Selections
from:
THE
PILGRIMAGE OF ETHERIA
M.L. McClure and C. L. Feltoe, ed. and trans.
Greek text in these pages appears in the Scholars Press SPIonic typeface,
available here
for Windows users, and here
for Mac users.
Be it noted that the pilgrim's name is
currently spelled "Egeria" by most scholars.
This is our major narrative account of 4th century worship. It is written by a Spanish Nun to her sisters
back home. See OHCW for a brief introduction and one excerpt.
Prior to the section included below, she has described her experiences
in Sinai,
THE
PILGRIMAGE OF ETHERIA
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I
DAILY OFFICES
1. Matins.
Now that your
affection may know what is the order of service (operatio) day by day in
the holy places, I must inform you, for I know that you would willingly have
this knowledge. Every day before cockcrow all the doors of the Anastasis1
are opened, and all the monks and virgins, as they call them here, go thither,
and not they alone, but lay people also, both men and women, who desire to
begin their vigil early. And from that hour to daybreak hymns are said2
and psalms are sung responsively (responduntur), and antiphons in like
manner; and prayer is made after each of the hymns. For priests, deacons, and
monks in twos or threes take it in turn every day to say prayers after each of
the hymns or antiphons. But when day breaks they begin to say the Matin hymns.
Thereupon the bishop arrives with
1 See Introduction, p.
xlv.
2 Etheria constantly uses dicuntur, dicitur applied to
hymns and psalms--but she probably means "sung." See Introduction,
pp, xxxix f.
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the clergy,
and immediately enters into the cave,1 and from within the rails (cancelli)
he first says a prayer for all, mentioning the names of those whom he wishes to
commemorate; he then blesses the catechumens, afterwards he says a prayer and
blesses the faithful. And when the bishop comes out from within the rails,
every one approaches his hand,2 and he blesses them one by one as he
goes out, and the dismissal3 takes place, by daylight.
2. Sext
and None.
In like
manner at the sixth hour all go again to the Anastasis, and psalms and antiphons
are said, while the bishop is being summoned; then he comes
1 See Introduction, pp.
xlv f.
2 The expression "to approach the bishop's hand" has given
rise to much discussion. Archbp. Bernard and Professor Sayce both suggested it
was for the purpose of kissing it. But an account given by Mrs. Gibson and Mrs.
Lewis of their visit to the very ancient Coptic Monastery of Deyr Antonius on
the
3 It should be noted that the word missa in the text is
almost always translated "dismissal," although it must on some
occasions have meant "Mass." This, however, Etheria usually calls oblatio
(offerre). For the ambiguity of the meaning attached to missa, see
Introduction, pp. xl f.
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as before,
not taking his seat, but he enters at once within the rails in the Anastasis,
that is in the cave, just as in the early morning, and as then, he again first
says a prayer, then he blesses the faithful, and as he comes out from [within]
the rails every one approaches his hand. And the same is done at the ninth hour
as at the sixth.
3. Vespers.
Now at the
tenth hour, which they call here licinicon,1 or as we say lucernare,
all the people assemble at the Anastasis in the same manner, and all the
candles and tapers are lit, making a very great light. Now the light is not
introduced from without, but it is brought forth from within the cave, that is
from within the rails, where a lamp is always burning day and night, and the
vesper psalms and antiphons are said, lasting for a considerable time. Then the
bishop is summoned, and he comes and takes a raised seat, and likewise the
priests sit in their proper places, and hymns and antiphons are said. And when
all these have been recited according to custom, the bishop rises and stands
before the rails, that is, before the cave, and one of the deacons makes the
customary commemoration of individuals one by one. And as the deacon pronounces
each name the many little boys who are always standing by, answer with
countless voices: Kyrie eleyson, or as we say Miserere Domine.2
And when the deacon has finished all that he has to say, first the bishop says
a prayer and
1 i. e. to_ luxniko&n.
2 For this, see Introduction, p. xliii.
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prays for
all, then they all pray, both the faithful and catechumens together. Again the
deacon raises his voice, bidding each catechumen to bow his head where he
stands, and the bishop stands and says the blessing over the catechumens. Again
prayer is made, and again the deacon raises his voice and bids the faithful,
each where he stands, to bow the head, and the bishop likewise blesses the'
faithful. Thus the dismissal takes place at the Anastasis, and one by one all
draw near to the bishop's hand. Afterwards the bishop is conducted from the
Anastasis to the Cross [with] hymns, all the people accompanying him, and when
he arrives he first says a prayer, then he blesses the catechumens, then
another prayer is said and he blesses the faithful. Thereupon both the bishop
and the whole multitude further proceed behind the Cross, where all that was
done before the Cross is repeated, and they approach the hand of the bishop
behind the Cross as they did at the Anastasis and before the Cross. Moreover,
there are hanging everywhere a vast number of great glass chandeliers, and
there are also a vast number of cereofala,1 before the
Anastasis, before the Cross and behind the Cross, for the whole does not end
until darkness has set in. This is the order of daily services (operatio)
at the Cross and at the Anastasis throughout the six days.
1 i. e. candles on tall
candlesticks (Ducange).
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II
SUNDAY
OFFICES
1. Vigil
But on the
seventh day,1 that is on the Lord's Day, the whole multitude
assembles before cockcrow, in as great numbers as the place can hold, as at
Easter, in the basilica which is near the Anastasis, but outside the doors,
where lights are hanging for the purpose. And for fear that they should not be
there at cockcrow they come beforehand and sit down there. Hymns as well as
antiphons are said, and prayers are made between the several hymns and
antiphons, for at the vigils there are always both priests and deacons ready
there for the assembling of the multitude, the custom being that the holy
places are not opened before cockcrow. Now as soon as the first cock has
crowed, the bishop arrives and enters the cave at the Anastasis; all the doors
are opened and the whole multitude enters the Anastasis, where countless lights
are already burning. And when the people have entered, one of the priests says
a psalm to which all respond, and afterwards prayer is made; then one of the
deacons says a psalm and prayer is again made, a third psalm is said by one of
the clergy, prayer is made for the third time and there is a commemoration of
all. After these three psalms and three prayers are ended, lo! censers are
brought into the cave of the Anastasis so that the whole basilica
1 Etheria here calls the
Lord's Day the seventh day, but only because she has just before spoken of the
six days that precede it.
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of the
Anastasis is filled with odours.1 And then the bishop, standing
within the rails, takes the book of the Gospel, and proceeding to the door,
himself reads the (narrative of the) Resurrection of the Lord. And when the
reading is begun, there is so great a moaning and groaning among all, with so
many tears, that the hardest of heart might be moved to tears for that the Lord
had borne such things for us. After the reading of the Gospel the bishop goes
out, and is accompanied to the Cross by all the people with hymns, there again
a psalm is said and prayer is made, after which he blesses the faithful and the
dismissal takes place, and as he comes out all approach to his hand. And
forthwith the bishop betakes himself to his house, and from that hour all the
monks return to the Anastasis, where psalms and antiphons, with prayer after
each psalm or antiphon, are said until daylight; the priests and deacons also
keep watch in turn daily at the Anastasis with the people, but of the lay
people, whether men or women, those who are so minded, remain in the place
until daybreak, and those who are not, return to their houses and betake
themselves to sleep.
2. Morning
Services.
Now at
daybreak because it is the Lord's Day every one proceeds to the greater church,
built by
1 Assuming the earlier
date of this pilgrimage, we have probably here the earliest mention extant of
incense being used in a Christian church at the time of public worship: see Dictionary
of Prayer Book, p. 406, s.v.
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everywhere1
on the Lord's Day. But the custom here is that of all the priests who take
their seats, as many as are willing, preach, and after them all the bishop
preaches, and these sermons are always on the Lord's Day, in order that the
people may always be instructed in the Scriptures and in the love of God. The
delivery of these sermons greatly delays the dismissal from the church, so that
the dismissal does [not] take place before the fourth or perhaps the fifth
hour. But when the dismissal from the church is made in the manner that is
customary everywhere, the monks accompany the bishop with hymns from the church
to the Anastasis, and as he approaches with hymns all the doors of the basilica
of the Anastasis are opened, and the people, that is the faithful, enter, but
not the catechumens. And after the people the bishop enters, and goes at once
within the rails of the cave of the martyrium. Thanks are first given to God,
then prayer is made for all, after which the deacon bids all bow their heads,
where they stand, and the bishop standing within the inner rails blesses them
and goes out, each one drawing near to his hand as he makes his exit. Thus the
dismissal is delayed until nearly the fifth or sixth hour. And in like manner
it is done at lucernare, according to daily custom.
