B. The Ritual and Commixture. may be most fitly described as the 'Prayer of Humble Access,' expressing the humility of those who are approaching, and a petition for grace. In the Constantinopolitan this is all. In the Roman, when the laity communicate, the Confiteor and precatory Absolution are repeated; otherwise the priest says for himself two prayers similar in scope to those of the Constantinopolitan. With these two prayers the Ambrosian seems to join the Agnus Dei. The Coptic, besides a corresponding prayer, has a 'Prayer of Absolution.' The East-Syrian has a very short prayer at this place, but appears to join to it the Lord's Prayer with this intention. The Hispano-Gallican Family has a formal 'Benediction' here, varying with the Mass. In all cases however the object seems to be to fix the attention of the Communicants, and prepare them for the reception of the heavenly mysteries now imminent. Closely conjoined to this is the section denominated ‘Q,' which we have called 'the Ritual Preparation' for the communion. The various actions contained in it all look forward to this, and are intended to be symbolical of the chief steps of the process by which the union of man with God is restored through the Incarnation. Of these the most nearly universal The Fraction are the 'Fraction 1' and the Commixture.' The Fraction symbolizes the Death of Christ; the Commixture (by which is meant the placing a portion of the Consecrated Bread in the Chalice) points to His risen life. The former of these rites is distinct from the Breaking which takes place for the purpose of distribution; and the latter is not to be confounded with The Intinc- the Intinction,' a purely Oriental rite, which consists of placing in the Chalice a sufficient number of particles for the Communicants present, and for reservation; and which is necessary owing to the Oriental method of administering the two species combined. To these two rites are sometimes added others in different Liturgies. For instance, in the Liturgy of Constan tion.' 1 This is the most usual place in the Liturgy for the Fraction. The Coptic is the only extant Antient Liturgy in which (as in the Anglican) it takes place concurrently with the Words of Institution. tinople they are preceded by an 'Elevation'; not the Elevation Elevation. as practised in the Western Church since the twelfth century for the adoration of the people. The action in the Eastern Churches cannot be seen by the people, for the Holy Doors are as yet closed; but it is either intended to symbolize the elevation of the Redeemer upon the Cross, or it is the ȧvádegis (consecration) to God the Father. The Infusion of warm Infusion of water into the Chalice is a singular rite of the same Liturgy, which takes place about this point. Another rite in the EastSyrian Liturgy is called 'Consignatio.' warm water. It means dipping Consignatio. one half of the broken Host in the Chalice, and with it making the sign of the Cross over the other half as it lies on the Paten. It cannot be contended that any of these rites, except probably the Fraction, are Apostolic, though they are antient. The symbolic ritual was certainly developed more or less gradually. tion. There is one point in the Roman order to which we must The Invocaadvert. After our statement on p. xxiv that in the Roman Liturgy the Invocation of the Holy Spirit is wholly wanting, it will naturally cause some surprise to see the designation N, even with a ?, prefixed to any paragraph. It is well known that the necessity of this Invocation, and the effect of it, has been a standing subject of contention between the Eastern and Western Churches. The Easterns contend that the Consecration is not complete without it: the Westerns assert that the Consecration is effected solely by the Words of Institution. But whatever was the later theory on the subject, there was certainly a time when an Invocation was used in some parts of the Western Church. Optatus1 and Fulgentius both testify to the usage of the African Church, whose Liturgy was closely allied to the Roman; and there are sufficient traces of an Invocation 1 Optat. cont. Parmen. lib. vi. p. 111; and Fulgent. lib. ii. qu. 2 ad Monimum, and contra Fabian., quoted by Palmer, 'Orig. Lit.' p. 138 (3rd ed.) in the Hispano-Gallican Family, in several forms of the prayer called 'Post-pridie,' or 'Post-secreta,' to make us sure that it once formed a part of those Liturgies. Whether the Invocation was always wanting from the Roman Liturgy, or whether it has been dropped out, is a question requiring for its answer more knowledge than is at present possessed about the details of this Liturgy in its earlier stages. Certainly, so far back as it is known, there is nothing in it fully answering in scope and position to the Eastern Invocation. There is a short Invocation of the Holy Spirit in connexion with the offertory, viz. "Veni, sanctificator, omnipotens aeterne Deus: benedic hoc Sacrificium tuo sancto nomini praeparatum:' and there would be some support for looking to this as analogous (at least in some measure) to the Eastern Invocation, in the