The Liturgy of the Blessed Apostles.
The Liturgy of the Blessed Apostles.
Composed by St. a.d.aeus and St. Maris, Teachers of the Easterns.(1)
I.(2) First: Glory to God in the highest, etc.Our Father which art in heaven.
Prayer: Strengthen, O our Lord and God, our weakness through Thy mercy, that we may administer the holy mystery which has been given for the renovation and salvation of our degraded nature, through the mercies of Thy beloved Son the Lord of all.
On common days: Adored, glorified, lauded, celebrated, exalted, and blessed in heaven and on earth, be the adorable and glorious name of Thine ever-glorious Trinity, O Lord of all.
On common days they sing the Psalm (xv.), Lord, who shall dwell in Thy tabernacle? entire with its canon,(3) of the mystery of the sacraments.
(Aloud.) Who shall shout with joy? etc.
Prayer: II. Before the resplendent throne of Thy majesty, O Lord, and the exalted and sublime throne of Thy glory, and on the awful seat of the strength of Thy love and the propiatory altar which Thy will hath established, in the region of Thy pasture,(4) with thousands of cherubim praising Thee, and ten thousands of seraphim sanctifying Thee, we draw near, adore, thank, and glorify Thee always, O Lord of all.
On commemorations and Fridays: Thy name, great and holy, illustrious and blessed, the blessed and incomprehensible name of Thy glorious Trinity, and Thy kindness to our race, we ought at all times to bless, adore, and glorify, O Lord of all.
Responsory(5) at the chancel, as above: Who commanded, etc.
To the priest, etc.
Prayer: How breathes in us, O our Lord and God, the sweet fragrance of the sweetness of Thy love; illumined are our souls, through the knowledge of Thy truth: may we be rendered worthy of receiving the manifestation of Thy beloved from Thy holy heavens: there shall we render thanks unto Thee, and, in the meantime, glorify Thee without ceasing in Thy Church, crowned and filled with every aid and blessing, because Thou art Lord and Father, Creator of all.
III. Prayer of Incense: We shall repeat the hymn to Thy glorious Trinity, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
On fast-days: And on account, etc.
At the commemoration of saints: Thou, O Lord, art truly the raiser up of our bodies: Thou art the good Saviour of our souls, and the secure preserver of our life; and we ought to thank Thee continually, to adore and glorify Thee, O Lord of all.
At the lessons.(6) Holy art Thou, worthy of praise, mighty, immortal, who dwellest in the holies, and Thy will resteth in them: have regard unto us, O Lord; be merciful unto us, and pity us, as Thou art our helper in all circumstances, O Lord of all.
IV. At the apostle.(7) Enlighten, O our Lord and God, the movements of our meditations to hear and understand the sweet listenings to Thy life-giving and divine commands; and grant unto us through Thy grace and mercy to gather from them the assurance of love, and hope, and salvation suitable to soul and body, and we shall sing to Thee everlasting glory without ceasing and always, O Lord of all.
On fast-days: To Thee, the wise governor, etc.
V. Descending, he shall salute the Gospel, saying this prayer before the altar: Thee, the renowned seed of Thy Father, and the image of the person of Thy Father, who wast revealed in the body of our humanity, and didst arise to us in the light of Thy annunciation, Thee we thank, adore, etc.
And after the proclamation:(8) - Thee, O Lord God Almighty, we beseech and entreat, perfect with us Thy grace, and pour out through our hands Thy gift, the pity and compassion of Thy divinity. May they be to us for the propitiation of the offences of Thy people, and for the forgiveness of the sins of the entire flock of Thy pasture, through Thy grace and tender mercies, O good friend of men, O Lord of all.
VI. The Deacons say:- Bow your heads.
The Priest says this secret prayer in the sanctuary:(9) - O Lord God Omnipotent, Thine is the Holy Catholic Church, inasmuch as Thou, through the great passion of Thy Christ, didst buy the sheep of Thy pasture; and from the grace of the Holy Spirit, who is indeed of one nature with Thy glorious divinity, are granted the degrees of the true priestly ordination; and through Thy clemency Thou didst vouchsafe, O Lord, to make our weakness spiritual members in the great body of Thy Holy Church, that we might administer spiritual aid to faithful souls. Now, O Lord, perfect Thy grace with us, and pour out Thy gift through our hands: and may Thy tender mercies and the clemency of Thy divinity be upon us, and upon the people whom Thou hast chosen for Thyself.
