that doing Thy will, O Christ, we may all be found worthy to reign with Thee. Thou alone, O immaculate and most holy Mary, Mother of God, hast been shown as the vessel of light illuminating all creation: wherefore I beseech thee, enlighten my miserable soul, blinded by the desires of life, that I may walk as in the day along the paths that lead to God. A
SOPHRONIUS, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM: LITURGICAL COMMENTARY
(Ang. Mai, Spicil. Rom., IV, 31.)B Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Commentary comprising the entire ecclesiastical history and a subtle exposition of all things which are performed in the divine Liturgy.
1. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, having promised and said: "When the Paraclete shall come, whom I will send to you from the Father, He shall teach you, and shall bring to your mind all things whatsoever I have said to you; and other things also He shall declare, which you are not able to hear and to bear now." C After the descent of the Paraclete, the Apostles took up the office of high priests; for He, the Holy Spirit, who had descended in the image of fiery tongues and dwelt within them, taught them and led them forth to all the nations whose language they had been imbued with. Therefore, they composed the prayers of the mysteries, that is, of the divine Liturgy, each according to the endurance of his people, the circumstances of the times, and the ambushes of the persecutors; and in their prayers and invocations they differed from one another, but the form of the institution of the mysteries was kept invariably by all, just as our Lord Jesus Christ had delivered it. But after the divine Apostles were taken from this world, certain of the divine Fathers acted separately, each making prayers and invocations, and an arranged order of the Liturgy; such as the illustrious Epiphanius among the saints, and the great Basil, and the divine Chrysostom; yet all of them drew their teachings from the rills of the life-giving spring of the Paraclete. D These the Church of the orthodox received as though they had been spoken and performed by Christ Himself; and now, above others, the Liturgy of the Great Basil and of John Chrysostom prevails, along with that of the Presanctified, which some attribute to James, named the brother of the Lord, while others attribute it to Peter, the chief of the apostles, and others in different ways.
2. Since it is our intention to speak concerning those things which are performed in the divine Liturgy, it is necessary first to state what the Church is, and what meaning it holds
A. The *concha*, the *synthronon*, the *myax*, and other things of this kind. The Church is so named because the orthodox are gathered and called together in it; it is also called an "enclosure" [complexus], because it contains the wonderful works of God. The *concha* is in accordance with the stable in Bethlehem and the cave in which the Lord was buried; the *synthronon* B is a type of the heavenly throne, into which, having been victorious over this world, He was taken up with His flesh, and upon it He sat. It is called *synthronon* and not simply a throne, because the Son sits together with the Father; the other thrones signify the honor which the righteous will receive after their resurrection, according to the saying: "I have said, You are gods." The priests sit together with Him, as if they had been crucified with Christ, along with their passions and desires; the ministers, meanwhile, stand in the manner of angels. The holy table represents the holy monument in which He was buried; the holy prothesis represents the place of the Skull where He was crucified: therefore, sacrifice is offered upon it. The *ciborius* is in the likeness of the Ark of Noah; the "cibori" [cibulus] signifies the ark, and the other part signifies its arrangement; the columns stand in imitation of the four living creatures which the prophet saw. C 3. It is called an altar in accordance with the heavenly and spiritual altar, so that the earthly priests may represent the spiritual and immaterial hierarchies, which shine like burning fire, or in accordance with the holy monument of Christ, in which the Son offered Himself as a sacrifice to God the Father, and Christ is upon the footstool. The *myax* [the volute] above the sanctuary represents the first heaven; the remaining roof of the Church represents the visible heaven, and the lamps burning below have the meaning of the stars; the bema is in imitation of the heavenly altar; and just as the angels of God minister there, so too do the earthly priests stand in the holy bema, serving the Lord at all times. Therefore, it is fitting for the priest to be as burning fire, and also to be blameless and free from every stain and reproach; for priests take the place of archangels. And just as the Seraph took the coal and gave it to Isaiah, so too do the priests take the bread, that is, the body of the Lord, and give it to the people. Let no one, therefore, think that the holy things of the body and blood of Christ are mere representations [antitypes], but let everyone believe that the bread and wine offered are changed into the body and blood of Christ. Another explanation: The bema is an elevated place, a sacred podium; it points to the second coming, because He who is seated upon it is about to judge the living and the dead. D 4. The *kosmete* [ornament] is in accordance with the legal and holy order, showing forth the impress of the crucified Christ decorated by the Cross, or the *kosmete* is a type of the veil; the chancel screens are antitypes of the screens of the tomb; they are bronze so that no one may enter simply; they also indicate a place of prayer, restraining the people who are outside from entering, while
A granting access only to priests. The solea, in the manner of a river of fire, separates the sinners from the just, according to divine Paul who says: "Each one's work the fire shall test" (1 Cor. III, 13). The ambo takes the form of the stone which the angel rolled away and sat upon, near the door of the tomb, announcing the resurrection to the myrrh-bearing women; the steps of the ambo remind one of Jacob's ladder. The part for women B has come to be so that women may be separated from men; just as the myrrh-bearing women did not enter into the tomb with Joseph and Nicodemus, but stood outside and wept. The narthex exists so that the people may stand outside at the hour of incense. The place for the catechumens is a type of the angels who do not descend to the earth, but from the heavens overlook the sacred rites on earth; or because the Scripture says: "Lift up your gates" (Ps. XXIII, 7).