This then is
the custom observed every day throughout the whole year except on solemn days,
to the keeping of which we will refer later on. But among all things it is a special
feature that they arrange that suitable psalms and antiphons are said on every
occasion, both those said by night, or in the morning,
1 This of course includes
the celebration of the Eucharist.
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as well as
those throughout the day, at the sixth hour, the ninth hour, or at lucernare
all being so appropriate and so reasonable as to bear on the matter in hand.
And they proceed to the greater church, which was built by Constantine, and
which is situated in Golgotha, that is, behind the Cross, on every Lord's Day
throughout the year except on the one Sunday of Pentecost, when they proceed to
Sion, as you will find mentioned below; but even then they go to Sion before
the third hour, the dismissal having been first made in the greater church.
* * * * * *
[A leaf is
wanting.]
III
FESTIVALS AT
EPIPHANY
1. Night
Station at Bethlehem.1
* * * * * * *
Blessed is
he that cometh in the Name of the Lord, and the rest which follows.2 And
since, for the sake
1 The Old Armenian
Lectionary of the eighth or ninth century, of which there are two codices with
certain variations, one in the Bodleian at Oxford and one at Paris, has
preserved for us the antiphons, psalms and lections in use at Jerusalem. They
are here given, as far as they bear on Etheria's narrative. At the night
station at
2 S. Matt. xxi. 9.
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of the monks
who go on foot, it is necessary to walk slowly, the arrival in Jerusalem thus
takes place at the hour when one man begins to be able to recognize another, that
is, close upon but a little before daybreak. And on arriving there, the bishop
and all with him immediately enter the Anastasis, where an exceedingly great
number of lights are already burning. There a psalm is said, prayer is made,
first the catechumens and then the faithful are blessed by the bishop; then the
bishop retires, and every one returns to his lodging to take rest, but the
monks remain there until daybreak and recite hymns.
2. Morning
Services at
But after the
people have taken rest, at the beginning of the second hour they all assemble
in the greater church, which is in Golgotha.1
Now it would
be superfluous to describe the adornment either of the church, or of the
Anastasis, or of the Cross, or in
1 The Bodleian Codex of
the Old Arm. Lect. says that on the second day they assemble in the shrine of
S. Stephen, but on the third day they go to the holy shrine in the city (i.e.
the martyrium, or as Etheria calls it, the greater church in Golgotha), and
this canon is prescribed: Ps. cx.3 ; Heb. i. 1-14; Ps. cx., S. Matt.
ii. 13-23, but Etheria seems to have confused the order of the fourth, fifth and
sixth days.
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of the cereofala,1
or of the cicindelae,2 or of the lucernae,3
or of the various vessels? And what shall I say of the decoration of the fabric
itself, which Constantine, at his mother's instigation, decorated with gold,
mosaic, and costly marbles, as far as the resources of his kingdom allowed him,
that is, the greater church as well as the Anastasis, at the Cross, and the
other holy places in Jerusalem ? But to return to the matter in hand: the
dismissal4 takes place on the first day in the greater church, which is in
3. Octave
of the Festival.
On the second
day also they proceed in like manner to the church in
1 See above, p. 48
2 Lamps for burning oil. The word is used four times by S. Gregory
of
3 Lanterns, or lamps.
4 Here again, although not specified, the Eucharist must have been
celebrated.
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joyfulness
for three days up to the sixth hour in the church built by
1 On the fourth day the
Paris Codex of the Old Arm. Lect. makes the assembly in holy Sion, and this
canon is performed: Ps. cx. ; Gal. iv. 1-7; Ps. cxxxii. ; S. Luke i. 26-38. The
fifth day is on the
2 The
3 The Paris Codex has on the seventh day: "They assemble in
holy
4 i.e. of
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necessary
that the bishop should always keep these days in
4. The
Presentation.1
1 The
2 S. Luke ii. 22-39.
3 Sacramenta aguntur et sic fit missa.
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IV
LENT
And when the
Paschal days come they are observed thus:1 Just as with us forty
days are kept before Easter, so here eight weeks are kept before Easter. And
eight weeks are kept because there is no fasting on the Lord's Days, nor on the
Sabbaths, except on the one Sabbath on which the Vigil of Easter falls, in
which case the fast is obligatory. With the exception then of that one day,
there is never fasting on any Sabbath here throughout the year. Thus, deducting
the eight Lord's Days and the seven Sabbaths (for on the one Sabbath, as I said
above, the fast is obligatory) from the eight weeks, there remain forty-one fast
days, which they call here Eortae, that is Quadragesimae.2
1 No traces of the
Quadragesima are found before the fourth century. The fifth Canon of the
Council of Nicaea (325) contains the earliest mention of it. Various endeavours
were made in various countries to combine the Quadragesima with Holy Week. S.
Chrysostom speaks of the Quadragesima being finished and the "Great
week" beginning. At
2 The Old Arm. Lect. has: "For the Holy Quadragesima: first
lection, Isa. i. 16-20; second, Ezek. xviii. 20-23; third, Rom. vi. 3-14;
fourth, Col. ii. 8 foll. ; fifth, Heb. xi. 1-31; sixth, Isa. xlv. 17-26;
seventh, Eph. iii. 14-iv. 13; eighth, Jer. xxxii. 19-44; ninth, Job xxxviii.
2-xxxix. 35; tenth, 1 Cor viii. 5-ix. 23; eleventh, Heb. i. 1-12; twelfth, Isa.
vii. 11-vii 10; thirteenth, Isa. liii. 1-liv. 5; fourteenth, 1 Cor. xv. 1-28
{continued next page}
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1. Services
on Sundays.
Now the
several days of the several weeks are kept thus:
On the Lord's
Day after the first cockcrow the bishop reads in the Anastasis the account of
the Lord's Resurrection from the Gospel, as on all Lord's Days throughout the
whole year, and everything is done at the Anastasis and at the Cross as on all
Lord's Days throughout the year, up to daybreak. Afterwards, in the morning,
they proceed to the greater church, called the martyrium, which is in
2. Weekday
Services.
On the second
weekday they go at the first cockcrow to the Anastasis, as they do throughout
the year, and everything that is usual is done until morning. Then at the third
hour they go to the
{footnote
continuing from page above} fifteenth, Dan. vii. 13-27; sixteenth, 1 Cor. xii.
1-7; seventeenth, 1 Cor. xii. 1-7; eighteenth, Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14; nineteenth,
1 Tim. iii. 14-16. Here ends the canon of them that are going to be
baptized."
1 Mgr. Duchesne would here insert "not."
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Anastasis,
and the things are done that are customary throughout the year at the sixth
hour, for this going at the third hour in Quadragesima is additional. At the
sixth and ninth hours also; and at lucernare, everything is done that is
customary throughout the whole year at the holy places. And on the third
weekday all things are done as on the second weekday.
3. Wednesday
and Friday.
Again, on the
fourth1 weekday they go by night to the Anastasis, and all the usual
things are done until morning, and also at the third and sixth hours. But at
the ninth hour they go to Sion, as is customary at that hour on the fourth and
sixth2 weekdays throughout the year, for the reason that the fast is
always kept here on the fourth and sixth weekdays even by the catechumens,
except a martyrs' day should occur. For if a martyrs' day should chance to
occur on the fourth or on the sixth weekday in Quadragesima, they do not go to
Sion at the ninth hour. But on the days of Quadragesima, as I said above, they
proceed to Sion on the fourth weekday at the ninth hour, according to the
custom of the whole year, and all things that are customary at the ninth hour
are done, except the oblation, for, in order that the
1 The Old Arm. Lect. has:
"In the holy Quadragesima, in the first week on the fourth day of the week,
they assemble at the tenth hour in holy Sion, and this canon is performed:
Exod. i. 1-ii. 10; Joel i. 14-20; Ps. li. 5ff." (Gregory Asharuni alone
gives the fifth verse as the antiphon.)
