Saint Nicholas Cabasilas
Interpretation of the Divine Liturgy
(From the booklet series "The Voice of the Fathers" published by the Holy Monastery of the Paracletos, Oropos, Attica.)
The Meaning of the Divine Liturgy
The work of the Divine Liturgy is the transformation of the gifts offered by the faithful—the bread and the wine—into the Body and Blood of Christ. Its purpose is the sanctification of the faithful, who, through Holy Communion, receive the forgiveness of their sins, the inheritance of the Kingdom of Heaven, and every spiritual blessing.
Contributing to this work and purpose are the prayers, the hymns, the readings from Holy Scripture, and everything that is performed and proclaimed during the Divine Liturgy. In all these, it is as though we behold, as in a painted icon, the whole life of Christ from beginning to end. For the consecration of the gifts—that is, the sacrifice itself—proclaims His death, His Resurrection, and His Ascension. As these gifts are changed into the very Body of the Lord, they also signify His coming into the world, His public manifestation, His miracles, and His teaching. Moreover, the rites that follow the sacrifice symbolize the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, the return of humanity to God, and their communion with Him.
The faithful who attend church and participate in all these sacred actions with attentive minds become more steadfast in faith, more fervent in reverence, and more deeply rooted in their love for God. Disposed in this way, they are made worthy to approach the fire of the holy Mysteries and to receive Holy Communion with confidence and intimate union with Christ.
Such, in summary, is the meaning of the Divine Liturgy. Let us now examine it in greater detail, beginning with the rites performed at the Holy Prothesis (the Table of Preparation), the sacred place to the left of the Holy Altar where the gifts offered by the faithful for the Holy Eucharist are placed. Here the officiating priest makes the necessary preparation of these gifts before the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
A. THE PROSKOMIDE (THE PREPARATION OF THE GIFTS)
1. The Precious Gifts
The bread and wine offered by the faithful for the Divine Liturgy, which symbolize the Body and Blood of the Lord, are not placed immediately upon the Holy Altar for the sacrifice. They are first placed upon the Holy Prothesis (Table of Preparation) and dedicated to God as precious gifts—hence the name by which they are known.
We offer bread and wine to God because they are uniquely human nourishment, by which our earthly life is sustained and expressed. For this reason, the offering of food has always been understood as the offering of one's very life. Since, through the Holy Mysteries, God grants us true human life, it is fitting that our own gift should likewise, in a certain sense, be life, so that our offering may correspond to God's gift rather than be foreign to it.
Moreover, the Lord Himself commanded that we offer Him bread and wine, and in return He gives us "the Bread from Heaven" and "the Cup of Life." He willed that we should offer Him the provisions of this temporal life, while He bestows upon us eternal life. Thus His grace appears as a reward, and His immeasurable mercy as an act of perfect justice.
2. The Remembrance of the Sacrifice on the Cross
After taking into his hands the loaf from which he will cut the sacred portion that is to become the Body of Christ, the priest says:
"In remembrance of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ."
These words refer to the whole Divine Liturgy and fulfill the command Christ gave when He instituted the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist:
"Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).
But what does this remembrance mean? How are we to remember the Lord in the Divine Liturgy, and what are we to proclaim concerning Him? Is it His miracles that revealed Him as Almighty God—raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, commanding the winds to cease, or feeding thousands with a few loaves?
No. Christ did not command us to remember these things. Rather, He commanded us to remember those events that revealed His voluntary humiliation—His Passion, His Crucifixion, and His Death. His sufferings were more necessary than His miracles. Through His Passion He accomplished our salvation and resurrection, whereas His miracles served chiefly to reveal that He is indeed the true Savior.
Having said, "In remembrance of our Lord…," the priest continues with actions that proclaim Christ's Crucifixion and Death. Cutting the bread with the liturgical spear, he recites the prophecy:
"He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a spotless lamb before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away. And who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth." (Isaiah 53:7–8)
After placing the sacred portion, called the Lamb, upon the holy Diskos, he adds:
"The Lamb of God is sacrificed, who takes away the sin of the world" (cf. John 1:29).
He then marks the Lamb with the sign of the Cross, indicating that Christ's sacrifice was accomplished through the Cross. Afterwards, with the spear-shaped knife, he pierces the Lamb on its right side, saying:
"One of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear."
