In the early Church, there arose quite soon an awareness that days of strict fasting—especially those without the commemoration of a saint—have a penitential and compunctionate character and are not suited to the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, which is the Church’s Eucharistic and Resurrectional assembly. Even so, the Church did not wish the faithful to be deprived of Holy Communion during their spiritual struggle. Thus, the practice developed of communicating from the Holy Gifts that had already been consecrated at a previous Divine Liturgy.
Today, this ancient custom has been preserved mainly during Great Lent. A full Divine Liturgy is celebrated on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on the Feast of the Annunciation of the Theotokos. On the weekdays of Lent, the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated.
The Presanctified Liturgy is not a full Divine Liturgy. It does not include the Anaphora, that is, the Eucharistic prayer with the consecration of bread and wine. The Holy Gifts have already been consecrated at a previous Liturgy (usually on Sunday) and are kept in the sanctuary. In this way, the faithful receive Holy Communion during the fasting week without a new consecration taking place.
Liturgically, it is a combination of Vespers with Eucharistic elements. It begins with the usual structure of Vespers, includes readings from the Old Testament (according to the established order, chiefly from Genesis and Proverbs), and reaches its climax with the solemn, processional transfer and presentation of the Presanctified Gifts. Central hymns are “Let my prayer arise in Thy sight as incense” and, during the Great Entrance, “Now the powers of heaven with us invisibly do worship.” The overall tone remains penitential, with a strong emphasis on repentance.
As a rule, it is celebrated on Wednesdays and Fridays of Great Lent. It is also celebrated on certain commemorations of saints within Lent, where the Typikon prescribes the Presanctified Liturgy, such as the First and Second Finding of the Precious Head of Saint John the Forerunner and the Holy Forty Martyrs. By contrast, on the Feast of the Annunciation the Presanctified Liturgy is not celebrated, because a full Divine Liturgy is appointed.
The forerunner of the Presanctified Liturgy is found in the ancient ecclesiastical practice of reserving consecrated Gifts for times of need (for example, for the sick or in extraordinary circumstances), as well as in the pastoral care to provide more frequent Communion during periods of strict fasting. Over time, Communion from the Presanctified Gifts was incorporated into a defined service with a vesperal character, so that it would accord with the Lenten spirit of fasting. Tradition associated the Presanctified Liturgy with Saint Gregory the Dialogist (6th century), while its practice and development witness a gradual formation within the Church’s liturgical life and the Byzantine typikon tradition.
The message of the Presanctified Liturgy is consoling: Christ is not absent from the Lenten struggle, but nourishes and strengthens His people on their way to the Resurrection. For this reason, the service—with its penitential hymns, kneelings, and readings—becomes a quiet yet powerful support within the week, a “bridge” from the ascetic labor of fasting and repentance to the joy of Pascha.
+ Metropolitan Nektarios of Hong Kong and South East Asia
