Secret (liturgy)
Encyclopedia
The Secret is a prayer said in a low voice by the priest
or bishop
during religious services.
the secreta is said by the celebrant
at the end of the Offertory
in the Mass
. It is the original and for a long time was the only offertory prayer. It is said in a low voice merely because it was said at the same time the choir sang the Offertory, and it has inherited the special name of Secret as being the only prayer said in that way at the beginning.
The silent recital of the Canon
(which is sometimes called "Secreta") did not begin earlier than the sixth or seventh century. The present offertory prayers are late additions, not made in Rome until the fourteenth century. Before that the offertory act was made in silence, and the corresponding prayer that followed it was the Secret. Since it is said silently the Secret is not introduced by the invitation to the people: "Oremus
."
The Secret is part of the Accentus of the Mass
, changing for each feast or occasion, and is built up in the same way as the Collect
. The Secret too alludes to the saint or occasion of the day. But it keeps its special character inasmuch as it nearly always (always in the case of the old ones) asks God to receive the eucharist
and sanctify it. All this is found exactly as now in the earliest Secrets we know, those of the Leonine Sacramentary. Already there the Collect, Secret, Postcommunion
, and "Oratio ad populum" form a connected and homogeneous group of prayers. So the multiplication of Collects in one Mass entailed a corresponding multiplication of Secrets. For every Collect the corresponding Secret is said.
The name "Secreta" is used in the Gelasian Sacramentary
; in the Gregorian book these prayers have the title "Super oblata." Both names occur frequently in the early Middle Ages
. In Ordo Rom. II the prayer is called "Oratio super oblationes secreta". In the Gallican Rite
there was also a variable offertory prayer introduced by an invitation to the people; it had no special name. In the Ambrosian Rite
the prayer called "Oratio super sindonem" (Sindon for the veil that covers the oblata) is said while the Offertory is being made and another "Oratio super oblata" follows after the Creed
, just before the Preface
. In the Mozarabic Rite
, after an invitation to the people, to which they answer "Præsta æterne omnipotens Deus," the celebrant says a prayer without a special name that corresponds to the Secret and continues at once to the memory of the saints and intercession prayer. In these other Western rites this prayer is said aloud. All the Eastern rites have prayers, now said silently, after the Great Entrance, when the gifts are brought to the altar and offered to God, but they are invariable and none of them can be exactly compared to the Roman Secret.
At either high
or low Mass
the celebrant, having answered "Amen
" to the prayer "Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium", says in a low voice the Secret or Secrets in the same order as he said the Collects, finding each at its place in the proper Mass. He ends the first and last only with the form "Per Dominum nostrum" (as in the Collects). The last clause of the last Secret: "Per omnia sæcula sæculorum" is said or sung aloud, forming the ekphonesis before the Preface
.
In the ordinary form
of contemporary Catholic usage, the secret corresponds to the Prayer over the Gifts and is sung or recited audibly throughout by the celebrant.
and those Eastern Catholic churches which follow the Byzantine Rite
, there are numerous secret prayers said by the celebrating priest or bishop, not only at the Divine Liturgy
(Eucharist
), but at a number of other services also. The time during which the priest says the secret prayers is usually covered either by the deacon
chanting a litany
or by hymns chant
ed by the choir
. During the Prayer at the Bowing of Heads there may be a period of silence as all bow while the priest quietly reads the prayer. In many cases the ekphonesis which completes the secret prayer is to be said out loud, in the hearing of the people.
At the Divine Liturgy, there are a number of secret prayers said by the priest, both during the litanies
and during the anaphora
. The primary difference between the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is the secret prayers; those of Saint Basil are longer than those of Saint John Chrysostom, and so the choir will often have to extend their chanting to cover the time.
At Vespers
and Matins
almost all of the secret prayers are said near the beginning, while psalms
are being read. At Vespers there are six Lamplighting Prayers which the priest says with uncovered head, standing in front of the Holy Doors (or, in the Greek practice, in front of the icon
of Christ on the iconostasis
), while the reader says Psalm 103
(Septuagint numbering). At Matins there are twelve Morning Prayers which the priest says with uncovered head while the reader says the Six Psalms (Psalms 3
, 37
, 62
, 87
, 102
, 142
). The priest says the first half of these prayers in front of the Holy Table (altar), and then after the third psalm, comes out to read the rest in front of the Holy Doors (or icon of Christ).
Many of the Sacred Mysteries
(sacrament
s) and other services in the Euchologion
(priest's service book) also have secret prayers in them.
Textually, the secret prayers are obviously intended to be said silently, often professing personal unworthiness on the part of the priest, and--though they are often written in the plural--they often contain references to the laity as distinct from the speaker(s), who are the clergy. The rubrics in the service books also will also specify that a prayer is to be said silently. Despite this fact, it has become common in recent years for many priests to recite these prayers out loud.
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
or bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
during religious services.
