During my years in Athens, at the
School of Theology, I had to give a sermon for the Liturgics Module at the
chapel, located within the School of Theology. Since I gave it during Lent, my
topic was the Presanctified Liturgy. Here I give you an English translation of
the Greek original sermon.
The Orthodox Church celebrates
mainly three Divine Liturgies, despite it also having other Liturgies that it
celebrates rarely. The Three most popular ones are: 1. The Divine Liturgy of
St. John Chrysostom, 2. The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great and 3. The
Divine Liturgy of Saint James. These are known for their joyful and celebratory
character. However, these liturgies are not able to be celebrated during the
weekdays of Lent, due to the fact that they do not follow the solemn and
mournful character of the Triodion. That is why the Orthodox Church celebrates
the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, so the faithful can have the
opportunity to receive Holy Communion on a regular basis, because otherwise he
or she does not live in Christ.
The Divine Liturgy of the
Presanctified Gifts is a characteristic feature of this time of year, acquiring
the unique beauty and solemnity that makes the spiritual culmination of the
period of fasting. In particular, it is celebrated on a Wednesday and Friday of
Great Lent, i.e. days with a mourning nature, the Thursday of the 5th
week of Lent , Good Monday, Good Tuesday, Good Wednesday and whatever
celebration falls on a weekday.
The name of this Liturgy
describes exactly what it is. It is literally a Liturgy of “the Presanctified
Gifts”. This means that it is not a Liturgy like the other ones that we
celebrate during the year, where we have an offering and sanctification of the
divine gifts. The actual gifts are sanctified during another Liturgy, which was
celebrated on another date. Therefore, it is unlike any other evening service,
because it gives the opportunity to the faithful to take communion. The priest,
during this mournful period of Lent, every Sunday and even Saturday, extracts
enough divine gifts needed for the Presanctified Liturgy of the week, from
different prosfora from the one needed for the Sunday Liturgy. They are blessed
during the specific prayers and are sanctified into the Body of Christ. Then
they will be immersed into the Holy Chalice and will be stored into a special
tabernacle for the Liturgy of the Presanctified Liturgy, celebrated during the
week. The keeping of the Presanctified Gifts is an old liturgical practice by
which the Church secures the possibility of Holy Communion to the faithful,
when the external conditions of life, such as persecution or isolation of monks
and hermits from the monastic brotherhoods, did not allow them to participate
in the usual Eucharistic gatherings.
The service begins with the Great
Vespers and places the entire service towards the objective of the Kingdom of
Heaven, which is the spiritual aim of Great Lent. The hymns which are chanted are found in the
Vespers service and simultaneously the preparations for the Divine Gifts are
taking place. A special ritual accompanies the reading that takes us back to
the time when the Great Lenten period was still the centre of the preparation
for the Baptism of the catechumens. As we read the text from the Book of
Genesis, a lighted candle is placed on the Gospel on the altar. The light is
the liturgical symbol of Christ, who is the “Light of the World”, who
illuminates the paths of our lives and warms our souls. The placing of the
candle on the Gospel during the reading of the Old Testament symbolises the
fact that all the prophecies were fulfilled in the Person of the Lord, who
opened the minds of His disciples. The Old Testament leads to Christ as the
Great Lent leads to the enlightenment of Baptism, which integrating the
catechumens in Christ, opens their minds to understand His teachings.

The second part of this service
begins with the Liturgy of the Catechumens, i.e. a set of prayers and requests
especially for those preparing to be baptised, according to the ancient
practice. After the catechumens leave, two prayers are recited introducing us
into the Liturgy of the Faithful. In the first we ask for the purification of
the soul, the body and the senses. In the second prayer of the faithful, it
prepares us for the Entering of the Divine Gifts.
After the above parts of the
service, the holiest moment follows, i.e. the procession of the Holy Gifts to
the altar. This act reminds us of the Great Entrance which we all are used to
from the Liturgies that are celebrated regularly. What differs, however, is the liturgical and
spiritual meaning assigned to it. During the Divine Liturgy, celebrated on a Sunday,
the Great Entrance symbolises the offerings that the Church gives towards God;
the Church offers herself, her life, the lives of her members and of course the
entire creation as a sacrifice to God, as a representation of the one, unique
and perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In the Presanctified Liturgy there is no
offering, there is no sacrifice and Eucharist, there is no sanctification, but
there is an apocalypse and an announcement of the mystery of Christ’s presence
within the Church. This entrance requires, of course, a very great solemnity
because it illuminates, liturgically, the coming of Jesus and the end of a long
fasting period, prayer and waiting for the arrival of aid, relief and joy that
we expect. That is why, during the Great Entrance, the faithful kneel, because
what the priest holds is not bread and wine, but they are already the Body and
Blood of the Lord, whilst the priest remains silent.
The last prayer, said in the
ieron of the church by the priest, summarises the meaning of the service of the
Presanctified Gifts and the relations with the efforts of the period of Lent.
The spiritual struggle of the Triodion period is tough, but the victory against
the invisible enemies is certainly the good fight, for whoever attempts to
undertake this venture. Therefore, we are reminded that the Resurrection is not
far away.
In recent years, it is evident
that there is an attempt to return the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts to
its previous time, namely the evening hours, so therefore the all-day fasting
brings a new and special meaning to the holiness of both this Liturgy and this
period.
This Liturgy is one of the most
beautiful and mystical services of the Orthodox Church. Moreover, it is also a
constant reminder for the frequency of Holy Communion within a Christian life;
it is a voice from the depths of history, from the ancient living tradition of
the Church. A voice that claims that the believer cannot live the life in
Christ if there is no constant renewal of the communion with the source of
life, the body and blood of the Lord. The faithful needs to constantly live a
life in Christ, a task promoted by our Church especially during the period of
the Triodion. What eventually saves us is neither fasting nor the chanting or
praying alone, but what Saint Gregory Palamas stated, ‘to do all of these in
front of God’. This relationship with God and the burning of the heart in view
of the evening Holy Communion is exactly what gives a completely different
meaning in every moment of the day that went by, and gives a true understanding
and feel of the coming Resurrection, increasing thus the desire all Christians
have, of having Christ in the centre of their lives.