In the last issue of the article, I suggested that there was a great interplay between Byzantine church architecture and the Liturgy. For example, two parts of the Liturgy directly impacted the structure of the church building, namely the Little and Great Entrances. The gifts of bread and wine had to be brought to the Holy Table (The gifts were brought by the faithful to be used in the service) and the Gospel Book had to be brought out so that it could be read (It was a hand-written book and very valuable and so kept in a locked location and only brought out when needed).

The spiritual idea then arose that the Word of God and life (which is symbolically represented by bread and wine [food]) come from God (heaven) to earth in order to lead us back to God, the building then had to have aisles and a way of making a procession through the congregation. Since aisles were also needed for egress, it stimulated the liturgists to find a spiritual meaning for the processions.

Another interesting example is the development of the Iconastasis. It was not always as we have it today with doors (see following figure). I shall in weeks to come provide a more detailed history of its development since it is now a significant part of our heritage as a Greek-Catholic Church.

We must remember that the Iconastasis further developed after Iconoclasm was stamped out and icons were integrated into the ritual of our Church.

Another great influence on the structure of the Liturgy was the traditions of the Imperial Court. As Christ came to be seen as the Pantocrator (Ruler of the Universe) and the church building as the court of the Supreme Ruler, the ritual surrounding the service gradually was embellished. Later, when bishops assumed a more symbolic role of rulers of an eparchy, the ritual was even further embellished.

So the worship of God through the sharing of food at a ritual meal, was gradually transformed into a much different experience. Our Church, more so than the Western Church, retained and integrated the ritual of the synagogue. You can find elements of each influence in our Liturgy.

The culture of each location where the Church became incorporated into society, also had a great influence on the structure and ritual of the Liturgy. We see the evidence of this also in the Western Church which has been greatly influenced by western culture and religious practice.