are spoken of in this church.  Probably this was derived from the
custom of the Church of Jerusalem, where there was a nocturnal
"station" at Bethlehem on Christmas night and a Mass on the day
itself in Jerusalem.  St. Mary Major was considered to be an
equivalent of Bethlehem, and later on the relic of the Manger was
placed there.

     The second Mass at dawn had, at first, no special connection
with Christmas, but was in honor of  St. Anastasia, a martyr of
Sirmium in Slavonia, whose cultus was very popular at
Constantinople in the period 458-71.  The date of her martyrdom
was december 25th, and this date had not then been adopted at
Constantinople as the Feast of Our Lord's Birthday.  the cult of  St.
Anastasia was introduced into Rome by the Byzantine colony which
existed there in the middle of the sixth century, and she was
honored in a church at the foot of the Palatine Hill, which formed a
kind of metropolitan church for the Greek quarter of Rome.  The
Saint's stational Mass continued to be observed by the greek colony
even after the establishment of December 25th as the Feast of
Christmas.

     The three Masses - at night, dawn and later morning - were also
celebrated in other parts of Rome, but as there was not the same
reason in these places for the cultus of St. Anastasia, as in the
Greek colony, the Mass at dawn was offered, like the other two, in
memory of christ's birth, and St. Anastasia was only commemorated
- as she is to this day.  The three Masses are now offered for the
following intentions: the night Mass, in honor of the earthly birth at
Bethlehem; the Mass at dawn, in honor of Our Lord in the souls of
members of His Mystical Body; the Mass of the day, in honor of the
eternal generation of the second Person of the Blessed  Holy
Trinity.

     A  LATE  FEAST  OF  OUR  LORD:  In our own time the
Feast of Christ the King, established by Pius XI in 1925.

     FEASTS  OF  THE  SAINTS: During the second century,
festivals of Saints began to be kept.  At first these were confined to
martyrs, on the dates of their martyrdom, which were looked on as
their dies natalis (birthday) in Heaven.  The earliest record come to
us from Asia Minor in a letter written by the Church of Smyrna in
A.D. 156 to the Church of Pilomelium near by, describing the
recent martyrdom of the Bishop of Smyrna, St. Polycarp (Martrium
Polycarpi).  (See Lightfoot's Apostolic Fathers, Part II, "Ignatius
and Polycarp", 3 vols. 2nd edit., London, 1889.)  Of this, Dom
Gregory Dix writes that: "Nothing could better illustrate the
unprimitive character of much in Protestant polemic against the
cultus of the Saints and their relics which was sincerely put forward
in the sixteenth century as a return to `Apostolic' Christianity" (Dix,
pp. 343-44).  In the earliest days of Christianity, "the Saints, meant
all the members of Christ's Mystical Body - all still full of the Good
News of Our Savior's life and teaching, and of their own share in
the Sacrifice of Redemption.  But later on  - in the second century -
the newness of Christian life began to fade, and contact with
worldly and, to a great extent still, pagan life and spirit led to the
realization that the mere fact of believing in Christ and His Church
is not enough to make Saints - His life and teaching must be
actively followed and practiced by His members.  Even when this is
duly realized and sincere effort is made to follow it out, the
weakness of human nature and its liability to fall into sin after
baptism/chrismation still remains - in spite of the help of the
Sacrament of Penance.  The term "Saint" was reserved first of all
for those who had washed away the guilt of sin in their blood shed
for Christ (the martyrs); then gradually extended to those Christians
who, without actually giving up their lives, had in one way or
another fulfilled the perfect ideal of Christianity.  There is early
mention, in the writings of Tertullian an other Christian writers, of
the special offering of the Holy Sacrifice for the souls of the dead
on their anniversaries.  But the martyrs were not thus prayed for -
they were prayed to -for their "witness" to Christ (the word
"martyr" is derived from the Greek word meaning "witness")
ensured for them immediate entry into His Kingdom.  Hence, as we
have seen, the day of their physical death was looked upon as the
day of the spiritual birthday into their true life.  This seeking of the
martyrs' help and prayers led on to the full development of the
cultus of the Saints in general, and this becomes more evident in
post-Nicene days.   In the fourth century the cultus was
systematized; Feasts were established and so on.  But during this
period a difference in regarding the day of the martyrdom or holy
death of the Saints began to come in.  Instead of the terms natale,
natalitia - or in Greek genethlion (all meaning "birthday") - the
death of the martyrs and other Saints were now called their
"burials" (depositones); the end of earthly life took the place of the
beginning of heavenly life: the eschatological aspect of the Christian
life was lost in the historical; time rather than eternity now occupied
attention. The author of The Shape of the Liturgy points out the
even more striking fact that while the old word natale is used once
in calendar of this period, it is in a quite different sense.  The Feast
of  St. Peter's Chair on February 22nd is spoken of as Natale Petri
de Cathedra - "The Birthday", that is the "inauguration" of "Peter's
Chair". This use of the word natale commemorates and even which
took place upon earth and so is temporal and historical, though of
perpetual importance. (See Dix, p. 370.)

     During the third century the cultus of Confessors came into
being.  These were persons who had confessed their faith like the
martyrs, but had been punished by tortures and scouring -not
condemned to death.  Such people were looked on as "living
martyrs".  In the early days of the cultus of the Saints - of all grades
- the choice was for a long time effected by their connection with
some particular place.  For example, at Rome at first only Feasts of
SS. Peter and Paul, who had been martyred in that city, were
observed, and in Gaul, at Tours, that of  St. Martin, who was the
first of those not martyrs to be considered a Saint from the very
moment of his death.  In the case of the first two Saints the date -
June 29th - does not commemorate the day of their death, but of
the removal of their bodies from their tombs on he Vatican hill and
along the road to Ostia, to the catacombs of St. Sebastian, as a
safer hiding place during the Decian persecutions of the third
century.  Thus it was especially the place burial that was considered
important.

     FEASTS  OF  ST. MARY,  HOLY  THEOTOKAS:  The
calendar of Feasts and the whole development of the Liturgical
Year was not along though-out deliberate arrangement; it was a
natural growth: it "came about".  The above facts, too, explain the,
to us in these days, surprising slowness in the development of Feast
in honor of St. Mary Ever-Virgin.  It was the existence of relics of
the martyrs and Confessors, of their bodies or what remained of
them, which gave rise to the observance of the Feast in the place
which gave rise to the observance of the feast in the place where
the body was buried or where the relics were preserved.  But there
were no such relics of the Holy Theotokas.  Two of her great
Feasts, the Purification and the Annunciation, were at first Feasts of
Our Lord; of His Presentation in the Temple at Jerusalem and His
conception in His Mother's womb, respectively.  In connection with
this idea of relics of the Saints as the basis of their Feasts, it is
interesting to know that the feast of the Blessed Mother, known
now as the Visitation, was originally the Feast of the relic of her
veil in the church of Blachernae at Constantinople, which was
"deposited: there in A.D. 69 (Dix, p. 376).  In Rome none of the
Great Feasts of  St. Mary were adopted before A.D. 700.  The
Feasts of the Purification, the Annunciation, Domition (Falling
Asleep) and Nativity come from the Byzantine Church, and were
taken over by Pope Sergius I, who was himself an Easterner from
Syria.

     THE  FEASTS  OF  APOSTLES  AND  EVANGELISTS: 
These are not of very ancient origin either.   The oldest is that of 
St. Andrew on November 30th, which goes back to the fifth
century and was kept early in Rome.  In the Roman Liturgy the
saint's name is always mentioned together with SS. Peter and Paul
in the Canon, in the prayer Liber nos. St. Andrew is the chief
Patron of Russia and of Scotland.

     THE  SAINTS  AND  THEIR  RELICS:  The close connection
between the cultus of the Saints and their relics - or parts of them,
even of only objects which had contained them or had only touched
them - led to the frequent habit of "translating" many of them from
one place to another.  The so-called "translations" were sometimes
practically "pious robberies"!  This was not merely in order to get
possession of the relic of some Saint, but also as a means of
justifying the cultus in some particular place.  Gradually the full
organization of the various classes of Saints and their Feasts -
Apostles, Martyrs, Confessors (both bishops and non-bishops), of
virgins (martyrs or simple virgins) and holy women not virgins who
were either martyrs or not - was completed.  Besides the historical
Feasts (that is, those commemorating events in the life of Our Lord,
the Blessed Theotokas, and the Saints), Feasts connected with
other events were introduced - for sample, the dedication of
important churches.  Again, Feasts founded upon certain aspects
Our Lord, His Mother and His Saints arose: as, for instance, the
feast of Corpus Christi - the Feast of "Christ's Body" in the Blessed
Sacrament, which was introduced in the fourteenth century.  A
recent example of this type of Feast is that of "Christ the King"
established by Pope Pius XI in 1925.  In the case of St. Mary, there
is the Feast of the Compassion or "Seven Sorrows".  But it was the
idea of "historical commemoration" - virtually an invention of the
fourth century - which first brought about the organization of the
Liturgical Year and of the Liturgical Calendar.

     THE  COMPLETED  MISSAL  AND  BREVIARY:  In these
we find the divisions of Feasts under the title: the Proper of the
Time", "Proper of the Saints" and "Common of the Saints".  The
first concerns the arrangement of the different liturgical Seasons -
Advent, Lent, Christmas-tide, Paschal-tide; the second concerns
those Saints who have a special Mass and Office - the Feasts of Our
Lord and His Mother stand by themselves - The holy Theotokas,
however, has a "common" for her Mass and Office in the case of
her less important Feasts, and a "Votive" Mass and Office (several
Masses, in fact, according to the Season) for Saturdays on which
there is no special Feast.  Finally, the third - the "Common of the
Saints" - is divided into the various classes referred to above - for
those Saints who have no "proper" Mass or Office.

