The Shepherd, March 2008
Adapted from
“THE HOUSE OF GOD
& THE CHURCH SERVICES”
By the Priest N. R. Antonov
Continuation
§ 148. The Consecration of a Church. Both in his earthly life and in that after death, the House of God has great significance and is greatly beneficial for each person. For this reason the provision of a new church brings joy to the town or village in which it is situated, and its consecration has a special festive rite. On the eve in the newly-built church the All-night Vigil is celebrated, and during this the clergy gather in the nave of the church in front of the iconostas. A table is placed before the Royal Gates, and on it are the sacred vessels and other sacred things that are necessary for the church. The sacred relics, which will be placed in the Holy Table, are to be brought from the nearest church in procession, and, as it were, imaging the Saviour Himself are borne on the discos. On the day of the consecration itself, there is a service with the blessing of waters. The clergy, headed by the Bishop, who has a long smock over his vestments, bear the sacred things from the centre of the church into the sanctuary. The Royal Gates are closed. And they begin the establishment of the Holy Table. To nail it together they use rocks (rather than hammers). During this time, Psalms 144, 22 and 83 are read. After the establishment, the Royal Gates are opened, and prayers are read while everyone kneels, asking that the Holy Spirit be sent down upon the newly-built church. The doors are shut again, but laymen and even women are allowed into the sanctuary at this point, while the Holy Table is first washed and then anointed with Holy Chrism, and is then clothed with the usual coverings. Women are allowed into the sanctuary at this time, although except in convents this is not a general custom, because this rite represents the preparation and anointing of the Body of Christ for burial, when it was taken down from the Cross, and of course those who ministered unto Him at that time were mainly women, the Myrrh-bearers. The clergy then remove their smocks, and the lay people leave the sanctuary, which from this point on is only entered by the clergy and those who serve the altar. The gates are opened again, and then begins the consecration of the body of the church. A procession proceeds around the church sprinkling the walls with holy water and anointing them with Chrism. Then the Bishop lights a candle in the sanctuary - the first light there - and places it in the High Place. From this candle all the lamps in the church and the candles are lighted. There follows a procession around the outside of the church with the sacred relics. It stops before the closed western doors of the church, but one chanter remains within the church. The Bishop, using the words of Psalm 23, exclaims: “Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting bars, and the King of Glory shall enter in.” The one remaining in church replies, “Who is this King of Glory?” For a second time the Bishop demands, “Lift up your gates, O ye princes,” and again the reply: “Who is this King of Glory?” The Bishop responds with a prayer, in which He beseeches that the Lord establish the newly constructed church immovable unto the end of the age.” The taking the paten with the relics, and using it to sign the doors with the Cross, he exclaims: “The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.” This is repeated by the singer in the church and the doors are thrown open, and the Bishop and the whole procession re-enter the church, and they place the sacred relics on the Holy Table. A portion of them he places in a receptacle in the centre under the Holy Table, and a portion he places in the antimension, anointing it also with Holy Chrism. There follows a prayer for the consecration of the church and then the appointed dismissal, after which they celebrate the Divine Liturgy. This is how the consecration is celebrated by a Bishop. There is a shorter and less impressive ceremony used when only a priest celebrates it.
NOTE 1: This is a very short description of the whole rite, but, through God’s mercies, we may be able to witness the full ceremony at Brookwood soon. When, in 1984, the sacred relics of St Edward the Martyr were received here by the ever-memorable Bishop Gregory of Washington, our church only received a lesser blessing. His Grace Bishop Ambrose of Methoni, who now cares for us pastorally, is anxious that the church should be properly consecrated - it was one of the first things he asked when he visited us. And so, once we have completed the re-roofing, we are hoping to arrange for him to come and consecrate Saint Edward’s Church.
NOTE 2: Fr Antonov’s book ends with two further short sections (one dealing with the Coronation of the Tsar, and one with Theological Study) which we are omitting because they are not immediately relevant in our day. We hope in our next issue to start another work.
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