Liturgies Eastern and Western (Hammond)

Preface.

...who has kindly allowed me to copy them, as well as his version of that liturgy.

References to the Psalms follow the numbering found in our English Bible Version. Beginners may need to be reminded that this numbering is different from that used in the Septuagint original: "LXX"; the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament. and the Vulgate The 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible..

The method used to divide the liturgies into sections is important. It will make it much easier to compare the contents, arrangement, and individual parts of different liturgies. Each of these sections—those marked with Roman numerals—may be seen as a separate "act," so to speak. The contents of each section are more closely connected to each other than they are to what comes before or after. For example, this division helps one easily trace the different ways the Lord's Prayer is used in various liturgies. In the first group of liturgies, as well as in all those from the West, it is connected to the Great Intercession A series of formal prayers offered for the church, the world, and those in need. and thus to the Great Oblation The formal offering of the bread and wine to God during the service.; it serves as the crown and summary of that portion. In the second and third groups, it is connected to the Communion, though its specific position varies. In most of those liturgies, it is joined to the preparatory portion, whether that is the ritual preparation (such as the Fraction The ritual breaking of the consecrated bread. or Commixture The ritual of placing a piece of the bread into the chalice of wine.) or the preparation of the communicants (such as the Prayer of Humble Access). However, in the Ethiopian General Canon original: "Canon Universalis"; the standard form of the communion service in the Ethiopian Church., it is joined to the post-communion, just as it is in our own service.

The letters a, b, c, and so on, which are also placed in the margin, are purely arbitrary signs. They are included merely as a convenient way to refer to specific prayers or rubrics Instructions for conducting the service, traditionally written in red.. They have no further significance.

The bold type used in the text of the Greek liturgies is intended to show how much the wording coincides with the Septuagint or the Greek New Testament. No such...