Under this name we understand all the books, published by the authority of any church, that contain the text and directions for her official (liturgical) services. It is now the book that forms the standard by which one has to judge whether a certain service orprayer orceremony is official andliturgical or not. Those things areliturgical, and those only, that are contained in one of the liturgical books. It is also obvious that any church or religion orsect is responsible for the things contained in its liturgical books in quite another sense than for the contents of some private book of devotion, which she at most only allows and tolerates. The only just way of judging of the services, the tone, and theethos of a religious body, is to consult its liturgical books.Sects that have no such official books are from that very fact exposed to all manner of vagaries in their devotion, just as the absence of an official creed leads to all manner of vagueness in theirbelief. In this article the liturgical books of theRoman Rite are described first, then a short account is given of those of the other rites.
Our present convenient compendiums theMissal,Breviary, and so on were formed only at the end of a long evolution. In the first period (lasting perhaps till about the fourth century) there were no books except theBible, from which lessons were read and psalms were sung. Nothing was written, because nothing was fixed (seeLITURGY). Even after certain forms had become so stereotyped as to make already what we should call a more or less fixed liturgy, it does not seem that there was at first anyidea that they should be written down. Habit and memory made the celebrant repeat more or less the same forms each Sunday; the people answered hisprayers with the accustomed acclamations and responses all without books.
It has been much discussed at what period we have evidence of writtenliturgies.Renaudot ("Liturgiarum Orientalium Collectio", 2nd ed., Frankfurt, 1847, I, pp. ix and xi) thought that no books were written even by the fourth century. He argues this from a passage inSt. Basil (died 379), who distinguishes between the written teaching of the Apostles (in theBible) and the unwritten tradition, and quotesliturgical functions as belonging to this: "Who", he asks, "of thesaints has written down for us the words of the Sacred Invocation in theconsecration of the bread andchalice?" (On the Holy Spirit 27). Another argument is that no mention is made of liturgical books in the acts ofmartyrs (who are required to give up their holy books, that is, always, theBible), or in the quarrels about the books with theDonatists in the fourth century. Daniel ("Codex liturgicus", IV, Leipzig, 1853, pp. 25-32) argues against this opinion at length, and defends the view thatliturgies were written down at the beginning of the fourth century. Probst ("Die ältesten römischen Sakramentarien und Ordines", Münster, 1892, pp. 1-19) tries to establish that there were liturgical books back to the time of theApostolic Fathers. The argument from St. Basil may be dismissed at once. He is only explaining the well-known distinction between the two sources of revelation, Scripture and tradition. Tradition is distinct from Scripture; it may include other written books, but not theBible. By "saints" he means only the writers of Scripture, and therefore his statement is that the Eucharistic Invocation is not in theBible. As for theDonatists, there is, on the contrary, evidence that both they and theCatholics had liturgical books at that time. Optatus of Mileve, writing about the year 370 against them, says: "You have nodoubt cleaned the palls" (linen cloths used in Mass), "tell me what you have done with the books?" ("De schism. Donat.", V,Vienna edition, 1893, p. 153.) What were these books? Both palls and books had been taken from theCatholics, both were used in the liturgy (ibid.). The books were not theBible, because theDonatists thought them polluted (ibid.). So there were other liturgical books besides theBible. Augustine too reproaches theDonatists with being inschism with the very churches whose names they read in the "holy books" (epp. lii and liii). So also a synod atHippo in Africa (in 393) forbids anyone to write down theprayers of other Churches and use them, until he has shown his copy to the more learned brethren (can. xxv;Hefele-Leclercq, "Histoire des Conciles", II, Paris, 1908, p. 88; cf. Probst, op. cit., 13-14).
That someprayers were occasionally written down from the first age is evident.Prayers are quoted in theApostolic Fathers ("Didache", ix, x; Clement, "First Epistle to the Corinthians", lix, 3-lxi. SeeLITURGY). This does not, however, prove the existence of liturgical books. Probst thinks that the exact quotations made by the Fathers as far back as the second century prove that the liturgy was already written down. Such quotations, he says, could only be made from written books (op. cit., 15-17). This argument does not seem very convincing. Weknow that formulæ, especiallyliturgical formulæ, can become very definite and well-known before they are put in a book. A more solid reason for the existence of a written liturgy at any rate by the fourth century is the comparison of the liturgy of the eighth book of theApostolic Fathers with the Byzantine Rite of St. Basil. Proclus (died 446) says that Basil (died 379) modified and shortened the liturgy because it was too long for the people. There is no reason todoubt what he says (seeTHE RITE OF CONSTANTINOPLE). The liturgy shortened by Basil was that of Antioch, of which we have the oldest specimen in the Apostolic Constitutions. A comparison of this (especially the Thanksgiving-prayer) with that of St. Basil (Brightman, "Eastern Liturgies", pp. 14-18 and 321-3) shows in effect that Basil is much shorter. It does not seem likely that, after Basil'snecessary shortening, anyone should have taken the trouble to write out the discarded long form. Therefore, the liturgy of the Apostolic Constitutions was written before St. Basil's reform, although it is incorporated into a work not finally compiled till the early fifth century (Funk, "Die apostolischen Konstitutionen",Rottenburg, 1891, p. 366; Probst, op. cit., 12-13).
Our conclusion then is that at any rate by the middle of the fourth century there were writtenliturgies, and therefore liturgical books of some kind, however incomplete. How long before that anything was written down we cannot say. We conceive portions of the rite written out as occasion required. Evidently one of the first things to be written was thediptychs containing the lists ofpersons and churches for whomprayers were to be said. Thesediptychs were used liturgically thedeacon read them in all rites down to theMiddle Ages.Augustine's argument against theDonatists refers to thediptychs (epp. lii and liii above). Thediptychs were two tablets folded like a book (dis andptyche); on one side the names of the living, on the other those of the dead were written. They have now disappeared and the names are said from memory. But the Byzantine Rite still contains therubrics: "Thedeacon remembers thediptychs of the departed"; "He remembers thediptychs of the living" (Brightman, op. cit., 388-9). Nodoubt the next thing to be written out was the collection ofprayers said by the celebrant (Sacramentaries andEuchologia), then indications for the readers (Comites, Capitularia, Synaxaria) and the various books for the singers (Antiphonaries, books of Troparia), and finally therubrical directions (Ordines, Typika).
