and of hard stone olive oil. Who knows whether in place of the nettle and useless herb, myrtle and cypress may arise? A Let him who joins together dry bones anew and breathes life upon us, be glorified in us as well. This is my request of you; this is what I shall not cease to beg for with tears. Grant me this favor, incline yourselves to this petition, O vessel of election, O mouth of God, O first of all after the First, O you who hold forth the word of life to the luminaries of the world.
We have said above that Theodore flourished under the Patriarch Germanus II; specifically at the time when Constantinople, having thrust out the Greeks, was in the power of the Latins. Indeed, Theodore himself, in his first as yet unpublished work which he wrote to his younger brother, says at fol. 1: "The fatherland has fallen, but to a wise man every place is a home." And fol. 2: "We having been born of the fatherland through misfortune, our father was already an old man, and his mother was older, and she also taking up a more perfect life, since which time he was in the episcopate." Clearly, then, my father having been created bishop, his wife followed a religious life. Further on, Theodore says concerning his father: "He held the school and the episcopal parish, since it was around Sauromates and the Scythians." Truly, in Alicanus n. 9, there is an indication that Theodore's father held a bishopric in those northern regions; wherefore the words "to his own" perhaps denote the diocese rather than the fatherland. There also Theodore says many things about his own studies, of which he was master to his younger brother, and he speaks of poetical books having been read, and not of those composed. And indeed, while he was staying in the barbarian regions, "we living among the barbarians, necessity was so pressing." In the meantime, however, he says he was called to the prelacy: "Grace calls the nations to the episcopate."
ANNO DOMINI MCC... (?)
THEODORUS ANDIDENSIS
(Ang. Mai Biblioth. nova PP. tom. VI, p. 545.)I had reserved this last Theodore of Andida, because I feared that a single volume would perhaps not suffice to contain him. Now, impatient of longer delay, I shall conclude this line of Theodores with this one of Andida: concerning whom Allatius, in his diatribe on the Theodores, has provided very little and almost no biographical information (n. XCVII). But in his book *Contra Creygtonum*, p. 319, where he cites a passage of his, he says the author is not recent, but sufficiently ancient. Allatius says only this. But Lequinius, in *Or. Ch.* t. I, col. 1030, places this name, which he read in Allatius’s *De concensu* lib. III, cap. 15, among the bishops of the Andidians, which was a city of the second Pamphylia; yet he does not define his age. Furthermore, he says that it should be written Zandidon, as it is in the *Notitiae* of the episcopates, instead of Andida; which Lequinius seems to opine not rightly; for in three Vatican codices of this work, it is constantly written Andidai. Indeed, Lequinius is completely ignorant in his *Physidensis Episcopologio* (*Or. Ch.* t. I, col. 844) of Basil also, the bishop of Phytia (in Phrygia Salutari), to whom Theodore sends this study of his. Wherefore not even from Basil—being of an unknown age—does any light come to understanding the age of our Theodore. Truly, our Theodore in n. 5 invokes a certain liturgical tract of the great Basil; but because the bibliographers attribute that writing not to the great Basil, but to a Byzantine patriarch—Germanus (whether the first or the second?)—from this, at least, it would appear that our Theodore is more recent than that work. Nevertheless, because it was thought that the work of Germanus was greatly interpolated, we do not know what is Basil’s, what is Germanus’s, and what belongs to other ancients or to those slightly more recent in that jumble; and therefore the naming of that book helps little in passing judgment on the age of Theodore. Therefore, we must still acquiesce in the affirmation of Allatius, that this Theodore is not a recent author, but sufficiently ancient. But so that I may not speak for long about the work itself, whose dignity and utility will become evident to readers by itself, I will only say that I have found it in three codices of the Vatican library, namely: 1. codex 856, on parchment, of approximately the twelfth century. 2. codex 430, on paper, but of good and neat writing, the text of which differs in few places from the prior codex. 3. codex 638, also on paper, but more ancient; in which indeed the opening is missing, as I shall say below in its place, but in the text there are very many additions and variants. Allatius had seen the first and third codices (for he is silent about the second), and the places cited by him in
A his notes, which confirm this, will be noted by us in their place. The title of the work, however, is that which we are printing: except that in the second codex, it is erroneously written "Nicolaus" instead of "Theodorus"—the error, no doubt, of a copyist who was perhaps thinking at the time of Nicolaus Cabasilas, whose liturgical commentary, having long since been published, follows the work of Theodorus in the codex.
A Parergon on another exposition of the sacred Mass, and on the 44th Nicene Canon.
Stephanus Aldoensis, who became the Maronite Patriarch of Antioch in 1670 and died in 1705, as Assemani reports in the *Catalogue of Oriental Codices of the Vatican*, vol. III, p. 503, left behind many monuments of his genius and industry, namely: *Oriental Annals*; *On the origin of the Maronites*; a *Defense* of the same; an item on the meter of poems; and also an *Orationale* according to the Maronite rite, as can be seen in our supplement to the aforementioned *Catalogue*, *Script. vet.* vol. V, codd. Syr. 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 411, 444. B As regards the present matter, however, in our Carshuni manuscript codex 400 is contained this same Aldoensis's grand opus on the sacrifice of the Mass, comprised in two volumes, of which, however, the first is missing. But behold, by the benefit of fortune, this desired Carshuni volume is supplied by a Latin translation of the same, which is preserved in Vatican codex 7410. In reality, since the whole work is distributed into ten parts (or "candelabra," as the Orientals prefer to say), the first six parts are contained in the Latin, while the last four are in the Carshuni: from which it results that by both codices joined together, this liturgical work of Aldoensis is provided to us in its entirety. Who the Latin translator might have been, the codex does not disclose; but one may suspect that it was that Peter Benedict, the very well-known translator of St. Ephrem. For Naironus, in the place cited by Assemani mentioned above, affirmed that he had received at Rome certain copies C of Aldoensis, loaned by the Maronite Peter Benedict. And though the sheer bulk of the work deters us from committing Aldoensis's opus to press, yet nothing prevents us from delineating at least a faint image of it. For each of the ten parts of the work, as we have said, is subdivided into several treatises, and these again into sections, and such is the abundance of the subject matter and the copiousness of the treatment that nothing is left unsaid on this topic. I. The part concerning the Mass in a general sense, that is, of its names, definition, parts, etc. II. On the suitable place for celebrating the Mass, that is, of churches and their parts, altars, furnishings, etc. III. On the priest who is the minister of the Mass, and on the grades of the priesthood, offices, etc. IV. On the preparation of priests for Mass, vestments, etc. V. On the parts of the Mass individually. VI. Still on the remaining parts of the Mass. Thus far the Latin codex. In the Carshuni, however, part VII is a continuation of the order of the Mass, namely, on the giving of the D peace, and on the veil of the altar, and also on the opening of the mysteries. VIII. On the consecration of the sacrament, which is the second segment of the Mass. IX. On the sign of the cross over the chalice, on the Lord's Prayer, and the elevation of the sacrament. X. On the fraction of the bread species, and the sprinkling of the most sacred blood over them, and on the distribution of the sacrament to the faithful.
But in a treatise so rich, who would doubt that there are many good and useful things, and sometimes even novel ones? Most of all, the very clear testimonies regarding the body of Christ present in the Eucharist, and that the consecration is effected by the words of Christ the institutor himself. Also, regarding the primacy of Peter and the Roman Pontiff, which he defends with the utmost strength and extends to the universal Church, just as it was defined at the ecumenical Council of Florence. (The author of the manuscript book of the ceremonies of the Maronite Church, which I have in my hands, also professes loyalty to the successor of Peter, where in the prologue it is said that God founded the Church and established it upon the father of the faith, Peter.) Then Aldoensis treats of the Antiochene patriarchate; of the veneration of holy images; of pontifical vestments and ornaments, etc. Finally, he discourses at length on the Trisagion, and Aldoensis defends its famous addition, "who was crucified for us," which is commonly used in the Oriental Churches; not, however, as referred to the Trinity, but to the Son; or rather, he narrates that the Orientals refer not just the addition, but the entire Trisagion to the Son alone. Conversely, however, he notes that among the Greeks and Westerners, with the addition always omitted, it is accustomed to be referred to the Trinity alone: by applying this distinction, he judges that peace can be reconciled among the Churches regarding this controversy. Meanwhile, for this last point, he brings forth the testimonies of 1. Ephrem, Patriarch of Antioch; 2. John Maron, likewise Patriarch of Antioch. However, he concedes that Peter the Fuller used that clause in a heretical sense; and from this arose all the hatred and dispute regarding this matter. These things regarding the patriarch of the Maronites. But another equally great liturgical commentary by Nerses of Lampron, an Armenian bishop of the twelfth century, most reverent also to the Latin Church, we shall perhaps expound at another time.
