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E-Theologos, Vol. 3, No. 2 DOI 10.2478/v10154-012-0012-y

The Byzantine – a Space for the Catechesis

prof. ThDr. Vojtech Bohá č, PhD. University of Prešov in Prešov, Greek Theological Faculty

Introduction The Sacred Congregation of published on September 26 th 1964 the instruction named Inter oecumenici 1 on implementing liturgical norms of the Consilium. 2 It states: „Especially necessary is a close, living union between , catechesis, religious formation, and preaching.“ 3 Constantinopolitan (or in other words Byzantine) liturgical tradition has its own connection between the liturgy and the catechesis in the catechetical images of its own expres- sion. Images of catechetical content are present in the church mobiliary and in the expressions as well. This paper will consist of three parts: 1. Cathechetical images in the Byzantine church. 2. Catechetical images in the Byzantine Eucharistic Liturgy (Some of them). 3. Inner connection between the Byzantine liturgy and the Catechesis. Conclusion: Practical use.

Catechetical images in the Byzantine church Church – image The divides the church into the section – the san- ctuary, representing the heaven, and the church of the faithful – the , representing the earth. On the back wall is depicted Mary, who offers her son, Christ through the altar to the earth, to the faithful for their sal- vation. The came to us through the events in the life of Jesus

1 AAS 56 (1964) s. 877-900. 2 KBS: Ako správne používať Konštitúciu o posvätnej liturgii . Trnava: SSV, 2001.Slovak text. 3 KBS: Ako správne používať Konštitúciu o posvätnej liturgii . Trnava: SSV, 2001.Slovak text, point 7 p. 9. English translation according to the: http://www.adoremus.org/Interoecumenici.html

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Christ and the Most Holy Mother of God. 4 These salvific events from the life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God are depicted on the of the . The icons of the iconostasis are the best catechetical images in the most authentic meaning of the word. All the icons are based on the biblical foundation.

The Iconostasis The term comes from the Greek word eikonostasis, eikon histemi . It is a wall, dividing the from the nave, stretching to the ceiling and from a wall to the wall. It is filled with images, displayed according to a precise order. 5 The iconostasis consists of 5 rows, and it has three doors leading to the sanctuary. The , or also Holy doors or Main doors are in the middle of the iconostasis, leading to the center of the sanctuary. The term Royal doors refers to the fact, that the „King of glory“ comes through them. The term Holy doors refers to the Holy being carried through them. The Main or even Great doors is a title used to compare them to the two small side doors. Usually they have two wings. On the wings are depicted the or the scene. On the right wing are depicted the holy Evangelists John in the upper part and St. Mark in the bottom part respectively. On the left wing is depicted St. Matthew in the upper part and St. Luke in the bottom part of the door wing. Someitmes even the of St. as the protector of the gate to the paradise appears here. The sanctuary represents the paradise. Several other times the genealogy tree of Jesus Christ is depicted on the royal doors, starting with Adam. The Annunciation is the image for opening the paradise for all after the arrival of the Christ into the world – Jesus Christ opened for us the gates of paradise, which were closed for the human race after the . The deaconal doors on the left and right side of the Royal doors are on the northern and souther side of the church. The northern side is the left side and the souther side is the right side. The deaconal doors have their name because of the fact, that the enter through them the sanctuary. Through these doors holy gifts for the are carried during the time of the Great ; the holy cross is carried for the ve- neration on August 1st, Spetember 14th and the Third of . The deacons are using these doors during the incesnsation, when the Royal doors are closed. Usually the doors are adorned with images of St. Stephen, the and St. Lawrence.

4 Cf. MIRKOVIČ, L.: Pravoslávna liturgika . Prešov: PBF PU v Prešove, 2011, p. 99. 5 Cf. FEDORIV, J.: Obrady ukrajinskoj cerkvi . Rím-Toronto: Praci Ukrainskogo Naukovogo Tovaristva, 1970, p. 39.