So far the development went on in parallel lines in East and West. When we come to the actual books we must distinguish between the various rites, which have different groups and arrangements. In theRoman Rite the first complete books weknow are the Sacramentaries (Sacramentaria). A Sacramentary is not the same thing as aMissal. It contains more on the one side, less on the other. It is the book for the celebrant. It contains all and only theprayers that he says. At the time that these books were written it was not yet the custom for the celebrant also to repeat at the altar whatever is sung by theministers or choir. Thus Sacramentaries contain none of those parts of the Mass, no Lessons, noIntroits, Graduals, Offertories and so on, but only the Collects, Prefaces, Canon, all that is strictly the celebrant's part. On the other hand they provide for his use at other occasions besides Mass. As the celebrant is normally supposed to be abishop, the Sacramentary supplies him with theprayers he wants at ordinations, at theconsecration of a church and altar and manyexorcisms,blessings, andconsecrations that are now inserted in the Pontifical and Ritual. That is the order of a complete Sacramentary. Many of those now extant are more or less fragmentary.
The nameSacramentarium is equivalent to the other form also used (for instance, in the Gelasian book),Liber Sacramentorum. The form is the same as that of the wordHymnarium, for a book ofhymns.Gennadius of Marseilles (fifth cent.) uses both. He says ofPaulinus of Nola: "Fecit et sacramentarium et hymnarium" (De viris illustribus, xlviii). The wordsacramentum orsacramenta in this case means the Mass.Sacramenta celebrare orfacere is a common term for sayingMass. SoSt. Augustine (died 430) remarks that we say "Sursum corda" "in sacramentis fidelium", that is at Mass (De Dono Persev., xiii, 33), and two schismatics of the fifth century complain to the Emperors Gratian andTheodosius thatPope Damasus (366-84) will not let them sayMass; but they do so all the same, because "salutis nostræ sacramenta facienda sunt" (Faustinus and Marcellinus, "Lib. prec. ad Imp." in P.L., XIII, 98; cf. Probst, "Die ältesten röm. Sakram.", 20-1). A number of Sacramentaries of theRoman Rite are still extant, either complete or in part. Of these the most important are the three known by the names Leonine, Gelasian, and Gregorian. Their date, authorship, place, and original purpose have been much discussed. What follows is a compilation of the views of recognized scholars.
The so-called "Sacramentarium Leonianum" is the oldest. Only onemanuscript of it is known, written in the seventh century. Thismanuscript was found in thelibrary of thecathedral chapter ofVerona, was published byJoseph Bianchini in 1735 in the fourth volume of his edition of Anastasius Bibliothecarius, and was by him attributed arbitrarily toSt. Leo I (440-61). On the strength of this attribution the book was included by theBallerini in their edition of Leo (Venice, 1753-7), and still bears the name Leonine. It was reprinted by Muratori in his "Liturgia Romana vetus" (Venice, 1748). Now the best edition is that of C. L. Feltoe (Cambridge, 1896). The Leonine Sacramentary represents a pure Roman use with no Gallican elements. But it is not a book compiled for use at the altar. The hopeless confusion of its parts shows this. It is a fragment, containing no Canon nor Ordinary of the Mass, but a collection of Propers (Collects, Secrets, Prefaces, Postcommunions, and Orationes super populum), of various Masses withordination forms, arranged according to the civil year. It begins in the middle of the sixth Mass for April, and ends with a blessing for the font "In ieiunio mensis decimi" (i.e. the winter Ember-days). In each month groups of Masses are given, often very large groups, for each feast and occasion. Thus, for instance, in June we find twenty-eight Masses for St. Peter andSt. Paul, one after another, each headed: "Item alia" (Feltoe's ed., pp. 36-50); there are fourteen forSt. Lawrence, twenty-three for the anniversary of abishop'sconsecration (123-39), and so on. Evidently the writer has compiled as many alternative Masses for each occasion as he could find. In many cases he shows great carelessness. He inserts Masses in the wrong place. Many of his Massesin natali episcoporum have nothing at all to do with that anniversary, and are really Masses forSundays after Pentecost; in the middle of a Mass ofSt. Cornelius andSt. Cyprian he has put the preface of a Mass of St. Euphemia (p. 104), a Mass for the new civil year is inserted among those formartyrs (XXitem alia, p. 9); Masses for St. Stephen's day (26 Dec.) with evident allusions toChristmas are put in August (pp. 86-9), obviously through a confusion with the feast of the finding of hisrelics (3 Aug.). Many other examples of the same confusion are quoted by Buchwald ("Das sogen. Sacramentarium Leonianum", Vienna, 1908). That the collection is Roman is obvious. It is full of local allusions toRome. For instance, one of the collects to be said by abishop on the anniversary of hisconsecration could only be used by thepope of Rome: "Lord God . . . who, although Thou dost not cease to enrich with many gifts Thy Church spread throughout the world, nevertheless dost look more favourably upon thesee of Thy blessed Apostle Peter, as Thou hast desired that it should be most exalted, etc." (p. 127). The Preface for St. John andSt. Paul remembers that they are buried within "the boundaries of this city" (p. 34); the Masses of the Patrons ofRome, St. Peter andSt. Paul, continually allude to the city (so the preface in the twenty-third Mass: "who, foreseeing that our city would labour under so many troubles, didst place in it the chief members of the power of theApostles", p. 47), and so on continually (cf. Probst, op. cit., 48-53, etc.).
Mgr Duchesne (Origines du Culte Chrétien, 129-37) thinks that the Leonine book is a private collection ofprayers copied without much intelligence from the official books atRome about the year 538. He arrives at thisdate especially through an allusion in the Secret of a Mass placed in June (but really anEaster Mass), which refers to a recent deliverance from enemies (Feltoe, p. 73). This allusion he understands to refer to the raising of the siege ofRome by Vitiges and hisGoths atEaster-time, 538 (see his other arguments, pp. 131-2). Muratori considered that the book was composed underFelix III (483-92; "Liturgia rom. vetus", diss. xxvii). Probst answers Duchesne's arguments (Die ältesten röm. Sakram., pp. 56-61); he attributes the allusion in the Secret to Alaric's invasion in 402, and thinks that the compilation was made between 366 and 461. The latest theory is that of Buchwald (Das sogen. Sacram. Leon., 62-7), who suggests that the book is a compilation of Roman Masses made in the sixth or seventh century for use inGaul, so that the composers of Roman books who were at that time introducing theRoman Rite into Gaul (seeLITURGY) might have a source from which to draw their material. He suggestsGregory of Tours (died 594) as possibly the compiler.
