Liturgy, a word derived from the Greek leitourgia, signifying originally a 'service,' such as those rendered by citizens to the state. By the translators of the Septuagint it was applied to public worship, and among the Greeks the sense is now limited to the celebration of the eucharist. The word at one time enjoyed a wider signification, and in English the term liturgy is still sometimes loosely used to indicate a general body of forms for public worship prevailing in a particular community; but by the more correct writers it is used in the same exclusive sense as is the original by the Greeks. The present article is designed briefly to sketch the history and development of the forms used in the celebration of the eucharist or Lord's Supper, exclusive of those employed only by Protestants.
With regard to the form used by Christ Himself (Matt. xxvi. 26-28; Mark, xiv. 22-24; Luke, xxii. 19, 20; 1 Cor. xi. 23-25) only three features are recorded, besides the taking hold of the bread and the cup. These are that He (1) gave thanks (eucharistēsas) and blessed, that (2) He brake, and that (3) He administered. To these we must necessarily prefix, on any subsequent occasion, the laying of the table and the placing upon it of bread and wine. It appears from Acts, xx. 7-12, that the ceremony was preceded by a sermon or discourse, and from 1 Cor. xiv. 16 that the blessing was regarded as identical with or part of the thanksgiving (eucharistia), which was the name given to the whole of the principal formula; while we learn from Tim. ii. 1, 2, that the thanksgiving contained a prayer for all men, and from 1 Cor. xiv. 16 that at the conclusion of the thanksgiving the word 'Amen' was answered. The New Testament also contains no less than five directions (Rom. xvi. 16, 1 Cor. xvi. 20, 2 Cor. xiii. 12, 1 Thess. v. 26, 1 Pet. v. 14) with regard to the giving of a religious kiss, and it is hard to escape the conclusion that this ceremony must have been associated with the principal act of worship, the eucharistic celebration.
Whether any such thing as a liturgy had yet been committed to writing in the time of the apostles is unknown. At any rate it is evident from 1 Cor. xiv. 16 that the use of a fixed form was not obligatory. Moreover, there are certain passages that occur both in the writings of St Paul and in the so-called Clementine liturgy, which, in the judgment of some of the most eminent critics (notably Dr Neale), appear from the context in each case to be quoted in the epistles from the liturgy, and not in the liturgy from the epistles. It is a plausible conjecture that a form or forms may have been drawn up as models, without the celebrant being tied to their strict use.
The martyr Justin in his first defence of Christianity gives a scanty and confused account of the liturgy, from which, however, it is possible to gather the six points above mentioned, with three additional facts—viz. that portions of the Old and New Testaments were read before the sermon, that after the sermon there were prayers of an intercessory character, and that the kiss was given after these prayers and before the bread and wine were placed upon the table. Justin also mentions that the thanksgiving was very long.
Some words used by Justin may mean that in his day a custom already prevailed which in any case was certainly in force very soon after. This was the rule of secrecy (Disciplina Arcani, q.v.) by which all unbaptised persons, including those who were actually under preparation for baptism (catechoumenoi), were dismissed from the assembly as soon as the sermon was over, and which was later extended so as to conceal from them as far as possible the knowledge of what afterwards took place. This rule has caused Western writers to divide the liturgy into two parts, the first, up to the sermon inclusive, being termed the Mass of the Catechumens (Missa Catechumenorum), and the rest the Mass of the Faithful (Missa Fidelium). Other persons unfit to be present at the celebration were dismissed at the same point. This twofold division made by western writers must not be confused with a twofold division made by the Easterns, who call all the portion which follows the commencement of the thanksgiving by the distinctive name of the Anaphora ('offering'), whence the terms Pro-Anaphora and Anaphora to distinguish the two portions.
The Clementine liturgy is found embedded in the compilation called the Apostolic Constitutions (q.v.). It is not known where it was used, but as it is in striking harmony with the account given by Justin, who was writing at Rome, it seems probable that it is the form once used at any rate in that city.
