Gurukul Lutheran Theological College

Liturgy and Music in Worship

Topic: Liturgy of St. James

Submitted to, Submitted by,

Prof. Thomas Manoj Samuel. Davis Herbert, George Issac

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The Liturgy of Saint James is the oldest complete form of the Eastern varieties of the
Divine Liturgy still in use among certain Christian Churches. Orthodox Church gave more
importance to the liturgy of St. James, because they believe that this liturgy had been formed on
the basis of Jesus teaching about the Lord’s Supper and it had been directly heard from Jesus
Christ. In Orthodox Church the Anaphora of St. James may be used on all occasions, but is
obligatory on the following occasion like All the festivals of the Church, at the ordination of
deacons and priests and the consecration of a bishop or patriarch, at the celebration of the Holy
Eucharist, for the first time, by a newly ordained priest, at the celebration of the Holy Eucharist,
for the first time, at any church.

History of the Liturgy

The Liturgy of St.James is one of the oldest Anaphora which is still in use. The Liturgy is
associated with the name of James the Just, the "brother" of Jesus and patriarch 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, Hanan ben Hanan. The Liturgy of Saint James as it presently exists has been
brought into conformity with developed Trinitarian Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy. He
wrote the liturgy which was the favorite liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and St. Basil the Great.
St. John Chrysostom of course shortened the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great; St. Basil the Great
shortened the Liturgy of St. James. The general scholarly consensus is that this liturgy originated
in Jerusalem during the late fourth or early fifth century. It quickly became the primary liturgy in
Jerusalem and Antioch. Although it was later superseded in Jerusalem and Antioch by the
Liturgy of St. Basil and the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, it had already spread to other areas
of the Church. The oldest manuscript traditions are in Greek and Syriac, and there are also extant
manuscripts in Armenian, Ethiopic and Georgian. One leading theory today is that of John
Fenwick, who argues that the similarities between this liturgy and that of St. Basil demonstrate
their respective developments from a common source, now lost, but which is best preserved in
the Egyptian recessions of the Liturgy of St Basil. Fenwick suggests that the Liturgy of St. James

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was composed by St. Cyril of Jerusalem c. 370. Forming the historical basis of the Liturgy of
Antioch, it is still the principal liturgy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Marthoma
Syrian Church, Syrian Catholic Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Maronite Church, and
Malankara Orthodox Church.

Limitations of St. James Liturgy

St. James liturgy is very important in Syrian Churches. But the liturgy had to face some
drawbacks. They are given below:

The liturgy of St. James is very lengthy and it had taken more time.

It is very difficult to understand the Syriac language in St. James liturgy.

Lot of silent prayers are done by the priest in St. James liturgy, it is not understandable by
the ordinary people.

We don’t understand the meanings of some terms.

Symbolic actions are very difficult to understand by the congregation.

For overcoming the limitations churches had to conduct liturgy classes, awareness programmes,
and liturgical education through Sunday school. Now a day these programmes are conducted by
the churches in a successful way.

Conclusion

Liturgy of St. James had to play a vital role many churches, especially in the Syrian
Churches. The churches have different kinds of liturgies for different occasions but liturgy of St.
James is very much higher than compared to others because of the significance. The teachings of
worship to the Deacons by the Bishop are started with St. James liturgy. But every liturgy has its
own limitation and the churches had tried to overcome those limitations.