(Aloud.) And grant unto us, O Lord, through Thy clemency, that we may all together, and equally every day of our life, please Thy divinity, and be rendered worthy of the aid of Thy grace to offer Thee praise, honour, thanksgiving, and adoration at all times, O Lord.
VII. And the Deacons ascend to the altar, and say:- He who has not received baptism, etc.(10)
And the Priest begins the respansory of the mysteries,(11) and the Sacristan and Deacon place the disk and the chalice upon the altar. The Priest crosses his hands, and says:(12) - We offer praise to Thy glorious Trinity at all times and for ever.
And proceeds:- May Christ, who was offered for our salvation, and commanded us to commemorate His death and His resurrection, Himself receive this sacrifice from the hands of our weakness, through His grace and mercies for ever. Amen.
And proceeds:- Laid are the renowned holy and life-giving mysteries upon the altar of the mighty Lord, even until His advent, for ever.Amen.
Praise, etc.
Thy memory, etc.
Our Father, etc.
The apostles of the Father, etc.
Upon the holy altar, etc.
They who have slept, etc.
Matthew Mark, Luke, etc.(13)
The Creed.(14)
VIII. The Priest draws near to celebrate, and thrice bows before the altar, the middle of which he kisses, then the right and the left horn of the altar; and bows to the Gospel side, and says:- Bless, O Lord, etc.Pray for me, my fathers, brethren, and masters, that God may grant unto me the capability and power to perform this service to which I have drawn near, and that this oblation may be accepted from the hands of my weakness, for myself, for you, and for the whole body of the Holy Catholic Church, through His grace and mercies for ever. Amen.
And they respond:- May Christ listen to thy prayers, and be pleased with thy sacrifice, receive thy oblation, and honour thy priesthood, and grant unto us, through thy mediation,(15) the pardon of our offences, and the forgiveness of our sins, through His grace and mercies for ever.
Presently he bows at the other side, uttering the same words; and they respond in the same manner: then he bows to the altar, and says:- God, Lord of all, be with us through His grace and mercies for ever. Amen.
And bowing towards the Deacon, who is on the left (Epistle side), he says:- God, the Lord of all, confirm thy words, and secure to thee peace, and accept this oblation from my hands for me, for thee, for the whole body of the Holy Catholic Church, and for the entire world, through His grace and mercies for ever.
He kneels at the altar, and says in secret:- IX. O our Lord and God, look not on the multitude of our sins, and let not Thy dignity be turned away on account of the heinousness of our iniquities; but through Thine unspeakable grace sanctify this sacrifice of Thine, and grant through it power and capability, so that Thou mayest forget our many sins, and be merciful when Thou shalt appear at the end of time, in the man whom Thou hast assumed from among us, and we may find before Thee grace and mercy, and be rendered worthy to praise Thee with spiritual(16) assemblies.
He rises, and says this prayer in secret:- We thank Thee, O our Lord and God, for the abundant riches of Thy grace to us:
And he proceeds:- Us who were sinful and degraded, on account of the multitude of Thy clemency, Thou hast made worthy to celebrate the holy mysteries of the body and blood of Thy Christ. We beg aid from Thee for the strengthening of our souls, that in perfect love and true faith we may administer Thy gift to us.
Canon: And we shall ascribe to Thee praise, glory, thanksgiving, and adoration, now, always, and for ever and ever.
He signs himself with the sign of the cross, and they respond:- Amen.
X. And he proceeds:- Peace be with you:
They respond:- With thee and with thy spirit.
And they give the (kiss of) peace to each other, and say:- For all:(17)
The Deacon says:- Let us thank, entreat, and beseech.
The Pries says this prayer in secret:- O Lord, mighty God, help my weakness through Thy clemency and the aid of Thy grace; and make me worthy of offering before Thee this oblation, as for the common aid of all, and to the praise of Thy Trinity, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Another prayer.(18) O our Lord and God, restrain our thoughts, that they wander not amid the vanities of this world. O Lord our God, grant that I may be united to the affection of Thy love, unworthy though I be. Glory be to Thee, O Christ.Ascend into the chamber of Thy renowned light, O Lord; sow in me the good seed of humility; and under the wings of Thy grace hide me through Thy mercy. If Thou wert to mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? Because there is mercy with Thee.