2 The Old Arm. Lect. : "Friday, at the tenth hour they assemble
in holy Sion, and this canon is performed: Deut. vi. 4-vii. 10; Job vi. 2-vii.
13; Isa. xl. 1-8; Ps. xli.4"
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people may
always be instructed in the law, both the bishop and the priest preach
diligently. But when the dismissal has been made, the people escort the bishop
with hymns thence to the Anastasis, so that it is already the hour of lucernare
when he enters the Anastasis; then hymns and antiphons are said, prayers are
made, and the service (missa) of lucernare takes place in the
Anastasis and at the Cross. And the service of lucernare is always later
on those days in Quadragesima than on other days throughout the year. On the
fifth weekday everything is done as on the second and third weekday. On the
sixth weekday everything is done as on the fourth, including the going to Sion
at the ninth hour, and the escorting of the bishop thence to the Anastasis with
hymns.
4 Saturday.
But on the
sixth weekday the vigils are observed in the Anastasis from the hour of their
arrival from Sion with hymns, until morning, that is, from the hour of lucernare
when they entered, to the morning of the next day, that is, the Sabbath. And
the oblation is made in the Anastasis the earlier, that the dismissal may take
place before sunrise. Throughout the whole night psalms are said responsively
in turn with antiphons and with various lections, the whole lasting until
morning, and the dismissal, which takes place on the Sabbath at the Anastasis,
is before sunrise, that is, the oblation, so that the dismissal may take place
in the Anastasis at the hour when the sun begins to rise. Thus, then, is each
week of Quadragesima kept, the dismissal taking
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place earlier
on the Sabbath, i.e. before sunrise, as I said, in order that the hebdomadarii,
as they are called here, may finish their fast earlier. For the custom of the
fast in Quadragesima is that the dismissal on the Lord's Day is at the fifth
hour in order that they whom they call hebdomadarii, that is, they who
keep the weeks' fast, may take food. And when these have taken breakfast on the
Lord's Day, they do not eat until the Sabbath morning after they have
communicated in the Anastasis. It is for their sake, then, that they may finish
their fast the sooner, that the dismissal on the Sabbath at the Anastasis is before
sunrise. For their sake the dismissal is in the morning, as I said; not that
they alone communicate, but all who are so minded communicate on that day in
the Anastasis.
5. The
Fast.
This is the
custom of the fast in Quadragesima: some, when they have eaten after the
dismissal on the Lord's Day, that is, about the fifth or sixth hour, do not eat
throughout the whole week until after the dismissal at the Anastasis on the
Sabbath; these are they who keep the weeks' fast.
Nor, after
having eaten in the morning, do they eat in the evening of the Sabbath, but
they take a meal on the next day, that is, on the Lord's Day, after the
dismissal from the church at the fifth hour or later, and then they do not
breakfast until the Sabbath comes round, as I have said above. For the custom
here is that all who are apotacticae, as they call them here, whether
men or women, eat only once a day on
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the day when
they do eat, not only in Quadragesima, but throughout the whole year. But if
any of the apotacticae cannot keep the entire week of fasting as
described above, they take supper in the middle (of the week), on the fifth
day, all through Quadragesima. And if any one cannot do even this, he keeps two
days' fast (in the week) all through Quadragesima, and they who cannot do even
this, take a meal every evening. For no one exacts from any how much he should
do, but each does what he can, nor is he praised who has done much, nor is he
blamed who has done less; that is the custom here. For their food during the
days of Quadragesima is as follows:--they taste neither bread which cannot be
weighed,1 nor oil, nor anything that grows on trees, but only water
and a little gruel made of flour. Quadragesima is kept thus, as we have said.
And at the end of the weeks' fast the vigil is kept in the Anastasis from the
hour of lucernare on the sixth weekday, when the people come with psalms
from Sion, to the morning of the Sabbath, when the oblation is made in the
Anastasis. And the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth weeks in Quadragesima
are kept as the first.2
1 Panem, quid liberari
non potest, but Archbp. Bernard reads qui deliquari and translates:
"bread which cannot be strained as a liquid." I have adopted
Gamurrini's conjecture librari.
2 In the Old Arrn. Lect. there are special lections for all these
weeks. They will be found in the Rituale Armenorum, Appendix II., pp.
519f. As they do not specially figure in Etheria's narrative, they are not
given here. The places of assembly in
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V
HOLY WEEK AND
THE FESTIVALS AT EASTER
1. Saturday
before Palm Sunday.--Station at
Now when the
seventh week has come, that is, when two weeks, including the seventh, are left
before Easter,1 everything is done on each day as in the. weeks that
are past, except that the vigils of the sixth weekday, which were kept in the
Anastasis during the first six weeks, are, in the seventh week, kept in Sion,
and with the same customs that obtained during the six weeks in the Anastasis. For
throughout the whole vigil psalms and antiphons are said appropriate both to
the place and to the day.
And when the
morning of the Sabbath2 begins to dawn, the bishop offers the
oblation. And at the dismissal the archdeacon lifts his voice and says: "Let
us all be ready to-day at the seventh hour in the Lazarium." And so, as
the seventh hour approaches, all go to the Lazarium, that is, Bethany, situated
at about the second milestone from the city. And as they go from
1 Mgr. Duchesne notes
there were variations in the length of the Quadragesima at
2 For the Saturday before Palm Sunday the Old Arm. Lect. gives:
"The sixth day before Zatik (the Passover), on the Sabbath they assemble
in the Lazarium, and this canon is performed: Ps. xxx.3 ; 1 Thess.
iv. 12-17; Alleluiah; Ps. xl. ; S. John xi. 55-xii. 11."
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sister of
Lazarus met with the Lord.1 Here, when the bishop arrives, all the
monks meet him, and the people enter the church, and one hymn and one antiphon
are said, and that passage is read in the Gospel where the sister of Lazarus
meets the Lord. Then, after prayer has been made, and when all have been
blessed, they go thence with hymns to the Lazarium And on arriving at the
Lazarium, so great a multitude assembles that not only the place itself, but
also the fields around, are full of people. Hymns and antiphons suitable to the
day and to the place are said, and likewise all the lessons are read. Then, before
the dismissal, notice is given of Easter, that is, the priest ascends to a
higher place and reads the passage that is written in the Gospel: When Jesus
six days before the Passover had come to
2. Palm
Sunday.ã(a) Services in the Churches.
On the next
day, that is, the Lord's Day,3 which
1 S. John xi. 29, 30.
2 S. John xii. 1 ff.
3 The Old Arm. Lect. has: "On the Day of the Palms they
assemble in the holy Shrine of the city, and this canon is fufilled: Ps.
xcviii. 8 ; Eph. i. 3-10; Alleluiah ; Ps. xcix. ; S. Matt. xxi. 1-11.''
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begins the
Paschal week, and which they call here the Great Week, when all the customary
services from cockcrow until morning have taken place in the Anastasis and at
the Cross, they proceed on the morning of the Lord's Day according to custom to
the greater church, which is called the martyrium. It is called the martyrium
because it is in
(b)
Procession with Palms on the
1 The Old Arm. Lect. has:
"On the same day, at the ninth hour, they go forth to the
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go up to the
{footnote
continued} Hallel. It will be observed that Etheria's ear caught the
ever-recurring antiphon: "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the
Lord" (v. 26), but she does not seem to have recognized the psalm.
According to the ancient use, the antiphon was sung after each verse as a
refrain.]
1 S. Matt. xxi. 9.
2 S. Matt. xxi. 8.
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responses,
from the top of the mount to the city, and thence through the whole city to the
Anastasis, going very slowly lest the poeple should be wearied; and thus they
arrive at the Anastasis at a late hour. And on arriving, although it is late, lucernare
takes place, with prayer at the Cross; after which the people are dismissed.
3. Monday
in Holy Week
On the next
day, the second weekday, everything that is customary is done from the first
cockcrow until morning in the Anastasis; also at the third and sixth hours
everything is done that is customary throughout the whole of Quadragesima. But
at the ninth hour all assemble in the great church, that is the martyrium,1
where hymns and antiphons are said continuously until the first hour of the
night and lessons suitable to the day and the place are read, interspersed
always with prayers. Lucernare takes place when its hour approaches,
that is, so that it is already night when the dismissal at the martyrium is made.