The 44th Arabic Nicene Canon is very well known, the clause of which concerning the authority of the Roman Pontiff over all patriarchs as well, I shall set forth accurately translated from the Arabic text, which the Copt Ben-Assali, an eleventh-century Monophysite author, recites in the Vatican Arabic codex 131, where his canonical treatise is read. He, therefore, in part 1, chapter 4, after having said that the Roman is the first, and indeed the head, of the patriarchs, writes explicitly: "Just as the patriarch is endowed with power and authority over those subject to him, so the Lord of Rome"
A BRIEF COMMENTARY BY THEODORE, BISHOP OF ANDIDA, ON THE SYMBOLS AND MYSTERIES OF THE DIVINE LITURGY
Composed at the urging and request of the God-beloved Basil, Bishop of Phytia.
A 1. Many who are accounted worthy of the sacerdotal office know indeed and confess that the things performed in the divine liturgy are a figure of the Passion, and of the Burial, and of the Resurrection of Christ our God. But that they also signify the things that followed from the very beginning of his saving advent and economy—his conception, his birth, and the thirty years of his life; as well as the ministry of his Forerunner, his manifestation at his baptism, furthermore the election of the apostles, and the three-year period of miracles which became the cause of the envy and the cross—I know not, I suspect, why they are ignorant of these. And yet, a thing that has only a head, but is devoid of feet and hands and other members, would never be called a body. But that which is sacrificed is a perfect body, hear Christ himself saying: "Take, eat; this is my body" [(Matt. xxvi, 27)]. But neither could a reasonable history or image of a life and conduct be described by anyone, unless the things which accompanied his birth from the beginning, and those which occurred in the middle course, and those which happened at the end, were noted down. If, therefore, B human affairs are so interwoven that they are entirely connected and knit together, how could one [claim that] the things that the divine Spirit figures and represents [are] so imperfect an image...
Therefore, the exact image of this life-giving and divine body will not be found to be lacking in any respect, as if some member were removed; but because the oracles of the divine Spirit are veiled, and often contain a wealth of meaning that is difficult to discern within brief words and symbols, this becomes a cloud to those who, like me, do not have a purified mind, and it tries to persuade [them] that things which are perfect are imperfect.
2. That the words set forth before us are supported by the most firm and incontrovertible B proofs is evident from this: for the narrative that acts as a painter of the divine evangelists, having been inspired as it were by Christ our God Himself, has most excellently portrayed both the things pertaining to His conception, His voice, and His word, [His being called] friend and bridegroom, lamp and sun, right up to the final ascension of Christ into the heavens and His second coming from thence; [it has portrayed these] not in a scattered or disjointed manner, but all unified and brought together as into one. To this matter, those who first were deemed worthy of the pontifical office, and the holy Fathers who came after them, up to the times of the birth of those great luminaries and builders of the Church of God—I mean Basil and John Chrysostom—wisely applied their minds, and led by the divine Spirit, they fulfilled the commands of the first High Priest. But what were these commands? Many, to be sure, and others, but especially those that pertain to our purification C and as it were our return to life: "Take, eat," He says, "this is my body." For nothing prevents us from repeating these necessary words once more. And a little later: "Do this in my remembrance." Therefore, to these blessed men the remembrance of Christ was so close to their hearts that they took care to make the body, through the divine symbols, whole and perfect, endowed with mind and soul, by the leaven cast into the dough, and substantially filled with the Godhead; so that those who worthily partake may be deemed worthy of sanctification and grace, and receive a cure for great passions.
3. But there is also a third confirmation of the matters proposed, which has been handed down to the Churches of God, along with the divine liturgy, in a good and God-pleasing manner. What is this? The setting up of holy images via colors D; for in these all the mysteries of the incarnation of Christ our God are seen by the pious to be recounted, from the very arrival of the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin up to the assumption into the heavens and the final return.
A You have also another undeniable witness, who impels you toward the union and connection of the holy mysteries of the whole body, namely the great theologian Gregory, who, in his discourse on the birth of Christ, bundled together not only the events that accompanied the Nativity, but indeed those of the whole economy. And again, in his discourse on the Pascha and the Resurrection, he did not disturb the statements he had made regarding the Nativity, but left them unchanged, thereby showing more clearly, as he says, such was the birth of the Christ who was born, and such the burial of the One who suffered. For these reasons, every believer ought to know—principally according to the straightforward account and now this one as well—that the entire rite of the divine liturgy, as has been said, symbolically signifies that same total economy of the saving condescension of the true God and our Savior Jesus Christ, through the mysteries performed within it. B Although it is difficult to isolate one and the same act amidst the symbols for every single event that occurred at the hands of the Lord, or that the Jews perpetrated against Him. For often, one thing performed in the divine liturgy is understood as referring to two or three of the acts of that time, as the argument will demonstrate more clearly as it proceeds.
C 4. Straightway, then, the divine and holy table is perceived as the upper room, and is called the manger, and is titled the tomb of Christ our God. Yet these things, when piously conceived and accepted, in no way injure the doctrine of right religion, especially when the discourse at hand requires what is proper and suitable to the time. And it is the same with the rest. Wherefore, if any of those who are distinguished by sacred dignity, upon reading this commentary of mine, should happen to find anything named differently by someone else, and not according to our exposition, let him not, I pray, be surprised, provided that those things also respect the doctrine of right religion. For there were many wonders of that time as well. And perhaps it seemed good to the holy and divine apostles, and to the God-inspired Fathers themselves, that what is now comprehended under one name, as we have said, should then be referred to several things. Or perhaps this also seemed necessary to them, namely to insert the greater and summary proofs of our salvation into the divine mystagogy, in accordance with the tradition of the holy evangelists. For the manifest business and study of these men demonstrates nothing more clearly than this: that from the Holy Spirit and Mary, the ever-virgin and Theotokos, the Son and Word, co-essential with the pre-eternal Father, was conceived and born; D and then, having been baptized, He was testified to by the life-giving and co-essential Spirit of the same.
Afterward, because of His three-year course of miracles, He incurred the envy of the Jews, was betrayed by a disciple, was mocked, crucified, laid in the tomb, and finally restored to life; He ascended into heaven and is expected to come again as Judge. All these things the divine liturgy clearly places before us through the things that are done within it, according to the tradition of the Lord and the explicit commandments.
B 5. But these things are put forward as a sketch of future realities. However, our explanation of the things ordained by the grace of God among us, piece by piece, as far as our very weak mind has been able to reach, will meanwhile make manifest the power of those symbols whose meaning we believe we have understood. For we did not conceive of such a great undertaking in our own mind, being too contemplative, to perhaps display the audacity of our exposition in all things. Nay, we explicitly beg pardon from our readers, whom we wish to know that we, obeying the precept of obedience, or rather yielding to the man in all things pleasing to God who urged us, have dared to undertake a task beyond our strength; we are not, however, puffed up with knowledge, touching upon things untouched by human endeavor. But if our discourse has passed over anything concerning the pontifical vestments or some other things established in the custom of the Church, this, I say, has not been done without cause. For since we have found a certain written interpretation of these things under the name of the great Basil, we did not judge that we should speak about them. Wherefore, C concerning those things also about which we were bidden to speak, if at any time we were able to find some exposition or declaration of the preceding Fathers, we have referred our bishop, who urged us to this task, to that source, while we ourselves preferred to keep a quiet and safe silence. But let us approach the proposed task, relying on the goodness of God and the prayers of our exhorter.
6. The spiritual discourse sets forth the beginning of the most sacred mysteries D and symbols, which human nature, as a kind of offering from the entire human mass, has brought to our Lord God; and which the prophetic grace of the divine Spirit has signified by many and various terms, imposing appellations appropriate to the ministry of the mystery, having been foreshown by certain types and symbols.
An Explanation of the Divine Liturgy, of the Incarnation and Incorporation of us into the Son and Word of God who became man.
