In the last issue I presented Justin’s basic format the early Church used to celebrate the Divine Liturgy. If you compare later liturgical developments to Justin’s first format you will find that the evolution respects this primitive outline in what has been called the fourth period of growth and then later violated.

During the fourth period of the Liturgy’s development, as I presented it, we find a basic filling in of the common outline at the three soft points in the outline: (1) before the readings, (2) between the readings and the Eucharistic prayer, and (3) at the communion and dismissal. Note that at the primitive Liturgy these are the three points of action without words: the entrance into the worship space or the assembling of the Church; the kiss of peace and transfer of gifts; and the faction, communion and dismissal rites. What could be more natural than to develop the ceremonial of these actions, cover them with chants and add to them suitable prayers? For one of the most common phenomena in later liturgical development is the steadfast refusal to let a gesture speak for itself.

This process often took the form of the permanent addition to the service of rites and ceremonies which in origin hand an exclusively locale scope in the festive rites or a particular time and place. When added to the Eucharistic rite as permanent integral parts, they inevitably lose their original connection to the religioustopography of their place of origin and, hence their original scope and meaning. They assume a life independent of their past. This too is a common occurrence in liturgical history. It is especially noticeable in the rites derived from cities where liturgy was stational (the Liturgy was, in effect an active procession from one location to another, albeit, each city may have done it is a slightly different manner. Processions with all the people involved played an integral part of the Liturgy – life truly was a journey or procession of faith): Rome, Jerusalem, and Constantinople, the three most important centers of liturgical diffusion in the period after Chalcedon (451).

As ceremonial and text rush in to fill the vacuum at the three action points of the liturgy, thus overlaying the primitive shape with a second stratum of entrance, pre-anaphoral and communion rites, a contrary movement is provoked. The liturgy, thus filled out, appears             overburdened and must be cut back. Now what is fascinating about this next step is the abandonment of the former respect for the primitive shape. For it is universally verifiable that the elements thus reduced or suppressed are never the later, secondary, often questionable additions but elements of the original core, for example, Old Testament readings