festival would bring an alleviation of the calamity; but while celebrating Mass on Easter Eve the royal palace was struck by lightning and destroyed. The people rushed out of Church and Mamercus alone remained at the Altar, praying. He conceived the idea of appointing the three days before Ascension as Litany Days. Other dioceses adopted the rite and the council of Orleans (511) decreed, “Rogationes i. e. litanias ante ascenscionen Domini ab omnibus ecclesiis placuit celebrari." (Rogations i. e. litanies were to be celebrated by all churches before the Lord's Ascension). These, then, became general in the Gallican Church. If not earlier than, at least contemporaneous with, the Gallican Processions, were the litanical Processions in Rome. The full form of these Litanies has not been preserved to us, although it is almost certain that their structure was similar to our present forms and this is about equal to saying that as far as contents and forms were concerned they were modelled after the General Prayer found in the Apostolic Constitutions. Among the most important processional Litanies was the Litania Septiformis (Seven-fold Litany) of Gregory the Great. After his elevation to the Bishopric in Jan. 590,-a severe pestilence following an overflow of the Tiber, raged in Rome. Gregory delivered a sermon and at its close requested the people to render a Litania Septiformis, i. e. the people were to be divided into seven choirs or groups (Clergy, Men, Monks, Virgins, Married Women, Widows, the Poor and Children). Each of these seven groups was to start from a different Church, singing Litanies on their way till they all met in the Church of St. Mary the Great. This was on St. Marks' Day, April 25th, though it is beyond doubt incorrect to ascribe the institution of the solemn fast on this day to Gregory. Litanies rapidly multiplied in the Roman Church and the product of this multiplication included a number of unscriptural doctrines. The response Ora pro nobis (Pray for us) at once suggests the unscripturalness. Under Clement VIII., 1601, the many Litanies of the Roman Church were reduced to three,"The Great Litany of the Saints;" "The Lauretanian;" "The Litany of the Holy Name of Jesus." In 1529 Luther, using "The Great Litany of the Saints" as a basis, prepared and published a Litania Latina correcta (corrected Latin Litany) and also a German version. Luther's Latin form was the basis of the Litany in The Common Service. Kliefoth, "Liturgische Abhandlungen" V., 301, 373, 398. Vi. 155. Horn, "Liturgics," 68-69. "The Lutheran Cyclopædia," 277-278. THE KYRIE AND LORD'S PRAYER. From the Apostolic Constitutions we learn that the primitive Church had fixed forms of Prayer in her Morning and Evening Services. The former began with Ps. Ixiii and was followed by the Gloria in Excelsis with Laudamus as Morning Prayer. The latter began with Ps. cxli, was followed by the Agnus Dei and Nunc Dimittis, and this by the Evening Prayer,-"Praise the Lord, O ye, His servants." Towards the end of the 5th century the Agnus Dei disappeared and the Kyrie Eleison was embodied as introductory to the Lord's Prayer. At the end of the Mass, Benedict of Nursia had prescribed this prayer to be said by the abbot, the congregation, however, joining in with the 5th petition; but in the Horae the congregation only joined in with the 7th petition. Later it became customary for the priest to sing the words "Pater noster," then proceed silently until reaching the 6th petition which, together with the 7th and Amen, were again suing aloud. The 16th century Orders present quite a variety of usage of these parts. To detail this variety is beyond our scope. THE SALUTATION AND RESPONSE. According to historic practice the Salutation and Response introduced every integral part of the Service. Hence its position here. (See further "Sources of the Morning Service of the Common Service," p. 47.) THE COLLECT (Matins). The germ of this Collect is found in the Sacramentary of Celasius (†492).