I didn’t realize that there was another Western Rite Liturgy approved for use in the Orthodox Church, besides the one approved by St. Tikhon. Kevin Edgecomb of Biblicalia had explained the history of the Sarum Rite in my post on Western Saints, which was inspired by Fr. Seraphim Rose’s continuing St. John Maximovich’s investigation of Orthodoxy in the west. Death Bredon, an Anglican, has explained in the comments of the post, “Dr. Farrell on the state of Orthodoxy and the Anglican Continuum”, on Energetic Procession that the Western Rite Liturgy used by the Antiochian Archdiocese is based on St. Tikhon’s tweaking of a later version of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but John, again of Ad Orientem (which is newly added to my blogroll), on the same comment thread, has provided this link to

The Divine Liturgy of Sarum:

Usus Cascadae

Authorized for use within

The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

By His Grace Archbishop Hilarion.

I am not an expert on the Liturgy, but I have mixed feelings about the above Rite. I do not doubt its Orthodoxy (per His Grace), but for me it brings to mind some baggage, emotional or not. It would be better to hear or see it, than to just read it, but the introductory hymn reads sort of sing-songy and not very serious. I also wonder if they use Gregorian Chant, which I do not have an affinity for. I prefer the basso profundo of Russian choral music, or now even the Byzantine chant, which can sometimes sound a little too moany, but still has the nice bass drone to ground it.

“Holy, Holy, Holy” brings back good memories, as does “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silent”. The latter is the only hymn that I’ve heard in an Eastern Rite service that I recognize from my Protestant background.

I would be glad to have the “Little Doxology” added to the Liturgy as it is included in this Sarum Rite. Usually it’s said at the Eastern Matins or Compline.

It seems that they skipped the three Antiphons though. I would very much miss Bless the Lord Oh My Soul, Praise the Lord, and The Beatitudes.

I would also miss the hymns surrounding the epiclesis (the Anaphora), and the Priest actually mentioning the gifts by name, “Make this Bread the precious Body of thy Christ…” and “Make this wine the precious Blood of thy Christ”. I like a lot of what is said instead, but I would want to include what isn’t said too. And DB thinks the Sarum Rite Liturgy is already too long!

I guess most converts struggle with what to do with their western roots, but it seems to me that since Christ was from the Middle East, that the Eastern Rites preserve more of what Fr. Seraphim Rose refers to as the “savor of Orthodoxy” (from Fr. Seraphim Rose, His Life and Works), though he was open to finding that savor in the west. This doesn’t explain my affinity for the Russian Rite, but maybe it’s savor is from the fact that Russia was evangelized before the Schism. The west has a lot more baggage to deal with, and I’m inclined to start over with a consistently Orthodox historical Liturgy than trying to fix what went wrong. Plus I tend to think that there were differences in the Latins who evangelized the west, even before the Schism. But I don’t want to be alienated from anything that can be called orthodox in the west either. I trust Metropolitan Jonah to sort it all out. He seems to be pretty strong on maintaining the Orthodox Faith, while being loving and appreciative of the west as well. He gives me the most peace about maintaining the proper balance.