The rule of secrecy is probably the main reason for the extraordinary scantiness of allusions to the eucharist among early Christian writers. Into these it is needless to enter here. It suffices to say that all known liturgies later than the so-called Clementine are divisible into five distinct schools, called respectively the Roman and the Ephesian, which are Western, and the Hierosolymitan, the Babylonian, and the Alexandrian, which are Eastern. All these, however, show their common origin by consisting of certain main parts, although all do not contain all these parts, and the parts themselves are not always arranged in the same order. These parts are of course called by different names in different countries; those used by English scholars, which are mostly derived from those of the Roman liturgy, will be here given in brackets, and generally employed. The ceremony ordinarily begins with some opening hymn (introit), and there is often a short litany, always with the Greek response of Kyrie eleison. There is often also some confession or acknowledgment of sin and prayer for pardon. There is then a prayer or prayers, and some portions of the Scriptures are read, interspersed with psalms or hymns, and ending with a reading from the Gospels, after which is usually preached the sermon, if there be one. The next stage (offertory) is the spreading upon the altar of a piece of linen or silk (corporal), and the placing of the bread (host) and wine upon it, except in the case of the pure Alexandrian form, where this is done first of all. Except among the Armenians, a few drops of water are added to the wine. There are in any case some prayers. After this, except in the Roman school, the kiss (Pax, 'kiss of peace') is given. The thanksgiving is then introduced with some form of the words, 'Lift up your hearts' (Sursum corda)—Answer, 'We lift them up unto the Lord': 'Let us give thanks unto our Lord God'—Answer, 'It is meet and right.' The first part (preface) of the thanksgiving always closes with some reference to the angels who never cease to cry aloud—and here the people join in singing some short hymn, beginning 'Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth' (Sanctus or Triumphal Hymn). The continuation (canon) of the thanksgiving then comes to a rehearsal of the circumstances of the institution of the eucharist, reciting the words of Christ (consecration), and this again is followed by a brief remembrance of His life, and by a particular prayer, which will be spoken of hereafter. The thanksgiving closes with a short doxology, and 'Amen' is answered. The Lord's Prayer is then said, either before or after which the Sacrament is broken, and a portion put into the chalice. About this point the sacrament in both kinds is often lifted up (a ceremony properly termed the Elevation, but now often the Little Elevation), as though to invite the communicants to approach, and the words 'the holy to the holy' are usually uttered. In the Roman school the kiss is given now. Next comes the administration of the communion, preceded by some prayers of preparation, and accompanied or followed by a psalm or hymn. The whole service ends with prayers of thanksgiving for the communion received (post-communion), and a benediction. It will be remarked that in the above sketch one important feature is not mentioned—viz. the prayer for all men (the Great Intercession). It occurs in all the liturgies, but it is placed at different points, and it is in the particular point at which this prayer occurs that the difference between them mainly consists. All the liturgies also have adopted the use of the Nicene Creed, though they differ as to the point at which they interpolate it; but, as the creed itself dates only from the 4th century, and forms no integral part of the ceremony, this is a matter of little moment. It is to be remarked that in all the rites some portions of the service (even such as are not personal to himself) are said by the priest inaudibly (secreto), a singular custom which may perhaps have arisen after the introduction of congregational singing, and owe its origin to the desire, on the one hand, not unduly to protract the service, and, on the other, not to omit either the singing or the prayers.
