The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...

in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

, the ''Sanctus'' forms part of the Ordinary and is sung (or said) as the final words of the

Preface __NOTOC__ A preface () or proem () 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. The preface often close ...

of the

Eucharistic Prayer The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy, or the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, a thanksgiving prayer by virtue of which the offerings of bread and wine are believed to be consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the us ...

of remembrance, consecration, and praise. The preface, which alters according to the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

, usually concludes with words describing the praise of the worshippers joining with the

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

s, who are pictured as praising God with the words of the ''Sanctus''. In the Byzantine Rite and general

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

Christianity, the ''Sanctus'' is offered as a response by the choir during the Holy Anaphora. ''Tersanctus'' ("Thrice Holy") is another, rarer name for the Sanctus. The same name is sometimes used for the ''

Trisagion The ''Trisagion'' ( el, Τρισάγιον; 'Thrice Holy'), sometimes called by its opening line ''Agios O Theos'', is a standard hymn of the Divine Liturgy in most of the Eastern Orthodox, Western Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Cathol ...

''.

Text

In Greek

''Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth; plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou, hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou. Hōsanná (ho) en toîs hupsístois.''
In the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the Liturgy of St. Basil:

Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου, ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Ὡσαννὰ ὁ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. ''Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth;'' ''plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou,'' ''hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.'' ''Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou.'' ''Hōsanná ho en toîs hupsístois.''

In the Liturgy of St. James:

Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ. Πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. ''Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth.'' ''Plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou.'' ''Hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.'' ''Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou.'' ''Hōsanná ho en toîs hupsístois.''

In Latin

In the Roman Rite:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria tua.
Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek ...
in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis.

In the Roman Rite, the ''Sanctus'' also forms part of the solemn hymn of praise ''Te Deum laudamus'', but with the addition of a reference to the "majesty" of the Lord's glory in the ''Pleni sunt'' verse (the phrase ''pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua'' becomes ''pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae''). The ''Benedictus'' is not included in the ''

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

'', and the Sanctus is therefore included as part of that hymn as follows:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth. Pleni sunt cæli et terra maiestatis gloriæ tuæ.

In the Mozarabic Rite:

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth: Pleni sunt cæli et terra gloria maiestatis tuæ, Hosanna filio David. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Hosanna in excelsis. Hagios, hagios, hagios Kyrie o Theos.

In English

The Sanctus appears thus in the

1549 Book of Common Prayer The 1549 ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the original version of the ''Book of Common Prayer'', variations of which are still in use as the official liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican churches. Written during the ...

(and as set to music by John Merbecke in 1550):

Holy, holy, holy, lorde God of hostes. heaven and earth are full of thy glory Osanna in the highest. Blessed is he that commeth in the name of the lorde: Glory to the, o lorde in the highest.

In the 1552 Book of Common Prayer and 1559 BCP it appears without the Benedictus:

Holy, holy, holy, lord god of hostes, heven and earth are ful of thy glory, glory be to the, O Lord most hyghe.

The 1662 BCP has it thus:

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hoſts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory; Glory be to thee, O Lord Moſt High.

Later Anglican prayer books following the

ritualist Ritualism, in the history of Christianity, refers to an emphasis on the rituals and liturgical ceremonies of the church. Specifically, the Christian ritual of Holy Communion. In the Anglican church in the 19th century, the role of ritual became ...

and

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

movements of the twentieth century, restored the Benedictus to this form, yielding:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord most high. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The following English version was used by most

Lutherans Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

in North America until 1978 when the ICET version was adopted in the ''Lutheran Book of Worship''. This traditional version has continued to be used in the Divine Service of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord Hosanna in the highest.

