Volume 1

A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood.

Date:: [between 1890 and 1899?]

Credit: A dictionary of Christian antiquities : being a continuation of the 'Dictionary of the Bible' / edited by William Smith and Samuel Cheetham ; illustrated by engravings on wood. Source: Wellcome Collection.

1051/1096 (page 1031)

$Qospel, and a prayer by the deacon. Then, Germanus says, intimation was given that the catechumens must leave the church; but his words seem to shew that though the form was kept up, the occasion had ceased. The oblations were now brought in (they are de- signated as being the Body and Blood of Christ, which seems to me to indicate that we have here the service of Easter Eve) amidst the singing of the choir; the Lauds or Alleluia fol- lowed, “ as in the Revelation ” (iv. 8-11), and the Angelic Hymn; and the names of the departed saints were recited, “ as if heaven were opening at the second coming of Christ.” The Kiss of Peace w'as given, and then the Sursum corda, the “ confractio et commixtio corporis Christi ” (the breaking being connected with a strange legend), whilst the prostrate clerks were singing an anthem (apparently the Sanctus, Sanctus). On this followed the Lord’s Prayer, the benediction of the people (“ Pax fides et communicatio corporis et sanguinis Domini sit semper vobiscum ”), and the communion. Then, what Germanus called the Trecanum, which he describes as containing “ the mystery of the Trinity,” in such words as seem to me to suit only the efy ayios of the Oriental liturgies ; and with this Germanus’s account of the form of the service terminates. It will be noticed that he omits to inform us of the moment when the consecration took place, although we find in an earlier part of the letter that “ pridie quam pateretur Dominus,” our Saviour said, “ Hie est calix sanguinis mei mysterium fidei qui pro multis effundetur in remissionem peccatorum:” which are the words of the Gregorian Canon. This omission and other reasons prevent me from accepting this account as a description of the ordinary liturgy of the Gallican church at the time of Germanus. The account seems rather to be that of one of the services at the season of Easter. (56.) With this we may compare the results of Mone’s discoveries amongst the palimpsests at Carlsruhe. We should not be justified in regard- ing the originals of these as all of one date, but we may supplement the account of Germanus by what we find here. It would appear that there was occasionally or generally a prayer post pro- phetiam, and, after the catechumens were dismissed, a praefatio, which was an address to the congregation, explaining the service which followed, and calling upon them to join heartily in it. This was followed by a collect. The oblations were then made, and the names both of living and departed members of Christ’s body were read, prayers being offered both ante nomina and post nomina. Then came the kiss of peace and the prayer ad pacem, and the service pro- ceeded with the Sursum corda, etc. (though this is not mentioned) and the contestatio., which answered to the modern preface. Of these con- testations there was evidently a great variety. This of course led up to the Sanctus, and we have various collects entitled post sanctus; the words of institution (we have not them at length) were introduced “ qui pridie,” and part of them seem to have been uttered secreto, for, after them, comes in one missa a “ post secreta.” (We have three instances here of an invocation.) Then came the Lord’s Prayer with variable introductions, all entirely different from the Gregorian, and a variable embolismus. Then must have followed the Communion, for the next prayer is entitled generally postcommunio, once only post mys- terium; then came the collect and the final benediction. (57.) The first sacramentary published by Ma- billon entirely upholds the correctness of our in- ferences drawn from these palimpsests, and at the same time exhibits marks of progress towards later modes of thought. In these missals, which were prepared for the Sundays and older esta- blished festivals, we have the praefatio, still the title for an address to the congregation: the collectio post nomina frequently shews that the names recited had been names of the living who had made their offerings or sacriffees, at the same time that it included at times a prayer for the dead. The Vere dignum et justum est is entitled (generally in the older services) immolatio missae, sometimes contestatio. The form of the mysterium or secreta always begins Qui pridie. The words of consecration are not given. The post secreta is either a prayer or an expression of belief. There seems to have been two hene- dictiones populi, one a prayer before com- munion, the other a blessing before dismissal. The general character of the Missale Gallicanum (Migne, pp. 339, etc.) is the same. We still find the titles immolatio and contestatio prefixed to the Vere dignum et justum est, but there are a few indications that a change of service was being introduced when the manuscript was pre- pared, such as immolatio nunc missae or contes- tatio nunc, and in a very few instances the post communionemxs altered io post eucharistiam. The character of the collects post nomina is the same as in the Gothic missal. (58.) The other two sacramentaries i.e. the Missale Francorum, and the Sacramentarium Gallicanum (which Mabillon found at Bobio) contain, either in whole or in part (the former manuscript being mutilated), the Gregorian canon. We must therefore assign them to the ninth century (or the later years of the eighth) at the earliest. In the former the title super oblat. has replaced the words post nomina, and the offerings have become the oblations of God’s people. The names of the offerers are no longer- recited: and the Memento etiam appears in the canon, after the consecration. We have still benedictions “ ad plebem,” pp. 336, 337. From the letter of the Monks of Mount Olivet to pope Leo HI., we know that the creed of Constantinople was used in the chapel of Charlemagne. [Creed, § 15, 1. 492.] We find no notice of it in any of the manuscripts.*-' (59.) Boman Liturgy.—We must now turn to one of the most difficult subjects,—the history and characteristics of the liturgy in use in Rome. We have seen evidences that it differed materially from the Liturgy of Gaul in the middle of the 8th century, and we know, with considerable accuracy, the form which it as- sumed before the end of the 9th century; but c A prayer in the earlier MS. (p. 227), “(live deliver- ance to the captive, sight to the blind,” may remind us of a similar petition in the Alexandrine liturgies. The prayers po-'i nomina, ad pacem, post secreta, are also fre- quently addressed to our Lord. I'here is a distinct invo- cation of the Holy Spirit on pages 246, 257, and on page 266 ( the ITiursday in Holy Week) I notice the “ Agnua Del.”$