As is clear from the name, this liturgy is the service of eating the holy things that have been sanctified and consecrated in a previous liturgy. It is the service that is held on the days of Great Lent, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday, and in our current practice it is held on Wednesday and Friday.

The oldest clear indications of this practice in the Church date back to the beginning of the seventh century (615), in a document indicating that the service of previously sanctified holy things was practiced in the Church of Constantinople, even if it was not in the form we know it today. But before we discuss the history and origins of this service, we must say a word about the reasons why we do not hold a regular mass during the days of Great Lent. There are synod laws that prohibit holding Mass or offerings on days of fasting. Law 94 of the Local Council of Latakia, held between 343 and 381 AD, stipulates that “it is not permissible to serve bread on the days of Great Lent, with the exception of the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day.” Canon 25 of the Fifth-Sixth Council (Trollo (The Dome)), held in the year 692 AD, indicates that “the Mass of the Holy Places previously sanctified shall be held on all days of Great Lent except Saturdays, Sundays, and the Holy Day of the Annunciation.”

Not holding a regular Mass on days of fasting is, from the beginning, an expression of awareness that the sacrament of thanksgiving (the Eucharist) in its sense is incompatible with fasting. In order to understand this, we must first realize the meaning of the sacrament of thanksgiving in our tradition. The sacrament of thanksgiving in the Orthodox tradition retains its festive and joyful character. It is, above all, the secret of Christ’s coming and his presence among his disciples, and therefore it is the celebration of his resurrection. The presence of Christ in the bread and wine in the sacrament of thanksgiving is, on this basis, evidence of his resurrection. The joy that the disciples experienced on the road to Emmaus, when the Lord revealed Himself to them by breaking the bread (Luke 13:24-35), is the same joy that the church always experiences on the basis of its knowledge of the Resurrection.

The secret of thanksgiving is exactly this same coming and presence, and the same joy. It anticipates the final joy of meeting the Bridegroom in the Kingdom of God. The Lord, through his death and resurrection, opened a door to this kingdom for us and inaugurated it. The kingdom has not yet come, but it has already begun, like a seed that grows into a big tree. In the Mass service, we say the following phrase: “As we remember your death, your resurrection, and your glorious second coming...” Remembering is not just a mental recall of events, but rather it means that the event actually becomes present to you. And remembering the Second Coming, which has not yet happened, becomes possible if there is anticipation of this coming, or a taste of it, if you will, through the sacrament of thanksgiving and partaking of the body and blood of the Lord.

On the other hand, fasting is the Church’s journey towards the Kingdom of God, it is a pilgrimage towards this Kingdom. “And the sons of the Kingdom,” says the Lord, “cannot fast as long as the bridegroom is with them” (Matthew 9:15). When the groom rises, they wait. Fasting is this waiting, this preparation for the coming. From here we can understand the incompatibility of the sacrament of thanksgiving in this sense with fasting.

But the question is: If this is the case, then why do we eat the holy things that were previously sanctified during fasting? Here we must point out the other side of the secret of gratitude, which is the spiritual side. Communion, in addition to being a anticipation of the final joy, is also a source of strength and support in the journey towards this kingdom. Fasting is this journey, and it is a difficult journey, in which we face the evil one and his forces face to face. We come into conflict with the forces of this world and the desires. In our struggle, we must have a helper, and the helper is Communion itself. Although Communion is the completion and goal of jihad, it is also the source and beginning of this jihad. There is no celebration of the sacrament of thanksgiving during the days of fasting because celebration is a continuous movement of joy, but there is the presence of the fruits of the sacrament of thanksgiving.

We also wonder about holding Mass on Saturday or Sunday during Lent. Church laws prohibit fasting on Saturdays and Sundays. The basis of this is that Sunday, the Lord's Day, transcends fasting as well as time. Fasting is broken by the sacrament of thanksgiving, which is the fulfillment of expectation. On Sunday, we remember the Resurrection of the Lord, so it is the day of the Kingdom, which we cannot count from this time, so we call it the eighth day, but on Saturdays and Sundays in fasting, we continue what we popularly call “al-qata’a,” that is, abstaining from certain foods. This type of fasting continues until the day of Eid and does not stop, as is the case with normal fasting, that is, abstaining from food for a specific period of the day.

Based on the above, we must understand the meaning of the pre-sanctified Mass and the purpose of holding it during the days of Great Lent. Then we can try to study its history, origins, and how it developed over time into the form we know today.