As he pours wine and water into the holy Chalice, he completes the Gospel account:
"And immediately there came forth blood and water" (John 19:34).
3. The Commemoration of Names
The priest then continues the Proskomide. He removes small particles from the remaining loaves and places them upon the holy Diskos as sacred offerings, saying for each one:
"In honor of our most holy Lady, the Mother of God,"
"Through the prayers of Saint N.," or
"For the forgiveness of the sins of the servants of God, living (or departed)…"
What is the meaning of these commemorations?
They are both thanksgiving and supplication.
By our gifts we either express gratitude to a benefactor for blessings already received or beseech someone to bestow blessings upon us. So too the Church, through these offerings, gives thanks to God because, in the persons of the Saints, forgiveness of sins and the Kingdom of Heaven have already been granted. At the same time, she implores Him to grant these same blessings to her children who are still living, whose final destiny is yet uncertain, as well as to those who have departed this life, though their hope of salvation may not yet be complete.
For this reason the Church commemorates, first, the Saints; next, the living; and finally, the departed. For the Saints she offers thanksgiving; for all the others she offers prayer and supplication.
4. The Covering of the Precious Gifts
Everything that has been said and done over the Lamb to symbolize the Lord's Death consists, at this stage, only of sacred signs and representations. The Lamb remains bread; it has not yet become the Body of Christ. It has, however, been dedicated to God as a sacred offering and represents the Body of Christ in His infancy.
Accordingly, the priest now recalls the events surrounding the Lord's Nativity. He places over the bread the liturgical Star (Asterisk) and says:
"And behold, the star came and stood over the place where the Child was" (Matthew 2:9).
He then covers both the Diskos and the Chalice with beautiful veils and censes them with incense. For Christ's divine glory was hidden during the early years of His earthly life, until the time when He began His public ministry, worked miracles, and received the Father's testimony from heaven.
When the Proskomide has been completed, the celebrant approaches the Holy Altar, stands before the Holy Table, and begins the Divine Liturgy.
B. THE DIVINE LITURGY
1. Doxology
The priest begins the Divine Liturgy with the proclamation:
"Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…"
The Liturgy begins with this doxology because grateful servants act in the same way when they come before their master: first they praise him, and only afterward do they present their own requests.
2. The Litany of Peace
What is the first petition offered by the priest?
"For the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls."
By "peace" he does not mean only peace among ourselves—that is, freedom from resentment toward one another—but also peace within ourselves, when our conscience does not accuse us of anything. This peace is always necessary, but especially during prayer, for without it no one can pray rightly or receive any spiritual benefit from prayer.
The petitions then continue for the Church, for the civil authorities and all in public office, for those in danger, and indeed for all people everywhere. We pray not only for the needs of the soul but also for our material necessities:
"For favorable weather, for an abundance of the fruits of the earth…"
For God is the source and giver of every good gift, and it is to Him alone that we must direct our hopes.
To every petition the faithful respond with the same words:
"Lord, have mercy."
To ask for God's mercy is, in essence, to seek His Kingdom. Therefore the faithful are content with this single prayer, for it embraces every need.
3. The Antiphons
The hymns known as the Antiphons now begin. They contain the inspired words of the Prophets. These hymns sanctify us and prepare us to participate in the Holy Mystery.
At the same time, they remind us of the early years of Christ's earthly life, when He had not yet been openly revealed to the people. During that period the prophetic words were necessary. Later, however, when Christ Himself appeared publicly, the prophets were no longer needed to point toward Him, for Saint John the Baptist openly identified Him as the One who had come.
4. The Little Entrance
While the Third Antiphon is being sung, the Gospel Book is solemnly carried in procession, accompanied by candles. It is borne by the deacon or, if no deacon is present, by the priest.
Before entering the sanctuary, he stands before the Holy Doors and prays that holy angels may accompany him, joining in the sacred ministry and in the glorification of God. He then raises the Holy Gospel high for the faithful to see and, entering the sanctuary, places it upon the Holy Table.
The elevation of the Gospel symbolizes the public manifestation of the Lord when He first revealed Himself to the multitudes. For the Gospel signifies Christ Himself.