In the form of bread, the body is given to you.A It was, I say, the concern of the divine heralds, the Apostles, and the holy Fathers to impose such names as would properly signify the symbols of the completed mystery. Thus they called it bread, blessing, oblation, and firstfruits: bread, truly, as the heavenly bread, that is to say Christ himself, fashioned more bodily from the very blood of the undefiled Theotokos; blessing, as the extinction of the curse entailed upon the first-created humans; oblation, as a gift offered to God the Creator from the whole human mass to the holy of holies; and finally, firstfruits, as the most sacred and holy thing of all the primogenial gifts offered to God. We therefore faithfully receive and glorify this so-called blessing and oblation, and the other names mentioned above, as a type of the all-praised Theotokos B presented in the august temples and placed upon the prothesis, as we call it, and we honor it.
7. Now the prothesis of our Church is of equal dignity to the shadowy Jewish worship of the holy of holies; nay, it is even superior to it. For the divine table, upon which the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world is sacrificed, is incomparably more sublime than that ancient table, by reason of its holiness and the remission of sins which it confers upon those who approach with faith and a pure conscience. Yet we must not make a comparison of material; for that one was entirely adorned with gold. Moreover, that a single table was prescribed for them, and one ordered to be circumscribed in a single place, while elsewhere it was not permitted to set up either a table or an altar, was this not a manifest sign that both it and the sacrifices offered there were to be entirely abolished at the appropriate time? C For in the beginning, indulging the will of the gluttonous and crasser Jews who were wishing to live in the heathen manner, He allowed them to sacrifice victims only in the name of the goodness of God Himself, so that when they were expelled from their fatherland at the time of the deicide, they might have no opportunity to perform these rites in any other place, being forbidden by their own law; and so that the memory of such worship might also be abolished. Certainly, unless out of pure [pity] for the Jewish body and blood. And furthermore, p. 160, he denies that the symbol of God is bread (that is, the species of bread), but argues that the substance of the body is contained therein. He affirms the matter in clear words also on pp. 130, 161, 351, 361, D and just as our Jerome (Ep. 146) says that at the prayers of the priests Christ’s body and blood are fashioned, so also Nerses (p. 45) honors the dignity of priests, of calling down the Holy Spirit and consecrating the matter into God. Finally, the Armenians sing in their eucharistic hymn: "This bread is the body of Jesus Christ." Stephen, Patriarch of the Maronites of Al-Duwayr, also writes excellently about this sacrament in the *Commentary on the Mass*, which we have already praised above. (10) Idem: [Christ] instituted bread and wine as a sacrifice of his body and his blood, which, just as bread and wine refresh [the body] more than other corporal foods, so the body and blood of Christ refresh and fatten the inner man more than other spiritual foods and drinks. (11) See below, n. 9.
A If God had not, out of indulgence for their infirmity, prescribed those sacrifices to the Jews, what reason was there that would have prevented Him from decreeing that they be spread over the whole world, just as those institutions established by the preaching of the Apostles, at God's command, which are likened to the sun, the air, and other common ornaments of the world? But, as we have said, the sacrifices of the Jews were permitted by the condescension of God. For while these were still being performed, they were rejected thousands of times by the divine Spirit speaking through the prophets, just as Isaiah says: "If you bring me fine flour, it is a vain oblation; it is an abomination to me. For who has required this from your hands?" And David: "Shall I eat the meat of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?" And elsewhere: "Sacrifice and oblation you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me." By these words the Prophet denotes the mystery of the incarnation of Christ our God, which had been prepared before the ancient generations. How then, after the coming of the new grace, could any one possessed of his senses say that any trace of the old sacrifices has remained? But so much for the cessation, rejection, and interdiction of the legal sacrifices.
B But perhaps some one of the adversaries will say: From which prophetic indications did you learn to offer bread and wine as a type of the body and blood of Christ? First, therefore, we respond that no one can examine the deeds and traditions of Christ our God, who is Truth itself: "For do this," He says (that I may say it again), "in my remembrance." But if you seek prophetic predictions concerning these things, hear the man who possesses the authority of both prophet and king; or rather, the heavenly Father Himself speaking to the Son, who was begotten of Him before the morning star, ineffably and impassibly: "The Lord has sworn, and He will not repent: You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." What, furthermore, did he offer to God here? Bread and wine, with which he was divinely gifted by Abraham after the victory he had achieved. If, therefore, Melchizedek, who was born of a foreign people, is considered and believed to be a figure of Christ, then the Levitical priesthood has surely been cast out. For it is impossible for God to lie, after He promised with an oath that He would raise up someone according to the order of Melchizedek, who would, according to the flesh, be D from the seed of David, being at once high priest and the God who existed before the ages. Therefore, with those who were of the tribe of Levi having been cast out, as has been written above, it was necessary in turn that there be a change of both the old law and the cult; just as elsewhere the great Paul also says: For all the practice and commandment of the Jewish cult was ordained by the law to be performed by the Levites and their fellow tribesmen. With these ceasing, the law also became void. But also through another prophet, God foretold these things concerning our sacrifice and cult, saying: "Behold, incense is offered to me in every place." And let these things be said concerning the abolition of Jewish sacrifices and rites and
the preference for our own, which are accomplished in every place through the unbloody sacrifice.
B 9. But the discourse must now be recalled to where we set out from; for although these things were spoken in passing for the sake of contradicting those who slew Christ, yet, just as has been said, the oblation, the bread, the benediction, and the offering are taken as a type of the ever-virgin Mother of God. She, by the good pleasure of the Father, the will of His Son and Word, and the advent of the Holy Spirit, receiving into herself the one of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God and Word, gave birth to perfect God and perfect man. Just as the supersubstantial God, taking flesh from her, was in one hypostasis, perfect God and perfect man, like us in all things without sin; so also the Lord’s body, as if from a certain womb and the blood and flesh of the virginal body—the whole, I say, of the bread and the benediction and the oblation—is cut by the deacon, as is the custom in the Great Church, with an iron instrument which they call the spear, even though the time for its use has not yet arrived. And thus, subsisting by itself from the midst of the eulogy, it is consecrated. And the deacon, who is the author of this division, preparing at the same time that which is to be consecrated as the blood at the appropriate time of the passion through the descent of the life-giving Spirit, leaves these in the prothesis while the priest in the meantime recites the proper prayer for this act.
C 10. The deacon who cuts the divine body from the eulogy imitates the angel who said "Hail" to the Virgin. If priests also cut it, nevertheless in the Great Church this was done of old, and the oblation was cut by the deacons. Therefore, the deacon who used to act thus according to the custom of the Great Church, preparing at the same time the future Lord’s blood at the appropriate time of the passion through the intervention of the life-giving Spirit, leaves these in the prothesis while the priest recites its prayer. So, therefore, the divine body is left in the prothesis as if in Bethlehem, where Christ is born, whose goings forth are from the days of old. At the same time, it is also like Nazareth, and furthermore, the prothesis takes the place of a sojourn in Capernaum. For this reason we said in the introduction that one of the present types is equated with two or three things then performed. To speak summarily, the prothesis represents the thirty-year space and the life before baptism. D Therefore [the rite] grants the time for placing the knife on the right side, so that the handle touches the chalice, and it may appear that the blood which is in the chalice is the same as that which flowed from the side of Christ.
A The preparation completes the time before baptism and the occupations. Therefore, a period of time is given by the high priest to the first of the priests B who is about to begin the divine mystagogy; this time represents the period foretold by the prophet Isaiah, namely the time of the birth of the prophet John, the Forerunner, and the coming of Christ to us. For Isaiah, along with other inspired men, clearly prophesied concerning both of these—both the time of the birth C and the coming of Christ. Regarding John, he speaks thus: "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before me," and all other things he foretold concerning him. And concerning Christ: "Behold, the virgin shall have in her womb," and whatever he foretold concerning the passion, the burial, and the resurrection; for in this time, the manifestation of the mystery hidden from the foundation of the world received its end.
