Eastern liturgy denotes the whole of the great worship traditions of the Christian East — and, as far as the Catholic Church is concerned, the liturgies of the twenty-three Eastern Churches in full communion with Rome. Where the Latin West, since the Council of Trent, has known a strong unification around the Roman rite, the Christian East has preserved a plurality of liturgical families coming directly from the great apostolic centres: Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Edessa, Constantinople, Armenia.
These liturgies are not decorative variants of one and the same Mass: they are entire apostolic forms of the one Eucharistic mystery of Christ. The Second Vatican Council solemnly recalled this: the Church “holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity”, and wishes “to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way”[1]. A Melkite, Ukrainian, Coptic or Chaldean faithful therefore does not celebrate an “Eastern Latin rite”: he celebrates his own liturgy, as Catholic and as ancient as that of Rome.
In essence, Eastern liturgy is distinguished by a few striking traits: the centrality of the epiclesis (the prayer invoking the Holy Spirit upon the gifts), the use of leavened (fermented) bread, chrismation given together with baptism even to infants, the iconostasis which closes off and reveals the sanctuary, singing without instruments (in the Byzantine tradition in particular), and an intense theology of mystery: liturgy is lived there as “heaven on earth”, an anticipation of the heavenly liturgy.
This article treats the liturgy itself — its structure, its theology, its time, its chant. For the Churches that celebrate it (their history, their unions with Rome, their demography), see The Eastern Catholic Churches; for the overview of all Catholic rites, Latin ones included, see The Catholic liturgical rites.
What is Eastern liturgy?
“Liturgy”: the common work of the people of God
The word liturgy comes from the Greek leitourgia, made up of laos (the people) and ergon (the work): in the Greek city it denoted a public service rendered in the name of all. Greek Christianity kept it to name the public worship of the Church, and particularly the Eucharistic celebration. That is why, throughout the Byzantine world, the Eucharist is simply called the Divine Liturgy (Theia Leitourgia), “the divine service” par excellence[2].
The term already states a theology: liturgy is not the private business of the priest, but the action of Christ and of his whole Body. The East has always stressed this with particular force, making the celebration a choral work in which deacon, choir, people and celebrant weave an unbroken dialogue.
One mystery, many traditions
The diversity of liturgies is not a regrettable accident, but the normal fruit of the Church's mission. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states it as a principle:
“The mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich that it cannot be exhausted by its expression in any single liturgical tradition.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1201[3]
In the first centuries, each great apostolic Church developed its own eucology (its prayers), its calendar and its lectionary, in substantial fidelity to the faith received from the Apostles. The anaphoras — that is, the Eucharistic prayers in the technical sense — multiplied: the anaphora of Saint James at Jerusalem, of Saint Mark at Alexandria, of Addai and Mari at Edessa, of Saint Basil in Cappadocia, of Saint John Chrysostom at Antioch then Constantinople. It is this thicket of apostolic liturgies that the East preserved, where the Latin West kept essentially only one, the Roman Canon — apart from a few proper Latin rites that survived, such as the Ambrosian rite at Milan and the Mozarabic rite at Toledo, by virtue of the exception granted in 1570 to liturgies more than two hundred years old[4] —, until the reform of 1969[5].
The proper law of the Catholic East has given this heritage a precise canonical definition. The Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches thus defines the word “rite” — showing that liturgy is never isolated from a theology and a spirituality:
“A rite is the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, distinguished by the culture and historical circumstances of peoples, which is expressed in each Church sui iuris's own way of living the faith.” — Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 28 § 1[6]
Eastern, not “Orthodox”: a necessary clarification
A frequent confusion must be cleared up at the outset. Many Orthodox Christians (Byzantine, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian…) celebrate these same Eastern liturgies, but outside full communion with Rome since the ruptures of the first and second millennia. The Eastern Catholic Churches, for their part, celebrate the same rites while being fully Catholic, united to the pope. Eastern liturgy is therefore not the mark of a “non-Roman” belonging: for Eastern Catholics it is the Catholic form of their tradition. On the historical ruptures and the dialogue with Orthodoxy, see The Great Schism of the East, The Photian Schism and What does the Church say about the Orthodox?.
The five great liturgical traditions of the East
The Christian East grew its liturgies from five main stocks, inherited from five great ecclesial centres of the first millennium. The CCEO names them expressly: the Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean and Constantinopolitan (Byzantine) traditions[7]. All the Eastern Catholic Churches belong to one of these five families.
The Byzantine tradition: the Divine Liturgy
It is by far the most widespread: fourteen of the twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches belong to it — Ukrainian, Melkite, Romanian, Ruthenian, Slovak, Hungarian, Italo-Albanian, and others[8]. Born of the rite of Antioch, perfected at Constantinople by the Cappadocian Fathers, it celebrates the Divine Liturgy in three forms: that of Saint John Chrysostom (the most frequent), that of Saint Basil the Great (about ten times a year, on the great days), and the Liturgy of the Presanctified (on the weekdays of Great Lent), traditionally attributed to Saint Gregory the Dialogist[9] [10]. It is the liturgy of the iconostasis, of abundant incense, of processions and of singing in several choirs.
The Alexandrian tradition: the liturgy of Saint Mark
Issuing from the liturgy of Saint Mark at Alexandria, it is carried by three Catholic Churches: Coptic, Ethiopian and Eritrean. The Coptic form of Saint Mark is also called the anaphora of Saint Cyril; in current practice it is the anaphora of Saint Basil (Coptic form) that is most used, completed by that of Saint Gregory — remarkable because it is addressed to Christ himself and not to the Father[11]. The Ethiopian branch, in the Ge'ez language, is one of the most exuberant in Christendom: long celebrations, with sistrum, drum and hand-clapping setting the rhythm of the chant. The Alexandrian tradition is famed for its hieratic character and its extreme antiquity.