     In its complete development, the Liturgical Year leads us all
through the Life of Our Lord on earth up to His Ascension into
Heaven - and with Him are included His Blessed Mother and His
perfect disciples, the Saints.  "It is no wonder if the Liturgy - the
supreme expression of the Church's life - has ever since borne the
marks of its grasp on human living, to the partial obscuring of its
earlier character.  Yet the Liturgy remained then and has remained
since what it always has been, the worshipping act of the Body of
Christ towards God, by which His eternal Kingdom `comes' in
time."  (The Shape of the Liturgy, p. 393, italics mine.)













                                APPENDIX  I

                 RESERVATION  OF  THE  BLESSED 
SACRAMENT

It has been generally supposed that, in the earliest days of the
Church, reservation of the Blessed Sacrament was practiced only in
order to provide from the Communion of the Sick and Viaticum in
the case of the dying.  But this, it seems, is not altogether correct. 
In his description of the Western Rite in his day, St. Justin Martyr
tells us that at the end of the Holy Sacrifice, deacons took from the
Altar particles of the Sacred Host consecrated during the Liturgy of
the Mass, and carried them to any of the faithful who (for any just
reason) had been unable to take part in the celebration of the Mass. 
This custom did not mean reservation as we now understand it; the
Most Holy was reserved only during the length of time necessary
for the deacons to carry It to the persons concerned and to
administer communion to them.  But besides this practice, during
the worst periods of persecution, when it was likely to become
either  very difficult or even impossible at times to celebrate the
Holy Eucharist, the faithful were allowed to take a sufficient
number of consecrated particles away from the last celebration of
the Mass at which they were able to assist, to keep in their own
houses and to communicate themselves there.  Not only priests, but
even the laity were allowed also to carry the Most Holy on their
persons when on a journey  Priest, too, like the laity as described
above, often kept the Blessed Sacrament in their own houses to
provide for emergencies. This very free manner of treating the
Blessed Sacrament seems almost like a lack of reverence in these
days, but that is true, nor did it mean any absence of belief in or
realization of the Real Presence of Our Lord; it was the result of
very different circumstances, and due to special needs and to the
constant danger of persecution.  In his pamphlet, A Detection of
Aumbries (a most useful work in connection with this question),
Dom Gregory Dix speaks of what he calls (and, it seems, with
justice) the first official example of reservation of the Blessed
Sacrament,and points out that it occurs as early as the second
century.

     This example is found in what is known as the Rite of the
"Fermentum", the latter being a particle (or, rather, a number of
particles) of the Sacred Host consecrated during the Papal Solemn
Mass to be taken by acolytes towards the end of the ceremony, and
distributed by them among the celebrants of the Solemn Mass
taking place the same day in the various "parish churches" of Rome. 
The celebrants of these Mass dropped the "Fermentum" sent from
the Bishop of Rome's Mass into their Chalices just before
Communion and thus expressed their union with the Patriarch of
the West's Mass in the One Sacrifice; the "Fermentum" ceremony is
described in detail in this pamphlet by Dix, p. 170 to p. 177.  Here,
again, we have a form of "reservation" of the same type as those
described above; that is, reservation in a wide sense of the word
and for only a very short time. At any rate, the "Fermentum" is an
example of a "use" of the blessed Sacrament distinct from (though
certainly closely connected with) the Holy Sacrifice.

     THE  PLACE  OF  RESERVATION: This question arises in
connection with reservation of the Blessed Sacrament in the later
sense - as we know it today.  In the early ages of the church, the
only places for reservation for any length of time were either in the
houses of both clergy and laity as mentioned above or else on the
persons of those on a journey.  Up till the ninth century, in fact,
now laws or regulations were laid down on this matter.  But after
the fourth century it seems that the church gradually became the
most usual place in which to keep the Most Holy reserved for the
Communion of the Sick, the Viaticum of the dying or for those in
any way prevented from actually taking part in the Sacrifice.  As to
the exact place in the church for this reservation, nothing is laid
down.  But it seems probably that it was in the secretarium (the
Sacristy, as we refer to it now); later on, in the Sanctuary, apart
from the Altar, or, again, in a special chapel.  From somewhat later
usage it appears that the vessels containing the Sacred Host were
kept in what is known as an "Aumbry".  This was a small cupboard
sunk into one of the walls; the name is derived from the Latin
armarium - literally, a chest in which tools or implements, arms
(arma) were kept.  This cupboard was closed with a strong door
which could be locked.   In this later period, in fact, we find existing
- more or less at the same time in both Western and Eastern
Churches - three chief methods of reservation: (i) in a locked
Aumbry - as described above; (ii) in a Pyx or other vessel either
upon or above the High Altar; (iii) in a box or casket on the Altar,
known as the "Tabernacle" in the West; the artophorion (Bread
bearer") in the East (Byzantine).  In Rome, in the decree Sane of
Innocent III in 1215, the Pope orders "that in all churches the
Chrism and the Eucharist be kept with strict care under lock and
key".  (See A Detection of Aumbries, p. 30).  The Pope does not
make it clear exactly where in the church the Most Holy and the
Holy Oil was to be keep "under lock and key", but the most usual
Italian and Roman custom in his time was to place them in an
Aumbry.  The Aumbry could be, and then was, in the north wall (or
Gospel Side) of the High Altar, but this varied from place to place. 
In Portugal and Spain, and in some parts of France, we find the
Aumbry in use also. In Germany later on there was a special
development of the Aumbry.  Instead of a little cupboard made in
the wall, there arose a great tower like structure, standing clear of
the wall and usually on the north side of the sanctuary, but near the
division between it and the nave, so that it could be seen clearly by
the people.  This structure is known as the "Sacrament House"
(from the German sakrament-hausen).  In Scotland there is at least
one mention of a hanging Pyx.  This occurs in an old poem about
the destruction of Melrose Abbey in the Reformation period,  The
ruthless "reforming" soldiers, so says the poem, dragged down the
Pyx from above the Altar "without any reverence".  This Pyx is
called by the poet the "Eucharist", and this seems to have been the
old Scottish name for the Pyx and also for the "Monstrance" in
which the Blessed Sacrament was exposed.  But the more usual
method of reservation in Scotland in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries was in a "Sacrament House".  No doubt this name was
adopted from Germany while that country and Scotland were allies
against England.  Only the name, however, was so adopted, for the
Scots Sacrament House was not a great tower like structure as in
Germany; it was simply an Aumbry in the wall, which was generally
adorned with carvings representing the exposed Sacrament with
censing Angels adoring and so on.  A number of these "Sacrament
Houses" are still to be found in Scotland.  One example is in the
Greyfriars church (now belonging to the Sisters of Mercy) in Elgin
(Moray).  Another example is in the restored Pluscarden Priory
about seven or eight miles from Elgin with a small community of
Benedictine monks in residence there now.

     In France and England the Aumbry was hardly used at all.  In
the first of these countries, not only was the Blessed Sacrament
reserved in a hanging Pyx, but for a time at least it was kept in a
Pyx standing actually upon the Altar.  During the ninth century a
Gallican council ordered that: "nothing be placed upon the Altar
except a capsa containing the relics; by capsa is meant a covered
vessel of metal, ivory or even wood) "or perhaps the four Holy
Gospels of God and a Pyx containing the Lord's Body for the
Viaticum of the sick".

     This decree, says Dix in  A Detection of Aumbries,was for a
long time attributed to Pope Leo IV (A.D. 847-55), but it is really a
Gallican production, probably issued at a council during the reign of
the Emperor Charlemagne.  (See p. 27.)  This decree does not lay
down any law about placing the Pyx on the Altar, but merely
suggests it as a fitting place for the reserved Sacrament.  But to
leave the Blessed Sacrament on the Altar, openly and in an
unprotected vessel like this, would easily lead to all kinds of
irreverence and to danger as well.  It may be, then, that the
disadvantages of this use gave rise to the interesting fact that it is in
France, and at a much earlier period than is generally believed, that
we find the first mention of the "Tabernacle" and of its position on
the Altar.  This is in 1198, in prescriptions issued by Eudes de
Sully, Bishop of Paris.  There is, too, an existing example of a
French Tabernacle at Senagques near Nevers, which is the oldest
known Tabernacle (in the accepted sense).  This Tabernacle is made
of wood  and enamelled.  The use of a Tabernacle of this kind was
preferred to the Aumbry in 
france in those places (not very many) where the hanging Pyx was
not in use.  The name "Tabernacle" is at first sight rather a puzzle:
the word is derived from the Latin  tabernaculum, which means
tent.  The Latin word itself, as a matter of fact, is derived from
taberna -"hut" or "shed" - something more durable than a mere tent
of canvas or other stuff, and so it may be that the title tabernacle
was given to the casket itself in the sense of taberna - a "little
house" rather than a "tent".  Certainly it is the case that in the
Middle Ages the word "tabernacle" was often applied to objects
such as the ostensorium - Monstrance, as it is called now - in which
the Most Holy was exposed on certain occasions, and even to
niches in stone or wooden screens, Altar-Retables, etc., in which
statues were placed.  But in England we find a more natural
explanation.  In England the most usual, almost in fact the only,
method of reserving the Blessed Sacrament (from the twelfth
century at least and probably much earlier) was in a hanging Pyx. 
This Pyx was sometimes - as was often the case in France - shaped
like a dove, but in England more often in the form of a covered
Chalice, or a little box or casket made of silver, gold, ivory or
wood.  The Pyx containing the Most Holy was hung up over the
principle Altar, and it was veiled with a square of fine drawn linen
with tassels of red and gold at each of the four corners. The Pyx
thus veiled was suspended from a miniature canopy of silk or some
rich material, shaped either like a bell tent - that is, a complete cone
- or like a tent with a cone shaped roof and straight sides.  This
little canopy generally had a metal crown round the cone - that is,
round the edge of the "roof" of the tent - or in the case of the "bell
tent" form, round the base.  Sometimes there were three crowns
round the latter form, and at the Reformation the reformers called
it, derisively, "the Pope's hat", as it resembled the papal
triple-crown.