The "Gelasian Sacramentary" exists in severalmanuscripts. It is a Roman book more or less Gallicanized; the variousmanuscripts represent different stages of this Gallican influence. The oldest form extant is a book written in the seventh or early eighth century for use in the abbey of St. Denis atParis. This is now in the Vaticanlibrary (Manuscript Reginæ 316). It was first published byTommasi in his "Codices Sacramentorum nongentis annis vetustiores" (Rome, 1680), then by Muratori in "Liturgia romana vetus", I. Other versions of the same book are the Codices of St. Gall and of Rheinau, both of the eighth century, edited by Gerbert in his "Monumenta veteris liturgiæ alemmanicæ," I (St. Blaise, 1777). These three (collated with others) form the basis of the standard edition of H. A. Wilson (Oxford, 1894). The book does not in any oldmanuscript bear the name of Gelasius; it is called simply "Liber Sacramentorum Romanæ ecclesiæ". It is much more complete than the Leonine Sacramentary. It consists of three books, each marked with a not very accurate title. Book I (The Book of Sacraments in the order of the year's cycle) contains Masses for feasts andSundays fromChristmas Eve to the octave of Pentecost (there are as yet no special Masses for the season after Pentecost), together with the ordinations,prayers for all the rites of the catechumenate, blessing of the font atEaster Eve, of the oil, dedication of churches, and reception ofnuns (Wilson, ed., pp. 1-160). Book II (Prayers for the Feasts of Saints) contains the Proper of Saints throughout the year, the Common of Saints, and theAdvent Masses (ibid., 161-223). Book III (Prayers and the Canon forSundays) contains a great number of Masses marked simply "For Sunday" (i.e. any Sunday), the Canon of the Mass, what we should call votive Masses (e.g. for travellers, in time of trouble, for kings, and so on), Masses for the Dead, someblessings (ofholy water, fruits, trees and so on), and variousprayers for special occasions (224-315). An old tradition (Walafrid Strabo, ninth century, "De rebus eccl.", XX;John the Deacon, "Vita S. Gregorii", II, xvii, etc.) ascribes what is evidently this book to Pope Gelasius I [492-6.Gennadius (De vir. illust., xcvi) says he composed a book of Sacraments]. Duchesne (op. cit., 121-5) thinks it represents the Roman service-books of the seventh or eighth century (between the years 628 and 731). It was, however, composed in theFrankish kingdom. All the local Roman allusions (for instance, the Roman Stations) have been omitted; onGood Friday theprayers read: "Let uspray for our most Christian Emperor [the compiler has added]or king" (p. 76), and again: "look down mercifully on the Roman,or theFrankish, Empire" (ibid.). There are also Gallican additions (Duchesne, 125-8). Dom Baumer ("Ueber das sogen. Sacram. Gelas." in "Histor. Jahrbuch der Görresgesellschaft", 1893, pp. 241-301) and Mr. Bishop ("The earliest Roman Massbook" in "Dublin Review", 1894; pp. 245-78) maintain that it is much earlier than Duchesne thinks, and ascribe it to the sixth century, at which time theRoman Rite entered Gaul (seeLITURGY). Buchwald (Das sogen. Sacr. Leon., ibid., p. 66) agrees with Duchesne in dating this Sacramentary at the seventh or eighth century, and thinks that its compiler used the Leonine collection.
Weknow most about the third of these books, the so-called "Gregorian Sacramentary".Charlemagne, anxious to introduce theRoman Rite into his kingdom, wrote toPope Adrian I between the years 781 and 791 asking him to send him the service-book of theRoman Church. The book sent by thepope is the nucleus of the Gregorian Sacramentary. It was then copied a great number of times, so that there are many versions of it, all containing additions made by the various scribes. These are described by Probst (Die ätesten Sakr., pp. 303-13). The first edition is that of Pamelius in his "Rituale SS. Patrum Latinorum", II (Cologne, 1571). The standard edition is Muratori, "Liturgia romana vetus", II. This is based on twomanuscripts, both written before 800, now in the Vatican Library (Cod. Ottobonianus and Cod. Vaticanus).Migne (P.L., LXXVIII, 25-602) reprints the edition of Nicholas Ménard (Paris, 1642). Probst maintains that this is rather to be considered a Gelasian book, reformed according to the Gregorian (Die ältes. Sakr., pp. 165-9). In any case the elements are here completely fused. The original book sent by Adrian toCharlemagne is easily distinguished from the additions. The first who began to supplement Adrian's book from other sources (Pamelius says it was a certainFrankish Abbot named Grimold) was a conscientiousperson and carefully noted where his additions begin. At the end of the original book he adds a note, aprefatiuncula beginning with the word Hucusque: "So far (Hucusque) the preceding book of Sacraments is certainly that edited by theholyPope Gregory." Then come (in Pamelius's edition) two supplements, one (according to Pamelius) by Abbot Grimold and the other byAlcuin. The supplements vary considerably in thecodices. Eventually their matter became incorporated in the original book. But in the earlier versions we may take the first part, down to theprefatiuncula, as being the book sent by Adrian. How far it is that ofGregory I is another question. This book then has three parts:
There are no votive Masses or requiems. For these reasons Mgr Duchesne considers that the "Sacramentary" is the "pope's book", that is the book used by thepope himself for the publicpapal services (Origines du Culte Chrétien, p. 117). Is its attribution toSt. Gregory I (590-604) correct? ThatGregory did much to reform the liturgy is certain. A constant tradition ascribes such a work to him, as to Gelasius.John the Deacon (eighth century) in his life ofGregory expresses this tradition: "He collected the Sacramentary of Gelasius in one book" (we have seen that the two sets of Propers in the Gelasianum are fused together in the Gregorianum), "leaving out much" (this too is verified by comparing the books; numbers of Gelasian Prefaces and ritual elaborations are omitted in the Gregorian book), "changing little, adding something" (II, xvii). Pope Adrian himself, in sending the book toCharlemagne, says that it is composed "by our holy predecessor, the divinely speakingPope Gregory" (letter in Jaffé, "Cod. Carol.", p. 274). That the essential foundation of this "Sacramentary" goes back toSt. Gregory, indeed to long before his time, is certain. Nor need wedoubt that he made such changes as are claimed for him by his biographer, and that these changes stand in this book. But it is not his work untouched. It has additions made since his time, for instance his own feast (12 March, inMigne's edition, P.L., LXXVIII, 51) and other feasts not kept atRome before the seventh century (Duchesne, op. cit., 118). Evidently then the book sent by Pope Adrian has gone through the inevitable development; succeeding centuries sinceGregory have added to it. It represents theRoman Rite of the time when it was sent the eighth century. For this reason Duchesne prefers to call it the "Sacramentary" of Adrian (op. cit., p. 119). We have said that, when it arrived in theFrankish kingdom, it began to receive supplements. It must be remembered of course that the writers who copied it had not in view the future needs of students. The books they made were intended for practical use at the altar. So they added at the end of Adrian's "Sacramentary" whatever other Masses andprayers were wanted by the churches for which they wrote. These supplements are taken partly from the Gelasian book, partly from Gallican sources. We have also noted that the additions were at first carefully distinguished from the original book, eventually incorporated in it. Dom Bäumer sees in these additions a compromise made in carrying outCharlemagne's orders that only the book he had received fromRome should be used (see LITURGIES; and Baumer, "Ueber das sogen. Sacram. Gelasianum", 295-301). He also thinks that the first additions and theprefatiuncula were made byAlcuin (died 804). Between the ninth and eleventh centuries the book so composed returned toRome, took the place of the original pureRoman Rite, and so became the foundation of our present RomanMissal. Besides these three most important Sacramentaries there are other fragments, the "Missale Francorum," written in the seventh or eighth century, the "Ravenna Roll" ofdoubtful date (sixth to eleventh century?), etc. (see Duchesne, "Origines", pp. 128-9, 137-8).
