Volume 1

A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood.

Date:: [between 1890 and 1899?]

Credit: A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

1021/1096 (page 1001)

$also known as SiaKouiKa, because said by the deacon; as (TwairTr] [Collecta]P, because they form, as it wei’e, a concatenation of petitions fitted together into one; or as Ectene (e/cTev-rj), because they are ordinarily long. They were i-ecited by the deacon from the Amho. In the Armenian liturgy a litany of the same character, except that the response is not always the same, is said by the deacon and the choir alternately, immediately after the Tr<sagion,‘^ and before the lections from Scripture, and the Creed. In the West, missal litanies were also comnmii. It was usual to say them immediately after the Kyrie on those days on which Gloria in Excelsis was not said, and this custom continued until the 9th century. They contained prayers for all estates of men, and were of the same cha- racter as the Greek. An old form contained in a MS. at Fulda, and called a missal litany, begins thus: “ Let us all say with our whole heart and mind, “ 0 Lord hear and have mercy [Loujini exaudi et misei’ere]. “ I'hou who beholdest the earth and makest it tremble, “ We beseech Thee, 0 Lord, hear and have mercy. “ For profouiidest peace and tranquillity of our times, “ We beseech Thee, &c. “ For the holy Catholic Church, which is from the borders of the world unto the ends thereof, “ We beseech Thee, &c., and so on for 15 clauses. In the Ambrosian liturgy, the missal litany is still said on the Sundays in Lent, immediately before the Oratio super popalum, which corre- sponds with the Roman collect for the day. There are two litanies, of which one is used on the first, third, and fifth Sundays in Lent, the other on the alternate Sundays. They are framed entirely on the Greek model; often in almost the same words. They are said by the deacon, the choir responding. The first runs thus: When Christe Eleison is interj)osed, the invo- cation is usually considered to be addressed suc- cessively to each of the persons in the Trinity (see AmalariuS, lib. iii. 6, and iv. 2; and S. Tho. Aquin. Sutnma, part iii. qu. 83, art. 4). We have entered at some length into the use of Kiirie Eleison,, as these words are the germ of all litanies. We will now proceed to their use and development. 1. As to the use of litanies in the Liturgy. In the Greek liturgies from the earliest times long intercessory prayers, broken into clauses, each with the same beginning, and responded to in the same words, have formed part of the in- troductory or proanaphoral part of the liturgy. In the Clementine liturgy, these prayers begin as follows. They are called “The Bidding of Prayer over the Faithful ” (TTpoacpuvrians tnr'kp roiv TTKTTci)}/). “ Let us pray for the peace and the stability of the world and of the holy churches, that the God of the universe may give us His perpetual peace which cannot be taken away; that He would keep us to the end of our lives in the fulness of piety and godliness. Let us pray for the holy Catholic and Apostolic Church through- out the world, that,” &c., and so on; the suc- cessive petitions comprising prayers for the diocese, the bishop and clergy, the married, the single, i-elations, travellers, captives, slaves, enemies, those who are in error, infants, &c. Here no response is given at the end of each clause, but each begins with the same form, Let us pray for (^virep .... hegdSop.ev'). In the Liturgy of St. James these prayers occur in the same position as in the Clementine liturgy, shortly before the beginning of the Anaphora. They are of precisely the same nature, though differently worded. They are called the catholic and univei“sal collecta or synapte {(Tvvairrr}); and, after a few opening- words by the deacon, begin thus : “ That God may send peace from heaven ; that He may be gracious unto us, and preserve our souls, “ Let us beseech the Lord” and so on for twelve such clauses, each ending Let us beseech the Lord (rov Kvp'iov SeTyduyev), and the last followed by Kvpie ikepcrov (thrice). In the liturgies of St. Basil and of St. Chry- sostom these prayers are the same for each. They occur in both at the opening of the liturgy, before the prayer of the first antiphon. The deacon says: “ Let us beseech the Lord in peace. “ R. Kyrie Eleison. “ Deacon. For peace from above, and for the salvation of our souls, let us beseech the Lord. “ R. Kyrie Eleison, “ For the peace of the whole world, for the stability of God’s holy churches, and the unity of them all, let us beseech the Lord. “ R. Kyrie Eleison.” and so on, the petitions making mention of all orders of men, for the king, his court and army, for success in battle, for fine weather, for the fruits of the earth, &c. These prayers are called in the rubrics,® elp-quiKci, because of the introduction, “Let us beseech the Lord in peace,” the first petition in all of them, as will be seen in the examples given, being for peace. They are “ Imploring the gifts of divine peace and indulgence with our whole heart and soul, we beseech Tbee, “ Lord, have mercy. “ For the holy Catliolic Church, -which is here, and is dispersed throughout the whole w orld, we beseech Thee “ Lord, have mercy,” &c., &c. The original of this litany, which is a good specimen of missal litanies, is as follows: “Divinae pads et indulgentiae muncra supplicantes ex toto corde et ex tota rnente precaniur te, “ Domine miserere ” (repeated at the end of each clause). “Pro Ecclesia sancta Catholica, quae hie et per uni- versum orbem diffusa est, precamur Te.” [These two words repeated at the end ol each cause.] “Pro Papa nostro Ill.r et Pootitice nostro III. et omni clero eorum, omnibusque Sacerdotibus ac Ministris, pre- camur Te. “ Pro famulis Tuis III. Imperatore, et III. Rege, Duce nostro, et omni exercitu eorum, “ Pro pace Ecclesiarum, vocatione gentium, et quiete populorurn, “ Pro civitate hac et conse^ vatione ejus, omnibusque habitantibus in ea, “ Pro aeris temperie ac fructu et fecunditate terrarum, p The English word collect conveys quite a different notion. <i This must be distinguished from the Sanctus of the liturgy. [ r Sc. Illo. Goar. Not. in S. Chrys. Lit.$