the Sacrament, we shall have difficulty in finding it in this liturgy.[1] Some prayers and psalms, a washing of hands and incensing lead to a complicated fraction and commixture. The mixture is made by dipping. There is a blessing, the Lord's Prayer with an introduction, and the usual verse: "For thine is the kingdom, etc.," and an embolism, an elevation with the form: "The holy things to the holies is fitting in perfection." Then, while anthems are sung, the clergy and people make their Communion. Normally the two kinds are received separately; the celebrant gives the holy bread, the deacon the chalice. The forms of administration are: "The body of our Lord to N.N.[2] for the pardon of offences," "The precious blood for the pardon of offences, the spiritual feast for everlasting life to N.N. (as before)." Quite small children receive Communion, by intinction. The thanksgiving consists of one verse by the deacon (a much shortened litany) with the answer: "Glory be to him for his unspeakable gift," a few prayers, another kiss of peace, and now (in practice) the Communion of the celebrant and deacon.[3] There is a final blessing (no formula of dismissal), and the antidoron (see p. 150) called mkafrânâ is distributed. So the liturgy ends.[4] It appears that most people do not wait for the end. Immediately after their Communion they go to the door of the baptistery, take the mkafrânâ,[5] and go home. Also they often come late, so that generally the lessons (except the Gospel) are not said at all, and the Gospel is moved from its proper place, read and explained by a homily just before the Communion.[6] The Nestorians do not now reserve the Holy Eucharist at all, and have no provision for Communion of the sick.
The Baptism service is a long rite modelled closely on the holy
- ↑ The other two rites have an Epiklesis of the usual Antiochene or Byzantine form. They are quoted in Maclean and Browne: op. cit. p. 258.
- ↑ "The discreet priest," or "the deacon of God," or "the circumspect believer."
- ↑ Maclean and Browne: op. cit. 261. This is clearly a dislocation caused by the fact that the order of the liturgy contains no clear direction that they should communicate first. So their communion has coalesced with the consumption of what remains of the Sanctissimum at the end.
- ↑ The prayers and exact rubrics will be found in Brightman: Eastern Liturgies, 247–305. From the end of the Epiklesis the other two rites take (with a few special prayers) the Ordo communis of the normal liturgy.
- ↑ Often the mkafrânâ is not given at all. Maclean and Browne, p. 260.
- ↑ Ib. 251.
