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Pre-Tridentine Mass

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Pre-Tridentine Mass refers to the evolving and regional forms of the Catholic Mass in the West from antiquity to 1570. The basic structure solidified early and has been preserved, as well as important prayers such as the Roman Canon .

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127-614: Following the Council of Trent 's desire for standardization, Pope Pius V , with his bull Quo primum , made the Roman Missal obligatory throughout the Latin Church , except for those places and congregations whose distinct rites could demonstrate an antiquity of two hundred years or more. And this food is called among us Eukharistia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but

254-475: A defensor , who reported to a rector . Grain, wine, cheese, meat, fish, and oil began to arrive at Rome in large quantities, where it was given away for nothing as alms. Distributions to qualified persons were monthly. However, a certain proportion of the population lived in the streets or were too ill or infirm to pick up their monthly food supply. To them Gregory sent out a small army of charitable persons, mainly monks, every morning with prepared food. It

381-730: A "bitter taste for the theological speculation of the East" with Gregory that continued to influence him well into his own papacy. According to Western sources, Gregory's very public debate with Eutychius culminated in an exchange before Tiberius II where Gregory cited a biblical passage in support of the view that Christ was corporeal and palpable after his Resurrection; allegedly as a result of this exchange, Tiberius II ordered Eutychius's writings burned. Ekonomou views this argument, though exaggerated in Western sources, as Gregory's "one achievement of an otherwise fruitless apokrisiariat ". In reality, Gregory

508-506: A "fluency with imperial law" that he may have trained in it "as a preparation for a career in public life". Indeed, he became a government official, advancing quickly in rank to become, like his father, Prefect of Rome, the highest civil office in the city, when only thirty-three years old. The monks of the Monastery of St. Andrew , established by Gregory at the ancestral home on the Caelian, had

635-473: A budget recorded in the polyptici. The churchmen were paid four times a year and also personally given a golden coin for their trouble. Money, however, was no substitute for food in a city that was on the brink of famine. The church now owned between 1,300 and 1,800 square miles (3,400 and 4,700 km ) of revenue-generating farmland divided into large sections called patrimonia . It produced goods of all kinds, which were sold, but Gregory intervened and had

762-569: A council. Yet when he proposed the idea to his cardinals , it was almost unanimously opposed. Nonetheless, he sent nuncios throughout Europe to propose the idea. Paul III issued a decree for a general council to be held in Mantua , Italy, to begin on 23 May 1537. Martin Luther wrote the Smalcald Articles in preparation for the general council. The Smalcald Articles were designed to sharply define where

889-481: A large and important segment of Constantinople's aristocracy, this relationship did not significantly advance the interests of Rome before the emperor". Although the writings of John the Deacon claim that Gregory "labored diligently for the relief of Italy", there is no evidence that his tenure accomplished much towards any of the objectives of Pelagius II. Gregory's theological disputes with Patriarch Eutychius would leave

1016-447: A monk as the "ardent quest for the vision of our Creator." His three paternal aunts were nuns renowned for their sanctity. However, after the eldest two, Trasilla and Emiliana , died after seeing a vision of their ancestor Pope Felix III , the youngest soon abandoned the religious life and married the steward of her estate. Gregory's response to this family scandal was that "many are called but few are chosen." Gregory's mother, Silvia ,

1143-656: A number of prayers that change to reflect the feast or liturgical season; these variations are visible in the collects and prefaces as well as in the Roman Canon itself. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches , Gregory is credited as the primary influence in constructing the more penitential Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts , a fully separate form of the Divine Liturgy in

1270-610: A number of reform proposals (on the selection of bishops, taxation, censorship and preaching) but not on the new major problems that confronted the Church in Germany and other parts of Europe. A few months later, on 31 October 1517, Martin Luther issued his 95 Theses in Wittenberg . Luther's position on ecumenical councils shifted over time, but in 1520 he appealed to the German princes to oppose