§ 5. The bell hints at the trumpets of the angels with which the angels shall sound on the last day and awaken all nations. The *endyti* (vestment) is the womb of the Theotokos. The *eiliton* (corporal) is the shroud in which He was buried. The diskos holds the form of a cloud in a small outline. The chalice is that of which He said: "Drink from it, all of you" (Matth. XXVI, 27). The spoon, according to the prophet Isaiah who says: "One of the Seraphim was sent to me" (Isa. VI, 6), signifies also the Virgin, who carried the heavenly Bread itself. The star along with the four living creatures covers the heavenly coal; it is also there so that the pearls might not stick to the diskos-cover. The strainer is so that nothing common might fall into the divine cup. The lamps and the candles are a type of the eternal light; they also show the light that the righteous will radiate. It is called *Dominica* (Sunday) because Christ rose on it; it signifies a healing from the Lord, for on it He healed the Adamic infirmity; and we do not bend the knee on this day, because the faith was raised up through the resurrection of Christ; we do not bend the knee until the Sunday of Pentecost, because we must maintain the seven days after Holy Pascha sevenfold; that is, seven times seven is forty-nine, and the Sunday makes fifty, which is a figure of the world to come; we pray toward the east, among other reasons, especially because we hope to obtain the food from Eden which was planted toward the east.
§ 6. The high priest is a type of the Master; for just as the Master sends the angels, so likewise the bishop sends the priests. The bishop is clothed in a white vestment D because of the form of the powers on high, that is to say, of the Master; just as John also says of Him: "His clothing was white as snow" (Matth. XVII, 2). He is girded with a triple omophorion, because he puts on the Trinity. The round tonsure on the head of the priest signifies the crown of thorns, and the fact that the double crown, which is formed by the arrangement of the hair, depicts the head of the chief apostle to the life, when Peter was shorn by those unthinking men.
A Christ blessed this. The top of the twelve-stoned crown, as Peter the apostle is, shines as a fiery column of the priest according to the prophet: "Who makes his angels spirits," and again, "Who is this who comes from Edom?" It is called scarlet; and again, because Christ wore a scarlet chlamys during his Passion. The priests hold the place of the Seraphic choir, and covered with their stoles, they are clothed with wings; with two wings of their lips they sing the heavenly hymn, and taking with their hands the spiritual fire, Christ, they carry him in the altar.
7. The deacons, in the manner of the angelic powers, fly around like ministers of the spirit with the light wings of their linen oraria, as liturgical spirits in service. It is called a sticharion because the grace of God stands in it; it is a type of the flesh of Christ, being white, as human flesh is also white; it also has armpits because of the side pierced by the lance. The bands for the sleeves represent the bonds of his hands, by which they led him to Annas and Caiaphas; for they bound him not behind, but before his breast. The *anacolaphe* of the sticharion serves as the sensible belt. The priest is girded because he performs spiritual acts and simply binds up his rational faculties. The phelonion is the seamless tunic which appeared through the Holy Spirit; it is the scarlet chlamys. The *encheirion* is the towel; if the phelonion is fire-colored, it is because of the Scripture saying, "Why are your garments red?" but if they are white, they indicate the transformation, and that the angel appeared in white to the women, showing through the whiteness the brightness of the resurrection, toward which the people look. The rod is for all the people. The omophorion is according to the vestment of Aaron, which the high priests under the law wore, placing small cloths on the left side.