In the West the use of the word liturgy has been almost entirely superseded, except in the disquisitions of the learned, by some form of the word which appears in Latin as missa and in English as mass. The derivation of this word has been disputed, but it is admitted that it is connected with the proclamation, Ite; missa est, often made at the end of the Roman mass, and it may now be regarded as certain that it is a mere corruption of missio, and means simply a dismissal. In the Western rites the bread is always unleavened. The language is normally Latin, which was the common literary tongue when these rites were composed, and has never been changed. They have a custom, introduced about 1100 A.D., that, immediately after the utterance of Christ's words of institution, in each case the celebrant should lift the sacrament above his head, and this is now commonly called by Westerns the elevation, while the true elevation, or lifting of the sacrament, as though to intimate that the moment of communion is at hand, is by them called the Little Elevation. By a custom sanctioned in the 15th century, the celebrant only (with the exception of the kings of France at their coronation, and a few of the assistants at a papal high mass) communicates from the chalice. The manner of conducting the service is divided into High, Sung, and Low Mass. A High Mass is sung, with a deacon, sub-deacon, and other assistants, and the use of incense. A Sung Mass is sung by the priest and choir or congregation, but there is only one clerk and usually no incense. A Low Mass is read by the priest with one clerk, and without either music or incense. A Low Mass occupies about half an hour, the others (with simple music) about three-quarters of an hour. Very many priests celebrate it every day, so that it sometimes takes place scores of times in the same church on the same day.
(A) The Roman liturgical family is often called the Petrine, and is traditionally ascribed to the apostle Peter. It is certain, however, that the early Roman Church was a Greek church. When its liturgy became Latin is unknown; possibly the Latin liturgy is of African origin. There is no trace of the change before the 4th century. The distinctive features of the Roman family are the peculiar position of the Pax, and that the great intercession (except the prayer for the dead, which has perhaps, however, been misplaced) occurs between the Sanctus and the Consecration. It is represented by two main rites. (a) The Roman. This is the common Roman mass familiar in most parts of the world. The Roman liturgy has several varying forms, such as that used by the Dominicans (who, as in the Alexandrian school, place the bread and wine on the altar at the beginning) and the Carthusians. These preserve the usages of particular times and places in the middle ages, as was also the case with the Sarum, the Aberdeen, and other medieval rites. There are also some French variations, especially that of the church of Lyons, but their peculiarities may have to do with survivals from the Gallican (see below). It has also been translated into Slavonic, into Armenian by the Dominicans, and into Chinese by the Jesuits, but of these the Chinese has never come into use, and the Armenian is extinct. (b) The Ambrosian liturgy is that of the ecclesiastical province of Milan. Its main interest for scholars lies in the fact that it is a development, parallel to, but independent of, the present Roman liturgy, from some earlier form of the latter, which has been the common parent of both, and that it preserves some features of this parent which have been lost or much obscured in the Roman use.
(B) The origin of the Ephesian or Ephesine family of liturgies is traditionally ascribed to St John. Its distinctive feature is that the great intercession does not form part of the thanksgiving, as directed by the apostle Paul, but is placed after the close of the offertory, and immediately followed by the Pax, before the thanksgiving begins. It is almost extinct, but was once represented by at least three branches, of which one only survives. (a) The Mozarabic liturgy is the ancient liturgy of Spain, and owes its present name to the fact that those who continued to practise it had lived mixed with the Arab population. It would have died out altogether had not the celebrated Cardinal Ximenes established a special chapter to celebrate it in the cathedral of Toledo, and sanctioned it for the holders of a few isolated benefices, so that the practice of this liturgy is now confined to a side-chapel in the cathedral of Toledo, and the use of a few individuals. It is written in a very peculiar dialect of degraded Latin, and the existing texts are corrupt, some portions having been avowedly added by Cardinal Ximenes, under whose care all the service-books of this rite were edited. (b) The Gallican or ancient liturgy of Gaul is totally extinct. No copy of it is known to exist, and the attempt to reconstruct it from fragments and incidental notices has largely exercised the industry and ingenuity of the learned. (c) The Celtic liturgy, as imported by Patrick into Ireland and by Columba into Scotland, was undoubtedly Gallican in form. Gildas the Wise introduced the Roman liturgy in the 7th century, and it gradually took the place of the other, which was finally stamped out in Scotland by St Margaret, and soon afterwards in Ireland, where it lingered a little longer. Its remains are more scanty than those of the Gallican. What liturgy was used by the early British (i.e. Cynvic) Christians is unknown. It may have been either