The Liturgies of the Eastern Church

The Catholic Church of today celebrates the holy sacrifice of the Mass in nine different languages, viz., in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Chaldaic, Slavonic, Wallachian, Armenian, Coptic and Ethiopic.

Greek - The Mass (or the Holy Liturgy, as it is called in the Greek church) has been the one followed in the Erastern Church since the time of the Apostles, without change. Bodies of Christians using this Mass are to be found in Syria, Jerusalem, Russia, in the kingdom of Greece, in Italy, and in several places in Europe, and they comprise the Mingrelians, Georgians, Bulgarians, Muscovites and others. These Catholic people strictly retain all their ancient rites, as an invaluable treasure brought down since the period of the Apostles. They have three patriarchate Sees, kept respectively at Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem, and they use three different Liturgies for the celebration of the Mass, vix., the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is the one most generally used; the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, used on all Sundays in Lent except Palm Sunday, on Holy Thursday, Holy Saturday, the Vigils of Christmas day and of the Epiphany, and finally on the Feast of St. Basil, January 1. The third Liturgy is denominated the Presanctified. It is used only during those days of Lent upon which there is no Consecration, but only a Mass similar to that which the Latin Church has on Good Friday.

Latin - The Holy Mass is celebrated in the Latin language in the entire West and also in a few places in the East. It may, in fact, be called the vernacular language of the Western Church at one time.

Syriac - Mass is said in Syriac by the Maronites of Mount Lebanon, and in the Greek and Arabic languages by the Syrian Melchites of the East. Syriac is, in fact, the liturgical language of all those places where the Liturgy of St. James is used as the normal. It is the proud boast (and truly it is something to be proud of) of the people who say Mass in this language they are using the very same language that was spoken by our Divine Lord Himself and His Blessed Mother, as well as by the majority of the Apostles. Our Melchite Church keeps the same ecclesiastical rites and customs. They are governed by a patriarch, whose title is "Patriarch of Antioch, Alexandria, Jerusalem, and all the Orient." This dignitary is elected by the people themselves; but before he is installed in office his election has to await the confirmation of Rome. They have the privilege to confirm the children after the baptism.

They use incense at Low Mass as well as at High Mass, and read the Gospel in Greek and Arabic, for Arabic is the language of the day in those parts.

Their secular clergy number about two thousand, and their regular about three thousand. All the latter live in monasteries; and, as they must be unmarried, it is from their body that the patriarchs and bishops are taken. (Vetromile, Travels in Europe and the Holy Land, 77).

Chaldaic - This language is peculiar to the Babylonian Catholics, who are chiefly converts from Nestorianism, and who inhabit principally Mesopotamia, Armenia and Kurdistan. They have a patriarch, who is entitled "Patriarch of Babylonis." His residence is at Bagdad. All the liturgical books of this people are written in Chaldaic, in that peculiar character known as the Estrangelo, for the Chaldaic itself has eightteen different alphabets, (Antrim's Science of Letters, p. 88).

Slavonic - Mass is said in this language by the Catholics of Istria, Liburnia, and the maritime parts of ancient Dalmatia. It is in fact the Liturgical language of all in union with Rome who belong to the Slavonic nations. This privilege the Slavonians first received from Pope Adrian II in the Ninth century, and it was confirmed by Pope John VIII., Adrian's immediate successor. This latter Pontiff, in renewing the grant, made it a condition that the Holy Gospel, on account of its superiority over the other parts of the Mass, should be first read in Latin, and after that in Slavonic. In A.D. 1248 Pope Innocent IV acquiesced in all these concessions of his predecessors, as also did Pope Benedict in A.D. 1740; so that at the present day Mass is daid in Slavonic by quite a large body of Catholics. It is also the liturgical language of schismatical Russia and of thousands of Christians within the Turkish dominions (Bona, Rer. Liturg., 216; Kozma, Liurg. Sacr. Cathol., 112, note; Wouter's Historic Ecclesiast., 258; Brerewood, Languages and Religions, p.235; and Gavantus, Thes. Rit., p 25, XIX).

Wallachian - Since the Seventeenth century, when a great number of them came into the Church, the Wallachians, with the tacit consent of the Holy See, have been saying Mass in their native language, which , however, is no longer that in daily use, but the old classic tongue. Concessions (if we may call that a concession which is allows by tacit consent) of this kind are very rarely granted; and when granted at all, it is always in favor of some newly-converted people who cling with great tenacity to their national language and customs (Kozma, Lirurg. Sacr. Caho., p122, note 9).

Armenian - This is the liturgical language of all who are called by that name in the East today. They inhabit Armenia proper, or the modern Turkomania, and are fond also throughout Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Turkey, Georgia, Greece, Africa, Italy and Russian. In the last name empire their Sees were arranged by a ukase, March 11, 1836. They are at present governed by a patriarch who is styles "Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians," and who resides at Bezourmar. In ther island of San Lazaro, at Venice, they have a monastery which is famous all over the world for its printing presses. Here most of the Armenian ecclesiastical books are turned out.