Now that Christ has appeared, attention is no longer directed primarily to the words of the Prophets.
Therefore, after the Little Entrance, the Church sings hymns that belong to the new life brought into the world by Christ. We glorify Christ Himself for all that He has done for our salvation. We also honor the Most Holy Theotokos or other Saints, according to the feast or commemoration appointed by the Church for that day.
5. The Trisagion Hymn
Finally, we praise the Holy Trinity by singing:
"Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us."
The thrice-repeated "Holy, Holy, Holy" is the hymn of the angels (Isaiah 6:3), while the titles "God," "Mighty," and "Immortal" echo the words of the Psalmist:
"My soul thirsts for God, the Mighty One, the living God" (Psalm 42:2 [LXX 41:3]).
The Trisagion Hymn is sung after the entrance of the Gospel to proclaim that, through the coming of Christ, angels and human beings have been united into one Church.
6. The Scripture Readings
Immediately afterward, the priest exhorts everyone not to stand carelessly but to give full attention to what is about to take place.
This is the meaning of the proclamation:
"Let us attend!"
And with the word:
"Wisdom!"
He reminds the faithful of the spiritual wisdom with which they should participate in the Divine Liturgy. This wisdom consists of the holy thoughts possessed by those who are rich in faith and detached from worldly concerns.
Indeed, if we desire not to spend our time in vain, we must attend the Divine Liturgy with fitting thoughts and dispositions. Since this is not easy, both our own vigilance and these continual liturgical exhortations are necessary to gather again our minds, which so easily wander and become distracted by worldly cares.
Likewise, the exclamation:
"Let us stand aright!"
Is also an exhortation. It calls us to stand before God eagerly, reverently, and with holy zeal. The first outward sign of this zeal is the upright posture of our bodies.
After these proclamations, the Epistle and the Gospel are read.
These readings signify the gradual manifestation of the Lord after His first appearance among men. During the Little Entrance the Gospel Book remained closed, symbolizing the first thirty years of Christ's earthly life, when He still lived in hiddenness and silence. Now, however, as the Scriptures are proclaimed, His revelation becomes complete through His own public teaching and through everything He commanded His Apostles to preach to the world.
7. The Great Entrance
Shortly the celebrant will proceed to the sacrifice, and the gifts that are to be offered must be placed upon the Holy Table. For this reason he now goes to the Prothesis, takes up the Precious Gifts, raises them above his head, and comes forth from the sanctuary. Moving with great solemnity and measured steps, he carries them through the church, passing among the faithful, accompanied by candles and incense. He then enters the sanctuary and places the Gifts upon the Holy Table.
As the priest passes, the faithful sing and bow in reverence, asking him to remember them when he offers the Precious Gifts to God. They know that there is no more powerful intercession than this awesome Sacrifice, by which the sins of the whole world have been freely cleansed.
A distinctive feature of the Great Entrance is the chanting of the Cherubic Hymn:
"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, invisibly escorted by the angelic hosts. Alleluia."
The Great Entrance symbolizes Christ's journey to Jerusalem, where He was to offer Himself in sacrifice. Riding upon a humble beast, He entered the Holy City surrounded and acclaimed by the crowds.
8. The Creed
The priest now invites the faithful to pray "for the precious gifts here set forth," asking God to sanctify the offerings placed before Him so that the purpose for which they were prepared may be fulfilled.
After adding further petitions, he exhorts everyone to be at peace with one another ("Peace be unto all") and to love one another ("Let us love one another..."). Since mutual love naturally leads to love for God and to a living and perfect faith in Him, the Church immediately confesses the true God:
"Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, one in essence and undivided."
The celebrant then proclaims:
"The doors! The doors! In wisdom let us attend!"
By these words he calls upon the faithful to open wide the doors of their hearts, minds, and ears to the divine wisdom revealed in the faith of the Church. They are to speak it, hear it, and guard it with reverence and attention.
The congregation then recites aloud the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed:
"I believe in one God..."
9. The Holy Anaphora
The priest again exhorts the faithful:
"Let us stand aright; let us stand with fear; let us attend, that we may offer the Holy Oblation in peace."
In other words:
"Let us remain firm in the faith we have confessed, without being shaken by false teaching. Let us stand in holy fear, mindful of the danger of falling into error. Standing firm in the true faith, let us offer our gifts to God in peace."
