Lassie Henry, dressed in the white robe of an acolyte, marched Sunday morning in half- steps up the center aisle of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Belfast.

The pungent aroma of frankincense wafted from holes in the silver burner she carried, filling the small sanctuary. With her left hand, she carefully swung the container, called a thurible, back and forth at her side, about six inches above the ground.

The smoke spiraled toward the ceiling of the Tudor-style building.

Incense was an integral part of Christian worship in the early Roman church, and still is part of funeral Masses and some other Christian services, though not usually at daily or weekly Masses.

It isn’t used much today, partly because it bothers some worshippers with allergies or breathing problems.

But it conveys a sense of the past in Christian worship, and the Rev. Kent W. Tarpley, rector of St. Margaret’s, used incense Sunday in re-creating a worship service from A.D. 595, the time of Pope Gregory I, known to Episcopalians as St. Gregory the Great.

The service was the third in a historical liturgy series designed to illustrate the evolution of Christian worship from the time of Jesus to the present.

The series includes a service when Christianity was illegal, a Reformation-era service and a Victorian-era liturgy. Five years ago, Tarpley added an Anglican liturgy from New Zealand, where the prayer book during the past decade was revised to include creation spirituality and a focus on the environment.

The idea for re-creating historical liturgies stems from a five-part series developed by a Chicago priest in the late 1970s, Tarpley said after Sunday’s service. It begins with a synagogue service similar to one Jesus might have attended.

It first was done at St. Margaret’s in 1998.

Tarpley, who has been in Belfast six years, said parishioners urged him to repeat the series this fall. In the past five years, he said, many worshippers unfamiliar with Episcopal worship tradition have joined the congregation. The series also has brought in visitors interested in experiencing the historical forms of worship.

“The reaction generally has been very positive,” he said. “People were very interested [after the first service] to know how our Christian service was shaped by the Jewish prayers.”

The music in Sunday’s service was from the Middle Ages. The choir alone sang the ninefold Kyrie eleison (“Lord, have mercy”) at the beginning of the service and the Agnus Dei (“Lamb of God”) in Latin before Communion.

The service Sunday included readings just from the Old Testament and a Gospel, instead of three common in Episcopal services today. And the Communion service was a bit longer than it is now.

Tarpley conducted the service in English, although it would have been said in Latin during the medieval era. He also gave a sermon, something that most likely would have been done only by a bishop during the sixth century.

“The medieval service we had today was the most elaborate and the most unlike contemporary services,” Tarpley said. “The people were not participants in the service but observers, and the priest did not face the people; he faced the altar. In medieval times, the eyes were on the transcendent. Now the theology says that God is transcendent and among us.”

Ron Whittle, a retired history teacher and junior warden at St. Margaret’s, said he has enjoyed the historical liturgy series – although he added that some parishioners were less enthusiastic.

“One of the things that’s always interested me is how core institutions have evolved,” Whittle said. “I thought the first [service] was very appealing. Our choir director sang as the cantor. The synagogue service was very simple, but very moving.”

A youthful church member found Sunday’s service from the Middle Ages intriguing.

“It was really interesting how different they were,” said Sara Grotz, 14, of Belfast, “especially the hymns they sang. There were so few words, and each word was like one continuous note. I liked comparing how different the service was from the ones we have today.”

As people left the 90-year-old building and stepped into Sunday’s chilly fall air, the aroma from the incense lingered, sometimes clinging to coats, despite the windows that Tarpley opened.

But it allowed the worshippers to carry with them a faint reminder of their Christian roots.

The series

The historic liturgy series continues Oct. 26, Nov. 2 and Nov. 9. Services are at 10 a.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 95 Court St., Belfast. For information, call 338-2412.

The series:

Jewish Sabbath: service similar to one in the time of Jesus.

Early Christian era: the Rite of St. Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome, A.D. 200, when Christianity was illegal.

Medieval Mass: an elaborate service of St. Gregory the Great, A.D. 595, with incense, bell ringing and chants.

Reformation era: a Puritan service from 1552 demonstrating worship in England during Queen Elizabeth I’s reign.

Victorian era: liturgy using an older version of the Book of Common Prayer and the King James version of the Bible.

Contemporary era: the Liturgy of Creation and Redemption, from the New Zealand prayer book published in 1997.