In 1973 the International Consultation on English Texts (ICET) produced an ecumenical version that at that time was adopted by Catholics, Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and others:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Since 2011 the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal ( la, Missale Romanum) is the title of several missals used in the celebration of the Roman Rite. Along with other liturgical books of the Roman Rite, the Roman Missal contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of th ...

in English has:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts. Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Sources

As Enrico Mazza writes:

The ''Sanctus'' became part of the Roman Eucharistic Prayer only in the first half of the fifth century; all in all, this was a fairly late period, inasmuch as by then the
text Text may refer to: Written word * Text (literary theory), any object that can be read, including: **Religious text, a writing that a religious tradition considers to be sacred **Text, a verse or passage from scripture used in expository preachin ...
of the
Roman Canon The Canon of the Mass ( la, Canon Missæ), also known as the Canon of the Roman Mass and in the Mass of Paul VI as the Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer I, is the oldest anaphora used in the Roman Rite of Mass. The name ''Canon Missæ'' was used i ...
had become fixed and was regarded as a text possessing great authority. There exist two fundamental types of Sanctus: the Alexandrian and the Antiochene. The Sanctus of the Roman Eucharist derives from the Antiochene liturgy and has two parts: (a) the Sanctus true and proper, consisting of the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3; and (b) the ''Benedictus'', a christological acclamation taken from Matthew 21:9. The Sanctus has been given a
christological In Christianity, Christology (from the Greek grc, Χριστός, Khristós, label=none and grc, -λογία, -logia, label=none), translated literally from Greek as "the study of Christ", is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Di ...
interpretation and a
trinitarian The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the Fa ...
interpretation, and this in both the
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and the
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
. These differing interpretations may be due to the presence, in the text of the Sanctus, of a theological section, namely, the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3, and a christological part, namely the acclamation from Matthew 21:9. The text of the Sanctus passed from Jewish use to Christian use at a very early time, since it cited in the
Apocalypse of John The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
and in the
letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...
of Clement to the Corinthians.

As can be read in the same source, in the Alexandrian tradition on the other hand,

the Sanctus consisted of only the first part, the citation of Isaiah 6:3, and lacked the ''Benedictus''; this was the earliest form taken by the Sanctus in the Eucharist. This early state can be seen in the testimonies of Eusebius of Caesarea, the ''Mystagogical Catecheses'' of Cyril of Jerusalem, and, above all, the ''Ritual'' used in the Church of
Theodore of Mopsuestia Theodore of Mopsuestia (c. 350 – 428) was a Christian theologian, and Bishop of Mopsuestia (as Theodore II) from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate. He is the best know ...
. In the latter, too, that is, in the archaic stage of the Syrian liturgy, the ''Benedictus'' was unknown, and the Sanctus consisted solely of the acclamation from Isaiah 6:3.

The first part of the Sanctus, the adaptation from , describes the prophet

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

's vision of the throne of God surrounded by six-winged, ministering seraphim. A similar representation is found in . In Jewish liturgy, the verse from

is uttered by the congregation during Kedusha, a prayer said during the leader's repetition of the Amidah (18 Benedictions):

''Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh Adonai Tz'vaot'' ''Melo Kol Haaretz Kevodo.''

The text of the second part, beginning with the word ''Benedictus'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "Blessed") is taken from , describes Jesus' Entry into Jerusalem on

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...

, which is in turn based on the first half of Psalm 118:26. In its present liturgical context "it points to the expected presence of the Lord in the eucharistic gifts". Within Anglicanism, the 1552

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

omitted it and, though it is now permitted, "the choice whether or not to use the ''Benedictus'' is still for some a matter of Eucharistic theology and churchmanship". The Sanctus appears in the Sacramentary of Serapion of Thmuis (the saint died in 360), but may go as far back to Christian liturgy in North Africa in the year 200.

Hymn forms in Eastern liturgies

The present form of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the primary liturgy of the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

, reads (when in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

) the following text:

Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος Κύριος Σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου, ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου. Ὡσαννὰ ὁ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις.. For an English translation, se
The Orthodox Page: The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostomos
/ref> ''Hágios, hágios, hágios Kýrios Sabaṓth; plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou, hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou. Hōsanná ho en toîs hupsístois.''

The above differs from the Roman Rite Latin text *in that the Latin adds to the word ''

Dominus Dominus or domini may refer to: * Dominus (title), a title of sovereignty, clergy and other uses Art, entertainment, and media * Dominus (band), a Danish death metal band * Dominus (DC Comics), an alien character in DC Comics * Dominus (Mar ...