[The Priest says the following prayer in secret:(19) - O mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, beseech for me the only-begotten Son, who was born of thee, to forgive me my offences and my sins, and to accept from my feeble and sinful hands this sacrifice which my weakness offers upon this altar, through thy intercession for me, O holy mother.]
XI. When the Deacon shall say, With watchfulness and care, etc., immediately the Priest rises up and uncovers the sacraments, taking away the veil with which they were covered: he blesses the incense, and says a canon with a loud voice:- The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all, now, etc.(20)
He signs the sacraments, and they respond:-Amen.
The Priest proceeds:- Lift up your minds: They respond:-They are towards Thee, O God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, O glorious King.
The Priest: The oblation is offered to God, the Lord of all.They respond:-It is meet and right.
The Deacon: Peace be with you.
The Priest puts on the incense, and says this prayer:- O Lord, Lord, grant me an open countenance before Thee, that with the confidence which is from Thee we may fulfil this awful and divine sacrifice with consciences free from all iniquity and bitterness. Sow in us, O Lord, affection, peace, and concord towards each other, and toward every one.
And standing, he says in secret:(21) - Worthy of glory from every mouth, and of thanksgiving from all tongues, and of adoration and exaltation from all creatures, is the adorable and glorious name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who created the world through His grace, and its inhabitants through His clemency, who saved men through His mercy, and showed great favour towards mortals. Thy majesty, O Lord, thousands of thousands of heavenly spirits, and ten thousand myriads of holy angels, hosts of spirits, ministers of fire and spirit, bless and adore; with the holy cherubim and the spiritual seraphim they sanctify and celebrate Thy name, crying and praising, without ceasing crying unto each other.
They say with a loud voice:- Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty; full are the heavens and the earth of His glory.
The Priest in secret:- Holy, holy, holy art Thou, O Lord God Almighty; the heavens and the earth are full of His glory and the nature of His essence, as they are glorious with the honour of His splendour; as it is written, The heaven and the earth are full of me, saith the mighty Lord.
Holy art Thou, O God our Father, truly the only one, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. Holy art Thou, Eternal Son, through whom all things were made. Holy art Thou, Holy, Eternal Spirit, through whom all things are sanctified.
Woe to me, woe to me, who have been astonied, because I am a man of polluted lips, and dwell among a people of polluted lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the mighty Lord.How terrible to-day is this place! For this is none other than the house of God and the gate of heaven; because Thou hast been seen eye to eye, O Lord.
Now, I pray, may Thy grace be with us, O Lord; purge away our impurities, and sanctify our lips; unite the voices of our insignificance with the sanctification of seraphim and archangels. Glory be to Thy tender mercies, because Thou hast associated the earthly with the heavenly.(22)
And he proceeds, saying in secret this prayer, in a bowing posture:- XII. And with those heavenly powers we give Thee thanks, even we, Thine insignificant, pithless, and feeble servants; because Thou hast granted unto us Thy great grace which cannot be repaid. For indeed Thou didst take upon Thee our human nature, that Thou mightest bestow life on us through Thy divinity; Thou didst exalt our low condition; Thou didst raise our ruined state; Thou didst rouse up our mortality; Thou didst wash away our sins; Thou didst blot out the guilt of our sins; Thou didst enlighten our intelligence, and Thou didst condemn our enemy, O Lord our God; and Thou didst cause the insignificance of our pithless nature to triumph.
Here follow the words of institution,(23) after which:- Through the tender mercies of Thy grace poured out, O clement One, pardon our offences and sins; blot out my offences in the judgment. And on account of all Thy aids and Thy favours to us, we shall ascribe unto Thee praise,(24) honour, thanksgiving, and adoration, now, always, and for ever and ever.
The Priest signs the sacraments. The response is made: Amen.
The Deacon: In your minds. Pray for peace with us.
