TheSanctus (Latin:Sanctus, "Holy") is ahymn inChristianliturgy. It may also be called theepinikios hymnos (Greek:ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition and parts of it are sometimes called "Benedictus".Tersanctus (Latin: "Thrice Holy") is another, rarer name for the Sanctus. The same name is sometimes used for theTrisagion.[1]
InWestern Christianity, theSanctus forms part of theOrdinary and is sung (or said) as the final words of thePreface of theEucharistic Prayer of remembrance,consecration, and praise. The preface, which alters according to theseason, usually concludes with words describing the praise of the worshippers joining with theangels, who are pictured as praising God with the words of theSanctus.In theByzantine Rite and generalEastern Orthodox Christianity, theSanctus is offered as a response by the choir during theHoly Anaphora.
Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου, ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Ὡσαννὰ (ὁ) ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.[2][3][4][n 1][n 2][n 3]
Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth; plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou, hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou. Hōsanná (ho) en toîs hupsístois.
In theDivine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom[2] and theLiturgy of St. Basil:[5]
Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ·
πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου,
ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.
Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου.
Ὡσαννὰ ὁ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.
Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth;
plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou,
hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.
Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou.
Hōsanná ho en toîs hupsístois.
In theLiturgy of St. James:[4][n 3]
Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ.
Πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου.
Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.
Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου.
Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.
Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth.
Plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou.
Hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.
Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou.
Hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.
In theRoman Rite:[6]
In the Roman Rite, theSanctus also forms part of the solemn hymn of praiseTe Deum laudamus, but with the addition of a reference to the "majesty" of the Lord's glory in thePleni sunt verse (the phrasepleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua becomespleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae). TheBenedictus is not included in theTe Deum, and the Sanctus is therefore included as part of that hymn as follows:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt cæli et terra maiestatis gloriæ tuæ.
In theMozarabic Rite:[7]
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus,
Dominus Deus Sabaoth:
Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria maiestatis tuæ,
Hosanna filio David.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.
Hosanna in excelsis.
Hagios, hagios, hagios Kyrie o Theos.
The Sanctus appears thus in the1549 Book of Common Prayer (and as set to music byJohn Merbecke in 1550[8]):
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
Glory to thee O Lord in the highest.
In the 1552 Book of Common Prayer and1559 BCP it appears without the Benedictus:[9]
Holy, holy, holy, lord god of hostes,
heven and earth are ful of thy glory,
glory be to the, O Lord most hyghe.
The 1662 BCP has it thus:[10]
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hoſts,
heaven and earth are full of thy glory;
Glory be to thee, O Lord Moſt High.
LaterAnglican prayer books following theritualist andliturgical movements of the twentieth century,[11][12] restored the Benedictus to this form, yielding:[13][14][15][16][17][18]
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts,
heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Glory be to thee, O Lord most high.
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
The following English version was used by mostLutherans in North America until 1978 when the ICET version was adopted in theLutheran Book of Worship.[19] This traditional version has continued to be used in theDivine Service of theLutheran Church—Missouri Synod:[20][21]
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God ofSabaoth;
heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord
Hosanna in the highest.
In 1973 theInternational Consultation on English Texts (ICET) produced an ecumenical version that at that time was adopted by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans,Methodists and others:[22][23][24][25]
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Since 2011 theRoman Missal in English has:[26]
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
As part of the Alexandrian rite, theBenedictus is not present in theLiturgy of Saint Cyril:[27]
Αγιος, αγιος, αγιος.
Ⲭⲟⲩⲁⲃ `Ⲡϭⲟⲓⲥ ⲥⲁⲃⲁⲱⲑ:
`ⲧⲫⲉ ⲛⲉⲙ `ⲡⲕⲁϩⲓ ⲙⲉϩ ⲉⲃⲟⲗϧⲉⲛ ⲡⲉⲕⲱⲟⲩ
ⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ `Ⲡϭⲟⲓⲥ Ⲡⲉⲛⲛⲟⲩϯ.
As Enrico Mazza writes:
TheSanctus became part of the Roman Eucharistic Prayer only in the first half of the fifth century; all in all, this was a fairly late period, inasmuch as by then thetext of theRoman Canon had become fixed and was regarded as a text possessing great authority.