     The canopy was itself suspended from the "tester" or large
canopy of silk or wood which nearly always covered the Altar and
Altar-pace.  Sometimes, instead of a separate canopy hanging from
the roof  by chains or cords, the Altar canopy consisted of the roof
of the Sanctuary just over the Altar, which was made much lower
than the rest of the roof.  It seems that in England the little tent
shaped canopy immediately over the Pyx was actually called the
"Tabernacle".  In his English Church Furniture: The Antiquary's
Books, `Pyxes", p. 40 (Methuem: 1907), Dr. Charles Cox says:
"The general English usage was undoubtedly to place it [the
reserved Sacrament] in a Pyx or box of wood, metal or ivory which
was then suspended in from of [more correctly "above"] the Altar
in a hanging receptacle usually termed the Tabernacle, and
sometimes only the canopy" (italics mine). In this case of the word
"Tabernacle" evidently meant "tent" in the original sense.  Perhaps
it was the idea of the "Tabernacle of the Testimony" in the Old
Testament, in which God was present in a special manner, which
originated this title.  Later, however, the name seems to have been
transferred from the little tent over the Pyx in a casket or receptacle
itself; that is, when it became general to place the Pyx in a casket or
receptacle on the altar.   

     In the East, reservation has been and still is often in a Pyx -
usually a gold or silver dove with outstretched wings - hanging
from the stone baldachino with four pillars, which usually stands
over the Altar.  Sometimes there are two baldachinos - a small one
of which the pillars rest upon the corners of the Altar itself, and
over this, again, a large one with pillars resting upon the floor.

     Sometimes, again, the reserved Sacrament (in what seems to
Westerners a not very reverent manner) is put in a little silk or
velvet bag which hangs from a hook or nail in the east wall behind
the free standing Altar - or else from a nail driven into the
Sanctuary side of the Iconostasis,  that is, the screen with Icons
upon which separates the Sanctuary from the nave.  An Aumbry or
wall cupboard is not infrequently found as the place of reservation. 
But the most general form is in a kind of "Tabernacle";  a small
casket of precious metal (or even of plain wood) often made in the
form a little church, placed upon the Altar itself which, in Byzantine
churches, there are no reredos or gradines.  This Tabernacle is
called in Greek artophorion, which means "bread carrier".

     Owing to the complete separation between Sanctuary and nave
in the Eastern  (Byzantine) churches, due to the solid Iconcostasis
between them, there is considerable difference between the Eastern
and Western attitude towards the Blessed Sacrament reserved.  The
principle object of reservation today - and long past - in the West is
shown in the attitude of mind which expresses itself in the
conception of the church as "the Home of the Blessed Sacrament". 
Besides greater convenience in administering communion, the Most
Holy is also reserved in other to provide means of adoring Our
Lord really and objectively present in His Sacrament - by means of
"visits", processions, Exposition and Benediction.  There is nothing
like this in the Eastern Churches. Even in the church and when
passing directly in front of the Altar with its artophorion, no
outward reverence or even attention is paid to it.  In the East the
Blessed Sacrament is still reserved, as in the early Church, only for
the Communion of the sick and dying or others prevented in some
way from being present at the Divine Liturgy.  In the East, too
reservation is in both kinds, by means of "intinction" (from the
Latin intingo intingere - "to dip"); the consecrated Bread being
dipped into the consecrated Wine and then dried by fire to preserve
it.  It is at least doubtful if the consecrated Wine is preserved at all
by this drying process.  The origin of this method of reservation
seems to be the fact that in the Communion of the laity the faithful
receive both kinds by means of particles of the consecrated Hoist
which have been dropped into the Chalice, and both elements
administered together from a spoon.  While Communion was still
administered  in both kinds in the West, the two kinds were
administered separately, the later on the Precious Blood was not
given directly from the Chalice but by means of metal tube called, in
Latin, fistula.  This custom is still kept up in the Pope's own
Communion at the Solemn Papal Mass.  During the thirteenth
century, apparently, Communion in both kinds for the laity
gradually died out - though it may have lasted longer in some
places.  The Eastern custom of intinction was never approved in the
West by Rome.  In early times the consecrated Host was placed by
the celebrant immediately in the communicants's hands, the right
hand being laid upon the left. Placing the Host directly into the
mouth came into use during the seventh century in some places, and
ultimately became the universal usage in the West for the
communion of the faithful.

     Reservation upon the High Altar in the West did much to
encourage and develop devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament in
itself. With regard to the greater safety and reverence resulting from
the locked Tabernacle fixed on the Altar,, it is interesting to know
that the hanging Pyx, as a matter of fact, was always locked.  The
Blessed Sacrament was placed in a small receptacle which fitted
into the Pyx itself, and the latter was then locked.  But even with
this precaution the whole Pyx and it sacred content could easily be
pulled down and carried away - as we read was done in the case of
Melrose Abbey.

     It was in Northern countries - in Germany and England among
others - that his devotion towards the reserved Sacrament first
developed, and Exposition and Benediction started in the first of
these two countries.  In Germany, too, although the Most Holy was
not reserved upon the Altar but, as we have noted, in a
Sacrament-House on one side of the Sanctuary, this receptacle was
not a little cupboard in the wall, the usual "Aumbry", but a great
tower standing our conspicuously.  The door of the
Sacrament-House, too, was generally a  iron grille through which
the Blessed Sacrament could be seen by all, and it was surrounded
with light to draw attention to it.

     There are, in Italy, two interesting examples of the transition
period between hanging Pyx and Tabernacle upon the Altar.  The
first is in Rome itself, in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.  This
example of sixteenth century date, and is a Tabernacle in the actual
sense of this word, but of monumental size; a great bronze shrine
the form of a church with domed roof.  In spite of its dimensions,
however, this Tabernacle does not stand upon the Altar, or even
upon a gradine on the Altar, but is held up above it by four bronze
Angels standing upon the gradine.  The second example is on the
High Al;tar of the cathedral of Siena and dates from the thirteenth
century.  This Tabernacle - if can be called by that name - is in the
form of a Pyx or Ciborium (to use the modern term) of gilded
bronze.  It is a huge covered cup, in fact,with a slender stem on a
wide foot.  Her we have a further "move" than that of St. Mary
Major's Tabernacle.  At Siena the Pyx itself, greatly enlarged but
still a Pyx, is place upon the Altar instead of hanging above it.  In
the case of St. Mary Major there is a locked and solid Tabernacle to
contain the Ciborium, but although not hanging above the Altar is
has not yet found its way, so to speak, upon it.

     Only three wooden canopies are known to exist or have exited
in England; there are no examples of actual medieval Pyxes at all. 
At Sufflock this a little canopy - the "Tabernacle", in fact - which
used to hang over the Pyx.  It is made in the form of a carved and
crocheted  pinnacle, and from the lower edge the silken sides of the
"tent", no doubt, would hang, and so veil the Pyx hanging within it
under the wooden pinnacle, and itself veiled by the "Pyx-cloth" of
open work linen. The existence of a medieval "Tabernacle",
however, with its rather unusual roof of carved roof, is of greatly
rare, even if without the Pyx.

















                               APPENDIX  TWO

                   DEVOTION  TO  THE  BLESSED  SACRAMENT

Belief in the Real Sacramental Presence existed from the earliest
days of the Church, after the Institution of the Holy Eucharist at the
Last Supper.  This belief, however, has not found expression in
quite the same way; for all that is involved in the "Mystery" of the
Holy Eucharist was not explicitly grasped nor clearly understood at
the very beginning.  In the first centuries, attention was directed to
the use of the Eucharistic Presence in the Sacrifice and
Communion, rather than to the actual Presence in itself and as such.

     The development of devotion to Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist
has found expression in two forms: (i) in the Liturgy and (ii) outside
the Liturgy.  (See Dix, A detection of Aumbries, pp. 42-64.)

     The first consists of words and actions of adoration addressed
directly to Our Lord really Present in the Sacred Host and Wine
during the celebration of the Liturgy - of which such words and
actions form a real part; the second consists of words and actions of
adoration, again like the first, addressed directly to Our Lord in His
Sacramental Presence - but as reserved, distinct from either the
Liturgy of the Mass or Communion and even from the latter when
received outside the Mass.  This form of devotion is either public or
private.

     (i) Devotions in the Liturgy are not found during the first four
centuries.  They begin, perhaps, toward the end of the fifth century
and at first in the Eastern churches - in Syria and Asia Minor. 
These devotions in the West are found at first only in the Northern
parts of the Church.

     At Rome the only directly Roman example is the Agnus Dei
sung before the celebrant's communion - and this itself was
introduced by Pope Sergius I, who was a Syrian.  The prayers said
secretly by the celebrant before Communion (like those at the
Offertory in the Tridentine Mass) are not Roman, and moreover,
are of late medieval introduction.  There are other examples of
Syrian influence in the Western Liturgy, in the Spanish or
Mozarabic Rite.  (See Edmund Bishop, Liurgica Histories,
(Cambridge University Press), pp. 161 et seqq., Note B.)

     Acts of adoration are: genuflections, bows, censing, and so on,
which express reverence to the sacramental gifts (oblations)
directly.  None of these are "primitive" nor even pre-Nicene; but
they came into the Liturgy sooner than prayers and words, and
perhaps those directly concerned with the sacramental gifts may be
as early as the fourth century.  Again, it is in Syria that the
beginnings of such practices are found.  At first they were a sign of
private devotion, and were not official actions.  But such official
sanction is found - once more in Syria - in The Liturgical Homilies
of Narsai (Hom. xvii, A, p. 23: "Texts and Studies", etc. Vol. viii,
No. I Translated by Dom R.H. Connolly, M.A., Cambridge, etc.,
1909).  There is no mention of bows or genuflections to the
consecrated Sacrament in the eighth century Ordo Romanus I; nor
are they found even in the printed Roman Missals in A.D. 1474.  It
is possible, however, that these acts of reverence existed then as
customs - but as free customs, not as ordered nor as general
practices.  Kneeling when receiving Communion, too, became
common in the West only during the thirteenth century, and it never
came into use in the East at all, where Communion is still received
standing by all the communicants.  In the Western Church, in the
Solemn Mass of the Roman Rite described in the Ordo Romanus
Primus, the Pope communicated sitting on his throne to which Host
and Chalice were brought to him from the Altar by the deacon and
subdeacon.  
     (ii) Devotions to the Blessed Sacrament, outside the Liturgy, are
private when directed to the Blessed Sacrament in the place of
reservation prayers to and in the Presence of the reserved
Sacrament such as are in common use in our own days.  Public
devotions of this sort find expression in processions in which the
Blessed Sacrament is carried; in Exposition and Benediction - the
latter being a simplification of the former.