B 8. The tonsure signifies, as it does for the priest, that they placed a crown of thorns upon his head. The epitrullion of his head is the foundation of the cherubic throne, for "The Cherubim shall rest upon his head," and it also signifies the vision of angels. The sticharion is white-robed, as an angel's. The orarion is in the image of the wings of angels, because it flows down as far as the feet and is placed upon the left shoulder, pointing to the two Testaments, the New in front and the Old behind. For this reason, in the communion, if one does not mix the Old and the New, there is no communion. The *encheiridia* which the deacons carry are the sweat-cloths of the bodies of the apostles.
Since these things have thus been explained beforehand, let us speak also concerning the body of the victim which is sacrificed by the priests. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who was sacrificed for the life and salvation of the world, is daily sacrificed by the priests in the holy prothesis, just as he was crucified in the place of Calvary; he is sacrificed with a lance, so that perhaps
we do not forget the immaculate side pierced by the lance during the holy passion of the cross, from which blood and water immediately flowed forth for the incorruption and restoration of this world—a sacrifice which the priest offers for the people.
9. The offering A is called by many names: it is called blessing, oblation, first-fruits, bread. It is called blessing, as it removes the curse of our first parents; oblation, because we offer to God our Creator, for the sake of honor, that which we have as the best in the whole human race, as a most holy sacrifice; first-fruits, because we can bring nothing holier or more excellent to God. It is called bread, because it manifests the heavenly bread, which is given to us who partake of it for our nourishment.
The great Basil taught us to sign the oblation; they bring forth this oblation, so that each one of the people may receive a portion in the communion; if the crowd is larger, the portions must be divided, and we carry the bread on the disk and place it before the people, as in a cloud, saying: "As a sheep he was led to the slaughter" [Isa. liii, 7]. The B prothesis has the same, or indeed a much greater virtue than the Holy of Holies; it indicates the Bethlehemitic cave, or the furnished upper room in which the Lord, after the supper, said to his disciples: "Do this in my remembrance" [Luc. xxii, 19], that is, unto eternity, according to the order of Melchizedek. But what is the order of Melchizedek, and what was offered by him? Bread and wine, with which he received Abraham. If Melchizedek was from a foreign tribe, and is considered and believed to be a type of Christ, then the Levitical priesthood is rejected; and with that being cast out, it is absolutely necessary that the law and the ancient worship be changed.
10. Of our own worship, it says: "Behold, C incense is offered to me in every land" [Malach. i, 11]. For just as the immaterial God took flesh from the Virgin and was in one hypostasis perfect God and perfect man, like us in all things without sin, so too the deacon or the priest cuts the new body, as if from a womb and blood, and flesh taken from the Virgin—that is, from the substance of the bread—with a metal instrument, namely the lance, of which there was mention above. In this way it is hypostatically consecrated. For the bread is already in the prothesis, yet it appears as expiating. He who took up the whole nature D of man offers himself as first-fruits to God and the Father, and as an elect sacrifice from all fruits. Nevertheless, the deacon, or the priest with him, prepares these things so that, at the fitting time of the Passion, through the coming of the life-giving Spirit, the blood of the Lord may be perfected. When the matter has been placed in the prothesis, the priest makes the invocation. When he separates the body of the Lord from the blessed elements, he imitates the angel who announced the "Ave" to the Virgin. For thus the divine body is present on the altar, just as it was in Bethlehem, where Christ was born; in the same way as it was in Nazareth, as it was in Capharnaum, or, to speak simply, the period of thirty years which
precedes baptism and the period of indwelling, the prothesis fulfills.
A 11. The time is assigned by the high priest when he is about to begin the divine liturgy. That time the prophet Isaiah indicates, when he announces the birth of the Forerunner and the advent of Christ; for Isaiah designated that time better than any other of the prophets. Regarding John, he said thus: "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you," and the other things which he prophesied. Regarding Christ: "Behold, the Virgin shall have in her womb," and all the things which he prophesied concerning the passion, the burial, and the resurrection; for in this time, the mystery which had been hidden before the foundation of the world was to be manifested, and it received its completion. The priest who performs the beginning of the divine liturgy bears the figure of John the Baptist, the Forerunner, who began the preaching and said: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Therefore the deacon says: "Bless, O Lord," asking for the sake of the divine mystery from the priest—that is, from the Divinity—that the holy mysteries may be perfected. The priest, being interceded with to invoke the most holy Trinity in the perfection of the mysteries, says: "Blessed is the kingdom." The people, on their part, divinely transformed just as the apostles were transformed, answer with joy and trembling: "Amen," that is to say: truth. Once the sacred action has begun and the first prayer is finished, certain things from the prophets are read, with the end that it may be understood that the things predicted have had their fulfillment and that the Old Testament preceded; the one legislator is he who appeared in the last days.