1397-578: A plague failed to take effect and the council was indefinitely prorogued on 17 September 1549. None of the three popes reigning over the duration of the council ever attended, which had been a condition of Charles V. Papal legates were appointed to represent the Papacy. Reopened at Trent on 1 May 1551 by the convocation of Pope Julius III (1550–1555), it was broken up by the sudden victory of Maurice, Elector of Saxony over Emperor Charles V and his march into surrounding state of Tirol on 28 April 1552. There

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1524-400: A portrait of him made after his death, which John the Deacon also saw in the 9th century. He reports the picture of a man who was "rather bald" and had a "tawny" beard like his father's and a face that was intermediate in shape between his mother's and father's. The hair that he had on the sides was long and carefully curled. His nose was "thin and straight" and "slightly aquiline". "His forehead

1651-468: A practice that was to be followed by most subsequent popes. The Church had a practice from early times of passing on a large portion of the donations it received from its members as alms . Gregory is known for his extensive administrative system of charitable relief of the poor at Rome. The poor were predominantly refugees from the incursions of the Lombards . The philosophy under which he devised this system

1778-725: A relief force. Maurice, however, had long ago determined to limit his efforts against the Lombards to intrigue and diplomacy, pitting the Franks against them. It soon became obvious to Gregory that the Byzantine emperors were unlikely to send such a force, given their more immediate difficulties with the Persians in the East and the Avars and Slavs to the North. According to Ekonomou, "if Gregory's principal task

1905-403: A remedial punishment, forced the monk to die alone, then threw his body and coins on a manure heap to rot with a condemnation, "Take your money with you to perdition." Gregory believed that punishment of sins can begin, even in this life before death. However, in time, after the monk's death, Gregory had 30 Masses offered for the man to assist his soul before the final judgment . He viewed being

2032-710: A schism over conciliarism ; partly because Lutherans demanded the exclusion of the papacy from the council; partly because of ongoing political rivalries between France and the Holy Roman Empire ; and partly due to the Turkish dangers in the Mediterranean. Under Pope Clement VII (1523–34), mutinous troops many of whom were Lutheran belonging to the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor Charles V sacked Papal Rome in 1527, "raping, killing, burning, stealing,

2159-457: A time the conceit that he had failed in his duty and was a murderer. These and other good deeds and charitable frame of mind completely won the hearts and minds of the Roman people. They now looked to the papacy for government, ignoring the state at Constantinople. The office of urban prefect went without candidates. John the Deacon wrote that Pope Gregory I made a general revision of the liturgy of

2286-528: Is herself a saint . Eventually, Pope Pelagius II ordained Gregory a deacon and solicited his help in trying to heal the schism of the Three Chapters in northern Italy . However, this schism was not healed until well after Gregory was gone. In 579, Pelagius II chose Gregory as his apocrisiarius (ambassador to the imperial court in Constantinople ), a post Gregory would hold until 586. Gregory

2413-478: Is indicative. Depending on calendar, occasion, participants, region and period, some parts might be augmented or commented on ( tropes ) or removed or rearranged or varied from standard forms. The specific collects, readings, sequences, psalms, saints, blessings, and performance instructions (or rubrics ), similarly vary. The Canon of the Mass (the key section with consecration and elevation) had less textual variation in

2540-528: Is one of the Latin Fathers and a Doctor of the Church . He is considered a saint in the Catholic Church , Eastern Orthodox Church , Anglican Communion , various Lutheran denominations, and other Protestant denominations. Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. The Protestant reformer John Calvin admired Gregory greatly and declared in his Institutes that Gregory

2667-407: Is recorded that he permitted his depiction with a square halo , then used for the living. A dove is his attribute , from the well-known story attributed to his friend Peter the Deacon, who tells that when the pope was dictating his homilies on Ezechiel a curtain was drawn between his secretary and himself. As, however, the pope remained silent for long periods at a time, the servant made a hole in

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2794-556: Is responsible for the introduction into the Roman rite of dramatic and symbolic ceremonies such as the blessing of candles, ashes, palms, and much of the Holy Week ritual. During the Carolingian period, the language diverged with Latin going back to its classical forms and the vernacular recognized as separate tongues. Consequently, the Council of Tours (813) mandated that sermons be given in

