THE READING OF THE GOSPEL AND THE HOMILY

T he deacon approaches the priest, bows toward him and, holding his orar with his fingertips and pointing to the Gospel Book, intones :

Master, bless the one who goes to announce the Gospel of the holy Apostle and Evangelist N--.

While he blesses the deacon, the priest intones : May God, through the prayers of the holy, glorious, and

most praiseworthy Apostle and Evangelist N--, grant you the power of announcing his word with great strength for fulfilHng your office of singing the Gospel of his well-beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

After showing reverence for the Holy Gospel with a small bow, the deacon takes it and, preceded by candlebearers who go out of the sanc­tuary through the side doors of the iconostas, goes through the royal doors to stand at the ambo (or before the royal doors} for the reading of the Gospel. He places the Gospel Book on the analoj (lectern) and stands facing the people. The priest, who is standing before the holy table but facing the congregation, intones :

Wisdom! Let us stand straight to listen to the Holy Gospel. Peace be to all! People : And to your spirit. Deacon : The reading of the Holy Gospel according to N--.

People : Glory be to you, 0 Lord, glory be to you (they cross themselves).

Priest : Let us be attentive.

The deacon then chants the Holy Gospel. When the Gospel reading is finished, the priest says to the deacon :

Peace be to you, who have announced the good tidings.

And the people sing the response :

Glory be to you, 0 Lord, glory be to you (they cross them­selves).

The deacon returns to the sanctuary through the royal doors and gi'IJes the closed Gospel Book to the priest, who kisses it and places it either in the center or on the right side of the holy table.

All the Churches of Christendom have always shown great rever­ence for the Gospel of Christ, but the Syro-Byzantine family has given it exceptional honor. Christian antiquity took special pains to copy the Gospel Book with all possible splendor, not infrequently doing it entirely in gold or silver script on purple vellum and binding it in costly covers of gold or silver metalwork or carved ivory, adorned with jewels. This tradition is preserved in the Byzantine Rite where the Holy Gospel Book, one of the most beautiful objects in the church, is carried in solemn procession at the Little Entrance during every Liturgy. 1 It is. still regarded as the symbol of Christ himself. At synods and councils, it was placed on a throne or on the altar. 1

Likewise, in Byzantine churches, it is in the place of honor, the front center of the altar (which in turn is the symbol of Christ's throne in heaven), the very place where his most precious body and blood repose during the Divine Sacrifice. For nine hundred years, the only things permitted on the altar, even in the Latin Rite, were the Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Gospel Book. 8 At present, in the Byzantine Rite, nothing may be placed on the altar except what is necessary for the Divine Liturgy. Candlesticks are excluded in those churches where the seven-pronged candelabrum is placed behind the altar. No flowers, artificial or natural, are permitted. Since Vatican II, the Latin Church is reverting to this ancient practice.

The liturgy itself bears all the marks of special reverence due to the Holy Gospel. In processions, the clergy highest in rank should come last. Likewise, the Gospel is the final reading in every Rite,

1 Also at Solemn Matins, at the solemn procession around the church on the feast of the parish patron, etc.

• E.g., Cyril of Alexandria (t 444), speaking of the third Ecumenical Council of Ephesus, says that when " the holy synod met together at the church, it con­ferred on Christ, as it were, the position of member and president of the council. Indeed the venerable Gospel was placed upon a sacred throne " (Apol. ad Theodos. imper. [PG 76, 471]). Since Cyril's time this has become the customary practice.

• Cf. Leo IV Ct 855). PL ns, 677.

a custom probably dating back to Apostolic times. When Augustine said, "We should listen to the Gospel as though God himself spoke to us, " he expressed the opinion of all Christendom.

The Gospel, like the other lessons, was read originally by the lector. 6 Cyprian (A.D. 258), explaining his reason for conferring the order of lector on Celerinus, a man who had been tonured for the faith and still bore the scars of his ordeal, said : " Should he not be placed in full view on the am.ho. . • so that, raised up on this higher place and shown to the people in honor of his fame, he may read the precepts and Gospel of the Lord, which he has always observed with courage and fidelity? May the voice that has con­fessed the Lord be heard speaking every day the things the Lord has said. . . . No one is better able to read the Gospel to his brethren than a confessor, because all who hear him can set forth his faith as an example to themselves .... '' •

