Canon.
Ascribing praise, [4247] honour, thanksgiving, and adoration to Thy holy, loving, and life-giving name, now, always, and for ever.
The Priest signs the mysteries with the cross, and they respond:--
Amen.
The Priest bows himself and kisses the altar, first in the middle, then at the two sides right and left, and says this prayer: [4248] --
Have mercy upon me, O God, down to the words, and sinners shall be converted unto Thee: and unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, [4249] down to have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us. Also stretch forth Thy hand, and let Thy right hand save me, O Lord; may Thy mercies remain upon me, O Lord, for ever, and despise not the works of Thy hands.
Then he says this prayer:--
XIV. O Christ, peace of those in heaven and great rest of those below, [4251] grant that Thy rest and peace may dwell in the four parts of the world, [4252] but especially in Thy Holy Catholic Church; grant that the priesthood with the government may have peace; cause wars to cease from the ends of the earth, and scatter the nations that delight in wars, [4253] that we may enjoy the blessing of living in tranquillity and peace, in all temperance and fear of God. Spare the offences and sins of the dead, through Thy grace and mercies for ever.
And to those who are around the altar he says:--
Bless, O Lord. Bless, O Lord.
And he puts on the incense with which he fumes himself, and says:--
Sweeten, O Lord our God, the unpleasing savour [4254] of our souls through the sweetness of Thy love, and through it cleanse me from the stains of my sin, and forgive me my offences and sins, whether known or unknown to me.
A second time he takes the incense with both hands, and censes the mysteries; presently he says:--
The clemency of Thy grace, O our Lord and God, gives us access to these renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, unworthy though we be.
The Priest repeats these words once and again, and at each interval unites his hands over his breast in the form of a cross. He kisses the altar in the middle, and receives with both hands the upper oblation; and looking up, says:--
Praise be to Thy holy name, O Lord Jesus Christ, and adoration to Thy majesty, always and for ever. Amen.
For He is the living and life-giving bread which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life to the whole world, of which they who eat die not; and they who receive it are saved by it, and do not see corruption, and live through it for ever; and Thou art the antidote of our mortality, [4255] and the resurrection of our entire frame. [4256]
XV. [4257] * * *
XVI. Praise to Thy holy name, O Lord. (As above.)
The Priest kisses the host [4258] in the form of a cross; in such a way, however, that his lips do not touch it, but appear to kiss it; and he says:--
Glory to Thee, O Lord; glory to Thee, O Lord, on account of Thine unspeakable gift to us, for ever.
Then he draws nigh to the fraction of the host, [4259] which he accomplishes with both his hands, saying:--
We draw nigh, O Lord, with true faith, and break with thanksgiving and sign through Thy mercy the body and blood of our Life-giver, Jesus Christ, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
And, naming the Trinity, he breaks the host, [4260] which he holds in his hands, into two parts: and the one which is in his left hand he lays down on the disk; with the other, which he holds in his right hand, he signs the chalice, saying:--
The precious blood is signed with the holy body of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost for ever.
And they respond:--
Amen.
Then he dips it even to the middle in the chalice, and signs with it the body which is in the paten, saying:--
The holy body is signed with the propitiatory blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost for ever.
And they respond:--
Amen.
And he unites the two parts, the one with the other, saying:--
Divided, sanctified, completed, perfected, united, and commingled have been these renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, the one with the other, in the adorable and glorious name of Thy glorious Trinity, O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that they may be to us, O Lord, for the propitiation of our offences and the forgiveness of our sins; also for the grand hope of a resurrection from the dead, and of a new life in the kingdom of the heavens, for us and for the Holy Church of Christ our Lord, here and in every place whatsoever, now and always, and for ever.
XVII. In the meantime he signs the host [4261] with his right thumb in the form of a cross from the lower part to the upper, and from the right to the left, and thus forms a slight fissure in it where it has been dipped in the blood. He puts a part of it into the chalice in the form of a cross: the lower part is placed towards the priest, the upper towards the chalice, so that the place of the fissure looks to the chalice. He bows, and rising, says:--
Glory be to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, who hast made me, unworthy though I be, through Thy grace, a minister and mediator of Thy renowed, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries: through the grace of Thy mercy, make me worthy of the pardon of my offences and the forgiveness of my sins.
He signs himself with the sign of the cross an his forehead, and does the same to those standing round him. [4262]
The Deacons approach, and he signs each one of them on the forehead, saying:--
Christ accept thy ministry: Christ cause thy face to shine: Christ save thy life: Christ make thy youth to grow.
And they respond:--
Christ accept thy oblation.
XVIII. All return to their own place; and the Priest, after bowing, rises and says, in the tone of the Gospel:--
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with us all.
The Priest signs himself, and lifts up his hand over his head, so that it should be in the air, and the people be partakers in the singing:--
The Deacon says:--
We all with fear, etc.
And at these words:--
He hath given to us His mysteries:
The Priest begins to break [4263] the body, and says:--
Be merciful, O Lord, through Thy clemency to the sins and follies of Thy servants, and sanctify our lips through Thy grace, that they may give the fruits of glory and praise to Thy divinity, with all Thy saints in Thy kingdom.
