service, which precedes the lessons, to the earliest ages of the Christian church. It was probably in the fourth century that some of the eastern churches began to prefix psalms or anthems to the lessons. The author who bears the name of Dionysius the Areopagite probably lived in the latter part of this century, and he plainly speaks of psalmody at the beginning of the service. Early in the following century, we find that it had also extended into Africa, where Augustine wrote a book in its defence against Hilary, a layman of rank, who, he says, inveighed against the custom of singing hymns taken from the book of Psalms, either before the oblation, or during the distribution of the elements; which, Augustine says, was then beginning at Carthage. If we rely on the author of the Liber Pontificalis, Cœlestine, bishop of Rome, who was a contemporary of Augustine, appointed that the Psalms of David should be sung before the sacrifice, or liturgy," which," he adds, "was not done before, "but only the epistles of Paul and the holy gospel "were read." In after-ages, Gregory the Great c'O μèv iɛpáρxns εvxǹv iɛpàv ἐπὶ τοῦ θείου θυσιαστηρίου τελέσας, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θυμιᾷν ἀρξάμενος, ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἔρχεται τὴν τοῦ ἱεροῦ χώρου περιοχήν ἀναλύσας δὲ πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ θεῖον θυσιαστήριον, ἀπάρχεται τῆς ἱερᾶς τῶν ψαλμῶν μελωδίας, συναδούσης αὐτῷ τὴν ψαλμικὴν ἱερολογίαν åtάons tñs ÉkkλnoiaσTIKйs diaKоoμσεwÇ. Dionys. Areop. de Eccl. Hierarch. c. 3, tom. i. p. 283, ed. Corderii. d 66 Hilarius quidem vir tribunitius laicus catholicus, nescio unde adversus Dei minis tros, ut fieri adsolet, irritatus, morem qui tunc esse apud Carthaginem cceperat, ut hymni ad altare dicerentur de Psalmorum libro, sive ante oblationem, sive cum distribueretur populo quod fuisset oblatum, maledica reprehensione ubicumque poterat lacerabat,” &c. Augustin. lib. ii. Retractat. c. 11. p. 45, tom. i. edit. Benedict. eHic constituit ut CL. Psalmi David ante sacrificium psallerentur antiphonatim, quod ante non fiebat, nisi tantum recitabantur Epistolæ Pauli et selected anthems from the psalms, which he appointed to be sung before the lessons'; and the same practice was adopted in the church of Milan, and in most of the west. This anthem before the lessons was called Introitus in the Roman liturgy, Ingressa in the Ambrosian, or that of Milan, and in the English church was formerly used under the name of Officium", or Introit. g It appears probable that some prayers likewise were used before and between the lessons, from a period of great antiquity. It will appear in the third section, that we may trace back the original of collects to the fourth century at least, in the western churches, and that it is not improbable that in the patriarchate of Alexandria they may be of still greater antiquity. To present an idea of the variety which, from the fifth or sixth century, prevailed in different churches, with regard to that part of the liturgy which preceded the lessons, I shall briefly state the substance of this part of the ancient liturgies. In the patriarchate of Alexandria, the service began with a prayer of thanksgiving', followed by collects and petitions for the emperor of the east', the patriarch or pope of Alexandria, and other objects. At Milan, in Germany, and probably Sanctum Evangelium, et sic missæ fiebant." Auctor Libri Pontificalis in vita Cœlestini. ↑ "Cœlestinus papa psalmos ad introitum missæ cantari instituit de quibus Gregorius papa postea antiphonas ad introitum missæ modulando composuit." Honorius in Gemma Animæ, lib. i. c. 37, p. 1205 of Melchior Hittorp's Collection of writers de Divinis Cath. Eccl. Officiis. Paris. 1624. g Miss. Ambros. fol. 1, &c. h Miss. Sar. fol. 13, et passim. i Liturgia Basilii Coptica, apud Renaudot, Liturg. Oriental. tom. i. p. 2. Liturg. Marci, ibid. p. 131. k 133. Liturgia Marci, p. 132. Ireland, we find an anthem sung at the beginning'. This was followed by the form of Kyrie eleëson, derived from the eastern church, and a long litany, in which the deacon directed the people to pray for many different objects, and the people responded". This form was manifestly taken from the ancient practice of the eastern church also". After the litany was concluded, the hymn Gloria in excelsis was sung, and the collect read. At Rome the same rite prevailed, except that the Gloria in excelsis was not sung when the litany was said. In the patriarchate of Constantinople, the introduction to the lessons contained a litany, (which was probably the original of the western litanies just alluded to°,) three anthems, and the celebrated hymn Trisagios, which was introduced into that liturgy in the time of the emperor Theodosius the younger, when Proclus was patriarch of Constantinople. In the churches of Gaul and Spain, the liturgy commenced with an anthem followed by the hymn Trisagios, in imitation of the eastern rite; after which the "Song of the Prophet Zacharias," beginning Benedictus, was sung, and a collect was repeated by the priest before the lesson from the Old Testament. 