The Antiochene tradition (West Syriac)
Heir to the ancient rite of Antioch enriched by the contribution of Jerusalem, it has for its matrix the liturgy of Saint James, attributed to James, “the brother of the Lord” and first bishop of Jerusalem[12]. Its Eucharist is called Qurbono (“the offering”, in Syriac, a late dialect of Aramaic — the language spoken by Christ). A striking trait: no Christian rite possesses so many anaphoras — about eighty are known, a dozen of them in use[13]. Belonging to it are the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Church (India) and the Maronite Church (Lebanon), the only Eastern Church with no Orthodox counterpart. The Maronite rite, heavily Latinized between the 16th and 20th centuries, underwent a methodical de-Latinization starting from the new Book of Offering (1992), which restored its proper anaphora, called Sharar or “Third Anaphora of Saint Peter”[14].
The Chaldean tradition (East Syriac)
Born east of the Roman Empire — at Edessa, in Mesopotamia and in Persia —, it is the tradition of the ancient Church of the East, whose legend traces its origin to Saint Thomas and his disciples Addai and Mari. It employs three anaphoras: Addai and Mari (the most frequent), Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius[15]. The anaphora of Addai and Mari is one of the oldest preserved Christian anaphoras, and presents a major singularity to which we shall return below: it contains no coherent, literal narrative of the institution. Belonging to it are the Chaldean Church (Iraq) and the Syro-Malabar Church (India), the most numerous of the Eastern Catholic Churches, directly descended from the Saint Thomas Christians[16].
The Armenian tradition: the Patarag
Armenia was, according to tradition, the first kingdom officially to embrace Christianity, under the evangelization of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (around 301). Its liturgy, the Patarag (“the sacrifice”), is celebrated in classical Armenian (grabar) and employs — a rarity in the East — only one regular anaphora, attributed to Saint Athanasius[17]. It presents two unique particularities among the great Eastern rites, shared with the Latin West alone: the use of pure wine, with no water added to the chalice, and the use of unleavened bread, without leaven. The Armenian Catholic Church, whose patriarch resides in Beirut, is its Catholic heir.
The table below sums up these five families. The figures for sui iuris Churches follow the count of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) and of the Annuario Pontificio[18].
| Liturgical tradition | Home centre | Principal Eucharistic liturgy | Classical languages | Catholic sui iuris Churches |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byzantine | Antioch → Constantinople | Divine Liturgy (Chrysostom, Basil, Presanctified) | Greek, Slavonic, Arabic, Romanian… | 14 (Ukrainian, Melkite, Ruthenian, Romanian…) |
| Alexandrian | Alexandria (Saint Mark) | Anaphoras of Cyril, Basil, Gregory | Coptic, Ge'ez, Arabic | 3 (Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean) |
| Antiochene (W. Syr.) | Antioch + Jerusalem (Saint James) | Qurbono (≈ 80 anaphoras) | Syriac, Arabic, Malayalam | 3 (Maronite, Syriac, Syro-Malankara) |
| Chaldean (E. Syr.) | Edessa / Seleucia-Ctesiphon | Qurbana (Addai and Mari, Theodore, Nestorius) | Eastern Syriac, Malayalam | 2 (Chaldean, Syro-Malabar) |
| Armenian | Kingdom of Armenia | Patarag (anaphora of Saint Athanasius) | Classical Armenian (grabar) | 1 (Armenian) |
The Byzantine Divine Liturgy, step by step
Because it is the most celebrated and the best documented, the Byzantine Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom serves here as the guiding thread. Its structure has been remarkably stable for more than a millennium and unfolds the Eucharistic mystery in three great moments: the preparation of the gifts, the liturgy of the Word and the liturgy of the Sacrifice[19].
The proskomedia: preparing the Lamb
Even before the assembly has gathered, the priest celebrates apart, on the small table of prothesis, the proskomedia (“the offering”): the preparation of the gifts. He cuts out from a leavened loaf, the prosphora — stamped with the seal IC XC NIKA (“Jesus Christ conquers”) —, a central cube called the Lamb (Amnos), which he pierces with a small liturgical lance while repeating the words of the Passion. Around the Lamb, on the diskos (the paten), he arranges particles in honour of the Mother of God, the saints, the living and the dead[20]. The whole mystery of salvation is already there in miniature: the hidden Nativity, the sacrifice, the Church gathered around her Lord.
The Liturgy of the Catechumens: the proclaimed Word
Then opens the liturgy of the Word, called “of the catechumens” because in former times they could attend it before being dismissed.
The Little Entrance and the Trisagion
After the Great Litany (the diaconal petitions, punctuated by the choir's Kyrie eleison) and the antiphons comes the Little Entrance: a solemn procession carrying the book of the Gospels, flanked by candles. The assembly then sings the Trisagion, the “thrice-holy hymn”:
“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.” — Trisagion, hymn of the Byzantine Divine Liturgy[21]
The readings and the homily
Then follow the reading of the Apostle (the epistle), chanted by a reader, then that of the Gospel, proclaimed by the deacon, and the homily. Where Latin liturgy is sober, Byzantine liturgy enfolds the Word in incense, chant and gesture, to signify that Christ himself comes to speak to his people.
The Liturgy of the Faithful: the sacrifice
Finally comes the heart of the celebration, the Eucharistic liturgy properly so called, once reserved to the baptized alone.
The Cherubic Hymn and the Great Entrance
The choir intones the Cherubic Hymn (Cherouvikon), introduced into the liturgy under Emperor Justin II in the 6th century[22]:
“We who mystically represent the Cherubim, and sing the thrice-holy hymn to the life-giving Trinity, let us now lay aside every earthly care, that we may receive the King of all.” — Cherubic Hymn, Byzantine Divine Liturgy[23]
During this chant takes place the Great Entrance: the solemn procession transferring the prepared gifts from the prothesis to the altar. The people bow as what will become the Body and Blood of the Lord passes by.