At the same time as the Sacramentaries, books for the readers and choir were being arranged. Gradually the "Comes" or "Liber Comicus" that indicated the texts of theBible to be read developed into the "Evangelarium" and "Lectionarium" (seeGOSPEL IN THE LITURGY andLESSONS IN THE LITURGY). Thehomilies of Fathers to be read were collected in "Homilaria", theActs of the martyrs, read on their feasts, in "Martyrologia". The book of psalms was written separately for singing, then arranged in order, as the psalms were sung through the week, in the "Psalterium" that now forms the first part of ourBreviary. The parts of the Mass sung by the choir (Introit, Gradual,Offertory, Communion) were arranged in the "Liber Antiphonarius" (or Gradualis), the Antiphons and Responsories in the Office formed the "Liber Responsalis", or "Antiphonarius Officii", as distinct from the "Antiphonarius Missæ". Two early collections of this kind, ascribed toSt. Gregory I, are in P.L., LXXVIII, 641-724, and 725-850. The same tradition that attributes to him the Sacramentary attaches his name to these (e.g.,John the Deacon, "Vita S. Gregorii", II, vi). Throughout the earlyMiddle Ages such collections were copied with local modifications all over WesternEurope. Hymns (in our sense) were introduced into theRoman Rite about the fifth or sixth century. Those of the Mass were written in the Gradual, those of theDivine Office at first in thePsalter or Antiphonary. But there were also separate collections ofhymns, called "Hymnaria", and "Libri Sequentiales" (or troponarii), containing the sequences and additions (farcing) to the Kyrie and Gloria, etc. Other services, the Sacraments (Baptism, Confirmation, Penance, Marriage, Extreme Unction), the Visitation of the Sick, the Burial Service, all manner ofblessings, were written in a very loose collection of little books called by such names as "Liber Agendorum", "Agenda", "Manuale", "Benedictionale", "Pastorale", "Sacerdotale", "Rituale", the predecessors of our Ritual. As examples of such books we may quote the "Manuale Curatorum" for the Diocese of Roeskilde inDenmark (ed. by J. Freisen, Paderborn, 1898) and the "Liber Agendorum" ofSchleswig (ed. J. Freising, Paderborn, 1898). Their number and variety is enormous.
Finally there remained therubrics, the directions not about what to say but what to do. This matter would be one of the latest to be written down. Long after the more or less complicatedprayers had to be written and read, tradition would still be a sufficient guide for the actions. The books ofprayers (Sacramentaries, Antiphonaries, etc.) contained a few words of direction for the most important and salient things to be done elementaryrubrics. For instance the Gregorian "Sacramentary" tellspriests (as distinct frombishops) not to say the Gloria except onEaster Day; the celebrant chants the prefaceexcelsa voce, and so on (P.L., LXXVIII, 25). In time, however, the growing elaborateness of thepapal functions, the more complicated ceremonial of the Roman Court, made itnecessary to draw up rules of what custom and etiquette demanded. These rules are contained in the "Ordines" precursors of our "Cærimoniale Episcoporum".Mabillon published sixteen of the Ordines in his "Musæum Italicum", II (Paris, 1689). These are reproduced in P.L., LXXVIII, 937-1372. They are of different dates, from about the eighth to the fifteenth century. The first of them ("Ordo Romanus primus", edited apart by E. G. C. Atchley with excellent notes, London, 1905), which is the most important, was probably drawn up about the year 770 in the reign ofPope Stephen III (768-72), but is founded on a similar "Ordo" of the time ofGregory I (590-604). The "Ordines" contain noprayers, except that, wherenecessary, the first words are given to indicate what is meant. They supplement the Sacramentary and choir-books with careful directions about the ritual. SinceMabillon other "Ordines" have been found and edited. A famous and important one, found in amanuscript of thechurch of St. Amand at Puelle is published by Duchesne in the Appendix of his "Origines du Culte Chrétien" (pp. 440-63). It was composed about the eighth or ninth century.
During theMiddle Ages these books were rearranged for greater convenience, and developed eventually into the books weknow. The custom of Low Mass changed the Sacramentary into aMissal. At Low Mass the celebrant had to supplement personally what was normally chanted by thedeacon andsubdeacon or sung by the choir. This then reacted upon High Mass, so that here too the celebrant began to say himself in a low voice what was sung by some one else. For this purpose he needed texts that were not in the old Sacramentary. That book was therefore enlarged by the addition of Lessons (Epistle and Gospel, etc.) and the chants of the choir (Introit, Gradual, etc.). So it becomes aMissale plenarium, containing all the text of the Mass. Isolated cases of such Missals occur as early as the sixth century. By about the twelfth century they have completely replaced the old Sacramentaries. But Lectionaries and Graduals (with the music) are still written for the readers and choir. In the same way, but rather later, compilations are made of the various books used for saying theDivine Office. Here too the same motive was at work. The Office was meant to be sung in choir. But there were isolatedpriests, small country churches without a choir, that could not afford thelibrary of books required for saying it. For their convenience compendiums were made since the eleventh century.Gregory VII (1073-85) issued a compendium of this kind that became very popular.
First we hear ofLibri nocturnales ormatutinales, containing all the lessons and responses forMatins. To these are added later theantiphons and psalms, then the collects and all that is wanted for the othercanonical hours too. At the same time epitomes are made for people who recite the Office without the chant. In these thePsalter is often left out; theclergy are supposed toknow it by heart. Theantiphons, versicles, responsories, even the lessons are indicated only by their first words. The whole is really a kind of concise index to the Office, but sufficient for people who said it day after day and almostknew it by heart. Such little books are called by various names "Epitomata", "Portiforia", and then especially "Breviaria divini officii" (Abbreviations of theDivine Office). They were used mostly bypriests on journeys. In the twelfth century the catalogue of thelibrary ofDurhamCathedral includes "a little travelling breviary" (breviarium parvum itinerarium). In 1241Gregory IX says in aBull for theFranciscan order: "You have (theDivine Office) in your Breviaries" (see Batiffol, "Histoire du Bréviaire", chap. iv, especially pp. 192-202). The parts of these Breviaries were filled up eventually so as to leave nothing to memory, but the convenient arrangement and the name have been kept. It is curious that the wordBreviary, which originally meant only a handy epitome for use on journeys and such occasions, has come to be the usual name for theDivine Office itself. Apriest "says his breviary" that is, recites thecanonical hours.