Roman, Gallican, or both. There is even a mention of a Greek liturgy in Wales. In the three Eastern families the bread (except among the Armenians) is always leavened. They are celebrated as a rule in the classical literary tongue of their respective countries. With regard to them it has to be observed that, while the majority of the Christians who use them belong to the Orthodox (vulgarly called the Greek), the Nestorian, or the Monophysite communions, there is everywhere a minority who adhere to the communion of Rome, and that, while employing, with only very slight differences, the same liturgies, there is between them a very grave doctrinal difference as to the consecration which cannot be ignored by the liturgical scholar. In each of these families the place of the prayer which follows the remembrance of the life of Christ in the Roman liturgy is occupied by a form invoking the Holy Ghost to descend upon the elements that they may be the body and blood of Christ. The Catholics maintain that the consecration is effected solely by the words of Christ, and that this prayer is therefore to be understood in the same sense as in the corresponding one in the Roman liturgy—viz. as merely asking that the sacrament may be blessed to the receivers, and that the Holy Ghost is invoked to descend upon it in order to enable the communicants to 'discern the Lord's body' (1 Cor. xi. 29), in a manner somewhat similar to that in which He descended upon Christ's natural body at the time of His baptism, in preparation for the work of His ministry. On the contrary, the bulk at least of the Easterns outside the communion of Rome maintain that this invocation is essential (if not indeed the sole essential) to the consecration, which is not effected, or at least completed, until it has been uttered. It may be added that the Eastern Catholic clergy are in the habit of saying low masses without music and generally without incense, and that their celebrations are as frequent as those of Latins; while among the Orthodox and Monophysites there is a daily celebration in monasteries and cathedrals, but in ordinary churches only on Sundays, holy days, and special occasions; and among the Nestorians, although the celebration is nominally prescribed for all Sundays, Fridays, and holy days, it is not uncommon to find only a sort of Mass of the Catechumens performed even upon many Sundays.
(C) The origin of the Hierosolymitan or Jerusalem family of liturgies is ascribed to the apostle James. Its distinctive feature is that the great intercession occurs just before the closing doxology of the thanksgiving. (a) The earliest existing form is a liturgy in Greek, called by the name of the apostle, which is now obsolete everywhere, though it is said to have long lingered on in some of the Greek islands, for St James's Day only. However ancient may be some portions of it, especially in the thanksgiving, it contains in its present form comparatively recent features, the dates of which are known. (b) The Constantinopolitan. There is a liturgy (originating from the Church of Cæsarea) called by the name of St Basil, abridged from that of St James, and of which the inaudible parts of the anaphora have again been abridged, under the name of St John Chrysostom, although it is very uncertain how far Basil and Chrysostom are really to be credited with the work. These liturgies, or rather this liturgy (since the differences are only in the inaudible part), is the only one in use in the Orthodox communion, and is celebrated in Greek, Arabic, Slavonic, and Georgian. A stranger entering a Greek church is liable to be struck, if not confused, by the way in which the actual liturgy, mostly inaudible, is overlaid with litanies and hymns of varying length, and still more by the almost entire concealment of the altar behind the screen called the eikonostasion ('image-stand'). (c) The Greek rite in Italy. A good many Italians, especially in the south, belong to the Greek rite. They now use the Constantinopolitan liturgy. There was once, however, a native Sicilian Greek liturgy, of which a text has been published by Assemani, and of which certain peculiar local practices are probably survivals. The members of the Basilian order in Italy had also a peculiar form of Greek liturgy, which may now be regarded as extinct, as the present government has suppressed all their monasteries, and the surviving members have mostly if not universally adopted the pure Constantinopolitan. Their liturgy was generally regarded as the Constantinopolitan affected by Westernisms, but this point has not been sufficiently investigated. (d) The Armenian liturgy is an adapted translation of the Greek St Basil. The language is Armenian. There is no eikonostasion, but a veil is sometimes drawn round the altar. The celebration of this rite is far more pompous and spectacular than that of any other used among Christians. (e) The Syriac liturgy of St James appears to be a free translation from an early form of the Greek. Devout Syrian ecclesiastics seem to have had a sort of passion for composing paraphrases of the inaudible parts of the anaphora, and there exist at least some forty such compositions, sometimes dignified by the name of liturgies. This liturgy of St James is that used by the section of the native Christians of India ('Christians of St Thomas') who have abandoned the communion of Rome and their own ancient Babylonian rite, and embraced Monophysitism. (f) The Constantinopolitan rite has had a great effect upon the forms of the Alexandrian or Egyptian liturgy, which is treated below under E.
