Divine Liturgy and Mass question

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Pattylt

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In another thread I noticed the Orthodox Catholics refer to Divine Liturgy and Roman Catholics refer to Mass. I asked if there was a difference and the reply stated that from a birds eye view, they are the same but that there actually are differences.

I’m curious as to what those differences are and would appreciate any clarification you can bring. Note; I’m not Christian but I do understand most general terminology but if there are specific words or ideas pertinent to the explanation, I’d love it if you defined or explained those terms. Thanks in advance.
 
First of all, the term “Mass” comes from the words of the priest “Ite, missa est.” near the end of the Mass. Divine Liturgy (Sluzhba Bozha, literally “the service of God” and Qorbono (Kor-bo-no; literally “oblation/offering” are the terms used in the Eastern Catholic Churches for the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar.

These should help:

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It’s really hard to explain this because first of all, there are at least three Western Rites in general use for Mass (Ordinary Form, Extraordinary Form (aka TLM) and Ordinariate) (and we’re leaving out a bunch of Western Rites used in very limited locations) and several categories of Eastern Rites (Byzantine, Antiochene, etc).

Each of these has a huge number of little details of liturgical worship that are going to differ and there’s no practical way to try to explain to somebody all the differences.

Some of the big differences you might see would be that in the Western Church rites for Mass, the priest is out in front of the people; in the Byzantine Rite and some of the other Eastern Rites, the priest is at least part of the time behind the screen.

The way in which Holy Communion is given will likely differ; Western rites use round crispy little hosts for the Body, which are placed on the tongue or in the hand, and the Precious Blood is usually given through intinction of the host or by the communicant sipping from a cup, whereas Eastern churches I’ve been to use a spoon to give each person a little piece of porous Body soaked with Precious Blood, by placing it right in their mouth.

The prayers and responses during the worship services are different. The cycle of readings are different. Customs for genuflecting and bowing and when you do each (or whether you do them at all) are different. All the differences are rooted in theology and tradition.

You would really need to attend each of these Churches to see and understand what I mean. I am actually trying to go to more different Rites and so far have been to the three most used Latin rites and three more of the Eastern rites, just so I can see the differences.
 
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Those memes are not accurate for the Latn Rite. As in Roman Catholic Latin Rite with Pope Francis as our Pope.
 
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Huh? What’s wrong with them?

Also, her chart is for the “Roman Rite”, which is the correct term for the main Western liturgical rite.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Huh? What’s wrong with them?

Also, her chart is for the “Roman Rite”, which is the correct term for the main Western liturgical rite.
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I would have to defer to the Vicar General of the Diocese I belong to. He is constantly telling us we practice the Latin Rite.

One example in error in those memes ’ we like things that are new and modern’
 
Margaret_Ann said:
I thought it was used by Melkites too.
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Melkites use strips from the same loaf, and the priest instincts.

Looking up, I see you meant the Qurbano,.

Melkites are byzantines (although that wasn’t always the case, they used to have a Syriac liturgy).

hawk
 
Thank you everyone. This has helped quite a bit, especially the links!

And now I understand what is meant by the birds eye view vs. the details!
 
I think those images are meant to contrast more than define, so they’re not going to be exhaustive or thorough.

For the Rite question, perhaps this will help:
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DeniseNY said:
Isn’t Qorbono only used by Maronites?
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No, all the Syriac Rite churches use it. West Syriac = Qurbono, East Syriac = Qurbana. Just a dialect difference.

Melkites, although generally Lebanese & Syrian and Arabic speaking, use Divine Liturgy as they are actually a Byzantine Rite church.
 
In the Latin rites, unleavened wheat hosts are used for the Eucharist. In eastern rites (although perhaps not all) leavened wheat bread is used - which Tis_Bear mentioned in a post. I have been to the Maronite Liturgy several times, and they use unleavened wheat hosts; then, again in discussions I have heard them referred to as an Eastern Rite, and as part of the Western rites. Cor_ad_Cor’s chart shows them as part of the Antiochene ritual family.

Easterrn Rite churches are in union with Rome, but have their own Code of Canon Law. For a period of time there was great emphasis for the Eastern rites to “Latinize”, although Pope John Paul 2 made it clear they were to return to their roots.
 
Margaret_Ann said:
These should help:
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It’s worth noting that the Traditional Latin Mass mirrors many of the things that are said to describe the Byzantine Divine Liturgy — centuries-old rituals, elaborate churches (in some cases), otherworldliness, and so on. The “Roman Rite Today” description is of a very simple, modern, communitarian, down-to-earth OF (Novus Ordo) liturgy, not the TLM.
 
I really wish we had a TLM available in my city but I would have to travel well over an hour away to Denver to witness one. It’s on my bucket list!

And yes, I realized the chart was a bit simplistic. It was still useful.
 
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