The development of the other books took place in much the same way. The Missals now contained only the Mass and a few morning services intimately connected with it. Daily Mass was the custom for everypriest; there was no object in including all the rites used only by abishop in eachMissal. So these rites apart formed the Pontifical. The other non-Eucharistic elements of the old Sacramentary combined with the "Libri Agendarum" to form our Ritual. TheCouncil of Trent (1545-63) considered the question of uniformity in the liturgical books and appointed a commission to examine the question. But the commission found the work of unifying so many and so varied books impossible at the time, and so left it to be done gradually by thepopes. TheMissal andBreviary were reformed very soon (see next paragraph), the other books later. The latest work was the production of the "Cærimoniale Episcoporum". John Burchard, Master of Ceremonies toSixtus IV (1471-84), combined the old "Ordines Romani" into anOrdo servandus per sacerdotem in celebratione missœ (Rome, 1502), and arranged therubrics of the Pontifical. Other editions of therubrics were made at intervals, tillClement VIII (1592-1605) issued the "Cærimoniale Episcoporum" (in 1600). All the books have been constantly revised and re-edited with additions down to our own time.
The official books of theRoman Rite are seven theMissal, Pontifical,Breviary, Ritual, Cærimoniale Episcoporum, Memoriale Rituum, and Martyrology. These contain all and only theliturgical services of this rite. Several repeat matter also found in others. Other books, containing extracts from them, share their official character inasmuch as the texts conform to that of the original book. Such secondary liturgical books are the Lectionary and Gradual (with musical notes) taken from theMissal, the Day Hours (Horæ diurnæ) of theBreviary, the Vesperal, Antiphonary and other choir-books (with notes), also extracted from theBreviary, various Benedictionals and Ordines taken from the Ritual or Pontifical.
The (Missale Romanum) as we now have it, was published byPope Pius V by theBull "Quo primum" of 14 July, 1570 (see LITURGIES andROMAN RITE). A commission, opened by theCouncil of Trent underPius IV (1559-65), consisting of Cardinal Bernardine Scotti,Thomas Goldwell,Bishop ofSt. Asaph (one of the last twoEnglishbishops of the oldCatholic line), Giulio Poggi, and others, had then finished its task of revising the book.Clement VIII (1592-1605) formed a new commission (Baronius,Bellarmine, and others) to restore the text which printers had again corrupted, and especially to substitute the newVulgate (1590) texts for those of the Itala in theMissal; he published his revision by theBull "Cum Sanctissimum" on 7 July, 1604.Urban VIII (1623-44) again appointed a commission to revise chiefly therubrics, and issued a new edition on 2 September, 1634 (Bull "Si quid est").Leo XIII (1878-1903) again made a revision in 1884. These names stand for the chief revisions; they are those named on the title-page of ourMissal (Missale Romanum ex decreto SS. Concilii Tridentini restitutum S. Pii V Pont. Max. iussu editum, Clementis VIII, Urbani VIII et Leonis XIII auctoritate recognitum). But the continual addition of Masses for new feasts goes on. There are fewpopes sincePius V who have not authorized some additions, made by the Sacred Congregation of Rites, to theMissal or its various supplements. The reigningpope [1910],Pius X, has issued the chants of the Vatican edition in the Gradual. As far as these affect theMissal they have again produced new editions of it. Moreover a commission now sitting is considering a further revision of the text. It is believed that when the commission for restoring the text of theVulgate has completed its work, that text will be issued in the lessons of theMissal, thus making again a new revision. But, in spite of all these modifications, ourMissal is still that ofPius V. Indeed its text goes back to long before his time to the Gallicanized Gregorian "Sacramentary" of the ninth to eleventh century, and, in its essential characteristics, behind that to the Gelasian book of the sixth century, and so back into the mist that hangs over the formation of theRoman Rite in the first centuries.
TheMissal begins with theBulls ofPius V,Clement VIII, andUrban VIII. Then come theapprobation of thebishop in whose diocese it is printed and a few of the most important decisions of the Sacred Congregation of Rites. A long explanation of the Gregorian Calendar follows, containing muchastronomical information. This is headed: "De anno et eius partibus". The two Paschal tables follow (Julian and Gregorian), a table of movable feasts for a number of future years and theRomanCalendar of feasts. Then come three sets ofrubrics, first "Rubricæ generales Missæ", containing the more general rules in twenty paragraphs (these were made by Burchard, revised by the commissions ofPius V,Clement VIII,Urban VIII); then the "Ritus servandus in celebratione missæ", in thirteen paragraphs or chapters. This latter gives exact directions for High or Low Mass, whether celebrated by abishop orpriest. Third come the directions about what to do in case of various accidents or defects, headed "De defectibus in celebratione missæ occurrentibus", in ten chapters. A private preparation and thanksgiving for Mass follow "to be made at the opportunity of thepriest. Theprayers said while vesting come at the end of the preparation. Lastly, figures show the way toincense the altar and oblation. Shorter and specialrubrics for various occasions are inserted (in red) in the text.
Then follows the text of theMissal. The first part contains the "Proper of the time" (Proprium temporis) from the firstSunday ofAdvent to the last after Pentecost. The Proper of each Mass is given in order of theecclesiastical year, that is the Masses of each Sunday and other day (vigils, ember-days, feriæ inLent) that has a proper Mass. OnlyChristmas and its cycle of feasts (to the octave of the Epiphany), although fixed to days of the civil year (25 Dec., etc.), come in this part. Certain rites, not Eucharistic, but connected closely with the Mass, are in their place in theMissal, such as the blessing of ashes, candles, and palms, all the morning services ofHoly Week (except theVespers of Thursday and Friday). After the service ofHoly Saturday the whole Ordinary of the Mass with the Canon is inserted. This is the (almost) unchanging framework into which the various Propers are fitted. Its place in the book has varied considerably at different times; it is now put here, not so much for mystic or symbolic reasons, as because it is a convenient place, about the middle where a book lies open best (seeCANON OF THE MASS). The eleven proper Prefaces, and all changes that can occur in the Canon (except the modifications onMaundy Thursday), are printed here, in the Ordinary. Then followsEaster Day and the rest of the year in order. The second part of theMissal contains the Proper of Saints (Proprium missarum de sanctis), that is, the feasts that occur on days of the civil year. It begins with the Vigil of St. Andrew (29 Nov.), as occurring at about the beginning ofAdvent, and continues (leaving outChristmas and its cycle) regularly through the months to the feasts of St. Silvester andSt. Peter of Alexandria (26 Nov.).
