Liturgica 4: the Sanctus
IN OUR Holy Communion services, we are familiar with the Sanctus, ‘Holy, holy, holy…’, a hymn of praise drawn from Isaiah’s Temple vision of the Lord (Isa. 6), used in Jewish and Christian liturgies for centuries. This is immediately followed by the Benedictus qui venit, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest!’, the crowd’s acclamation of Jesus as he entered Jerusalem (Matt.21.9). These two biblical passages are usually sung, whether by the congregation and choir as a whole – (traditionally these words were for the people to say) - or by the choir alone.
* Full article available in printed copies.
John R Bartlett
was Principal of the Church of Ireland Theological College, 1989 - 2001, a noted intertestamental scholar, and for many years chairman of Search.