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Above the Royal doors a , katapetasma is supposed to be installed. It is a cloth put from the interior part of the sanctuary and is being draw from a side to side or sometimes even drop from top to the bottom. Be- cause of that, the veil is sometimes called the upper door and the Holy doors are called bottom doors of the iconostasis. The veil is sometimes also called inner doors and the Holy doors are called outer doors of the iconostasis. 6 In the Greek Catholic churches in Slovakia the veil is not used, or on- ly rarely. Even, when new churches are constructed, the veil is usually not installed. The iconostasis has to have five rows in the following order: - first is the bottom row with the scenes from the (Ex- pulsion from paradise, The Flood, The Sacrifice of Isaac, Crossing of the Red Sea, The Law given to the Moses, the copper snake in the desert); - the second row has the following scheme: on the right side of the Holy doors is the icon of Christ the Teacher with the book, on the left side is the icon of the Mother of God with Jesus on her hands. On the southern side (right side) is the icon of the patron of the church. On the northern side (left side) is the icon of St. Nicholas; - The third row consists of the icons of the feasts of the Lord and of the Mother of God. There are twelve feasts depicted on the iconostasis. Starting from the northern wall towards the southern one are the feasts depicted in this order: 1. The Nativity fo the Mother of God. 2. The Entrance of the Mother of God into the temple. 3. The Nativity of the Lord 4. The . 5. The Meeting of our Lord with Simeon. 6. The Annunciation. 7. The Entrance of our Lord in the . 8. The Resurrection of Our Lord. 9. The Ascension. 10. The Descent of the . 11. The Transfiguration of the Lord. 12. The Dormition of the Mother of God. 7 According some other sources also the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is sometimes displayed, while the icon of the Entrance of the Lord in the Jerusalem is omitted. On the other iconostasis the order is not followed at all, or is unknown to the people and display among the feasts

6 Cf. MIRKOVIČ,L.: Pravoslávna liturgika . Prešov: PBF PU v Prešove, 2011, p. 107-108. 7 Cf. FEDORIV, J.: Pojasnenja cerkovnych bogoslužeň i svjatych tajn. Toronto,1976, p. 22-25.

149 E-Theologos, Vol. 3, No. 2 DOI 10.2478/v10154-012-0012-y also the icon of the Protection of the Mother of God. Between the icons of the feasts is above the Royal doors the icon of the ; The fourth row of the icons shows twelve apostles. They are depicted single, or in pairs or in three persons, depending on the conditions and space on the iconostasis. St. Paul is always depicted, and because of that one of the apostles (usually St. Jude the Thaddeus) is omitted. The apos- tles are usually depicted with their atributes: Peter with keys, Paul with a sword, Andrew with an X cross, etc. Among the apostles is in the center, above the icon of the last supper the icon of Christ the Lamighty – Pantoc- rator – Christ the King, or sometimes the Just Judge, who accompanied by the Most Holy Mother of God and St. is coming to judge the world. The fifth row of the icons depicts the . Mostly there are sixte- en prophets: four greter ones and twelve lesser ones. Usually they are depicted in a way, in which first on the right side is and Daniel and on the left is Jeremiah and (In the East even the Mother of God with Child on her hands is considered to be among the prophets). On the top of the iconostasis is the Cross with the Crucifiied one, and under the cross stands the Mother of God and St. . The iconostasis is an organic part of the Byzantine churches and the byzantine liturigcal rubrics count with an iconostasis. 8

Soleas is an elevated space in front of the iconostasis, on which the iconostasis itself stands. In the middle is the soleas extended as an halfcir- cle towards the center of the church. This extended halfcircle is called , representing the stone from the tomb of Christ. Besides the and deacons, no one else is allowed to step on the ambon. Ambon got its name as a deaconal place, as the deacon reads the Gospel, and chants the from there. 9

Sanctuary and its furrnishings The sanctuary is a place behind the iconostasis where the holy altar is located. The sanctuary represents: - heaven, a place where God dwells; - paradise, where first people lived in happiness;

8 Cf. MIRKOVIČ,L.: Pravoslávna liturgika . Prešov: PBF PU v Prešove, 2011, p. 109-110. 9 Cf. IVANCSÓ, I.: Görög katolikus szertartástan. Nyíregyháza: Szent Atanáz Gör. kat. Hittu- dományi Főiskola, 1997, p.31-32.

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- also those holy places, where lived, taught, died and rose from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ. In the middle of the sanctuary is the holy altar. It is supposed to be constructed in a way, that one could encircle it and thus it has not to be attached to any wall. The whole sanctuary should be elevated a bit, so that everyone in the church may observe the divine acts. The altar table is called also a liturgical table, as the unbloody sacrifice of the is offered here. It could be translated also as a throne, as the Son of God, Jesus Christ is mystically present here. It also represents the tomb of Christ, as well as tha manger, where little Jesus was laid. He altar represents also the Christ himself, and thuis is worth of all praise and ho- nor. The size of the altar varies from one to another, depending on the size of the churches. The form however should be the same. It should look like a cube with same lenght of its sides. It is the tradition of the East to use the seven – branched chandelier on the altar or behind the altar. 10