When the dismissal has been made, the bishop is escorted thence with hymns to
the Anastasis, where, when he has entered, one hymn is said, followed by a
prayer; the catechumens and then the faithful are blessed, and the dismissal is
made.
1 The Old Arm. Lect. Has:
"The seocnd day of the week of the Fast of Zatik (Pascha) they assemble in
the holy Shrine of the city, and this canon is fulfilled: Gen i. 1-iii. 20;
Prov. i. 1-9; Isa. xl. 1-8; Ps. lxv.5 "
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4. Tuesday
in Holy Week. On the third weekday1 everything is done as on the
second, with this one thing added--that late at night, after the dismissal of
the martyrium, and after the going to the Anastasis and after the dismissal
there, all proceed at that hour by night to the church, which is on the
5. Wednesday
in Holy Week.
On the fourth
weekday everything is done as on the second and third weekdays throughout the
whole day from the first cockcrow onwards, but after the dismissal has taken
place at the martyrium4 by night,
1 The Old Arm. Lect. has:
"On the third day of the week [the later Bodleian Codex has: 'they
assemble on the
2 Cf. S. Matt. xxiv. 3.
3 S. Matt. xxiv. 4.
4 The old Arm. Lect. has : "The fourth day of the week at the
tenth hour they assemble in the holy Shrine of the city, and this canon is
performed: Gen. xviii. 1-xix. 30; Prov. i. {Continued next page}
<69>
and the
bishop has been escorted with hymns to the Anastasis, he at once enters the
cave which is in the Anastasis, and stands within the rails; but the priest
stands before the rails and receives the Gospel, and reads the passage where
Judas Iscariot went to the Jews and stated what they should give him that he
should betray the Lord.1 And when the passage has been read, there
is such a moaning and groaning of all the people that no one can help being
moved to tears at that hour. Afterwards prayer follows, then the blessing,
first of the catechumens, and then of the faithful, and the dismissal is made.
6. Maundy
Thursday.--(a) Mass celebrated twice.
On the fifth
weekday everything that is customary is done from the first cockcrow until
morning at the Anastasis, and also at the third and at the sixth hours. But at
the eighth hour all the people gather together at the martyrium2
according to custom, only
{footnote
continued from above} 1-19; Zech. xi. 11-14; Ps. xli.4 And after the
psalm they go down into the holy Anastasis, and a lection is read, S. Matt.
xxvi. 14-16."
1 S. Matt. xxvi. 14,15.
2 The Old Arm. Lect. has: "The fifth day of the week is of the
old Zatik, as touching which Jesus said to His disciples, 'With desire have I
desired to eat with you this Zatik.' They assemble at the seventh hour in the
holy shrine of the city, and this canon is performed: Gen. xxii. 1-18; Isa.
lxi. 1-6; Acts i. 15-26; Ps. lv.22 Their words, etc. Then the
catechumens are dismissed. Again, Is. xxiii.5 {Ps xxiii. 5?}; 1 Cor.
xi. 23-33; S. Matt. xxvi. 20-39.
And then the sacrifice is offered in the holy shrine, and before the holy
Cross. And in the same hour they proceed to holy Sion. The canon and Apostle
are the same: For I received from the Lord: S. Mark xiv. 12-26.
And in the same hour they go forth to the
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earlier than
on other days, because the dismissal must be made sooner. Then, when the people
are gathered together, all that should be done is done, and, the oblation is
made on that day at the martyrium, the dismissal taking place about the tenth
hour. But before the dismissal is made there, the archdeacon raises his voice
and says: "Let us all assemble at the first hour of the night in the
church which is in Eleona, for great toil awaits us to-day, in this very
night." Then, after the dismissal at the martyrium, they arrive behind the
Cross, where only one hymn is said and prayer is made, and the bishop offers
the oblation there, and all communicate. Nor is the oblation ever offered
behind the Cross on any day throughout the year, except on this one day. And
after the dismissal
{footnote
continued from above} with the same the vigil, and with three gubalays
of psalms. [Mr. Conybeare believes gubalay to be derived from kefalaion
= chapter. Each canon of the psalms is divided for liturgical purposes into
seven gubalays, each gubalay comprising two or three Psalms, and
at the end of it is repeated the Gloria Patri.] And the prayers are said
with gonuklisia [genuflections].
Of the first gubalay, Ps. ii.2
Of the second gubalay, Ps. xli.5
Of the third gubalay, Ps. lix.1
Of the fourth gubalay, Ps. lxxxviii.5, Ktzord, They
are cut off from thy hand.
Of the fifth gubalay, Ps. cix2., Ktzord, They spake of
me and with deceitful tongue.
And after the fifth Psalm, and fifth gubalay, and fifth prayer, on the
same evening they read the Gospel of S. John xiii. 31- xviii. 1.
On the same evening they go up to the hillock [on the
In the same hour of night they assemble in the room of the disciples, and read
the lection, S. Mark xiv. 33-42."
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there they go
to the Anastasis, where prayer is made, the catechumens and the faithful are
blessed according to custom, and the dismissal is made.
(b) Night
Station on the
And so every
one hastens back to his house to eat, because immediately after they have
eaten, all go to Eleona to the church wherein is the cave where the Lord was
with His Apostles on this very day. There then, until about the fifth hour of
the night, hymns and antiphons suitable to the day and to the place are said,
lessons, too, are read in like manner, with prayers interspersed, and the
passages from the Gospel are read where the Lord addressed His disciples on
that same day as He sat in the same cave which is in that church. And they go
thence at about the sixth hour of the night with hymns up to the Imbomon, the
place whence the Lord ascended into heaven, where again lessons are read, hymns
and antiphons suitable to the day are said, and all the prayers which are made
by the bishop are also suitable both to the day and to the place.
(c) Stations
at
And at the first
cockcrow they come down from the Imbomon with hymns, and arrive at the place
where the Lord prayed, as it is written in the Gospel1: and He
was withdrawn2 (from them) about a stone's cast, and
prayed, and the rest. There is in that place a graceful church. The bishop
and all the people
1 S. Luke xxii. 41.
2 Lat. et accessit, but Vulg, has ipse avulsus est,
see p. xxxiv.
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enter, a
prayer suitable to the place and to the day is said, with one suitable hymn,
and the passage from the Gospel is read where He said to His disciples: Watch,
that ye enter not into temptation1; the whole passage is read
through and prayer is made. And then all, even to the smallest child, go down
with the Bishop, on foot, with hymns to Gethsemane; where, on account of the
great number of people in the crowd, who are wearied owing to the vigils and
weak through the daily fasts, and because they have so great a hill to descend,
they come very slowly with hymns to Gethsemane. And over two hundred church
candles are made ready to give light to all the people. On their arrival at
(d) Return
to
From that
hour they go with hymns3 to the city on foot, reaching the gate
about the time when one man begins to be able to recognize another, and thence
right on through the midst of the city; all, to a man, both great and small,
rich and poor, all are ready
1 S. Mark xiv. 38.
2 The Old Arm. Lit. has: "In the same hour of night, in the
holy Mount of Olives in
3 The Old Arm. Lit. has: " In the same hour of night they come
singing Ps. cxviii.1 , and they recite it until they come before
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there, for on
that special day not a soul withdraws from the vigils until morning. Thus the
bishop is escorted from
7. Good
Friday.--(a) Service at Daybreak.
And when they
arrive before the Cross the daylight is already growing bright. There the
passage from the.Gospel is read where the Lord is brought before Pilate, with
everything that is written concerning that which Pilate spake to the Lord or to
the Jews;1 the whole is read. And afterwards the bishop addresses the people,
comforting them for that they have toiled all night and are about to toil
during that same day, (bidding) them not be weary, but to have hope in God, Who
will for that toil give them a greater reward. And encouraging them as he is able,
he addresses them thus: "Go now, each one of you, to your houses, and sit
down awhile, and all of you be ready here just before the second hour of the
day, that from that hour to the sixth you may be able to behold the holy wood
of the Cross, each one of us believing that it will be profitable to his
salvation; then from the sixth hour we must all assemble again in this place,
that is, before the Cross, that we may apply ourselves to lections and to
prayers until night."
(b) The
Column of the Flagellation.
After this,
when the dismissal at the Cross has been made, that is, before the sun rises,
they all go
1 S. Matt. xxvii. 2,
etc.; S. Mark xv. 1, etc.; S. Luke xxiii, 1, etc.; S. John xviii. 28, etc.