11. The priest who makes the beginning of the divine liturgy bears the image of John the Baptist, the Forerunner, who began his preaching by saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," and baptizing all who came to him. When he has begun the divine liturgy, after the first petition, the prophetic readings are brought forward—which we call antiphons—both because they prophesied of him who has now been born, and because the Old Testament truly preceded, of which this one, who is born in the end of days, was the lawgiver. It must be known that at the beginning of every service, both matins and vespers, the Psalms of the Old Testament are sung first, then the songs of the new grace, so that all may know that it is one and the same Lord Christ who ordained both these and those. Therefore, as has been said, the antiphons are sung after the first petition; D which first imply that it is good to confess the Lord who has been born for the salvation of the human race; then, with a loud voice, they cry out that: "The Lord has reigned"; that is, now the eternal King and Lord reigns more greatly, after he has put on this humble flesh, which they called "strength": just as the Savior named the glory of the cross what many estimated to be ignominy. For just as a king, although always endowed with power and strength, does not always use these to restrain the enemies who inflict violence upon his subjects; but later, having formed a plan to avenge them, he rises up, and with some small armor, he casts down the enemies by the weight of his own power; and having cast them into the abyss of perdition, he hears from all whom he has liberated from the hostile tyranny, "Now our Lord has reigned, now he has put on strength," as they call his purpose and will for vengeance "reign" and "strength"; so too the Prophet, foreseeing the time of the coming in the flesh of God the Word, and the defense of the human race, and at the same time the supreme destruction of the enemy and his accomplice demons, and furthermore the death of death itself...
and the liberation of those detained by it; and, beholding the cave of the birth of Christ present, it exclaims: "Now he has reigned," and: "Now he has clothed himself with power," not as if this were not already present to Him before, but as being one that inhered in Him perpetually, yet was reserved for a certain time to appear. For it is the habit of the grace of the divine Spirit to proclaim future things as though they were present and already accomplished.
B 12. Subjoined to the end of the first Antiphon are the words: "Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, save us." For what reason? Certainly so that what was said previously regarding the type of the Ever-Virgin might be confirmed, namely that she leads the way in this ministry and economy. But the hymn following the second Antiphon is: "Through the intercessions of your saints." For since we are performing the divine mystagogy for the salvation of souls and the remission of sins, we rightly invoke the Mother of God, as being higher than all the saints, to intercede, and then the saints who are dear to her Son. For even if our subsequent discourse will encounter the invocation of all the saints as well, nevertheless, it treats her, the immaculate one, as having been interposed by the bishop himself with those words: "Again we offer to you this rational worship." But it is said that this was instituted by the Fathers according to another rationale as well, which, God willing, we shall deliver when we have reached the proper place in the service. Now let the discourse proceed with the rest. For we have already arrived at the third antiphon. The Troparion spoken at the end of the second antiphon, "Only-begotten Son and Word of God," was added by the blessed King Justinian, a text which is very consistent with the symbols of the birth of Christ: for here, it says, the only-begotten Son and Word of the eternal Father, having deigned to be incarnate for our salvation from the Theotokos—her divinity remaining immutable and unconfused—is one of the holy Trinity, who endured to be made man and crucified. For without departure and without separation from the paternal bosom, He descended and was made incarnate: who is also extolled in the Trisagion hymn by the spiritual and heavenly virtues: He therefore is our Savior.
D 13. Thus the Trisagion hymn is fitted together by the Fathers, so that He who is praised in the troparion might also be preached as one of the holy Trinity, consubstantial with the Father and the holy Spirit, of the same nature and inseparable. The words "Holy God," those who distinguish the hypostatic properties attribute to the Father; then the words "Holy Mighty," to the proper hypostasis of the Son.
The words "Holy Immortal," they attribute to the Person of the life-giving and consubstantial Spirit. Although this threefold word A "Holy" fits each one of the three Persons of the one Deity; for each of these is also holy, and mighty, and immortal. Now the Trisagion hymn has been joined with the troparion, for the sake of signifying the unity of nature and the consubstantiality of the Son with the remaining two Persons. For nature and substance is one for the three, and the common name is Deity; even if each of the three Persons is called perfect God. In these brief words, moreover, is excellently understood that saying of the great Theologian: "For it is divided indivisibly, so to speak, and joined divisibly." And elsewhere the same Father says: "I cannot split the three, but I refer them into the one." But let no one, upon hearing these testimonies of the Trisagion, think that the Trisagion B had its beginning from the inhumanation of Christ our God. For of old it was mystically chanted in the Spirit by the God-speaking prophets. Developing the form and words of this, David briefly sets it forth, saying: "My soul thirsted for God, the mighty, the living," and elsewhere: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the Spirit of his mouth all their power," and in another place: "In thy light we shall see light." Already the seraphic hymn chanted by Isaiah, which brings together the three holies and one dominion and deity, what difference does it bear from the Trisagion chanted by us? Therefore, the phrase is connected with the Trisagion, for the reason that both are referred to the Deity; and that phrase parts the middle of the procession of the bishop's C entry.
14. Therefore, let us speak about this, as much as God grants us according to our strength. For we think that the manifestation and showing of Christ our God at the Jordan is hinted at by the entry of the bishop. Hence, therefore, it seems that those narrow and dark marble [slabs] lying on the floor of the Great Church, like ranks, and divided from one another by moderate intervals, are called "rivers." For up until the entry, although the Christ-pontiff was present, he was not manifest and known to all; even though, moving in the midst, he was doing supernatural and immense things. Then, having seized the opportunity, the priest who was standing at the middle altar before the entry of the bishop, was at that time serving D as a Forerunner [administering] the baptism of repentance; seeing the bishop entering, he withdraws, saying almost silently that which John said: "He must increase, but I must decrease"; and therefore he immediately yields to the bishop to perform the greater things. Now, when the chanters sing at the entry, "Come, let us exult in the Lord," it signifies the words of the apostles after the baptism, which they said concerning Christ: for before the calling, some indeed were saying, "Come, we have found Him whom we were longing for," others, "Come and see." Others finally:
"They came," he says, "and saw where He was staying, and remained with Him that day," and simply all the other things that the disciples were saying to one another regarding the baptism before the general call. A And the saying, "Let us come before His face with confession," signifies this: Because, he says, He who has now appeared is indeed the eternal God, and the Creator of heaven and earth and sea, and has now become man like us, possessing all the properties of human nature, except for sin alone; and He is destined again in the latter times to come with the same person and the same substance to judge the living and the dead, no longer in such a body, nor yet incorporeal, but in a manner which He Himself knows of a more divine body. Come, let us worship Him, believing Him to be God, falling down before Him for the things in which we have sinned. Let us anticipate and come before His face in confession and contrition of heart, that we may find Him a merciful Judge there; for in Hades there is no confession. Therefore, it is necessary now both to forestall and to anticipate. B
15. Immediately, therefore, after the entrance and the end of the Trisagion, the ascent to the cathedra (18), which signifies the transition from earth into heaven and from the base life of the Jews—and [the life] conceded to them indulgently by the Law and the Old Testament—to that of the new grace. For from this it is evident that after the showing forth of the baptism, divine grace begins. C Furthermore, what is called the *prokeimenon* is interposed, for this reason, that it precedes all the symbols of the new grace. For after this, the calling of the apostles and their manifestation is declared through the reading of their Acts or their Epistles; and furthermore, the grace of those who wrote the divine Gospels. But the seal, which the high priest customarily makes inside at the end of the Trisagion, is characterized as a fulfillment and as it were a sealing of the prophetic voices spoken beforehand concerning Christ. For His presence through the flesh became a seal, confirming those things foretold by them as true; and this is also placed as the beginning of the God-befitting works and of the recreation of the human race. D But it is also a seal of His peace, which dissolved the partial principalities and sanctioned peace for all nations, both near and far. Therefore, the high priest exclaims, "Peace to all," hinting, evidently, that Christ, the Father of peace, has made both earthly and heavenly things one.
16. And let no one be scandalized hearing these things and saying, "Why do you place here at the beginning the things that were done by the apostles after the resurrection?"
17 Joan. 1, 38, 39. (18) Cathedra in this place appears to be what the Latins call the presbyterium. Otherwise, however, the pontiff, after the said introit, truly ascends to his cathedra, that is, his seat. (19) The Latin bishop says: "Pax vobiscum"; likewise the Armenian: "Pax omnibus," which expression has a wider application; although both the Latin and the Greek address only all who are standing by.