The oldest testimonies to the existence of the liturgy of previously sanctified sanctuaries date back to the seventh and eighth centuries. We find one of these testimonies in the book “The Paschal Calendar”: “In that year (615), during the time of Sergius, Patriarch of Constantinople, a hymn was introduced after “May my prayer be upright.” As the previously sanctified holy things are transferred from the place where the offerings are kept, after the priest announces, “By the gift of your Christ,” the people chant, “Now the forces of heaven serve with us in an unseen condition.” Behold, the King of Glory enters. Behold, the secret sacrifice is displaced and perfected. Let us advance in faith and love and become participants in eternal life. “Hallelujah.”

These testimonies, in addition to Canon 25 of the Ecumenical Council of Trullo (year 692), which orders that the previously sanctified liturgies be celebrated during fasting, not only indicate that this liturgy was practiced in the seventh century, but that it was deeply rooted in tradition, and that a long time had passed since Practicing it in the church.

Liturgy scholars claim that the basis of this service is the self-communion that was practiced in the early Christian eras, which is for Christians to take home, after the Eucharistic meeting, the Holy Body and Blood and partake of them on days of the week when there is no Mass. We find mention of self-communion in many fathers and writers: Justin Martyr mentions it in the second century, Tertullian (third century) says that it is a natural custom that takes place every day, and Clement of Alexandria (third century) says that after breaking the bread, every believer has the right to take a part of it to his home. Saint Basil the Great links it to times of persecution. Basil speaks about it, preferring it and giving it a theological meaning, as he says that it is good and very beneficial to participate in the holy body and blood of Christ daily. The practice of self-communion continued after persecution, especially among solitary monks in the prairies, until the fifteenth century, as St. Simon of Thessaloniki mentions it.

Some say that the practice of the pre-sanctified Holy Mass began in Jerusalem, whose rituals, from the beginning, influenced the rituals of other churches. However, the most likely and most consistent opinion is that it arose in Antioch during the time of its Patriarch Severus (512-518), between the fifth and sixth centuries. Severus was known to have paid great attention to the liturgy and to collecting the hymns that had been recited since the earliest times, and that he had introduced new things to the liturgy. The annual ritual practices and division, including replacing personal Communion at home with collective Communion in the church, and the author Ibn al-Abri (13th century) attests to this in his book “The Sleep and the Law.”

From Antioch, this service moved to Constantinople, which accepted it between the years 531-536, and began to perform it more frequently than in Antioch. While the holding of this liturgy in Antioch was limited to the days of Great Lent, it was held in Constantinople on other days. The laws of Patriarch Nikephoros the Confessor (806-815) stipulate that it be held every Wednesday and Friday throughout the year (unless a feast falls on that day) and on the Feast of the Raising of the Cross.

We find in a manuscript from the ninth century containing the clocks according to the Monastery of Saint Saba near Jerusalem that Saint Saba, following the example of his teacher Saint Euthymus, would go to the desert on the twentieth of January and stay there until Lazarus Saturday in complete solitude. A large number of Palestinian monks preserved this custom. But they did not deprive themselves of Communion, as they used to take the holy things with them into the desert and partake of them. The recluse was receiving communion after three o’clock in the afternoon, our time, and he was reciting “prayers for communion,” which is a metaphor for the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) and verses from the Psalms. Then comes the prayer of thanksgiving after Communion. In addition, of course, the Constitution of Faith and the Lord's Prayer.

The earliest arrangement of the liturgy of previously sanctified holy places is found in a manuscript dating back to the eighth century or the beginning of the ninth century. It contains prayers similar to the current order: the Prayer of the Catechumens, the Prayer of the Preparation of the Holy Light, the First Prayer of the Believers, the Second Prayer of the Believers, the Prayer of the Transmission of the Sanctities, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Seal. Based on this manuscript, the order of the service was part of the evening prayer.
We will discuss later the study of each element of this arrangement and the prayers that have been included in this service throughout the ages in its practice on days of fasting.