      The Rite of Holy Benediction, which concluded a short
exposition, developed into a strictly liturgical service  - that is, it
became a public service laid down and legislated for by
ecclesiastical authority.  It did not , however, involve any obligation
of attendance, as in the case of Liturgy of the Mass and Divine
Office.

     Extra liturgical devotion in the West is due to the Christian spirit
of the Northern races  - it does not appear in the South or in Rome
till very late in the sixteenth century.  In the south the more ancient
preoccupation with the use of the Holy Eucharist, in sacrifice and in
communion (as part of the sacrifice, the primitive Christian attitude)
was prevalent; whereas in the North and especially in Germanic
countries after their conversion, the uppermost preoccupation was
with the Eucharistic Presence of Our Lord in and for Itself.

     The first example of exposition of the Blessed Sacrament is in
Germany, and it was in connection with the special German method
of reserving the Most Holy - namely, in the "Sacrament House". 
This often involved a kind perpetual exposition.  As we already
pointed out, the Sacrament House was merely closed by a grating
through which the Pyx could be seen, and a light was ever put
inside, in addition to the candles on the iron balustrade outside. In
England the almost universal custom of the hanging Pyx over the
principal Altar in that country did much to develop this devotion to
the Blessed Sacrament reserved, for It was thus visible to all
entering the Church and, in fact, dominated the whole place.  But
there does not seem to have been any very clear distinction in
England  between public and private devotion to the reserved
Sacrament.  According to Dom Gregory Dix, the earliest evidence
seems to be for the former rather than the latter;  probably each 
practice reacted upon the other in turn.  In the case of public
devotion towards the Blessed Sacrament Itself.  The earliest
account of the Blessed Sacrament carried in a procession is in
connection with the procession of palms on Palm Sunday.  This first
example at Canterbury was adopted by Lanfranc about A.D. 1078
from the Rouen usages, and is laid down in the new statues drawn
up by that Archbishop (A Detection of Aumbries, pp. 55-56.)  On
Corpus Christ, on the other hand, there was no procession of the
Blessed Sacrament until about fifty years after the institution of the
Feast by Urban IV, although this Feast was especially in honor of
the Blessed Sacrament.  In much the same way, Exposition and
Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament did not arise, according to
some writers, as a special act of devotion towards the reserved
Sacrament itself; it was at first a special means of solemnizing the
chant after Compline of the Salve Regina and other anthems in
honor of the Blessed Virgin.  This fact accounts for the use of the
Litany of Our Lady or other chants in her honor often sung at
Benediction, instead of other chants more directly concerned with
the Blessed Sacrament itself.  In the Eastern Churches, while such
devotions in prayers and ceremonies in the Liturgy developed as in
the West, there has never been any extra liturgical devotion, except
in the case of those bodies among the different Eastern Rites which
are in communion with the Holy See at Rome.  In these latter cases
such devotions are carried out  in keeping with Eastern ideas and
characteristics, and are by no means more "Westernizations". 
Although the Blessed Sacrament has been reserved in the East on,
above or near the Altar since the ninth or tenth centuries, no signs
of reverence or devotion are shown apart for the Liturgy.  This is
because, owing to the Iconostasis, the Icon-screen of the Byzantine
Rite, or the curtains or some other forms of separation between
Sanctuary and nave in other Eastern Rites, the reserved Sacrament
is not evident to the congregation, any more than is the Altar itself. 
The solid screen or other separation, too, accounts for the
preservation of the older type of Altar - small and square and
without gradines or any sort of reredos. The Iconostasis now found
in all churches of the Byzantine Rite (in other Eastern Rites except
the Maronite there is some kind of separation) seems to have been
of fairly late introduction; in its present form, not before the
fourteenth century, and it originated in Russia.  It is really a
development of the cancelli of the early Christian churches in both
the East and the West.  The cancelli (from the Latin cancellare - to
"cross out" with lines) was a low screen - or rather balustrade - of
trellis work across the entrance to the Sanctuary from the nave.  To
this balustrade were added light columns standing upon it and
supporting a beam which stretched across the entrance arch, and on
which were placed the crucifix, statues and lights.  In the East Icons
(that is, flat painted picture or other representation of a sacred
personage such as Christ or a Saint or Angel) took the place of
statues, and as devotion to the Icons developed and their number
was increased, the spaces between the columns supporting the
beam were filled up with the trellis work and panelling so as to have
more space for the Icons; and so the solid screen, the Iconostasis,
was produced.  Originally, the purpose of the cancelli - even when
they grew higher and became a screen rather than a balustrade -
was not shut off the Altar and thus making the space into a
mysterious Holy of Holies, as in the Jewish Temple, but merely to
mark the separation between sanctuary and nave.  Even when the
screen became solid, this was brought about, simply in order to
provide more room for the Icons; its very name - Iconostasis,
"picture stand" - shows this.













                                 PART  III



                 ORTHODOX  VIEWS  ON  THE  DIVINE 
LITURGY

                         AND  THE  CHURCH  INTERIOR



































                                SECTION  I

                        THE  FORMS  OF  CELEBRATION


In the primitive Church at a time when Christianity was still
predominantly urban, the Sunday Eucharist was usually celebrated
by the bishop surrounded by his clergy with the whole Christian
community participating. This ideal form is very much alive in the
Eastern Orthodox Churches of today.  The sense of oneness,
complete community, and self-oblation, is the reason for the custom
of celebrating only one Eucharistic Liturgy on one Altar on any
given day.  Unless the need of the faithful demands it, two
celebrations of the Eucharistic Liturgy at the same Altar on he same
day are regarded as a sign of disunion.

     If a church has side chapels or parcecclesiae, only the solemn
Liturgy is to be celebrated at the Main Altar, where it is marked
with as much solemnity as possible.  If more than one priest is
present, they concelebrate, with the assistance of deacons and
acolytes whenever possible.  Side chapels, whether in the shadow of
large churches, in cemeteries or in monasteries, exist not to
accommodate many priests, nor because there is any wrong with
concelebration, but because certain circumstances demand the
celebration of a special Liturgy at a particular place for a particular
purpose.  Thus, for instance, the chapels flanking the katholikon, or
main parish church, are used for funerals or family occasions;
chapels over the entrances to monasteries serve as special shrines to
protect that monastery, while others at the graves of Saints serve
the pilgrims.

     There is, of course, a less elaborate type of Liturgy, celebrated
by one priest who is assisted by a deacon.  Most Eastern Churches
have deacons attached to parishes wherever possible and have
retained the Sunday Liturgy with the assistance of one deacons the
most common parish type.  In ancient Christian practice, there
exited what may be termed the Presbyter's Liturgy, that of one
priest assisted by a deacon.  In the pre-Nicene Church, a bishop
generally had only one parish as his "diocese"; the presbyter/priests,
deacons, etc., were his assistants in that parish.  By the end of the
third century, every bishop had under his care at least several
parishes, each with their own presbyter and minor clergy; the
practice of the fermentum proves this.  Care of the main parish
belonged to the bishop, while the administration of the others, the
"lesser parishes", was delegated to presbyters and other minor
clergy.  Since most people whether living in urban areas or in the
outlying villages belonged to these "lesser" parishes, we may
conclude that the most frequent type of Liturgy in both East and
West was the Presbyter's. Cyprian takes it for granted that priests
celebrating the Eucharist for prisoners were accompanied by a
deacon.  John Crystostom demanded of the Christians who owned
entire villages that they not only provide churches, but also a priest
and deacon for each.  In the West, the letters of Gregory the Great
often mention the need to ordain presbyters and deacons for
churches which had no bishop. Not until the Middle Ages was this
practice discontinued in the Roman Church.

     The celebration of a "Low" or Recited Liturgy is of recent origin
within some Eastern Churches. Many Russian Catholics, for
example, have never participated in a "recited" Liturgy.  Even on
weekdays, when only a few people are present, the Russians sing
their service.  The practice of celebrating the Divine Liturgy out of
personal devotion, without any of the faithful in attendance, never
seems to have gained the general approval and widespread use in
the East that it has in West.  Since the earliest days of Christian
antiquity, the Eucharist was celebrated only for the sake of the
faithful, either for the whole community or for small domestic
groups.  This spirit, despite exceptions, still pervades Eastern
Christians.  In many Eastern Rites, the priest will celebrate for the
sake of his own personal piety or as his own sacrifice, but only
when the utility of the faithful is at stake.  "Private" or semi-public
Masses are never "solitary", for an Eastern Rite priest will never
celebrate without a group of faithful being present.  Nor will he do
so to satisfy the obligation of a stipend as is the case in the Roman
Church, especially in religious institutions or monasteries.  Even
when the Holy Sacrifice is celebrated for "private" reasons, it is still
with a number of people participating, singing the responses, etc.