The Priest says this prayer(25) bowing, and in a low voice:- O Lord God Almighty, accept this oblation for the whole Holy Catholic Church, and for all the pious and righteous fathers who have been pleasing to Thee, and for all the prophets and apostles, and for all the martyrs and confessors, and for all that mourn, that are in straits, and are sick, and for all that are under difficulties and trials, and for all the weak and the oppressed, and for all the dead that have gone from amongst us; then for all that ask a prayer from our weakness, and for me, a degraded and feeble sinner. O Lord our God, according to Thy mercies and the multitude of Thy favours, look upon Thy people, and on me, a feeble man, not according to my sins and my follies, but that they may become worthy of the forgiveness of their sins through this holy body, which they receive with faith, through the grace of Thy mercy for ever and ever. Amen.
The Priest says this prayer of inclination in secret:- XIII. Do Thou, O Lord, through Thy many and ineffable mercies, make the memorial good and acceptable with that of(26) all the pious and righteous fathers who have been pleading before Thee in the commemoration of the body and blood of Thy Christ, which we offer to Thee upon Thy pure and holy altar, as Thou hast taught us; and grant unto us Thy rest all the days of this life.
He proceeds with the Great Oblation:- O Lord our God, bestow on us Thy rest and peace all the days of this life, that all the inhabitants of the earth may know Thee, that Thou art the only true God the Father, and Thou didst send our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son and Thy beloved; and He Himself our Lord and God came and taught us all purity and holiness. Make remembrance of prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, bishops, doctors, priests, deacons, and all the sons of the Holy Catholic Church who have been signed with the sign of life, of holy baptism. We also, O Lord:
He proceeds:- We, Thy degraded, weak, and feeble servants who are congregated in Thy name, and now stand before Thee, and have received with joy the form which is from Thee, praising, glorifying, and exalting, commemorate and celebrate this great, awful, holy, and divine mystery of the passion, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.And may Thy Holy Spirit come, O Lord,(27) and rest upon this oblation of Thy servants which they offer, and bless and sanctify it; and may it be unto us, O Lord, for the propitiation of our offences and the forgiveness of our sins, and for a grand hope of resurrection from the dead, and for a new life in the kingdom of the heavens, with all who have been pleasing before Him. And on account of the whole of Thy wonderful dispensation towards us, we shall render thanks unto Thee, and glorify Thee without ceasing in Thy Church, redeemed by the precious blood of Thy Christ, with open mouths and joyful countenances:
Canon: Ascribing praise,(28) honour, thanksgiving, and adoration to Thy holy, loving, and life-giving name, now, always, and for ever.
The Priest signs the mysteries with the cross, and they respond:- Amen.
The Priest bows himself and kisses the altar, first in the middle, then at the two sides right and left, and says this prayer:(29) - Have mercy upon me, O God, down to the words, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee: and unto Thee lift I up mine eyes,(30) down to have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Also stretch forth Thy hand, and let Thy right hand save me, O Lord; may Thy mercies remain upon me, O Lord, for ever, and despise not the works of Thy hands.(31)
Then he says this prayer:- XIV. O Christ, peace of those in heaven and great rest of those below,(32) grant that Thy rest and peace may dwell in the four parts of the world,(33) but especially in Thy Holy Catholic Church; grant that the priesthood with the government may have peace; cause wars to cease from the ends of the earth, and scatter the nations that delight in wars,(34) that we may enjoy the blessing of living in tranquillity and peace, in all temperance and fear of God. Spare the offences and sins of the dead, through Thy grace and mercies for ever.
And to those who are around the altar he says:- Bless, O Lord. Bless, O Lord.
And he puts on the incense with which he fumes himself, and says:- Sweeten, O Lord our God, the unpleasing savour(35) of our souls through the sweetness of Thy love, and through it cleanse me from the stains of my sin, and forgive me my offences and sins, whether known or unknown to me.
A second time he takes the incense with both hands, and censes the mysteries; presently he says:- The clemency of Thy grace, O our Lord and God, gives us access to these renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, unworthy though we be.
The Priest repeats these words once and again, and at each interval unites his hands over his breast in the form of a cross. He kisses the altar in the middle, and receives with both hands the upper oblation; and looking up, says:- Praise be to Thy holy name, O Lord Jesus Christ, and adoration to Thy majesty, always and for ever. Amen.
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