Explanation of the rites of the Divine Liturgy

Essay rights. Nicholas Kavasila “Explanation of the Rites of the Divine Liturgy” is a complement to the treatise “Explanation of the Divine Liturgy”. In 12 chapters a brief interpretation of the bishop's rite of the Divine Liturgy is given. Righteous Nicholas consistently reveals the theological meaning and symbolic meaning of each part of the Sacrament - from the Proskomedia, interpreted as an image of the Passion of Christ, the entrances with the Gospel and the Honest Gifts, to the washing of hands, the position of the omophorion and prayers for the position of the Gifts. Particular attention is paid to understanding the nature of the Eucharistic sacrifice, where the author explains in detail that the transmutation of the Gifts into the Body and Blood of Christ and the offering of sacrifice occurs during consecration, and not before or after, emphasizing the one-time saving sacrifice of the Lamb of God, which becomes real in every service. The work also reveals the symbolism of the Throne as a true meal and altar, and the meaning of the warmth poured into the Chalice as an image of the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Church. The work ends with a reflection on the inextricable connection between the Eucharist and the Church, where the Church is conceptualized as the Body of Christ, and everything that happens at the Liturgy reflects the economy of the Savior and the sanctification of the believers. *The title of the work in Greek is Περ τῶν ἐν τῇ θείᾳ λειτουργίᾳ τελουμένων. Contents Proskomedia Reading and singing Entrance with the Gospel Entrance with the Honest Gifts Protection of the Gifts Prayer for the position and commemoration of saints Washing of hands Position of the omophorion The nature of the Eucharistic sacrifice Altar Warmth at the moment of communion Eucharist and the Church What happens on the altar over the offered bread is a visual image of the Passion of Christ and takes place in remembrance (1 Cor. 11:24-25) of how He suffered and died for us. And thus the death of the Lord is narrated (1 Cor. 11:26) not only through what the priests say, but also through what they do. This was the ancient custom of practical instructions and exhortations. When one of the God-bearing fathers was asked what a monk is, he answered that “a monk is a monastic robe, in which he dresses, showing the humility and obedience due to a monk, and, having changed clothes [into other clothes], falls into temptation.” The prophet, wanting to reveal about the [coming] Jewish captivity, bound himself (Ezek. 3:25, 4:8), and Agabus did the same, showing “the bonds of Paul” (Acts 21:10–11). What is sung and read before the Entrance of the Honest Gifts is a preparation for receiving the holy communion, and is done [in remembrance] of the Lord and His economy. The books of the Old Testament prophetically foreshadow the Coming One, and the books of the New Testament reveal the Incarnate One and tell about Him. 2 The entrance with the Gospel occurs out of necessity, since it is necessary to take out the Gospel lying in the receptacle 3 for reading in the church, accompanied by the delivery, as it should be. This is the symbolic beginning of a sermon, which from secret becomes obvious to everyone. In the same way, the entry with the Honest Gifts is carried out out of necessity, since they usually lie in a vessel 4 and the donation 5 and bringing [them into the church] with chants and incense, and light [occurs], as befits the Gifts of God. This is how [Gifts] are brought in. The gifts dedicated to God by the emperors, crowned with crowns, are carried by the kings themselves. Let us fall down and pray for the priest, that he may remember us in the sacrifice he makes, as he should. For there is no other prayer of the priest to God for us, except the one with which he gives [us] such good and strong hopes during [the performance of] this holy sacrifice, which freely cleansed all the sins and wickedness of the world. If others fall to the honorable Gifts as if to the body and blood of Christ, as at the Liturgy of the Presanctified [Gifts], and worship [them] and greet [them], then [these people] are in error. Only when the Gifts are brought out after Transubstantiation should they be worshiped as if they were the body and blood of Christ. The gifts placed at the table are covered and, after consecration, divided for the communion of the faithful. [These Gifts], according to the divine Dionysius 6, symbolize Jesus Christ, who came from the hidden and indivisible into the visible for [human] perception, to give us Himself and His bliss. Prayer of position and commemoration of saints After the position of the honorable Gifts, the immediate commemoration and naming of some holy men symbolizes the communion of those commemorated with Christ, according to the divine Dionysius. The washing of the priest's [hands] before the honest Gifts teaches that the priest must cleanse himself before the sight of God. The bishop performing the rite puts aside the omophorion. Thus, the omophorion is a sign of the beginning [of the Eucharist]. If a priest serves, nothing like this happens at the beginning [of the anaphora]. When [the bishop] either performs the ordination or receives Holy Communion, then he again puts on the omophorion as a shepherd doing the work of ordination and consecration. The nature of the Eucharistic sacrifice Since the priest is called the bearer of sacrifice, and the honorable Gifts are called sacrifice and offering, let us ask the question when the bread becomes a sacrifice, before consecration or after. After all, if he becomes a sacrifice before consecration, then this is not a sacrifice of the Lamb of God, since it contradicts the correct concept. If after consecration, then the priest sacrifices