2921-412: Is said that he would not dine until the indigent were fed. When he did dine he shared the family table, which he had saved (and which still exists), with 12 indigent guests. To the needy living in wealthy homes he sent meals he had cooked with his own hands as gifts to spare them the indignity of receiving charity. Hearing of the death of an indigent in a back room he was depressed for days, entertaining for

3048-767: Is shown saying Mass when Christ as the Man of Sorrows appears on the altar. The subject was most common in the 15th and 16th centuries, and reflected growing emphasis on the Real Presence , and after the Protestant Reformation was an assertion of the doctrine against Protestant theology. The relics of Saint Gregory are enshrined in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. In Britain, appreciation for Gregory remained strong even after his death, with him being called Gregorius noster ("our Gregory") by

3175-435: Is that the wealth belonged to the poor and the church was only its steward. He received lavish donations from the wealthy families of Rome, who, following his own example, were eager, by doing so, to expiate their sins. He gave alms equally as lavishly both individually and en masse. He wrote in letters: "I have frequently charged you ... to act as my representative ... to relieve the poor in their distress" and "I hold

3302-541: Is unclear when the language of the celebration finished changing from Greek to Latin . Pope Victor I (190–202), may have been the first to use Latin in the liturgy in Rome. Others think Latin was finally adopted nearly a century later. The change was probably gradual, with both languages being used for a while. With regard to the Roman Canon of the Mass , the prayers beginning Te igitur , Memento Domine and Quam oblationem were already in use, even if not with quite

3429-540: The Assyrian Church of the East . The mainstream form of Western plainchant , standardized in the late 9th century, was attributed to Pope Gregory I and so took the name of Gregorian chant. The earliest such attribution is in John the Deacon's 873 biography of Gregory, almost three centuries after the pope's death, and the chant that bears his name "is the result of the fusion of Roman and Frankish elements which took place in

3556-774: The Byzantine Rite adapted to the needs of the season of Great Lent . Its Roman Rite equivalent is the Mass of the Presanctified used only on Good Friday . The Syriac Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts continues to be used in the Malankara Rite , a variant of the West Syrian Rite historically practiced in the Malankara Church of India , and now practiced by the several churches that descended from it and at some occasions in

3683-885: The Clivus Scauri on the Caelian Hill , (now the Via di San Gregorio). It branched from the road having the former palaces of the Roman emperors on the Palatine Hill opposite. The north of the street runs into the Colosseum ; the south, the Circus Maximus . In Gregory's day the ancient buildings were in ruins and were privately owned. Villas covered the area. Gregory's family also owned working estates in Sicily and around Rome. Gregory later had portraits of his parents frescoed in their former home on

3810-654: The Donatist heresy, popular particularly in North Africa at the time. Throughout the Middle Ages, he was known as "the Father of Christian Worship" because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day. His contributions to the development of the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts , still in use in the Byzantine Rite , were so significant that he is generally recognized as its de facto author. Gregory

3937-661: The East , but also in the West. Some Latin liturgical rites , such as the Mozarabic Rite , were unrelated to the Roman Rite which Pope Pius V revised and ordered to be adopted generally, and even areas that had accepted the Roman rite had introduced changes and additions. As a result, every ecclesiastical province and almost every diocese had its local use, such as the Use of Sarum , the Use of York and

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4064-612: The French Wars of Religion had occurred earlier in the year and the French Church, facing a significant and powerful Protestant minority in France, experienced iconoclasm violence regarding the use of sacred images. Such concerns were not primary in the Italian and Spanish Churches. The last-minute inclusion of a decree on sacred images was a French initiative, and the text, never discussed on

4191-452: The Mass , and the veneration of saints and also issued condemnations of what it defined to be heresies committed by proponents of Protestantism . The consequences of the council were also significant with regard to the Church's liturgy and censorship. The Council met for twenty-five sessions between 13 December 1545 and 4 December 1563. Pope Paul III , who convoked the council, oversaw

4318-744: The Pre-Tridentine Mass , "removing many things, changing a few, adding some". In his own letters, Gregory remarks that he moved the Pater Noster (Our Father) to immediately after the Roman Canon and immediately before the Fraction . This position is still maintained today in the Roman Liturgy. The pre-Gregorian position is evident in the Ambrosian Rite . Gregory added material to the Hanc Igitur of