The oldest arrangement of the liturgy of previously sanctified holy places is found in a manuscript dating back to the end of the eighth century or the beginning of the ninth century. This arrangement contains elements similar to what we find in the present service: a prayer for the catechumens, “O God our God, the Creator and Creator of all things...”; Prayer for those preparing for enlightenment (baptism), “Lord, show your face...”; A first prayer for believers, “O great God, praise be to Him…”; A second prayer for the believers, “O holy and exceedingly good Lord…”; A prayer for the transfer of the offerings, “O God of the unspeakable mysteries...”, followed immediately by “Our Father who art in heaven...”, then a prayer after Communion, “We thank you, O God, Savior of all...” then the pulpit prayer, “O God Almighty... “. In the instructions that precede these prayers, we read the following: “In the candle-lighting prayers, after the readings, and ‘May my prayer be upright,’ and ‘Lord have mercy,’ a prayer is said for the catechumens before the one who precedes his canonization.” This means that the liturgy of the previously sanctified Holy Places was held in the evening, after readings were read, and “May my prayer be upright” and “Lord have mercy” were chanted. These elements are followed by a special prayer followed by Communion.

Readings: In our current practice, there are two readings, the first from the Book of Genesis and the second from the Book of Proverbs. These two readings begin in the first week of fasting and continue until its end. Liturgy scholars agree that these readings are linked to the teaching that those who were to receive baptism on Holy Saturday were to receive from the bishops throughout Lent. The subject of this teaching was related to the Book of Genesis and its talk about God’s creation of the world and man, the fall of man and what resulted from it, and God’s design to save the human race through a Savior. Teaching catechumens during the days of fasting goes back to early Christian times. His presence in the Church of Jerusalem is attested, in the fourth century, by the traveler Etheria, who came to the Holy Lands on pilgrimage and recorded all the practices she saw. According to fifth-century testimonies in Jerusalem, teaching took place in the afternoon, specifically after the ninth hour prayer (three o’clock in the afternoon our time). When Saint John Chrysostom was a priest in Antioch (386), he was in charge of this teaching. This tradition continued in subsequent centuries. This is clear from a sermon by Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, in which he says: “During the fortieth fast, we read Genesis, that is, the book that talks about creation.” Teaching continued until the evening, when the lights were turned on and the beginning of the evening prayer.

“May my prayer be straight.” : A verse from Psalm 140 that we recite in our current practice after the two readings. The way it is recited is reminiscent of the so-called Great Prokemenen. This is a metaphor for a Bible verse that is recited at length and repeated several times, each time preceded by a verse from the Psalms. This type of chanting was, and still is, linked to the readings in the Bible, as it either precedes or follows them. It includes fumigation. Saint John Chrysostom bears witness to the presence of “May my prayer be upright” in the service. It is noted that the second verse of this psalm is recited, not the first. This is a custom inherited first by the Church of Syria and then by the Church of Palestine from the Church of Edessa.

Prayers for catechumens and believers: The order of service in the above-mentioned manuscript is followed by “May my prayer be upright” and “Lord have mercy,” prayers for the catechumens and those preparing to receive baptism, and other prayers for the believers. This arrangement is inspired by ancient Syriac vespers as they were performed in the fourth century, which consisted of a single psalm at the lighting of the candles and several prayers for the catechumens and the faithful.

Lighting candles (the light of Christ...): In the current arrangement of the service, after the first reading from the Book of Genesis, the priest turns toward the people, holding a lit candle, and says: “The light of Christ illuminates all.” The origin of this ritual may be in the Jewish tradition, in which a prayer of thanksgiving is said to God when lighting candles for the light He has given so that people can see in the darkness of the night. In a very early time, Christians took this custom and gave it another meaning. The light that is lit when they gather to pray is a reminder to them of the presence of Christ among them, who called Himself “the light of the world” (John 21:8 and 5:9). They used to light candles in this sense, during sunset prayers, or after teaching the catechumens on days of fasting, or when they gathered to eat the meal of charity. Tertullian (third century), in his description of one of the gatherings for the meal of love, says that each person in turn was asked to stand before the light and sing a hymn to God from the Holy Bible. We also find evidence of this custom in the fourth century from Saint Basil the Great and the traveler Etherea. This custom was practiced in homes as well. But it was mainly associated with teaching those preparing for baptism, which is also called “enlightenment,” hence the saying, “The light of Christ shines for all.” The lighting of the light ended the period designated for teaching the catechumens and opened the vespers prayer.

Thus, we find that the communion of previously sanctified holy things did not have a special service in this sense, but rather was performed within the order of the evening prayer of the evening on the days of fasting after:

1. Teaching catechumens and those preparing for enlightenment (reading from the Book of Genesis is a trace of this tradition),
2. Declaration: “The light of Christ shines for all.”
3. “May my prayer be straight,”
4. Prayers for catechumens and believers, originally from the order of the ancient Syriac Vespers.

This is how the service was obtained at least in the eighth century. After this period, especially in the tenth to fifteenth centuries, there were increases and additions to the service in the form of the service and the way it was practiced.

