The Divine Liturgy of St. James: Ancient Rite and Modern Recovery
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Fr. Chrysostom Nassis, associate professor at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, discusses the Divine Liturgy of St. James, an ancient rite linked to Jerusalem and to St. James, the brother of the Lord and first bishop of that city. The first historical mention appears in Canon 32 of the Quinisext Council, which debated whether the liturgy could be celebrated with unmixed wine.
The oldest Greek manuscript, a scroll in the Vatican Library, shows internal evidence of production in Damascus, placing the liturgy within the Patriarchate of Antioch. Its anaphora follows the Antiochian pattern shared by the Liturgies of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom, and the text was translated into Syriac and Georgian; the Georgian tradition preserves both a concise ancient version and an expanded later version.
Scholars believe this is the liturgy St. Cyril of Jerusalem had in mind for his mid-fourth-century mystagogical catecheses, but historical circumstances and the Byzantinization of Jerusalem led to its gradual disuse. Today it is celebrated only once or twice a year in some cathedrals. Detailed rubrics for actions such as the melismos, the breaking of the bread before communion, are difficult to reconstruct from manuscripts alone, so celebrants often borrow practices from the more familiar Liturgies of St. Basil or St. John Chrysostom, and modern innovations such as facing the people have been introduced.
A new critical edition from the Monastery of Vatopedi provides separate books for chanter, deacon, priest, and a guide, incorporating manuscript evidence from multiple languages, while earlier editions by Foundoulis and Messine remain scholarly references.
Key moments
- The first historical reference to the Liturgy of St. James appears in Canon 32 of the Quinisext Council, which discusses whether the divine liturgy can be celebrated with simple wine rather than a mixed chalice.
- The liturgy is ascribed to St. James, the first bishop of Jerusalem, and belongs to the rite of the Holy See of Jerusalem where Christ lived, was crucified, and resurrected.
- The oldest extant Greek manuscript is a scroll in the Vatican Library, but internal evidence indicates it was produced in Damascus, placing it in the Patriarchate of Antioch.
- The structure of its anaphora follows the same Antiochian pattern as the Liturgies of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom.
- The liturgy was adopted by other Eastern churches, including the Syriac Orthodox Church, and exists in Georgian manuscripts in two forms: a concise ancient version and an expanded later version.
- Scholars believe this is the liturgy St. Cyril of Jerusalem references in his mid-fourth-century mystagogical catecheses to the newly baptized.
- The rubrics for the melismos (the breaking of the bread before communion) are so detailed that without having seen or lived the practice, it is unclear how to perform the specific actions, such as placing a portion of the Body in the chalice and crossing the other part.
- A recent edition from the Monastery of Vatopedi publishes the liturgy in a boxed set with separate books for the chanter, deacon, priest, and a guide for celebration, based on manuscript tradition and multiple languages.