B 12. You must know that at the beginning of every morning and evening service, first the psalms of the Old Testament are chanted, then the songs of the new grace, so that all may know that it is one and the same God and Lord Christ who ordained both these and those. Therefore, as has been said, after the first petition, the antiphons are chanted, first urging all to confess and give glory to the Lord, who bestowed salvation upon the human race; second, proclaiming with a great voice, "The Lord has reigned," that is to say, the Lord, the King before the ages, now reigns more greatly, having put on this humble flesh of ours—which he also called "power," just as what appeared as shame to most on the cross, he called "servant." For just as a king who always has power and strength within himself, and does not use them against his enemies, but later, when he wishes to avenge his subjects, arises and with some small weapon crushes his enemies, and casts them into the abyss of destruction, and hears from all those who have been liberated from the ty-[continued on next page]
tyranny, A "Now our Master has reigned, now he has clothed himself with power." For those who term his counsel and desire the "vengeance," also term it "kingdom and power." Thus, too, the Prophet, foreseeing the presence of the Word of God in the flesh, the time and the vengeance for the human race, the dissolution of the enemy and the demons with him, and furthermore the mortification of death, and the freedom of those held by him—although he was present only at the cave of the Lord’s nativity—he proclaimed beforehand, "Now he has reigned," and "Now he has clothed himself with power," not in the sense as if power were beginning in him, but as if it were inherent and held in reserve to shine forth at the preordained and adapted time. For it is the custom of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which confirms all things, to announce future things as present or as past.
13. To the end of the first antiphon is appended, "Through the intercessions of the Theotokos, save us." For what reason, if not to confirm completely the types spoken of beforehand by him concerning the Ever-Virgin? And for the second, the refrain, "Through the intercessions of thy saints," since, for the sake of the salvation of souls and the forgiveness of sins, we celebrate the divine sacraments, it is fitting that we should call upon the Mother of God—who is superior to all the saints and even to the heavenly powers themselves—for her intercession; and then those who have pleased her Son. The "Only-begotten Son" B is proclaimed by the Emperor Justinian; which shows that the Son of God, without change, became man for the salvation of the human race.
The priest goes forth carrying the Gospel, as Christ carried the cross; but if the deacon carries it, he imitates Simon who was forced into service. The candles shining at the entrance indicate the divine light. The entrance of the high priest signifies the manifestation of Christ and our God at the Jordan; for up to that time, even if he was high priest, he was not yet manifest and known to all, nor had he stood in the midst to perform supernatural and most holy acts. But the priest who has obtained the time acts like the Forerunner, performing the baptism of repentance; and seeing the high priest entering, he withdraws, as if uttering these words of John to himself: "He must increase, but I must decrease," and immediately allows the high priest to perform the greater rites. C
14. The deacon carries the holy Gospel as a divine decree of the King to the leaders of the faithful people, bringing it forward with the priest following behind him, and by his vesture, as a glory in the humility of his heart, bearing all the things of the crucifixion. Then the chanters go up to the ambo, and they chant, "Come, let us exult in the Lord." Those who stand below join in the chant, and by their symphony shadow forth the symphony of angels and men; and among these are to be numbered the apostles. For the former said, "Come, we have found the Desired One," and the others said, "Come and see." D They came, and remained that day with him, and the rest that simply [relate] to baptism.
"Let us come before his face in confession," this signifies: Since, he says, this one who has now appeared is God before the ages, and the Creator of heaven and earth and sea; but now has become man like us, possessing all the properties of human nature except sin alone; he is to come again in the last times, with the same face and hypostasis, to judge the living and the dead—not indeed in such a body [as he has now], yet not without a body. Come, let us worship him, believing him to be God, falling down for the things in which we have sinned; let us come before and reach his face here in confession and contrition of heart, that we may find him a propitious Judge there.
