A Study of the Divine Liturgy

Class 2

Texts: Isabel Hapgood, Service Book; Nicholas Cabasilas, Commentary on the Divine Liturgy

Summary of Cabasilas’s Introduction, the layout of the church, the entrance and vesting prayers of the clergy.

1. Summary of Cabasilas’s Introduction

The remainder of the introduction expatiates on the main idea already introduced, that the structure and actions of the Divine Liturgy are a mystagogy in action of the entire economy of the Incarnate Lord, and that by our participation in these sacred actions we participate noetically in these great mysteries, which participation prepares us for Holy Communion.

A. Paragraph 6, pp. 28 - 29 - By presenting the work of redemption before the eyes of the faithful, the Divine Liturgy reinforces in the souls of the baptized the noble sentiments they acquired when they accepted the Gospel and Baptism.

B. Paragraph 7, p. 29 - “Thus prepared [by beholding all that Christ endured for us] we can enter into contact with the fire of the solemn mysteries with confidence and trust.”

C. Paragraph 8, pp. 29 - 30 - We must both 1. Repeatedly contemplate these things and 2. At the time of contemplation, do so with attention and concentration.

D. Paragraph 9, p. 30 - Repeats the idea that not only the words alone, but the symbolism of the liturgical action creates within us spiritual thoughts and a deep spiritual feeling. Filled with these ideas and feeling, we approach Divine Communion, and we are changed “from glory to glory.”

E. Final Paragraph - Summary: Now that the author has explained the general significance of the Liturgy, he will go on to discuss its several parts.

The commentary by Cabasilas then immediately begins an explanation of the Proskomedia. Before we begin this, we’ll talk about the structure of the church building and the entrance and vesting prayers of the clergy.

II. Plan of the Church Building

The layout of the church building is intimately connected to and supportive of the symbolic actions of the church services. Each of the three main sections has both a practical and a symbolic function.

A. The Narthex - the narthex is the entryway to the church building. It has the practical function of providing a place of transition from the outside to the inside, and various actions and services are performed there: Buying candles and (in the Russian Church) prosphoras, the reading of Midnight Office, the Hours, and Compline, the performance of the Liti at Vespers, the offering of kollyva and other blessed offerings, the preliminary rite of Baptism, the betrothal rite within the wedding service, and, in churches with a large enough narthex, even funerals. The narthex symbolizes the Old Testament period of salvation history, and in churches with fully developed iconographic schemes, it is decorated with depictions of the saints and events of the Old Testament. It also symbolizes the pre-Baptismal part - the initial hearing of the Gospel and catechumenate - of the life of the Christian.

B. The Nave - The nave is the largest part of the church area, and its practical function is to provide space for the faithful to stand and to make prostrations during the main Church services. It also provides space for the shrines and reliquaries of the saints, candle stands, analogia with icons put out for veneration, etc. The nave symbolizes the era of the New Testament, between the First and Second Comings of Christ, the life of the Church Militant on earth. It also symbolizes the life of each Christian as he goes along the way of pilgrimage to the Kingdom of Heaven.

C. The Altar - The altar is the most sacred part of the church, in which the main actions of the Divine Liturgy are performed. It contains the Holy Table on which the Liturgy is offered, as well as the Table of Oblation where the gifts of bread and wine are prepared. It is screened off from the nave by the templon or icon screen (iconostas). The altar symbolizes the Kingdom of Heaven and the life of the Church Triumphant in the age to come. The successive opening and closing of the doors and veils, especially the main door - the Beautiful Gate or Royal Doors - with its veil (katapetasma) symbolizes the periodic revelations of God to man on earth and the periodic missions of His messengers the angels and above all, that of His Incarnate Word.

III. The Entrance Prayers and Vesting of the Clergy

The text is in Hapgood, pp. 67 to 70. We shall read and comment on the text as we go along.
The entry prayers and vesting of the clergy are both part of the entire process of preparation for the Sacrifice which Cabasilas explains so well in his introductory section. In particular, also, they are most necessary for the clergyman’s transformation of mind and heart as he leaves behind the business of the world for the sacred Liturgy. The vesting, in particular, in addition to being the practical action of putting on the liturgical clothing proper to the station of the priest and the action that he is about to perform, symbolizes and reinforces his status as a consecrated minister set apart for the divine service.