A At I would have you know, whoever you are who speak thus, that neither an enigma, nor a symbol, nor a parable can preserve invariability in the parity of the things they imitate, nor indeed the likeness of person, time, or order—whether preceding or following—and of other things of this kind, much less be the same as them. Rather, these are formed in such a way that they bear the image of the prototype; but surely it is impossible for equality to be maintained. We say, therefore, that the reading of the Apostolic Acts and Epistles represents both the election and the end of the promises of Christ our God, from which the power of this and the immutability of the truth are established. For He said to them: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." B Observe, therefore, how these fishermen, unlettered as they were, have captured the whole world from the abyss of error; from the rising of the sun to its setting their dogmas are preached, and their traditions prevail over all other laws and statutes. And what is most miraculous of all is that the efficacy of these craftsmen did not merely operate as long as they lived, as happens with other fishermen, only to vanish after their death; but rather, having cast a seed as it were among all nations by their work, the seed sown by their hand caught many: fishermen, hunters, soldiers, merchants, farmers—yielding a manifold fruit to the Lord and Creator. Thus it is permitted to see even to this day, and until the consummation of this age, many unbelievers coming to baptism, caught in the net of these fishermen. And let these things be said concerning the reading of the Apostles' Acts and the Epistles.
17. C The reading of the venerable and divine Gospels with a raised voice manifests the words of Christ our God Himself, the commandments, and the very laws which He gave us, as well as the Passion, the burial, the Resurrection, and the Assumption; for the Evangelists make but a light mention of the miracles, signifying with a single word the innumerable multitude of prodigies. But because He whom we praise is at once God and man, the blessed Fathers have arranged mixed hymns for Him. And just as the Trisagion hymn, so also the Alleluia is an angelic hymnody, that it may be made manifest by our hymns that Christ is God—by the angelic ones—and is also man—by those from us. D Moreover, the censer, which is moved with incense while the Alleluia is chanted, denotes the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the disciples when He sent them to heal every disease and every infirmity in Israel. Then, after the reading of the Gospels, the prayers and supplications up to the Cherubic hymn signify the three-year teaching of Christ our God, and the catechesis of those prepared for baptism; for these very people...
the power of the words and the working of wonders drew together. Then, indeed, even the catechumens, who are not yet deemed worthy of the mysteries of Christ, are sent outside. The prayers made in the interval are offered both for these catechumens themselves, and for the faithful, and for the high priest himself. For the divine Fathers, considering what the soul and hand of one who is to touch the immaculate body of Christ our God must be—that it must be purer even than the solar rays—instituted the prayers for the sake of obtaining the pardon that they await from the kindness of God. A
18. The transfer, moreover, of the holy things—of the body, I mean, of the Master and of His blood—from the B prothesis, and their entry toward the altar during the chanting of the Cherubic hymn, signifies the Lord’s journey from Bethany to the city of Jerusalem. For then both the great crowd and the Hebrew children sang a hymn to Him as to a King and to the Victor over death, in a sensible way; but intellectually, the angels, together with the Cherubim, rendered the thrice-holy hymn. And the deacons bear the scepters and swords, which in former times were carried as symbols of royal power; and the fans, which are also called *ripidia*, serve as types of the Cherubim. C The Cherubic hymn that is sung admonishes all from that point until the end of the liturgy to hold their minds more attentively, casting away every worldly and earthly care, as those who are about to receive the great King through communion. The placement of the holy things upon the holy table at that time has the mimicry of the prepared upper room, and a little later, it similarly represents the elevation on the Cross; and in the end, it images the burial, the resurrection, and the subsequent ascension. For lest the blessed Fathers, by defining the hour, the time, and the place for each individual thing that happened then, should have need of further transfers and more numerous altars, and thus the mystery of the economy should become, as it were, exposed to mockery, they imitated the decorous manner of God’s creation of the world, insofar as it is permitted to man to imitate and perform divine things. And accordingly, they fashioned the ceiling above the holy table like the heaven; but they established the sacred floor, enclosed and circumscribed under the four columns of the ciborium, as the whole earth. In this, the prophetic saying is fulfilled: “Who worked salvation in the midst of the earth.” D For since all acknowledge Jerusalem to be situated in the middle of the earth—in which city the Lord endured His entire passion: the betrayal, the judgment, and those things which preceded and followed the Cross—since...
the holy table is also shown to be the boundary between heaven and earth, and has its position in the middle of the columns and the surrounding fans, it would rightly be regarded as being in heaven, whether it be in India or in the British 24 islands, signifying that the salvation accomplished in the middle of the earth 25 is manifested through the mysteries that are performed upon it. But if anyone should say that not every church possesses a ciborium, pedestals, and columns, it will suffice, I say, if it possesses the semicircular bema, which is established to be in every church and whose curved ceiling represents the celestial hemisphere, having the holy table in the middle opposite to it.
19. Now, after the deposition of the holy gifts, the bishop, reciting the prayer for himself and for the people, asks that the sacrifice of the only-begotten Son of God who is being immolated, which has been offered to God and the Father, may be acceptable. For He who is immolated for the honor of His own Father gave Himself up as a sacrifice, even though the Father did not demand it. And His blood, which was shed for the liberation of the whole human race, became a price and as it were a redemption. Afterwards, the deacon cries out with a loud voice: "Let us love one another," so that the greeting which is then performed sensibly may be received intellectually within the heart, and that all memory of injuries may be blotted out. Then the deacon doubles his petition, saying: "The doors, the doors! Let us attend in wisdom!" That is to say, let us not dare to handle these holy things insipidly or inconsiderately, nor let us perform this inviolable office and act as if by some daily custom, so that we may appear to offer an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord; but let us do so after we have understood with purity to whom and in what manner each of the prototypes, which are now being fulfilled, usefully and congruously belongs. It is therefore necessary that the mystagogues and initiators of these things—I mean the priests and bishops, and all who minister to them—should know the reason for the things being performed, and to what each one refers. For this is proper to a rational nature, just as it is commanded by the words: "Let us attend in wisdom." Following these are the words: "Let us stand aright, let us stand with fear; let us attend to the holy anaphora." But what is the anaphora? It is clearly the contemplation of the prototypes of the symbols being celebrated; for the term "anaphora" is demonstrative and signifies a likeness. Therefore, trembling and weeping at the same time, as if we were now seeing the God-man suffering for us, let us stand soberly and composedly, so that, in peace and without the disturbance of earthly thoughts, by presenting these things, we may be deemed worthy to see His divine resurrection and be filled with the joy that comes thence; especially those who partake of the Body as the holiness of the place requires. For these both suffer with Him and, being buried with Him, subsequently rise again.
