III. COMMUNION 1. Preparation for Communion AĞ Er the Great Entrance and Placing the Giğ S on the Holy Table, the Preparation for Communion Begins
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Andrei S. Slutskħ 45 Liturgy. Thus, the presence of the dialogue in the Khlud. 117 may be a trace of an ancient tradition, but the absence of other evidence relating to the dialogue in the Presanctifi ed Liturgy makes it more plausible that the addition of dialogue to the Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s in the Khlud. 117 represents a local tradition that did not enjoy wide- spread occurrence. III. COMMUNION 1. Preparation for Communion AĞ er the Great Entrance and placing the GiĞ s on the Holy Table, the preparation for Communion begins. The deacon pronounces the Litany of Supplication, “Help us, save us, have mercy upon us and keep us, O God…,” followed by the general Prayer “Our Father…,” two si- lent Prayers of the priest, “O God, alone good and compassionate…,” and “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…,” and the exclamation, “The presanctifi ed Holy GiĞ s for the holy people of God.” The presentation of this part of the ordinance in the earliest Slavonic manuscripts of the Presanctifi ed Liturgy generally coincides with the modern ordinance. As a particular feature of this part of the service in the Old Russian recension, we should note the text which is contained in the service books Sof. 521, Syn. 892 and O.p. I.4. This text describes the exclama- tion of verse 17 of Psalm 50 before the prayer, “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…”: Sof. 521 (fol. 44r) Syn. 892 (fol. 52r) O.p. I.4 (fol. 28v) âúçäâèãú è âúçäýâú • ïîQ • ðÓöè ãëcòü òàè ãîðý ðÓöý • ðå÷Uå • ãTè ¹ñòíý ìîè ãTè ¹ñòíý ìîè ãcè ¹ñòüíý ìîè §âåðçåøè §âåðçåøè € §âü € ¹ñòà ìîÿ âúçâ In modern liturgical practice, Psalm 50, 17 (“Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise…”) is pronounced by the priest be- fore the beginning of the Liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great,125 and by the reader in the beginning of the Matins, before read- ing the Six Psalms.126 The instruction of the service books O.p. I.4 and Sof. 521 on pronouncing this verse: “âîçäýâú ãîðý ðÓöý” corresponds (125) ʈˏ˙ʾʺʴˑˆˊ, ˣ. 1 (ʂ˓˖ˊʵʲ, 1991) 94. (126) ʕʲ˖˓˖ˏ˓ʵ (ʂ˓˖ˊʵʲ, 1980) 43. Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 03:19:27PM via free access 46 Scrinium V (2009). Symbola Caelestis to the way the modern priests do it before the Liturgy of John Chryso- stom or Basil the Great.127 In the manuscripts of the Studite tradition that do not belong to the Old Russian recension, Psalm 50, 17 in this place of the ordinance of the Presanctifi ed Liturgy is also mentioned in the manuscript Khlud. 117 (fol. 51v): ãcè Óñòüíý ìîè §âåðüçåøè Óñòà ìîý âüçâýñòßòü õâàëÓ òâPß € . The evidence of the service book Khlud. 117 is important, because it shows how widespread the reciting of Psalm 50, 17 before the Prayer “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…,” was in the Slavonic Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s: Psalm 50, 17 occurs not only in Russian manu- scripts of the fourteenth century, but also in a manuscript of the late thirteenth century from Western Bulgaria (see note 29). The Greek Euchologia that were used for the critical edition of the Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s, do not mention Psalm 50, 17 in this place of the ordinance.128 However, the Prayer “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…,” occurs in the Liturgy of Basil the Great, of John Chrysostom, and of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s. Moreover, in all Liturgies it is located in the same place of the ordinance, before the exclamation “The holy GiĞ s for the holy people of God” (“The presanctifi ed Holy GiĞ s for the holy people of God” in the case of the Presanctifi ed Liturgy). Verse 17 of Psalm 50 is mentioned in some early Slavonic manuscripts of the full Liturgy, for example, in the ordinance of the Liturgy of John Chrysostom from the service book Sof. 518.129 Therefore, the most like- ly source of Psalm 50, 17 in the Slavonic Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s were the Slavonic Liturgies of Basil the Great and John Chrysos- tom. The widespread usage of the custom to pronounce Psalm 50, 17 before the Prayer “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…,” points to the early appearance of this rite in the Slavonic Liturgy of the Presancti- fi ed GiĞ s. The Prayer “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…” is called the Prayer of the Anaphora, because in the Liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great, this prayer is pronounced before the priest liĞ s up the Holy Bread above the paten with the exclamation “The holy GiĞ s for the holy people of God.” In the earliest Euchologia, the Prayer “Give (127) ɧ. ɸ. ɫɯʅʇɫɸɯɪʈɼɸɹ, ʕˆˑ˓˔˓˖ˏʺʹ˓ʵʲˑˆʺ ɩ˓ʾʺ˖˘ʵʺˑˑ˓ˇ ʁˆ˘˙˕ʶˆˆ (ɼˆʺʵ, 2000) 88, 89. (128) ̛̖̏̔̄̌̊̕, ̽ ΏΉΘΓΙΕ·ϟ΅..., 62, 76. (129) See fol. 35r: ãcè ¹ñòýíý ìî¶ §âüðçåøè ¹ñòà ìîÿ âúçâåñòßòü õâàëÓ òâîþ. Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 03:19:27PM via free access Andrei S. Slutskħ 47 heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…” is absent from the Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s. It appears the fi rst time in the Greek manuscripts of the eleventh century.130 The Prayer “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…” is also absent in one of the manuscripts of the Old Russian recension — the service book Syn. 598. All manuscripts contain the exclamation “The presanctifi ed Holy GiĞ s for the holy people of God” (“The holy GiĞ s for the holy people of God” in the Syn. 604). 2. Communion of the Clergy The Communion of the clergy starts aĞ er the exclamation, “The presanctifi ed Holy GiĞ s for the holy people of God.” The Communion is preceded by one of the most important liturgical rites of the Presancti- fi ed Liturgy: the blessing of the chalice by immersing the Sacred Host into it. The modern practice of placing the Holy Body into the chalice, and pouring warm water in silence (“íè÷òî‘æå ãëàãî‘ëß”131), as well as pro- hibiting the clergy from drinking from the holy chalice immediately aĞ er partaking of the Body of Christ, and the prohibition of Commu- nion for infants in the Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s,132 is based on the notion that at the Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s, the chal- ice contains wine that was not transformed into the Blood of Christ: “è”áî à”ùå è” ñâßùå‘ííî å”ñòü âëîæå‘íÈåì ÷à‘ñòèöû âÈíî’, íî íå ïðåñó‘ùåñòâåííî âú êðî‘âü ácæ°åñòâåííóþ, ïîíå‘æå íà°ä íè‘ìú ñëîâåñà’‘ ñâßùå‘íÈß íå ÷òî‘øàñß çäý’, ÿ‘êé áûâà‘åòú âú ëèòóðã¶àõú âàñ¶ëÈà âåëè‘êàãé è” ¶”éà‘ííà çëàòîó‘ñòàãé.”133 This view is articulated in the service book, in the chapter, “Statement on certain corrections in the service of the Presanctifi ed Liturgy,” fi rst introduced into the service books at the time of Patriarch Ioakim, in 1676, by Eu- thymius, the corrector from the Chudov Monastery, on the basis of an article of the Trebnik (Kiev, 1646) of Peter (Mogila), the Metropolitan (130) In the edition of ̛̖̏̔̄̌̊̕, ̽ ΏΉΘΓΙΕ·ϟ΅..., 62, the Euchologion Paris. gr. 391 of the 11th century, that was mentioned above several times, and manuscripts from the National Library of Athens ́ 713, the Byzantine Mu- seum of Athens ́ 5, and Sinai 973 of the twelĞ h century were mentioned as the earliest containing the prayer, “Give heed, Lord Jesus Christ our God…” (131) ɸ˄˨ˮʵˏʺˑˆʺ ˓ ˑʺˊˆˠ ˆ˖˔˕ʲʵˏʺˑˆˮˠ ʵ ˖ˏ˙ʾʺˑˆˆ ʆ˕ʺʾʹʺ˓˖ʵˮ- ˧ʺˑˑ˩ˮ ˏˆ˘˙˕ʶˆˆ, in: ʈˏ˙ʾʺʴˑˆˊ..., ˣ. 2, 428. (132) ʈ. ɪ. ɩʍʁɫɧɼʅɪ, ʃʲ˖˘˓ˏ˪ˑʲˮ ˊˑˆʶʲ ˖ʵˮ˧ʺˑˑ˓-ˢʺ˕ˊ˓ʵˑ˓˖ˏ˙ʾˆ˘ʺˏˮ (ʂ˓˖ˊʵʲ, 1993) ʊ. 2, 289. (133) ɸ˄˨ˮʵˏʺˑˆʺ ˓ ˑʺˊˆˠ ˆ˖˔˕ʲʵˏʺˑˆˮˠ ʵ ˖ˏ˙ʾʺˑˆˆ ʆ˕ʺʾʹʺ˓˖ʵˮ- ˧ʺˑˑ˩ˮ ˏˆ˘˙˕ʶˆˆ..., 430. Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 03:19:27PM via free access 48 Scrinium V (2009). Symbola Caelestis of Kiev.134 An equivalent of this article neither exists in the Greek Hi- eratikon nor in the service books published prior to 1676.135 In the old- printed liturgical books (the service books of 1623 and 1646, and the Typikon of 1641), in the Liturgy of the Presanctifi ed GiĞ s, it is required to immerse the Holy Body into the chalice (the rite of the Commixture) and to add warm water into the chalice (the rite of Zeon) according to the Liturgy of John Chrysostom.136 HandwriĴ en service books also indicate the correspondence of the rites of preparing the Holy GiĞ s for Communion at the Presanctifi ed Liturgy and the practices used at the Liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great. The earliest Slavonic manuscripts of the Liturgy of the Presancti- fi ed GiĞ s oĞ en do not describe how the clergy prepares for Com- munion, and as a rule, the manuscripts contain a brief instruction on Communion “according to the custom.” This statement is contained in the service books of the Old Russian recension Syn. 604, Sof. 518, Sof. 519, YaMZ 15472, Syn. 598, Syn. typ. 40, and Rum. 398. Other manuscripts of the Old Russian recension, Sol. 1016/1125, O.p. I.4, O.p. I.5, and Syn. typ. 43 (as well as the service book Khlud. 117) in- dicate that the priest should pronounce the liturgical formula “The fullness of the Holy Spirit” at the immersion of the Holy Body into the chalice — the words that the priest says when he puts the Holy Body into the chalice according to the modern ordinance of the Liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great.137 In this form, the rite of the Commixture is recorded in most of the Slavonic manuscripts of the Liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great from the thir- teenth–fourteenth centuries.