Western Christianity
In the Roman RiteRoman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
the secreta is said by the celebrant
Celebrant
Celebrant may refer to:* Celebrant or Officiant, the leader of a liturgy or ceremony who is empowered to perform it** In the Catholic and Anglican churches, the celebrant is the person who celebrates a sacrament, e.g., the priest who celebrates the Eucharist or the bishop who ordains a priest*...
at the end of the Offertory
Offertory
The Offertory is the portion of a Eucharistic service when bread and wine are brought to the altar. The offertory exists in many liturgical Christian denominations, though the Eucharistic theology varies among celebrations conducted by these denominations....
in the Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
. It is the original and for a long time was the only offertory prayer. It is said in a low voice merely because it was said at the same time the choir sang the Offertory, and it has inherited the special name of Secret as being the only prayer said in that way at the beginning.
The silent recital of the Canon
Canon of the Mass
Canon of the Mass is the name given in the Roman Missal, from the first typical edition of Pope Pius V in 1570 to that of Pope John XXIII in 1962, to the part of the Mass of the Roman Rite that begins after the Sanctus with the words Te igitur...
(which is sometimes called "Secreta") did not begin earlier than the sixth or seventh century. The present offertory prayers are late additions, not made in Rome until the fourteenth century. Before that the offertory act was made in silence, and the corresponding prayer that followed it was the Secret. Since it is said silently the Secret is not introduced by the invitation to the people: "Oremus
Oremus
Oremus is the invitation to pray, said before short prayers in the Roman Catholic Mass and the Lutheran Divine Service, as well as other Western liturgies....
."
The Secret is part of the Accentus of the Mass
Accentus Ecclesiasticus
Accentus Ecclesiasticus is a Church music term, the counterpart of concentus, indicating those parts sung solo by a clergyman. The terms accentus and concentus were probably introduced by Andreas Ornithoparchus in his Musicae Activae Micrologus, Leipzig, 1517.In the medieval church, all that...
, changing for each feast or occasion, and is built up in the same way as the Collect
Collect
In Christian liturgy, a collect is both a liturgical action and a short, general prayer. In the Middle Ages, the prayer was referred to in Latin as collectio, but in the more ancient sources, as oratio. In English, and in this usage, "collect" is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable...
. The Secret too alludes to the saint or occasion of the day. But it keeps its special character inasmuch as it nearly always (always in the case of the old ones) asks God to receive the eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
and sanctify it. All this is found exactly as now in the earliest Secrets we know, those of the Leonine Sacramentary. Already there the Collect, Secret, Postcommunion
Postcommunion
Postcommunion is the text said or sung on a reciting tone following the Communion of the Mass.-Form:Every Postcommunion corresponds to a collect. These are the three fundamental prayers of any given Proper Mass. The Postcommunion is said or chanted exactly like the Collect...
, and "Oratio ad populum" form a connected and homogeneous group of prayers. So the multiplication of Collects in one Mass entailed a corresponding multiplication of Secrets. For every Collect the corresponding Secret is said.
The name "Secreta" is used in the Gelasian Sacramentary
Gelasian Sacramentary
The so-called "Gelasian Sacramentary" is a book of Christian liturgy. A sacramentary contains the priest's texts for celebrating the Eucharist throughout the year...
; in the Gregorian book these prayers have the title "Super oblata." Both names occur frequently in the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. In Ordo Rom. II the prayer is called "Oratio super oblationes secreta". In the Gallican Rite
Gallican rite
The Gallican Rite is a historical sub-grouping of the Roman Catholic liturgy in western Europe; it is not a single rite but actually a family of rites within the Western Rite which comprised the majority use of most of Christianity in western Europe for the greater part of the 1st millennium AD...
there was also a variable offertory prayer introduced by an invitation to the people; it had no special name. In the Ambrosian Rite
Ambrosian Rite
Ambrosian Rite, also called the Milanese Rite, is a Catholic liturgical Western Rite. The rite is named after Saint Ambrose, a bishop of Milan in the fourth century...
the prayer called "Oratio super sindonem" (Sindon for the veil that covers the oblata) is said while the Offertory is being made and another "Oratio super oblata" follows after the Creed
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in the year 325.The Nicene Creed has been normative to the...
, just before the Preface
Preface
A preface is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface...
. In the Mozarabic Rite
Mozarabic Rite
The Mozarabic, Visigothic, or Hispanic Rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church . Its beginning dates to the 7th century, and is localized in the Iberian Peninsula...
, after an invitation to the people, to which they answer "Præsta æterne omnipotens Deus," the celebrant says a prayer without a special name that corresponds to the Secret and continues at once to the memory of the saints and intercession prayer. In these other Western rites this prayer is said aloud. All the Eastern rites have prayers, now said silently, after the Great Entrance, when the gifts are brought to the altar and offered to God, but they are invariable and none of them can be exactly compared to the Roman Secret.
At either high
High Mass
High Mass may mean:*Solemn Mass, a Tridentine Mass celebrated with deacon and subdeacon *Missa Cantata, a sung Tridentine Mass without deacon and subdeacon...
or low Mass
Low Mass
Low Mass is a Tridentine Mass defined officially in the Code of Rubrics included in the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal as Mass in which the priest does not chant the parts that the rubrics assign to him...
the celebrant, having answered "Amen
Amen
The word amen is a declaration of affirmation found in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. Its use in Judaism dates back to its earliest texts. It has been generally adopted in Christian worship as a concluding word for prayers and hymns. In Islam, it is the standard ending to Dua and the...