     There have always been purely domestic celebrations of the
Eucharist for private or semiprivate circles.  Evidence of this is
relatively abundant: the Acts of the Apostles speak of "breaking
bread from house to house" (Acts 2:46); various apocryphal
histories of the Apostles and other later works bear ample
testimony to the practice.  Cyrpian, for example, speaks of an
evening Eucharist for a small group; Basil the Great tells us priests
who were allowed to exercise their priestly function only in private
homes because of misdemeanors; Gregory Nazianzen refers to the
Eucharistic Liturgies in his sister's house, etc.  The Synod of
Laodicea (c. A.D. 370 - Canon 58) issued a proclamation
forbidding the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in private houses,
but this only proves that it was being done.  Subsequent legislation
in the East renewed this prohibition,  and then sanctioned it.

     This, of course, is not the private Mass strictly so called, that is,
a Mass celebrated by the priest alone with the prescribed server. 
Isolated instances may have existed, but the evidence is scanty and
uncertain in ancient documents. By contrast, at least one Eastern
bishop of the sixth century unequivocally states that a solitary
Eucharistic Liturgy is invalid. Its validity was affirmed in by the
Western Church at the Council of Trent  But none of the Eastern
Rites has adopted the practice until very modern times.  In Roman
monasteries, the problem of many priests living under one roof
without a "parish" had to be solved centuries ago - otherwise priest
monks could celebrate only very infrequently.  The solution was the
private or solitary Masses. By the ninth century, such Masses by
priest monks were an accepted practice in the West.  But in the
Eastern Churches, the problem never arouse, even in monasteries
with many priests, for the simple reason that concelebration was an
accepted practice.  For many centuries, in the Roman Rite,
concelebration was reserved for the ordination Mass. 

     Another reason why private or solitary Masses increased in the
West was the growing desire of the faithful for Votive Mass, that is,
Masses for special intentions or wishes (vota, "wishes", "desires").
When these increased to the extent that no one church could offer
the number of Masses the faithful desired, their celebration was
transferred to parish oratories or to monasteries where the celebrant
would often offer the Holy Sacrifice alone.

     In both the East and West, Masses for the dead were known in
Christian antiquity.  In the fourth century, for example it was
customary to have a memorial Mass celebrated for the deceased on
certain fixed days. In some places this was done on the thirtieth
day; in others on the seventh or ninth day; and in others on the
fortieth day after the person's death (this is done in Russian and
Ukrainian Churches).  Anniversary Masses for the dead are equally
ancient. These practices had a pre-Christian origin.  On fixed dates
(depending on the locality), it was customary for pious pagans to
offer sacrifices for the dead, and sometimes also to have memorial
meals at the grave site.  The Church replaced the pagan sacrifice
with the Christian Sacrifice, the intercessory Mass for the dead. 
When true concelebration disappeared in the West, votive solitary
Masses could be accommodated in one church where may priests
concelebrated.  Such Liturgies were always sung because
concelebration ensured the participation of a group.


































                               SECTION  TWO

                     THE  SETTING  OF  THE  EUCHARIST 
                          BEHIND  THE  INCONOSTAS


Because the Sanctuary is the dwelling place of God on earth and is
made holy by the Eucharistic Presence of Christ Himself, the
Byzantine Church calls it the Holy Place or the Holy of Holies. 
That is why it is separated from the church proper or nave by the
iconostas.  

     The iconostas bears representations of the inhabitants of
Heaven, of which the Sanctuary is a symbol.   More specifically, the
iconostas represents the general judgment.  As Christ in His glory is
surrounded by rows of heavenly beings on the iconostas, so at the
Last Judgment Christ, surrounded by the choirs of Angels,will
come to judge the living and dead, to separate those who will live
eternally in Heaven from those who will be excluded from it
forever.  The meaning of the iconostas, however, is far from merely
static or symbolic; its primary role is dynamic, functional; it
separates the Sanctuary, the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies from
the nave, the body of the church.  As only the ordained were
allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Jerusalem,
now none of the faithful are permitted into the Sanctuary unless
they are appointed to serve there.  No woman, whatever her age or
social position, may enter the Sanctuary at any time.

     Besides emphasizing the awesome sacredness of the Sanctuary
as the abode of Christ in the Eucharist, the iconostas "hides" this
holy place (and all the sacred Mysteries taking place within it) from
unworthy eyes.  It is impossible to appreciate the true significance
of the iconostas unless we understand the theology, the devotional
tradition and spirituality which induced it.  Its origin goes back to
the churches of Syrian where a veil had hid the Sanctuary at the
close of the fourth century.  St. John Chrysostom refers to the veil
used there as if it were an established custom: "...when you hear,
`Let us all entreat together ...', when you see the veil drawn aside ...
then bethink you that Heaven is rent asunder from above and the
Angels are descending."

     The true explanation for this veil is the whole frame of mind
regarding the Sacrament being "terrifying" or "awful" emphasized
in Syrian devotion by the language of fear in the sermons of the
time; thus, we witness the use of such expressions by Cyril of
Jerusalem, Chrysostom, Theodore of Mopsuestia, and others. In
Syrian tradition, the notion of "the holy" had long been associated
with that of "dangerous".  Because of the tenor inspired by the
Eucharist, combined with its mystery, veils were introduced to hide
and separate it from the faithful.

     After the Arian controversy and the Nicaean dogma, fuller
appreciation of the divinity of Christ also had much to do with the
hiding of the Eucharist.  Because of great awareness of who Christ
was, the familiar approach of Mary Magdalene and the Samaritan
woman disappeared. furthermore, at the time of mass conversions,
both the established faithful and the clergy considered that the bulk
of these new Christian was not worthy to indulge in that familiarity
with holy things to which the small Christian flock had been entitled
in the days of the persecutions.

     






















                              SECTION  THREE

                          PRAYERS  BEFORE  ICONS


There is a fundamental difference between Orthodox and Roman
Catholics in the interpretation of Sacred Images.  The latter merely
regard them as representations of one whose presence is elsewhere,
in Heaven.  For the Orthodox Christian, the icon is a veritable
theophany, a dynamic manifestation of divine energy at work on
earth.  The person represented is in some spiritual way actually
present in the icon.  From this presence lows streams of grace upon
the sinful world, purifying and sanctifying it.

     To define this presence would be as difficult as enplaning the
Shekinah Presence within the Temple at Jerusalem or the
mysterious Presence of  Christ amid two or three gathered together
in His Name (Matt. 18:20).  The mystical teaching concerning icons
stems from the master idea of all Orthodox typology, the idea of the
church building as "Heaven on earth".  Gregory of Nyssa was
probably the first to set out the main lines of such teaching.  His
doctrine was taken up and developed by others.  The author of the
eighth century Rerum  ecclesiasticarum comtemplatio, for example,
egresses it boldly: "This heaven wherein the Triune God lives and
moves on earth is the Christian holy place, the church ..." The
Presence of Heaven passed easily from church to icon.

     The West never understood the iconoclastic controversy.  It did
not see the veneration of icons as a dogmatic matter but simply as a
disciplinary matter.  The Eastern Church, on the other hand, saw
clearly in the decision of the Seventh Ecumenical  Council a
contribution toward a  better understanding of the Mystery of the
Incarnation or, more precisely, the mystery of God's communication
of Himself to the world and to man in particular. That is why
iconography was always such a serious science.  It was never
merely an art form.  To be worthy of the task, the ancient icon
painters prayed and fasted for days before taking up their brush -
only then could they communicate the Divine through their image
making.  Because icons represent human forms that have been
"regenerated into eternity", holy bodies of persons transformed,
transfigured by grace in prayer, iconographers attempted to convey
theological meaning through symbolical colors and forms.  Saints,
for example, are represented facing forward so that their entire face
is showing, for a spiritual man cannot be incomplete, with one eye
only.  "A soul that has been illuminated by divine glory", teaches
Macarius the Great, "becomes all light and all face ... and has no
part with that which is behind but stands altogether facing
forward."

     The actual, though Mysterious, Presence in icons of the holy
ones depicted is the underlying reason for their veneration by the
Orthodox.  Belief in the Mysterious Presence of Christ, His Mother,
or the Saint in the icon is the reason why Orthodox Christians bow
before the icon(s) and make the Sign of the Cross when entering a
church.  

     Special efficacy is hope for by saying prayers to Christ and His
Mother before their icons, in their "presence".  Their meaning is
primarily penitential.  Forgiveness is asked of Christ, the "Gracious
One", because that is why He took flesh and chose to ascend the
Cross".  The voluntariness of the Passion is stressed.  Sorrow
because He suffered and died.  Joy became He vanquished dead by
death, and His resurrection is associated with ours.  

     In the second prayer, to the Theotokos, the emphasis is not on
her role as our Mother  but as the Mother of God and the power of
that position: "Bestow your compassion on us" - not on us your
children - and "look down upon the people" - not upon your people
- .  Her great power stems from her position as the Mother of God. 
Power, if possessed by a friend, inspires confidence and hope:
"Show your favor to all who put their trust in thee".  Unswerving
confidence in her power makes her a logical choice as protectress.





















                               SECTION  FOUR

                 THE  RITUAL PREPARATION  OF  THE  GIFTS:
                              GENERAL HISTORY


In a church built according to rubrical prescriptions, the table of
preparation (in Greek Proskomedijnk) always stands on the
northern side of the Sanctuary; if not, it still stands on the left side
of the Sanctuary (as one faces the East, the Roman Gospel side). 
At this table, the priest performs proskomidia or prothesis (from the
Greek verb "to being:) means "those things will have been brought:
(offerings), or the ritual preparation of the gifts of bread and wine
for use in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

     In the very beginning of the Christian era, when the celebration
of the Eucharist was still joined to the common meal, the bread and
wine along with the rest of the provisions were brought in by the
faithful and placed on the table presumably when it was being set
before the meal.  There was no special ritual or prayer.  After the
Eucharist became separated for the common meal, donating the
bread and wine and setting them on the Altar remained simple acts
without ceremony.

