Page:Orthodox Eastern Church (Fortescue).djvu/454

412 wail, calculate that he has shifted from do to la, and that, therefore, we must change from the third authentic to the first plagal mode? Pity that so much skill should be spent to produce such a hideous result. There is, however, one undoubted advantage in the Byzantine chant. There are people who can hear no tune in Latin plainsong. Such a person should frequent a Greek church for a time, and then come back to one of ours. If, after their incredible wailing, he can still find no melody in our Tantum Ergo or Veni, Creator, he must give up looking for tune in anything.

5. The Holy Liturgy.

The Byzantine rite consists of three liturgies: first, the older and longer liturgy of St. Basil, now used only on the Sundays of Lent (except Palm Sunday), Maundy Thursday, and Holy Saturday, the Eves of Christmas and the Epiphany, and on St. Basil's feast (January ist). On all other days the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (a shortened form of that of St. Basil) is used, when the holy Sacrifice is offered at all. But on the week-days of Lent (except on Saturdays) no Mass may be said. On these days, then, the Liturgy of the Presanctified, attributed to St. Gregory Dialogos (our St. Gregory the Great) is used. But the Holy Liturgy is not celebrated every day. An Orthodox priest says Mass only on Sundays and greater feast-days. Nor is it said more than once on the same day at the same altar (p. 404). Where many priests are present they all celebrate together, and the rite of concelebration, which we have only at ordinations, may be seen almost every time a Byzantine bishop says Mass. It would be long to give an exact account of all these three liturgies. An outline

1 Gaïsser, Le système musical, &c., gives specimens of Byzantine chants as far as they can be expressed on our stave, with additional marks for raising or lowering notes by ¼-tone, and explains the whole system.

2 It is doubtful whether any of these liturgies were really composed by the Saints whose names they bear; that of St. Gregory certainly was not. In the Latin Church, too, the Mass of the Presanctified, now said only on Good Friday, was once used constantly throughout the year (Cf. Duchesne: Origines, pp. 222, 239).

3 The texts of them will be found in the books quoted in the list (p. xxvi., seq.).