The Armenians unlike all the other Christians of the East, save the Maronites, use unleavened bread in the Holy Eucharist, as the Latin church does. The heretical Armenians, all of whom are "Monophysites" (that is, believers in but one nature, viz., the divine - in our Lord, after the teaching of Eutyches), abstain from mingling water with the wine in the Mass, in order to give as great a prominence to their belief as possible; for water is symbolic of the human nature of our Saviou, which these people maintain was wholly absorbed by the divine, so that a vestige of it did not remain. (Burder's Religious Ceremonies, p 180; Smith and Dwight's Travels in Armenia, passim; Vetromile, Travels in Europe and the Holy Land, art. "Eastern Rites.")

Coptic - This language, which the natives maintain to be the same as the ancient language of the Pharaohs - that is, the Egyptian - is used by the Christians along the Nile in te celebration of their sacred rites. This people are called Copts from a paring down of the name they were given by the Greeks, viz., Aiyunrioi, i.e. Egyptians - which in many ancient manuscripts is written Agophthi, Copthi, and Chibthi. This, at least, is the origin assigned by some of the ablest scholars, and Renaudot, among others (see Liturg. Orient. Col., dissert. De Lig. Coptica, tom. I.p. ex.). But, according to Scaliger, Simon and Kircher, the Copts are so called from an ancient city of Egypt known as Copts, one the metropolis of the Thebaid. Tenaudot, however, has clearly proved that this is at best nothing more than a guess, and the vast majority of modern linguists adhere to his opinion.

The Copts use three different Liturgies in the celebration of Mass, viz., those of St. Basil, St. Cyril, and St. Gregory. The first, which is considered the most elegant and elaborate, and the one best suited to grand occasions, is dedicated specially to the Person of the Omnipotent Father. The second is dedicated to the Person of our Divine Redeemer, for it dwells particularly on his Incarnation, Passion, Death, Resurrection and Ascension. These are the three principal Liturgies; in fact, they may be said to be the only ones used by the Copts, for, although they have as many as twelve altogether, yet they never bring any other into requisition but the three specified (Renaudot, Comment. And Liturg. Copt. S. Basilii, vol. I p. 154).

The Copts at a recent day - that is, the Catholic Copts - were governed by a vicar-apostolic residing at Cairo, but lately Rome has given them a regular hierarchy of their own, with a patriarch at its head.

The schismatic Copts, all of whom at Monophysites, number about one hundred and fifty thousand - that is, about eighty thousand more than those in communion with the Holy See. They are governed by a patiarch (sic) who is styled " Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts"; but besides im they have another who resides at Cairo and takes his title from Jerusalem. He is, of course, subordinate to the Patriarch of Alexandria (see Vetromile, Eastern Rites 87; Renaudot, De Patriarcha Alexandrino, passim, tom. I.). We shall have frequent occasion to refer to the Copts throughout our work.

Ethiopic - This is the liturgical language of the modern Abyssinians, who differ but very little from the Copts either in discipline or ecclesiastical customs. Of the languages there are two dialects, viz., the Amharic and the Gheez. The former, or court language, is considered much easier than the latter, in which nearly all the Abyssinian books are written. The Gheez is principally spoke in the kingdom of Tigre.

By some authors the Ethiopic is called the Chaldaic, from an opinion current among the natives that it originally came from ancient Chaldea; and it is generally said that a fair knowledge of it is easily acquired by one skilled in Hebrew, for the principal difference, they say, that exists between both consists in the formation of the letters of the alphabet. (Burder, Rel. Rites and Customs, p. 175; Brerewood, Languages and Religions, 300).

The Catholic Abyssinians now number about two millions. They are under a vicar-apostolic. The schismatics, who are Monophysites like the Copts, number about five times as many as the orthodox. They are governed by an official called the Aboouna (from a Syriac word meaning "our Father), who ranks as a bishop and is sent them by the Patriarch of Alexandria. The great redeeming feature of this people is their extraordinary devotion to the Mother of God. So great is their reverence for her that when the common street-beggers fail to exact an lams for the love of God or for any of the saints, an appeal is at once made in honor of "Lady Mary," which is always sure to receive a favorable hearing (Dublin Review, July 1863, p. 50). Furthermore, an oath taken in her name is considered the most solemn that can be administered, and if taken rashly is subject to the highest penalty the law can inflict (see Lobo's Voyage to Abyssinia, p. 26). Their Liturgy is called the "Liturgy of All the Apostles," but its official title is the "Ethiopic Canon." It is considered to be an amplification of that of St. Cyril.

It may be well to say that the Abyssinian ordinations are the only ones in the East which are held doubtful by the Holy See. For this reason priests coming into our Church from theirs, are, in nearly every case, ordained under condition. I say in nearly every case, but not always; for where it is found that the Abyssinian ritual has been followed to the letter, no conditional ordination is needed. Their ritual has the valid form, but carelessness on the part of ther bishops often causes it to be either badly vitiated or wholly disregarded (see Denzinger, Ritues Oriental, p. 139.).

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