BYZANTINE, LITURGY. - This is the name given to the liturgy to which Byzantium gave its imprint and its specific character.
I. ORIGIN
Byzantium was not the cradle of the rite that bears its name, because it traces its origins back to Antioch, the first capital of the East. In the Antiochene rite, in fact, we find its primitive core, which, passing through Asia Minor, found its completion on the shores of the Bosphorus.
Pontus and Cappadocia had in turn received the faith from Syria, and it was natural that the first missionaries should bring there, along with the teaching of the Gospel, the forms of worship in use in the mother Church. When, however, Constantinople became the capital of the Eastern empire and, at the Council of Chalcedon (451), was recognized as the seat of a patriarchate, its situation in comparison with the other ecclesiastical provinces allowed it an ever more significant independence. This autonomy, with the presence of a numerous clergy and of learned and influential men, manifested itself in the liturgical field with the formation of particular rites and with the creation of a local calendar and a local collection of hymns. This period of transformation and development runs between the 8th and the 12th century.
II. EXPANSION AND LITURGICAL LANGUAGES
The translation of the liturgical books into various languages is connected with the expansion of the Byzantine rite. Almost always the Greek original came first, but the principle by which the faithful must participate actively in liturgical prayer meant that only the language spoken and understood by the people had preeminence.
1) Greek language. It was in use in all the provinces dominated or influenced by the Byzantine empire and conquered in different periods. Now all the Greeks scattered in Egypt, in Syria and in Palestine, with their colonies founded in the old and the new continent, preserve the Greek language in which their rich liturgical repertoire was composed. In Italy, the same is to be noted for the southern provinces and for Sicily, once dependent on the patriarchate of Constantinople, and later become a refuge for the monks persecuted by the iconoclasts and by the Arabs and, still later, for the Albanians and the Greeks driven from their countries by the Turks. These new colonies, besides in Sicily, Calabria and Apulia, settled in several cities, especially in Naples and in Venice, where they remained longer. In Rome the Byzantine rite was practiced in numerous monasteries populated by Greek monks and nuns, of which the last remnant is the cenobium of Grottaferrata. Nor should the Greek college of St. Athanasius be passed over in silence, erected by Gregory XIII in 1576, in which young Hellenes and Greeks of the Turkish republic, of the eparchies of Lungro and of Piana dei Greci, Melkites and Albanians are today received.
2) Armenian language. Christianity penetrated into Armenia through two currents. The Eastern Syrians first, then the Byzantines sent their missionaries there and with them brought their liturgical customs. Greek liturgical texts were translated into Armenian as early as the middle of the 5th century, followed by other infiltrations.
3) Syriac and Arabic language. In the year 969 the Byzantines retook Antioch and Syria from the Arabs, which they kept until 1084. Their influence therefore extended to the patriarchates of Alexandria and of Jerusalem. In those Churches from the 5th century the ecclesiastical hierarchy, with the faithful dependent on it, was divided into two branches: the Monophysites and the Melkites, that is "imperial," so called because they remained faithful to the emperors of Byzantium who defended the orthodox doctrine. These divisions in religious matters at first had no repercussions on the rite. However, under the influence of the Byzantines, the Melkites gradually adopted their rite. Since Syriac was the current language in Syria, the Greek liturgical books were translated at first into that idiom: but when Syriac fell into disuse, being replaced by Arabic, the latter became the official or semi-official liturgical language. Nevertheless Greek is not totally excluded, whether among Catholics or among dissidents.