The Liturgy of the previously sanctified Holy Places is close to the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great in that they are performed with or within Vespers. It also comes close, for the same reason, to the liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom when it is performed with vespers on the day of the Annunciation of the Virgin if it falls on a weekday during Great Lent. This similarity was an incentive to include elements belonging to the full liturgies in the service of the previously sanctified sanctuaries, especially with regard to the preparation of the offerings and the beginning of the service.

The manuscripts that provide the text of the service, between the tenth and sixteenth centuries, show that there were two traditions for the opening of the service. Some of these manuscripts mention, “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father,” and the other includes, “Blessed be God our God,” the opening phrase for regular prayers. The tradition that mentions “Blessed be God” as the opening of the service justifies itself by saying that this declaration is appropriate to our lowly condition, which we can liken to “a broken olive branch,” while the declaration “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father” is a sign of victory and conquest. In our current practice the proclamation is said “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father” when in fact we are offering Vespers. This is definitely the effect of full masses.

Prayers said by the priest before the Grand Entrance were included in the service, and they are not essentially part of the original arrangement but rather the result of later developments. Before the session, the priest says, “Now are the powers of the heavens,” and she herself chants during the session. This hymn, as we mentioned previously, dates back to at least the seventh century.

The phrase “the sanctities that were previously sanctified by the saints” does not appear in the oldest manuscripts that contain the service, nor in those that are chronologically close to it. But its absence does not mean that the ritual of lifting and breaking itself did not exist. This movement is very important in its relationship with Communion, as its origins go back to Jesus’ last supper with his disciples when he took up the bread, gave thanks, and broke it. However, it was not practiced in the liturgy of previously sanctified holy things, but was introduced at a later time.

During Communion, the priests sing the choir, “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” and after Communion, the following piece is chanted, “I Bless the Lord at all times.” These are verses from Psalm 33, and it was mentioned in the book “Apostolic Institutions” (fifth century) that this psalm has a close connection to Communion.

After Communion, the ancient prayer of thanksgiving is recited. The final prayer that is said at the pulpit: “O Lord Almighty, who created all creation with wisdom,” is one of the oldest prayers in the order of service. There is one manuscript from the thirteenth century that replaces it with those said in the Liturgy of Chrysostom.

Thus we find that the liturgy of the previously sanctified sanctuaries did not have a ceremonial character in the beginning. It was nothing but a sunset prayer service in which the believers received communion of the Body and Blood that had been previously sanctified in a previous Mass, during the period of fasting. In the period extending from the tenth to the sixteenth century, which was a period of important liturgical developments that occurred in liturgical forms and practices, a ceremonial character was introduced to the service and it was considered a mass in parallel with the masses of Basil the Great and Chrysostom. This matter led to the introduction of elements from these two Masses into the liturgy of previously sanctified sanctities, bringing them to the form in which we know them today.

It remains to say a word about the author of this service. The Liturgy of the previously canonized Holy Places is usually attributed to Saint Gregory the Great, Pope of Rome (590-604). But this percentage is not old, and therefore we cannot rely on it. The oldest writings that talk about the life of Saint Gregory the Great do not mention that he wrote liturgical works. In one of the introductions that appear before the narration of his life, the following phrase is read: “It is said that he was the one who established the rule that a “full liturgy” should be held in the Roman Church on days of fasting, something they still maintain.” This information is most likely correct, as the Western Church still holds a mass every day during fasting, except for Good Friday. Later, due to disputes between the Orthodox and Latin churches over Communion and the manner in which it is performed (from the body alone or from both the body and blood), the phrase “full liturgy” was canceled from the aforementioned introduction and the phrase “liturgy of previously sanctified sanctities” was put in its place. It spread in manuscripts, but this did not happen before the sixteenth century. He rejected its attribution to Gregory the Great, Patriarch of Jerusalem, Dositheos II (1669-1707), in his commentary on Canon 52 of the Fifth-Sixth Council (692).

  In fact, the service, as we presented it historically, does not require having an author, as in the services of Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, where we have what was called the “Anafora” (the Offering), which is an orchestrated and literary piece that forms the heart of the Mass and its theology. We have shown that the liturgy of the previously consecrated Holy Places is originally a vespers prayer that contains elements from different liturgical traditions, and that other matters entered it through external influences in later periods. Attributing it to Gregory the Great has no basis other than the assumption that after the sixteenth century, he was the one who introduced it into the practice of the Church of Rome.

From my parish bulletin 1994