4445-607: The Three Magi would be enacted by three costumed men who would follow a star through the church, search at various locations, until finding the altar, while singing the Gospel alternatively and polyphonically. The recitation of the Credo ( Nicene Creed ) after the Gospel is attributed to the influence of Emperor Henry II . Gallican influence explains the practice of incensing persons, introduced in

4572-523: The University of Cologne (1463), had set aside the theory of the supremacy of general councils laid down by the Council of Constance , which had also called for frequent ecumenical councils every ten years to cope with the backlog of reform and heresies. Martin Luther had appealed for a general council, in response to the Papal bull Exsurge Domine of Pope Leo X (1520). In 1522 German diets joined in

4699-654: The Use of Hereford in England. In France, there were strong traces of the Gallican Rite . With the exception of the relatively few places where no form of the Roman Rite had ever been adopted, the Canon of the Mass remained generally uniform, but the prayers in the "Ordo Missae", and still more the "Proprium Sanctorum" and the "Proprium de Tempore", varied widely. In most countries, the language used for celebrating Pre-Tridentine Masses

4826-510: The notarii , under a chief, the primicerius notariorum , kept the ledgers and issued brevia patrimonii , or lists of property for which each rector was responsible. Gregory began by aggressively requiring his churchmen to seek out and relieve needy persons and reprimanded them if they did not. In a letter to a subordinate in Sicily he wrote: "I asked you most of all to take care of the poor. And if you knew of people in poverty, you should have pointed them out ... I desire that you give

4953-514: The Apostle (after his death it was rededicated as San Gregorio Magno al Celio ). In his life of contemplation, Gregory concluded that "in that silence of the heart, while we keep watch within through contemplation, we are as if asleep to all things that are without." Gregory had a deep respect for the monastic life and particularly the vow of poverty. Thus, when it came to light that a monk lying on his death bed had stolen three gold pieces, Gregory, as

5080-569: The British over whom you have been appointed to rule, that through the blessings bestowed on you the blessings of heaven might be bestowed on your people also." He is credited with re-energizing the Church's missionary work among the non-Christian peoples of northern Europe. He is most famous for sending a mission, often called the Gregorian mission , under Augustine of Canterbury , prior of Saint Andrew's, where he had perhaps succeeded Gregory, to evangelize

5207-651: The British. It was in Britain, at a monastery in Whitby , that the first full-length life of Gregory was written, c.  713 , by a monk or, possibly, a nun. Appreciation of Gregory in Rome and Italy itself, however, did not come until later. The first vita of Gregory written in Italy was not produced until Johannes Hymonides (aka John the Deacon) in the 9th century. The namesake church of San Gregorio al Celio (largely rebuilt from

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5334-499: The Caelian and these were described 300 years later by John the Deacon . Gordianus was tall with a long face and light eyes. He wore a beard. Silvia was tall, had a round face, blue eyes and a cheerful look. They had another son whose name and fate are unknown. Gregory was born into a period of upheaval in Italy. From 542 the so-called Plague of Justinian swept through the provinces of the empire, including Italy. The plague caused famine, panic, and sometimes rioting. In some parts of

5461-600: The Cathedral's missal; however in others it involved adding material for new saints, offices and customs. From 1474 until Pope Pius V's 1570 text, there were at least 14 different printed editions that purported to present the text of the Mass as celebrated in Rome, rather than elsewhere, and which therefore were published under the title of " Roman Missal " ( Latin : Missale romanum .) These were produced in Milan, Venice, Paris and Lyon. Even these show variations. Local Missals, such as

5588-431: The Franco-German empire under Pepin , Charlemagne and their successors". Gregory is commonly credited with founding the medieval papacy and so many attribute the beginning of medieval spirituality to him. Gregory is the only pope between the fifth and the eleventh centuries whose correspondence and writings have survived enough to form a comprehensive corpus. Some of his writings are: Gregory wrote over 850 letters in