4) Slavic language. It is used by the Bulgarians, by the Southern Slavs (Serbs, nuclei in Dalmatia, in Croatia, in Slavonia and Montenegro), by the Ruthenians and Ukrainians, by the White Russians (Bielo-Russi) scattered in the eastern provinces of Poland and in adjacent Russia, and by the Malo-Russi and Veliko-Russi (Little and Great Russians) who inhabit the rest of the Soviet republics. The liturgical books of the Byzantine Church were translated in the 10th century into the language then spoken by the majority of these peoples and which is still preserved under the name of Old Slavonic. In the following centuries several reworkings took place which allow two somewhat different recensions to be distinguished. In the second half of the 14th century the metropolitan Cyprian undertook a new revision of the liturgical texts based on the Greek, and finally, again based on the Greek originals, the books were corrected under the direction of the patriarch Nikon (1654-55). Some differences of language are noted among the Ruthenians and among the other Slavs.
5) Georgian language. Georgia, converted to Christianity in the 5th century by missionaries come from Antioch, was not slow to be drawn into the sphere of influence of the patriarchate of Constantinople, from which it received the liturgical books. Greek remained in use until the Iberian monks, who live on Mount Athos, translated them into their national language around the 10th-12th century. However, with the conquest of Georgia by Russia, an attempt was made to introduce the Russian language by all means.
6) Romanian language. In Dacia the light of the Gospel was brought by Western missionaries. In the 7th century Wallachia and Moldavia were invaded by the Bulgarians, who then imposed their liturgy and the Slavic language on the occupied countries. From the 16th century the predominance of the Byzantines began and the Greek language was held in honor in many churches and in many monasteries. Finally in the 17th and 18th centuries the Romanian version of the liturgical books was completed.
7) Hungarian language. In the course of the 14th century, under the rule of Lithuania, the Ruthenians settled in Mukachevo and in the surrounding regions, in time forming a vast province later called Subcarpathia. They are almost all Catholics. Subsequently they passed under the kings of Hungary, and Hungarian, taught in the schools, soon became the official language. A part of the Ruthenians, mainly those of the plain, forgot their native language and adopted the Magyar one: under the influence of these circumstances, it became necessary to translate and print in Hungarian a great part of the liturgical books. This work was completed from the second half of the 18th century to the 19th century. The Holy See has several times sought to restrain these initiatives by prescribing certain limitations, especially in the translation of the eucharistic liturgies.
8) Albanian language. From the time when, in 1912, the metropolitan eparchies of Albania constituted themselves as an autocephalous Church, the movement in favor of adopting the Albanian language for the liturgy has steadily progressed. The promoter of these ideas and the author of the Albanian version of several liturgical books is the priest Fan Noli, residing in America. The editions that have appeared thus far are printed partly in Boston, partly in Korçë.
9) Other languages. We find the version at least of the eucharistic liturgies and of the most common priestly and diaconal prayers, recited aloud, in the languages of the Baltic countries, especially after they constituted themselves as autonomous Churches. Not to mention the use of modern languages such as French, English, etc., the Russian Society of the Missionaries of Kazan instituted a committee for the translation and diffusion of the liturgical texts into the various languages of the Far East, from Tatar to Indian, to Japanese, etc. These versions were used by the numerous Russian priests and monks sent by the Orthodox Church to all parts of the Middle and Far East.
III. BYZANTINE-ROMAN LITURGY
This name can designate the Roman Mass set within the framework of the Byzantine liturgy, which has received the designation Liturgy of St. Peter. We find it in several Greek, Georgian and Slavic versions. Different from this is the Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great, which is the translation of the Latin Mass into Greek with some Byzantine infiltrations, or the Canon of that Mass simply adopted by the Catholic Armenians. This seems to have been in use at Constantinople, at least in some church, after the conquest of the Crusaders in 1204, whereas the liturgy of St. Peter is older and its Greek text found much favor in southern Italy.