Gradually, however, this sense of the Gospel's importance led to the idea that its reading should be reserved to the higher ministers. By the beginning of the fifth century, in most places it had become the deacon's prerogative. 7 In the Latin Church, at the ordination of a deacon, this privilege had not been expressed during the first ten centuries, nor is it in any of the Eastern ordination rites today. Yet, the tradition is wholly in accord with the deep reverence shown to the Gospel in all the Church's Rites. In fact, it could not have been long after the deacons assumed the duty of reading the Gospel that other members of the higher clergy began doing so. Sozomen (fl. 439-450), for example, tells us that in Constantinople the bishop read the Gospel on Easter day; in Alexandria, the archdeacon; and " in other places, deacons read the Gospel, in many churches priests only." 8 In Jerusalem, at least, on Sundays, the function was reserved to the bishop. 0 An interesting custom arose in the W estem

• Tract 30 in Joan. (PL 35, 1633). • Justin, First Apology, chap. 67. • Cyprian, Ep. 34 (PL 4' 323). 7 Thus, the Apostolic Constitutions (Book II, lvn, 7, see p. 145); St. Jerome

(Ep. 147, § 6 [PL 22, 1200]); Testammtum Domini (1. I, 27, edit. I.E. Rahmani, Testamentum Domini Nastri Jesu Christi: Mainz, 1899, p. 58 [59}), etc.

• Hist. eccl., VII, 19 (PG 67, 1477 A). During Chrysostom's time at Constan­tinople it seems that the Gospel was read by the celebrant; cf. Socrates, Hist. eccl., vn, s (PG 67, 745 CD).

Church at the Christmas midnight Mass when the Roman emperor stood in full regalia to sing the Gospel. This was probably inspired by the first line of the Gospel of this Mass : " At that time, there went forth a decree from Caesar Augustus ... " 10

Another mark of honor shown directly to the Gospel Book is the practice of bearing lighted tapers, or candles, before it (indirectly this mark of honor is shown to Christ himself, whom the Gospel Book symbolizes). As soon as the Gospel Book is taken by the deacon and carried to the analoj, the candlebearers march out through the side doors of the iconostas and take their place at his right and left. Many of the faithful also stand with lighted candles during the Gospel reading. This practice reaches back into Christian antiquity, for in the fourth century, St. Jerome testified that such a custom was common to all the Oriental Churches even on the brightest day. 11 Besides honoring the word of God, it gives an air of joy to the whole proceedings, a joy expressed more palpably to the senses while all listen to the " glad tidings. " This liturgical usage was no doubt borrowed from secular custom. Lighted torches were an honor especially reserved to the emperor under the Anto­nines; from imperial honors, this privilege passed to other officials of the empire, more specifically, to judges when exercising their duties. 19 Since Constantine's time, bishops were authorized to give judgment in certain cases; such authority was confirmed in A.D. 408. A bishop, therefore, going to court (the basilica) to sit in judgment was preced~d by servants carrying the liber mandatorum (book of law) and four lighted torches or candles. Gradually, perhaps imper­ceptibly at first, these privileges passed from the judicial sphere to the liturgical. The book of the Gospels was substituted for the liber mandatorum. It was then but a step to transfer the honors from the person of the bishop to the Gospel Book itself and to the Supreme Judge whom the book symbolized.

• Aetheriae Peregrinatio, chap. 24, IO (CSEL, XXXIX, 73 f.). 10 E.g., thus, Emperor Charles IV at Basie in 1347, at Mainz in 1353, and at

Carobrai in 1377; Emperor Sigismund at Constance in 1414; Frederick III at Rome in the presence of Pope Paul II, etc.; see L. Biehl, Das liturgische Gebet fflr Kaiser und Reich. pp. 100 f.

11 Jerome, Contra Vigilantium, chap. 7 (PL 23, 346). u Cf. E. G. C. Atchley, A History of the Use of Incense in Divim Worship

(London, 1909), pp. 55 f.

The Gospel of Christ was held in such high esteem that some time before the Council of Orange in A.D. 441, the idea arose that the Gospel was too sacred to be heard by ears other than those of the faithful, for this council decreed that catechumens were not to be excluded, implying that a contrary custom had arisen. 13 Similar attempts must have been made later, for the Roman baptismal rite as revised in the sixth century puts the Gospel in the same category as the sharing of the confession of faith and the Lord's Prayer, traditionally withheld from the uninitiated by the disciplina arcani. There seems to have been no such extreme in any of the Eastern Churches. The traditional rule of the Church from the earliest times certainly was to the follow Lord's advice : "Go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:15-16). This idea is vividly expressed in the Byzantine-Slav Rite, during the Easter Sunday Liturgy, when the Gospel is sung in several lan­guages, usually five or six.