tendency, chiefly noticeable in the West, but not without example in the East1, of transferring to the Offertory (the Second Oblation) ideas and language that should more logically belong to the Great Oblation. But the prayer of this Invocation is infinitely short of the Eastern prayer for the change of the Elements, which is there looked upon as consummating the Consecration. We have with some hesitation prefixed the [N] to the two paragraphs in question of the Roman canon (viz. ' Quam oblationem' and Supra quae propitio'), because these paragraphs contain the second of two petitions which the Eastern Invocation always contains, and which are kept markedly distinct. These are, first for the change of the Elements, alluded to above; and secondly, for the spiritual benefits to be received by the communicants. It is this second petition which is represented in these portions of the Roman Canon, and that in language conceived quite in the same spirit as the Eastern prayer, e. g. ' ut nobis Corpus et Sanguis fiat dilectissimi Filii tui D. N. J. C. :' and 'ut quotquot ex hac altaris participatione sacrosanctum Filii tui Corpus et Sanguinem sumpserimus omni benedictione caelesti 1 e. g. The language of the Cherubic Hymn (τὸν βασιλέα τῶν ὅλων), and the prostration that welcomes the Great Entrance, in the Liturgy of Constantinople. et gratia repleamur.' The analogous language of the Eastern Liturgies may be seen below, pp. 18, 43, 72, 113, etc. that Time Nor does it appear to us that there is any difficulty in The principle the fact that thus the analogy is found in two places, before is to be considered as and after the Words of Institution. Rather this would be excluded.' but an additional illustration of a principle, most pregnant in results, and which the comparative study of the Liturgies forces more and more upon the attention, as the only adequate explanation of several otherwise strange phenomena. How, for instance, are we to account for such a fact as that just now referred to, a transference to the earlier oblation of language more befitting the Great Oblation? Or what explanation shall we give, amid the extraordinary unity which the reader must by this time have seen to exist among the Liturgies, of the still more extraordinary variety of order; and that, not only of minor details, but of the most important parts of the service? On what principle is the Great Intercession, for instance, placed now after, now before, and now in the midst of the Consecration; now partly before and partly after; and lastly, wholly away from the Consecration and in connexion with the Offertory? Is it not that, as it is in heaven, so when here a heavenly Mystery is being enacted1, THE ELEMENT OF TIME MUST BE CONSIDERED TO BE EXCLUDED? Of course human actions and human speech are subject to the condition of time, and hence the various actions of the service and the Prayers and Hymns must follow each other in some order: but we venture to suggest that a true view of the Eucharistic service, at least of the Missa Fidelium," can only be gained by looking at it as a whole, as one great act of Eucharistic sacrifice (Ovoía aivéσews, Heb. xiii. 15), wherein, as far as possible, we are transferred into the atmosphere of heaven, 'made to sit in heavenly places,' and absorbed in an ever-abiding present. 1 The student will easily see the bearing of this principle on the commonplace difficulty sometimes found in the fact that the Great Oblation in the Eastern Liturgies precedes the Invocation of the Holy Spirit. Represents the Liturgy of the third century. CHAPTER III. DETAILS OF THE LITURGIES. §i. The Clementine Liturgy. A THOROUGH discussion of this Liturgy, and of the questions that arise in connexion with it, would exceed the space at our disposal1. It is by far the most interesting Liturgical document that we possess, for the light it throws upon the history and growth of Liturgical development, and well repays any amount of study bestowed upon it. The conclusion which we would commend to our readers is that, taken together with the supplementary account in Bk. ii. of the Apostolical Constitutions (see below p. 23), it represents fairly the pre-Constantinian Liturgy of about the middle of the 3rd century. We have printed it below in the first Group, because in the order of its parts it agrees with the characteristics of that Group; and it has been commonly received as belonging to the early Church at Jerusalem. But there are strong reasons for believing it to represent a stage of liturgical growth that extended far 1. Its agree- beyond the limits of Palestine or Syria. Its agreement with Justin Mar- the Liturgy described by Justin Martyr is very remarkable. This description is so valuable in itself, as the earliest detailed account of the Eucharistic service, of the date of which we are certain, that we give it in full. It is to be found in his Reasons. ment with tyr's descrip tion. 1 Probst, ‘Liturgie der drei ersten christlichen Jahrhunderte' (Tübingen, 1870), and Bickell, 'Messe und Pascha' (Mainz, 1872), contain very valuable investigations upon this Liturgy. |