IV. BYZANTINE LITURGICAL BOOKS
We note here only the principal ones. Gospel (τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, evangelia, evangelia) divided into pericopes for each day of the year, followed by those proper to feasts or particular circumstances. - Apostle (ὁ ἀπόστολος, apostol, apostolul) contains the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles. The division into pericopes is analogous to that of the Gospels. - Psalter (τὸ ψαλτήριον, psaltir, psaltirea) besides the psalms contains the scriptural canticles. - Euchologion (τὸ εὐχολόγιον, euchologiu) contains the common prayers of Vespers and Matins, the three liturgies, the Sacraments, the rites for the dead and for monks, consecrations and blessings. Not infrequently, still among today's Slavs, the eucharistic liturgy with the prayers of Vespers and Matins forms a special book, the Liturgiarium (τὸ λειτουργίαριον, Ἱερατικόν, slyzehnik, liturgiare), while the other rites are contained in the Aghiasmatarion (τὸ ἀγυασματάριον, trebnik, aghiasmatar). - Horologion (τὸ ὠρολόγιον, časoslor, orologiu) in which are found all the fixed parts of the canonical hours with some extracts from the temporal and the sanctoral and some acolouthies of current devotion. - Octoechos and Parakletike (ὁ ὑποκάλυψιον, ἡ παρακλητικὴ, oktoich, octoichul) contains the common parts of the temporal, which are arranged in order according to the eight tones of the Byzantine musical system. - Triodion (τὸ τριώβιον, triodul) contains the parts proper to the period called that of Great Lent. - Pentecostarion (τὸ πεντηκοστάριον, penticostarul) with the parts proper to the fifty days that follow the solemnity of Easter. - The Slavs, as once all the Byzantines, distinguish the "Triodion of fasting" (triodu postnaja) and the "flowery Triodion" (triodu tsvetnaja), which correspond to the two preceding books. - Menaia (τὰ μηνεῖα, minea, mjclacnaja, mineiul) are twelve books corresponding to the twelve months of the year and contain the whole sanctoral. - Typikon (τὸ τυπικόν, typik, tipicul) is the book that defines the rubrics of the sacred functions and describes the sacred ceremonies.
V. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BYZANTINE LITURGY
In the first place one must note its conservatism and traditionalism, thanks to which the liturgical prayers are for the faithful an instrument of dogmatic, ascetic and moral doctrine. This does not exclude certain modifications and developments of various kinds that occurred over the course of centuries.
Besides the antiquity of the greater part of the liturgical repertoire, one must bring out its social note. In a Byzantine church the whole assembly prays. The deacon, who stands between the Sanctuary and the faithful, expresses the object of the supplications, and these — or the reader and the cantor in their stead — respond to each of his formulas inviting prayer. The priest, in the Sanctuary, translates the vows of the people with orations recited in a low voice, raising it only when, at their conclusion, he glorifies the Most Holy Trinity or addresses warm and insistent exhortations to the faithful. The part of each of those officiating is therefore prominent, and each can easily see and hear them. As regards their performance, the hours of Vespers and of Orthros (dawn) are carried out in the church and with the use of incense as in the eucharistic liturgy. The acolouthies of midnight and of the other canonical hours are celebrated without solemnity (except for the Great Hours on certain days of the year and the Great Apodeipnon in Lent). In the monasteries they are recited in the narthex, in memory of the solitaries who went to church only for the major functions. The administration of the Sacraments is always solemn, and the euchology abounds in blessings and orations for all the spiritual and temporal needs of Christendom. The Byzantine rite takes delight in the concelebration of numerous officiants (bishops, priests, deacons, minor ministers), and this not only in the eucharistic liturgy. As characteristics of the Byzantine rite one must further point out the veneration of icons, the prostrations, the anointings with the oil of the lamps, the blessing and eating of blessed bread (artoklasia, antidoron), etc.
VI. COMMENTATORS
After the writings of St. Maximus, 7th century, we note among the principal ones the interpretation of the liturgy attributed to St. Theodore Studite (826); the mystical theory handed down to tradition under the name of St. Germanus I of Constantinople; the explanation of the divine liturgy by Nicholas Cabasilas (1341); the liturgical treatises of Symeon of Thessalonica (1429); the catechism of Nicholas Bulgaris (17th century), etc. - See Pl. CI.
Bibliography9 works
Placido de Meester