There exist two fundamental types of Sanctus: theAlexandrian and theAntiochene. The Sanctus of the Roman Eucharist derives from the Antiochene liturgy and has two parts: (a) the Sanctus true and proper, consisting of the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3; and (b) theBenedictus, a christological acclamation taken from Matthew 21:9. The Sanctus has been given achristological interpretation and atrinitarian interpretation, and this in both theEast and theWest. These differing interpretations may be due to the presence, in the text of the Sanctus, of a theological section, namely, the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3, and a christological part, namely the acclamation from Matthew 21:9.
The text of the Sanctus passed from Jewish use to Christian use at a very early time, since it is cited in theApocalypse of John and in theletter ofClement to the Corinthians.[28]
As can be read in the same source, in the Alexandrian tradition on the other hand,
the Sanctus consisted of only the first part, the citation of Isaiah 6:3, and lacked theBenedictus; this was the earliest form taken by the Sanctus in the Eucharist. This early state can be seen in the testimonies ofEusebius of Caesarea, theMystagogical Catecheses ofCyril of Jerusalem, and, above all, theRitual used in the Church ofTheodore of Mopsuestia. In the latter, too, that is, in the archaic stage of the Syrian liturgy, theBenedictus was unknown, and the Sanctus consisted solely of the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3.[28]
The first part of the Sanctus, the adaptation fromIsaiah 6:3, describes the prophetIsaiah's vision of the throne of God surrounded by six-winged, ministeringseraphim. A similar representation is found inRevelation 4:8. In Jewish liturgy,[29] the verse fromIsaiah is uttered by the congregation duringKedusha, a prayer said during the leader's repetition of theAmidah (18 Benedictions):
Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh Adonai Tz'vaot
Melo Kol Haaretz Kevodo.
The text of the second part, beginning with the wordBenedictus (Latin for "Blessed") is taken fromMatthew 21:9, describes Jesus'Entry into Jerusalem onPalm Sunday, which is in turn based on the first half of Psalm 118:26. In its present liturgical context "it points to the expected presence of the Lord in the eucharistic gifts".[30][31] Within Anglicanism, the 1552Book of Common Prayer omitted it and, though it is now permitted, "the choice whether or not to use theBenedictus is still for some a matter of Eucharistic theology and churchmanship".[32]
The Sanctus appears in theSacramentary of Serapion of Thmuis (the saint died in 360), but may go as far back to Christian liturgy inNorth Africa in the year 200.[33]
The present form of theDivine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the primaryliturgy of theEastern Orthodox Church, reads (when inGreek) the following text:
Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου, ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Ὡσαννὰ ὁ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.[2][n 2]
Hágios, hágios, hágios Kýrios Sabaṓth; plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou, hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou. Hōsanná ho en toîs hupsístois.
The above differs from theRoman Rite Latin text
TheLiturgy of Saint Basil of theEastern Orthodox Church has the same form of the Sanctus as the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, with its two variants of the Hosanna phrase.[39]
In older Greek liturgical manuscripts, various forms of the hymn are attested; the ones that will follow below, belong to the ones edited bySwainson in his 1884 bookThe Greek liturgies. Among these forms, there are variations of the hymn being composed of practically only the Old testament part. Others include:
In the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, one of them excludes not only the articleὁ, but also the article «τῆς»:
Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, Κύριος Σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ δόξης σου. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.[40]
Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth; plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê dóxēs sou. Hōsanná en toîs hupsístois; eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.
TheLiturgy of Saint James as given in Swainson reads as follows:
Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, Κύριε σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Eὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.[41][42]
Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrie sabaṓth. Plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.
This text not only omits the articleὁ that is used in the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, but also hasKyrie (vocative case) where the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom hasKyrios (nominative).[citation needed]
In current use, the Liturgy of Saint James may use the nominative rather than the vocative case ofΚύριος; the articleὁ is also not present in this form at the concludingHosanna.[4]
Moreover, a different variant of the Liturgy of Saint James is found in the margin of a manuscript that gives only the three wordsἍγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος in the body: "In the margin, much abbreviated, may be discerned the following:Κύριος σαβαώθ, πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐλθὼν καὶ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.[43] This produces the text:
Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, Κύριος σαβαώθ, πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐλθὼν καὶ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.
Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth, plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho elthṓn kaí erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.