     To understand the basic evolution and meaning of the
proskomidia, we must go back to the ancient Offertory Rite. 
Toward the end of the pre-Nicene era, the terminology of the
Offertory was already settled.   Essentially, it was performed by the
bishop (or priest), but deacon and faithful had their part or "liturgy"
(service).  The "liturgy" of the bishop was to "offer: the gifts of the
Holy Church". The deacon's was to bring up "that which was
offered to Thee by Thine ordained priest." The Council of Ancyra
(c. A.D. 314) expresses a long standing and accepted usage when it
says that the bishop is to "offer the oblation", the deacon to "bring
it up", and the communicant to "bring it to the church" (Canons
1,2,3).  

     The bishop or priest alone is the minister of the Offertory, but
the deacons and faithful are his assistants.  The whole rite is a true,
corporate offering by the Church in its organic, hierarchic unity. 
Bishops by their consecration, priests by their ordination,, deacons
by their orders, and the faithful by the holy character of
baptism/chrismation partake, each in his own special way, in the
Church's authentic offering.  Only a vivid awareness of the Mystical
Body of Christ in its hierarchial, organic and living totality could
explain such clear understanding of each part to be played by the
different members of the Ecclesia.  Participation in the Liturgy and
the reception of Holy Communion were reserved for full members
of the Church.

     No one knows at what particular point in the pre-Nicene Church
the deacons received the offerings of the faithful. This may seem
unimportant, yet from it stem some of the greatest differences
between Eastern and Western Offertory Rituals.  In the East the
offerings were made before the beginning of the service.  The gifts
were placed either in a side room or in the church itself on special
tables designated for this purpose.  The bread and wine for the
Eucharistic Sacrifice were transferred to the Altar by the deacons at
the Offertory (at the beginning of the properly Eucharistic service). 
In the West generally (except in the Gallican Church), the faithful
kept their gifts until the Offertory itself, at which time they came
forward, either to place them on the designated tables, or to give
them directly to the deacons.  Almost immediately, the deacons
would take the bread and wine to the Altar.

     There is no reason why Christians would have deviated from the
chaburah custom in the primitive era.  The provisions for the meal,
including the bread and probably the wine, would be placed on the
table before the meal began. The difference between the Eastern
and Western usages seems to have arisen after the Eucharist
became separated from the common meal.  Even then, the
difference would not have been evident whenever the Eucharist was
celebrated without the catechetical synaxis.  The faithful would
come into the ecclesia, exchange the Kiss of Peace (as a form of
greeting), hand their gifts of bread and wine to the deacons directly
or place them on the designated tables, and the Offertory would
follow immediately.

     When the Eucharist was preceded by either the synaxis or
baptism, would the faithful hand over their gifts before the synaxis
or at the Offertory?  Aside from one passage, pre-Nicene evidence
is silent on the point.  The passing reference to the Offertory by
Justin, for example, is typically obscure: "Bread and a cup of mixed
wine and water are brought to the one presiding over the brethren."
Deacons are not mentioned, but this can be explained on the
grounds that this description written for the information of pagan
required no details.  But did the faithful bring the gifts before the
Offertory, as they do in later Western usage, or had they already
done it as later Eastern custom dictates?  There is one tenuous clue:
before speaking of the Offertory, Justin uses the first person active
construction in describing the various events: "We lead him into ...
so that we who have come to the knowledge of the truth may also
...;" "we greet each other with a kiss," etc.  Then, abruptly, he
switches to the impersonal passive: "The bread and a cup of wine
and water mixed are brought to ..."  This may indicate that the
faithful did not bring up the gifts at this point, but had deposited
them before the service began, and that someone else (the deacons)
brought them up to the celebrant at the Offertory.  Otherwise, it
would have been natural for Justin to have continued the first
person construction: "and we being up the bread and wine and
water mixed."

     The only clear pre-Nicene evidence regarding the reception of
the gifts comes from Syria. The Testamentum Domini (from mid
third century) states: "One [of the deacons] should continually
stand by the oblations of the Eucharist and the other [deacon]
should stand without by the door an observe those who come in. 
Afterward, when you offer, they should minister together in the
church." The gifts had ben handed over to the deacons before the
service began, for the deacon was stand by them. This, however,
still leaves may questions unanswered.  Was this practice proper to
Syria?  O was it universal?  Was it a custom of long standing, or a
Syrian innovation which later spread to other Eastern Churches? 
There is no positive evidence pointing in either way, nor do
documents of later centuries throw any light on the matter.

     In the fifth and sixth centuries, however, doubt no longer exists: 
Eastern practice differs from Western and each is widespread. 
Some have argued that the Western practice originated in or around
Rome during the fourth century.  This may be, but there is
conclusive evidence. Its  use in the fourth and fifth centuries seem
to suggest a pre-Nicene origin. 
     In the West, the preparation of the gifts ultimately consisted in
the mere placing of the host on the Paten and the cruets of wine and
water on the Credence Table, without prayer or ceremony.  In the
East, this same preparation developed into the long and
complicated proskomidia (prothesis) with symbolical anticipation of
the immolation of the Lamb of God, the placing on the diskos of a
number of particles representing the offerentes of the Church
militant, the Church suffering, and the Church triumphant, and the
accompanying prayers.  The same original difference in the timing
of the gifts explains the marked contrast between the present
Eastern and Western Offertory ritual within the Mass itself.  The
Western Offertory is simple: the priest pours some wine and few
drops of water into the Chalice and makes the Offering.  The
Eastern Offertory consists in a complicated ceremonial, the Great
Entrance.  Preceded by torch and incense bearers, the gifts are
carried in procession by the deacon and the priest from the table of
preparation, through the iconostas, into the nave of the church, and
back into the Sanctuary  - all of which mystically anticipates the real
Presence of the Lord in the Holy Sacrament as King of all, escorted
by unseen Angelic hosts.

     Of the many gifts offered by the faithful (oil, grapes, flowers,
etc., were also offered), only a small portion could be used for the
Sacrifice.  Among the chief duties of the deacons was the selection
of bread and wine to be consecrated.  Only the finest were chosen.
The rest were set aside with the other gifts for the needs of the
clergy and for the poor.   This selection took place immediately
before the Offertory.  After the fourth century, when congregations
had become large and gift numerous, this could take time. 
Therefore, the selection was shifted to the beginning of the Mass,
giving rise to the proskomidia or prothesis in Eastern Church
Liturgies.  It is not known exactly at what time this sift took place,
although it occurred certainly before the end of the eighth century,
as shown by documentary evidence, but perhaps not at the same
time everywhere.  There was noting to prevent this shift at that
time.  The catechumenate and the penitential systems had long been
abrogated or changed, so that the distinction between the Liturgy of
the Catechumens and that of the Faithful had ceased to be
important.

     At the time of the transference, the prothesis (proskomidia) was
not the same fully developed ceremonial that it is today.  The first
manuscript to mention it as taking place before the Divine Liturgy
contains a single prayer recited by the celebrant while the bread was
being placed on the diskos. I some localities, at least by the
beginning of the ninth century, the Sign of the Cross was made over
the bread with the liturgical lance.  But mixing of wine and water
done without any ceremonial. Time brought about much change
and development, the history of which concerns the individual
prayers and component parts of the prothesis (proskomidia).







































                               SECTION  FIVE

                       THE  INCENSING  AND  COVERING
                             OF THE GIFTS:  I

From time immemorial, incense has been used in religious
ceremonies.  The Jews used it in the Temple.  The pagans used it in
their holy places.

     Because it was "holy to the Lord", incense was to be burned and
offered only to Yahweh. As far back as the time of the Exodus,
God expressly directed how it was to be prepared, and also where,
when and how it was to be burned (Exod. 30).  The Altar of
Incense stood in the Sanctuary in the place of honor, between the
seven branched candlestick and the loaves of proposition.  On this
Altar, a special incense offering was to be made to the Lord twice a
day, at nine in the morning and at three in the afternoon, but the
incense itself was to burn continually.  The preparation and storing
of incense was a function reserved to the Levites.

     The custom of burning spices after the evening meal was
common in all Mediterranean countries, but in the Jewish chaburah
supper, spices were brought in, blessed, and burned with a religious
intent during the ceremonial of the lamp, except on Fridays,
because of the Sabbath.

     The first Judeo-Christians probably maintained this practice.
There is no trace of opposition to it in the New Testament.  On the
contrary, the use of incense is mentioned as part of the ideal
worship of Heaven (Rev. 8:3-4).  The Apostles and their disciples,
being Jewish, were familiar with the hallowed use of incense in the
Temple.

     Aversion to incense developed during the persecution of the
churches founded by Gentle converts, because of its intimate
connection with pagan worship. The burning of incense before idols
constituted a kind of sacrifice in the Greco-Roman world.  Every
Roman family, for example, offered incense to the household gods
on the calends, nones, and ides of every month and on all important
family occasion. Near the entrance to every temple stood an altar of
burnt offerings, and inside the temple stood one or more smaller
altars for incense offerings.

     During the persecutions, burning incense before the idols or the
deified emperor was regarded as a sign of apostasy which, until
A.D. 252, resulted in exclusion from the Church for life. Turificati,
"incense burners", was the term used to qualify the apostates. That
is why Christian writers and apologists argued against the practice
of using incense in their own services.  Hence, it was not used
during liturgical function in the pre-Nicene, persecuted Church.

     After the Peace of Constantine, the burning of perfumes or
spices in churches was resumed, probably for olfactory reasons. 
During the next century, it became wide spread in Jerusalem,
Antioch and some of the cities in Italy, again probably as a
fumigation, without liturgical purpose.  In the predominately
semitic churches of East Syria, incense burning was regarded as a
means of propitiation or atonement for sin (a thoroughly Jewish
idea) as early as A.D. 363.

