Questions and Answers on the Presanctified Liturgy - Part 2 (St. Symeon of Thessaloniki)

By St. Symeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki
 
Question 56

Why are the Presanctified Liturgies not celebrated during the other fasting periods?

Answer

The Presanctified Liturgies are not celebrated during the other fasts because this fast, above all others, remains first and pre-eminent — it is the Fast of the Lord Himself. During it alone, on the five weekdays, this practice has been handed down to be performed, since our spiritual struggle is then greater.

Because the most dread and sacred rite — the saving mystery for the whole world — is absolutely necessary above all things, it was not considered right that throughout Great Lent it should entirely cease. Therefore, the Fathers ordained that on Saturdays and Sundays we celebrate the sacred and complete Sacrifice, fulfilling the Lord’s command when He said: “Do this in remembrance of Me,” continually. But on the five weekdays they appointed the celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy, and they did not legislate that the bloodless and life-giving sacrifice be celebrated on any other days — except on two days of Cheesefare Week, Wednesday and Friday, and on Great Friday.

The two fasting days of Cheesefare Week were established as a prelude to the holy fasts. For Cheesefare Week itself was instituted for our preliminary purification and preparation for the holy fast, so that, having already practiced temperance through fasting and having gradually abstained from rich and fleshly foods, we might enter the Fast purified — pure for the Most Pure, and holy for the Holy.

For this reason the Fathers first purify the soul during three preparatory weeks, in honor of the Holy Trinity, proclaiming teachings on fasting through the Gospel words of the Savior, calling us to repentance and purification:

— through the Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee, teaching us not to be proud of our labors but to humble ourselves, and thus be saved;

— through the Parable of the Prodigal Son, teaching us not to despair but to return in confession to the good and loving Father;

— through the remembrance of the Second Coming, instilling fear of His impartial judgment and urging mercy toward the poor, that we ourselves may receive mercy;

— and finally by presenting the exile of Adam, which came through indulgence and pleasure, thereby stirring us toward fasting.

Hence they decreed that the week before the Fast should not be meat-eating but cheese-eating, calling it the forefeast of the Fast. They also appointed the chanting of the Triodion hymns and special compositions, as during Great Lent itself, and placed within this week the fasting of Wednesday and Friday, during which prophetic readings concerning fasting and sermons of Saint Basil the Great were to be read.

According to the ancient Typikon of the Great Church, the Patriarch first celebrated the Presanctified Liturgy on the Wednesday of Cheesefare Week; and on that day and Friday, although fasting was kept, cheese was still eaten in refutation of a certain heretical teaching. Thus, from the beginning, the Presanctified Liturgies were celebrated on those two fasting days of Cheesefare Week, as is witnessed by ancient regulations and prophetic readings; and no Gospel was read on those days, just as during the five weekdays of Great Lent — as all the Gospel books attest.

Likewise, from ancient times the Presanctified Liturgy was celebrated on Holy and Great Friday. For the Fathers never considered it acceptable that any day should pass without beholding the Lord through the Mysteries, through which He Himself said He would be with us: “Behold, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.” He said this not because afterward He would cease to be with us, but because after His Ascension He would no longer be seen bodily until His coming again — lest anyone suppose that, since He is unseen, He is not with us now. Rather, we believe that He is inseparably with us and becomes one with us through His Mysteries. Then we shall see Him as He is, as the beloved disciple says, and thus we shall always be with the Lord, as Paul teaches.

Yet somehow this ancient practice of celebrating the Presanctified on those occasions later fell into neglect — probably because the fast was no longer kept in its fullness and the complete liturgical order was not maintained, and also due to the adoption of the monastic Typikon of Jerusalem instead of that of the Great Church, which formerly all churches followed. Repeated invasions of foreign peoples also disrupted this order; today it survives only in the catholic church of Thessaloniki.

On Holy and Great Friday we do not celebrate the full Liturgy, because the Lord delivered the Mysteries on Thursday in remembrance of His Passion, and on Friday He voluntarily endured that Passion, offering Himself to the Father upon the Cross. Since the sacrifice was then accomplished in His divine Body through His suffering, there was no need to perform again the full sacrificial rite in remembrance of the Passion on that very day. Therefore, we did not receive the tradition of celebrating the complete sacrifice then, but rather of setting forth and celebrating the Presanctified Gifts — as is found in many ancient regulations and in old Gospel and Apostolic books.

Nevertheless, the fact that the Presanctified Liturgy is not celebrated during other fasts does not mean those fasts should be disregarded; rather, they too must be observed. For during Great Lent we celebrate the full Liturgy on Saturdays and Sundays, and likewise during other strict fasts — such as the eves of the Nativity and Theophany and on Great Thursday — yet without dissolving the fast, even though the full Liturgy is celebrated.

Great Lent is called “great” precisely because other fasts also exist, yet this one surpasses them. It is rightly called a tithe, for although we ought to dedicate our entire life to God — since we were brought into being from non-existence — nevertheless, weakened by transgression and occupied with bodily concerns, we are given appointed times dedicated to the honor and glory of the Creator: times of abstinence from worldly cares, thanksgiving and glorification, and supplication for forgiveness of our countless sins. Hence Sundays, feasts, and fasts — and especially this one — have been handed down and consecrated to God.

No one has received permission to abolish them. The intention of the Fathers in this matter was exceedingly good and philanthropic, beneficial both for monks and laypeople, gentle and not burdensome. What has been handed down is temperance, not total starvation — leading us to remembrance of God, reflection on our sins, awareness of death and judgment, preservation of piety, and the formation of good habits through a small measure of effort.

Through these small practices salvation is granted to us by God’s mercy, even when we scarcely perceive it. Thus even for those living in the world, a little temperance is no heavy burden; they retain freedom in all things except a few. For monks, however, temperance and fasting remain a continual obligation, as they have promised themselves to God.

- From P.G. 155, Answers to Gabriel of Pentapolis. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.