1 Miss. Ambrosii. Gerbert, Vet. Liturg. Aleman. tom. i. p. 293. O'Conor, Appendix to vol. i. of Catalogue of MSS. in Stowe Library, p. 41. m Miss. Ambros. fol. 63. 70. Antiq. Liturg. tom. iii. p. 307. O'Conor, Appendix, p. 41. n Goar, not. 62, in Liturg. Chrysost. p. 123; see also p. 46. 64. Bona, Rer. Liturg. p. 337, &c. • Goar, Liturg. Chrysostom. p. 64. P Ibid. p. 68, et not. 80. a Germanus, de Missa, ap. Martene, Thesaurus Anecdotorum, tom. v. p. 92. Martene's Introduction, p. 85, &c. Le Brun, Explication de la Messe, &c. tom. iii. See Dissertation on Primitive Liturgies, vol. i. p. 159. It thus appears that a very great variety prevailed in the introductory part of the ancient liturgies during the ages which followed the council of Chalcedon, A. D. 451; and that the Roman introduction was used in comparatively a small portion of the world. In point of brevity, our own introduction to the reading of Scripture in the communion service may be regarded as approaching nearer to the primitive customs than perhaps that of any other liturgy now used. This introduction consists of the Lord's Prayer and collect for purity; to which, in places where they sing, an anthem is prefixed. A custom prevails in the cathedral church of Worcester which is worthy of remark. There the morning prayer being concluded at an early hour, after an interval of time the communion service or liturgy begins with the litany. We have already seen, that the same order prevailed anciently in Italy, Germany, and Ireland; and that it derived its origin from the churches of the patriarchate of Constantinople. In the Roman liturgy this custom has long been relinquished; at Milan only is the litany repeated at the beginning of the liturgy during Lent. Goar and Bona agree that the litany continued to be used in this place till the ninth century in the west". The Lord's Prayer and collect for purity had been long used by the English church in their present position, when the revision and reform of our offices took place in the reign of Edward the Sixth. They were found in the liturgy of Salisbury', which ↑ Goar, Rituale Græc. p. 123. Bona, Rer. Lit. p. 338. lib. ii. c. 4. s Fol. 71, Miss. Sarisb. was revised and corrected by Osmund, bishop of that see about 1080. Whether they formed part of the liturgy in the time of that prelate we cannot determine, but certainly they had been long used before the time of Edward the Sixth. It was from the offices of the English church therefore, and not from any foreign source, that these prayers were derived. With regard to the antiquity of the collect for purity, we know that it is at least 900 years old; for it appears in a manuscript sacramentary of the tenth century, which was used in England'. The same collect appears in the sacramentary ascribed to Alcuin, a doctor of the Anglo-Saxon church, who was the friend of the emperor Charlemagne about the end of the eighth century. We have no means of ascertaining the period at which the Lord's Prayer was first introduced into this part of the English liturgy. Certainly in primitive times, while the ancient discipline of the church with regard to catechumens existed, the Lord's Prayer could not have been recited at the beginning of the liturgy. The catechumens were those converts from heathenism who were under a course of discipline and instruction preparatory to the reception of the sacrament of baptism. The substance of the Christian faith was only communicated gradually to these persons in proportion as they were found fit to receive it. It was only after they had been for some time under instruction, when they had attained to the highest class, known by the name of "competentes," and were then immediately to be baptized, that they were for the first t I allude to the sacramentary of Leofric, bishop of Exeter. |