PrayerFoundation™ Worship Service       

Part 1: The Liturgy of the Word, and Part 2: The Liturgy of the Eucharist.  Compiled by  S.G. Preston, in 2007, and revised by him in 2020.  

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Primary Sources:

The Holy Scriptures

The Divine Liturgy of St. James — is the earliest known Christian Liturgy.  It traditionally has been attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, and was the Liturgy of the Church of Jerusalem. 

Orthodoxwiki states it is: “…among the oldest Eucharistic Services in continuous use.” 

And: “The general scholarly consensus is that this liturgy originated in Jerusalem during the late fourth or early fifth century.” 

“Fenwick suggests that the Liturgy of St. James was composed by St. Cyryl of Jerusalem c. 370.”

The oldest existing manuscript dates from the tenth century; its use can be proven as far back as the fourth century. 

This Liturgy is observed a few times a year in Orthodox Churches throughout the world, and is still used exclusively in the Syriac Orthodox Church.

St. Basil the Great, in 370-379 A.D. revised, simplified, and shortened The Divine Liturgy of St. James (at the time, 4 1/2 hrs. long) into what is now known as:

The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (at the time, 2 1/2 hrs. long).

The Antiochene Liturgy — in the Apostolic Constitutions is the oldest known Liturgical manuscript, dated 380 A.D.

Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Liturgies — were in use from the 400’s in Britain until 1078 A.D., when they were replaced by the:

Sarum Rite Liturgy — which was simplified and reformed by Archbishop Cranmer in the first:

Anglican Book of Common Prayer — in 1549.

The Lorrha Stowe Missal (500’s)— is known to have been still in use by Celtic Christians c. 600 A.D.

The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.) has been in use by Eastern Orthodoxy since the late 300’s A.D.

John Chrysostom felt more time should be available for sermons and the teaching of Scripture; so this Liturgy is a revision, simplification, and shortening (by an hour) of:

The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great (John Chrysostom’s sermons lasted anywhere from 20 minutes to two hours).

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Secondary Sources:

The Christian Tradition (Vol. 1-5)

by Jaroslav Pelikan

Credo

by Jaroslav Pelikan

The Shape of the Liturgy

by Dom Gregory Dix

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Commentary:

Like the Liturgies in use today, the earliest Liturgies were based on even earlier Liturgies that had long been in use before them.

They are all based on Bible Texts, and so I have included the Scripture References for each section of the Liturgy.

Unfortunately, there remain no original, unrevised forms of the earliest Liturgies.

But fortunately, we are able to compare these earliest Liturgies to the unchanged Holy Scriptures, upon which they were based.

By doing so, I sought to compile a Liturgy that returned as close in form to the actual earliest Liturgies as possible.

The result is a composite historical Liturgy, of the 4th through the 7th centuries (300’s-600’s A.D.), compared to Holy Scripture, and consisting of Holy Scripture (or based on Scripture verses).

“New” portions include the Doxology (“Praise God from whom all blessings flow…”) at the very end of Part 2 of the Service.

 It was composed by the Anglican Bishop Thomas Ken in 1695, and is said to be the most sung of any song for the past 300 years.  This is how long it has been a part of the Anglican Liturgy.

Also, the small portion of original Liturgy compiled from Scripture by S.G. Preston which includes:

Your Word is Truth,

and: Unity of the Spirit.

Consisting of, or conforming to Holy Scripture, this Worship Service is therefore suitable for use by Evangelicals, as well as by all other Christians.

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This time period of the 300’s through the 600’s covers the first half of the Celtic Christian Era.

In Ireland, the Celtic Christian Era lasted from 432 A.D., the year St. Patrick returned to the island to begin his ministry, until the Synod of Cashel in 1172 A.D.

That is the year of the conquest of Ireland by the English King Henry II, when Ireland’s Celtic Christians were absorbed into the Church of Rome.

The Celtic Christian monastic Orders, 730 years old, were all dissolved at this time, and replaced by the Continental Orders: the Benedictines, Augustinians, and so forth.

We do not know for certain how long before the 4th century (300’s A.D.) these Liturgies were in use, but we do know that Liturgies throughout history have changed very slowly, when they have changed at all.

Before the Emperor Constantine’s legalization of Christianity in 313 A.D., during the centuries of persecution, Christians met secretly, and seldom made written records of Church practice.  Meeting for Church was itself illegal, and written records could be used against Christians.

Worship services were memorized, and were not to be revealed to non-Christians.

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Catechumens, those studying prior to their Baptism, were allowed to attend The Liturgy of the Word (also called: The Liturgy of the Catechumens),

but were asked to leave the Church before The Liturgy of the Eucharist (also called: The Liturgy of the Faithful), and then the doors would be locked.

This dismissal is still announced every Sunday in Eastern Orthodoxy’s The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

but today no one leaves, and the Church doors are not locked.

The Early Church considered Communion to be a mystery.

 This is how the Bible refers to marriage and to the relationship of Christ and the Church.

(Ephesians 5:32)

…and also how it refers to our future resurrection and glorification.

(1 Corinthians 15:51-52)

The original Greek word used in the New Testament from which our English word mystery is derived is μυστήριον (mystērion);

the Latin translation is sacramentum (mystery), from which our English word sacrament is derived. 

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We have had visitors from all over the world join us in our Worship Service.  

Presbyterians, Anglicans, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, and Lutherans have all found the Service to be familiar.

And why should this not be so?  

All Christian Liturgical Services follow the same basic outline:

…including The Liturgy of the Word, and The Liturgy of the Eucharist (Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper).

The Liturgy of the Word was a Christian adaptation of the Jewish Synagogue Service, with its Scripture Readings, Psalms, and Teaching Commentary on Scripture.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist  was of course instituted by Christ Himself at The Lord’s Supper.

Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire by the Emperor Constantine  in 313 A.D.  

The earliest Liturgy or Liturgies appear to have been compiled into their current (very similar) forms between 370 and 407 A.D.

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We have all been baptized by one Spirit into one body, the body of Christ:

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into One Body,”

-1 Corinthians 12:13

And as the Scriptures also teach (included in the second half of this Liturgy, The Liturgy of the Eucharist):

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the Bread of Life: those that come to Me shall never hunger, and those that believe in Me shall never thirst.” 

-John 6:35

“The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?  The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

Because there is One Bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share that One Bread.” 

-1 Corinthians 10:16-17

     -S.G. Preston     

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