The anaphora: from the Sanctus to the epiclesis
After the Creed comes the great Eucharistic prayer, the anaphora. It unfolds in an order that will be found again, mutatis mutandis, in all Eastern liturgies: the opening dialogue (“Let us lift up our hearts”), the preface, the Sanctus, the narrative of the institution, the anamnesis (the memorial of the Passion, the Resurrection and the Ascension), then the epiclesis — the invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the gifts — and finally the intercessions for the living and the dead[24]. This place and weight of the epiclesis are so characteristic that they deserve a section of their own (see below).
Communion by spoon and the antidoron
After the Our Father and the elevation — “Holy things for the holy!”, to which the choir answers “One is holy, one is Lord, Jesus Christ”[25] — comes communion. In the Byzantine rite, the faithful communicate under both species at once, by means of a liturgical spoon (labis) placing in the mouth a particle of the Body steeped in the Blood; this usage became general around the 9th century[26]. At the end, all receive, communicants or not, the antidoron: the blessed bread (the remainder of the prosphora loaves), received as a sacramental and a sign of fraternal communion.
The epiclesis: the pneumatological heart of Eastern liturgy
If one trait had to be named that sums up the genius of Eastern liturgy, it would be the epiclesis (from the Greek epiklèsis, “invocation”). It is the prayer by which the celebrant begs the Father to send his Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ[27].
Invoking the Spirit upon the gifts
In the liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, after the narrative of the institution and the anamnesis, the priest bows and prays:
“We offer to You also this spiritual and unbloody worship, and we ask, pray and entreat You: send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these gifts here present […] and make this bread the precious Body of Your Christ […] and that which is in this cup, the precious Blood of Your Christ […] changing them by Your Holy Spirit.” — Epiclesis of the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom[28]
All Eastern pneumatology is there: nothing is done in the Church without the Holy Spirit, and it is he who, descending upon the gifts and upon the assembly, accomplishes the mystery. Liturgy thus becomes a new Pentecost at every celebration.
East and West: two accents, one faith
East and West have sometimes been contrasted over the “moment” of consecration: for classical Latin theology, it is the words of Christ (“This is my body…”) that consecrate; for the Eastern tradition, the epiclesis is at least essential to the consecration[29]. But the Catholic Church does not settle this question as an opposition: it receives the two accents as complementary. The Catechism places anamnesis and epiclesis together at the heart of every celebration:
“With the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart of each sacramental celebration, most especially of the Eucharist.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1106[30]
And it expressly recognizes the Eastern order, noting that “certain liturgical traditions place the epiclesis after the anamnesis”[31]. Far from being an anomaly, the Eastern epiclesis reminds the whole West of a truth that the Eucharistic Prayer of Paul VI has moreover reintegrated: there is no Eucharist without the Spirit.
The anaphora of Addai and Mari and the 2001 decision
The central place of the epiclesis sheds light on a case that might seem disconcerting: the anaphora of Addai and Mari, proper to the Chaldean tradition, contains no explicit, continuous narrative of the words of institution. How then can it be valid?
In 2001, after long study, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith concluded (on 17 January, with the approval of John Paul II) that this very ancient anaphora may be considered valid. The Guidelines published on 20 July 2001 by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity explain why:
“The words of the Eucharistic Institution are indeed present in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, not in a coherent narrative way and ad litteram, but rather in a dispersed euchological way, that is, integrated in successive prayers of thanksgiving, praise and intercession.” — Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Guidelines of 20 July 2001[32]
The decision is weighty with meaning: it shows that the Church judges the validity of a liturgy by the intention and substance of the whole anaphora, not by the isolated presence of one formula. It is one of the strongest magisterial recognitions of the proper value of Eastern liturgies.
Leavened bread, wine, azymes: signs and quarrels
Fermented bread and its symbolism
With rare exceptions, the Churches of the East consecrate leavened (fermented) bread, where the Latin West ended up preferring unleavened bread (azyme)[33]. Far from a detail, this choice carries a theology. For the Byzantine theologians of the Middle Ages, the bread that rises, alive and warm with leaven, signifies the risen Christ, animated by a human soul; unleavened bread, “inert as a stone”, could in their view symbolize only a Christ without a soul[34]. The argument is polemical and the Church never made it her own — but it tells of the symbolic density the East attaches to the very matter of the sacrament.
The exceptions: Armenians and Maronites
Two Eastern traditions are exceptions and employ, like the Latins, unleavened bread: the Armenians (who add the use of pure wine, without water) and, historically, the Maronites[35] [36]. These variations recall that no liturgical family is a frozen bloc: each has its own coherence, inherited from its history.
The quarrel of the azymes (1054) and the Council of Florence
The difference of bread even played a role in the tensions between Rome and Constantinople. In 1054, in the context of the clashes that led to the mutual excommunication laid upon the altar of Hagia Sophia on 16 July, Patriarch Michael Cerularius reproached the Latins for their unleavened bread[37]. But the Catholic Church settled this false problem in the clearest way at the Council of Florence (1439), declaring that the matter holds good in both usages:
“The Body of Christ is truly confected in wheaten bread, whether unleavened or leavened; and priests should confect the Body of the Lord in either.” — Council of Florence, decree for the Greeks, 1439[38]
The quarrel of the azymes is thus a textbook case: what served as a pretext for rupture is, for the Catholic faith, a legitimate diversity of signs around one and the same mystery. On this council of union, see The Council of Florence.