The deacon seeks a blessing from the celebrant to perform his mission : " Master, bless the one who goes to announce the Gospel of the holy Apostle and Evangelist N--. "In the Byzantine Church, this custom dates back at feast to dre tweifth or thirteenth century, since it occurs in the manuscripts of this period. 14

The celebrant invests the deacon with the mission of proclaiming the Holy Gospel, not only by blessing him but also by giving him the

u Canon 18 (Mansi, Sacrorum conciliorum nova et amplissima collectio, Vol. VI, 439). Later councils enacted similar legislation.

" Cf. A. Dmitrievsky, Opysanie liturgicheskikh rukopise:j khraniaschikhsia v bibliotekakh pravoslavnago vostoka, Vol. II, Euchologia (Kiev, 1901), p. 141; Goar, Euchologion, pp. 102, 105; also Krasnoseltsev, Materialy dlja istorii chinopslidovania liturgii sv. Joanna Zlatoustago (Kazan, 1889), pp. 24-25, #

In the Slav Church, the fourteenth or fifteenth century Liturgikon of Metro­politan Isidore bas the blessing in very simple form : after the deacon asks for it, the priest says : "May God, through the prayers of the holy Apostle, Evangelist N-- grant you the power of announcing with great strength " while he imparts the blessing to the deacon; cf. MS. Vat. Slav. No. 14, fols. 128-129. The blessing of the deacon is similar in the fourteenth century Cod. Vat. Slav. No. 9 : " May the Lord, King of (his) beloved (Son's) powers, grant to those who are announcing the power of announcing with great strength, through the prayers of the holy Apostles and Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and all the other holy Apostles." Cf. 0. Hatbatsch, De tribus textibus Liturgicis Linguae Ecclesiasticae (Pa/aeo) Slavicae in Manuscriptis Vaticanis (Rome, 1966), p. 130.

book of the Gospels. The priest prays that the deacon announce the good tidings with great strength as the Apostles did, referring to Acts 4:33. This sending forth of the deacon by the celebrant is the literal answer to St. Paul's question : " How can there be preachers unless preachers are sent on their errand? " (Rom. 10: I 5).

A hushed reverence for the words of the Gospel is enjoined by the acclamations and the celebrant's exhortation as he turns to the congregation and says : " Wisdom! Let us stand straight to listen to the Holy Gospel. "

It is not known precisely when these words were introduced into the Hp.an.tine Liturgy, but they may have originated in fourth­century Syria. Among the directions given by the author of the Apostolic Constitutions, Book II, is the rubric : " While the Gospel is being read, all the priests, deacons, and people should stand up in great silence for it is written,' Be silent and hear, 0 Israel,' and 'But do thou stand there and hear.'" 15 From rubrical direction to textual incorporation is but a step. 18 The early eighth-century Armenian version of Chrysostom's Liturgy has nearly identical words : " Wisdom. Let us stand straight. Listen to the Holy Gospel with fear." 11 The pre-Gospel blessing," Peace be to all," may also reach back to fourth-century Syria. Brightman's recon­struction of the Liturgy at Antioch from Chrysostom's writings puts such a blessing before the homily. 18 This was done in Constanti­nople certainly before the middle of the seventh century. Maximus indicates its position there at the time. 19

Standing for the Gospel reading was not the only mark of respect

16 Apostolic Constitutions, Book II; cf. above, p. 14s. 11 E.g., the acclamation "The Doors, the doors"; see below, p. S31· " Cf. Catergian-Dasian, Die Liturgien bei den Armeniern (Vienna, 1897), pp. 362-

363; also the Erasmian recension of Chrysostom's Liturgy (Goar, Euchologion, p. 10s) and that translated by Leo Thuscus (c. 1200, Paris edit. pp. SS ff.). Silence and attention was enjoined before the Gospel in the Latin Mass up to the seventh and eighth centuries with the words, State cum silentio audientes attente, or with some similar formula; cf. Atchley, Ordi Romanus Primus (London, 190s), 76.

11 Cf. Brightman, LEW, p. 470; for the Pontic Liturgy, see Gregory Naziamen, Or. XXII, I (PG 3S, 1131 A).

10 Maximus, Quaestiones et dubia, 68 (PG 90, 849 A) and Mystagogia, 12 (PG 91, 689 D). Still, it seems not to have been general practice in the whole Byzantine Church, for many later sources omit it.

accorded to the words of Christ; everyone stood bareheaded; 20 even the emperor took off his crown, 11 and bishops their miters (a practice still observed in the Byzantine Rite).

The responses of the faithful, " Glory to Thee, 0 Lord, Glory to Thee," before and after the Gospel are related to the idea that the Gospel Book represents Christ. They are also cries of joy and praise to the Master, who has revealed himself to mankind. This formula dates back to the eighth century and is often found in later codices. 211

The server's reply in the Latin Mass, Gloria tibi, Domi.ne (Glory to Thee, 0 Lord) and Laus tibi, Christe (Praise to Thee, 0 Christ), are the Western parallels to the Byzantine pre-and post-Gospel accla­mations; they have been added to the Latin Mass rather late and could be due to Byzantine influence, since the older answers in the Latin Church were Amen, 11 Deo gratias, and even Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domi.ni. 14

After the Gospel is read, the deacon closes the Gospel Book and takes it to the celebrant to be kissed. 85 This is to indicate how precious and sweet the contents of the Gospels are. It is an act expressing in deed the thought of the psalmist : " More to be desired

11 ApostDlic Constitutions, Book II, 57 (Quasten, Monumenta eucharistica et liturgia vetUStis.rima [Bonn, 1935-1937}, 182); Sozomen, Hist. eccl., VII, 19 (PG 67, 1477 A); Philostorgius, Hist. eccl., III, S (PG 65, 485 AB).

n In the West this was paralleled by the kings and queens of France who took off their crowns.

n E.g., the eighth century Byzantine Armenian Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Catergian-Dasian, op. cit., p. 363); the Erasmian recension of the same Liturgy (Goar, Euchologion, p. 105); the same Liturgy translated by Leo Thuscus (c. 1200;

Paris edit., p. 56); the Constitution of Philotheus (edit. Krasnoseltsev, op. cit., p. 56); etc.

111 Beleth, Rarimrale, 39 (PL 202, 48); Durandus, Rationale, IV, 24> § 30; St. Benedict's Rule, XI •

.. Durandus, op. cit •

.. If any higher prelates, e.g., bishops, are present, custom dictates that the Gospel Book be taken to them also to be kissed. The Latin Rite has a parallel practice. The Latin practice of taking the Gospel Book to the people to be kissed, recounted by Ordo Rom. II, n. 8 (PL 78, 972 B), and popular for a time, especially in the countries of the North, was forbidden by Honorius III in 1221 and was restricted only to those anointed as priests, bishops, and kings (A. Potthast, Regesta pant. Rom., I {Berlin, 1874], p. 573). A similar practice was prevalent in most of the Ruthenian churches (and still is in many), though not after the Gospel reading but during the Little Entrance. The " new " rubrics for the Divine Litur­gy issued during the liturgical reform of 1944 are silent on the point but their very silence would seem to intimate that such a practice is to be abolished.

than gold and many precious stones (are the words of the Lord) and sweeter than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps. 18:11).

The history of the Gospel lections and their arrangement is almost the same as that of the Epistle readings(see pp.418f.,421,above). The present cycle of Gospel pericopes certainly dates back to the eighth century and probably earlier. With a few exceptions, all four Gospels are read through completely at least once during the liturgical year at the Divine Liturgy; the exceptions mostly consist in Gospel pericopes for the great holy days and those describing the passion and death of the Lord (these latter, however, are read during the Service of the Holy and Redeeming Sufferings of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the special Matins for Good Friday). Beginning with Easter Sunday, the Gospel of St. John is read until Pentecost Sunday : the remaining chapters are read (a) during the Divine Liturgy on Lazarus Saturday (Saturday before Palm Sunday) and on Palm Sunday itself, (b) during the Service of the Holy and Redeeming Sufferings of Our Lord, i.e., Matins for Good Friday, and (c) during those times when any of the last five of the eleven regular resurrectional Gospels for Sunday Matins is read. The outline below illustrates not only how the whole Gospel of St. John is read during the year but also when its component pericopes are used (the numbers in parentheses indicate the order for continuous reading) :

Period (1) Easter Sunday John • (2) Easter Monday • . •

Easter Tuesday-exception (3) Wednesday (6) ThUisday . • . • (5) Friday • • . • .

Pericope

1:1-17 1:18-28

1:29-51 3:1-15 2:12-22 3:22-36 (8) SatUiday . . . .

(55) {2nd Sunday, after St. Thomas Sunday

Easter, i.e., 20:10-31

(4) Monday • ( 7) Tuesday .

(12) Wednesday (13) ThUisday . (14) Friday . . (16) SatUiday .

2:1-11 3:16-21 5:17-24 5:25-30

5:30-47, 6:1-2 6:14-27

3rd Sunday after Easter, exception i.e., Ointment-bearing Women

(IO) Monday 4:46-54 (17) Tuesday . . . . . 6:27-33

Period Pericope (18) Wednesday 6:35-40 (19) Thursday • 6:40-44 (20) Friday . . 6:48-55 (45) SatUiday • . 15:12-27, 16:1-2

(11) 4th Sunday, after Easter, i.e., Sun. of the Paralytic Man

(21) Monday . (22) Tuesday . (23) Wednesday (25) Thursday . (26) Friday • (27) SatUiday .

(9) 5th Sunday after Easter, i.e., Sunday of Samar-

itan Woman (28) Monday . (29) Tuesday • (15) Wednesday

5:1-15 6:57-70 7:1-13 7:14-44 8:12-20 8:21-30 8:31-42

4:5-42 8:42-51 8:51-59 6:5-14

Period

(31) Thursday (32) Friday . (33) Saturday

Pericope

9:39-41, 10:1-9 10:17-28 10:27-38

(30) 6th Sunday after Easter, i.e., Sunday of Man

Born Blind (35) Monday . (37) Tuesday . (38) Wednesday

Ascension exception (42) Friday . . • • • • (43) Saturday . . . • • (49) 7th Sunday after Easter

i.e., Sunday of the Holy Fathers

9:1-39 u:47-56 12:19-36 12:36-47

14:1-u 14:10-21

17:1-13 (44) Monday (46) Tuesday . (47) Wednesday (48) Thursday . (50) Friday • (58) Saturday •

14:27-31, 15:1 . 16:2-13

(24) Pentecost Sunday

. 16:15-23 • 16:23-33 17:1, 18-26

21:15-25

7:37-52 (37, 38) Wednesday before

Palm Sunday • • • • 12:17-50

Period Pericope

(34) Saturday before Palm Sunday . • • . . 11:1-45

(36) Palm Sunday 12:1-18

(39, 40) Holy Thursday at Liturgy . . . . 13:3-17

Good Friday Matins (41) First Gospel John . 13:31-50 (42, 43, 44) First Gospel 14 complete (45) First Gospel 15 complete (46, 47, 48) First Gospel 16 complete (49, 50) First Gospel 17 complete (51) First Gospel . • 18:1 (51) Second Gospel . . . 18:1-28 (52) Fourth Gospel 18:28-40, 19:1-16 (53) Ninth Gospel • . . 19:25-37 (54) Eleventh Gospel . . 19:38-42

Sunday Matins, Eleven Resurrectional Gospels

(55) Seventh Gospel John . (56) Eighth Gospel John (57) Ninth Gospel (58) Tenth Gospel (59) Eleventh Gospel

20:1-10 20:11-18 20:19-31 21:1-14 21:15-25

Aside from an occasional final verse of a chapter, only a few passages from the entire Gospel are unaccounted for, namely, John 8:1-12, 13:18-30, and 19:17-24. Several Gospel passages, how~ver, are duplicated (e.g., those indicated above by nos. 37-38, 42-51, 55, 58). The Gospels of the other evangelists are read in a similar way. Without going into detail, we may mention that from Pentecost to Palm Sunday the entire Gospels of Mat­thew, Luke, and Mark are read in more or less this sequence: from Pentecost Monday to the Monday of the week preceding the twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, St. Matthew's Gospel (also on Saturdays and Sundays of the following six weeks); from Monday of the week preceding the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost to the Monday of the week preceding the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, the Gospel of St. Mark during all weekdays (i.e., except Saturdays and Sundays); from the Monday of the week preceding the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost to the Monday of the week preceding the thirtieth Sunday after Pentecost (and on Saturdays and Sundays of the following five weeks); from the Monday of the week preceding the thirtieth Sunday

after Pentecost to Cheese Fare Week, i.e., the week preceding Lent, St. Mark's Gospel again on all weekdays (except on Saturdays and Sunday). The remaining passages of these three Gospels are read during Cheese Fare Week and Lent until Palm Sunday, as well as during the Good Friday Matins and those times when any of the first six of the regular eleven Resurrectional Gospels are read. Like the Gospel of St. John, the other three are read through completely during the liturgical year in a more or less continuous order (see table, p. 422).

The Ukrainian or Russian peasant, even if illiterate, knew the contents of the Bible by the truly remarkable use of the Scriptures in his parish church-not only the New Testament, but also the Law (the Pentateuch) and the Prophets, read during solemn Vespers and Matins on Sundays and holy days. These latter services were known and loved by lay people no less than by monks, as is evident even today in the immigrants who without any special training or ability can sing almost all of these services from memory! The word of God is indeed a seed of life, which brings forth the fruits of salvation a hundredfold. Like the Eucharist, so the Gospel words are " the spirit and the life" (John 6:64). Jesus never spoke abstractly, nor did he present doctrinal definitions to the ordinary people of his day. He always spoke in parables, he told them stories illustrating his revolutionary doctrines. He told them of the merciful, charitable Samaritan and his Jewish enemy, or he contrasted the poor, humble publican with the haughty, race-proud Pharisee. Instead of speaking abstractly of repentance, he told them the story of the forgiving, loving Father and his prodigal but repentant son. That is why he could capture the attention of his audience and they would listen enthralled, understand his lessons and forget little. He does no less today through his Lirorgy.

The Homily

The sermon preached after the Gospel lesson is no more an inter­polation than are the lessons themselves, for it reaches back to the Jewish Sabbath service of the synagogue where there was always an explanation of the Scriptures just read. The Lord himself took

ANNUAL CYCLE OF EPISTLES

Week Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

Acts Easter IS[ Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts Acts .

I!! 2nd . . n . . " . i::

31"d . " . . . n " ~ 4th . . . . . . " =i 5th . . . " . " . p..

6th . . . . . . . 7th

. . . . " " " Pentcc. Ist Eph. I Rom. Rom. Rom. Rom. Rom. Hehr. 2nd Rom. " . . " " Rom • 31"d " " . " . . " 4th . . . . . " . 5th " . . . . n " 6th n I I Cor. I Cor. I Cor. I Cor. . n

7th I Cor. . . n . . " 8th . . n . . . ICor. 9th " . " . . . .

loth . . . II Cor. II Cor • . . nth II Cor. II Cor. II Cor. . . I Cor. " 12th . . . . ~ . . 13th . " . . . " .

§ 14th . . n Gal. Gal. " II Cor •

i 15th Gal. Gal. Gal. . n . . 16th . . . Eph. Eph. . . 17th Eph. Eph. Eph. n n " .

~ 18th . . " . . " . 19th Phil. Phil. Phil: Phil. Phil. . .

~ 2oth . n n n . II Cor • Gal • 218t . leo1. Col. Col. Col. " . 22nd Col. " n " " " . ,___ 23rd I Thess. I Thess. I Thess. I Thess. I Thess. . Eph.

24th . . " . n . . 25th II Thess. II Thess. II Thess. II Thess. II Thess Gal. . 26th I Tim. I Tim. I Tim. !Tim. I Tim. " . 27th . . . . II Tim • " n

28th II Tim. II Tim. II Tim. I Tit. I Tit. Eph. Col. 29th Heb. Heb. Heb. Heb. Heb. n " 30th . . . . . " . 3rst " . James James James Col. I Tim.

320d James James . " I Pet. I Thess. . ... 33rd I Pet. I Pet. I Pet. I Pet. II Pet. II Tim. II Tim.

~ 34th II Pet. II Pet. II Pet. I John I John " I Cor.

l 35th I John I John I John . II John I Cor. . 36th III John Jude a-lit. Jude a-lit. Rom. Rom.

IS[ a-lit. a-lit. Pre a-lit. Pre Heb. Heb. 2nd n . sanct • . sanct. . .

