Liturgies of Holy Qurbana Home

A book of Eucharistic rite used by the priests in the Holy Qurbana is called liturgy. It was St. James, brother and apostle of the Lord who first wrote the prayers, which the priests say in the Holy Qurbana, and the order of sequence arranged. Therefore the order of sequence of St. James is called the Liturgy of St.James. He is remembered first in the fifth Thubden (Diptych). According to tradition he celebrated his first Holy Qurbana on Wednesday following the Pentecost. The church believes that he used the bread prepared with a portion of the bread used by our Lord at the Last Supper. Those who since celebrated the Holy Qurbana took a portion and used as yeast for the preparation of the bread. It continued ever since. It took several centuries to take the present shape and form. From the fourth century, the St. James liturgy was expanded and new liturgies took shape. Every regional church made certain changes to include their culture of the region. The ancient liturgy has four different branches. (1) Asian liturgy- Syriac division, St. James liturgy, St. Basil’s, St. Clement’s, Armenian, Nestorian. (2) African liturgies – Liturgy of St. Mark- Alexandrian or Coptic (3) East European liturgies- Chrysostom, Constantinopole liturgies. (4) West European liturgies- Roman- Milanes, Mosarbic, Gullical British- Celtic liturgies. In our church 12 liturgies are in use. Though there is identity in the on the whole set up, the prayers are different. Certain liturgies are long. Others short. Only the church has the authority to alter the liturgy.