“Heaven on earth”: the theology of Eastern liturgy
More than by its rubrics, Eastern liturgy is recognized by an experience: that of being already introduced, here below, into the worship of Heaven. It is its deepest theological note.
A liturgy that is already the heavenly liturgy
The famous conversion of Kievan Rus' illustrates this power. According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the envoys of Prince Vladimir, sent to compare religions, returned overwhelmed by the Divine Liturgy celebrated at Hagia Sophia in Constantinople:
“The Greeks led us to the place where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty […]. We know only that God dwells there among men […]. We cannot forget that beauty.” — Tale of Bygone Years (Chronicle of Nestor), account of Vladimir's envoys[39]
This intuition is not a mere aesthetic emotion: it is doctrine. Saint Germanus of Constantinople, in the 8th century, states it in his famous mystagogy:
“The church is an earthly heaven in which the super-celestial God dwells and walks about.” — Saint Germanus of Constantinople, On the Divine Liturgy[40]
And Saint John Chrysostom, describing the celebration of the holy mysteries, dares to say that the angels themselves surround the altar:
“[He saw] on a sudden, so far as was possible for him, a multitude of angels, clothed in shining robes, and encircling the altar, and bending down, as one might see soldiers in the presence of their King.” — Saint John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood, book VI, 4[41]
Saint John Paul II gathered this whole tradition into a lapidary formula: “liturgy is heaven on earth”[42].
The iconostasis: threshold of the sanctuary
The most characteristic visual element of the Byzantine church is the iconostasis: the screen of icons separating the sanctuary from the nave[43]. It is often wrongly described as a wall that “hides” the altar. In reality its theology is the reverse: the iconostasis unites as much as it distinguishes. Covered with icons — windows open onto the Kingdom —, it manifests that the sanctuary is Heaven, and that the earthly liturgy communicates with the liturgy of the saints and angels.
At its centre open the Royal Doors, so named because they lead to the altar where the King of kings is offered; two diaconal doors flank them. The iconographic rule always places the icon of Christ to the right of the Royal Doors and that of the Theotokos (the Mother of God) to the left[44]. Historically, the high iconostasis developed from the low Byzantine templon, between the 6th and 15th centuries, reaching in Russia its monumental forms with several tiers (the Deisis row, the row of feasts, etc.).
The sense of mystery and apophatism
Eastern liturgy is steeped in a keen awareness of God's transcendence — what theology calls apophatism: we know that God is, not what he is. John Paul II stressed this in Orientale Lumen:
“The sense of mystery is so strongly felt by all the faithful of the Christian East.” — Saint John Paul II, Orientale Lumen, no. 6[45]
This awareness gives the celebration its prayerful gravity, its assumed slowness, its repetitions, its profusion of incense and light. The same document describes how beauty there becomes a way towards God:
“Beauty, which in the East is one of the best loved names for expressing the divine harmony and the model of humanity transfigured, appears everywhere: in the shape of the church, in the sounds, in the colours, in the lights, in the scents. The lengthy duration of the celebrations, the repeated invocations, everything expresses gradual identification of the whole person with the mystery celebrated.” — Saint John Paul II, Orientale Lumen, no. 11[46]
To this climate also belongs silence, which John Paul II presents as a school of adoration where the faithful learns “to make his heart beat in harmony with the rhythm of the Spirit”[47].
Divinization (theosis) as the fruit of liturgy
All this tends towards one end: the divinization of man, theosis. Liturgy is not a sacred spectacle; it transforms those who commune in it, making them “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4). It is the axiom of the Greek Fathers, formulated with boldness by Saint Athanasius of Alexandria:
“For He was made man that we might be made God.” — Saint Athanasius, On the Incarnation of the Word, 54, 3[48]
Saint Irenaeus of Lyons already said of the Word that he “became what we are, that he might make us what he is himself”[49]. The Catechism made this Eastern tradition its own: “The Son of God became man so that we might become God”[50]. All Eastern liturgy is ordered to this transfiguration: through beauty, mystery and communion, it seeks to bring man into the very life of the Trinity.
The time and chant of Eastern liturgy
The Byzantine liturgical year: Easter and the Twelve Feasts
The Eastern liturgical year is entirely oriented towards Easter. The Resurrection (Pascha) is not counted among the great feasts: it dominates them all, “Feast of feasts and Solemnity of solemnities”, in the words of the paschal canon of Saint John Damascene[51]. Around it gravitate the Twelve Great Feasts (Dodekaorton) — eight of the Lord, four of the Mother of God: Nativity of the Theotokos, Exaltation of the Cross, Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, Christmas, Theophany (Baptism of Christ), Presentation in the Temple, Annunciation, Entry into Jerusalem, Ascension, Pentecost, Transfiguration and Dormition of the Theotokos[52].
The Eastern Great Lent is of a rigour the West has largely lost: abstinence not only from meat, but also from dairy, eggs, fish, oil and wine on most days[53]. Some Churches still follow the Julian calendar, thirteen days behind the Gregorian calendar, which explains why Christmas is celebrated there on 7 January[54].
The books and liturgical cycles
The richness of Byzantine time lies in the interweaving of several cycles, each with its book[55]:
- the Triodion: the offices of the pre-paschal period and of Great Lent, up to Holy Saturday;
- the Pentecostarion: from Easter to the Sunday of All Saints, the “flowery Triodion”;
- the Octoechos: the “Book of the eight tones”, cycling over eight weeks the hymns of Sundays and ordinary days;
- the Menaion: the feasts with fixed dates, month by month.
The Divine Office and the place of the Psalms
Besides the Divine Liturgy, the East celebrates a rich Divine Office: Vespers, Compline, the Midnight Office, Matins (Orthros) and the Little Hours. The Psalter is divided into twenty sections (the kathismata) and sung in full every week — twice a week during Great Lent[56]. For the Catholic doctrine of the prayer of the Hours, common to East and West, see The Liturgy of the Hours.