24 *Some manuscripts read "British" for "Venetian."* 25 *Or "the cross" for "the earth."* 26 *See the Greek law regarding the semicircular bema, as noted by Allatius in "De templis Græcorum," ed. Paris, p. 166. Indeed, we see this decorous law preserved even in the ancient basilicas of Rome and Tuscany.*
A Furthermore, the high priest exhorts them to have their hearts and their whole mind on high. The faithful, as these things are said, promise to offer first mercy, then peace, as a sacrifice of praise. They also confess that their hearts are towards the Lord, just as they are commanded. Following this, it is ordained that the divine symbol of the orthodox faith be recited, so that from this it may be clear to all that one of the Trinity, the only-begotten Son and Word of the Father who has no beginning, for our salvation became man, incarnate of the holy Virgin, crucified, buried, and risen; and by whose divine command we perform these holy rites, so that not by words alone, but also by deeds, we may continually work out our salvation, and thus appear to be not only living but living with virtue; and we confess that He did indeed suffer these passions in the flesh, but that His divinity remained impassible; and at the same time, that by the recitation aloud of this divine symbol, even the ignorant and unlearned, hearing this song, may perceive in their minds the knowledge of the mystery, which is now divulged to the ears of many. B
21. On the closing of the doors, the spreading of the veil, and the air
The closing of the doors, and the spreading of the veil above them, as is the custom in monasteries, and the covering of the divine gifts with what is called the "air," signify, as I suppose, that night in which the betrayal by the disciple took place, and the leading away to Caiaphas, the presentation before Annas, the false testimonies, the mockeries, the buffetings, and all other things that happened at that time. For why is this covering called the "air," unless it is because the atmosphere of that night, covered in darkness, is typified by it? During which the great Peter, standing outside the door, at the request of the disciple who was known to the high priest, was brought into the courtyard; where a maidservant encountering him, and those who were sitting by the coals, accused him; and other things befell him which drove him to the precipice of denial; for he was permitted to fall by a lapse due to his own pride and boasting. C When the air is taken away, and the veil is drawn back, and the doors are opened, that morning is typified when they led Him away and handed Him over to Pontius Pilate the governor. During this time, namely while the doors are closed and the veil is stretched forth, the holy Fathers have ordained that the subdeacons remain outside in the spaces of the venerable temple, as if in an atrium of the sacred altar, removing scandals from the midst, and driving away and restraining, like a certain maidservant, those who run here and there shamelessly and impudently to the detriment of the simpler ones. Likewise, those who proclaim the words: "As many as are faithful," warn all those present to beware of falling; while they recall to them at this time the leader [of the apostles], so that none of them, by fear or guile, may be snatched away D by those demons who are always on the coals of punishment, casting fiery thoughts into their hearts, especially by the power of the sublimer ones, in their mind
not only considering the spitting and the blows, but even hearing of the blood, the passion, and the death of God—and from there, as if a supposed defender of God, foolishly grant Him an absolute state of being unfeeling and without pain, and thus be carried down into the abyss of the phantastic ones, and in the secret workshop of their mind be seen to make a denial of the entire economy of Christ. B
22. See how the inspired Fathers have handed down that the acts of the great Peter are to be signified here, so that we might consider that, if the foundation of the Church, upon whom she was soon to be built, by the disposition of Providence reached the point of being stripped of the sacred episcopacy and was in danger of perishing, having fallen into such a great disaster, how is it possible that some of those now, who have attained a sacred episcopacy that is not at all fitting for them, should not fall into such an abyss? Some say that the subdeacons carry the image of the legal rod, which those who were eating that first Passover once held in their hands; for the subdeacons, standing outside, demand quiet from the faithful, so that those who are inside, the priests, may have the convenience of performing the divine mysteries undisturbed. C
23. What, then, should one say regarding the divine fans, which the deacons hold in their hands during the interim, and move quickly over the holy things, as if in astonishment, until the completion of the august prayer: “Send down thy Holy Spirit upon us and upon these set-forth gifts”? It is indeed a bold tongue that speaks about these things, but since we have once yielded to the command of the one who ordered it, come, let us speak about these things too, God granting it. If these things of ours are acceptable to others, thanks be to God; for I know that they are not entirely blameworthy, nor outside the dogmas of the Christian faith. We say, therefore, that the celestial powers were present everywhere and always with Christ the Lord, but especially on that night on which He was betrayed. These, therefore, seeing the abduction to Caiaphas, the presentation before Annas, the false testimonies, the beatings with rods, the spittings, the blows, that mockery of the Jews, the scarlet garment put on by the soldiers, the crown of thorns, the adorations with laughter, and all the other things that the narrative of the divine Gospels recounts, and as many as perhaps it omitted due to the multitude—at each of the things occurring, being in doubt and astonished at the greatness of His patience, they were veiling their own faces and turning away; and again, revering the majesty of their Lord, they would return. And they did this until the elevation upon the cross. For the cross was the end of the bodily tortures and of the ignominy flowing from them; for in reality it proved to be glory, not ignominy; D for from here was the beginning of the operations and powers of the divinity; for from here that cosmic earthquake and the three hours of darkness over the whole earth, and the rending of the veil and the rocks, and the opening of the tombs, and, finally, the resurrection of the dead, and whatever the Savior wrought while descending into Hades.
A 24. Therefore, when Christ had arrived at the place of crucifixion, those heavenly powers laid aside their astonishment and admiration. In imitation of them, as has been said, the deacons wave the sacred liturgical fans. From this it is evident that all the ignominies, mocking honors, and derision that occurred before the cross affected the Sufferer even more—and likewise the spiritual, heavenly powers. Since, therefore, He who suffered these things was perfect man and likewise perfect God, bearing two natures in one hypostasis, unconfused, immutable, and unchangeable—the human nature undergoing pains, while the divine remained impassible—for this reason, the ministers and mystagogues of our salvation sometimes celebrate the dispensation and endurance of the passion; at other times they offer up to the supersubstantial nature a doxology worthy of God, as it is rendered to Him by the Cherubim and Seraphim themselves. For the triumphant hymn B proclaimed in a loud voice leads us to this; for we ought to return to that place from which we departed.
25. Furthermore, after the proclamation, the Trisagion hymn is sung; and while this is being chanted, the prayer—especially that of the great Basil, but also that of the divine Chrysostom—descends from the divine nature to the incarnation, and after declaring the whole saving economy, they proclaim in a loud voice: "Take, eat." The omission of the word "all" in the phrase "Take, eat," and conversely its addition to the words "Drink of it, all," seems to raise a certain question. We say, therefore, that the word "all" has a twofold meaning: namely, it is spoken historically and spiritually. Historically, because of the treachery of the betrayer during these very mysteries; spiritually, as the eye-witnesses of God, the apostles and divine Fathers, [interpret it]. Finally, one must state what is especially spiritual. When all the disciples had received the divine bread into their hands from the hands of Christ our God, and had partaken with fear and faith, Judas alone took and hid it, and by manifesting it to the Jews, he made the mystery public. For this reason, as they say, the phrase: "For I will not tell the mystery to your enemies," is added to the words: "At your mystical supper." However, when the divine blood was received by the lips and mouths of all from one cup, the betrayer could not act in secret, but partook and drank as did the others. Knowing this matter, the Lord, who knows all things before they come to pass, omitted "all" when speaking of the bread; but in the case of the cup, since Judas was also going to partake, He added the word. And thus much has been said on this point. C D
Whatever may be the opinion regarding this, or the common tradition concerning the sacred mystery revealed to the Jews by Judas, to the effect that he himself partook of the mysteries along with the others, Petrus Laodicenus also says as much in our work, p. 544. Likewise, St. Peter Damian, whom we cited above, says in reference to the canon of the Mass, n. 6: "He is accustomed," he says, "to doubt whether Judas received it, which seems to be the case, when He says: Drink of this, all of you." But it is asked, for what reason did the salutary Physician give medicine to a sick man whom He knew it would kill? To this, it must be said, He gave it so that it might be taught by His own example that a priest ought not to deny communion to anyone whose crime, even if it is known to himself, is not yet known to the Church; lest by chance he be not a corrector, but a traitor.
C 26. It remains to explain what those who understand the mysteries have set forth regarding its common utility and instruction. The command, "Take, eat," is stated absolutely, in a didactic and hortatory style, as addressed to all men whom the divine Fathers exhort with paternal affection; so that the faithless may come to the faith, led not by any force or necessity, but rather by persuasion and the disposition of the soul, which is truly the law of worship and faith. But after we have approached and been cleansed by holy baptism, only then are we worthy to receive the more solid nourishment of doctrines. For the great Basil says to those not yet initiated in holy baptism: "How shall I manifest the sweetness of honey to those who do not know it? Taste and see that the Lord is good." 20 However, those who have already believed and are members of the orthodox assembly must not partake altogether indifferently and without testing themselves. For the Apostle says: "But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." 21 By this, he means every believer. Therefore, D whoever is conscious that he is unworthy of participating in these must not dare either to take or to eat. For this reason, the word "all" was not added to the first "take"; that is to say: take, you who have a proven conscience. But in the phrase "drink [all]," a law is laid down for those partaking of the divine body, commanding them and saying: Let no one of those who are admitted to the holy synaxis say to himself that it is not necessary to drink also of the blood, but all you who have partaken of the divine body, drink also of the divine blood from the cup; so that by this rite also you may confess the two natures in the one person of Christ our God; and receiving this as the price of the world's freedom, voluntarily offered, you yourselves may finally obtain freedom. We are reminded to do this in his commemoration. And indeed the phrase: "As often as you shall eat this bread and drink this cup," demonstrates that this should be done daily by those who are able, and that his passion for us should be glorified, and celebrated until his second and glorious coming.
27. After the following prayer the bishop demonstrates the holy things, saying: "And make this bread the very precious body of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ; and that which is in this cup, the very precious blood of thy Christ, changing it by thy holy Spirit, which was shed for the life of the world." B A
A This indeed we know and believe, that it is transmuted just as the invocation has it. But the great Basil, in place of those words, "changing it by thy holy Spirit," has set down, "which was shed for the life of the world." These things, however, are not contrary to one another; for the one [Chrysostom], indicating the property of the life-giving Spirit, wrote this; while the other [Basil], discoursing on divine things, demonstrates the identity of the essence and operation, and also of the will and power, of the Trinity, attributing the cooperation of the transmutation to the Father. And hence both prove that whatsoever the Father effects, the same also the Son and the holy Spirit effect; and whatsoever the Son, the same also the Father and the Paraclete; and whatsoever the latter, the same also the Father and the Only-begotten. From this point, therefore, the prayer said after the showing of the divine gifts, which itself also bears a double meaning—that according to the mind of the great Basil, and the other of the great John, who had a mouth more precious than all gold—is clearly perceived by those who examine it most beautifully. For the divine Basil introduces the memory of the saints in some such way as this, saying: "That we may find mercy and grace with all the holy fathers, patriarchs, and all the just who have lived from of old." But the golden-mouthed one, as it is written, judges that the sacrifice is to be offered B even for them. And deservedly; for not for sinners alone did the good Shepherd shed his blood, and offer himself as a host to the Father for their reconciliation, but also for those very just ones. For there is not, I say, there is not one who shall live and not sin, even if his life be but one day long: therefore, because all were liable, he died for all. For even all those who were before the cross, because of the transgression of the first-created man and other sins that followed, were liable and bound to death. But neither did the law of Moses justify any of them. Therefore, he died once for all. We confess, furthermore, that we perceive the same death and resurrection in the mysteries, and it is known to those who offer worthily that all things are now fulfilled therein exactly as they were accomplished at that time.