This version adds "he who came and" before "he who comes"; in this it resembles the Liturgy of Saint James in the tradition of theSyriac Orthodox Church:
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth are full of His glories. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who came and will come in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.[44]
The Syriac Orthodox Church also has what it calls theLiturgy of Saint Dionysius, in which the Hosanna phrase appears only at the end:
Holy Holy Holy, Lord of Sabbaoth, Heaven and Earth are full of Thy Glory. Blessed is He that cometh in the Lord's Name; Hosanna in the highest.[45]
The form used in the ancientLiturgy of Addai and Mari is much shorter:
ܩܲܕܝܫ: ܩܲܕܝܼܫ: ܩܲܕܝܼܫ: ܡܵܪܝܵܐ ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ ܚܲܝܠܬ݂ܵܢܵܐ: ܕܲܡܠܹܝܢ ܫ̈ܡܲܝܵܐ ܘܐܲܪܥܵܐ ܡܸܢ ܬܸܫ̈ܒ݁ܚܵܬܹܗ: ܘܡܸܢ ܟܝܵܢ ܐܝܼܬ݂ܘܼܬܹܗ: ܘܡܸܢ ܗܸܕ݂ܪܵܐ ܕܙܝܼܘܹܗ ܡܫܲܒ݁ܚܵܐ܀ ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ ܒܲܡܪ̈ܲܘܡܹܐ: ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ ܠܲܒ݂ܪܹܗ ܕܕ݂ܵܘܝܼܕ݂: ܒܪܝܼܟ݂ ܕܐܸܬ݂ܵܐ ܘܐܵܬܹܐ ܒܲܫܡܹܗ ܕܡܵܪܝܵܐ: ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ ܒܲܡܪ̈ܲܘܡܹܐ.
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord is the Lord God of hosts, for heaven and earth are full of his praises, and of the nature of his being, and for the excellency of his glorious splendor. Hosanna in the heights. Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who came and will come in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the heights.[46]
The Coptic version of theLiturgy of Saint Basil also gives a short text of what it calls theHymn of the Seraphim:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your holy glory.[47]
The priest's introductions, following therubrics that set what should be done by whom with each passage, uniformly call the hymn theἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, i.e. "the hymn of victory". On the other hand, it used to be that, as Swainson notes about an attested variant form wherein onlyἍγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος is being quoted:
In the margin, much abbreviated, may be discerned the following:Κύριος σαβαώθ, πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐλθὼν καὶ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Chrysostom frequently refers to this: sometimes asτὸ μυστικὸν μέλος; sometimes asὁ πανάγιος ὕμνος; sometimes as theτρισάγιος ὕμνος. The knowledge of it as a whole was confined to the faithful.[43][n 4]
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The Sanctus has been set to numerousplainchant melodies, many of which are given in theRoman Missal, and many more composers have set it topolyphonic music, both in single settings and as part of cyclicmass settings.
Parts of the Hymn have also been used in modern music, notably "Prism of Life" byEnigma (albumLe Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!)[49]
Modern versions of the content of Sanctus include the 1986 German hymn "Du bist heilig, du bringst Heil", derived from a Swedish model.
In theTridentine Mass the priest joins his hands while saying the word "Sanctus" and then, bowing, continues to recite the whole of the Sanctus in a lower voice, while a small bell is rung; then, on reaching the words "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini", he stands erect again and makes theSign of the Cross.[50] He then continues immediately with theCanon of the Mass, while the choir, if there is one, sings the Sanctus. In the pre-1962 form, the choir pauses for the Consecration and continues with theBenedictus part afterwards. As a result of this division, the Sanctus has sometimes been spoken of as "Sanctus and Benedictus".[51][52][53] However, in line withPope John XXIII'srevision of the rubrics of the liturgy, the splitting of the Sanctus, when sung toGregorian chant (though not if sung polyphonically) was forbidden[54] and is thus not allowed in celebrations of the 1962 Tridentine Mass as authorized byPope Benedict XVI'sSummorum Pontificum.
In the Mass revised after theSecond Vatican Council, the Sanctus may, of course, not be split, since the whole of the eucharistic prayer is sung or spoken aloud, and the only ceremony prescribed for the priest during the Sanctus is to join his hands. He and the people sing or recite together the whole of the Sanctus, before the priest continues the Eucharistic Prayer.[citation needed]
Words of the Sanctus are often used inchurch architecture andChristian art.[citation needed]
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