Chant without instruments: the eight tones
The Byzantine tradition sings a cappella: the human voice is held to be the only instrument worthy of worshipping God “in spirit and in truth”. The Catholic Encyclopedia notes it unambiguously:
“The singing in the Byzantine Rite is always unaccompanied. No musical instrument of any kind may be used in their churches.” — Catholic Encyclopedia, art. “The Rite of Constantinople”[57]
This chant follows the system of the eight tones (the octoechos), giving each week its own melodic colour. The Slavic traditions developed their own repertoires, such as Russian Znamenny chant, notated with neumatic signs called znamëna (“signs”)[58].
The venerable languages of the Christian East
Each tradition has its sacred liturgical languages: Greek and Church Slavonic for the Byzantine world, Syriac (a form of Aramaic) for the Syriac and Chaldean Churches, Coptic and Ge'ez for Coptic and Ethiopian Alexandria, classical Armenian for Armenia, Arabic for the Melkites and many communities of the Near East[59]. Unlike the West, which long maintained Latin rigidly, the East more readily admitted the use of the people's tongue alongside the venerable languages — a principle Vatican II confirmed for Easterners[60].
The Mysteries (sacraments) in the Eastern rite
The East does not call the sacraments “sacraments”, but mysteries (mystèria). Beyond the Eucharist, it is the whole sacramental economy that takes in the East a proper form, whose most visible trait is the unity of Christian initiation.
Unified initiation: baptism, chrismation, Eucharist
Where the West staggers baptism (early childhood), confirmation and first communion (age of reason), the East keeps them united, even for infants. The Catechism describes it:
“In the Eastern rites the Christian initiation of infants also begins with Baptism followed immediately by Confirmation and the Eucharist.” — Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1233[61]
Chrismation (confirmation) is administered there by the priest himself, by means of the holy myron consecrated by the bishop[62]; baptism is by triple immersion[63]; and holy communion is given from baptism onwards, including to the very little[64]. The East thus keeps “a lively awareness of the unity of Christian initiation”[65]. For the common doctrine of the sacraments, see What is a sacrament?, The validity of the sacraments and The matter and form of the sacraments.
The table below sums up a few liturgical contrasts between the East and the Latin West. They do not touch the faith, which is one, but the way of celebrating it: precisely the diversities the magisterium declares “of equal right and dignity”[66].
| Liturgical point | Eastern tradition (Byzantine) | Roman rite (Latin) |
|---|---|---|
| Eucharistic bread | leavened (fermented), except Armenians and Maronites | unleavened (without leaven) |
| Accent of consecration | the epiclesis (invocation of the Spirit) at least essential | the words of Christ (“This is my body”) |
| Christian initiation | baptism + chrismation + Eucharist united, even for infants | baptism, then confirmation and communion staggered |
| Minister of confirmation | the priest, with the myron consecrated by the bishop | the bishop (or a delegated priest) |
| Communion of the faithful | under both species, by spoon (labis) | most often under the species of bread |
| Chant | a cappella (voice alone), eight tones (Byzantine tradition) | Gregorian chant, organ and instruments admitted |
Eastern liturgy, a treasure for the whole Church
Far from being a curiosity reserved to a few communities, Eastern liturgy belongs to the heritage of the whole Catholic Church, and the magisterium has multiplied acts to protect and value it.
“Breathing with both lungs”
The best-known image is that of Saint John Paul II, who made it a veritable charter of Catholic unity:
“In this perspective an expression which I have frequently used finds its deepest meaning: the Church must breathe with her two lungs!” — Saint John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint, no. 54[67]
The Church, he says, breathes fully only with her two lungs: the Western (Latin) tradition and the Eastern tradition. Deprived of one, she suffocates. Eastern liturgy is therefore not a tolerated folklore: it is a vital part of catholicity.
Preserving, not Latinizing
As early as 1894, Leo XIII, in the constitution Orientalium Dignitas, vigorously defended the Eastern rites against the temptation of Latinization, going so far as to strike with canonical sanctions the Latin clerics who would turn Easterners away from their rite[68]. The Second Vatican Council took up and amplified this doctrine in the decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum (1964), which states that the Churches of the East “have the right and the duty to govern themselves according to their own disciplines” and asks them to return to their ancestral traditions where they have unduly departed from them[69]. It is by virtue of these texts that the Maronite, Syro-Malabar and Chaldean Churches undertook, in the 20th century, to de-Latinize their liturgy.
What the West can receive from the East
The issue is not only to protect a minority, but to receive what the East keeps in fullness: the sense of mystery, the centrality of the Holy Spirit, the theology of the icon, the practice of divinization, beauty as a path towards God. Sacrosanctum Concilium had stated it as a principle — the Church “wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way”, all legitimate rites[70] — and Orientale Lumen made it a pressing appeal addressed to the whole West. Eastern liturgy is, in this sense, a gift made to the entire Church: the living memory of what Christian prayer can be when it lets itself be seized whole by the splendour of God.
To go further
This article is part of an Ignispedia set devoted to liturgy, the sacraments and Catholic unity:
- The Catholic liturgical rites — the overview of all rites, Latin and Eastern
- The Eastern Catholic Churches — the 23 sui iuris Churches in full communion with Rome
- The Eucharist and The Real Eucharistic Presence — the mystery celebrated by all rites
- Why is the Eucharist a sacrifice?
- The Liturgy of the Hours — the Divine Office, common to East and West
- The Great Schism of the East and The Photian Schism — the ruptures with Constantinople
- The Council of Florence and The Council of Lyons II — the attempts at union
- What does the Church say about the Orthodox? and Answers to Orthodoxy
- The Church in the Middle East — the Christians of the East today
Notes and References
Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium on the Sacred Liturgy, § 4, 4 December 1963, official French text on vatican.va. Full text of § 4: “Finally, in faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity, and that she wishes, in the future, to preserve them and to foster them in every way.” Taken up in CCC § 1203.