5715-407: The Giustiniani collection. The painting is conserved in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica , Rome. The face of Gregory is a caricature of the features described by John the Deacon: total baldness, outthrust chin, beak-like nose, whereas John had described partial baldness, a mildly protruding chin, slightly aquiline nose and strikingly good looks. In this picture also Gregory has his monastic back on

5842-573: The Great , was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 to his death. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rome, the Gregorian mission , to convert the then largely pagan Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Gregory is also well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. The epithet Saint Gregory the Dialogist has been attached to him in Eastern Christianity because of his Dialogues . English translations of Eastern texts sometimes list him as Gregory "Dialogos" from

5969-465: The Greek διάλογος ( dialogos , conversation), or the Anglo-Latinate equivalent "Dialogus". He is the second of the three Popes listed in the Annuario Pontificio with the title "the Great", alongside Popes Leo I and Nicholas I . A Roman senator 's son and himself the prefect of Rome at 30, Gregory lived in a monastery that he established on his family estate before becoming a papal ambassador and then pope. Before becoming Pope, he challenged

6096-433: The Lutherans could and could not compromise. The council was ordered by the Emperor and Pope Paul III to convene in Mantua on 23 May 1537. It failed to convene after another war broke out between France and Charles V, resulting in a non-attendance of French prelates . Protestants refused to attend as well. Financial difficulties in Mantua led the Pope in the autumn of 1537 to move the council to Vicenza , where participation

6223-450: The Offertory. Note: Below, "Gifts" primarily means the unconsecrated bread, wine and water. interspersed with Psalmody Sermon - vernacular "words of comfort" Vernacular Sermon or paraphrase of Gospel reading Anaphora (Canon): Council of Trent Artists Clergy Monarchs Popes The Council of Trent ( Latin : Concilium Tridentinum ), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy ,

6350-422: The Parisian Missal, of which at least 16 printed editions appeared between 1481 and 1738, showed more important differences. The Milanese Roman Missal of 1474, which reproduces the Papal Chapel missal of the late 1200s, "hardly differs at all" from the initial Tridentine missal promulgated in 1570, apart from local feasts. Apart from the Roman rite, before 1570 many other liturgical rites were in use, not only in

6477-477: The Popes who had convoked the council, the emperor and the kings who had supported it, the papal legates, the cardinals, the ambassadors present, and the bishops, followed by acclamations of acceptance of the faith of the council and its decrees, and of anathema for all heretics. The French monarchy boycotted the entire council until the last minute when a delegation led by Charles de Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine finally arrived in November 1562. The first outbreak of

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6604-409: The Protestant cause within France. Charles' younger brother Ferdinand of Austria , who ruled a huge swath of territory in central Europe, agreed in 1532 to the Nuremberg Religious Peace granting religious liberty to the Protestants, and in 1533 he further complicated matters when suggesting a general council to include both Catholic and Protestant rulers of Europe that would devise a compromise between

6731-406: The Psalms or Calendar of some other rite. Over time, the parts may be grouped or re-named to reflect the contemporary theological or pastoral priorities, but were typically known by the first words of the Latin of the prayer. For example, the Ambrosian Rite has different prayers, prefaces, readings, calendar and vestments to the Roman Rite. It omits the Agnus Dei. The Gesture of Peace occurs before

6858-417: The Roman Canon and established the nine Kyries (a vestigial remnant of the litany which was originally at that place) at the beginning of Mass . He forbade deacons to perform any of the musical portions of the Mass other than singing the Gospel. Sacramentaries directly influenced by Gregorian reforms are referred to as Sacrementaria Gregoriana . Roman and other Western liturgies since this era have

6985-409: The Romance or Teutonic vernacular. The chants and musical settings of the Mass were divided into The major difference between the various rites or uses was not the basic structure or components of the ordinary parts of the liturgy, but of different arrangements, selection and allocation of prayers on different days, as well as mention of regionally-popular saints, and different rubrics . Towards

7112-416: The West, and often was the standard Roman Canon . Such local variants are called Uses (of a Rite) when relatively minor, or a new Rite when relatively major, and typically reflect the living practice at a cathedral, whose liturgical books might then be copied by other dioceses. Mixing was common: a cathedral might adopt the Liturgy from one Rite, but keep its traditional Rubrics, Sequences etc., and use