the body, and, therefore, Christ becomes a sacrifice many times over, which is at odds with the words “so Christ was offered alone, to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:28). What can you say [about this]? That bread becomes a sacrifice neither before or after consecration, but during it. It is then that the bread becomes the very body of Christ. When the body of Christ is offered and becomes a sacrifice, then He Himself becomes offered and a sacrifice. This is precisely what it means to bring bread and make it a sacrifice - to transform it into the body of the Lord, sacrificed. In this way, the saving sacrifice of the Lamb of God is accomplished [each time], and the body of Christ remains offered once. The Throne is a true table thanks to the Gifts lying on it, which, according to Christ, are meat and true beer (cf. John 6:55). It is also a true altar due to the sacrifice performed on it. It also becomes an altar through anointing with the all-holy myrrh. This ointment brings Christ himself, interprets the divine Dionysius. – Jesus is our altar through whom we received the offering. Warmth at the moment of communion Warm water, water that was involved in fire, is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, like fire (Acts 2:3–4) and called water (Isa. 44:3; John 7:38–39). It is poured in after the performance of [the sacraments] and the consecration of the Honest Gifts, symbolizing the descent on the Church of the Holy Spirit, Who then descended after the slaughter, resurrection and fulfillment of the economy of Christ, and Who always descends after the completion of [the sacrifice]. For the Comforter comes to those who partake of it worthily. If there is the sacrifice itself, previously offered and now performed, and the mediator is Christ himself, then the Spirit himself, in whom they believe in this way, descends. This warm water is poured onto the honest Gifts not in order to symbolize the descent of the Holy Spirit on the honest Gifts, since they received grace during consecration, but to reveal the image in which the Church became involved, and again and again becomes involved in the Holy Spirit. This happens through the mediation of our Savior Christ. Therefore, first warmth is poured into the Holy Gifts, and then from there the clergy receive communion and allow others to receive communion, since the Holy Spirit first filled the God-bearing flesh of the Lord himself, and then from it, as if from a source, and together with it poured out onto the Church and is always pouring out. The divine John testifies to this: “and from the fulfillment of it we are all received” (John 1:16). And finally, the Church is the body of Christ, this most pure, equally divine body, according to the Apostle [“you are the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27)], therefore what happened to His most holy body is an example of what is happening and what will happen in the Church. And just as He Himself was born of the Holy Spirit by birth on earth, so the Church was not born of blood, nor of carnal lust, nor of man’s lust, but was born of God. And just as He “died and rose again” (cf. 1 Thess. 4:14) in glory, so the Church will rise in its glory in the last days. He ascended and the Church will be ascended into the clouds to meet Him (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17). One of the God-bearing fathers said that it is necessary to shed sweat for Christ through deeds and prayer, since the Church was established with blood. Therefore, into the sacred bread and wine, which after consecration became the true body and blood of Christ and lying on the throne, the priest pours warm water and partakes himself, and then presents it to the others, which signifies the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Church, which became the completion of the economy of Christ. This happens every time a sacrifice is made. And she [the Church] is a mediator, and He is a mediator, and the sacrifice itself, revealed under Pontius Pilate, is being offered now. Therefore, the priest is always Christ (Heb. 5:6, 7:17–21). And the Holy Spirit descending [on the Holy Gifts] will not dry up. The symbol of the Holy Spirit is warm water, since it is similar to the fire that descended on the apostles and is called water. It has both. The fire came down like water. And this is how the image of communion with the Holy Spirit is symbolically designated. Through the flesh of the Savior we commune with the Holy Spirit. And just as we cannot say that we have received the Holy Spirit without the mediation of Christ, so it cannot be said that this infused water does not participate in the divine Eucharist. In the “Explanation” offered to your attention, Cabasilas describes the hierarchical rite of the liturgy. In our time, in the Orthodox liturgy the Apostle and the Gospel are read, whereas in the 14th century in Byzantium the early Christian practice of three readings was still preserved - from the Old Testament, the Apostle and the Gospel, interspersed with the singing of psalms and antiphons. In Byzantine churches, the receptacle, or sacristy, was located in a separate building located near the church. Proskomedia took place in the vasculature. From there, the solemn procession with the Gifts headed to the church, where the bread and wine prepared for the sacrament were delivered to the throne. This procession was called the Great Entrance. Bearing (from the Greek δορυφορέω “to carry spears”) is a symbolic image of the triumph of the victorious emperor carried into the city on shields. During the Great Entry, angels invisibly bring in the “King of all” Christ on their spears. Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite is the author of the treatise “On the Church Hierarchy” (5th century). You might be interested in: