Week 5

The Divine Liturgy of St. James is among the oldest Eucharistic services in continuous use. It is the ancient liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem and is attributed to the Apostle James the Just, the Brother of the Lord. It is often celebrated in Eastern Orthodox Churches on the feast of St. James (October 23).The general scholarly consensus is that this liturgy originated in Jerusalem during the late fourth or early fifth century. It quickly became the primary liturgy in Jerusalem and Antioch. Although it was later superseded in Jerusalem and Antioch by the Liturgy of St. Basil and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, it had already spread to other areas of the Church. The oldest manuscript traditions are in Greek and Syriac, and there are also extant manuscripts in Armenian, Ethiopic, Georgian, and Old Slavonic.

One leading theory today is that of John Fenwick, who argues that the similarities between this liturgy and that of St. Basil demonstrate their respective developments from a common source, now lost, but which is best preserved in the Egyptian recension of the Liturgy of St Basil. Fenwick suggests that the Liturgy of St. James was composed by St. Cyril of Jerusalem c. 370.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the liturgy is now generally only celebrated on the Feast of St. James, on October 23rd, and only in some parishes and monasteries, particularly in the Jerusalem Patriarchate. Two different rubrics are commonly followed; the Slavonic liturgy linked to in full below is celebrated in the traditional manner, ad orientem, on an altar behind the iconostasis, in a manner similar to the contemporary Syriac Orthodox use.

In the Greek-speaking Orthodox communities, such as in the Jerusalem Patriarchate, the liturgy is commonly celebrated in a very different manner, with a temporary altar erected in front of the iconostasis, and the celebrant conducting the liturgy versus populum. This version is frequently celebrated with 12 priests and 1 bishop, or 13 priests, in order to convey the idea of the re-enactment of the Last Supper.

Liturgy of the Catechumens
In the Byzantine use, the Liturgy of the Catechumens proceeds in a manner relatively similar to that of the other Divine Liturgies. Present editions include the essentially the standard litanies, incense is offered, the Trisagion is sung, and the lessons proceed as normal. The content of some of the prayers is somewhat different, however, most notably the petition with which the celebrant concludes the Prothesis.

"Defiled as I am by many sins, do not utterly reject me, Master, Lord, our God. For see, I draw near to this divine and heavenly mystery, not as though I were worthy, but, looking to your goodness, I raise my voice to you, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner. For I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am not worthy to lift up my eyes to this your sacred and spiritual Table, on which your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, is mystically set forth as a sacrifice by me, a sinner stained by every defilement. Therefore I bring you this supplication, that your Spirit, the Advocate, may be sent down to me, strengthening and preparing me for this ministry. And grant that without condemnation the word that has been declared by you may be proclaimed by me to the people in Christ Jesus our Lord, with whom you are blessed, together with your all-holy, good, life-giving and consubstantial Spirit, now and for ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen."

Liturgy of the Faithful
Following the Dismissal of the Catechumens, the changes in content become more noticeable, as the hymn Let All Mortal Flesh Be Silent is sung; this hymn is also sung during the Vesperal Liturgy of St. Basil on Great and Holy Saturday. The Anaphora itself is quite long, and highly formal, although it does not in present recensions stretch out to its once-legendary length (for it is said that Basil, observing the difficulty people had standing through the four hour liturgy of St. James, shortened it in his own liturgy to two and a half hours, and St. John Chrysostom, not without some annoyance, was forced to shave off an additional hour when composing his own liturgy, now the standard liturgy of the Orthodox Church, owing to the short attention span of his flock).

In the Eucharistic Epiclesis, following the words of institution, the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Gifts is emphasized with particular vigor. This is by no means a weak epiclesis, but is as intense and passionate as that of St. John Chrysostom itself, attesting to an ancient belief in the real change of the elements.