15. When these things are fulfilled, the Trisagion hymn is immediately sung, demonstrating the hypostasis of the divinity of the Son, and indeed that of the Father himself and the life-giving Spirit. The "Agios o Theos" (Holy God) distinguishes the properties of the hypostasis and assigns the paternity to the Father. The "Agios ischuros" (Holy Mighty) commemorates the hypostasis of the Son and Word; B and the "Agios athanatos" (Holy Immortal) indicates the consubstantial and life-giving Spirit. Yet these things are appropriate for each individual hypostasis as well; for each of these is holy, and mighty, and immortal; for the nature and substance is one for the three, and the common name is Divinity. David the prophet had touched upon the words of this Trisagion hymn briefly when he said: "My soul thirsted for the Mighty, the Living One," and elsewhere: "By the word of the Lord the heavens were fixed, and by the Spirit of his mouth, all their power." And in another place: "In your light we shall see light." But the seraphic hymn proclaimed by Isaiah, which also draws the three holies into one lordship, what difference does it bear from the Trisagion sung by us?
16. After the Trisagion, the pontiff ascends to the synthronon, attended by the deacons as if by angels, and the priests accompany him just as the apostles accompanied Jesus C on the mountain of the transfiguration. This signifies the ascent from earth to heaven, and the transformation of the Jewish manner of life, which was creeping low on the ground; for truly the grace of the law began after the Lord's baptism. The sitting on the synthronon signifies that the Son of God, in the flesh which he assumed—and the lamb which he placed upon his shoulders, from which the omophorion is derived, namely the Adamic race—ascended above every principality and power and lordship, and brought himself to God and the Father. For since on the one hand he deified, and on the other he was deified—that is, the assumed part, by the dignity of the one who offered and the purity of the one offered—the Father and God received him as a sacrifice and offering acceptable on behalf of the human race; or they sit on the synthronon, according to the prophet David, because "there he established a throne for judgment." D When he stands on the synthronon, the pontiff indicates the divine transformation...
A synthronon, the high priest, showing the divine transfiguration to the people, extends his hand and signs the priests a third time, just as Christ did his disciples.
17. When the Trisagion has been completed, the priest signs the people, saying, “Peace to all,” that is, “Have peace among yourselves, you who stand at the Lord’s table.” As for the signing which the high priest is accustomed to perform at the end of the Trisagion, it is characterized as a completion and, as it were, a sealing of the prophetic voices that predicted Christ beforehand; for his presence in the flesh became a seal, confirming as true what had been foretold by them. This also marks the beginning of the divine works and the restoration of the human race. The sign also suffices for peace, which dissolved the local authorities of that time and bestowed peace upon the nations near and far; and Christ, the Father of peace, brought earthly and heavenly things into unity. B After the Old Testament has been set aside, certain readings from the New Testament and the symbol of grace are read; for the prophets vanish when Christ himself has appeared. Paul precedes, as it were a most valiant soldier, and explains his own teaching to the multitude; the Acts of the Apostles are read, and excerpts from the Epistles, and at the end the promises of Christ our God. In these stands the virtue and unshakable firmness of truth. To the apostles he said: “Come after me and I will make you fishers of men”; notice, therefore, how the fishermen, and unlettered men at that, drew the entire world out of the abyss of error.
18. Then, after the reading of the Apostle, David sings the Alleluia; *al* signifies “he appeared”; *El* signifies “God”; *uia* signifies “praise the living God.” The omophorion is removed from the high priest at the final Alleluia, as a proof that the law has been fulfilled and that the high priest is performing the ministry of the new grace. And the censer, which is moved with incense at the time of the Alleluia, signifies the grace of the Holy Spirit given to the disciples when he sent them to heal every disease and every infirmity in Israel. After the Alleluia, the priest or deacon, having taken up the immaculate Gospel as if he were an angel sent forth, goes up to the ambon in accordance C with the divine command and completes the prophecy of Isaiah which says, “Lift up a sign upon a level mountain.” The stretching out of the hands of the multitude shows their thanksgiving for having been deemed worthy of such miracles. The priest opens the command with fear, and announces it to the people; they stand in silence, just as Moses and Elias and all the prophets did when God was speaking to them and saying to them, “I am the good shepherd.” After the reading, the one who read shuts the book and carries it to all to be kissed in a filial manner. The Gospel is the signifier of the presence of Christ the Son of God, in which he
A was seen by us not in enigmas, but openly. It signifies, therefore, the words of Christ himself, the commandments, the laws which he set for us, his passions, his burial, his resurrection, and the very reading itself; for of the miracles the evangelists spoke only a little, revealing infinite multitudes of miracles in a single word.