The tabernacle The tabernacle is usually place don the altar, in our tradition it is al- ways on the altar. It is sometimes called also kivot , or even artoforos , or kovčeh (nave). The Holy Eucharist is reserved in it, for both purposes, for the sick as well as for the adoratio. The tabernacle could be of different forms, like a smal church, like a tomb of Christ, or a cave. In the ancient times the tabernacles were not placed on the . Above the altars were places doves made of precious materials, and the Eucharist was kept in them. Peristerion is a greek term meaning a dove. The tabernacle itself is an image of a place, where Jesus Christ died and was risen from the dead. However it also represents the ark of the Old testament, which was kept in the sanctuary () of the Temple of Jerusalem. In the more ancient churches is also a baldachino above the altar. In the more recent churches the baldachino is missing. The altar is covered with three linens. Usually they are these: 1. Katasarka, meaning next to the body, represents the epitaphion in which the was laid in the tomb; 2. Inditia, meaning „I cloth“ , representing the glory of God ( The Lord reigns, he is clothed in majesty); 3. The third cover, laying on the top of the previous one – on the In- ditia. 11

10 Cf. ANTONOV, N. R.: Učebnik bogosluženija.Sanktpeterburg: 1912, p. 27-28. 11 Cf. IVANCSÓ, I.: Görög katolikus szertartástan. Nyíregyháza: Szent Atanáz Gör. kat. Hit- tudományi Főiskola, 1997, p. 39-42.

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The Antimension The use of antimension developed because of the Church practice. The faithful, fearing the desacration were carrying the of the aints in a piece of cloth. It is usually a rectangular piece of a fabric. The icon on the antimension is the taking down from the cross. In its four corners are depicted foru Evangelists. From the bottom side are in another tiny cloth sewed in the relics of the . The antimension is blessed by the on the Great Thursday, and it is also annointed with the chrysm. Each antimension should also bear the name of the bishop as well the date of its blessing, and the name of the church, where it is supposed to go. Abo- ve the antimension is usually placed iliton, which all the should keep. According to other custom the antimension is wrapped into the ili- ton and during the services they are both being unfolded. Iliton is a white square cloth. Its name comes from the Greek word eilyoo, meaning I wrap. 12

The Cross The cross on the altar represents the sacrifice of cross, bz which Christ overcame the sin and the death.

The The Gospel book is placed in the center of the altar. Inside is recor- ded the good news of Jesus Christ. It is placed in the center of the holy altar, so that everyone will see it, but especially, because of the fact that the teaching of the Christ is announed from it. It is personifying Christ, the Word of God. 13

The upper throne Is located behind the altar. Its origin can be traced to the apostolic ti- mes, when the bishop was sitting on this throne during the readings. From the historical point of view it has its meaning only for churches. As there is always a place to sit in our churches, the goes during the Thrice Holy to the upper throne. However, he is not to sit on it, but only to a chair on its southern side. Only the bishop is entitled to sit on the upper throne in the churches.

12 Cf. FEDORIV, J.: Obrady ukrajinskoj cerkvi . Rím-Toronto: Praci Ukrainskogo Naukovogo Tovaristva, 1970, p. 54. 13 Cf. MIRKOVIČ, L.: Pravoslávna liturgika . Prešov: PBF PU v Prešove, 2011, p.105.

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The preparatory table The preparatory table is a smaller table used for the preparation of the gifts, called in Greek prothésys . Here the gifts for the are prepared. Because we commemorate the nativity, death and the suffering of Christ during the proskomedia, the table represents thus Bethlehem, manger as well as Gogotha. It should have a cross and opened iliton. Candles are to be lit there as well. 14

Catechetical images in the Byzantine Eucharistic Liturgy The Divine liturgy could bedivided into three parts: The Proskomedia – preparation of the gifts, The Liturgy of Catechumens and the Liturgy of the Faithful (baptized).

The preparation of the gits – The Proskomedia They include the priestly prayers before the iconostasi and the vesting of the priest. The priest starts the preparation of the gifts right after being vested in liturgical – symbol of the new person according to the Christ: „Since every one of you that has been baptised has been clothed in Christ.“ The priest performs the preparation of the gifts on the side prepa- ratory table, without the presence of the faithful, except of the deacon, when present. The faithful however see the movements of the priest, hear his prayers, smell the from behind the iconostasis – and daily see the image of the not publis, hidden thirty years of life of Jesus Christ, from his birth to his first public appearance. The preparation of the gifts is a symbolic image of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, an image underlined also by the presence of a star () above the offered with the words: Behold, the star halted over the place where the child was .15 The image of the sacrifice of the , cut from the offering bread – is not a less significant image of the sacrifice of the lamb. The priest cuts a square from the prosphora using a lance – the image of the Lamb and pierces it with the words from the Scripture: „One of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blo- od and water .“ 16 Around the Lamb after being cut are places images of nine heavenly hosts, the image of the Mother of God and images of the living and the

14 Cf. IVANCSÓ, I.: Görög katolikus szertartástan. Nyíregyháza: Szent Atanáz Gör. kat. Hit- tudományi Főiskola, 1997, p. 36. 15 Svätá božská liturgia nášho otca svätého Jána Zlatoústeho .Prešov :Spolok biskupa P.P.Gojdiča,1998, p. 13 (original text). 16 Ibid, p. 8.

