Sarx

We continue with the serialised posting of Rick Fabian’s Worship at St Gregory’s, by permission of the author and publisher.

Procession The deacon invites children to retire for Church School (they will have their own service of Bible reading, teaching, prayers, song, silence, and play, before re-joining us for the eucharistic meal) and summons the rest to join in the Entry Procession. The ritual for this procession comes from Haghia Sophia;(*) the musical form, from Syrian church worship(*) and very likely from the Hebrew temple itself.

A cantor introduces an Alleluia Refrain (we sing Alleluia refrains year round) repeating it until all learn the music by ear, and then chants psalm verses - normally from a Psalm appointed for the day in the lectionary - while the people take up the refrain, and the whole body moves forward singing. The ministers lead the people to the chairs surrounding the lectern: the Presider goes to the large raised chair; the cantor mounts the solea, still leading the chant; laypeople light the menorah and lectern lights from the deacon’s candle, which the deacon finally places in a stand by the Presider. (In Eastertide a giant, richly painted candle called the Paschal Candle stands there.) When all reach their places the cantor repeats the refrain to end the Psalm, and the deacon announces the music needed next. (Throughout the service, our deacon and cantor announce and direct each event.)

Blessing The Presider makes the Cross sign with the Gospel Book, and opens the prayers with a dialogue Blessing: this Byzantine opening, adapted by the present Prayer Book, reflects synagogue worship in Jesus’ time, when a presiding rabbi might begin the service by exchanging greetings and a blessing. The Prayer Book revives the Jewish dialogue format, which the Byzantine blessing has lost, and supplies variant blessings for Lent and Easter. At St Gregory’s we use one blessing year round, as Jews and Byzantines do, and add the Easter Troparion in Eastertide.

Incenses Hymn Still following synagogue order, we all sing the Incense Hymn, or Hymn Of The Light — normally the ancient Christian morning hymn called Gloria in Excelsis. Similarly, at evening liturgies we follow the Prayer Book’s Order of Worship for the Evening and sing here the Christian evening hymn called Phos Hilaron, or another suitable Lamplighting Hymn. On these occasions we also celebrate the eucharist in an early form, including a full meal. This will be discussed in further detail later. The Gloria and Phos Hilaron both antedate the Christian seasonal calendar, and we sing them at all seasons, like Alleluias.

During the Incense Hymn, the deacon carries the Gospel Book to the lectern and puts incense into a standing censer before it. Incense recalls the Jerusalem temple — as the whole synagogue ritual was meant to do — and has been promoted and suppressed at various periods in Jewish and Christian history by symbolic arguments. Symbolism is beside the point: people use incense because it looks and smells good, and evokes a strong sensuous response enhancing worship. Churches use flowers for the same reason.

Collect When the Incense Hymn finishes, the Presider sings a collect (that is, prayer) of the Light — normally a prayer by the Reformer Erasmus of Rotterdam, or a prayer suiting the season.

Note that this collect is not the Prayer Book’s Collect of the Day, as that will be used to complete the Prayers of the People — a practice more in keeping with the Prayer Book rubrics at that point [pg. 394], and promoted by Dr Boone Porter. Here we pray a Collect appropriate for daybreak: two examples follow.

Erasmus’ beautiful prayer is:

“O God of love, you are the true Sun of the world, evermore risen and never going down. We pray you to shine in our hearts, that the darkness of sin and the mist of error being driven away, we may this day, and all our life long, walk without stumbling in the way you have prepared for us, which is Jesus Christ our Lord…”

For a seasonal example: during the seven weeks before Christmas we use one of the so-called O Antiphons — prayers derived from the old Advent scriptural readings, and familiar from the Hymn “O come, O come, Emmanuel…” [Hymn 56]. These old Advent readings now extend over several Sundays, and we sing the O Antiphon matching the readings for the day. Thus we keep a seven-week Advent, as the Prayer Book lectionary in fact provides, rather than the late medieval four-week season still listed vestigially at the front of the Book.

During Christmas/Epiphany, Eastertide and special occasions we use appropriate collects from the Prayer Book.

To the prayer, all reply “Amen” following Jewish custom, whereby the whole company affirms prayers one member has offered.