     In Jerusalem, in the fourth century, incense was burned as a
mark of honor  Aetheria describes this ceremonial as occurring in
the Office of Lauds, immediately before the reading of the Gospel
by the bishop: "Behold, censers are brought in ... so that the whole
basilica is filled with fragrance." It is impossible to determine
whether the incense was mark of respect for the bishop or for the
Holy Gospel.  Incense, like torches, has been borrowed from
secular practice. From the honorific to liturgical use, there was but
a step.  Incense was widely used by all the Churches of
Christendom from the fifth to eighth centuries.  In the Rise of
Constantinople, one of the first references to its liturgical use comes
from the sixth century when it was customary to incense the whole
church at the beginning of the Paschal Office. This incensing,
however, may have been proper to the Paschal Office only or to
some liturgical function other than the Liturgy of the  Mass.  The
first certain reference regarding the use of incense during the Divine
Liturgy is contained in an early recension of the Commentary of  St.
Germanus (715-729) when he explains the Alleluia chant.  The
ninth century Anastasian version of the same Commentary also
mentions that there is to be incensing at the end of the prothesis.

                                     
                     The  Star  (Asteriskos in Greek)

     The star is a sacred utensil consisting of two pieces of bent
metal, gold plated, joined in the center, with a small star suspended
from the intersecting point.  Its purpose is practical: to prevent the
Host (usually referred to as the "priests Host" in the West.  In the
East a specially baked bread called the "prosphora" or "Lamb", and
which is cut with a liturgical lance or kopia into particles), from
being touched be the veils that will cover them.

     When the star is positioned over the Paten, it hangs directly over
the large Host, or Lamb.  It represents the Star of  Bethlehem,
shining over the manger where the Child Jesus lay on the first
Christmas night.  The star itself is not the usual five pointed figure
of Christmas decorations, but the six pointed one of the Jews, the
Star of David.  It is perhaps a more appropriate representation of
the Bethlehem star than the five pointed one: Jesus, according to
His human nature, was a descendant of the House of David.

     The symbolism of Bethlehem becomes clear precisely at this
point when the star is placed over the Lamb: the star appears over
the place where the Child lay.  The large Host, or Lamb, lies on the
diskos, or Paten in Bethlehem, the Christ Child lay in the manger. 
Around the large Host in the Eastern Liturgies, lie the small
particles which have been cut off the specially baked bread, in
honor of the Mother of God, the Angels, the Saints, the living and
the dead; around the manger in Bethlehem were His Mother, the
Angelic Host, and the chosen shepherds who were privileged to be
summoned to the side of Christ. The shepherds were the chosen
ones at Bethlehem; now, the chosen are the members of Christ's
Church, militant, triumphant and suffering.  The star is referred to
as early as the last half of the eleventh century, although Eastern
Orthodox liturgical books do not mentioned it before the fourteenth
century.  It seems to have fulfilled originally a practical function
only - to keep the veils from touching the hosts  - rather than a
liturgical function as in the Eastern Liturgies today.








                               SECTION  SIX

                         INCENSING  AND  COVERING 
                            OF  THE  GIFTS:  II

     In the Western Rite, only one veil is used to cover the Chalice
and Paten.  In the Eastern  Rites there are three: a small veil for the
Paten; another small veil for the Chalice, and a larger veil to cover
both.  In the Western Orthodox Gregorian Rite there is but one, the
larger, which  is called the aer meaning "air", because during the
recitation of the Creed the priest waves it over the Holy Gifts and
thereby "stirs the air".

     These veils or coverings protected the Holy gifts from dust and
insects.  This practical function was soon overshadowed  by what
they were thought to represent: the swaddling clothes with which
the infant Jesus was wrapped.

     Since the whole rite of proskonidia or prothesis represents the
Mystery of Bethlehem, the beginning of the hidden life of Christ
while "He grew in wisdom and grace before God and men" (Luke
2:52), there is nothing which expresses this idea better than "hiding"
the Holy Gifts (representing Christ) with a veil.

     Though not actually of recent origin, the covering of the gifts is
definitely one of the last additions to the ceremonial of the Divine
Liturgy.  Insofar as it known, none the most ancient Greek texts
mentions anything about it, neither do the recent ancient
commentaries.  It is only between the twelfth and the fourteenth
centuries that the ritual of incensing and the veils covering the gifts
became established, together with any corresponding prayers.  At
first, the ritual was simpler, but during the latter part of the
fourteenth century it was finally standardized almost as it is today in
Eastern Greek and Russian Liturgies of St. Cyrsostom and St.
Basil. Again, the ceremony at first was simple, and even during the
thirteenth century only two veils were used.  Today's ritual of the
Eastern Churches dates from the introduction of the Constitutions
of Philotheus into the Churches of the Ukraine and Russia in the
late fourteenth century, though some texts of the next two centuries
still contain the earlier forms.  Final uniformity in this matter was
achieved by the reform of Patriarch Nikon (1654).





                              SECTION  SEVEN

                           THE  KISS  OF  PEACE

All Orthodox Liturgies have the Kiss of Peace at some point before
the Anaphora or Canon.  In the Roman Tridentine Rite, it is
introduced with Pax Doimini sit semper vobiscum, meaning "Peace
be to all".  The response is "And with your spirit."

     Among the Jewish people, the Kiss of Peace as a sign of respect
or friendship predates by many years Jacob's reconciliation with
Esau.  During Christ's time, the "Kiss" was one of the preliminary
centuries to any ceremonial meal: its omission caused our Lord's
rebuke to Simon (Luke 7:45).  The early Church made use of it as
matter of course.  The numerous references by Paul leave no doubt
that the Kiss of Peace as a token of Christian communion and
fellowship was an accepted practice at that very early date. It
probably was used at the Apostolic Eucharist celebrations, although
there is no direct for it.

     The Kiss of Peace was given originally between the prayers of
the faithful and the beginning of the Eucharistic celebration.  Justin
shows in that position. It probably belonged to the common prayers
of the faithful at the end of the synaxis, rather than to the
Eucharistic Sacrifice.  Reflecting the opinion of the times, Tertullian
calls it the signaculum orationis with which the faithful conclude the
prayer in common. The uninitiated, the catechumen, was not
permitted to exchange the Kiss of Peace with any of the faithful
until he was baptized, for he did not yet belong to the "communion"
of the Holy Spirit the Church.  The kiss was given for the first time
to each new Christian by the bishop after he had also conferred on
him  the gift of the Holy Spirit by signing him on the forehead with
chrism, i.e., after confirmation.

     When the catechetical synaxis was joined to the celebration of
the Eucharist, the kiss in fact concluded the common prayers of the
faithful and initiated the Eucharistic proceedings as a kind of
preliminary to the Offertory.  The Council of Laodicea (c. A.D.
363), for example, prescribes without comment the order to
followed: "... There should then be offered the three prayers of the
faithful ... and then the [kiss of] peace is to be given.  And after the
presbyters have given the [kiss of] peace to the bishop, then the
laity are to give it [to one another], and so the Holy Oblation is to
be completed." 

     As the years went by, the kiss was related more and more
closely to the oblation, and to the proper disposition of the one who
made it.  The biblical admonition (Matt. 5:22) regarding
reconciliation with one's brother before "bringing one's gift to the
Altar" undoubtedly influenced this change of emphasis.  As early as
the end of the first century, the Didache insists on the reconciliation
of fellow Christians before they can attend the Eucharistic
celebration, "that your sacrifice may not be profaned". Beginning in
the latter part of the second century, the Kiss of Peace was
generally a preliminary to the oblation. We have Hippolytus placing
it in this position, Chyrsostom doing so  for Antioch, and the
Apostolic Constitutions also placing it here. Toward the middle of
the fourth century, however, Jerusalem seems to have led the way
in changing the position of the kiss from before to after the
Offertory. While Chrysostom in the Church of Antioch still places
the kiss (c. A.D. 390), before the offertory, fifth century Syria
adopted the Jerusalem custom.  It must have spread further south
by the fifth century, since the Rite of Mopsuestia in southern Asia
Minor also had the kiss after the Offertory during the time of
Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. A.D. 410).

     Spreading still further northwest, the practice must have been
adopted by Constantinople some time during the fifth or sixth
century.  The tremendous influence of the Byzantine Church caused
its adoption in that position in most of the other Eastern Churches.

     Rome, on the other hand, followed the African Church in
changing the kiss to its present place (in both the Tridentine and
post Vatican II) place before Holy Communion.  This change must
have come to Rome at the very beginning of the fifth century, for in
A.D. 416, Pope Innocent I wrote to Bishop Decentius of Gubbio.
insisting that the kiss was not be exchanged until after the
completion of the entire sacrifice.  Here, Pope Innocent draws
attention to its function as a seal and guarantee upon everything
that has been done.  "By the Kiss of Peace, the people affirm their
assent to all that has been done in the celebration of the Mysteries."
A curious reason indeed, especially since Augustine had given a
more convincing one long before, i.e., that the kiss of charity is a
good preparation for Holy Communion. Augustine's idea, of
course, had won out in the Western Church.  Certainly, since the
time of Gregory the Great, the kiss was regarded as a natural
preparation for Communion. Some time before the ninth century,
the Ambrosian Rite of Milan followed Rome in transferring the kiss
from its original position to its present place before Holy
Communion; however, it still kept the early invitation to it - Pacem
habete - in the ancient position.  

                               The  Greeting

     The original greeting of the celebrant as he gave the Kiss of
Peace must have been closely related to the action, the conferring
of peace and unity to the members of Christ's Body.  It was
probably simple: "Peace be to all", "Peace be to you", or some such
uncomplicated expression. The answer was probably the standard:
"And with your spirit".  The universality of this formula in the
various Churches, as borne out by later evidence, suggests such a
common origin.  Augustine, one of the first to give us a formula
connected with giving the kiss, has: "Peace be to you" and the
response, "And with your spirit".

     We have already noted the Didache's insistence on reconciliation
before the anyone receives the Eucharist.  Far from being a
formality, the Kiss of Peace had real meaning and purpose in the
early centuries of the Church.  It was an expression of interior
charity (presupposing reconciliation) among the members of the
local church before the Eucharist.  Up to the fourth century, it still
did not degenerate into a mere formality: while it was being
exchanged, the deacon called out: "Is there anyone that keeps aught
against his fellowman?" not as a stereotype rubric, but because even
at this last moment the bishop might make peace between them.
Cyril of Jerusalem, explaining the rubric of his day, "Embrace one
another and let us salute each other," states that "The kiss is a sign
that our souls are united and that we banish all remembrance of
injury."

