Facing the Altar vs. Facing the People

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Lucretius

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One of the aspects of the Liturgy of Pope Pius VI (the ordinary form of the Roman Rite) is that the priest faces the congregation during most of the Liturgy. The Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great (the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite), and the one Eastern Rite I participated in, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, all have Father face the tabernacle.

Are their any Eastern Rites that are performed in the same way as the Liturgy of Pope Pius VI?

Christi pax,

Lucretius
 
I am not aware of any Eastern Rite churches that use the form of the Pope Pius VI Liturgy. I am Ukrainian Catholic, and yes the priest faces the Tabernacle so his back is to the people.
 
Christbearer03 said:
I am not aware of any Eastern Rite churches that use the form of the Pope Pius VI Liturgy. I am Ukrainian Catholic, and yes the priest faces the Tabernacle so his back is to the people.
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I don’t mean if the Eastern Churches use the Roman Rite (they do not). I mean if the Eastern Rites have the priest face the people in the majority of the Mass.

BTW, my family is traditionally Ukrainian Catholic/Orthodox. The Liturgy I mention in my first post on this thread was at a Ukrainian Church.

Christi pax,

Lucretius
 
Lucretius said:
One of the aspects of the Liturgy of Pope Pius VI (the ordinary form of the Roman Rite) is that the priest faces the congregation during most of the Liturgy. The Liturgy of St. Gregory the Great (the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite), and the one Eastern Rite I participated in, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, all have Father face the tabernacle.

Are their any Eastern Rites that are performed in the same way as the Liturgy of Pope Pius VI?

Christi pax,

Lucretius
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Yes. The Maronites frequently celebrate facing the people too.

However, it must be noted that the Mass of Pope Paul VI does not have Mass facing the people as an inherent orientation. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal still presupposes that the priest is actually facing the altar (ad orientem), and therefore the same direction as the people. The Maronite Qurbono is also frequently celebrated facing the altar as well.
 
Christbearer03 said:
I am not aware of any Eastern Rite churches that use the form of the Pope Pius VI Liturgy. I am Ukrainian Catholic, and yes the priest faces the Tabernacle so his back is to the people.
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I think Lucretius meant the Novus Ordo Mass of Pope Paul VI, or the Ordinary Form of the Latin Rite.

The Eastern Churches would not use this form for liturgical worship.

I’m Ruthenian, so we share the Byzantine Rite traditions. Our Divine Liturgies are ad orientem, with the priest facing “liturgical East”; that is, facing the altar from the front, with his back to the people.
 
In the Syro Malabar Church half the Qurbana is Versus Populum and the other half is Ad Orientem.
 
Thomas48 said:
In the Syro Malabar Church half the Qurbana is Versus Populum and the other half is Ad Orientem.
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Thanks! Now, what “half” does the Priest face the people? What I had in mind specifically is whether the Priest faces the altar during the “consecration,” or does such a time not apply to your Rite?

Is Qurbana like the word Mass used by Latins?

Christi pax,

Lucretius
 
Lucretius said:
Thanks! Now, what “half” does the Priest face the people? What I had in mind specifically is whether the Priest faces the altar during the “consecration,” or does such a time not apply to your Rite?

Is Qurbana like the word Mass used by Latins?

Christi pax,

Lucretius
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Yes Qurbana is the East Syriac term equivalent to the term Holy Mass, its literal meaning is “sacrifice”. I really should not say half when referring to the versus populum portion. The Syro Malabar Qurbana is usually about one hour and thirty minutes, the versus populum part is only about twenty to thirty minutes. The whole Qurbana up till the Liturgy of the Word is versus populum and is not celebrated in the sanctuary alter but at the bema. The bema is some what like a small alter-podium that is before the steps of the sanctuary where all versus populum portions are celebrated. The bema is technically not considered sanctified and can be found in some Syriac rite churches of the Catholic Church.

After the Liturgy of the Word, the priest climbs the steps of the sanctuary to the altar where the next portion of the Holy Qurbana including the consecration is celebrated in ad orientem, this portion is the most important. After the eucharist, the priest climbs down from the steps back to the bema to perform the final blessing in versus populum and conclude the Qurbana.
 
Thomas48 said:
Yes Qurbana is the East Syriac term equivalent to the term Holy Mass, its literal meaning is “sacrifice”. I really should not say half when referring to the versus populum portion. The Syro Malabar Qurbana is usually about one hour and thirty minutes, the versus populum part is only about twenty to thirty minutes. The whole Qurbana up till the Liturgy of the Word is versus populum and is not celebrated in the sanctuary alter but at the bema. The bema is some what like a small alter-podium that is before the steps of the sanctuary where all versus populum portions are celebrated. The bema is technically not considered sanctified and can be found in some Syriac rite churches of the Catholic Church.

After the Liturgy of the Word, the priest climbs the steps of the sanctuary to the altar where the next portion of the Holy Qurbana including the consecration is celebrated in ad orientem, this portion is the most important. After the eucharist, the priest climbs down from the steps back to the bema to perform the final blessing in versus populum and conclude the Qurbana.
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Thank you for the learning!

Christi pax,

Lucretius
 
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