 When the Russian Orthodox priest Eugraph Kovalevsky (later Saint John of Saint-Denis) set about reconstructing a form of the Gallican Rite mass for use by the Western Orthodox Christians of France in the middle of the 20th century, the manuscripts to which he had access did not provide any clue to the text of the "Sonus" and "Laudes", which were the two chants anciently sung during the offertory procession of the bread and wine to the altar.The ancient hymn "Let all mortal flesh keep silent" was deemed to be a fitting substitute, both because of its ancient precedent in an identical position in the Divine Liturgy of St. James and also because its theme was in keeping with the repeated emphasis on silence in the Gallican liturgical tradition.Today, this hymn continues to be used as a standard part of the Divine Liturgy of St Germanus in various Orthodox churches, only being replaced by other hymns during certain feasts and seasons.