EDIT: difference in wording Intorductory Rite between Bishop versus a Priest?

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During the Introductory Rite, the Priest celebrating the Mass may greet the congregation with, “The Lord be with you.” I noticed a note indicating that if a Bishop is celebrating the Mass, the appropriate greeting is, “Peace be with you.”

Out of curiosity, does anyone know the reason for this difference? While I have found threads here acknowledging this difference, I couldn’t find anything (here or on other Web sites) explaining the reason behind it.
 
Makes total sense. Thank you so much for the answer and the link. This has been bugging me for quite a while now.
 
By the way, the long form of the priest’s greeting is found in 2 Cor 13:14. So they are the words of the Apostle Paul.
 
Just curious, would it be taboo (for lack of a better term) for a priest to say “Peace be with you?” There is a hospital chaplain priest in my area who always opens Mass this way, he is African so I didn’t know if it were perhaps a different school of thought in other areas of the world.
 
Johnny_Local said:
During the Introductory Rite, the Priest celebrating the Mass may greet the congregation with, “The Lord be with you.” I noticed a note indicating that if a Bishop is celebrating the Mass, the appropriate greeting is, “Peace be with you.”

Out of curiosity, does anyone know the reason for this difference? While I have found threads here acknowledging this difference, I couldn’t find anything (here or on other Web sites) explaining the reason behind it.
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Just a little historical aside.

It’s only in Rome where the bishop got to have a different form of greeting: Pax vobis(cum) “Peace be with you” rather than Dominus vobiscum. (In Spain, there was even a local council (the second Synod of Braga in 563) which ordered that all the bishops and priests in Spain stick to Dominus vobiscum - any other greeting was seen as smacking of Priscillianist heresy.) It is claimed that Pax vobis arrived to Rome from the East (where it is the default greeting in the liturgy) during the 4th-5th centuries.

The reason for the difference may be connected to the Gloria in excelsis Deo (the “Glory to God in the highest”). Originally in Rome, the Gloria was only used in an episcopal/Papal Mass (originally only on Christmas; later extended to Sundays and feasts of martyrs). It was only much later that priests were granted the privilege of having the Gloria at their masses by degrees. (At first, they were allowed to use it only on two occasions: their ordination mass and Easter Sunday or Easter Eve - which led at least one contemporary author to complain: why aren’t priests allowed to use it on Christmas as well, where it would have been more appropriate?)

Apparently there was an early sentiment that “Peace be with you” was a greeting suited for joyful/solemn occasions - and because the Gloria was used on such occasions, the greeting was used only for masses where the “Glory to God” was sung. In other words, only during a mass celebrated by a bishop. Because priests (at that time) did not use the Gloria at their masses, they usually only said “The Lord be with you.”* (In fact, in masses where there was no Gloria the bishop would also use Dominus vobiscum rather than Pax vobis.) Even after the priests were finally allowed to use the Gloria, the custom stuck.
  • I should note however that this was apparently not a hard-and-fast rule yet during the early 9th century (800s): a priest may theoretically use either form. But we do know that a century later, during the time of Pope Leo VII (936-939) the connection between the “Peace be with you” greeting and the Gloria is already made.
 
Kenny_Kamel said:
Just curious, would it be taboo (for lack of a better term) for a priest to say “Peace be with you?” There is a hospital chaplain priest in my area who always opens Mass this way, he is African so I didn’t know if it were perhaps a different school of thought in other areas of the world.
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The idea that this greeting is reserved to the bishop isn’t universal, but I would guess is uniform throughout the Latin Rite. In the Byzantine Divine liturgy, the priest gives the greeting “Peace be with all” several times.

On the other hand, he is supposed to just say the red, do the black.
 
patrick457 said:
Just a little historical aside.

It’s only in Rome where the bishop got to have a different form of greeting: Pax vobis(cum) “Peace be with you” rather than Dominus vobiscum. (In Spain, there was even a local council (the second Synod of Braga in 563) which ordered that all the bishops and priests in Spain stick to Dominus vobiscum - any other greeting was seen as smacking of Priscillianist heresy.) It is claimed that Pax vobis arrived to Rome from the East (where it is the default greeting in the liturgy) during the 4th-5th centuries.

The reason for the difference may be connected to the Gloria in excelsis Deo (the “Glory to God in the highest”). Originally in Rome, the Gloria was only used in an episcopal/Papal Mass (originally only on Christmas; later extended to Sundays and feasts of martyrs). It was only much later that priests were granted the privilege of having the Gloria at their masses by degrees. (At first, they were allowed to use it only on two occasions: their ordination mass and Easter Sunday or Easter Eve - which led at least one contemporary author to complain: why aren’t priests allowed to use it on Christmas as well, where it would have been more appropriate?)

Apparently there was an early sentiment that “Peace be with you” was a greeting suited for joyful/solemn occasions - and because the Gloria was used on such occasions, the greeting was used only for masses where the “Glory to God” was sung. In other words, only during a mass celebrated by a bishop. Because priests (at that time) did not use the Gloria at their masses, they usually only said “The Lord be with you.”* (In fact, in masses where there was no Gloria the bishop would also use Dominus vobiscum rather than Pax vobis.) Even after the priests were finally allowed to use the Gloria, the custom stuck.
  • I should note however that this was apparently not a hard-and-fast rule yet during the early 9th century (800s): a priest may theoretically use either form. But we do know that a century later, during the time of Pope Leo VII (936-939) the connection between the “Peace be with you” greeting and the Gloria is already made.
Click to expand...
This is fascinating. Thank you for sharing it.
 
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