The Liturgy of St. Basil, of which two versions—the Alexandrian and the somewhat longer Byzantine—are extant, was probably authored, in part at least, by St. Basil himself. Except for the anaphora(the central part of the liturgy), it is identical with the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is a shortened form in daily use.[1]
The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great
The Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is one of the most beautiful liturgies that was ever composed. Throughout the Ecclesiastical Church Year, we mostly hear Saint John Chrysostom’s Divine Liturgy, which is a shorter version of Saint Basil’s Liturgy. But on certain Sunday’s and other day’s during the year we will hear Saint Basil’s Liturgy being celebrated. During the Sunday’s of the Great Fast, Holy Thursday’s Vesperal Liturgy, Holy Saturday’s Vesperal Liturgy, the morning of Christmas Eve and the morning of Theophany (unless the eve falls on a Sunday or Monday, then Saint John’s Liturgy is celebrated and Saint Basil on the day of the Feast), on the Feast of Saint Basil the Great (January 1stor January 14th).
Roughly from the time of 364-378, Saint Basil composed the Divine Liturgy because there were troubles in Orthodoxy at the time with the rise in Arianism. Basil was an authority figure in the Church and he was preaching three times a day, twice in the morning and once in the afternoon.
People may complain that the Anaphora prayers for Saint Basil’s Liturgy are very long and take too long to pray, but the prayers themselves are very beautiful and have a great meaning to them. “The Byzantine anaphoras—of Chrysostom and Basil—follow the same pattern. The transition from the dialogue to the prayer is short in the Latin Liturgy, longer in Chrysostom, and the longest in Basil:
Chrysostom: It is proper and right to sing of you, to thank you, to adore you….
Basil: Master, Lord, adorable, almighty Father, it is truly proper and right and befitting the greatness of your holiness to praise you, to sing to you, to bless you, to worship you, to thank you, to glorify you, the only true God… to offer you….”[2]Casimir Kucharek says, “These opening sentences are characteristic of the rest of the anaphoras: that of Chrysostom is brief, forthright and simple; that of Basil, long, rich, and elaborate”[3]Basil’s Liturgy was used for every Sunday Liturgy until the ninth or tenth century, when Chrysostom’s Liturgy was used. Kucharek also says, “The preface of Basil’s anaphora, containing the glorification of God’s name, is indeed richer and more elaborate than that of Chrysostom. Yet, when we consider how much more emphasis Basil’s anaphora places on development of the rest of the rite—describing the divine dispensation of salvation, the creation, the redemption, the Eucharistic institution, etc—it appears that Chrysostom’s shorter blessing of God’s name assumes a relatively greater importance when compared to the shorter development”. [4]
The Liturgy starts out as a normal Liturgy just like Saint John’s, except during the Prothesis, Proskomedia, or the Liturgy of Preparation, the particle that is usually taken for Saint John Chrysostom is taken in memory of Saint Basil the Great instead. The priest will say when taking the particle “Of our father among the saints Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia” and will place this ninth particle in the third row on the diskos/paten.[5](The Divine Liturgy Volume II, 17). This shows just how important the author of the Divine Liturgy is to have a particle taken out for his memory and place on the diskos or paten, where the bread will be turned into the Body of Christ.
The major parts of the Divine Liturgy, where the prayers the priests or bishops recite silently or semi-audibly right before the exclamation of the Litany of the Catechumens and then the Litanies of the Faithful. Some people might not notice these being different since they are only read for the celebrant and the con-celebrants unless the person is following along in their own service book. But the big difference that people will notice is during the Anaphora, when the prayers that are read from “It is meet and right…” to the end of the Anaphora at “And all mankind”. The prayers for Saint Basil’s Liturgy are not finished until the dismissal when the celebrant prayers for “our father among the Saints, Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia”.[6]This is a major point in the service where we give thanks to Saint Basil for the creation of the Liturgy, where we partake of one of the sacraments of the Church; the Holy Eucharist. These prayers are what stand out the most to everyone in the Church. The Anaphora prayers to Saint Basil’s Liturgy are very beautiful. The Liturgy itself for the prayers changes from Saint John’s to Saint Basil’s is at the end of the Liturgy of the Catechumens and then the Liturgy of the Faithful.
“In contrast, Basil’s whole preface, is not so much the giving of thanks as a grateful remembrance of all the benefits for which it is fitting and right to praise God, to bless him, etc. The point is that Chrysostom’s preface is in every respect so different and independent from that of Basil that it cannot be an abridgement of it. What makes that of Chrysostom with greater venerability and age than that of Basil is its theological content. It is a masterpiece of conciseness and clarity, but clearly lacks the theological development and precision found in Basil. The primitive Christian did not need the theological precision required by orthodox contemporaries of Arius or Nestorius. The theology of the Son and Holy Spirit, for example, in Basil’s preface unfolds as a litany of doctrinal truths: of out Lord Jesus Christ our hope, who is the image of your goodness, the seal of your own likeness, showing the living Word, true God, eternal Wisdom, Life, Sanctification, Power, the true Light, through whom the Holy Spirit manifested himself, the Spirit of truth, the gift of the adoption of sons, the pledge of future inheritance, the first fruits of everlasting blessedness, the life-giving blessedness, the life-giving power, the font of sanctification, through whom every creature endowed with reason and understanding is given the power to serve you and send up to you an unending hymn of glory…” “While the first part of Basil’s anaphora is the theologian’s preface, the first part of that of Chrysostom is everyman’s”.[7]
[1]http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/55024/Liturgy-of-Saint-Basil#ref209839
[2]The Byzantine Slav Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom
[3]Ibid, 527.
[4]The Byzantine Slav Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, 572.
[5]Service Books of The Orthodox Church Vol. II, (South Canaan, Pennsylvania: St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 1984), 20.
[6]Ibid, 105.
[7]Kucharek, 575, 576