" to the prayer "Suscipiat Dominus sacrificium", says in a low voice the Secret or Secrets in the same order as he said the Collects, finding each at its place in the proper Mass. He ends the first and last only with the form "Per Dominum nostrum" (as in the Collects). The last clause of the last Secret: "Per omnia sæcula sæculorum" is said or sung aloud, forming the ekphonesis before the Preface
Preface
A preface is an introduction to a book or other literary work written by the work's author. An introductory essay written by a different person is a foreword and precedes an author's preface...
.
In the ordinary form
Mass of Paul VI
The Mass of Pope Paul VI is the liturgy of the Catholic Mass of the Roman Rite promulgated by Paul VI in 1969, after the Second Vatican Council...
of contemporary Catholic usage, the secret corresponds to the Prayer over the Gifts and is sung or recited audibly throughout by the celebrant.
Byzantine Rite
In the Eastern Orthodox ChurchEastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and those Eastern Catholic churches which follow the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite
The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite is the liturgical rite used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches, by the Greek Catholic Churches , and by the Protestant Ukrainian Lutheran Church...
, there are numerous secret prayers said by the celebrating priest or bishop, not only at the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term...
(Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
), but at a number of other services also. The time during which the priest says the secret prayers is usually covered either by the deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
chanting a litany
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
or by hymns chant
Chant
Chant is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing...
ed by the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. During the Prayer at the Bowing of Heads there may be a period of silence as all bow while the priest quietly reads the prayer. In many cases the ekphonesis which completes the secret prayer is to be said out loud, in the hearing of the people.
At the Divine Liturgy, there are a number of secret prayers said by the priest, both during the litanies
Litany
A litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions...
and during the anaphora
Anaphora (liturgy)
The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine liturgy, Mass, or other Christian Communion rite where the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the usual name for this part of the Liturgy in Eastern Christianity, but it is more often called the...
. The primary difference between the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom and the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great is the secret prayers; those of Saint Basil are longer than those of Saint John Chrysostom, and so the choir will often have to extend their chanting to cover the time.
At Vespers
Vespers
Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Western Catholic, Eastern Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran liturgies of the canonical hours...
and Matins
Matins
Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodox liturgies of the canonical hours. The term is also used in some Protestant denominations to describe morning services.The name "Matins" originally referred to the morning office also...
almost all of the secret prayers are said near the beginning, while psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
are being read. At Vespers there are six Lamplighting Prayers which the priest says with uncovered head, standing in front of the Holy Doors (or, in the Greek practice, in front of the icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
of Christ on the iconostasis
Iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
), while the reader says Psalm 103
Psalm 104
Psalm 104 is a poem from the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible, describing the ongoing act of God continuously bringing the world into existence. German philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder remarked, "It is worth studying the Hebrew language for ten years in order to read Psalm 104 in the original"...
(Septuagint numbering). At Matins there are twelve Morning Prayers which the priest says with uncovered head while the reader says the Six Psalms (Psalms 3
Psalm 3
Psalm 3 is the third Psalm of the Bible. It is a personal thanksgiving to God, who answered the prayer of an afflicted soul. Psalm 3 is attributed to David, in particular, when he fled from Absalom his son. David, deserted by his subjects, derided by Shimei, pursued for his crown and life by his...
, 37
Psalm 38
-Music:Johann Sebastian Bach set Psalm 38:4 in the opening chorus of his cantata Es ist nichts Gesundes an meinem Leibe, BWV 25....
, 62
Psalm 63
Psalm 63 is the 63rd psalm from the Book of Psalms. It was written by David. It is about being stranded in the wilderness away from one's family....
, 87
Psalm 88
Psalm 88 is the 88th psalm from the Book of Psalms, composed by sons of Korah....
, 102
Psalm 103
Psalm 103 is the 103rd psalm from the Book of Psalms . The first verse attributes it to King David, the author of many Psalms. J.A...
, 142
Psalm 143
Psalm 143 is the 143rd psalm of the Book of Psalms. One of the Penitential Psalms....
). The priest says the first half of these prayers in front of the Holy Table (altar), and then after the third psalm, comes out to read the rest in front of the Holy Doors (or icon of Christ).
Many of the Sacred Mysteries
Sacred Mysteries
The term sacred mysteries generally denotes the area of supernatural phenomena associated with a divinity or a religious ideology.-Pre-Christian religious mysteries:...
(sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
s) and other services in the Euchologion
Euchologion
The Euchologion is one of the chief liturgical books of the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches, containing the portions of the services which are said by the bishop, priest, or deacon...
(priest's service book) also have secret prayers in them.
Textually, the secret prayers are obviously intended to be said silently, often professing personal unworthiness on the part of the priest, and--though they are often written in the plural--they often contain references to the laity as distinct from the speaker(s), who are the clergy. The rubrics in the service books also will also specify that a prayer is to be said silently. Despite this fact, it has become common in recent years for many priests to recite these prayers out loud.