153 E-Theologos, Vol. 3, No. 2 DOI 10.2478/v10154-012-0012-y dead. The Lamb is surrounded by the Church glorified, pilgrim and suffe- ring. The offered particles are the gift of the bread, and in the is the gift of wine and water – the image of Jesus Christ on the cross with a pierced side, out of which came blood and water. The final act of incensing is the image of the ascend of the sacrifice in front of the face of the Lord, who accepts it into his heavenly offering table.

Liturgy of the Catechumens – Liturgy of the Word – Small En- trance The Byzantine rite preserved for the first – catechetical parft of he li- turgy the ancient term, expressing the fact, that during the first part of the liturgy were able to be present even those preparing themselves for the . The catechetical character of the first part of the liturgy is shown by an image representing the start of the public Christ. Litur- gical term describing this image is „ Small Entrance“. The priest takes the Gospel book from the altar and encircles the altar, preceeded by a lightened triple candle. Then he comes in the front of the open Royal doors, elevates highly the Gospel book and says: Wissdom. Let us stand aright .17 He enters the sanctuary and places the Gospel book on the altar. Through this whole act, the faithful gathered for the Eucharistic celebra- tion, daily see with spiritual eyes the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan and in the word Wisdom they hear the heavenly Father: Listen to Him , - listen to the highest Wisdom. And indeed the Gospel is proclaimed and Jesus is teaching at the mountain those, gathered around him. The candle in front of the Gospel book is the image of St. John the Baptist, and in case of a triple candle it is the image of the Most Holy . The Theophany is in the Byzantine rite the celebration of the Baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan. 18

Liturgy of the Faithful (Baptized) The Great entrance is a drawing image in the Liturgy of the Faithful. From the side preparatory table are to the altar transferred gifts ready to be transformed. The gifts are transported after the incensation. The can- dlebearers approach, as well as does the deacon, the ripidions (to fan the

17 Svätá božská liturgia nášho otca svätého Jána Zlatoústeho .Prešov :Spolok biskupa P.P.Gojdiča,1998, p. 24. 18 Cf.: TAFT, F., R.: Stručné dějiny byzantské liturgie. Praha : Institut sv. Kosmy a Damiána, 2008. p. 71- 72.

154 E-Theologos, Vol. 3, No. 2 DOI 10.2478/v10154-012-0012-y gifts), all the priests (if concelebrating) and everyone carries something to the altar. The transfer of the gifts to the altar is a symbolic image of the solemn ascend of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem on . After the transfer of the gifts, one sings: „That we may welcome the king of all, invi- sibly escorted by angelic hosts.“ 19 The text shows, that the giftes are chan- ged into the body and , and after being changed, their communion to the faithful. The sacrifice on the cross and the giving of Jesus Christ in the Holy communion is the image from the Mount of Olives before the Ascension, when Jesus blessed the apostles. The priest expresses this with the words: „Save your people o God, and bless your inheritance.“ 20 Then he places the Eucharist on the altar and incense it. The smoke is a symbol of the cloud, that covered Jesus in front of the eyes of the apostles at his Ascne- sion. After the incense, he carries the Eucharist back to the preparatory table. This transfer is an image of the departure of Christ from earth to heaven. The liturgy reminds this with visual image of the empty altar, where there is neither priest, nor the Eucharist. 21

Prayer facing the East Prayer facing the East belongs to the most firm and powerful cateche- tical images of the liturgy. From the ancient times it was a custom in the Eastern churches to fall on the floor during the prayer and to be facing the East. The sacred buildings themselves are constructed in a way that the altar would be facing the East. St. John Damascene explains the meaning of this tradition: „It is neither naive nor random, that we are praying facing the East (...). Because God is a (bright) light (1 John 1,5) and Christ is des- cribed in the Scriptures as the Sun of Justice (Malachi 3,20) and the East (Zechariah 3,8 according to the LXX), and thus in order to give him cult, it is necessary to dedicate him the East. The Scripture says: Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden, which is in the east, and there he put the man he had fashioned. (Genesis 2,8). When searching for the old homeland and going towards it we bow to God. Even the Tent of Meeting done by Moses had a veil facing the East. The tribe of Judah was the most impor- tant one and thus was camping on the eastern side of the camp. (Numbers 2,3). In the temple of the the gate of the Lord was facing the East (Ezekhiel 44,1). And then at the end the Lord was nailed to the cross fa-

