1. The Badarak has a history.

It has changed throughout history. What we did in the Cathedral and in our churches last Sunday is quite different from what Jesus and his disciples did in the Upper Room almost 2000 years ago.

Yet what we do is in continuity with what Jesus established. It is what Jesus established, but it has developed in significant ways. Some people are surprised at how different our Badarak appears compared to the Lord's Supper as it is described in the Bible. Some people think that we should do exactly what the Bible says, no more, no less. Problem: Such people grossly misunderstand what the Bible is, and what its purpose is. Bible ? manual of Church life. Regulations, rubrics, policies, canons, instructions. Bible = story of God with us; through Jesus Christ. Vision. Theology.

2. The Bible actually tells us very little about the details of the Lord's Supper ritual.

1. Jesus took bread and wine.
2. He “gave thanks”.
3. He gave them to his disciples, told them to “Eat” and to “Drink”.
4. Declared the bread and the wine to be his Body and his Blood (Jesus Christ “in the flesh”).
5. Instructed disciples to “Do this in remembrance of” him.
6. They sang a hymn and left.

No Christians ANYWHERE follow these six steps exclusively, without further elaboration. Nor do we have any evidence that any Christian community EVER followed this order exclusively. Evidently, the earliest Christians knew instinctively or otherwise that what the Gospels record of the Eucharistic service is not intended to be read as a recipe.

The ceremony would take 5 minutes. Certainly what the Lord asked us to do to “remember” him is worthy of more than 5 minutes.

Clearly, there was more to it than this. They ate a meal; there were other rituals, psalms, associated with various types of Jewish ritual fraternal meals; Passover Meal.

3. No sooner had Jesus uttered these words than Christians in the Holy Land, in Asia Minor, in Greece and elsewhere embraced this means of communion with Christ; of remembrance of Christ, of thanksgiving to God and made it their own celebration of salvation, of the new, never-ending life that God has given to us in Jesus Christ.

They prayed their words. In their language. According to their experience and witness of Christ, risen, living and active among them. Cultural influence on various rituals.

“Gave thanks” - We don't know the words that Jesus used in his prayer of thanksgiving. The heart of the Divine Liturgy in all traditions is an extended prayer of thanksgiving to God for the new life he has given us in Jesus Christ: Eucharistic Prayer.

Kiss of Peace. Exists in some form in all ancient, traditional churches. Testified around the year 150 in Rome, but perhaps present even earlier, perhaps even in the Upper Room.

Lord's Prayer: Added only in 4-5th centuries.

Bible gives us clues, but no details about EXACTLY how various early Christian communities adorned the Lord's Supper as an expression of their unique faith. What it does tell us is that already in Biblical times there was diversity in how the Lord's Supper was celebrated.

Order of communion:

a. bread-meal-cup (1Cor 11)

b. meal-bread-cup (Mt, Mk)

c. cup1-bread-meal-cup2 (Lk). Some mss. omit the second cup, yielding the order cup-bread, which also appears in the Didache.

(Today the bread and wine are combined in AC, but this is a later development).

That kind of diversity continues until today.

4. Armenians have their own history of celebrating the Lord's Supper. Long story. Ancient story. Story which historians of the liturgy are still working to excavate in all its phases.

5. PHASE ONE: 1-4 Centuries:

A. In theory, the history of the development of the DL in Armenia begins in the time of the apostles, who brought the Gospel to Armenia. We have no record of how they taught the Armenians to celebrate the Lord's Supper. We have to extrapolate from the evidence of other geographical areas, and that evidence is very scanty.

B. c.150: Justin Martyr, Rome:

1. Entrance Procession. Procession with Gospel?
2. Readings from the apostles or the prophets
3. Sermon = Discourse on the readings by the president.
4. Prayer for the needs of the community.
5. Kiss of peace.
6. Bread and cup are brought to the President. (Wine mixed with water).
7. Eucharistic prayer followed by "Amen."
8. Distribution of the Eucharist by the deacons.

This is basically the outline of our Badarak today.

C. 301 = Establishment of Christianity as official religion of Armenian people. Suddenly the Lord's Supper becomes the concern of all Armenians, not just an exclusive sect within the pagan population. Possibility to freely adapt and develop the Lord's Supper Service.

St. Gregory travels to Caesarea, important Christian center in the East, to be consecrated bishop. We assume that he brought back with him liturgical usages of that Christian center:

Armenian Eucharistic Prayer follows the pattern and general themes of Caesarean EP's (as opposed to those of Egypt, Syria, or Rome): Soorp Soorp , Words of Institution, et al.

6. PHASE TWO: Creation of Armenian alphabet, hence the possibility of praying in Armenian; of celebrating the DL in the language of the people. Composing prayers, hymns that express the faith of the Armenian people. Their Christian history. Their “memory of Christ.”

References to worship, to “ Badarak ” in almost all literature. But no systematic descriptions of DL. Why? Because it was so common and central as to be taken for granted.

Quotations from the EP of St. Basil (Puzandaran Patmutiwnk). Certain rituals: Lord's Prayer.

7. PHASE THREE: First commentary on the DL: Step‘anos Siwnec‘i (†735)

Detailed theological commentary on the beginning of the Divine Liturgy: but a bit different from what we are familiar with

1. Entrance Procession acc. by Ps 92 (or Ps 100)
2. Procession with Gospel - Soorp Asdvadz
3. Litany following Gospel Procession
4. Scripture Readings
5. Gospel Reading
6. Creed
7 Deacon's Proclamation of “Karoz”
8. Prayer
9. Transfer of the Gifts

NOTE: Entire beginning of the DL: Khorhoort khorin, priest's confession, Ps 100, Ps 43, ascent to altar area is a later addition.

No details on Eucharist proper.

8. PHASE FOUR: Commentary of Xosrov Anjewaci: mid-tenth century

Detailed commentary on Eucharist including complete text of prayers. Very close to what we have today.

END OF DL: The last prayer that Xosrov mentions is a prayer offered by the priest behind the closed curtain right after communion. No prayer of John Chrysostom (Vor orhnes zaynosig); No Last Gospel reading. These are later additions.

Holy Communion. Thanksgiving for holy communion. Go home. Farewell.

9. PHASE FIVE: Commentary of Nerses Lambronaci

1. Addition of some Greek Prayers to the DL, esp. to the Liturgy of the Word.
2. Prayer of St. John Chrysostom: Vor orhnes zaynosig: “O Lord, who bless those who bless you and sanctify those who put their trust in you, save your people and bless your inheritance, guard the fulness of your Church…”
3. “Ornetseets uzDer”: Ps 34:1: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall at all times be in my mouth.”
4. Distribution of Mas (although this is an ancient practice)

10. PHASE SIX: Earliest printed editions of the Badarakamadoyts. 16th C.

New beginning for the Divine Liturgy. Present beginning up until the curtain closes. Present. Dominican and other western rites.

Then the procession (Parekhosootyamp) , which is the old beginning. TWO BEGINNINGS!

New ending for the DL: Reading of Prologue of John. This was originally used by the celebrant of the Roman Mass as a private