! 31"d . n . . n n . 4th . . . . . " . 5th " " . " . ,,

" 6th . " " " n . Phil •. Palm

Holy Week Presanctified Gifts I Cor. a-lit. Rom. Sunday

such an opportunity to preach to the people at Nazareth (Luke 4: 16-30; Mark 6:2-4); Paul and Barnabas similarly preached after the lessons in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13:14-47). In the primitive Christian assemblies, Justin tells us, on Sundays after the reader finished the lections, " the one presiding gives a speech in which he admonishes and exhorts (all) to imitate these beautiful teachings. " 26 In his sermons Origen constantly says : " Let us attend to what has been read, " 27 and the very contents of his homilies prove that the sermons followed the lessons. 38 The great Augustine indicated the same in one of his sermons when he said : " First we have heard the lesson from the Apostle. . . . After that the lesson from the Gospel showed us the ten lepers healed. " 211

Others-for example, Oement of Alexandria, Tertullian, the author of the Apostolic Constitutions (Book II), and Cyprian-leave no doubt whatever that the sermon followed the readings in the early Christian synaxis. 80 In short, all early evidence indicates that the bishop's sermon was indeed an integral part of the synaxis; in fact, without it the service was considered liturgically incomplete. Pre-Nicene Christians everywhere believed that the bishop received a special gift {charisma) at his consecration to fulfill his office of preacher. Preaching sermons was regarded as much a bishop's " special liturgy " as was his offering of the Eucharistic Sacrifice. In the third century, at a synaxis in Caesarea, Origen scandalized the faithful because he was not a bishop and yet dared to preach! 31

That he did so at the invitation of the local bishop seems to have made no difference. In Hippo, in North Africa, as late as the close of the fourth century, the people were indignant because their aged bishop had delegated the faculty to preach at the synaxis to St. Au­gustine who was not then a bishop. After the downfall of Arius,

"Justin Martyr, First Apology, chap. 67. 11 E.g., In Gen. homil., 1, 17 (PG 12, 16o). 18 In Gen. homil., x, 1 (PG 12, 215); In ex. homil., vn, 8 (PG 12, 349); In Lev.

homil., IV, 9 (PG 12, 444), etc. ••Senno clxxvi, I (PL 38, 950). ••Clement of Alexandria, Strom., 6, 14 (PG 9, 337); Tertullian, De praescript.,

36 (PL 2, 49); Apostolic Constitutions, Book II (cf. above, p. 145); Cyprian, De mortalitate, I (Hartel 1, 297).

•1 Cf. 0. Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchlichen Literatur (2nd edit.; Frei­burg, 1914), II, pp. 108 f.

priests were forbidden to preach in Alexandria and North Africa. 31

This condition prevailed until the beginning of the fifth century. For a long time, Rome and Italy had similar regulations. 93 We should remember that almost every town was a bishopric at the time. Such restrictive measures prove the strong conviction of the people regarding the bishop's gifts in fulfilling his " special liturgy" of preaching. In the Eastern Church, it showed itself in a different way : while the practice of having more than one preacher at the Sunday synax.is was common by the fourth century, the bishop always spoke last because he was seen as the voice of authentic teaching in matters of faith. This liturgical teaching authority, or office, was even more vividly expressed in another custom : the bishop always preached from his cathedra, his seat of authority. 31

There was a rule in the Egyptian Church that the bishop, while preaching, was to hold the Gospel Book in his hand-another sign of his special authority. Judging from ancient Byzantine icons of holy bishops and confessors, it seems that such a practice was not limited to Egypt. u

Everywhere in the ancient Church the sermon was considered as much a part of the service as were the readings. The sermon's proper liturgical place is immediately after the Gospel. In the Latin rite, many regarded the sermon as an interpolation rather than an integral part of the Liturgy. This may be due to the pre-Vatican II tendency to regard as non-liturgical anything in the vernacular, any more or less extemporaneous text, anything that was not standard and invariable. In the primitive Church, however, even the anaph­ora, the canon of the Mass, was more or less extemporaneous, and certainly far from" standardized" (see above, p. 55).

""Socrates, Hist. eccl., V, 22 (PG 67, 64o); Sozomen, Hist. eccl., VII, 19 (PG 67, 1476 f.) •

.. This is evident from the letter of disapproval sent from Rome to the bishops of Provence, where priests were beginning to preach (Celestine I, Ep. 21, 2 (PL 50, 528-530) •

.. This, of course, was true of both the Eastern and the Western Church. Chrysostom, however, preached from the ambo, a course of action dictated more by practical considerations than by any other. Similar considerations probably induced the present practice of bishops preaching from the amvon.

*' In modem times, Byzantine bishops hold the pastoral staff (crozier) while they preach. This, again, is a sign of authority.