05 — The Liturgy of Saint James
The Divine Liturgy that bears the name of James, the Brother of the Lord and first bishop of Jerusalem: its Antiochene-Jerusalem (West Syrian) shape, its great anaphora, and its distinctive prayers — above all “Let all mortal flesh keep silence.” This section sets out what the liturgy is and how it is structured, and then examines the carefully qualified claim that it is the oldest surviving complete eucharistic liturgy, together with its medieval eclipse by the Byzantine rite and its modern revival.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
Of all the works that carry the name of St. James, none has shaped the Church’s worship as this liturgy has. It is the parent rite of the Jerusalem-Antiochene family, preserved in both Greek and Syriac, and it remains in living use: the Syriac Liturgy of St. James is to this day the principal anaphora of the Syriac Orthodox and Maronite churches, while the Greek text is celebrated among the Orthodox on the feast of St. James (October 23). The two files below treat its structure, content, and authorship, and then its antiquity and revival.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Liturgy of St. James | The structure and content of the rite: the West Syrian / Antiochene-Jerusalem type; the anaphora; the Cherubic hymn “Let all mortal flesh keep silence”; the litanies and communion; its Greek and Syriac preservation; and the disputed question of authorship. |
| The Oldest Liturgy | The qualified claim that St. James is the oldest surviving complete eucharistic liturgy; its place beside the Didache, Apostolic Constitutions, and Apostolic Tradition; its relation to Basil and Chrysostom; and its modern revival. |
See Also
- The Epistle of James — the other great work that bears the apostle’s name
- The Throne of Jerusalem — James as first bishop of the church whose worship the liturgy preserves
- The Divine Liturgy — the eucharistic worship of the Orthodox Church in which this rite stands
- St. John Chrysostom — the Byzantine liturgy that displaced St. James’s in most of the Orthodox world
References
- Brightman, F. E. Liturgies Eastern and Western, Being the Texts Original or Translated of the Principal Liturgies of the Church. Vol. 1: Eastern Liturgies. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896.
- The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7. Ed. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson. Buffalo: Christian Literature Company, 1886. (“The Divine Liturgy of James.”)
- Dix, Gregory. The Shape of the Liturgy. London: Dacre Press, 1945.
- Jasper, R. C. D., and G. J. Cuming. Prayers of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed. 3rd ed. New York: Pueblo, 1987.