28. And let no one say, "How is it permitted for bishops to intercede for such saints?" C For D after these words, the transubstantiation (transsubstantiatio) immediately takes place; and the bread changes into the true body of Christ by transubstantiation, when it casts off all its own substance of bread-ness, and is transubstantiated into the flesh and blood of Christ, changing by the holy Spirit.
A Indeed, insofar as they have been made worthy to bear the person of the great high priest, this is possible. For otherwise, those things which they say or do in the divine liturgy in their own person, as if they had received authority from men, they seem to perform as bishops; yet those things which they exhibit above human condition, such as the cherubic and seraphic hymns and all other things, these, being beyond their own dignity, are clearly pronounced by them both in raised and in lowered voices, just as the great Dionysius sets forth for us more clearly B (36). Indeed, he says that this our divine liturgy is performed in imitation of the heavenly powers and of those orders whose figure the sacred ministers bear, some having obtained the first station and order, others the second, and so on. And he calls the deacon the purifier, the priest the illuminator, and the bishop the perfecter. When therefore you hear the words: "Moreover, we offer to you this reasonable worship," and the bishop mystically whispering the names of other saints in a low voice, and then soon crying out in a clear voice: "Especially our most holy, immaculate, and above all blessed Lady, the Theotokos," what sort of person do you deem him to be, the one who says these things? To me, certainly, he appears to be speaking these words in the person of the Lord. For in another prayer He says: "For You are the One who offers and is offered, who receives and is distributed." Thus, therefore, it is demonstrated that the God-man Lord alone is without sin, and that He has simply made satisfaction for all, and that the acts of that time—His passion, I say, His burial, and His resurrection—are now all truly performed by the faithful through symbols. And it was determined that the same should be confessed in a like manner by the God-speaking masters. C
29. The exclamation, however, which is recited after the completion of such a prayer—which is said both by the great Basil and also by Chrysostom—leads us to a simple understanding. For how could the statement, "That we may find mercy and grace," be reconciled with, "Especially the most holy, immaculate"? In which the God-speaker perhaps signifies another thing entirely: namely, since all the righteous are destined to stand on the right side of the Judge, and therein the Mother of the God-man Lord herself, and the rank and station of each shall be distinct; nevertheless, as if we were all situated in one part, the priest asks that we be found worthy of the station of those who have pleased Christ, who is without sin, D and that we not be numbered with those on the left and the condemned. But it is far better to understand these things as said and acted by Christ. For He is the Son and the Word, immolated without immolation, the Lamb and victim, and the same is the high priest forever. Therefore, He Himself prays to His Father for us. Indeed, while the priest says: "Take, eat, this is my body," is this not said as if by Christ Himself? Thus, therefore, the words of the high priest in the divine mystagogy are understood in a threefold way: some, indeed, as being from a mediator, just as we pray for others who are at rest in peace, that we may pray for them, but more so that they may pray for us, so that we may adhere to their footsteps.
A Some are rendered by a mediator from among men, and presented to the Father; others are by way of imitation of the heavenly powers; and others, finally, by Christ our God Himself. But why have they conjoined all the saints of the Old and New Testaments? First, because of all that we have already stated; and then to demonstrate that there is one God of both the former and the latter, who saw fit to accomplish this present mystery before the ages; and because we have all been healed by His stripes, and because His blood was shed for all.
30. B Thereafter, as the deacon whispers the diptychs of those who have fallen asleep, the high priest again begins the commemoration of the saints of the New Testament, placing the Forerunner John first among them, just as the evangelists placed him before the coming of the Savior, as the first messenger and herald of the advent of Christ; confirming, as it were, the words of Christ: "Among those born of women there has not risen a greater than he." Then the apostles and the saints, whose memory we keep, are set forth. But why do we call these a Testament? Because the legislation given by Moses, and the tabernacle of testimony itself, were a figure of this, which the Lawgiver called a Testament. C If, therefore, the figure is a Testament, much more so is the truth which has appeared. That former tabernacle, according to the divine Paul 22, had "ordinances of divine service," and other testimonies of marvelous mysteries; it also had the precepts and commandments of God, and promises to those who keep them; concerning which the Lawgiver issued a decree, saying that He Himself and the given commandments should be obeyed until He should come to whom it is reserved, as Jacob says. But Moses himself spoke literally thus: "The Lord will raise up a Prophet for you, like me; you shall hear Him in all things that He shall say to you 23."
31. D Therefore, having come after what was prophesied by those—by Jacob and by Moses, and by other prophets inspired by God thereafter—He fulfilled what was lacking in the ancient laws, just as He Himself said: "I have not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it 25." And He fulfilled it indeed, in that He cut away the roots and the origins of sins; if they are kept, no one will ever proceed to the completion of sin. For while the ancient law said, "You shall not kill," the Giver of that and of the new, Christ, added, "You shall not be angry." The former said, "You shall not commit adultery"; He said, "You shall not covet"; and whatever else is to be learned especially from the divine Fathers. And whereas the former Testament was dedicated in blood, our own is likewise confirmed by the blood of the immaculate Lamb, as a Testament in a certain Erythraean royal dye, signed by the hand of the Spirit through the whole content; it remains unbreakable and infallible for the Church, even though it has withstood many uprisings of enemies, yet it has been shown to be stronger than the gates of hell by the power of Him who inscribed it upon the hearts of the faithful. For He says
through the prophet: "Behold, the days are coming, and I will make a new covenant with you, not according to the covenant which I made with your fathers, but I will put my laws into their hearts; and they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them; and they shall all be taught by God." For this reason Christ left nothing in writing, but gave the teaching and the commandments, that is, our law, word for word, and the mystery itself through practical tradition. Moreover, He promised, saying: "When the Paraclete comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, He will teach you all things, and will bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you; and He will announce other things, which you are not yet able to hear and to bear." And this came to pass when the Paraclete arrived.
32. Then the apostles emerged as bishops; and the Holy Spirit, which dwelt in them in the form of tongues of fire, instructed them in what was necessary, and assigned each of them to the nation whose language He was teaching them. They performed the divine prayers of the mysteries and the sacred rites, as each nation was able to endure them, and as the circumstances of the times B and the ambushes of their persecutors required. And in their prayers and their proclamations they perhaps differed among themselves; yet the form of the handed-down mysteries was in every way that which our Lord Jesus Christ had delivered. But after the God-inspired apostles, some of the holy Fathers, each in his own particular way, composed prayers and proclamations, and completed the offices of the liturgy; as, for instance, the holy and illustrious Epiphanius, and the great Basil, and the divine Chrysostom. Yet all of them drank their dogmas from the life-giving fountain of the Paraclete, which the Orthodox Church has received as if spoken and done by Christ Himself. And now, above all others, the divine liturgy of the great Basil prevails, as does that of the divine Chrysostom, along with that of the Pre-sanctified C, which some say belongs to James, who was called the brother of the Lord; others say to Peter the apostle and chief, and others to still different authors.
33. After the commemoration D of the aforementioned apostles and saints, the list of the commemorated dead is recited, as well as of those for whom the offerings are made; next, those of the priests, the kings, and all, together. For these masters of the liturgy, wishing the bishop to be like unto God, judge it just that prayers should be poured forth by him even for his enemies; for such it behooves the bishop to be—namely, a mediator between God and men. Then, with a loud voice: "Remember, O Lord, in the first place, our Archbishop"; by which words, obedience is shown
A to a higher authority; and he who is commemorated shares in the faith of the bishop, who is the offerer and successor of the tradition of the mysteries, not some modern-day mystagogue or inventor of the symbols offered by him. After such proclamations, the diptychs of the living—such as bishops, kings, and the rest—are announced in a loud voice by the deacon, while the bishop prays for peace for all the churches and asks for the remission of their sins. And immediately there is another prayer for himself and for the people. After this, the prayer dictated by Christ our God is recited in a loud voice by the whole people: "Our Father, who art in heaven."
