, to which I would here add
the following from Bishop Williams, as there quoted:--
"In both the Mozarabic and the Gallican Liturgies there was an invocation
as well as an oblation. Irenaeus(6) says (and he, writing at Lyons, must have
in mind the Gallican Liturgy), ' The bread which is of the earth, having
received the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the Eucharist.' The
word translated 'invocation' is <greek>epiklhsin</greek>; and it is worthy of
notice that Basil and Cyril of Jerusalem use the same word in evidently the same
technical sense (Harvey's Irenaeus, vol. ii. pp. 205-207 and notes). In another
passage Irenaeus(7) speaks even more distinctly: ' We offer to God the bread and
the cup of blessing, giving thanks to Him for that He hath commanded the earth
to bring forth these fruits for our nourishment; and, having finished the
offering, we invoke the Holy Spirit that He may exhibit (or declare,
<greek>apofhnh</greek>) this sacrifice and bread the body of Christ, and the cup the blood of
Christ, that they who shall receive these antitypes may obtain remission of
sins and everlasting life' (Harvey's Irenaeus, vol. ii. p. 502). This passage is
a remarkable one. It proves beyond question, that, in the time of Irenaeus d.
A.D. 202 or 208), the Liturgy of Gaul contained an invocation of the Holy Ghost
following the oblation of the bread and cup. Moreover, when we compare the
words of Irenaeus with those of the Clementine Liturgy, their agreement is too
clear and precise to be explained as a mere chance-matter. The liturgy reads, '
Send down Thy Holy Spirit on this sacrifice, the witness of the sufferings of the
Lord Jesus, that He may exhibit (<greek>apofhnh</greek>) this bread, the body
of Thy Christ, and this cup, the blood of Thy Christ, that they who shall
receive,'(1) etc. Irenaeus says as above, using the same word
(<greek>apofhnh</greek>), a word which is found, it is believed, in no liturgy but the Clementine."
Now I humbly suggest that Justin Martyr and Irenaeus concur in giving us
evidence that the Clementine Liturgy is substantially that which was used in
Rome and Gaul in their times. The latter may have received it from Polycarp. The
use of the Roman and the Greek churches was uniform in his day, as may be
inferred from the intercourse of Polycarp and Victor.(2)