And, raising his voice, he says:--
And make us worthy, O Lord our God, to stand before Thee continually without stain, with pure heart, with open countenance, and with the confidence which is from Thee, mercifully granted to us: and let us all with one accord invoke Thee, and say thus: Our Father, etc.
The People say:--
Our Father, etc.
The Priest. [4264]
O Lord God Almighty, O Lord and our good God, who art full of mercy, we beg Thee, O Lord our God, and beseech the clemency of Thy goodness; lead us not into temptation, but deliver and save us from the evil one and his hosts; because Thine is the kingdom, the power, the strength, the might, and the dominion in heaven and on earth, now and always.
He signs himself, and they respond:--
Amen.
XIX. And he proceeds:--
Peace be with you.
They respond:--
With thee and with thy spirit.
He proceeds:--
It is becoming that the holy things should be to the holy in perfection.
And they say:--
One holy Father: one holy Son: one Holy Ghost. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Deacon.
Praise ye.
And they say the responsory. And when the Deacon comes to carry the chalice, he says:--
Let us pray for peace with us.
The Priest says:--
The grace of the Holy Ghost be with thee, with us, and with those who receive Him. And he gives the chalice to the Deacon.
The Deacon says:--
Bless, O Lord.
The Priest.
The gift of the grace of our Life-giver and Lord Jesus Christ be completed, in mercies, with all.
And he signs the people with the cross. In the meantime the responsories are said.
Brethren, receive the body of the Son, cries the Church, and drink ye His chalice with faith in the house of His kingdom.
On feast-days.
Strengthen, O Lord, etc.
On the Lord's day.
O Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
Daily.
The mysteries which we have received, etc.
The responsories being ended, the Deacon says:--
All therefore, etc.
And they respond:--
Glory be to Himself on account of His ineffable gift.
The Deacon.
Let us pray for peace with us.
The Priest at the middle of the altar says this prayer: [4265] --
XX. It is meet, O Lord, just and right in all days, times, and hours, to thank, adore, and praise the awful name of Thy majesty, because Thou hast through Thy grace, O Lord, made us, mortal men possessing a frail nature, worthy to sanctify Thy name with the heavenly [4266] beings, and to become partakers of the mysteries of Thy gift, and to be delighted with the sweetness of Thy oracles. And voices of glory and thanksgiving we ever offer up to Thy sublime divinity, O Lord.
Another.
Christ, our God, Lord, King, Saviour, and Life-giver, through His grace has made us worthy to receive His body and His precious and all-sanctifying blood. May He grant unto us that we may be pleasing unto Him in our words, works, thoughts, and deeds, so that that pledge which we have received may be to us for the pardon of our offences, the forgiveness of our sins, and the grand hope of a resurrection from the dead, and a new and true life in the kingdom of the heavens, with all who have been pleasing before Him, through His grace and His mercies for ever.
On ordinary days.
Praise, O Lord, honour, blessing, and thanksgiving we ought to ascribe to Thy glorious Trinity for the gift of Thy holy mysteries, which Thou hast given to us for the propitiation of our offences, O Lord of all.
Another.
Blessed be Thy adorable honour, from Thy glorious place, O Christ, the propitiator of our offences and our sins, and who takest away our follies through Thy renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries. Christ the hope of our nature always and for ever. Amen.
Obsignation or final benediction.
May our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we have ministered, and whom we have seen and honoured in His renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries, Himself render us worthy of the splendid glory of His kingdom, and of gladness with His holy angels, and for confidence before Him, that we may stand at His right hand.
And on our entire congregation may His mercies and compassion be continually poured out, now and always, and ever.
On the Lord's day and on feast-days.
May He Himself who blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavens, through Jesus Christ our Lord, and prepared us for His kingdom, and called us to the desirable good things which neither cease nor perish, as He promised to us in His life-giving Gospel, and said to the blessed congregation of His disciples--Verily, verily I say unto you, that every one who eateth my body and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him, and I will raise him up at the last day; and he cometh not to judgment, but I will make him pass from death to eternal life:
May He Himself now bless this congregation, and maintain our position, and render glorious our people who have come and rejoiced in receiving His renowned, holy, life-giving, and divine mysteries; and may ye be sealed and guarded by the holy sign of the Lord's cross from all evils, secret and open, now and always.
[4220] [Here the Edinburgh editors give the following title from their copy, without stating whence it is: "The Liturgy of the Holy Apostles, or Order of the Sacraments."]
[4221] [I have made slight corrections, after Renaudot, as given in Hammond, from Litt. Orient. Coll., tom. ii. pp. 578-592.]
[4222] Suicer says that a canon is a psalm or hymn (canticum) wont to be sung on certain days, ordinarily and as if by rule. He quotes Zonaras, who says that a canon is metrical and is composed of nine odes. See Sophocles, Glossary of Byzantine Greek, Introduction, § 43. The canon of the Nestorian Church is somewhat different. See Neale, General Introduction to the History of the Eastern Church, p. 979.