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at once with
fervour to Sion, to pray at the column at which the Lord was scourged.1
And returning thence they sit for awhile in their houses, and presently all are
ready.
(c) Veneration
of the Cross.
Then a chair
is placed for the bishop in Golgotha2 behind the Cross, which is now
standing;3 the bishop duly takes his seat in the chair, and a table
covered with a linen cloth is placed before him; the deacons stand round the
table, and a silver-gilt casket is
1 The Old Arm. Lit. has:
"In the same hour of the night they go to the palace of the Judge, and he
[i.e. the Lector] reads S. John xviii. 28-xix. 16.''
2 The Old Arm. Lit. has: "At dawn, on the Friday, the holy wood
of the cross is set before holy
Ps. xxxv. Il. [It is not easy to understand this, but Mr. Conybeare thinks the
arrangement was thus: Ps. standing for Psalm, and L. for Lection : L. Ps. Ps.
L. Ps. Ps. L. Ps. Ps. L. Ps. Ps. L., making five Lections and eight Psalms.]
Lection i. : Zech. xi. 11-14; Gal. vi. 14-18, Ps. xxxviii.17 ; Isa.
iii. 9-15; Phil. ii. 5 11.
Prayer with gonuklisia [genuflection] Ps. xli.6 ; Isa. l.
4-9;
Prayer with gonuklisia: Ps. xxxi.5 ; Isa. lii. 13-liii.12;
Heb. ii. 11-18; S. Matt. xxvii. 3-53; Heb. ix. 11-28; S. Mark (in MS. Matt.)
xv. 16-41.
Prayer with gonuklisia: Ps. lxxxviii.4 Lection xiii . Jer.
(in MS. Isa.) xi. 18-21; Heb. x. 19-31; S. Luke xxiii. 32-(49). [The folio
being torn, the part within brackets () is added from the Bodleian MS. and so
on the next line.].
(Prayer with gonuklisia. Ps. cii.1, Zech. xiv. 6-)ll; Lection
xvi.; 1 Tim. vi. 13-16; S. John xix. 25-37."
3 See Introduction, p. xlv.
<75>
brought in
which is the holy wood of the Cross. The casket is opened and (the wood) is
taken out, and both the wood of the Cross and the title1 are placed
upon the table. Now, when it has been put upon the table, the bishop, as he
sits, holds the extremities of the sacred wood firmly in his hands, while the
deacons who stand around guard it. It is guarded thus because the custom is
that the people, both faithful and catechumens, come one by one and, bowing
down at the table, kiss the sacred wood and pass through. And because, I know
not when, some one is said to have bitten off and stolen a portion of the sacred
wood, it is thus guarded by the deacons who stand around, lest any one
approaching should venture to do so again. And as all the people pass by one by
one, all bowing themselves, they touch the Cross and the title, first with
their foreheads and then with their eyes; then they kiss the Cross and pass
through, but none lays his hand upon it to touch it. When they have kissed the
Cross and have passed through, a deacon stands holding the ring of Solomon and
the horn from which the kings were anointed; they kiss the horn also and gaze
at the ring2 . . . all the
1 Rufinus, Hist. Eccl.
i. 7, 8 (about 400), is responsible for the statement that part of the wood of
the true cross was sent to Constantine and part left in a silver casket (as
here) in Jerusalem. According to S. Ambrose (395) Pilate's original
superscription (titulus) was found by Helena still attached to the
Saviour's cross, which enabled her to distinguish it from the two others; but
other authorities, including Rufinus, state that it was found in a separate
place from the cross, and that the recognition of the true cross was due to a
miracle. Evidently at the time of Etheria's visit the "title" was
shown as one of the relics at
2 There is here an hiatus in the MS., with the two untranslatable
words minus secunda in the middle.
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people are
passing through up to the sixth hour, entering by one door and going out by
another; for this is done in the same place where, on the preceding day, that
is, on the fifth weekday, the oblation was offered.
(d) Station
before the Cross. The Three Hours. And when the sixth hour has come, they
go before the Cross, whether it be in rain or in heat, the place being open to
the air, as it were, a court of great size and of some beauty between the Cross
and the Anastasis; here all the people assemble in such great numbers that
there is no thoroughfare. The chair is placed for the bishop before the Cross,
and from the sixth to the ninth hour nothing else is done, but the reading of
lessons, which are read thus: first from the psalms wherever the Passion is
spoken of, then from the Apostle, either from the epistles of the Apostles or
from their Acts, wherever they have spoken of the Lord's Passion; then the
passages from the Gospels, where He suffered, are read. Then the readings from
the prophets where they foretold that the Lord should suffer, then from the
Gospels where He mentions His Passion. Thus from the sixth to the ninth hours
the lessons are so read and the hymns said, that it may be shown to all the
people that whatsoever the prophets foretold of the Lord's Passion is proved
from the Gospels and from the writings of the Apostles to have been fulfilled.
And so through all those three hours the people are taught that nothing was
done which had not been foretold, and that nothing was foretold which was not
wholly fulfilled. Prayers
<77>
also suitable
to the day are interspersed throughout. The emotion shown and the mourning by
all the people at every lesson and prayer is wonderful; for there is none,
either great or small, who, on that day during those three hours, does not
lament more than can be conceived, that the Lord had suffered those things for
us.1
Afterwards,
at the beginning of the ninth hour, there is read that passage from the Gospel
according to John where He gave up the ghost.2 This read, prayer and
the dismissal follow.
(e)
Evening Offices. And when the dismissal before the Cross has been made, all
things are done in the greater church, at the martyrium, which are customary
during this week from the ninth hour3--when the assembly takes place
in the martyrium--until late. And after the dismissal at the martyrium, they go
to the Anastasis, where, when they arrive, the passage from the Gospel is read
where Joseph begged the Body of the Lord from Pilate and laid it in a new
sepulchre.4 And this reading ended, a prayer is said, the
catechumens are blessed, and the dismissal is made.
But on that
day no announcement is made of a
1 This is probably the
earliest record we have of the observance of the "Three Hours."
2 S. John xix. 30.
3 The Old Arm. Lect. has: "Prayer with gonuklisia. And
then they go up into the church at the tenth hour. [The later Bodleian MS. in
the place of "church" says "holy shrine," which agrees with
Etheria's "martyrium"]. And this canon is performed: Jer. xi. 18-20.
Lection xvii.; Isa. Iiii. 1-12; Ps. xxii.18 ; S. Matt. xxvii.
57-61."
4 S. John xix. 38-42.
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vigil at the
Anastasis, because it is known that the people are tired; nevertheless, it is
the custom to watch there. So all of the people who are willing, or rather, who
are able, keep watch, and they who are unable do not watch there until the
morning. Those of the clergy, however, who are strong or young keep vigil
there, and hymns and antiphons are said throughout the whole night until
morning; a very great crowd also keep night-long watch, some from the late hour
and some from midnight, as they are able.
8. Vigil
of Easter. Now, on the next day, the Sabbath,1 everything that
1 The Old Arm. Lect. has:
"On the Sabbath day at dawn, in the holy Anastasis: Ps. Ixxxviii. 6; S.
Matt. xxvii. 62-66.
At eventide, on the Sabbath day, they light a torch in the holy Anastasis.
First the bishop repeats Ps. cxiii.2 And then the bishop lights
three candles; and after him the deacons, and then the whole congregation. And
then, after that, they go up into the church [the martyrium] and begin the
vigils of the holy Zatik [Paschal vigils, as Etheria calls them], and read
twelve lections. And with each of them they sing psalms. [Here is evidently the
primitive form of the ceremony of the New Fire in the ritual of the Greek
Church at
Prayers with gonuklisia: Ps.cxviii.24 ; Gen. i.1-iii. 24:
Gen. xxii. 1-18; Exod. xii. 1 24; Jonah i. 1-iv. 11; Exod. xiv. 24-xv. 21; Isa.
lx. 1-13.