'' (Lord), which is the regular Latin translation of יהוה, the '' Deus'' (God), which is found in neither the Greek nor the Latin translations nor in the original text of Isaiah 6:3, but is found in : "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" *in that the Latin has the plural '' caeli'', and the Greek the singular for the mention of "heaven", which appears in neither the Latin nor the Greek translation of Isaiah 6:3. *in that the Greek gives two different forms of the phrase corresponding to ''

Hosanna ''Hosanna'' () is a liturgical word in Judaism and Christianity. In Judaism it refers to a cry expressing an appeal for divine help.Friberg Lexicon In Christianity it is used as a cry of praise. Etymology The word ''hosanna'' (Latin ', Greek ...

in excelsis'', the second one including an article. The article is not found in Matthew 21:9. The form of the hymn without the article is also used in the Greek

Liturgy of Saint James The Liturgy of Saint James is a form of Christian liturgy used by some Eastern Christians of the Byzantine rite and West Syriac Rite. It is developed from an ancient Egyptian form of the Basilean anaphoric family, and is influenced by the traditi ...

, and in modern settings, practises and contexts. The

Liturgy of Saint Basil The Liturgy of Saint Basil or, more formally, the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great ( Coptic: Ϯⲁ̀ⲛⲁⲫⲟⲣⲁ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ⲡⲓⲁ̀ⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ, ''Ti-anaphora ente pi-agios Basilios''), is a term for severa ...

of the

has the same form of the Sanctus as the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, with its two variants of the Hosanna phrase. In older Greek liturgical manuscripts, various forms of the hymn are attested; the ones that will follow below, belong to the ones edited by Swainson in his 1884 book ''The Greek liturgies''. Among these forms, there are variations of the hymn being composed of practically only the Old testament part. Others include:
In the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, one of them excludes not only the article , but also the article «τῆς»:

Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, Κύριος Σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ δόξης σου. Ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. ''Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth; plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê dóxēs sou. Hōsanná en toîs hupsístois; eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.''

The

as given in Swainson reads as follows:

Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, Κύριε σαβαώθ· πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Eὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. ''Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrie sabaṓth. Plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.''

This text not only omits the article that is used in the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, but also has ''Kyrie'' (

vocative case In grammar, the vocative case ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical case which is used for a noun that identifies a person (animal, object, etc.) being addressed, or occasionally for the noun modifiers (determiners, adjectives, participles, and nume ...

) where the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom has ''

Kyrios ''Kyrios'' or ''kurios'' ( grc, κύριος, kū́rios) is a Greek word which is usually translated as "lord" or "master". It is used in the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew scriptures about 7000 times, in particular translating the nam ...

'' ( nominative). In current use, the Liturgy of Saint James may use the nominative rather than the vocative case of ; the article is also not present in this form at the concluding ''Hosanna''. Moreover, a different variant of the Liturgy of Saint James is found in the margin of a manuscript that gives only the three words in the body: "In the margin, much abbreviated, may be discerned the following: This produces the text:

Ἅγιος, ἅγιος, ἅγιος, Κύριος σαβαώθ, πλήρης ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ τῆς δόξης σου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. Εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐλθὼν καὶ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου· ὡσαννὰ ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις. ''Hágios, hágios, hágios, Kýrios Sabaṓth, plḗrēs ho ouranós kaí hē gê tês dóxēs sou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois. Eulogēménos ho elthṓn kaí erkhómenos en onómati Kyríou; hōsanná en toîs hupsístois.''

This version adds "he who came and" before "he who comes"; in this it resembles the Liturgy of Saint James in the tradition of the Syriac Orthodox Church:

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty; heaven and earth are full of His glories. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is He Who came and will come in the Name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

The Syriac Orthodox Church also has what it calls the ''Liturgy of Saint Dionysius'', in which the Hosanna phrase appears only at the end:

Holy Holy Holy, Lord of Sabbaoth, Heaven and Earth are full of Thy Glory. Blessed is He that cometh in the Lord's Name; Hosanna in the highest.