19. There are four Gospels according to the four living creatures, upon which the God of all sits, towards whom he who sits upon the Cherubim is referred. Of these there are four visible faces: the first is like a lion, the second is like a calf, the third is like a man, and the fourth is like an eagle. The first characterises the practical and ruling nature of the Speaker; the second indicates the priestly order; the third describes his presence and manifestation as a man; the fourth, B like an eagle flying, clarifies the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon us. The Gospel according to John narrates his ruling and active and glorious generation from the Father; for it writes, "In the beginning was the Word." That according to Luke presents the type of the priestly character; for it begins from Zacharias the priest offering incense. Matthew narrates his generation according to the flesh: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ"; this Gospel has the human form. Mark made his beginning from the prophetic Spirit coming to men from on high, saying, "The beginning of the Gospel, as it is written in the prophets," showing by this the winged image of the Gospel.
20. The blessing of the high priest made upon the people after the reading of the Gospel signifies that the future coming of Christ will be in the 6,000th year, the fingers of the hands signifying six times a thousand. The reading, prayers, and petitions that take place after the divine Gospels, up to the Cherubic hymn, C signify the teaching of Christ our God during three periods of time, and the catechesis that prepares for holy baptism, when indeed the catechumens, as uninitiated and not yet having been deemed worthy of divine baptism and the mysteries of Christ, depart. The prayers that are poured out in the interval take place for the catechumens, for the faithful, and for the high priest himself; for the inspired Fathers, considering what kind of soul and hand one who is to touch the all-pure body of Christ our God ought to have, and that it ought to be purer than the rays of the sun, established that prayers be made for the sake of the forgiveness of sins and to conciliate divine D benevolence. The deacons unfold the corporal, just as Joseph and Nicodemus did when they were about to bury the Lord himself. And it is said, "The catechumens, depart," repeated three times, so that "by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." The priest, bowing himself in the prayer, demonstrates submission. Then the deacon cries out, "Wisdom," that is, divine; the priest also cries out to God: "That by thy power..." and then the chanters, imitating the angels, summon the people to the Cherubic hymn. All are exhorted by the Cherubic hymn to stand with greater attention until the end of the action.
the Cherubic Hymn exhorts all from then on and until the end of the sacred service to keep their mind more attentive, casting off every worldly care, as they are about to receive the great King through the participation of His holy body. And when the chanters recite the same hymn together with the people, A it is signified that the angels also sing along in the highest.
21. The sacristy where the *proskomide* takes place represents the place of Calvary, as it was prefigured to Abraham when he prepared the wood, and placed it upon his son, and offered up the ram. The priest standing alone in the temple, while the Cherubic Hymn is being sung, represents the figure of the heavenly Father who receives the Son as He arrives. The fans, in the place of the Cherubim and Seraphim, are carried forward, and the scepters, and the swords as symbols of royalty. The archdeacon who bears the *omophorion* walks by, like the angels; for the grace of the old law vanishes when that of the new law has appeared. The deacons, like winged creatures in body, move forward after the manner of the Cherubim, who bear the Divinity resting upon the throne; the holy gifts are carried from the *prothesis* to the altar, to figure the earthly life of Christ from the manger to His tomb; and [it signifies] that God Himself also guided the Magi to see His saving advent in the flesh among us; the entrance of the Lord from Bethany into Jerusalem is also revealed.... The rest is missing.
THE ORATION OF SAINT SOPHRONIUS
(Goar, *Ritual. Graec.*, p. 456.)C Trinity, supersubstantial, superlatively good, transcendent, omnipotent, all-seeing, invisible, incomprehensible, Creator of intellectual substances and of rational natures, the innate goodness, the inaccessible light, illuminating every man coming into the world: shine also upon me, Thy unworthy servant, and illuminate the eyes of my mind, that I may dare to praise Thy immeasurable beneficence and power. May my prayer for the standing people be well-received, so that my transgressions may not hinder Thy Holy Spirit from arriving here. But grant me to cry out to Thee blamelessly and to say even now, superlatively good Lord, we praise Thee, Master, Lover of mankind, Pantocrator, King before time, we praise Thee—the Creator and Architect of all; we praise Thee who art without father from a mother, and without mother from a father. For in the preceding feast, we saw Thee as an infant; but in the present one, we behold Thee as perfect, D the perfect God of ours manifested to the world from the perfect [Father]. For today the season of the feast is with us, and the choir of saints assembles with us; and angels celebrate with men. For today the grace of the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, upon the waters ad-