Church of the East: Liturgy

Date: 11 October 2005 02:22:59

The Liturgy of the Church of the East follows a similar structure to that of the Orthodox churches and of the Catholic church (and, therefore, the Anglican, Lutheran, Uniting... churches whose liturgy owes much to the Roman Catholic liturgy given their shared history). There is a liturgy of the the Word and then a liturgy of the Eucharist. In between is the cry for the catechumens to be dismissed. In most Orthodox churches this is of historical interest only, though Michael at Sarisburium has informed us that he departs for instruction; I'm unsure if our Assyrian cousins require catechumens to depart.

The Orthodox cry is along the lines of, "The doors! The doors! Let the doors be guared! In wisdom, let us attend!", which symbolised that the Creed should only be said by those who professed it at Baptism and who continue to confess it. The cry in the Church of the East is a bit more explicit in reflecting this:

Let him who has not received Baptism depart. Let him who has not accepted the sign of life depart. Let him who does not receive it depart. Go, hearers, and watch the doors!

The Liturgy is chanted either without musical accompaniment or, at times, with a piano. The chants, as I mentioned two posts ago, are seemingly simple, yet beautiful. It truly does aid congregation participation. I am all for "complicated" pieces as well, and I do enjoy listening to and meditiating on the words a choir sings for us, but for the main content of the Liturgy I like the simple chants that musical ignoramuses (ignorami?) like me can join in with.

Three points particularly struck me during the Liturgy, apart from the beautiful hymns that make up the service.

The chanting of the Lord's Prayer is particularly beautiful, and it is interspersed with the Trisagion hymn, "Holy, holy, holy":

Our Father in heaven, may your name be hallowed. May your kingdom come. Holy, holy, you are holy, our Father in heaven, for heaven and earth are full of the grandeur of your glory. Angels and men cry out to you, Holy, holy, you are holy. Our Father in heaven, may your name be hallowed. May your kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us our necessary bread today, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us to the test, but deliver us from the Evil One. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever, amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, from everlasting to everlasting, amen and amen. Our Father in heaven, may your name be hallowed. May your kingdom come. Holy, holy, you are holy, our Father in heaven, for heaven and earth are full of the grandeur of your glory. Angels and men cry out to you, Holy, holy, you are holy.

(We also say "deliver us from the Evil One" in Orthodoxy, and I liked the variation on "our daily bread" -- "our necessary bread today")

The beginning and content of the Eucharistic Prayer is very similar in all liturgical churches I have attended, though there may be some slight differences. The Church of the East continues with the ancient words that begin the Eucharist Canon, although they are slightly different to those I've encountered in Orthodox, Catholic and Anglican liturgies:

Priest: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now, always, and for ever and ever.
People: Amen.
Priest: Let your minds be above.
People: With you, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel, O glorious King.
Priest: The oblation is offered to God, the Lord of all.
People: It is meet and right.

(I particularly liked the reference to the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Israel)

But by far the most moving part of the pre-Eucharistic Liturgy (for me the offering of the Eucharist is always the most moving part of any service: Christ giving of Himself to us in the bread and the wine) is the Peace.

In other churches it is generally done with a handshake and a greeting, whether it is "Peace be with you." or "Christ is in our midst!" as the Orthodox say. Oftentimes it also becomes a bit of a chatfest, unfortunately: unfortunately because it is a key part of the service where we indicate our being at peace with one another.

However, it is done in an altogether different, and extremely beautiful way, in the Church of the East. The priest intones, "Peace be with you" and the people respond, "And with you and with your spirit." The deacon (I think) then says, "Give the peace, one to another, in the love of Christ. " And then it differs.

The priest gives the peace to the deacons by clasping their hands, which are held together, within his. They then raise their joined hands to their lips. The deacons then go to the front row of the congregation, and pass on the peace by clasping a congregation member's hands within theirs. And then the congregation pass it in on to those around and behind them. The peace is passed in a visible way to the entire congregation. And it is exceptionally moving.

I hope I've succeeded in giving a small account, and a true account, of the Liturgy of the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East. It was a true blessing, and it always is a blessing, to worship with them.