[This lection is farced verse by verse with the respond: 'Behold, there is come
the King of Glory of light, illumining all creatures']. {footnote continues
below}
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is customary
is done at the third hour and also at the sixth; the service at the ninth hour,
however, is not held on the Sabbath, but the Paschal vigils are prepared in the
great church, the martyrium. The Paschal vigils are kept as with us, with this
one addition, that the children when they have been baptised and clothed, and
when they issue from the font,1 are led with the bishop first to the
Anastasis; the bishop enters the rails of the Anastasis, and one hymn is said,
then the bishop says a prayer for them, and then he goes with them to the
greater church,
{footnote
continued} Prayers with gonuklisia: Job xxxviii. 1-28; 4 Kings (2 Kings)
ii. 1-22; Jer. xxxi. 31-34; Josh. i. 1-9; Ezek. xxxvii. 1-14; Dan. iii. 1-90,
LXX. [See the Song of the Three Holy Children in the Apocrypha.]
[This is farced at v. 33 after the words: 'Take not thy mercy away from us,'
with the respond, written in small uncials: 'The incorruptible Holy Trinity has
beamed forth on us from incorruptible light. And do thou work propitiatory
mercy; for thee alone do we know to be our Saviour.' Again, at v. 52, after the
words: 'They glorified God in the midst of the furnace, and said,' comes the
respond: 'The ram of Isaac hath been exchanged. Christ is become unto us for
salvation.'
In the rest of the hymn the words: 'Praise and exalt Him for ever,' are
repeated thirty times, as a respond after each verse.]
And while they recite the hymn, in the middle of the night, there enter the
multitude of the deacons [the Bodleian MS. gives 'newly sealed.' N.B.ãThe Old
Arm. Lect. seems to give two processional entries to the martyrium from the
Anastasis. One, when they begin the 'vigils of the holy Zatik,' and one with
the newly baptized. Etheria seems to give merely the latter. Section 8, 'Vigil
of Easter'] together with the bishop, and this canon is performed: Ps. lxv.1
Lection: 1 Cor. xv. 1-11; Alleluiah, Ps. xxx.1; S. Matt. xxviii. 1ã20."
1 i.e. in the baptistery which
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where,
according to custom, all the people are keeping watch. Everything is done there
that is customary with us also, and after the oblation1 has been
made, the dismissal takes place. After the dismissal of the vigils has been
made in the greater church, they go at once with hymns to the Anastasis, where
the passage from the Gospel about the Resurrection is read. Prayer is made, and
the bishop again makes the oblation. But everything is done quickly on account
of the people, that they should not be delayed any longer, and so the people
are dismissed. The dismissal of the vigils takes place on that day at the same
hour as with us.
9.
Services in the Easter Octave.
Moreover, the
Paschal days are kept up to a late hour as with us, and the dismissals take
place in their order throughout the eight Paschal days, as is the custom
everywhere at Easter throughout the Octave. But the adornment (of the churches)
and order (of the services) here are the same throughout the Octave of Easter
as they are during Epiphany, in the greater church, in the Anastasis, at the
Cross, in Eleona, in Bethlehem, as well as in the Lazarium, in fact,
everywhere, because these are the Paschal days. On the first Lord's Day2
they proceed to the great church,
1 The Old Arm. Lect. has:
"The sacrifice is offered. And after the dismissal in the same night he
offers in the holy Anastasis before holy
2 i.e. Easter Day itself.
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that is, the
martyrium,1 as well as on the second2 and third weekdays,
but always so that after the dismissal has been made at the martyrium, they go
to the Anastasis with hymns. On the fourth weekday they proceed to Eleona, on
the fifth to the Anastasis, on the sixth to Sion, on the Sabbath3
before the Cross, but on the Lord's Day,4 that is, on the Octave,
(they
1 The Old Arm. Lect. has:
"At dawn, of the congregation on the holy Sunday of Zatik; they
assemble in the holy Shrine, and this canon is performed: Acts i. 1 14;
Alleluiah; Ps. cxlvii. 12; S. Mark xvi. 2-8. On the same Sunday of Zatik,
they go up at the ninth hour to the holy
2 "On the second day of the week they assemble in the holy
shrine, and this canon is performed: Ps. lxv. 1; Acts ii. 22-41; Alleluiah, Ps.
cxlvii. 12; S. Luke xiv. 1-12.
Third day of the week, they assemble in the holy shrine of the proto-martyr
Stephen, and this canon is performed: Ps. v. 12; Acts ii. 42-iii. 21; Ps. xxi.
1; S. Luke xxiv. 13-35.
Fourth day of the week, they assemble in holy Sion, and this canon is
performed: Ps. cxlvii. 12; Acts iii. 22-iv. 12;
Fifth day of the week, they assemble on the holy
Friday they assemble before holy
3 "On the Sabbath they assemble in the holy Anastasis, and this
canon is performed: Ps. lxvii. 1; Acts v. 12-33;
4 The Old Lect. has: "To-day they assemble in the holy Shrine,
and this canon is performed: Ps. lxv. ; Acts v. 34-vi. 7; S. Jas. iii. 1-13;
Ps. cxlvii. 12; S. John i. 1-11.
On the same Sunday they go up to the
The following directions in the Old Arm. Lect. do not bear {footnote continued
below}
<82>
proceed) to
the great church again, that is, to the martyrium.
Moreover, on
the eight Paschal days the bishop goes every day after breakfast up to Eleona
with all the clergy, and with all the children who have been baptised, and with
all who are apotactitae, both men and women, and likewise with all the
people who are willing. Hymns are said and prayers are made, both in the church
which is on Eleona, wherein is the cave where Jesus was wont to teach His
disciples, and also in the Imbomon, that is, in the place whence the Lord
ascended into heaven. And when the psalms have been said and prayer has been
made, they come down thence with hymns to the Anastasis at the hour of lucernare.
This is done throughout all the eight days. 10. Vesper Station at Sion on
Easter Sunday.1 Now, on the Lord's Day at Easter, after the
dismissal of lucernare, that is, at the Anastasis, all the people escort
the bishop with hymns to Sion. And, on arriving, hymns suitable to the day and
place are said, prayer is made, and the passage from the Gospel
{footnote
continued from above} directly on any part of Etheria's narrative, but are
given here because they bear on the administration of the Mysteries:
"Lections of the administration of the Mystery (=mustagwgi/a) after the
dismissal are [read] in the shrine on the second day in the same week: 1 Pet.
v. 8-14.
Next he administers the Mystery on the seventh day in the same week: 1 Cor. xi.
23-32.
The Sunday at the close of Zatik. He reads in the holy Anastasis during
the administration of the Mystery: 1 Pet. ii. 1-10."
[N.B. The lections given in S. Cyril's Catech. Orat. seem to tally in
general with this whole series.]
1 See note 1 on preceding page.
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is read where
the Lord,1 on the same day, and in the same place where the church
now stands in Sion, came in to His disciples when the doors were shut. That is,
when one of His disciples, Thomas, was absent, and when he returned and the
other Apostles told him that they had seen the Lord, he said: "Except I
shall see, I will not believe."2 When this has been read,
prayer is again made, the catechumens and the faithful are blessed, and every
one returns to his house late, about the second hour of the night.
11. Sunday
after Easter.
Again, on the
Octave of Easter,3 that is, on the Lord's Day, all the people go up
to Eleona with the bishop immediately after the sixth hour. First they sit for
awhile in the church which is there, and hymns and antiphons suitable to the
day and to the place are said; prayers suitable to the day and to the place are
likewise made. Then they go up to the Imbomon with hymns, and the same things
are done there as in the former place. And when the time comes, all the people
and all the apotactitae escort the bishop with hymns down to the
Anastasis, arriving there at the usual hour for lucernare. So lucernare
takes place at the Anastasis and at the Cross, and all the people to a man
escort the bishop thence with hymns to Sion. And when they have arrived, hymns
suitable to the day and to the place are said there also, and lastly that
passage from the Gospel is read where,
1 S. John xx. 19.
2 S. John xx. 25.
3 See note 4 on page 81. " On the same Sunday," etc.
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on the Octave
of Easter,1 the Lord came in where the disciples were, and reproved
Thomas because he had been unbelieving. The whole of that lesson is read, with
prayer afterwards; both the catechumens and the faithful are blessed, and every
one returns to his house as usual, just as on the Lord's Day of Easter, at the
second hour of the night.