19 Svätá božská liturgia nášho otca svätého Jána Zlatoústeho .Prešov :Spolok biskupa P.P.Gojdiča,1998, p. 41. 20 Svätá božská liturgia nášho otca svätého Jána Zlatoústeho .Prešov :Spolok biskupa P.P.Gojdiča,1998, p. 70. 21 GOGOĽ, N., V.: Rozjímání o božské liturgii. Velehrad : Velehrad - Roma s.r.o., 1996. p.32.

155 E-Theologos, Vol. 3, No. 2 DOI 10.2478/v10154-012-0012-y cing the west, and we bow to our knees in front of him, facing him. When he was ascending into heaven, he was lifted up to the East and the apos- tles bowed to him, expecting him to come in a way, he departed from them (Cf. 1, 11). And the Lord himself said: „Because the coming of the Son of man will be like lightning striking in the east and flashing far into the west.“ (Matthew 24, 27). Expecting him we face the East. It is an unwritten tradition, coming from the Apostolic times. This rich and enchanting interpretation explains also the reason, why facing the East are both, the presiding celebrant as well as the faithful par- ticipating at the celebration. In this case the reason is not to be jsut simply celebrating with a back towards the people, as many sometimes claim, but to lead the people on the journey towards the Kingdom, asked in the pra- yers till the o the Lord. This practice, threatened in many Eastern Catholic churches with a new and recent western influence has thus a deep value and is to be preserved, as it is strongly linked to the Eastern liturgical spirituality.“ 22

Conclusion The Byzantine tradition, as well as other Eastern tradition preserved in an unique way the priamte of the liturgy as the top of the Christian life, thus remaining completely faithful to the spirit of the Church of the Fat- hers, when the liturgy was a place, which gathered the catecheis and the religious education, where the Scriptures were announced and commen- ted, where the Cathechumens were prepared for the baptism and the pe- nitents were prepared for the reconciliation, which in the perios before the Pascha was conducted in a perfect harmony of symbols and instruc- tions, and here had its place also the diakonia. „"The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows." It is therefore the privileged place for catechi- zing the . „Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of liturgical and sacramental activity, for it is in the , especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of men.“ (Cathechism of the 1074). We hope that this short overview on the catechetical images in the Eucharistic liturgy will contribute to emphasize the inner links between the liturgy and the catechesis. Besides the other elements of the inner connec- tion, there are also catechetical images to represent the invisible realities and support the faith and hope, helping the prayer and the inner trans- formation of a human, in order to mature in love.

22 Cf. KONGREGÁCIA PRE VÝCHODNÉ CIRKVI: Inštrukcia na aplikáciu bohoslužobných predpisov KKVC. Rím: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1996, point 107, p 82.

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References

AAS 56 Inter oecumenici . (1964 ) s. 877-900. Official text. IVANCSÓ, I.: Görög katolikus szertartástan. Nyíregyháza: Szent Atanáz Gör,kat.Hittudományi Főiskola, 1997 (ISBN not given). GOGOĽ, N. V.: Rozjímání o božské liturgii. Velehrad : Velehrad-Roma s.r.o., 1996. ISBN 80-901-957-7-6. KBS : Ako správne používať Konštitúciu o posvätnej liturgii . Trnava: SSV, 2001. Slovak translation.ISBN 80-7162-337-7. MIRKOVIČ, L.: Pravoslávna liturgika . Prešov: PBF PU v Prešove, 2011. ISBN 80-8068-079-5. FEDORIV, J.: Obrady ukrajinskoj cerkvi . Rím-Toronto: Praci Ukrainskogo Naukovogo Tovaristva, 1970 (ISBN not given). KONGREGÁCIA PRE VYCHODNÉ CIRKVI: Inštrukcia na aplikáciu boho- služobných predpisov KKVC. Rím: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1996. ISBN missing. Svätá božská liturgia nášho otca svätého Jána Zlatoústeho .Prešov : Spolok biskupa P.P.Gojdiča,1998.ISBN 80-8802-03-7. GOGOĽ, N. V.: Rozjímání o božské liturgii. Velehrad : Velehrad-Roma s.r.o., 1996. ISBN 80-901-957-7-6.

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