The form used in the ancient

Liturgy of Addai and Mari The Liturgy of Addai and Mari (or the ''Holy Qurbana of Mar Addai and Mar Mari'') is the Eucharistic liturgy belonging to the East Syriac Rite and was historically used in the Church of the East of the Sasanian (Persian) Empire. This liturgy ...

is much shorter:

ܩܲܕܝܫ: ܩܲܕܝܼܫ: ܩܲܕܝܼܫ: ܡܵܪܝܵܐ ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ ܚܲܝܠܬ݂ܵܢܵܐ: ܕܲܡܠܹܝܢ ܫ̈ܡܲܝܵܐ ܘܐܲܪܥܵܐ ܡܸܢ ܬܸܫ̈ܒ݁ܚܵܬܹܗ: ܘܡܸܢ ܟܝܵܢ ܐܝܼܬ݂ܘܼܬܹܗ: ܘܡܸܢ ܗܸܕ݂ܪܵܐ ܕܙܝܼܘܹܗ ܡܫܲܒ݁ܚܵܐ܀ ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ ܒܲܡܪ̈ܲܘܡܹܐ: ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ ܠܲܒ݂ܪܹܗ ܕܕ݂ܵܘܝܼܕ݂: ܒܪܝܼܟ݂ ܕܐܸܬ݂ܵܐ ܘܐܵܬܹܐ ܒܲܫܡܹܗ ܕܡܵܪܝܵܐ: ܐܘܿܫܲܥܢܵܐ ܒܲܡܪ̈ܲܘܡܹܐ. Holy, Holy, Holy Lord is the Lord God of hosts, for heaven and earth are full of his praises, and of the nature of his being, and for the excellency of his glorious splendor. Hosanna in the heights. Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who came and will come in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the heights.

The Coptic version of the

also gives a short text of what it calls the ''Hymn of the Seraphim'':

Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord of hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your holy glory.

Alternative ancient names and ancient secrecy

The priest's introductions, following the

rubrics A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the la, rubrica, meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th cen ...

that set what should be done by whom with each passage, uniformly call the hymn the , i.e. "the hymn of victory". On the other hand, it used to be that, as Swainson notes about an attested variant form wherein only is being quoted:

In the margin, much abbreviated, may be discerned the following: '. Chrysostom frequently refers to this: sometimes as '; sometimes as '; sometimes as the '. The knowledge of it as a whole was confined to the faithful.

:''Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus Dominus Deus Sabaoth; pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua'' ::Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of Hosts; Heaven and earth are full of Your glory. :''Hosanna in excelsis'' ::Hosanna in the highest :''Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini.'' ::Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord :''Hosanna in excelsis''

Musical settings

The Sanctus has been set to numerous

plainchant Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...

melodies, many of which are given in the

, and many more composers have set it to polyphonic music, both in single settings and as part of cyclic mass settings. Parts of the Hymn have also been used in modern music, notably "Prism of Life" by

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

(album

Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi! ''Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!'' (French for "") is the third studio album by the German musical project Enigma, released on 22 November 1996 by Virgin Records. The album reached to the top spot in Norway and the top five in Austria, Finland, G ...

)

Accompanying gestures

In the

Tridentine Mass The Tridentine Mass, also known as the Traditional Latin Mass or Traditional Rite, is the liturgy of Mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church that appears in typical editions of the Roman Missal published from 1570 to 1962. Celebrated almo ...

the priest joins his hands while saying the word "Sanctus" and then, bowing, continues to recite the whole of the Sanctus in a lower voice, while a small bell is rung; then, on reaching the words "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini", he stands erect again and makes the Sign of the Cross. He then continues immediately with the Canon of the Mass, while the choir, if there is one, sings the Sanctus. In the pre-1962 form, the choir pauses for the Consecration and continues with the ''Benedictus'' part afterwards. As a result of this division, the Sanctus has sometimes been spoken of as "Sanctus and Benedictus". However, in line with

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

's revision of the rubrics of the liturgy, the splitting of the Sanctus, when sung to

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...

(though not if sung polyphonically) was forbidden''De ritibus servandis in cantu missae'', VII
/ref> and is thus not allowed in celebrations of the 1962 Tridentine Mass as authorized by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

's '' Summorum Pontificum''. In the Mass revised in line with the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

, the Sanctus may, of course, not be split, since the whole of the eucharistic prayer is sung or spoken aloud, and the only ceremony prescribed for the priest during the Sanctus is to join his hands. He and the people sing or recite together the whole of the Sanctus, before the priest continues the Eucharistic Prayer.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

* {{Lutheran Divine Service Christian liturgical music Eucharist Latin religious words and phrases Order of Mass