The Herubic Hymn

This prayer is a preparation of the officiating priest (the presbyter or the Bishop) to celebrate the Sacrament. For all, i.e. both the priests and the faithful, need to be spiritually cleansed so as to participate in the Divine Liturgy and receive Christ inside them. Through the text of the prayer the officiating priest recognizes and confesses his unworthiness on the one hand and the divine magnificence of the Sacrament that he is about to celebrate on the other. The priest states that he will now officiate, not because he considers himself pure and holy but thanks to God's mercy. He proclaims the truth that Christ himself is officiating, for He is the one who was made flesh and, on the Cross, He offered himself as a Sacrifice to God; He is the one who becomes all things to all people. Of course the priest is not a liturgical performer but the one who shatters his will so as to be endowed with spiritual senses.

15 from Αθωνική Ψηφιακή Κιβωτός on Vimeo.

The prayer of the Cherubic Hymn was composed and inserted in the Divine Liturgy after the 8th century, i.e. after the creation of the Office of Preparation (the Offertory). Up to that point the faithful brought their offering, i.e. the bread and wine, to the Diakonikon, a place near the entrance of the church. Thence the deacon was carrying the offering to the Bishop, who was laying it on the Altar so as to start celebrating the Sacrament. In later centuries, the Office of Preparation was composed for the receiving of the offering and its preparation for the Eucharist. By the same time the prayer of the Cherubic Hymn was created, as well as the Great Entrance, i.e. the processional carrying of the Precious Gifts from the Prothesis to the Altar. This is why at the very moment that the priest prays, he also prepares the Altar for the reception of the offered Gifts. With profound reverence he spreads on the centre of the Altar the Antimension, that square cloth, often made of silk, on which is depicted the Passion of Christ. The Antimension symbolizes Christ's tomb and is consecrated by the local Bishop with a special Service. It is solely on the Antimension that the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Sacraments, can be celebrated.

At the same time the Cantors sing the hymn 'Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim (...)', urging the faithful to lay aside all earthly care so as to receive the King of all, the Lord, who is invisibly attended by the Angelic Hosts.


Last modified: Wednesday, 7 October 2020, 8:35 PM