Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/366

 CONSTANTINOPLE

31G

CONSTANTINOPLE

Psalter (tpaXrripiov), Gospel (eiayyfKtop), and Apos- tle {aTr6a-To\os — Epistles and Acts) contain the parts of the Bible read (Fortescue, "Orth. E. Ch.", 401-402; Nilles, "Kal. Man.", XLIV-LVI; Kattenbusch, "Confessionskunde", I, 478-486).

The altar, vestments and sacred vessels. — A church of the Byzantine Rite should have only one altar. In a few very large ones there are side-chapels with altars, and the Uniats sometimes copy the Latin multitude of altars in one church ; this ig an abuse mat is not con- sistent with their rite. The altar (ij ayla Tpdire^a) stands in the middle of the sanctuary {lepaTetof) ; it is covered to the ground with a linen cloth over which is laid a silk or velvet covering. The Euchologion, a folded antimension, and perhaps one or two other in- struments used in the Liturgy are laid on it; nothing else. [See Altar (in THE Greek Church).] Behind the altar, round the apse, are seats for priests with the bishop's throne in the middle (in every church). On the north side of the altar stands a large credence-table {irpoffeais); the first part, of the Liturgy is said here. On the south side is the diakonikon, a sort of sacristy where vessels and vestments are kept; but it is in no way walled off from the rest of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is divided from the rest of the church by the ikonostasis (eiKoyda-Taa-i!, picture-screen), a great screen stretching across the whole width and reaching high up to the roof (see sub-title The Iconostasis s. v. Altar, History of the Christian). On the outside it is covered with a great number of pictures of Christ and the saints, arranged in a more or less determined order (Christ always to the right of the royal doors and the Bl. Virgin on the left), before which rows of lamps are hung. The ikonostasis has three doors, the "royal door" in the middle, the deacon's door to the south (right hand as one enters the church), and an- other door to the north. Between the royal door and the deacon's door the bishop has another throne facing the people. Immediately outside the ikonostasis is the choir. A great part of the services take place here. In the body of the church the people stand (there are no seats as a rule) ; then comes the narthex, a passage across the church at the west end, from which one en- ters by doors into the nave. Most of the funeral rites and other services take place in the narthex. Churches are roofed as a rule by a succession of low cupolas, often five (if the church is cross-shaped). In Russia there is generally a belfry. The vestments were once the same as the Latin ones, though now they look very different. It is a curious case of parallel evolu- tion. The bishop wears over his cassock the sticha- rion {(TTixdpiop) our alb ; it is often of silk and col- oured; then the epitrachelion {fir it paxv^^ov), a stole of which the two ends are sewn together and hang straight down in front, with a loop through which the head is passed. The sticharion and e|)itnichelion are held together by the zone ( i'livri, girdle), a narrow belt of stuff with clasps. Over the wrists he wears the epi- manikia (eirtjoia^kia), cuffs or gloves with the part, for the hand cut off. From the girtlle the epigonation (^iri7oi'f>piov). ThLs is a great pallium of silk embroidered with crosses. There is also a smaller omophorion for some rites. He has a pectoral cross, an enkolpion {iyKb\iriov, a medal containing a relic), a mitre formed of metal and shaped like an imperial crown, and a dikanikion (Siravl/ciop), or crosier, which is a cross. To give his blessing in the Liturgy he uses the (rikerion (rpiKitpiot') in his right ami tlie dikerion (SiK^f/piov) in his left hand. The.se are a triple and doubl(> candlestick with candles. The priest wears the sticharion, epitrachelion, zone, and epimani- Jtia. If b? is :i dignitary he wears the epigonation and
 * horter than ours and ending in two serpents between

(in Russia) the mitre also. Instead of a sakkos he has a phainolion (aiv6\iov), our chasuble, but reaching to the feet behind and at the sides, and cut away in front (see Chasuble and illustrations). The deacon wears the sticharion and epimanikia, but no girdle. His stole is called an orarion (dpdpioy) ; it is pinned to the left shoulder and hangs straight down, except that he winds it aroimd his body and over the right shoul-' der at the Communion. It is embroidered with the word ""AriOS" three times. A very common abuse (among Melkites too) is for other servers to wear the orarion. This is expressly forbidden by the Council of Laodicea (c. 360, can. xxii). The Byzan- tine Rite has no sequence of liturgical colours. They generally use black for fimerals, otherwise any colours for any day. The vessels used for the holy Liturgy are the chalice and paten (SIo-kos), which latter is much larger than ours and has a foot to stand it i it is never put on the chalice), the asteriskos ( do-Tepio-Kos) a cross of bent metal that stands over the paten to pre- vent the veil from touching the holy bread, the spoon (XdjSis) for giving Communion, the spear (\o7x^) to cut up the bread, and the fan (pnrldiov) which the dea- con waves over the Blessed Sacrament — this is a flat piece of metal shaped like an angel's head with six wings and a handle. The antimension (a.vTiij.i)v(TiBv) is a kind of corporal containing relics that is spread out at the beginning of the Liturgy. It is really a portable altar. The Holy Bread (always leavened of course) is made as a flat loaf marked in squares to be cut up during the Proskomide with the letters IC. XC. NI. KA. ('Itjo-oOs X^icrris wkJ). In the dia- konikon a vessel is kept with hot water for the Liturgy (Fortescue, op. cit., 403-409; "Echos d'Orient", V, 129-139; R. Storff, "Die griech. Liturg.", 13-14).

Church music. — The singing in the Byzantine Rite is always imaccompanied. No musical instrument of any kind may be used in their churches. They have a plain chant of eight modes that correspond to ours, except that they are numliered differently; the four authentic modes (Doric, Phrj-gian, Lydian, and Mixo- lydian — our 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th) come first, then the Plagal modes (our 2nd, 4th, 6th, and Sth). But their scales are different. Whereas our plainsong is strictly diatonic, theirs is enharmonic with variable intervals. They always sing in unison and frequently change the mode in the middle of a chant. One singer (generally a boy) sings the dominant (rb taov) of the mode to the sound of A continuously, while the rest execute their elaborate pneums (see Pl.\in Chant). The result is generally — to our ears — unmelodious and strange, though in some cases a carefully trained choir pro- duces a fine effect. One of the best is that of St. Anne's (Melkite) College at Jerusalem, trained by the French Peres Blancs. One of these. Pere Rcbours, has written an exhaustive and j)ractical treatise of their chant ("Traite de psaltique" etc.; see bibliog- raphy). In Russia and lately, to some extent, in the metropolitan church of Athens they sing figured piusic in parts of a very stately and beautiful kind. It is probably the most beautiful and suitable church music in the world.

The Holy Liturgy. — The present use of the Byzan- tine Rite confines the older Liturgy of St. Basil to the Sundays in Lent (except Palm Sunday), Maundy Thursday, and Holy Saturday, also the eves of Christ- mas and the Epiphany, and St. Basil's feast (1 Janu- arj')- On all other days on which the Liturgj' is cele- brated they use that of St. Chrysostom. But on the weekdays in Lent (except Saturdays) they may not consecrate, so they use for them tlie Liturgy (if the Presanctified. .\n Orthodox i)riest does not celel)rate every day, but as a rule only on Sundays and feast- days. The Uniats, however, in this, as in manv other ways, imitate the Latin custom. They also 'liave a, curious principle that the altar as well as the celebrant must be fasting, that is to say that it must not hav?