The third part is always paged anew in brackets, [I], etc. It contains the Common Masses (Commune Sanctorum), that is, general Masses for Apostles, Martyrs and so on, that are very commonly used forsaints of each class, often with proper Collect Secret, and Postcommunion. Mostsaints' days give therubric: "All of the Common of a Confessor Pontiff (or whatever it may be) except the followingprayers". A collection of votive Masses of various kinds follows, ending with the Mass for a wedding (Pro Sponso et Sponsa), then thirty-five sets ofprayers (Orationes diversœ) that may be used on certain occasions in Mass, according to therubrics. The four Masses for the dead come next, then twelve sets ofprayers for the dead. Then the rite of blessingholy water and the Aspergesceremony. Eleven forms ofblessings (Sacramentals) used bypriests,blessings of vestments, altar-linen, and the tabernacle orciborium (used bybishops and bypriests having a special faculty), and theprayers (Collect, Secret Hanc Igitur, Postcommunion) said atordination Masses end the old part of theMissal. There follow, however, the ever-growing supplements. Of these first come a collection of votive Masses appointed byPius IX for each day of the week, then special Masses allowed for certaindioceses (Missœ aliquibus in locis celebrandœ), now forming a second Proper of Saints nearly as long as the old one; and finally with theMissal is bound up another supplement (paged with asterisks, I., etc.) for whatever country or province orreligious order uses it. TheMissal contains all the music used by the celebrant at the altar (except the obvious chants of Dominus vobiscum, Collects, etc., that are given once for all in the "Cærimoniale Episcoporum") in its place. The new (Vatican) edition gives the various new chants at the end.
The Lectionary (Lectionarium Romanum) contains the Epistles and Gospels from theMissal, the Gradual (Gradule Romanum), all the choir's part (the Proper,Introit, etc., and the common, Kyrie. etc.) with music. Religious orders that have a special rite (Dominicans,Carmelites,Carthusians) have of course their special Missals, arranged in the same way.
The (Pontificale Romanum) is the bishop's-book. It was issued byBenedict XIV (1740-58) on 25 March, 1752, and revised byLeo XIII in 1888. It has three parts and an appendix. Part I contains the rites of Confirmation, thetonsure, the seven ordinations, the blessing ofabbots, abbesses,nuns,coronation of kings and queens, and blessing of aknight (miles). Part II contains the services for laying foundation-stones, consecrating churches, altars,chalices, many episcopalblessings (of vestments, vessels, crosses,statues, bells, weapons, and flags), the seven penitential psalms, and thelitany. Part III contains the publication of movable feasts on the Epiphany, the expulsion of public penitents onAsh Wednesday and their reconciliation onMaundy Thursday, the order ofsynods, degradations from each order,excommunication andabsolution from it, of the journeys ofprelates (prayers to be said then), visitation ofparishes, solemn reception ofbishops,legates, emperors, kings, and such people down to a "Princess of great power", the old episcopal scrutiny, aceremony for the first shaving of a clerk'sbeard, and a little rite for making or degrading asinger (psalmista orcantor). The appendix of the Pontifical contains the various rites ofbaptism by abishop, the ordinations without music, marriage performed by abishop, the pontificalabsolution and blessing after the sermon at High Mass, the "Apostolic Benediction", and a blessing ofHoly Water to reconcile a church after it has been execrated (polluted). A supplement adds theconsecration of a church with many altars, of an altar alone, and of aportable altar all without the chant. A number of extracts from the Pontifical are made, theordination rites,consecration of a church, and so on. These are not specially authorized; they are authentic if they conform to the original. The revision of the plain song has not yet touched the Pontifical. When it does, this will necessitate a new edition.
The (Breviarium Romanum) contains all theDivine Office without chant. It has been revised by the samepopes (Pius V,Clement VIII,Urban VIII,Leo XIII) as theMissal. It begins with theBulls, the chapter about the calendar, the paschal tables, tables of movable feasts, calendar, like theMissal. Then follow the generalrubrics (Rubricœ generales breviarii) in thirty-six chapters, giving full directions for the recital of the office, occurrence of feasts, and so on. Further tables of occurrences,prayers to be said before and after the office, and a table of absolutions andblessings end the introductory matter. The actual text begins with the psalter, that is the psalms arranged for the week, with their normalantiphons andhymns. First comeMatins andLauds for Sunday; then Prime,Terce, Sext, and None, thenMatins andLauds for each weekday. AfterLauds for Saturday followVespers for each day, thenCompline. This ends thePsalterium. The offices for each day follow, arranged exactly as in theMissal (Proper of the season, Proper ofsaints, Common ofsaints,votive Offices and Offices for the dead, the supplement for certain places, and a local supplement). After the Office for the dead some extraneous matter is inserted, namely theGradual psalms,litany,prayers for the dying, blessing for the dying, grace at meals, andprayers forclerics on a journey. At the end of the whole book come theprayers before and after Mass and two privatelitanies (of the Holy Name and of the Blessed Virgin).
As theBreviary, in spite of its name, is now a very large and cumbersome book, it is generally issued in four parts (Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn). This involves a good deal of repetition; the wholePsalter occurs in each part, and all feasts that may overlap into the next part have to be printed twice. The first volume only (Winter, which begins withAdvent) contains the generalrubrics. It is now also usual to reprint the psalms that occur in the Common ofsaints instead of merely referring back to thePsalter. Many other parts are also reprinted in several places. On the number and judicious arrangement of these reprints depends the convenience of any particular edition of theBreviary. Already in theMiddle Ages the countlessmanuscripts of theBreviary are fond of promising the purchaser that he will find all the offices complete without references ("omnia exscripta sine recursu", "tout le long sans recquerir"), a statement that the writer, after examining a great number of them, has never once foundtrue. The chief book excerpted from theBreviary is the "Day Hours" (Horœ diurnœ breviarii romani), containing everything exceptMatins, which with its lessons forms the main bulk of the book. For singing in choir various books with music exist, representing still more or less the state of things before Breviaries were invented. The complete "Liber Antiphonarius" contains all theantiphons,hymns, and responses throughout the Office. From this again various excerpts are made. For the offices most commonly sung in churches we have the Vesperal (Vesperale Romanum), containingVespers andCompline. The monastic orders (Benedictines,Cistercians,Carthusians, etc.), theDominicans,Franciscans,Premonstratensians, and several localdioceses still have their own Breviaries. For the various attempts at replacing ourBreviary by a radically reformed one (especially that of Cardinal Quiñónez in 1535) see the articleBREVIARY and the histories of Baumer and Batiffol.
The (Rituale Romanum) contains all the services apriest needs besides those of theMissal andBreviary. This book especially was the least uniform in theMiddle Ages. Almost everydiocese had its own Ritual, or Agenda.Paul V issued in 1614 a book meant to be used everywhere;Benedict XIV revised it in 1752. TheRoman Ritual contains ten titles (tituli) and an appendix nearly as big again as all the rest. Title I gives general directions for administering Sacraments; II gives all the forms forbaptism; III for penance; IV for theHoly Eucharist, V for extreme unction and the care of the sick; VI relates to funerals and gives the Office for the dead from theBreviary; VII relates to matrimony; VIII contains a large collection ofblessings for various objects; IX deals with processions; X withexorcisms and forms for filling up in the books of theparish (the books ofbaptism, confirmation, marriage, the state ofsouls, and the dead). The appendix (paged anew with asterisks) gives additional directions for thesacraments, some decrees andprayers and a large collection ofblessings, first "unreserved", then those to be used only bypriests who have a special faculty, those reserved to certainreligious orders, and many "newestblessings". There is still a great want of uniformity in the use of this book. Many countries, provinces, anddioceses have their own Ritual or "Ordo administrandi Sacramenta", etc.
