Sanctus

[1] In Western Christianity, the Sanctus forms part of the Ordinary and is sung (or said) as the final words of the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer of remembrance, consecration, and praise.

In the Byzantine Rite and general Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the Sanctus is offered as a response by the choir during the Holy Anaphora.

Πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου.

Plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou.

In the Roman Rite, the Sanctus also forms part of the solemn hymn of praise Te Deum laudamus, but with the addition of a reference to the "majesty" of the Lord's glory in the Pleni sunt verse (the phrase pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua becomes pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae).

Pleni sunt cæli et terra maiestatis gloriæ tuæ.

Heaven and earth are full of thy glory Hosanna in the highest.

As Enrico Mazza writes: The Sanctus became part of the Roman Eucharistic Prayer only in the first half of the fifth century; all in all, this was a fairly late period, inasmuch as by then the text of the Roman Canon had become fixed and was regarded as a text possessing great authority.

The Sanctus of the Roman Eucharist derives from the Antiochene liturgy and has two parts: (a) the Sanctus true and proper, consisting of the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3; and (b) the Benedictus, a christological acclamation taken from Matthew 21:9.

The text of the Sanctus passed from Jewish use to Christian use at a very early time, since it is cited in the Apocalypse of John and in the letter of Clement to the Corinthians.

This early state can be seen in the testimonies of Eusebius of Caesarea, the Mystagogical Catecheses of Cyril of Jerusalem, and, above all, the Ritual used in the Church of Theodore of Mopsuestia.

In the latter, too, that is, in the archaic stage of the Syrian liturgy, the Benedictus was unknown, and the Sanctus consisted solely of the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3.

The text of the second part, beginning with the word Benedictus (Latin for "Blessed") is taken from Matthew 21:9, describes Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, which is in turn based on the first half of Psalm 118:26.

In its present liturgical context "it points to the expected presence of the Lord in the eucharistic gifts".

[30][31] Within Anglicanism, the 1552 Book of Common Prayer omitted it and, though it is now permitted, "the choice whether or not to use the Benedictus is still for some a matter of Eucharistic theology and churchmanship".

[32] The Sanctus appears in the Sacramentary of Serapion of Thmuis (the saint died in 360), but may go as far back to Christian liturgy in North Africa in the year 200.

[33] The present form of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the primary liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church, reads (when in Greek) the following text: Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου, ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.

The above differs from the Roman Rite Latin text The Liturgy of Saint Basil of the Eastern Orthodox Church has the same form of the Sanctus as the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, with its two variants of the Hosanna phrase.

Among these forms, there are variations of the hymn being composed of practically only the Old testament part.

Plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.

This text not only omits the article ὁ that is used in the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, but also has Kyrie (vocative case) where the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom has Kyrios (nominative).

[citation needed] In current use, the Liturgy of Saint James may use the nominative rather than the vocative case of Κύριος; the article ὁ is also not present in this form at the concluding Hosanna.

[4] Moreover, a different variant of the Liturgy of Saint James is found in the margin of a manuscript that gives only the three words Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος in the body: "In the margin, much abbreviated, may be discerned the following: Κύριος σαβαώθ, πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου.

)[49] In the Tridentine Mass the priest joins his hands while saying the word "Sanctus" and then, bowing, continues to recite the whole of the Sanctus in a lower voice, while a small bell is rung; then, on reaching the words "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini", he stands erect again and makes the Sign of the Cross.

[50] He then continues immediately with the Canon of the Mass, while the choir, if there is one, sings the Sanctus.

In the pre-1962 form, the choir pauses for the Consecration and continues with the Benedictus part afterwards.

[51][52][53] However, in line with Pope John XXIII's revision of the rubrics of the liturgy, the splitting of the Sanctus, when sung to Gregorian chant (though not if sung polyphonically) was forbidden[54] and is thus not allowed in celebrations of the 1962 Tridentine Mass as authorized by Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum.

He and the people sing or recite together the whole of the Sanctus, before the priest continues the Eucharistic Prayer.