12. Easter
to Whitsuntide. Now, from Easter to the fiftieth day, that is, to
Pentecost, no one fasts here, not even those who are apotactitae. During
these days, as throughout the whole year, the customary things are done at the
Anastasis from the first cockcrow until morning, and at the sixth hour and at lucernare
likewise. But on the Lord's Days the procession is always to the martyrium,
that is, to the great church, according to custom, and they go thence w ith
hymns to the Anastasis. On the fourth and sixth weekdays, as no one fasts
during those days, the procession is to Sion, but in the morning; the dismissal
is made in its due order.
13. The
Ascension.--Festival at Bethlehem.2
On the
fortieth day after Easter, that is, on the fifth
1 S. John xx. 26-29.
2 Between Easter and Whitsunday Etheria describes no festivals with
the exception of this cursory mention of the Ascension, of which "it is
impossible to find a trace before the middle of the fourth century "
(Duchesne). It is not given in the Old Arm. Lect., but on May 7 we find the
following--
"They assemble before holy
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weekday--(for
all go on the previous day, that is, on the fourth weekday, after the sixth
hour to Bethlehem to celebrate the vigils, for the vigils are kept in
Bethlehem, in the church wherein is the cave1 where the Lord was
born)--On this fifth weekday, the fortieth day after Easter, the dismissal2
is celebrated in its due order, so that the priests and the bishop preach,
treating of the things suitable to the day and the place, and afterwards every
one returns to Jerusalem late.
VI
FESTIVALS OF
WHITSUNTIDE
1. Whitsunday.--(a)
Morning Station.3
But on the
fiftieth day, that is, the Lord's Day, when the people have a very great deal
to go through, everything that is customary is done from the first
{footnote continues
from above} canon is performed: Ps. xcvii.6 ; Epistle of Cyril,
bishop of
1 See Introduction, p. xlvii.
2 Lat. missa celebratur.
3 In the Old Arm. Lect. we have as follows: "On the Sunday of
Holy Pentecost, they assemble in the holy Shrine. Canon: Ps. cxliii.10
, Acts ii. 1-21; Alleluiah; Ps. How lovely are the courts ; S. John xiv. 15-24.
At the same time, after the dismissal from the Shrine at the third hour, they
proceed to holy Sion. Canon: Ps. the same, and same lection; S. John xiv.
25-29.
On the same Sunday, at the tenth hour, they assemble on the holy Mount of
Olives, and the same Psalm and the same lection are used, S. John xvi. 5-15.
And there, after the Gospel, takes place a gonuklisia, thrice. And in
all places in the same manner, and at even they proceed to Holy Sion. Canon:
Ps. cxliii. 10; S. John xiv. 15-24."
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cockcrow
onwards; vigil is kept in the Anastasis, and the bishop reads the passage from
the Gospel that is always read on the Lord's Day, namely, the account of the
Lord's Resurrection, and afterwards everything customary is done in the
Anastasis, just as throughout the whole year. But when morning is come, all the
people proceed to the great church, that is, to the martyrium, and all things
usual are done there; the priests preach and then the bishop, and all things
that are prescribed are done, the oblation being made, as is customary on the
Lord's Day, only the same dismissal1 in the martyrium is hastened,
in order that it may be made before the third hour.
(b) Station
at Sion. And when the dismissal has been made at the martyrium, all the
people, to a man, escort the bishop with hymns to Sion, [so that] they are in
Sion when the third hour is fully come. And on their arrival there the passage
from the Acts of the Apostles2 is read where the Spirit came down so that all
tongues [were heard and all men] understood the things that were being spoken,
and the dismissal takes place afterwards in due course For the priests read
there from the Acts of the Apostles concerning the selfsame thing, because that
is the place in Sion--there is another church there now--where once, after the
Lord's Passion, the multitude was gathered together with the Apostles,
1 Lat. eadem
adceleleratur missa.
2 Acts ii. 1 ff.
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and where
this was done, as we have said above. Afterwards the dismissal takes place in
due course, and the oblation is made there. Then, that the people may be
dismissed, the archdeacon raises his voice, and says: "Let us all be ready
to day in Eleona, in the Imbomon, directly after the sixth hour."
(c) Station
at the
So all the
people return, each to his house, to rest themselves, and immediately after
breakfast they ascend the Mount of Olives, that is, to Eleona, each as he can,
so that there is no Christian left in the city who does not go. When,
therefore, they have gone up the Mount of Olives, that is, to Eleona, they
first enter the Imbomon, that is, the place whence the Lord ascended into
heaven, and the bishops and the priests take their seat there, and likewise all
the people. Lessons are read there with hymns interspersed,antiphons too are
said suitable to the day and the place, also the prayers which are interspersed
have likewise similar references. The passage from the Gospel is also read
where it speaks of the Lord's Ascension, also that from the Acts of the
Apostles1 which tells of the Ascension of the Lord into heaven after
His Resurrection. And when this is over, the catechumens and then the faithful
are blessed, and they come down thence, it being already the ninth hour, and go
with hymns to that church which is in Eleona, wherein is the cave where the
Lord was wont to sit and teach His Apostles. And as it is already
1 S. Luke xxiv 50 ff.;
Acts i. 9 ff.
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past the
tenth hour when they arrive, lucernare takes place there; prayer is
made, and the catechumens and likewise the faithful are blessed.
(d) Night
Procession.
And then all
the people to a man descend thence with the bishop, saying hymns and antiphons
suitable to that day, and so come very slowly to the martyrium. It is already
night when they reach the gate of the city, and about two hundred church
candles are provided for the use of the people. And as it is agood distance
from the gate to the great church, that is, the martyrium, they arrive about
the second hour of the night, for they go the whole way very slowly lest the
people should be weary from being afoot. And when the great gates are opened,
which face towards the market-place, all the people enter the martyrium with
hymns and with the bishop. And when they have entered the church, hymns are
said, prayer is made, the catechumens and also the faithful are blessed; after
which they go again with hymns to the Anastasis, where on their arrival hymns
and antiphons are said, prayer is made, the catechumens and also the faithful
are blessed; this is likewise done at the Cross. Lastly, all the Christian
people to a man escort the bishop with hymns to Sion, and when they are come
there, suitable lessons are read, psalrns and antiphons are said, prayer is
made, the catechumens and the faithful are blessed, and the dismissal takes
place. And after the dismissal all approach the bishop's hand, and then every
one returns to his house about midnight.
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Thus very
great fatigue is endured on that day, for vigil is kept at the Anastasis from
the first cockcrow, and there is no pause from that time onward throughout the
whole day, but the whole celebration (of the Feast) lasts so long that it is
midnight when every one returns home after the dismissal has taken place at
Sion.
2. Resumption
of the Ordinary Services. Now, from the day after the fiftieth day all fast
as is customary throughout the whole year, each one as he is able, except on
the Sabbath and on the Lord's Day, which are never kept as fasts in this place.
On the ensuing days everything is done as during the whole year, that is, vigil
is kept in the Anastasis from the first cockcrow. And if it be the Lord's Day,
at the earliest cockcrow the bishop first reads in the Anastasis, as is
customary, the passage from the Gospel concerning the Resurrection, which is
always read on the Lord's Day, and then afterwards hymns and antiphons are said
in the Anastasis until daylight. But if it be not the Lord's Day, only hymns
and antiphons are said in like manner in the Anastasis from the first cockcrow
until daylight. All the apotactitae, and of the people those who are
able, attend; the clergy go by turns, daily. The clergy go there at first
cockcrow, but the bishop always as it begins to dawn, that the morning
dismissal may be made with all the clergy present except on the Lord's Day,
when (the bishop) has to go at the first cockcrow, that he may read the Gospel
in the Anastasis. Afterwards everything is done as usual
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in the
Anastasis until the sixth hour, and at the ninth, as well as at lucernare,
according to the custom of the whole year. But on the fourth and sixth
weekdays, the ninth hour is kept in Sion as is customary.
VII
BAPTISM1
1. The
Inscribing of the Competents.