The (Cœrimoniale Episcoporum) in spite of its title contains much matter needed by other people thanbishops. It is entirely a book ofrubrical directions, succeeding the old "Ordines Romani". Much of it is already contained in therubrics of theMissal, Pontifical, and Ritual. It was first issued byClement VIII in 1600, then revised byInnocent X (1650),Benedict XIV at various dates (finally 1752), andLeo XIII (1882). It has three books. The first contains general directions for episcopal functions, and for thebishop's attendants (master of ceremonies,sacristan, canons, and so on). Then come full directions for everything connected with Mass, the altar, vestments, ceremonies, etc.; finally the order of a synod. Book II is all about theDivine Office, its chanting in choir and all the ritual belonging to it, as well as certain special functions (the blessing of candles, ashes, palms, theHoly Week services, processions, etc.). Book III is about various extra-liturgical functions, visits ofbishops to governors of provinces, solemn receptions and so on, finally conduct forcardinals. The book continually gives directions, not only forbishops but forpriests, too, at these functions. It is also here that one finds some of the most ordinary chants used by any celebrant (e.g., the Dominus vobiscum, Collects, I, 27; Confiteor, II, 39). The"Cæremoniale Episcoporum" is thus the official and indispensable supplement to therubrics of theMissal,Breviary, Ritual, and Pontifical.
The (Memoriale Rituum) or Little Ritual (Rituale parvum) is the latest of these official books. It gives directions for certain rites (the blessing of candles, ashes, palms, theHoly Week services) in small churches where there are noministers (deacon andsubdeacon). TheMissal always supposes the presence ofdeacon andsubdeacon at these functions; so there wasdoubt and confusion about them when carried out by a singlepriest.Benedict XIII (1724-30) published this book in 1725 to remove the confusion in the smallerparish churches ofRome.Pius VII (1800-23) extended it to all small churches of theRoman Rite in 1821. It is therefore the official norm for all such services withoutordainedministers.
The (Martyrologium Romanum) is an enlarged calendar giving the names and very short accounts of allsaints (not onlymartyrs) commemorated in various places each day. The earliest knownmartyrologies go back to the fourth century. In theMiddle Ages there were, as usual, many versions of the book. Our present Roman Martyrology was arranged in 1584 by CardinalBaronius underGregory XIII, and revised four times, in 1628, 1675, 1680, and (byBenedict XIV) 1748. It is read in choir at Prime.
Of these little need be said here. They are described in the articles on the various rites. The other two surviving rites in the West (ofMilan and the Mozarabic Rite) have gone through the same development as the Roman from Sacramentaries, Lectionaries,Psalters, and Antiphonaries to Missals, Pontificals, and Breviaries. Only of course their books contain their ownprayers and ritual. The latest editions of theMilanese (Ambrosian)Missal,Breviary, Ritual etc., are published by Giacomo Agnelli at the Archiepiscopal Press (tipografia arcivescovile) atMilan. The classical edition of the Mozarabic books is that made by order of Cardinal Ximenes (Archbishop of Toledo, 1495-1517). TheMissal (Missale mistum [formixtum] secundum regulam beati Isidori dictum Mozarabes) was printed at Toledo in 1500 (reprinted in P.L., LXXXV), theBreviary (Breviarium Gothicum) reprinted (with Romanizing additions) at Toledo in 1502 (P.L., LXXXVI). None of theEastern Churches has yet made such compendiums of its books as ourMissal andBreviary. All their books are still in the state in which ours were in the days of Sacramentaries, Antiphonaries, and so on. One reason for this is that in the East our reduplications are unknown. There thepriest does not also say at the altar the parts sung by the readers and choir. Nor has there been any development (except a rudimentary beginning, chiefly among the Uniats) of private recitation of the Office. So their books are only wanted for the choir; the various readers and singers use different volumes of what in some rites is quite a largelibrary.
The Byzantine Books are the Typikon, a kind of perpetual calendar with directions for all services, the Euchologion, containing all thepriest wants for the Holy Liturgy and othersacraments and rites (almost exactly the old Latin Sacramentary). The Triodion, Pentekostarion, Oktoechos, and Horologion contain the choir's part of the Liturgy and Office throughout the year. TheMenaia andMenologion contain thesaints' offices; the Psalterion explains itself. The Apostolos and Evangelion contain theliturgical lessons (these books are described inTHE RITE OF CONSTANTINOPLE). There are many editions. In Greek the Orthodox books are published at the Phœnix Press (formerly atVenice, now Patras), theUniat books by the RomanPropaganda. Each national Church has further its own editions in itsliturgical language. The books of otherEastern Churches correspond more or less to these, but in most cases they are more confused, less known, sometimes not even yet edited. In the very vague state of most of their books one can only say in general that these churches have an indefinite collection, each service having its own book. These are then collected and arranged in all kinds of groups and compendiums by various editors. TheUniat compendiums have a natural tendency to imitate the arrangement of the Roman books. The most obvious cases of liturgical books are always the Lectionaries, then the Book of Liturgies. The others are mostly in a very vague state.
TheNestorian Books (all in Syriac) are the Liturgy (containing their threeliturgies), the Gospel (Evangelion), Apostle (Shlicha) and Lessons (Kariane), the "Turgama" (Interpretation), containinghymns sung bydeacons at the liturgy (our Graduals and Sequences), the David (Dawidha =Psalter), "Khudhra" (= "cycle", containingantiphons, responsories,hymns, and collects for allSundays), "Kash Kõl" (= "Collection of all"; the same chants for week-days), "Kdham u-Wathar" (= "Before and after"; certainprayers, psalms, and collects most often used, from the other books), "Gezza" ("Treasury", services for feast-days), Abu-Halim (the name of the compiler, containing collects for the end of theNocturns onSundays), "Bautha d'Ninwaie" (= "Prayer of the Ninevites", a collection ofhymns ascribed toSt. Ephraem, used inLent). The Baptism Office ("Taksa d'Amadha") is generally bound up with the Liturgies. The "Taksa d'Siamidha" has theordination services. The "Taksa d'Husaia" contains the office for Penance, the "Kthawa d'Burrakha" is the marriage service, the "Kahneita", the burial ofclergy, the "Annidha" that oflaymen. Lastly the "Khamis" and "Warda" are further collections ofhymns (see Badger, "The Nestorians and their Rituals", London, 1852, II, 16-25). Naturally not every church possesses this varied collection of books. The mostnecessary ones are printed by theAnglican missionaries at Urmi for theheretics. TheUniat (Chaldean) books are printed, some atPropaganda, some by theDominicans at Mosul ("Missale chaldaicum", 1845; "Manuale Sacerdotum", 1858; "Breviarium chaldaicum", 1865). A Chaldean "Breviary" was published in three volumes atParis in 1886-7, edited by Père Bedgan, a missionary of the Congrégation des Missions. The Malabar schismatics use theNestorian books, the Uniats have books revised (much romanized) by the Synod of Diamper (1599; it ordered all their old books to be burned). TheUniat Malabar "Missal" was published atRome in 1774, the "Ordo rituum et lectionum" in 1775.