1 66 70Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “The Rite of Constantinople (Byzantine Rite)”, on newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm: etymology of leitourgia; structure of the Divine Liturgy (proskomedia, Little Entrance, Trisagion, Cherubic Hymn, Great Entrance, anaphora, elevation, communion); unaccompanied chant; Divine Office.
2 9 19 21 23 24 25Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§ 1200-1209 (“Liturgical diversity and the unity of the mystery”), notably § 1201 (“The mystery of Christ is so unfathomably rich…”) and § 1202 (“The diverse liturgical traditions have arisen by very reason of the Church's mission”). Official text on vatican.va.
3 5On the 1570 exception: Saint Pius V, bull Quo primum (1570), imposed the Roman Missal only while exempting rites and usages of more than 200 years' antiquity; thus survived notably the Ambrosian rite at Milan and the Mozarabic rite at Toledo. Cf. Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “Canon of the Mass”, on newadvent.org/cathen/03255c.htm (“Except for three small exceptions, the Ambrosian Rite at Milan, the Mozarabic Rite at Toledo, and the Byzantine Rite among the Italo-Greeks…”).
4Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches (CCEO), canon 28 § 1, promulgated by Saint John Paul II in the apostolic constitution Sacri Canones on 18 October 1990 (in force since 1 October 1991). Latin text: “Ritus est patrimonium liturgicum, theologicum, spirituale et disciplinare cultura ac rerum adiunctis historiae populorum distinctum, quod modo fidei vivendae uniuscuiusque Ecclesiae sui iuris proprio exprimitur.” Canon 28 § 2 lists the Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean and Constantinopolitan traditions. Text on droitcanonique.fr.
6 7Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA), dossier “The Eastern Catholic Churches” (cnewa.org), cross-checked with the Annuario Pontificio and Wikipedia, “Eastern Catholic Churches”: 23 Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris (24 autonomous Churches in total with the Latin Church), divided into five families — Byzantine (14), Alexandrian (3), Antiochene (3), Chaldean (2), Armenian (1). The most recently erected is the Eritrean Catholic Church (sui iuris metropolia, 19 January 2015).
8 18On the frequency of the liturgy of Saint Basil (about ten times a year: the five Sundays of Great Lent, Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday, the eves of Christmas and Theophany, and the feast of Saint Basil on 1 January), see Catholic Encyclopedia, art. “The Rite of Constantinople” (newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm) and the Byzantine archeparchy of Pittsburgh, archpitt.org. The Liturgy of the Presanctified (communion with previously consecrated gifts, without anaphora, on the weekdays of Great Lent) is traditionally attributed to Saint Gregory the Dialogist, a late and historically debated attribution: cf. Wikipedia, “Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts”.
10Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “The Alexandrine Liturgy”, on newadvent.org/cathen/01303b.htm. On the anaphora of Saint Gregory addressed to Christ, and the practical use of the Coptic anaphora of Saint Basil, see also the notices “Liturgy of Saint Cyril” and “Anaphora of Saint Gregory” (Wikipedia). On the Ethiopian branch (Ge'ez, sistrum, drum), see Encyclopedia.com, “Ethiopian (Ge'ez) Liturgy”.
11Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “West Syrian Rite”, on newadvent.org/cathen/14417a.htm: Antiochene ancestry and Jerusalem contribution (the anaphora of Saint James prays “for holy Sion, mother of all the churches”); Syriac language; restricted Catholic use (seven anaphoras). On the admission of the vernacular in the East, cf. the decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum § 23.
12 60On the number of West Syriac anaphoras: Catholic Encyclopedia, art. “West Syrian Rite” (newadvent.org/cathen/14417a.htm) lists at least 64 liturgies by name (Brightman) and 39 published (Renaudot); the Syriac liturgist B. Varghese estimates at “about eighty” the known anaphoras, a dozen of them in use. The exact figure varies by source: the order of magnitude (“about eighty”) is retained.
13Encyclopedia.com / New Catholic Encyclopedia, art. “Maronite Liturgy”: West Syriac rite inheriting from Antioch and Edessa; Latinization through the missals of 1592-1594 and 1716 (introduction of the Roman words of institution, suppression of the Sharar anaphora); de-Latinization and restoration of the Sharar anaphora (called “Third Anaphora of Saint Peter”) with the new Book of Offering (1992). The Maronite Church is the only Eastern Church with no Orthodox counterpart.
14Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “East Syrian Rite”, on newadvent.org/cathen/14413a.htm: the three anaphoras (Addai and Mari; Theodore of Mopsuestia, from Advent to Palm Sunday; Nestorius, at Epiphany and on certain days); the name Qurbana (“the offering”); Eastern Syriac language. The precise origin of the rite is ancient and uncertain; its present form goes back to Patriarch Ishoʿyahb III (7th century).
15Wikipedia, “Syro-Malabar Church”: Indian use of the East Syriac rite, issued from the Saint Thomas Christians (tradition of a landing at Kodungalloor in AD 52); largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches (about 4.5 to 5 million faithful); heavy Latinization after the Portuguese arrival (16th century, synod of Diamper, 1599).
16Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “Rites” (newadvent.org/cathen/13078a.htm) and Encyclopedia.com / New Catholic Encyclopedia, art. “Armenian Liturgy”: the Patarag in classical Armenian (grabar); a single anaphora attributed to Saint Athanasius (in use since at least the 10th century); use of unleavened bread and pure wine without water, a particularity shared with the Latin rite alone (for the azyme). On the evangelization by Saint Gregory the Illuminator (around 301), see CNEWA, “The Armenian Apostolic Church”.
