Raza - The Most Solemn Eucharistic Celebration of the Mar Toma Nasrani Church (An Introduction)
Fr Joseph Varghese Kureethara CMI
Three
fundamental tenets of Catholic life are the Sacred Scripture, the
Magisterium and the Tradition. As part of tradition, liturgy is the
faith experience and expression of the Church. Any Church is the symbol
of the continued presence of Jesus Christ in the world. It is in her
liturgy that every Church proclaims and exhibits primarily her nature
through signs and symbols.
Catholic Church is a communion of 23 Churches of equal
rights with distinct identity spread all around the world. They come
under four liturgical families, viz., the East Syriac or Chaldaic
family, the West Syriac family consisting of the Antiochene, the
Maronite, the Byzantine and the Armenian Liturgies, the Alexandrian with
the Coptic and the Ethiopian liturgies, and the Latin. Sharing the
Christ-Experience from St. Thomas the Apostle, the Mar Toma Nasrani
Church (Syro-Malabar Church) follows the East Syriac Liturgy which was
developed by the disciples of St. Thomas, around Edessa and influenced
by all St. Thomas Christians. The Raza or the most solemn form of the
Eucharistic celebration is the distinctive feature of the Syro-Malabar
Liturgy. Though it is unknown to many in the East Syriac family, Raza
was always in use in the Mar Toma Nasrani Church.
The Syro-Malabar tradition summarizes the whole
mystery of salvation in its celebration of the Eucharist. The
Eucharistic Celebration is called Qurbana, which means an offering, a
gift or an oblation. The most solemn Qurbana is the Raza. The word Raza
could mean mystery. In the Raza, the word Raza itself is used 26 times
both in singular and plural. The Sliba (Cross), the Word of God, and the
Body and Blood of Christ are three living representations of our Lord.
They are given at most priority in various prayers, hymns and rituals of
the Raza. The mysteryof the Sliba, the Word of God and the Body and
Blood of Christ is completely unveiled in the Raza. Thus Raza is the
celebration of the Sliba, the Word of God, and the Body and Blood of
Christ.
The Raza is introduced by the remembrance of the
command of Christ (Lk 22:19) by both the Celebrant and the faithful. The
Raza begins with the proclamation of the incarnation of our Lord
through the symbol of Angels’ Hymn, “Glory to God in the highest….” (Lk
2:14). Gradually the worshiping community enters the Old Testament
background of the incarnation and the hidden life of Jesus in the
Enarxis (Introductory Rites). The community responds to it by
pronouncing Amen. It comes from the Hebrew word Aman which means
‘truthfully, faithfully, certainly’ and so on. The liturgical assembly
responds to the whole Mystery of Salvation re-enacted by pronouncing
Amen. In the Raza Amen is used 65 times whereas repeated use of it as
Amen Amen is seen 13 times.
The Lord’s Prayer is recited thrice in the Raza as in
other forms of the Qurbana. As a distinctive feature of East Syriac
Liturgy, Lord’s Prayer is recited at the commencement and at the
conclusion of the Raza. After the Rite of Reconciliation, the confident
community without blemish, with pure hearts and trustful countenance,
calls the Father in heaven using the Lord’s Prayer, as is usual in all
Liturgies including that of the Latin Church.
One of the often repeated prayers in the Raza is
n-Salle Slamma Amman, i.e., Let us Pray. Peace be with us. It is uttered
by the deacon. Slamma means peace, but it is not just peace alone.
Slamma stands as the symbol of the risen Lord. In the Raza, Slamma Amman
is used 15 times in different contexts. In a way Raza is a celebration
of Slamma, the Risen Lord.
Church uses the Psalms as symbols to dive deeper into
the reasons of the Mystery of Incarnation. They help the community to
identify themselves with the Old Testament life and proclaim it as part
of the mystery of human salvation.