(D) The origin of the Babylonian school of the liturgy, otherwise called the Assyrian or Chaldean, is ascribed to the apostle Thaddeus. The language is Syriac. The distinctive feature is that the great intercession occurs after the remembrance of the life of Christ and before the invocation, which immediately precedes the closing doxology of the thanksgiving. The oldest existing form is that of the liturgy called 'of the Apostles,' and is certainly of profound antiquity. There are two paraphrases of the anaphora of this liturgy, one of which is called the liturgy of Theodore of Mopsuestia; the other is named by the Nestorians in honour of the founder of their sect, but they appear to be as a whole older than the time of these persons. In the churches of this rite the sanctuary is a separate room, somewhat after the manner of the Holy of Holies of the Jewish temple, and the whole ceremony is of severe simplicity. The liturgy of Malabar, or original liturgy of the native Christians of India ('Christians of St Thomas'), is a form of the Babylonian liturgy of the Apostles, but is said to have suffered much ignorant meddling, under the influence of the Portuguese, at the synod of Diamper (1599).
(E) The Alexandrian liturgical family represents the form of the liturgy belonging to the Church of Egypt, and its origin is ascribed to the evangelist Mark. The properly distinctive feature is that the great intercession occurs between the Sursum corda and the Sanctus—viz. in that part of the thanksgiving called the preface. Its existing monuments have all been corrupted by divers external influences, and their history is very obscure. (a) The normal or original form is called the liturgy of St Mark, and is in Greek. Like that of St James, it contains passages, especially in the thanksgiving, of which it would be rash to measure the antiquity, but, as we now have it, it has undoubtedly been modified under Constantinopolitan influences, and probably since the triumph of Monophysitism in Egypt. It continued to be used for many centuries by the Orthodox, but is now extinct, as they have adopted the full rites of Constantinople. (b) Renaudot has published what he believed to be an Alexandrian edition of the Constantinopolitan liturgy of St Basil. (c) At what period the Coptic or native language was substituted for the Greek is uncertain, and the present writer is inclined to the belief that it was a device of the Monophysites to popularise their heresy and emphasise their separation from the Orthodox. But whoever the translators may have been, they were confronted by the fact that the population were to a great extent bi-lingual; many formulæ were familiar in Greek, and the theological terminology was mostly Greek. Accordingly the liturgy was translated into a sort of jargon of Coptic mixed with Greek words, many formulæ were left in Greek, and the deacon was provided with a set of biddings in Greek so ample as nearly to amount to a translation of the prayers. The liturgy so produced was that which bears the name of St Cyril. It is a free translation and adaptation from that of St Mark, but from a recension earlier than that of which we possess any Greek text. It is now almost extinct. (d) A fresh anaphora was composed, called by the name of St Basil, and in which the great intercession is transferred to the latter part of the thanksgiving, as in the Hierosolymitan family. It is now used only on some rare occasions. (e) A third anaphora was composed, called by the name of St Gregory, and this, joined to the pro-anaphora of St Cyril, constitutes the ordinary Coptic liturgy. A fresh linguistic difficulty has however arisen. Coptic is totally dead, and Arabic has become the language of Egypt. Hence the sermon is of course in Arabic, some parts of the liturgy are always, and the Creed and Lord's Prayer often, said in Arabic; each portion of Scripture is read in Arabic as well as Coptic, and Arabic hymns are introduced. The service is, in fact, trilingual. Coptic churches are generally very plain, the altar is surrounded by a wooden partition, and the ceremony is not showy. Incense is burned almost without ceasing from the beginning until the consecration. (f) The Abyssinian liturgy is in Ethiopic, and is called that of the Apostles. It is an adapted translation of the Coptic St Cyril. Here also there has been a considerable tendency to compose paraphrases of the anaphora, of which as many as ten are known to Western scholars.