The Coptic Books (in Coptic with Arabicrubrics, and generally with the text transliterated in Arabic characters too) are the Euchologion (Kitãb al-Khulagi almuqaddas), very often (but quite wrongly) calledMissal. This corresponds to the Byzantine Euchologion. Then the Lectionary called "Katamãrus", the "Synaksãr", containing legends ofsaints, the "Deacon's Manual", an Antiphonary (calledDifnãri), thePsalter, Theotokia (containing offices of the B. V. M.), Doxologia, collections ofhymns for the choir and a number of smaller books for the various other offices. These books were first grouped and arranged for the Uniats by Raphael Tuki, and printed atRome in the eighteenth century. Their arrangement is obviously an imitation of that of the Latin service-books ("Missale coptice et arabice", 1736; "Diurnum alexandrinum copto-arabicum", 1750; "Pontificale et Euchologium", 1761, 1762; "Rituale coptice et arabice", 1763; "Theotokia", 1764). Lord Cyril II, the presentUniat Coptic patriarch, has published a "missal", "ritual", and "Holy Week book" (Cairo, 1898-1902). TheMonophysiteCopts have a very sumptuously printed set of their books, edited by Gladios Labib, in course of publication at Cairo ("Katamãrus", 1900-2; "Euchologion", 1904; "Funeral Service", 1905).
TheEthiopic service-books are (except the Liturgy) the least known of any. Hardly anything of them has been published, and no one seems yet to have made a systematic investigation ofliturgicalmanuscripts inAbyssinia. Since theEthiopic Rite is derived from the Coptic, one may conjecture that their books correspond more or less to the Coptic books. One may also nodoubt conjecture that their books are still in the primitive state of (more or less) a special book for each service. One has not heard of any collections or compendiums. Peter the Ethiopian (Petrus Ethyops) published the Liturgy with thebaptism service and someblessings at the end of his edition of theEthiopicNew Testament (Tasfa Sion, Rome, 1548). Various students have published fragments of the Rite inEurope (cf. Chaine, "Grammaire éthiopienne",Beirut, 1907; bibliography, p. 269), but these can hardly be called service-books.
The Jacobite (andUniat) Syrian Rite has never been published as a whole. A fragment of the liturgy was published in Syriac and Latin atAntwerp (1572) byFabricius Boderianus (D. Seven alexandrini . . . de ritibus baptismi et sacræ Synaxis). The Uniats have an Euchologion (Syriac and Karshuni), published atRome in 1843 (Missale Syriacum), and a "Book of clerks used in the ecclesiastical ministries" (Liber ministerii, Syriac only, Beirut, 1888). TheDivine Office, collected like aBreviary, was published at Mosul in seven volumes (1886-96), theferial office alone atRome in 1853, and at Sharfi in the Lebanon (1898). A Ritual "Book of Ceremony" for the Syrian Uniats is issued by theJesuits atBeirut.
TheMaronites have an abundance of liturgical books for their romanized Syrian Rite. TheMaronite Synod at Deir al-Luweize (1736) committed a uniform preparation of all their books to the patriarch (Part II, Sess. I, xiii, etc.) These books are all referred to in Roman terms (Missal, Ritual, Pontifical, etc.). TheMissal (in this case the name is not incorrect) was published atRome in 1592 and 1716, since then repeatedly, in whole or in part, atBeirut. Little books containing the Ordinary of the Liturgy with theAnaphora commonly used are issued by manyCatholic booksellers atBeirut. The "Book of the Minister" (containing thedeacon's and otherministers' parts of the Liturgy) was published atRome in 1596 and atBeirut in 1888. The "Ferial Office", calledFard, "Burden" or "Duty" (the only one commonly used by theclergy), was issued atRome in 1890, atBeirut in 1900. The wholeDivine Office began to be published atRome in 1666, but only two volumes of the summer part appeared. A Ritual with various additionalprayers was issued atRome in 1839. AllMaronite books are in Syriac and Karshuni.
TheArmenian Liturgical Books are quite definitely drawn up, arranged, and authorized. They are the only other set amongEastern Churches whose arrangement can be compared to those of theByzantines. There are eight officialArmenian service-books:
The books of both Gregorian andUniatArmenians have been published a great number of times; the latest Gregorian editions are those of Constantinople andJerusalem, theUniat ones have been issued atRome,Vienna, and especiallyVenice (at S. Lazaro). There are many extracts from them, especially from the Liturgy.
In conclusion it will be noticed that the Eastern and the older Western liturgical books consider rather theperson who uses them than the service at which they are used. The sameperson has the same book, whatever the function may be. On the other hand the later Western books are so arranged that all the service (whoever may be saying it) is put together in one book; our books are arranged by services, not according to their users. This is the result of our modern Western principle that every one (or at any rate the chiefperson, the celebrant) says everything, even if it is at the same time said by some one else.
DUCHESNE,Origines du culte chrétien (2nd ed., Paris, 1898); PROBST,Die ältesten römischen Sacramentarier und Ordines (Münster, 1892); IDEM,Die abendländische Messe vom 5. bis zum 8. Jahrhundert (Münster, 1896); CABROL,Introduction aux Etudes liturgiques (Paris, 1907); BÄUMER,Gesch. des Breviers (Freiburg, 1895); BATIFFOL,Hist. du Bréviaire romain (Paris, 1895); WEALE,Bibliographia liturgica. Catalogus missalium ritus latini (London, 1886); EBNER,Quellen u. Forschungen zur Gesch. u. Kunstgesch. des Missale Romanum (Freiburg, 1896). The modern Roman liturgical books are published in many editions by all the well-known Catholic firms (Desclée, Pustet, Dessain, Mame, etc.). The "typical" editions of the new books with the Vatican chant are issued by the Vatican Press. For the other rites see, besides the editions quoted in the text, the Introduction of BRIGHTMAN,Eastern Liturgies (Oxford, 1896). Other works are quoted in the text.
APA citation.Fortescue, A.(1910).Liturgical Books. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09296a.htm
MLA citation.Fortescue, Adrian."Liturgical Books."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 9.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09296a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Douglas J. Potter.Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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