Overview

The Liturgy of Saint James is based on the traditions of the ancient rite of the Early Christian Church at Jerusalem, as the Mystagogic Catecheses of St Cyril of Jerusalem imply. Forming the historical basis of the Liturgy of Antioch, it is still the principal liturgy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, in Syriac and, in the ancient Indian Orthodox Church, in translations into Malayalam, Hindi and English. The Early Christians is a term used to refer to the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth, before the emergence of established Christian orthodoxy. ... Jerusalem and the Old City. ... Cyril of Jerusalem was a distinguished theologian of the early Church ( 315 - 386). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. ... Syriac is an Eastern Aramaic language that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent. ... The Indian Orthodox Church (also known as the Malankara Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church of the East, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Orthodox Syrian Church of the East), is a prominent member of the Oriental Orthodox Church family. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം) is the major language of the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

The Liturgy is associated with the name of James the Just, brother of Jesus and chief among the Jewish Christians at Jerusalem. Saint James was martyred at the hands of a mob incensed at his preaching about Jesus and his "transgression of the Law" - an accusation made by the Jewish High Priest of the time, Ananias. For people and places called Saint James, see the disambiguation page. ... Jewish Christians (sometimes called also Hebrew Christians or Christian Jews, but see below for differences) is a term which can have two meanings, an historical one and a contemporary one. ... Jesus, also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, in which context he is known as Jesus Christ (from Greek Ιησούς Χριστός) with Christ not being a name but rather a title meaning Anointed. He is also considered a very important prophet in Islam. ... // The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי transliterated: Yehudi) is used in many ways, but generally refers to a follower of Judaism, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes. ... The term High Priest may refer to particular individuals who hold the office of ruler-priest in local regional or ethnic contexts. ... Ananias is the Greek form of Hananiah (Hebrew for Yahweh is gracious), or Ananiah, a name occurring several times in the Old Testament and Apocrypha (Nehemiah 3:23, 1 Chronicles 15:23, Tobit 5:12. ...

The historic Christian liturgies are divided between Eastern and Western usages. Among the Eastern liturgies, the Liturgy of Saint James is one of the Antiochene group of liturgies, those ascribed to Saint James, to Saint Basil, and to Saint John Chrysostom. Other Eastern liturgies include the Assyrian or Chaldean rites, as well as the Armenian and Maronite rites. The Byzantine liturgies attributed to Saint John Chrysostom and Saint Basil are the ones most widely used today by all Orthodox Christians in communion with Constantinople. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Saint John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (347 - 407) was a notable Christian bishop and preacher from the 4th and 5th centuries in Syria and Constantinople. ...

The Liturgy of Saint James as it presently exists has been brought into conformity with developed Trinitarian Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy. The adjective trinitarian is used in several senses: Ideas or things pertaining to the Holy Trinity A person or group adhering to the doctrine of Trinitarianism, which holds God to subsist in the form of the Holy Trinity The Trinitarian Order is a Catholic monastic order founded in 1198 by...

Manuscript tradition

The Liturgy of Saint James is considered to be the oldest surviving liturgy developed for general use in the Church. Its date of composition is traditionally very early and is widely accepted to ca. AD 60, close to the time of composition of Saint Paul's Epistle to the Romans. From the Greek word λειτουργια, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning the work of the people, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), a daily activity such... An early portrait of the Apostle Paul. ... The Epistle to the Romans is one of the epistles, or letters, included in the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. ...

In the 4th century, Saint Basil considerably shortened the Liturgy due to its extreme length, chiefly as a result of a long list of prayers for the Saints. John Chrysostom, further revised the liturgy a few years later. It is in this edited form that the Liturgy survives today. Basil (ca. ... General definition of saint In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ... Saint John Chrysostom John Chrysostom (347 - 407) was a notable Christian bishop and preacher from the 4th and 5th centuries in Syria and Constantinople. ...

The only critical edition is the one published by Dom B.-Charles Mercier in the Patrologia Orientalis, vol. 26 (1950). The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ...

Use

Many Western Christians, to their surprise, would know a small portion of the Liturgy through the hymn, Let all Mortal Flesh keep Silence. The tune to which it is sung in English today, however, is certainly not part of the original composition and is a French carol melody, Picardy, which first appeared in The English Hymnal in 1906. This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ...

Except on the feast day of Saint James (October 23) and the first Sunday after Christmas, and then almost exclusively celebrated in Jerusalem, the Liturgy of Saint James is not regularly celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church. In its Syrian form, the Liturgy is still used in the Syriac Orthodox Church, both in a Syriac translation and in Malayalam and English by the Syrian Orthodox Church of India. Christmas is a holiday observed in much of the world on 25 December (or on 7 January in most Eastern Orthodox Churches). ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. ... The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world. ...

The Liturgy

The Liturgy of Saint James is very long indeed, taking some hours to complete in full. A reproduction of the text for the Liturgy canalso be found at The Divine Liturgy of Saint James (Transcription).

External links

• "Liturgy of Saint James": brief introduction and e-text as translated by Archimandrite Ephrem
• Catholic Encyclopedia: "Liturgy of Jerusalem"
• Liturgy of St. James in Ante-Nicene Fathers

Further reading

• L. H. Dalmais, Eastern Liturgies (1960)