Moreover, I
must write how they are taught who are baptised at Easter. Now he who gives in
his name, gives it in on the day before Quadragesima, and the priest writes
down the names of all; this is before the eight weeks which I have said are
kept here at Quadragesima. And when the priest has written down the names of
all, after the next day of Quadragesima, that is, on the day when the eight
weeks begin, the chair is set for the bishop in the midst of the great church,
that is, at the martyrium, and the priests sit in chairs on either side of him,
while all the clergy stand. Then one by one the competents are brought up,
coming, if they are males (viri) with their fathers, and if females (feminae),
with their mothers. Then the bishop asks the neighbours of every one who has
entered concerning each individual, saying: "Does this person lead a good
life, is he obedient to his parents, is he not given to wine, nor deceitful?"
making also inquiry about the several vices which are more serious in man.2
And if he
1 For this section see
Thompson on Baptismal Offices, pp. 52 ff.
2 Lat. singula vitiae quae sunt tamen graviora in homine. It
is difficult so decide whether this means "the various more {footnote
continued below}
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has proved
him in the presence of witnesses to be blameless in all these matters
concerning which he has made inquiry, he writes down his name with his own
hand. But if he is accused in any matter, he orders him to go out, saying:
"Let him amend, and when he has amended then let him come to the font (lavacrum)."
And as he makes inquiry concerning the men, so also does he concerning the
women. But if any be a stranger, he comes not so easily to Baptism, unless he
has testimonials from those who know him.
2. Preparation
for Baptism--Catechisings.
This also I
must write, reverend sisters, lest you should think that these things are done
without good reason. The custom here is that they who come to Baptism through
those forty days, which are kept as fast days, are first exorcised by the
clergy early in the day, as soon as the morning dismissal has been made in the
Anastasis. Immediately afterwards the chair is placed for the bishop at the
martyrium in the great church, and all who are to be baptised sit around, near
-the bishop, both men and women, their fathers and mothers standing there also.
Besides these, all the people who wish to hear come in and sit down--the
faithful however only, for no catechumen enters there when the bishop teaches
the others the Law. Beginning from Genesis he goes through all the Scriptures
{footnote
continued from above} serious human vices" (in males and females), in
which case there is apparently no force in tamen, or "the various
vices, which are more serious in a male (than in a female) all the same,"
in which case Etheria uses homo, where just before and after she uses vir.
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during those
forty days, explaining them, first literally, and then unfolding them spiritually.
They are also taught about the Resurrection, and likewise all things concerning
the Faith during those days. And this is called the catechising.
3. "Traditio"
of the Creed.
Then when
five weeks are completed from the time when their teaching began, (the
Competents) are then taught the Creed.1 And as he explained the
meaning of all the Scriptures, so does he explain the meaning of the Creed;
each article first literally and then spiritually. By this means all the
faithful in these parts follow the Scriptures when they are read in church,
inasmuch as they are all taught during those forty days from the first to the
third hour, for the catechising lasts for three hours. And God knows, reverend
sisters, that the voices of the faithful who come in to hear the catechising
are louder (in approval) of the things spoken and explained by the bishop than
they are when he sits and preaches in church. Then, after the dismissal of the
catechising is made, it being already the third hour, the bishop is at once escorted
with hymns to the Anastasis. So the dismissal takes place at the third hour.
Thus are they taught for three hours a day for seven weeks, but in the eighth
week of Quadragesima, which is called the Great Week, there is no time for them
to be taught, because the things that are [described] above must be carried
out.2
1 Lat. accipient
simbolum. 2 i.e. the Holy Week Services.
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4. "Redditio"
[Recitation] of the Creed.
And when the
seven weeks are past, [and] the Paschal week is left, which they call here the
Great Week, then the bishop comes in the morning into the great church at the
martyrium, and the chair is placed for him in the apse behind the altar, where
they come one by one, a man with his father and a woman with her mother, and
recite the Creed to the bishop. And when they have recited the Creed to the
bishop, he addresses them all, and says: "During these seven weeks you
have been taught all the law of the Scriptures, you have also heard concerning
the Faith, and concerning the resurrection of the flesh, and the whole meaning
of the Creed, as far as you were able, being yet catechumens. But the teachings
of the deeper mystery, that is, of Baptism itself, you cannot hear, being as
yet catechumens. But, lest you should think that anything is done without good
reason, these, when you have been baptised in the Name of God, you shall hear
in the Anastasis, during the eight Paschal days, after the dismissal from the
church has been made. You, being as yet catechumens, cannot be told the more secret
mysteries of God."
5. Mystic
Catechisings.
But when the
days of Easter have come, during those eight days, that is, from Easter to the
Octave, when the dismissal from the church has been made, they go with hymns to
the Anastasis. Prayer is said anon, the faithful are blessed, and the bishop
stands, leaning against the inner rails which are in the cave
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of the
Anastasis, and explains all things that are done in Baptism. In that hour no
catechumen approaches the Anastasis, but only the neophytes and the faithful,
who wish to hear concerning the mysteries, enter there, and the doors are shut
lest any catechumen should draw near. And while the bishop discusses and sets
forth each point, the voices of those who applaud are so loud that they can be heard
outside the church. And truly the mysteries are so unfolded that there is no
one unmoved at the things that he hears to be so explained.
Now,
forasmuch as in that province some of the people know both Greek and Syriac,
while some know Greek alone and others only Syriac; and because the bishop,
although he knows Syriac, yet always speaks Greek, and never Syriac, there is
always a priest standing by who, when the bishop speaks Greek, interprets into
Syriac, that all may understand what is being taught. And because all the
lessons that are read in the church must be read in Greek, he always stands by
and interprets them into Syriac, for the people's sake, that they may always be
edified. Moreover, the Latins here, who understand neither Syriac nor Greek, in
order that they be not disappointed, have (all things) explained to them, for
there are other brothers and sisters knowing both Greek and Latin, who
translate into Latin for them. But what is above all things very pleasant and
admirable here, is that the hymns, the antiphons, and the lessons, as well as
the prayers which the bishop says, always have suitable and fitting references,
both to the day that is being celebrated and also to the place where the
celebration is taking place.
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VIII
DEDICATION OF
CHURCHES1
Those are
called the days of dedication when the holy church which is in Golgotha, and
which they call the martyrium, was consecrated to God; the holy church also
which is at the Anastasis, that is, in the place where the Lord rose after His
Passion, was consecrated to God on that day. The dedication of these holy
churches is therefore celebrated with the highest honour, because the Cross of
the Lord was found on this same day. And it was so ordained that, when the holy
churches above mentioned were first consecrated, that should be the day when
the Cross of the Lord had been found, in order that the whole celebration
should be made together, with all rejoicing, on the self-same day. Moreover, it
appears from the Holy Scriptures2 that this is also the day of
dedication, when holy Solomon, having finished the House of God which he had
built, stood before the altar of God and prayed, as it is written in the books
of the Chronicles.
So when these
days of dedication are come, they are kept for eight days. And people begin to
assemble from all parts many days before; not only monks
1 In the Old Arm. Lect.
we have: "September 23, dedication of the holy places. On the first day in
the holy Anastasis, this canon is performed: Ps. Ixv.1 ; Tim. iii.
14-16; Alleluiah: Ps. cxlvii.12; S. John x. 22-42 . . ." [Mr.
Conybeare notes that in the MS. the last line of this lection is torn away as
well as the beginning of the rubric which follows, and which related to the
feast of the Cross, called Warag, on the following day.]
2 2 Chron. vi., vii. 8-10.
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and apotactitae
from various provinces, from Mesopotamia and Syria, from Egypt and the Thebaid
(where there are very many monks), and from every different place and
province--for there is none who does not turn his steps to Jerusalem on that
day for such rejoicing and for such high days--but lay people too in like
manner, both men and women, with faithful minds, gather together in Jerusalem
from every province on those days, for the sake of the holy day And the
bishops, even when they have been few, are present to the number of forty or
fifty in Jerusalem on these days, and with them come many of their clergy. But
why should I say more? for he who on these days has not been present at so
solemn a feast thinks that he has committed a very great sin, unless some
necessity, which keeps a man back from carrying out a good resolution, has
hindered him. Now on these days of the dedication the adornment of all the
churches is the same as at Easter and at Epiphany, also on each day the
procession is made to the several holy places, as at Easter and at Epiphany.
For on the first and second days it is to the greater church, which is called
the martyrium. On the third day it is to Eleona, that is, the church which is on
that mount whence the Lord ascended into heaven after His Passion, and in this
church is the cave wherein the Lord used to teach His Apostles on the
A K M Adam
E-Mail: akm-adam@nwu.edu
Last updated on Friday 27th May, 2005.
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25, 2006