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Dear all:

1) What is the current canonical status of the "Low Divine Liturgy" in the Ruthenian and Ukrainian churches? It is my understanding that official Ruthenian Liturgicons have special rubrics for this, and that it can still be celebrated. Or has more recent legislation superseded these provisions?

2) Regardless of official legislation, are "Low" or "Recited" Divine Liturgies still common in Ruthenian and Ukrainian churches, or are these becoming rarer (even in weekdays)?

There are no such provisions in the official Ruthenian Liturgicon. I am happy to add that I have never conducted such a service in my life, and I can't even remember the last time that I encountered one. People (including priests, who are - surprise! - people) who want a "Low Mass" are best advised to use the 1962 missal.

Fr. Serge

The Ordo does provide for Divine Liturgy as a Simple Rite. It does not really differ from the regular Liturgy other, than the prepatory prayers may be reduced to "O Lord send forth your hand..." and the Psalm: "I will come into your house..." Incesne may be omitted, and the blessing of the throne may be omitted. That's it. It assumes everything is still sung and all other rubrics followed. There was a "low liturgy" in use among Ruthenians that omitted much more but it ws never approved. I think it very rare to find them today. Recited Liturgies are another matter, as one can perform all the rubrics and still recite the Liturgy. This is more common among Ukrainians in parishes that have one English Litrugy and one Ukrainian Liturgy, the English one being recited.

Fr. Deacon Lance

The last "low Liturgy" that I heard was before English was introduced, approximately the late '50s. I was pretty young then so I may be mistaken, but what I recall was a quiet Liturgy with the cantor in the sanctuary and no congregational singing. I don't recall if the cantor sang or recited the responses.

Fr. Deacon Paul

From the mid-fifties I can still remember a few old priests who served such a Liturgy at "side altars" at Saint George's Ukrainian Catholic Church, New York. Not a word was audible, and usually the only semblance of a congregation for such a Liturgy was the priest's wife.

Since there was a reasonably normal Liturgy at the same time at the "main Altar", I once inquired why these elderly priests didn't simply concelebrate at that reasonably normal Liturgy. The only response I got was a strange look.

Fr. Serge

My wife and I attended a UGCC parish outside Philadelphia when I was working in that area in the mid-1970s. My rotating schedule made it so that one weekend in every three I couldn't get to any scheduled Liturgy in the Latin parishes and, at the time, no Saturday evening litutgy was permitted by the Archdiocese of Philadephia. The UGCC priest served a recited English DL and his church was filled with doctors, nurses, funeral directors, and other health care workers who could not make a Sunday morning Liturgy. I should add that there were precious few Sunday evening liturgies available in the Archdiocese at that time.

BOB

Back in the days when the Sunday evening Mass had just become a possibility, the RC Archdiocese of Philadelphia at first just wouldn't allow it, and then, when the point was made to the Archbishop that some people did honestly need it (and that some people were simply driving across the bridge to New Jersey) the Archdiocese reluctantly allowed a Sunday evening Mass in one - that's one only - parish church in Philadelphia. Not only was the church packed out every Sunday, but there were, literally, crowds standing out in the street to "hear Mass" from that unusual vantage point, and thereby "fulfill the obligation", even though they could neither see nor hear anything from the Altar.

On the other hand . . . a certain young priest who will hear be nameless (he's now a bishop) was assigned as assistant to one of our parishes in Philadelphia along about then, and had the idea that it would be nice to publish the parish schedule of Christmas services in the Philadelphia newspaper. The pastor was agreeable, so Father X prepared the announcement, and took it to the pastor for the final approval. The pastor noticed that Father X had included Confessions for the afternoon and early evening of Christmas Eve. The pastor pointed this out, and remarked that there would be more Confessions than on an ordinary Saturday, and was Father X willing to have the extra duty. Father X said he was, whereupon the Pastor authorized the announcement in the papers.

Well! Xmas Eve, all afternoon and all evening, that church was packed to the gills with people repenting of their sins! Poor Father X heard Confessions for a good ten-hour stretch, with no time for a break - he just made it to the Altar for Compline and Orthros, then returned to the Rectory in a state of collapse. What had happened was quite simple: the RC Archdiocese of Philadelphia did not permit Confessions (apart from real emergencies) on Christmas Eve, so the announcement in the newspaper came as manna from heaven to the procrastinating sinners; people had driven to the Ukrainian parish from all over to be loosed from their sins. The Pastor had an exceptionally broad grin on his face all day Christmas.

I have this one from Father X's own mouth (after he had become Bishop X).

Fr. Serge

Fr. Serge wrote:

"From the mid-fifties I can still remember a few old priests who served such a Liturgy at "side altars" at Saint George's Ukrainian Catholic Church, New York. Not a word was audible, and usually the only semblance of a congregation for such a Liturgy was the priest's wife.

"Since there was a reasonably normal Liturgy at the same time at the "main Altar", I once inquired why these elderly priests didn't simply concelebrate at that reasonably normal Liturgy. The only response I got was a strange look."
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I can recall a similar experience in the Cathedral in Uzhorod, when I visited there some years ago ('94 - '95?), shortly after it had been restored to the Byzantine Ruthenians. On that weekday, however, there was no Liturgy being celebrated at the darkened "Main Altar" and the several priests, all fairly old as I recall, were celebrating individual "read" Liturgies at the several 'Latinesque' side altars positioned against the side pillars of the church, with, at most, one person in attendance. I did not hazard a comment at the time, bearing in mind that the mode of celebration might well have been not all that dissimilar to what they had used during their years in the Underground Church.

I would say you were right - such services were necessary and edifying in the underground, and demanding that a priest suddenly change his ways in his great old age is not usually the best thing to do.

Fr. Serge