From the Rector

EDITOR’S NOTE: During Fr Robert’s sabbatical, the Bell & Tower will publish a series of articles he wrote to explain the Episcopal liturgy.

This week we focus on two particular moments in the liturgy: the Kyrie and the Gloria. 

Kyrie simply means “Lord have mercy.” It has a penitential feel but is, in reality, a kind of praise that, while less exuberant and ecstatic than the Gloria, still is an acclamation of thanksgiving more than an imploring for forgiveness of sin. The Kyrie is required to be said or sung in Rite I and is an option in Rite II (an option we use in Advent and Lent).

The root of the Kyrie may be found in pagan antiquity when, at the entrance of the emperor, the gathered crowds might call out “have mercy” which had the quality of asking that attention be paid to the plight of the supplicant. People would also ask the gods for their intercession by adding “eleison” (upon us). The phrase is found with great regularity in the psalms as well. The Kyrie litany came into wider liturgical use in the 4th century. It has been used both at the beginning of the liturgy in history, as well as nearer the prayers of the people.

Today it is used both in a penitential way (and is part of our penitential rites), as well as being a hymn of praise (if somewhat more somber). It is a good reminder when used at the beginning of the liturgy that we gather by and through the mercy of a God who loves us.

If the Kyrie is a subdued form of praise the Gloria is an ecstatic one.

The Gloria is sometimes called the Angelic Hymn in early sources as it echoes the declaration of the angels at the birth of Jesus, “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on Earth.” Each liturgy is, in some ways, the celebration of Jesus coming among us anew both in bread and wine and in the gathered community, so it seems appropriate for us to echo that heavenly song of praise. At the 9:00am and 11:15am liturgies we sing the Gloria. This seems appropriate given that saying it sometimes feels what I imagine it does for a group gathered to say the National Anthem.

The Gloria’s use in the liturgy is ancient and hearkens back to a time when verses of scripture were used as hymns in their own right and its use is traced back to at least the 4th century. Originally, it was predominantly used on major feast days as a hymn of praise. (Some traditions still use another hymn called the Te Deum similarly at the end of major feast days using two thuribles and exuberant singing to mark the great joy of the day).

In around the 11th century, we see the use of the Gloria move from being used only on major feasts (and generally only when a bishop was present) to wider and more regular use.  A look at the theology of the Gloria could almost be a class in and of itself. Suffice it to say, there may be no better way to enter the Presence of the Holy One than to begin with this hymn of praise and thanks. We come with reverence, joy, and awe as we gather to hear the Word and come to the Table.

One might note that each of these two elements (and most of the other elements of the liturgy) has deep roots in the Catholic history and tradition of the Church. So, when someone says this or that is too (Roman) Catholic—we are often left with little else to say to one another if we did not use Catholic liturgical texts. The concept of liturgy itself is a Catholic one—indeed a Baptist minister laughed out loud when I told him that I was taking two classes on liturgy in one term while in seminary. I suspect he felt that this took away from my study of scripture. I could not bear to tell him that the scriptures themselves did not fall from Heaven in a Hefty bag but were the result of the deliberations of the Catholic Church.

Incense is used at 11:15am because, as a living link with Christian and Jewish antiquity, it assures us that the early Christians believed as we believe: that when we gather together in His Name, God is in our midst; that we do not merely remember a dead man but have Communion with a living eternal King; that we do not merely long for a heaven that is “up yonder,” or “in the sweet by and by,” but adore an Eternal Lord who is “right here and now.”

In antiquity, incense was burned before royalty and the aristocracy on all public occasions. If you wished to honor a friend, you burned incense when he visited you. Incense was burned in temples and all places of public and private worship in honor of the God who was to visit the temple. It adds to our service an atmosphere of mystery—and well it might—for it signifies an invasion of the Eternal into time, of the Infinite All Holy into the midst of His people.

That digression can always get more exploration at another time….