7239-401: The appeal, with Charles V seconding and pressing for a council as a means of reunifying the Church and settling the Reformation controversies. Pope Clement VII (1523–34) was vehemently against the idea of a council, agreeing with Francis I of France . The history of the council is divided into three distinct periods: 1545–1549, 1551–1552 and 1562–1563. The number of attending members in

7366-451: The brethren". The initial liturgical language used was Greek , before approximately the year 190 under Pope Victor , when the Church in Rome changed from Greek to Latin, except in particular for the Hebrew word " Amen ", whose meaning Justin explains in Greek (γένοιτο), saying that by it "all the people present express their assent" when the president of the brethren "has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings". According to some scholars,

7493-465: The ceremony from the nave : For the lay congregation, however, the mass was a series of collective devotions and ritual actions; the most important elements would be the Gospel, prône ("bidding prayers", see below), offertory procession, and distribution of the pain bénit at the end of the mass.[…]The laity's mass was less sacrifice and sacrament than a communal rite of greeting, sharing, giving, receiving and making peace." Lay prayer-books, for

7620-416: The clergy and the clerical missal. "What the lay prayer books reveal—and missals do not—is the pre-Reformation mass as a ritual drama in which the priests and the congregation had distinct, but equally necessary parts to play." In the Carolingian period, the Mass was increasingly performed as sacred drama, with the people as active participants not passive spectators: Archbishop Amalarius of Metz (c.830)

7747-415: The council was delayed until 1545 and, as it happened, convened right before Luther's death. Unable, however, to resist the urging of Charles V, the pope, after proposing Mantua as the place of meeting, convened the council at Trent (at that time ruled by a prince-bishop under the Holy Roman Empire ), on 13 December 1545; the Pope's decision to transfer it to Bologna in March 1547 on the pretext of avoiding

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7874-408: The country, over a third of the population was wiped out or destroyed, with heavy spiritual and emotional effects on the people of the empire. Politically, although the Western Roman Empire had long since vanished in favor of the Gothic kings of Italy, during the 540s Italy was gradually retaken from the Goths by Justinian I , emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire ruling from Constantinople . As

8001-403: The curtain and, looking through, beheld a dove seated upon Gregory's head with its beak between his lips. When the dove withdrew its beak the pope spoke and the secretary took down his words; but when he became silent the servant again applied his eye to the hole and saw the dove had replaced its beak between his lips. Ribera's oil painting of Saint Gregory the Great ( c.  1614 ) is from

8128-439: The day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and

8255-438: The dispute could not be settled, the Byzantine emperor , Tiberius II Constantine , undertook to arbitrate. He decided in favor of palpability and ordered Eutychius' book to be burned . Shortly after both Gregory and Eutychius became ill; Gregory recovered, but Eutychius died on 5 April 582, at age 70. On his deathbed Eutychius recanted impalpability and Gregory dropped the matter. Gregory was more inclined to remain retired into

8382-438: The early Christian liturgy was a continuation of the liturgy of contemporary Jewish synagogues (as distinct from the temple liturgy): Duschesne comments "the only permanent element, on the whole, which Christianity added to the liturgy of the synagogue was[...]the sacred meal instituted by Jesus Christ as a perpetual commemoration of himself." This tradition included unaccompanied chant. God Schools Relations with: It

8509-400: The educated middle and upper classes, not only gave the communal actions of the liturgy, but provided almost an unofficial parallel liturgy of silent prayers and devotions for the laity to perform in between and in preparation for the actions. "For the congregation, which would not have heard the sacred words " This is my body ", the elevation was the emotional climax of the mass. It was also

8636-433: The eighth century the Meringovian dynasty had been replaced by the Carolingians in Frankish Gaul. In the late eighth century, Pepin the Short ordered the Roman chant be used throughout his domains. However, some elements of the preceding Gallican rites were fused with it north of the Alps, and the resulting mixed rite was introduced into Rome under the influence of the emperors who succeeded Charlemagne. Gallican influence

