Presanctified Liturgy of St. James celebrated at Jordanville

(Holy Trinity Monastery) - On Friday Aril 12, 2013 the Presanctified Liturgy of the Apostle James was served for the first time at Holy Trinity Monastery.

A short History of the Presanctified Liturgy of the Apostle James by Bishop Jerome of Manhattan

The Presanctified Liturgy of St. James was the traditional form of the Presanctified, as celebrated by the Church of Jerusalem in the Holy Sepulchre. The oldest Greek text was published in 1896 and subsequent editions of Brightman's "Liturgies Eastern and Western", Vol. I: Eastern Liturgies, on pp. 494-501. This edition contains only the litanies, exclamations and some rubrics, but not the inaudible prayers of the celebrant. It is found complete, in the "Liturgicon of Jerusalem" (also entirely in Greek), published some years ago by the Jerusalem Patriarchate.

Judging by the text in Brightman, this Liturgy was at first celebrated, not in conjunction with Vespers, but together with the Typica. Therefore the Litanies said "Let us complete our prayer unto the Lord", and not "...our *evening* prayer unto the Lord". This also explains several other peculiarities of the text. The earlier form of the Liturgy began with a procession from one chapel to another in the church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is why it substitutes the "Tropar of the day" for "O Gladsome Light" at the Entrance.

The Presanctified Liturgy of St. James includes the Creed, the prayer "Vouchsafe O Lord", and other material not normally found in the Presanctified. A translation into modern Serbian was published by Bishop Chrysostom of the Banat diocese, where it is celebrated on specific days in Lent. However, the Jerusalem edition says this Liturgy can be celebrated on any Lenten weekday.