34. This B is also established to be recited here for many other grave reasons, which are known only to those who are initiates of the mysteries of God. But, as far as I understand it, it is also because this prayer coheres with the more principal part of the Liturgy, as it contains all things; and so that some might not have room to say that Christ commanded us to recite only this prayer, and nothing else—as do those called the Euchite heretics, also known as Messalians and Phundaites. For these stubbornly maintain that even if one has recited it ten thousand times, one must say it again and add nothing else, foolishly labeling the remaining hymns and confessions mere verbosity. But Christ our God, just as in all other things, also in this prayer showed and taught us the pattern and form of praying: specifically, how one ought to ask for things that are necessary, and by the words of this prayer to avoid the C petition for fleeting and temporal things; to petition only for the "substantial" bread—that is, the bread that strengthens and preserves the substance of the body, so that it might not be destroyed by hunger. Furthermore, he allowed us to ask not to enter into temptation. He ordered everyone to weave all other things—being spiritual and suitable for the age to come—according to the form and character of this divinely-spoken prayer.
35. These same God-cursed Euchites, who also foolishly attribute the power and sovereignty of this whole world to the devil (so great is their madness!), circumscribe all the prayers of the one praying to these words alone. But the chorus of the God-speaking apostles, and after them the series of the holy Fathers, though they teach that those who pray should pray with similar sentiments, and in accordance with the same pattern, yet they also D sought to appease the good Lord with very many and various doxologies, and they joined this prayer with others as well. For why? Because Christ did not teach us to weep and groan in this prayer, must one therefore forbid these things? By what means did David, the great prophet and king, wipe away the crimes of adultery and murder? Was it not by washing his bed and couch with tears every night? How did the three children in the midst of the fire experience the dew? Was it not by saying these words: "We have sinned, we have done iniquitously"? [29 Dan. III, 29]
"? A And now it is not given to us to open our mouth; we have become a shame and a reproach to your servants, and to those who worship you," and all the other things contained in that prayer. For as if not content with these, they incite the entire creation to give thanks and to sing hymns to the Creator. Was this also chatter, O disciples of Antichrist, who go before his advent? For I do not hesitate to call you his forerunners. It is by these prayers, therefore, composed by the holy Fathers, that God is most of all propitiated and moved to mercy.
B 36. But coming here in the discourse, after the recitation in a loud voice of the prayer known as that of the bowing of the head, I thought it necessary to interpose what is done according to ecclesiastical tradition. For it has already been said that when the prothesis is set up, the Lord’s blood is prepared along with the divine body by the deacon, who also pours in a small portion of water; and they remain thus, sanctified and transmuted by the Holy Spirit, until the time when the precious body of Christ our God is elevated. Then indeed a small vessel of boiling water is brought, and from it they pour into the vessels placed upon the holy table, whether they be craters or chalices; so that, just as both (water and blood) flowed out hot from the vital fountain of the sacred side, so the boiling water, poured in at the time of communion, may complete the perfect type, while the communicants touch the rim of the chalice as if it were the vital side itself. But let us return to the sequence of the discourse.
C 37. After the proclamation of the prayer known as that of the bowing of the head, and after the bishop’s profound adoration, the elevation of the venerable body of Christ our God takes place, as the priest says, testifying and speaking almost in these words: "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship the footstool of his feet, for he is holy: behold the aforementioned holy Lord is being elevated. Whoever therefore is holy, let him draw near. For holy things are for the holy." The hearers, however, D considering the weakness of human nature, say: "One is holy, the Lord Jesus Christ, entirely inaccessible to sin." And immediately the division of the divine body is accomplished. But although it is divided into parts, it remains impartible and undivided in each of the divided parts, the same whole God-man being both divided and found. For even if he was subject to corruption and death, yet his flesh did not see corruption in Hades. Now the elevation of the venerable body represents the elevation upon the cross, and death therein, and his very resurrection. Moreover, the participation also denotes that tradition of the bread and the common chalice at the mystical supper before the passion, concerning which our Savior said: "From now on I will not drink of this, until I drink it new in the kingdom of my Father"; which he truly drank after the resurrection in a miraculous and unusual way: for not as if somehow
the body at that time had need of food, but to provide assurance to the disciples concerning the resurrection.
B 38. After this comes the prayer of thanksgiving, and the lifting up of the remaining divine fragments, by which act the assumption of our Lord and God is signified. For then the priest says: "Be thou exalted over the heavens, O God, and thy glory over all the earth." For as he was being exalted in the assumption, the angels said to the apostles: "This one who has been taken up from you will come again as judge." And then every knee shall bow to him, of those in heaven and on earth, and his glory will be over all the earth. For even if there are some now who do not confess him, then no one will contradict. For then, says Gregory the Theologian, they will believe when they see him coming down from heaven and sitting as a judge. The final censing signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit, which he gave by breathing upon the apostles after the resurrection. And the prayer behind the ambo is, as it were, a seal of all the petitions, and an orderly summary, ranking equal to the first and more precious epilogues. For since the entire divine liturgy is performed primarily for those who have brought the offerings, and for those on whose behalf they brought them, it is finally supplemented by this one prayer for all the rest. Since many who stand outside the altar are often in perplexity, wavering in their minds and saying: "What is the aim, and what is the meaning and power of the prayers whispered secretly by the bishop?"—and they desire to gain some knowledge of these—for this reason the divine Fathers, as a summary of all the things requested through the prayers, devised the form of this prayer, instructing the curious, as it were, from the fringe of the garment. For what else remains but the type of the virginal body, the dividing of the eulogia and the oblation? For the bread is broken and divided as an impartation of ineffable eulogia for those who receive with faith; but as an oblation, it is returned to those who have made the offering, full of holiness from the sacred rite. And thus, from the participation of the immaculate body of Christ our God, who was born of her, and of the precious blood, the sanctification and blessing accrues to the faithful.
D 39. Having added one more thing, I will bring the discourse to a close. Since some of the priests, some under the pretext of poverty, others out of insatiable greed, do not shrink from celebrating two liturgies, but boldly crucify Christ again, and indeed crucify him repeatedly and on the same altar, attempting this most fearful act in this way; and not infrequently, because of the accidental events of life or because of negligence, they leave the work unfinished,
and it happens that after the passing of three or more days, these are found to be full of moisture or soot, and for this reason, it is impossible for anyone to consume them; therefore, I say, it is necessary to consume these with fire and to place the remaining ashes in a noble place. For thus also the remnants of the bones of that ancient lamb A were consumed by fire. Nor, indeed, shall the priest who neglects these things avoid the penalties imposed by the canons; for there is nothing of our Lamb that is inedible, nothing hard or bony. For He is the enhypostatic Word. Yet the Word is received by every soul that prepares itself worthily to be His dwelling place: to which He said that not only the Word Himself, but also the Father would come with Him, and the Holy Spirit, and make their abode with her.
40. These things have been put together in haste, according to our weakness, because of the insistent and most fervent supplication of the man who commanded it. But whoever reads these things should not think that a full explanation of the sacred mysteries has been accomplished by this writing. Rather, let him consider that this has happened to him as if one who desires to see the beauty of an extraordinary and unknown city should chance upon some guide, by whom, being led by the hand, he is able, as if through some window, to see the brilliance and splendor of the light sent forth from within, B though not the very nature of the goods stored inside. For my secrets, says the Lord, are for me and mine. How then could I, who have not only distanced myself from God, but am also far removed from those who draw near to Him, be able to think or express anything worthy of God? C Yet it is pleasing, whatever is done according to one's strength, provided it does not seem to depart from His dogmas and commands. But if anyone finds anything useful in these writings, let him offer to God a prayer for the forgiveness of my errors, for my sake who have labored on them. Then also thanksgiving, because He is accustomed to illuminate from the eternal mountains those who have been deemed worthy to contemplate these things intellectually. Because to Him is due all glory, honor, and adoration—to the Father, that is, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and unto the ages of ages. Amen. D