Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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BYZANTINE RITE

Ritual and ecclesiastical policy followed by the Church of Constantinople. The second most widely used rite after the Roman, it has three forms: 1. the Liturgy of St. James the Elder, modified by St. Basil and named after him; 2. St. John Chrysostom's later modification, which became the common Eucharistic service of Constantinople. Though it did not displace the original St. Basil's, it did limit its use; 3. the liturgy of the Presanctified, essentially the distribution of the Blessed Sacrament consecrated on the preceding Sunday.