35. It was first prudently observed that to abolish the ceremony of the greater entrance (a course which incidentally would have put the blade to the root, as the saying is) would be extremely odious to the Greek church. It would also be inconsistent with the established practice of the Latin church which had always tried to preserve as much as possible the Greek rite in the Greek church. Such a course would be all the more unacceptable because the ceremony is ancient. It is usually said in explanation of this rite that it preserves an ancient custom in reference to the triumphal entrance of Christ when He came from Bethany to Jerusalem. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, wrote on this very subject: "For at that time on the human level a great crowd and the children of the Hebrews sang a hymn as for a king and the conqueror of death, but on the spiritual plane the angels with the cherubim rendered the hymn, Thrice Holy." He then added that the smaller entrance signifies the humble coming of the Son of God into this world.