Publisher's Synopsis
In this reissue of the English Version of the Primitive Liturgies, the translation has been carefully revised and compared with the original texts, and a few additional notes have been appended to elucidate difficulties. The Liturgy of S. Basil, already printed in the Greek edition which ranges with this volume, is now given in English also. And the Appendix of For.m ulre of Institution has not only been corrected, but also very considerably increased, as it now contains excerpts from the Anaphorre of twenty-four Liturgies either unknown to Dr. Neale or beyond his reach at the time when the first edition of this book was published. These (distinguished by asterisks) are taken from Syriac and Ethiopic MSS. in the British Museum, and I am indebted to my brother-in-law, Dr. Wright, for the extracts and versions. I have added references to their places in the Museum Catalogue, to facilitate the studies of those who may desire to examine them for themselves. It is unnecessary to dwell on the cumulative weight of so much additional testimony to the liturgical doctrines and usages of ancient Christendom, all the more cogent and valuable because of the innumerable minor variations of phrase and structure which prove the independence of the witnesses, and it will suffice to say that only in the light of these documents is it possible to interpret truly the language of the Fathers touching the Holy Eucharist.