One of the unique features of the Raza is the
observance of a special rite after the Psalms, viz., the Anthem of the
Sanctuary (Onitha d-Qanke) and the Kissing of the Sliba. After the
priestly prayer which follows the Pslams, the first Deacon hands over
the Sliba in the Bema to the Celebrant. After paying respects to it by
kissing, he helps the Archdeacon, the deacons, the other ministers and
the faithful to do the same. The choir sings the proper Anthem of the
Sanctuary during this time.
The resurrection hymn, Laku Mara d-Kolla is sung
thrice in every Raza. This hymn is attributed to the Catholicos Simeon
Bar Sabba (AD 323-341). Laku Mara d-Kolla is a hymn of celebration by
those who were in Siol when our Lord descended into it after His death,
for His victory over suffering, death and Satan. It is also an ancient
creed. When Laku Mara is sung, the sanctuary veil is drawn. The
sanctuary veil separates the sanctuary from rest of the Church. The
sanctuary veil indicates that the heaven is hidden from ordinary human
perception. It is in liturgy that one is given the experience of heaven.
The sanctuary veil symbolizes Jesus, who is the only mediator between
God and men (1 Tim 2:5). The sanctuary is veiled again during the
Karozutha and during the hymn Dhil-At just before Holy Communion.
During the Laku Mara, the deacon incenses the whole
sanctuary, the whole church and the community assembled. Incensing is a
symbol of our total submission to God, of the prayer that rises up to
heaven from the community and is a sign of forgiveness of sins. There
are four more instances in the Raza where incensing is done. During the
rite of preparation the chalice and paten are incensed. Incense is part
of the procession of the Evangalion book. At the beginning of the
Qudasha, as an expression of showing reverence and adoration to the
Eucharistic gifts and to the altar the celebrant incenses them. Finally,
during the rite of reconciliation as a symbol of forgiveness of sins,
the celebrant, the deacons, the community, the altar and the Holy
Mysteries upon it are incensed. This elaborate rite of incensing during
the rite of reconciliation is seen only in the Syro-Malabar liturgy.
The public life of our Lord is commemorated during the
Liturgy of the Word in the Raza. It begins with the Trisagion (Is 6,3;
Rev 4,8) sung thrice. The Church recognizes this hymn as one
proclaiming the role of the most Holy Trinity in human salvation, and
one that expresses the great joy of the liturgical assembly in hearing,
understanding and accepting the details of this salvation history
through the Sacred Scripture.
There are four Scriptural Readings in the Raza which are according to
the day of the Liturgical Season. In general, the readings are from the
Law, the Prophets, the Apostle and the Gospel. The four readings in the
Raza are a comprehensive celebration of the whole Bible, and a
confession with unconditional acceptance of it as the source of
Christian faith. The combination of the Responsorial Hymn (Shurraya),
Instructional Hymns (Turgamma) and the Alleluia Hymn (Zummara) during
the Raza show how important the Word of God is for human beings.
Instructional Hymns before the reading from the Apostle and the Gospel
and the solemn procession of the Evangalion book are unique features of
Syro-Malabar Liturgy, especially to the Raza.
At the end of the Alleluia Hymn, the Archdeacon and
the deacon accompanied by all other ministers, take the Evangalion book
and the Sliba which are placed on the right side and on the left side of
the Altar respectively. The Archdeacon leads the procession by lifting
it up to his forehead, reaches the Bema and hands it over to the
Celebrant. The Celebrant kisses if first and then extends it to other
ministers, if possible to all the faithful, to be kissed. He then places
the Evangalion book and the Sliba on the table in the Bema. The deacons
go to the entrance of the Sanctuary, face the people and alternate the
Turgamma of the Gospel with the community. At the end of the Turgamma,
the Celebrant chants the Gospel, while the deacons stand on either side
of him with lit candles and the Archdeacon on his left side holding the
Sliba. After the chanting of the Gospel, the Celebrant closes the
Evangalion book, kisses over it and gives it to the deacon at his right
side, who places it on the table in the Bema. The Sliba is also placed
on the same table.