17 36OrthodoxWiki, art. “Proskomedia”, and Wikipedia, “Liturgy of Preparation”: the prosphora (round, leavened loaf, with two layers symbolizing the two natures of Christ), the “IC XC NIKA” seal, the holy lance, the Lamb (Amnos) placed on the diskos, the particles for the Mother of God, the saints, the living and the dead; wine mingled with water in the chalice.
20Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “The Rite of Constantinople” (newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm), and Wikipedia, “Cherubikon”: the Cherubic Hymn was introduced into the Divine Liturgy under Emperor Justin II (565-578).
22Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “The Rite of Constantinople” (newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm), and Wikipedia, “Spoon (liturgy)”: communion under both species by means of the liturgical spoon (labis, Gr. kochliarion), a usage generalized around the 9th century; distribution of the antidoron (blessed bread) at the end of the celebration.
26Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “Epiklesis”, on newadvent.org/cathen/05502a.htm: definition of the epiclesis (prayer asking God to send the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine); Eastern theologians hold it to be at least essential to the consecration, where Latin theology stresses the words of institution.
27 29Assembly of Orthodox Bishops of France (AEOF), La Divine Liturgie de saint Jean Chrysostome, Greek-French bilingual edition, official text of the epiclesis: “Nous t'offrons encore ce culte spirituel et non sanglant, et nous t'invoquons, nous te prions et nous te supplions : Envoie ton Esprit Saint sur nous et sur ces Dons que voici […] Et fais de ce Pain le Corps précieux de ton Christ […] Et de ce qui est dans cette coupe le Sang précieux de ton Christ […] Opérant leur changement par ton Esprit Saint.” The text of the epiclesis is identical in Melkite Catholic and Byzantine Orthodox use.
28Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1105 (the epiclesis, “intercession in which the priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit…”), § 1106 (“With the anamnesis, the epiclesis is at the heart of each sacramental celebration, most especially of the Eucharist”) and § 1353 (“certain liturgical traditions place the epiclesis after the anamnesis”). Official text on vatican.va.
30 31Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, Guidelines for admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East, 20 July 2001 (in agreement with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose doctrinal decision of 17 January 2001 was approved by John Paul II). Official text on christianunity.va. Quotation: “the words of the Eucharistic Institution are indeed present in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, not in a coherent narrative way and ad litteram, but rather in a dispersed euchological way.”
32Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “Azymites” (newadvent.org/cathen/02172a.htm) and “Leavened and Unleavened Bread / Liturgical Use of Bread” (newadvent.org/cathen/02749a.htm): use of leavened bread in the East and of azyme in the West; the medieval Byzantine argument on the symbolism of leaven (leaven, “raised, warmed”, signifies the living Christ; azyme, “inert as a stone”, would symbolize a Christ without a soul). Eastern exceptions to the azyme: Armenians and, historically, Maronites.
33 34 35Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “Michael Caerularius”, on newadvent.org/cathen/10273a.htm: the quarrel of the azymes in the context of 1054; the bull of excommunication laid by Cardinal Humbert on the altar of Hagia Sophia on 16 July 1054. On the 1054 rupture, see the Ignispedia article The Great Schism of the East.
37Ecumenical Council of Florence, decree of union for the Greeks Laetentur Caeli, 6 July 1439: “in azymo sive fermentato pane triticeo corpus Christi veraciter confici, sacerdotesque in altero ipsum Domini corpus conficere debere.” (“The Body of Christ is truly confected in wheaten bread, whether unleavened or leavened; and priests should confect the Body of the Lord in either.”) Text in Denzinger; cf. EWTN, “Ecumenical Council of Florence”. See the Ignispedia article The Council of Florence.
38Tale of Bygone Years (Chronicle of Nestor / Russian Primary Chronicle), account of the embassy sent by Prince Vladimir of Kiev (around 987), English reference translation by S. H. Cross and O. P. Sherbowitz-Wetzor, The Russian Primary Chronicle: Laurentian Text, Cambridge (Mass.), 1953: “…and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth. For on earth there is no such splendour or such beauty… We know only that God dwells there among men… For we cannot forget that beauty.”
39Saint Germanus of Constantinople (patriarch, † around 730), On the Divine Liturgy (Historia ecclesiastica), § 1, English reference translation by P. Meyendorff, St Germanus of Constantinople on the Divine Liturgy, St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1984: “The church is an earthly heaven in which the super-celestial God dwells and walks about.”
40Saint John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood (De Sacerdotio), book VI, ch. 4, after the English edition NPNF, 1st series, vol. 9 (newadvent.org/fathers/19226.htm): “…saw, on a sudden, so far as was possible for him, a multitude of angels, clothed in shining robes, and encircling the altar, and bending down, as one might see soldiers in the presence of their King.”
41Saint John Paul II, apostolic letter Orientale Lumen, no. 11, 2 May 1995, official French text on vatican.va: liturgy as “heaven on earth”; beauty revealed “in the shape of the church, in the sounds, in the colours, in the lights, in the scents”; “the lengthy duration of the celebrations, the repeated invocations, everything expresses gradual identification of the whole person with the mystery celebrated”.
42 46Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “Iconostasis” (newadvent.org/cathen/07626a.htm), and Wikipedia, “Iconostasis”: screen of icons separating the sanctuary from the nave; the central Royal Doors (“leading to the altar where the King of kings is sacrificed”) flanked by two diaconal doors; icon of Christ to the right, of the Theotokos to the left; development from the low Byzantine templon between the 6th and 15th centuries, up to the high multi-tiered forms (Deisis, feasts). The iconostasis is understood theologically as uniting nave and sanctuary as much as it distinguishes them.