At this moment the faithful should also remember the Lord's command:
"If you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that your brother has something against you, first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (Matthew 5:23–24).
Having lifted the hearts and minds of the faithful from earthly concerns to heavenly realities, the priest begins the great prayer of thanksgiving. In this he follows Christ Himself, the true High Priest, who gave thanks to the Father before instituting the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist.
He glorifies God together with the angels, giving thanks for every blessing bestowed since the creation of the world, and especially for the coming of the Only-begotten Son into the world and for His institution of the Holy Eucharist. He recounts the events of the Mystical Supper, repeating the Lord's own words:
"Take, eat... Drink of it, all of you..." (Matthew 26:26–27)
After recalling "this saving commandment and all that has been done for us—the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the Session at the right hand, and the Second and glorious Coming," the priest proclaims:
"Thine own of Thine own we offer unto Thee, on behalf of all and for all. We praise Thee, we bless Thee, we give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, and we pray unto Thee, our God."
By these words he is, as it were, saying to the heavenly Father:
"We offer You the very sacrifice that Your Only-begotten Son offered to You. As He gave thanks while offering it, so we also give You thanks. We add nothing of our own, for these gifts are not our creation but Yours. Nor did we invent this worship; You Yourself taught it to us and commanded us to worship You in this manner. Therefore everything we offer belongs wholly to You."
At that same moment the priest bows low in fervent prayer, beseeching God to send down His all-holy and almighty Spirit upon the gifts set before Him, that the bread may become the very holy Body of Christ and the wine His precious and immaculate Blood.
After these prayers, the Divine Mysteries have been accomplished. The Gifts have been sanctified. The Sacrifice has been offered. The great Victim, the Lamb who was slain for the life of the world, now stands before our eyes upon the Holy Table.
The bread is no longer merely a symbol of the Lord's Body. It is His very all-holy Body—the Body that endured the blows, the mockery, the spitting, the wounds, the gall, and the Crucifixion. Likewise, the wine is His very Blood, poured forth when His Body was pierced. This is the Body conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, buried, raised on the third day, ascended into heaven, and seated at the right hand of the Father.
We believe this because the Lord Himself declared:
"This is My Body... This is My Blood" (Mark 14:22, 24).
And because He commanded His Apostles, and through them the whole Church:
"Do this in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:19).
He would not have commanded the Church to continue this Mystery had He not also granted the power to accomplish it. That power is the Holy Spirit, who, through the hands and voice of the priest, brings the Mysteries to fulfillment. The celebrant is merely a servant of the grace of the Holy Spirit and contributes nothing of himself. For this reason, the personal sinfulness of the priest does not invalidate the offering of the Gifts, which remain acceptable to God. Just as medicine prepared according to the physician's prescription does not lose its healing power because of the personal shortcomings of the one who compounded it, so the efficacy of the Mysteries depends not upon the worthiness of the minister but upon the grace of God.
After the Sacrifice has been completed, the priest, beholding before him the pledge of God's love for mankind—the Lamb of God—offers thanksgiving and intercession. He thanks God for all the Saints, in whom the Church already beholds the fulfillment of her hope: the Kingdom of Heaven. Above all, he gives special thanks for the all-blessed and ever-virgin Theotokos Mary, who surpasses every other saint in holiness. He then prays for all the faithful, both departed and living, since they have not yet reached perfection and still stand in need of the Church's prayers.
10. Holy Communion
Soon the celebrant himself will receive Holy Communion and will invite the faithful to partake of the Divine Mysteries. Since Holy Communion is not received indiscriminately by everyone, the priest elevates the life-giving Bread and proclaims:
"The holy things are for the holy."
It is as though he were saying:
"Behold the Bread of Life! You see It before you. Come and receive It—not all indiscriminately, but those who are holy, for holy things belong to the holy."
By "the holy" the Church means not only those who have attained perfection in virtue, but also those who are sincerely striving toward holiness, even though they have not yet reached it. Therefore Christians who are not separated from Christ by unrepented mortal sins are not prevented from approaching Holy Communion. Indeed, the Divine Liturgy itself is celebrated so that the faithful may partake of the Holy Mysteries. As Saint Basil the Great teaches, "To receive Communion and partake daily of the holy Body and Blood of Christ is good and beneficial." Frequent Communion, however, presupposes continual spiritual struggle and proper preparation through vigilance, prayer, repentance, confession, and a life of conversion.