The second deacon proposes the Proclamation Prayer
(Karozutha), which presents the actual disposition and situation of the
faithful. The response to the Karozutha prayers, “Our Lord, have mercy
on us,”(Mt 20,29-34; Mt 15, 22; Lk 17, 13) shows the right attitude of
someone asking favours. After the Karozutha, the celebrant prays in a
loud voice with hands extended. Once the prayer is over, the archdeacon
takes the Sliba and hands it over to the celebrant, who in turn, passes
it to the deacon at his left side. The Celebrant then takes the
Evangalion book and gives it to the deacon at his right side. The
deacons go up to the altar and stand facing one another in front of it.
There is the Imposition of Hands at the end of the Liturgy of the Word.
It is to be noted that the blessing is believed to be directly given by
God and hence during this time, everybody in the community including the
celebrant bows the head. The celebrant goes accompanied by the
archdeacon to the middle of the nave near to a large veil with Sliba
printed on it, spread out on the floor, and recites the prayer facing
the altar.
Now, the deacon dismisses and sends out all those who
are not baptized, those who have not received the sign of life (proper
reconciliation) and those who are not prepared to receive the Holy
Communion. Then the second deacon kisses and receives the Evangalion
book held by the first deacon and the first deacon kisses and receives
the Sliba held by the second deacon. The Evangalion book and the Sliba
are then placed at the right and left sides of the Altar, respectively.
This symbolizes that the Son and the Holy Spirit are seated at the right
and left side of the Father.
The Celebrant then begins the hymn Kahnaik Nelbshun and the Choir and
the deacons sing their part. After each part of the hymn, the celebrant
kneels and kisses the veil on the floor three times and stands up and
blesses the community with the sign of the Sliba. He does this on the
other three sides of the veil and comes back to the original position
facing the altar. The deacons now facing the altar sing the couplets
“For ever more…” and turn to the celebrant and sing “We entreat Your
great mercy…”. The celebrant and the deacons sing the couplets “Behold, I
am with you all…” and “By Your grace ….” respectively thrice. After
each set is over, the deacons walk down toward the celebrant. Once they
reach the veil and stand opposite to the celebrant they all sing “Save
us from temptations …”. All then prostrate together and kiss the veil.
While kneeling, the celebrant blesses the deacons. Then all of them
stand up and the celebrant blesses all. The archdeacon and the deacons
kiss the sacred Paina of the celebrant. The whole ritual which is unique
to the St. Thomas Christians of India is seen as humbling of the
celebrant as an immediate preparation for the Qudasha, veneration to the
Sliba and as a farewell ceremony of the celebrant as he leaves the Bema
soon.
The celebrant washes his hands at the Bema as a symbol
of purification of the community as the archdeacon and deacon go to the
Beth gaze. The bethgaze, the treasure houses, are arranged on both
sides of the altar. The chalice and paten are prepared in the south and
north bethgaze respectively. In each Raza, the particles needed for the
communion are only to be prepared. While the choir sings Onitha d’Raze,
the Archdeacon and the deacon bring the Eucharistic gifts to the altar
which symbolizes the funeral procession of our Lord. The Archdeacon then
raise them in his hands in cross form, deposits them on the altar and
covers them with soseppa. This is to be seen as the burial of our Lord
and covering of the tomb with a stone.
In the Liturgy of the Word, we celebrate the public
life of Jesus and during the rite of preparation we commemorate His
passion, death and burial. The rite of preparation being an immediate
preparation to the central part of the Qurbana, namely the Qudasha or
Anaphora, whatever is celebrated in the Qudasha is proleptically
proclaimed in the rite of preparation as well.
In the second part of the Onitha d’Raze, the community remembers all
those who are intimately related to the Mystery of Salvation in a
typical St. Thomas Christian perspective, viz., the Holy Trinity,
Blessed Virgin Mary, all the apostles very specially St. Thomas the
Apostle, the Partirarchs, martyrs, just, confessors and the departed
ones.
The Nicene Creed which is the summary of the mystery
of salvation, is solemnly said by the community as they are moving to
Anaphora, the central part of the re-enactment of the mystery of
salvation in the Raza.
The celebrant approaches the altar with all humility by bowing down
thrice on the way. After he reaches the altar, he kisses in the middle,
the right and the left of it, representing the Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit, respectively.