* It occurs there as the first of eleven "Prayers at Matins" and is as follows, Gratias tibi agimus, Domine Sancte, Pater Omnipotens, aeterne Deus, qui nos transacto noctis spatio ad matutinas horas perducere, dignatus es; quaesumus, ut dones nobis diem hunc sine peccato transire, quatenus ad vesperum gratias referamus. Per. We give Thee thanks, holy Lord, Almighty Father, everlasting God, who hast vouchsafed to bring us, after passing through the period of the night to the hours of the morning; Grant us, we beseech Thee, to pass this day without sin, so that at eventide we may return thanks. Through. * See Wilson, The Gelasian Sacramentary, p. 291. In the Sacramentary of Gregory (590) it has been amplified as follows, Deus, qui nos ad principium hujus diei pervenire fecisti, da nobis hunc diem sine peccato transire, ut in nullo a tuis semitis declinemus, sed ad tuam justitiam faciendam nostra semper procedant eloquia. Per. O God, who hast brought us to the beginning of this day, grant us to pass through it without sin, that in nothing we may turn aside out of Thy paths, but that the words which go forth from us may be always directed to do that which is righteous in Thy sight. Through. The Roman version expanding the latter clause and using the characteristic ending is as follows, I. Edward VI. (1549) has "everliving" instead of "everlasting" before God in the Invocation. II. Edward VI. (1552) and present Anglican have the translation above given. It appears very evident that the Common Service followed the Sarum Breviary, adding, however, the full ending. THE VERSICLE (Vespers). Strange as it may appear we have not been able to find any use whatever of the Versicle The Lord will give strength unto His people. except in the old Church Book and in the Common Service. Immediately preceding the Collect for Peace one would naturally suppose that it had formed the standing Versicle for this Collect for many centuries; but such seems not to have been the case. The pre-Reformation Vespers embodied what were known as "Commemorationes." These consisted of Antiphon, Versicle, Response, Collect. These commemorations were usually de S. Maria, de Apostolis, de Patrono, and de Pace. The last, de Pace, was as follows, Antiphon. Da pacem, Domine, in diebus nostris, quia non est alius, qui pugnet pro nobis, nisi tu, Deus noster. Versicle. Fiat pax in virtute tua. Et abundantia in turribus tuis. Collect. Oratio pro pace. We have carefully examined Herold's "Vesperale," and nowhere have we found, among the many Versicles of the different Vespers given, the Versicle of The Common Service. The Da Pacem with which some of the 16th century Orders closed their Vespers is a versification of the Antiphon, Versicle and Response above given. Its full form is as follows, Verleih uns Frieden gnaediglich, This was followed by the "Collect for Peace" as given in the Common Service. It will be observed here that the last two lines are but a versified reproduction of the old Versicle and Response: Fiat pax in virtute tua. Et abundantia inturribustuis, and this seems to have been the usual Versicle for the Collect. Whence our Versicle is desired, or how it made its way into The Common Service, we are not able to state. No one, however, will question its beauty and appropriateness, and the end of our search for a historic usage is not yet. THE COLLECT FOR PEACE (Vespers). This most beautiful of all Collects is found first in the Gelasian Sacramentary. It occurs there twice, though in slightly different forms. This difference at once becomes apparent by comparing the following originals, 1. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus a quo sola sancta desideria, recta consilia, et justa sunt opera, da servis tuis illam, quam mundus dare non potest, pacem; ut et corda nostra mandatis tuis dedita, et tempora sint tua protectione tranquilla. Per.* 2. Deus, a quo sancta desideria, et recta consilia, et justa sunt opera, da servis tuis illam, quam mundus dare non potest, pacem; ut et corda mandatis tuis dedita, et, hostium sublata, formidine, tempora sint tua protectione tranquilla. Per.t The first form is the second of two Collects (the first of which is that of The Common Service for the Eleventh Sunday after Trinity), and occurs in a Missa assigned by Gerbert to the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The second form is the first of three Collects that occur in the Missa pro Pace. The translation of our Collect follows this form. THE BENEDICAMUS. For the source and use of the Benedicamus see "Sources of the Morning Service of the Common Service," p. 62. THE BENEDICTION. Inasmuch as at Matins and Vespers the presence of a pastor was not necessary, it became customary to close the Services with the N. T. Benediction instead of the Aaronic as in the Chief Service. Baden, Pa. R. MORRIS SMITH. *Wilson, The Gelasian Sacramentary, p. 228. + Ibid, p. 271. |