To the priest's proclamation, "The holy things are for the holy," the faithful respond:
"One is Holy, One is Lord: Jesus Christ, to the glory of God the Father."
No one possesses holiness by himself, nor is holiness merely the achievement of human virtue. All holiness flows from Christ alone. Just as many mirrors placed beneath the sun all shine with the same light, so that one seems to see many suns while in reality there is only one sun reflected in each mirror, so the one Holy One, Christ, dwelling in His faithful through Holy Communion, shines forth in many souls and makes many to appear holy. Yet He alone remains the one and only Holy One.
After inviting the faithful to the sacred banquet, the priest first receives Holy Communion, together with the clergy serving in the sanctuary. Before doing so, he pours warm water into the Holy Chalice, signifying the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. The warm water symbolizes the Holy Spirit because it is both water and fire: water, recalling the "living water" of which Christ spoke (John 7:38), and fire, recalling the tongues of flame that descended upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost.
The priest then turns toward the congregation and, showing the Holy Gifts, invites those who are prepared to come forward:
"With the fear of God, with faith and love, draw near."
The faithful are not to be deceived by the humble outward appearance of the Body and Blood of Christ, but to approach with reverence, recognizing the greatness of these Mysteries and believing that they bestow eternal life upon those who receive them worthily.
The Body and Blood of Christ are true food and true drink. When we partake of them, they are not transformed into our human nature as ordinary food is; rather, we ourselves are transformed into Christ. Just as iron placed in the fire becomes fiery without changing the fire into iron, so the communicant is transfigured by divine life.
Although Holy Communion is received with the mouth, it first enters the soul, where our union with Christ is accomplished. As the Apostle Paul writes:
"He who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
Apart from this union with Christ, man remains the "old man," separated from God.
What, then, does Christ require of us if He is to sanctify us through the Divine Mysteries? He asks for purity of soul, faith and love toward God, and an ardent longing and desire for Holy Communion. These are what draw down sanctifying grace, and with such dispositions we ought to approach the Holy Mysteries.
For many approach the Mysteries, yet not only receive no benefit from them, but depart burdened with even greater condemnation because they have received them without the necessary preparation and reverence.
11. The Dismissal
After the faithful have received Holy Communion, they pray that the sanctification they have received may remain within them, and that they may neither betray the grace nor lose the gift bestowed upon them.
The priest now calls them to give thanks fervently to God for the gift of Holy Communion. Therefore he proclaims:
"Aright! Having partaken of the divine, holy, immaculate, immortal, heavenly, life-giving, and awesome Mysteries of Christ, let us worthily give thanks unto the Lord."
That is, we are to give thanks not reclining or sitting, but by lifting both soul and body toward God. The faithful then glorify God with the words of Holy Scripture, acknowledging Him as the source and giver of every good gift:
"Blessed be the Name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore." (Psalm 113:2 LXX [112:2])
After this hymn has been sung three times, the priest comes forth from the sanctuary, stands before the congregation, and offers the final prayer of dismissal:
"May Christ our true God..."
He asks the Lord to save us through His mercy, for we possess nothing of ourselves that is worthy of salvation. Therefore he invokes the intercessions of many saints, and above all those of His all-holy Mother.
Finally, the celebrant distributes the antidoron ("instead of the Gifts"). Although it is not the Eucharistic Body of Christ, it has been blessed because it comes from the same loaf that was originally offered to God for the celebration of the Divine Eucharist.
The faithful receive the antidoron with reverence, kissing the priest's right hand. For that hand has only moments before touched the all-holy Body of Christ, received sanctification from it, and now conveys that blessing to those who venerate it.
Here the Divine Liturgy comes to its conclusion, and the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist is complete. The gifts that were offered to God have been sanctified; they have sanctified the priest who celebrated them and have communicated that same sanctification to the rest of the Church, the fullness of the faithful.
For all these things, therefore, to Christ, our true God, belong all glory, honor, and worship, together with His eternal Father and His all-holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the endless ages of ages.
Amen.
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