In the Qudasha (Anaphora), the celebrant seeks the
prayers of the community thrice, which is an expression of the intimate
relation between the celebrant and the liturgical assembly in the
ecclesial body. During the Qudasha, the climax of the Christ-event,
death and resurrection of Jesus is celebrated and proclaimed. The
Resurrection is proclaimed as the supreme action of the Holy Spirit.
Thus the decisive action of the Holy Spirit in human salvation is also
proclaimed in the Anaphora through the typical rite of Epiclesis. In the
Qudasha of the Apostles Mar Addai and Mar Mari, there are four g’hanta
prayers, prayers of inclining. They are said by the celebrant with bent
head, low but audible and modulated voice. They are thanksgiving
prayers to God. All the g’hanta prayers are introduced with a Kushappa,
supplication prayer, and concluded with a qanona, antiphon of praise and
thanksgiving. Kushappa is to be said in a low voice. At the end of the
second g’hanta, the “Holy” hymn (Is 6,3; Rev 4, 8) is sung. In the
middle of the third and fourth g’hanta prayers, the Institution
Narrative and the Epiclesis are inserted, respectively.
The Rite of Reconciliation underlines the
reconciliation of humankind with the heavenly Father by the help of the
Holy Spirit. This Rite begins with praying “Peace of those in heaven….”
which is a combination of Pauline theology in the captivity epistles and
the theology of Psalms. Psalm 51 and 122 are used to open up a
repentant heart, which is ready to confess the sins and seeks
absolution. During the breaking of the Body and its mingling with the
Blood, the purificatory effect of the Holy Qurbana is proclaimed along
with the role of the most Holy Trinity in the celebration of the
Mysteries. After the commingling of the Body with the Blood, the two
halves are placed on the paten, one upon the other cross-wise, so that
the broken side of the particle below faces the chalice, and the
particle above, the celebrant. After this the celebrant makes sign of
the Sliba on his own forehead and that of the deacons. This is a summary
of an elaborate Rite of Reconciliation existed in the early Church.
This shows the re-admission of the repentant sinner to the community.
With the dialogue prayer in the second part in the Rite of
Reconciliation, Raza becomes a public act of reconciliation with both
the vertical and horizontal aspects of it. The dialogue prayer begins
with the celebrant reciting the Pauline Salutation used at the end of
the second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Pauline Salutation is
already used in the Raza before the dialogue prayer before the second
g’hanta prayer. This salutation is a public confession of the fact that
the Holy Trinity gives itself completely in Jesus Christ to the humans.
Since all those who are unworthy to continue, are
dismissed at the end of the Liturgy of the Word, communion is a must in
Raza. Communion under both species which are consecrated in each
celebration is distributed to the community. In the Rite of Communion,
the faithful are united to the risen body of the Lord and thus become
inheritors of the heavenly Kingdom. After the communion, the community,
the deacon and the celebrant express their thanksgiving separately. Then
after the Lord’s Prayer, the Huttamma, the sealing prayer is said by
the celebrant standing a little to the right of the sanctuary door.
Huttamma is concluded with the celebrant making sign of the Sliba over
the community and blessing them. The Raza is concluded with the
celebrant’s bidding farewell to the Altar, with the prayer “Remain in
peace, altar of forgiveness….” said alone silently and by kissing it.
The Syro-Malabar Qurbana is a Liturgy that presents a
unique mystical world. The mystical experience of this world is beyond
human logic and ideas. It takes human beings to the Heavens, i.e.,
raising the earth to the Heavens and bringing down the Heavens to the
earth. It is the meeting point of Heaven and earth. They become one.
Hence, the challenge of Zophar to Job is also a challenge to all of us,
“Can you fathom the mysteries of God, probe the extent of his
perfection?” (Job 11: 7).
References:
Pathikulangara, Varghese. QURBANA, Kottayam: Denha Services, 1998
Kalluveettil, Paul. RAHASYAVUM DAANAVUM, Kottayam: Oriental Institute of Religious Studies, 2009
