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Dear Friends,

I attended Divine Liturgy at the Melkite church yesterday, and noticed a few unexpected things (none of these things bothered me in the least, mind you; they simply excited my curosity). I've been to this parish at least a dozen times, but it's been so long that I can't remember if these first two are out of the ordinary or not (the third one definitely is out of the ordinary for this parish).

1) The priest was wearing a wonderful vestment set of blue for the Feast of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple, but for some reason didn't have an epigonation attached to his side. Is the epigonation an optional vestment for Byzantine priests?

2) There was no Communion Spoon (sorry, forget the Greek word for it) used to give the Lamb to the faithful. The priest would simply take his own fingers, dip the Body just barely into the Blood, and then place It in one's mouth with his hand. Is this a common practice? I've never seen it done before.

3) At the end of the Liturgy, instead of coming forward to venerate a hand cross (as is usually done in this temple), we came forward and venerated an icon of the Theotokos. I suppose this was just because of the special feast day?

Oh, and one last question: I've always noticed that whereas Greek and Slavic Byzantine clergy seem to wear the sticheron under their outer vestments, Antiochian Byzantine clergy seem never to wear them, instead simply using the black cassock underneath. Any rhyme of reason (or truth) to that?

Alexis

With respect to your question about the use of intinction in the Melkite Church, that is indeed common practice.

Athanasius,

Thanks. I thought "intinction" just referred to putting the Body into the Blood, regardless of whether a Communion Spoon is used to aid the process? Would it not be intinction either way?

Alexis

Alexis:

I used the word "intinction" because that's the terminology used by a Melkite priest who is a frequent concelebrant at my parish, but I suppose you're correct.

Ryan

This practice of the priest using his hand instead of the Spoon is common to the Syriac and Indian Churches as well - I think it is an Antiochian liturgical custom, although the Spoon has been used as well - especially for Communing infants.

The epigonation is given by the bishop. When and why it is given varies a bit between the churches. I was at a Melkite church in the USA when the Archbishop bestowed this on the pastor of a mission as a token of his pleasure at the good work being done there. I was told this was usually done when the mission was made into a parish.

We have had comment on the forum that the Melkites started giving Holy Communion this way from about the 1920s during French rule in Syria and Lebanon. Why they chose to be different from the Orthodox I have no idea. Some other Byzantine Catholics have taken on the practice like the Romanian Greek Catholics (since the union) and the Italo-Albanians.

All Byantine Greek Catholic clergy have occasion to only wear the outer vestments over the rason. The Orthodox would all wear a Stikhar for the Liturgy just as the catholics do. They always vest correctly to the best of my knowledge. The service I attended after the liturgy to commemorate the famine in Ukraine was presided over by the priest who had the outer vestments on over his rason. The Orthodox priest chose to wear only the epitrachelion over his rason.

But it is not an Antiochian Orthodox liturgical custom. The Antiochian Orthodox still employ the spoon for distributing the Holy Gifts, as is normal in the Byzantine Rite.

Fr David Straut

"The epigonation is given by the bishop. When and why it is given varies a bit between the churches. I was at a Melkite church in the USA when the Archbishop bestowed this on the pastor of a mission as a token of his pleasure at the good work being done there. I was told this was usually done when the mission was made into a parish."

I would assume this priest can use an epigonation; he is an archimandrite.

It does worry me a tiny bit, giving out Holy Communion by the hand and not using something beneath (like the altar cloth or the paten in the Roman Rite, or the whatchamacallit in the Byzantine Rite ;)) to catch whatever particles may fall. Yes, I know this happens constantly in the Novus Ordo and it's something I don't like, but it is even more worrisome when the bread that will be consecrated is leavened and flakier/crumbier than the unleaved bread of the Latin Rite.

Alexis

The good Archimandrite may not have epigonation that came with that particular set of vestments., so he simply did not wear one that day.

Are you saying that the Melkites you saw did not hold a Communion Cloth under the chins of those receiving Holy Communion? I've never heard of such a thing! That is an abuse and should be corrected.

Fr David Straut

1) I enjoy blue vestments myself. The epigonation is "optional" in the sense that it signifies an award, which some priests have and others do not.