It remains to mention a few externals which are common to all these families. All light wax tapers during the celebration, however bright may be the natural light (see LIGHTS), and Incense (q.v.) is universally burned. Fans (q.v.) came into use in the southern countries where flies are troublesome, but as a rule they have now become mere ornaments carried in processions. As to vestments, the Chasuble (q.v.) is universally worn by the celebrant; nor is there any trace of a time when it was not. As, however, it is originally a mere round piece of stuff with a hole in the middle for the head, the hands can only be used while wearing it by raising it at the sides or in front. Hence in the Roman, Ephesian, and Babylonian families it is cut up at the sides and hangs down before and behind; among the Orthodox the front part below the breast is cut away; in the Alexandrian rite, and by the Armenians and some of the Syrians, it is entirely split up the front, and becomes a mere cloak. In all the families is also worn a long gown down to the feet, which is in English called an Alb (q.v.). This, with its accompanying girdle, of course represents the long tunic worn by orientals. The stole is a strip of stuff worn by the priest round his neck, and by the deacon over his left shoulder. It seems to be the talith or religious garment of the Jews, which must of course have been worn in prayer by Christ and His earliest disciples, and which, as usually arranged, exactly resembles a stole. The maniples (in Greek, epimanikia) are cuffs seemingly used simply to confine the sleeves of the alb; the corresponding object worn by Latins, however, is put on the left arm only, and has a long flap; and some have maintained that it was originally a pocket-handkerchief. The amice is really a veil or covering for the head, and by the Copts it is so worn until the thanksgiving. In the other families it is generally pushed down upon the neck, and the Armenians, by embroidering it, have made it into a sort of ornamental collar.
The liturgies used by Protestants are either, as among Anglicans, adaptations of the Roman rite, or, as among Presbyterians, forms altogether newly invented, based upon Scripture and convenience only. The latter process has resulted in some interesting coincidences, such as the general introduction among Presbyterians of the ceremonial in-bringing of the bread and wine at the offertory, called by the Greeks 'the Great Entrance;' while one school gained the popular name of 'Lifters,' from practising the Elevation. It may, however, be remarked that Spanish Protestants have always shown a great leaning to the Mozarabic liturgy, the reason for which is plain enough, since it is not Roman, and is undoubtedly ancient and intensely national; and it is not improbably owing to the influence of Spanish refugees in London that in the second (and present) Anglican liturgy the great intercession (the 'Prayer for the Church Militant') has been placed in the offertory. The liturgy used by the body commonly known as Irvingites is remarkable for its literary merit.
Liturgical literature is exceedingly voluminous. For a single volume the reader may be referred to the Rev. C. E. Hammond's Liturgy Eastern and Western (Oxf. Clar. Press, 1878). Much matter will be found in the late Dr Neale's Introduction to the History of the Holy Eastern Church. As regards the Roman and Constantinopolitan rites, books are plentiful; as to the Armenians, the Armenian Church, by the Rev. E. F. K. Fortescue; for the Indian Monophysites, The Christians of St Thomas and their Liturgies, by the Rev. G. B. Howard; for the Nestorians and Chaldeans, The Nestorians and their Rituals, by the late Dr Badger; and for the Copts, The Coptic Sunday Morning Service, by the present writer, will supply information of a practical kind; while for other or more recondite studies recourse may be had to the authors cited by Mr Hammond. The doctrine of the eucharist, and its history before and after the Reformation, is treated in the articles LORD'S SUPPER, PRAYER-BOOK; see also SACRAMENT, TRANSUBSTANTIATION.