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?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

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.

    1038/1096 (page 1018)
    mandrite built within the circuit of his monas- tei'y four churches; one for the brothers of the house, in which the offices were said in Greek ; one in which they were said in the vernacular of the Bessae, a barbarous tribe of the neighbour- hood ; one in which they were saul in Armenian ; and a fourth in which the brothers who were vexed with devils, and those who had chai'ge of them, had their special service. The ordinary daily offices were tnus said severally ; but when the euoharist was celebrated, the office was said in the several churches and tongues to the end of the gospel, and then the several congregations (except the demoniacs) assembled in the Greek —the pro[)er monastic—church for the remain- ing portion of the celebration (Simeon Metaphr. Vita Tkeod. c. 24, in Surius, Jan. 11). It is not quite clear whether the restriction of the more solemn part of the mysteries to one church and one tongue arose simply from a desire to symbolise more emphatically the oneness of the community, or from a reluctance -to recite the anaphora in any other than one of the recognised “ sacred ” languages; and the same ambiguity attaches to the following somewhat similar in- stance. St. Sabas is said (Cyril Scythop. Vita Sa'K cc. 20, 32, in Cotelerius, 3/on. EgcL Graec. iii. 247, 264) to have provided the Armenians with an oratory, and afterwards with a church, where they might say the psalmody, the megalion, and other portions of the divine office separately in their own tongue, but at the time of oblation join the Hellenists and communicate with them. The same event is narrated in Surius (Dec. 5) in the following form. Sabas transferred the Armenian congregation to the church which he had built, on condition that the glorificatio and reading of the gospels should take place in their own tongue, while they should partake of the divine my.steries with the rest. And the writer adds, that when some adopted an addition made by Peter the Fuller to the angelic hymn [Sanctus], Sabas desired them to chant that hymn in Greek, that he might know whether they adopted the correct version ; he apparently did not understand Armenian. Literature.—Ussher, Historia Dogm. de Script, et Sacris Vernaculis; Bona, de Eeb. Liturg. 1. V. 4; Bingham, Antiq. XIII. iv.; Martene, de j Bit. Ant. I. iii. 2; Krazer, de Liturgiis Occ. sec. V. c. 3; Binterim, Denkioiirdigkeiten, vol. iv. pt. 2, p. 93 If.; Martigny, Diet, des Antiq. Chr€t. s. V. Langues Liturgiques; Bishop A. P. Forbes, On Greek Rites in the West.^ in the Church and the Worlds 1867, p. 145 S’.; W. E. Scudamore, Notitia Eucharistica, p. 207, first edition ; Probst, Litnrgie der drei ersten Christl. Jahrhunderte, Einleitung, §4. [G.J LITURGY. (1.) The Greek words Xenovpyia, \eiTovpy6s, \eiTovpy€7v, in their early usage are applied to the work or the agent in any public service. Etymologically we may compare bT}p.iovpy6s. AfiTovpyeit/ thus means to perform .• ome service for the public. In Athens, it came to be used technically for the duty which wealthy men were especially called upon to render to the state, and the \eiTovpyia was the ser- vice which they rendered. [See “ Leiturgia,” IN Dictionary of Greek and Roman Anti- quities.] (2.) Except in a passage of Plutarch where the limitation is effected by the context, we do not find in classical Gi*eek any sacred appli- cation of the- word Liturgy other than is con- tained in the above. But in the Septuagint it is generally, though not exclusively, used in this behalf. Thus we have the word and its deri- vatives applied to the service at the altar; or to the service in or to the tabernacle ; and in Daniel vii. 10, “Thousand thousands ministered unto Him.” (3.) In the New Testament the usage of the words is less restricted. Thus, kings are ministers to God, in attending on the duties of their high office (Rom. xiii. 6). Hence we pass on to the parabolic use of the word \€iTovpy6s.j in Rom. xv. 16. “ So that I shouiil be a minister to Jesus Christ (Aeirovpyhr ’I. X.) for the Gentiles, in administering in sacerdotal or sacred fashion (UpoupyovuTo.) the gospel of God, in order that the offering up of the Gentiles might become accepted, being sanctified in the Holy Ghost.” Another instance of this parabolic use is to be found in Phil. ii. 17. “ But even if I am poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and ministry (XiiTovpyia) of your faith, I rejoice and congra- tulate you all.” Thus the special meaning of the word and its cognates in any particular pas- sage must be determined (if at all) by the context. There can be no doubt of the meaning in Luke i. 23, “ when the days of his ministration were accomplished.” Some doubt is felt as to Acts xiii. 2, “ As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted.” Chrysostom explains the word by Kgpvr- TovTojv (preaching): it would rather seem to refer to some public ministration to the Lord, such as was accompanied with a fast. Of the Saviour it is recorded (Heb. viii 6), that He has obtained a more excellent ministry than the ministry of Aaron: the explanation being given in vv. 1, 2. “ He is seated on the right hand of the Majestv in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary anii of the true tabernacle.” Thus the angels are ministering spirits, sent forth for service (eix SiuKoviav), for the sake of those who are to in- herit salvation. (4.) In early Christian literature the word \€iTovpye7v was soon adopted in reference to sacred functions. Thus Clemens Romanus (1. c. I 8) speaks of the old prophets as the ministers of the grace of God, speaking through the Holy Spirit. And in c. 44 he speaks of the office of the apostles as being their Liturgy or Ministry. In the process of time the word liturgy came, in practice, to be regarded as the appropriate designation of the Eucharistic office, but it is not quite clear when this limitation was gene- rally accepted. At the council of Ancyra, (a.d. 314), a presbyter who had offered to an idol, was forbidden (c. i.) “ either to. offer or to address the congregation, or to minister any part whatever of the hieratic ministrations,’* i) oAojs KiiTovpyiLV ra ru>v UpariKwv Aez- TovpyiS>v. Canon 2 enforced a similar rule on deacons who had lapsed. Athanasius speaks of the Arians stopping the bread (rTav XeiTovpyoiv Kal TcSu irap64vu)v') of the ministers and the virgins. In the acts of the council of Ephesus mention is made of the evening and morning liturgie-s and Theodoret (iii. 114) is also quoted as speaking of the evening liturgy, i.e. the evening service. The same writer (iii. 1065) speaks of the liturgy of the Holy Baptism;