2) I've done my best to track down the missing Communion Spoon and finally determined that this particular abuse seems to have originated in the nineteen-thirties. The Melkites know perfectly well that this is an abuse, and become quite defensive when one asks what this is all about. They will then claim that this is a "health" necessity - although I would hardly consider that sticking my fingers into people's mouths is a healthy habit. They also allege that the faithful are horrified by the Spoon. I'm horrified by the very thought of someone, especially a child, biting my fingers and drawing blood - this has actually happened to priest friends of mine. I'll stick with my Spoon, shukran.

3) not to worry - the priest is fully competent to decide what to offer the faithful for veneration.

last question: it is never correct to serve the Divine Liturgy without wearing the sticharion under the outer vestments.

Fr. Serge

Here is a quote from my melkite service book.

"In the Melkite Church communion is given by the priest dipping the bread into the wine rather than by the spoon used in all other byzantine churches,because this is a more ancient Syrian custom" .

This question arose previously and, as I recollect, I was going to look it up, refresh my recollection, and never did.

In his History of the Melkite Patriarchates Volume II Modern Period (1833-1855), Father Cyril (Korolevsky), of blessed memory, specifically discusses the Melkite change from use of the communion spoon to the priest dipping the Body into the Blood and the reasons for the decision. As you'll note from the time period referenced in the volume's title, the custom obviously pre-dated the 1920s, which someone mentioned. My imperfect memory suggests to me that it came about during the patriarchate of His Beatitude Maximos III (Mazloom) - which would date the custom (or change in custom) to between 1833 and 1855 - the point in history at which Father Cyril's narrative closes.

My memory, which may be incorrect, doesn't support the reason being that of a more ancient Syriac custom - unfortunately, my memory doesn't suggest what reason he offered. Regretably, there is an empty space on my bookshelf, between Vol. I and Vol. III (Part 1) - and I don't know why that is.

If anyone has a copy of it handy, they'd perhaps be kind enough to skim (if one can truly speak of "skimming" any of Father's works) and see if they notice it. Meanwhile, I'll hunt for the volume and then hunt for the relevant text. (Compiling an index apparently never occurred to Father and, to my sorrow, Bishop Nicholas didn't undertake to compile one when the translation was done. Each time I delve into the series, I vow that I might yet do so - for my own sanity.)

Many years,

Neil

You'll see from an earlier post (https://www.byzcath.org/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/292586/Re:%20%22From%20his%20side%20poured#Post292586) that the method used by the Melkites to give Communion has been around since at least the late 1800's, athough it doesn't seem to be a well-documented practice.

A priest celebrating the Divine Liturgy should wear the sticharion as Fr Serge says. However, you may see a priest in our prayer services or celebrations of the mysteries wearing the epitrachelion directly over the rason.

"The priest would simply take his own fingers, dip the Body just barely into the Blood, and then place It in one's mouth with his hand."

Alexis,

I was a kid when Vatican II took place and the new Roman Mass was first promulgated. At the time intinction was permitted. This was the way we received communion in my home parish. For whatever reason/s this passed by the wayside. I would like to see this practice reinstated. It would necessitate receiving in the mouth rather than by hand.

"It does worry me a tiny bit, giving out Holy Communion by the hand and not using something beneath (like the altar cloth or the paten in the Roman Rite, or the whatchamacallit in the Byzantine Rite ;)) to catch whatever particles may fall. Yes, I know this happens constantly in the Novus Ordo..."

Now let's be fair here, even when intinction as described above was permitted in the Latin Rite, I didn't see particles falling from the hosts "constantly", if ever, and a paten was used.

In Christ,
Bill

Ok, I'll try to respond one by one...

Fr. David said: "Are you saying that the Melkites you saw did not hold a Communion Cloth under the chins of those receiving Holy Communion? I've never heard of such a thing! That is an abuse and should be corrected."

Father, I don't want to incorrectly state the events, and during the Liturgy my mind isn't focused on exactly whether or not there is a Communion cloth present, but I *think* there wasn't one. There was the deacon standing beside the place of the communicant; maybe he was holding it. I couldn't be 100% sure, but I don't think I noticed anything.

Fr. Serge,

Thanks for the helpful information. You allude to the epigonation as being an "award," which some priets have and others do not. I thought it was common to all priests, akin to, let's say, the maniple or something in pre-Pauline reform Roman Rite usage?

Bill,

I don't want to get flack for being an overscrupulous Latin, but microscopic particles can fall from Hosts and Lambs. [Cringes defensively.]

Alexis