43 44Saint John Paul II, apostolic letter Orientale Lumen, no. 6, 2 May 1995, vatican.va: the Eastern Fathers affirm it is impossible to know what God is, but only that he is (apophatism); “the sense of mystery is so strongly felt by all the faithful of the Christian East”.
45Saint John Paul II, apostolic letter Orientale Lumen, no. 12, 2 May 1995, vatican.va: prayerful silence as a school of adoration, “where the heart learns to beat in harmony with the rhythm of the Spirit”.
47Saint Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word (De Incarnatione), 54, 3, after the English edition NPNF (newadvent.org/fathers/2802.htm): “For He was made man that we might be made God.”
48Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies (Adversus Haereses), book V, preface, after the English edition ANF (newadvent.org/fathers/0103500.htm): the Word “became what we are, that he might make us what he is himself”.
49Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 460, quoting Saint Irenaeus, Saint Athanasius and Saint Thomas Aquinas: “The Word became flesh to make us ‘partakers of the divine nature’ (2 Pet 1:4)… ‘For the Son of God became man so that we might become God.’” Official text on vatican.va.
50Saint John Damascene (attributed), paschal canon (ode 8), designating Easter as “the Queen and Sovereign, the Feast of feasts and the Solemnity of solemnities”. Cf. OrthodoxWiki, “Great Feasts”: Pascha is not counted among the Twelve Great Feasts, being above them.
51OrthodoxWiki, “Great Feasts”, and Wikipedia, “Great feasts in the Eastern Orthodox Church”: the Twelve Great Feasts (Dodekaorton) — eight of the Lord, four of the Theotokos —, distinct from Easter. Three of them are movable (Entry into Jerusalem, Ascension, Pentecost).
52OrthodoxWiki, “Great Lent”: traditional discipline of the Byzantine Great Fast (abstinence from meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine and oil on most days; wine and oil allowed on Saturday and Sunday; fish at the Annunciation). The practice of Eastern Catholic faithful is often mitigated compared with this monastic norm.
53On the Julian calendar (thirteen days behind the Gregorian in the 20th-21st centuries) and the Revised Julian calendar adopted in 1923 by some Churches, see GOARCH, “The Calendar of the Orthodox Church”, and OrthodoxWiki, “Revised Julian Calendar”. Several Churches continue to compute Easter according to the Julian reckoning.
54Metropolitan Cantor Institute, Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, “Liturgical Books” (mci.archpitt.org): the Triodion (pre-paschal period and Great Lent), the Pentecostarion (from Easter to All Saints), the Octoechos (book of the eight tones over an eight-week cycle) and the Menaion (feasts with fixed dates, month by month).
55Metropolitan Cantor Institute (mci.archpitt.org) and Catholic Encyclopedia, art. “The Rite of Constantinople”: the daily cycle of the Hours (Vespers, Compline, Midnight Office, Matins/Orthros, Little Hours); the Psalter divided into twenty kathismata, sung in full each week and twice a week during Great Lent.
56Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “The Rite of Constantinople” (newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm): “The singing in the Byzantine Rite is always unaccompanied. No musical instrument of any kind may be used in their churches.” On the theology of the human voice as the only instrument worthy of worship, see Orthodox Church in America (OCA), “Sacred Music: Its Nature and Function”.
57Wikipedia, “Znamenny chant”, and OrthodoxWiki, “Znamenny Chant”: monophonic chant of the Russian tradition, notated with neumatic signs (znamëna, “signs”, hence the name; also kryuki, “hooks”), developed in Kievan Rus' as a refinement of Byzantine neumatic notation.
58Encyclopedia.com, “Liturgical Languages”, and Wikipedia, “Eastern Catholic Churches”: Greek and Church Slavonic (Byzantine), Syriac (Syriac and Chaldean Churches), Coptic and Ge'ez (Alexandrian), classical Armenian (grabar), Arabic (Melkites and Near East). In the East, the principle of retaining the sacred language was applied less rigidly than in the West, the use of the vernacular being more widely admitted.
59Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1233 (“In the Eastern rites the Christian initiation of infants also begins with Baptism followed immediately by Confirmation and the Eucharist”) and § 1292 (“The practice of the Eastern Churches gives greater emphasis to the unity of Christian initiation”). Official text on vatican.va.
61 65Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1290: in the East, confirmation is conferred by the baptizing priest, with the myron (holy chrism) consecrated by the bishop. Official text on vatican.va. Cf. CCEO can. 695 § 1.
62Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), art. “Baptism” (newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm) and “The Rite of Constantinople” (newadvent.org/cathen/04312d.htm): Eastern baptism is by triple immersion (also the practice of the Armenian Church).
63Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1244: the Churches of the East give holy communion to all the newly baptized and confirmed, even to little children, where the Latin Church reserves admission to communion to the age of reason. Official text on vatican.va. Cf. CCEO can. 710.
64Saint John Paul II, encyclical letter Ut Unum Sint on ecumenical commitment, no. 54, 25 May 1995, official French text on vatican.va: “In this perspective an expression which I have frequently used finds its deepest meaning: the Church must breathe with her two lungs!” The image of the “two lungs” is found in Ut Unum Sint (and not, as is often believed, in Orientale Lumen).
67Leo XIII, apostolic letter Orientalium Dignitas, 30 November 1894: founding text of the modern Roman policy of protecting Eastern rites against Latinization, with canonical sanctions (suspension a divinis incurred ipso facto) for Latin clerics who would turn Easterners away from their proper rite. Italian original on vatican.va.
68Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum on the Eastern Catholic Churches, 21 November 1964, official French text on vatican.va: the Churches of the East have “the right and the duty to govern themselves according to their own disciplines” (§ 5); obligation to keep their legitimate rites and call to return to ancestral traditions where they have unduly departed from them (§ 6); admission of the vernacular (§ 23).
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