     During the fourth century, when many liturgical details tended
to become stereotyped, it was necessary to reiterate the original
meaning of the kiss; hence, in some Eastern Churches the deacon
warns the faithful: "Let no one have anything against another, let no
one be (given the kiss) in hypocrisy", This warning survived in the
Liturgy of some Eastern Churches for centuries even after they had
abandoned the actual giving of the kiss among the faithful.

     In the Byzantine Churches, after the celebrant's blessing and the
people's response, there is a characteristic addition: the deacon
emphasizes the necessity of mutual love and unity by exhorting:
"Let us love one another so that with one mind we may glorify,"
and the people complete the sentence: "The Father and the Son and
the Holy Spirit ..."  By breaking into the deacon's exhortation, as it
were, the people indicate their eagerness to be one in harmony and
love: without unity and mutual love as one spiritual family the
faithful cannot "with one mind" confess the Triune God.

     The deacon's exhortation. "Let us love one another" is
undoubtedly much older than the eighth or ninth century manuscript
in which it first appears.  It may be a modification of a similar
prayer in the Liturgy of  St. James. The Constitution of Philoteus
sanctioned its use.  The latter part of the exhortation (:so that with
one mind we may glorify") and the people's response date back at
least to the twelfth century in a slightly different form. what is now
the response of the people was then said by the priest after the
exhortation, "Let us love one another".  The kiss was given,
accompanied by the words, "The Peace of Christ (be given) to your
priesthood"; then again the priest would repeat what is now the
response, "The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit," etc.

     Brotherly love goes hand in hand with the love of God.  To
show this, the priest recites verse two and three of Psalm 17 (in the
present day Byzantine Liturgy). To indicate even more plainly the
source from which peace and love are to be derived, the priest
kisses the Holy Gifts.  The same sentiment apparently prompted the
kissing of the Altar in the Roman Mass before the Pax during the
Middle Ages. During the thirteenth century in England, and
apparently in certain parts of France, a custom similar to the present
Byzantine practice was adopted: the priest would kiss the brim of
the Chalice and often also the Paten or the Corporal. The practice
of kissing the Gifts came later to the Byzantine Church.  Ordinarily
this would be a sign of "borrowing", but the less than cordial
relations existing between the two Churches at the time would
preclude any such interchange of liturgical usages.  

     Today, the kissing of the holy vessels and of the Altar is the only
remnant of the ancient Kiss of Peace in the Byzantine Liturgy when
it is celebrated by one priest. When it is celebrated by more than
one priest, the celebrant says: "Let Christ be among us".  The
concelebrant answers, "He is and He will be."  The deacon merely
kisses the Cross on his orarion (stole).  Like the Byzantine Church,
the other Eastern Churches have long discontinued the actual Kiss
of Peace among the faithful and have retained only a symbolic
gesture.  The East Syrians merely clasp and kiss their neighbor's
hands, while the Marionites claps and kisses their neighbor's fingers.
The Copts bow to their neighbors and touch their hand. In the
Armenian Church, the faithful merely bow to one another.

     From the very beginning, there was fear of abuse.  Several of the
early Fathers urge great reserve and modesty.  Clement of
Alexandria reports that "there are those who do nothing but make
the church resound with the kiss, not having love itself within.  For
this very thing, the shameless use of a kiss, which ought to be
mystic, occasions foul suspicious and evil gossip.  The Apostle calls
the kiss holy." As a remedy, he urges a symbolical greeting, "...we
are also to greet symbolically our neighbor whom we are
commanded to love second only to God." Origen admonishes that
"The very name (holy kiss) teaches that the kisses given in the
churches should be chaste ..." The rule of the Apostolic
Constitutions, that "men should exchange the Kiss of Peace only
with men and women with women" was a reiteration of an earlier
one in the Apostolic Tradition: "The baptized should greet each
other, men greeting men and women, women, but the men should
not greet the women." This prescription was not too difficult to
observe when the custom prevailed of separating the sexes, the men
on one side of the church, the women on the other.  Many of the
Byzantine, especially the Slavic churches, observe this practice even
today.

     The danger of abuse was probably the greatest single reason for
discontinuing the actual Kiss of Peace among the faithful.  In the
Byzantine Church, it was maintained for several centuries.  Just
when the kiss among the faithful was abandoned is a matter of
conjecture.  Judging from Maximus the Confessor, it would seem
that the practice was discontinued by his time (A.D. 662). On the
other hand, the early eighth century Armenian version of
Chrysostom's Liturgy contains the deacon's announcement: "Greet
one another with the kiss of holiness"; however, the validity of the
argument is doubtful because of the next rubric: "And they kiss the
Altar and one another", which may indicate that the kiss was
exchanged only between members of the clergy.  The eighth of
ninth century Byzantine Liturgy contained in the Codex Barberini
has the formula "Let us love one another".  Here also the matter is
left unsettled because of the next rubrics. Perhaps the faithful no
longer exchanged the Kiss of Peace, and the formula represents a
modification taking this into account.  It could apply, anyway, to
such restrained practices as those of present day  East Syrians and
Armenians, so that there is insufficient evidence for a final solution
of the question.  The Kiss of Peace was re-instituted into the Novas
Ordo by the Roman Catholic Church as a result of Vatican II.



















                              SECTION  EIGHT

                              THE  TRISAGION

An Orthodox prayer always expresses the profound humility of the
sinner, but also hopeful trust in God's mercy.  In his deep
contemplation, the Orthodox Catholic Christian realizes his own
utter sinfulness and misery, but he is even more vividly aware that
God's justice is tempered with mercy, that in God's feelings for us
sinners there is pity, tenderness and love.

     Many kernels of dogmatic truth are embedded in the Trisagion
Prayer, but two doctrines are emphasized: universal creation and
the creation of man in God's image and likeness.

     To create, according to the Scholastic concept, is to produce a
thing which in no way previously existed, either in itself or in the
potentiality of a subject (ex nihilo sui et subjecti).  Aside from the
technical language, the Scholastics could not improve on the
definition of creation contained in this prayer: "O Holy God ... You
brought all things into being out of nothingness."  The phrase "all
things" includes everything finite, both visible and invisible; the
creative act is elusively attributed to God, "who brought all things
into being"; it excludes the use of any pre-existing matter, whereby
true creation is denoted, not mere formation: "out of nothingness." 
The Fathers, of course, from the very first centuries, have
developed and defended the doctrine of universal creation,
including primitive matter itself, against such adversaries as the
Neoplationists, the Gnostics, the Manicheans, etc.  The concept of
creation contained in the Trisagion Prayer is equally opposed to any
theory of self-existent primitive matter from which all things either
are made or are evolved (evolutionism, materialism, naturalism,
etc.) except, of course, Divinely created and directed evolution.

     Creating man to His own image and likeness means that God
endowed man with prerogatives which give man a resemblance,
however imperfect, to God. This resemblance to God, in man,
includes many things supernatural and natural: the natural
endowments of the soul, i.e., its spirituality, freedom and
immortality; the absolutely supernatural endowment of sanctifying
grace (re. first parents), including the virtues of faith, hope, charity,
justice, kindness, etc., infused into the soul with sanctifying grace;
also,the relatively supernatural or preternatural gifts, such as
infused, extraordinary knowledge, exemption from concupiscence
and from suffering, and even immortality of the body.  Though not
enumerated, these endowments and gifts are implicit in the prayer,
for they are what makes man most like God.

     The text of the Trisagion Prayer can be traced back to the
beginning of the eighth century in the Armenian version of
Chrysostom's Liturgy; hence, its origin probably goes back at least
to the seventh century.

     The liturgical Trisagion (thrice holy), to be distinguished from
the biblical Trisagion (the Sanctus hymn) in the Anaophra, is found
in all the Offices of the Eastern Church.  In the Roman Tridentine
Rite, it is confined  to the preces of Prime and the Adoratio crucis
on Good Friday. The liturgical Trisagion was already common to
the whole East, including the Monophysite and Nestorian Churches,
before the end of the fifth century, but almost nothing is known
about its origin.  The earliest evidence of its use is found in a series
of acclamations at the Council of Chalcedon (A.D. 451).

     Orthodox liturgical historians generally accept the tradition that
the Trisagion was divinely inspired.  The most common
interpretation is that during a severe earthquake at Constantinople,
while the patriarch, St. Proclus (A.D. 434-446), was leading the
people in prayer, a boy was "lifted up into the air" and heard the
Angels singing the Trisagion. This account is based chiefly on two
sources: the Letter to Peter the Fuller (Monophysite Patriarch of
Antioch), ascribed to Acacius, Archbishop of Constantinople (A.D.
471-489); and the testimony of St. John Damascene (A.D. 749),
based on different historical sources, in his De fide orthodoxa.

     The original meaning of the Trisagion definitely insists on God's
"immortality", an attribute not found in Sacred Scripture, nor in any
of the ancient formulae of prayer.  The fact that the Council of
Chalcedon used the very same words confirms the idea of a
refutation of Monophysitism. It seems, then, that the Trisagion was
originally a purely Christological hymn, which explains its use in the
Roman Church to honor Christ's Passion and death.  In later
controversies, the Byzantine addressed it to the Blessed Trinity, in
order to avert any suspicion of heresy.

     Whatever its origin and the reasons for its use, the Trisagion
appears to have been incorporated into the Eastern Liturgy at
Constantinople some time A.D. 430 and 450.  This we have on the
contemporary testimony of a predecessor of Patriarch Proclus, the
banished and heretical Nesotorius.  Its use in the Byzantine
Eucharistic Liturgy was without doubt already an established
custom during the time of Marcellinus Comes (fl. A.D. 550).  Its
position in the Liturgy was certainly fixed by the eighth century.