8763-502: The eleventh or twelfth century; "before that time incense was burned only during processions (the entrance and Gospel procession)". Private prayers for the priest to say before Communion were another novelty. About the thirteenth century, an elaborate ritual and additional prayers of French origin were added to the Offertory : previously, the only prayer said by the priest was the Secret ; these prayers varied considerably until fixed by Pope Pius V in 1570. The rites had some differences in

8890-407: The end of the first millennium, organ , previously a secular instrument, was introduced as did more complicated singing of components of the Mass by choirs. Important liturgies might be preceded, followed or interrupted by elaborate processions with songs, dramatic rituals involving props, and acted plays or tableau, with the laity trained to understand the symbolism. In several locations, the story of

9017-497: The faithful Pars dynamica (trial procedure) Canonization Election of the Roman Pontiff Academic degrees Journals and Professional Societies Faculties of canon law Canonists Institute of consecrated life Society of apostolic life The main objectives of the council were twofold: Specific issues that were discussed included: Pope Gregory I Pope Gregory I ( Latin : Gregorius I ; c.  540 – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory

9144-598: The feel of the silk of the priest's violet stole in absolution . Some larger churches even had articulated puppet/statues to delight and inspire the congregation. By the Renaissance , churches were full of depictions in art of biblical and hagiographical people and events to illustrate notable days in the church calendar; cathedrals could have artwork on a monumental scale: for example Luca Signorelli and Fra Angelico 's frescoes in Orvieto Cathedral are based around

9271-400: The fighting was mainly in the north, the young Gregory probably saw little of it. Totila sacked and vacated Rome in 546, destroying most of its population, but in 549 he invited those who were still alive to return to the empty and ruined streets. It has been hypothesized that young Gregory and his parents retired during that intermission to their Sicilian estates, to return in 549. The war

9398-569: The first eight sessions (1545–1547), while the twelfth to sixteenth sessions (1551–52) were overseen by Pope Julius III and the seventeenth to twenty-fifth sessions (1562–63) by Pope Pius IV . More than three hundred years passed until the next ecumenical council, the First Vatican Council , was convened in 1869. On 15 March 1517, the Fifth Council of the Lateran closed its activities with

9525-518: The floor of the council or referred to council theologians, was based on a French draft. Jus novum ( c.  1140 -1563) Jus novissimum ( c.  1563 -1918) Jus codicis (1918-present) Other Sacraments Sacramentals Sacred places Sacred times Supra-diocesan/eparchal structures Particular churches Juridic persons Philosophy, theology, and fundamental theory of Catholic canon law Clerics Office Juridic and physical persons Associations of

9652-605: The focus of popular liturgical devotion. Virtually no lay books actually explain the consecration[…](or) the doctrine of transubstantiation.[…]Yet the ritual of the elevation was intended to express the real presence of Christ on the altar." Notable parts of the lay experience of the liturgy (especially the Sunday Mass) included: If any priest says he cannot preach (i.e. give composed or extemporized vernacular sermons), one remedy is: resign; [...] Another remedy, if he does not want that, is: record (i.e., recollect or write out) he in

9779-612: The following September (as was the norm during the Byzantine Papacy ). In Constantinople, Gregory took issue with the aged Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople , who had recently published a treatise, now lost, on the General Resurrection . Eutychius maintained that the resurrected body "will be more subtle than air, and no longer palpable". Gregory opposed and used the palpability of the risen Christ in Luke 24:39 as evidence. As

9906-520: The food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. Justin Martyr ( First Apology 66:1–20 [AD 148]) The earliest surviving account of the celebration of the Eucharist or the Mass in Rome is that of Saint Justin Martyr (died c. 165), in chapter 67 of his First Apology : On

10033-416: The general populace they are still believed to refer to the same person. In art Gregory is usually shown in full pontifical robes with the tiara and double cross , despite his actual habit of dress. Earlier depictions are more likely to show a monastic tonsure and plainer dress. Orthodox icons traditionally show St. Gregory vested as a bishop holding a Gospel Book and blessing with his right hand. It

10160-420: The goods shipped to Rome for distribution in the diaconia . He gave orders to step up production, set quotas and put an administrative structure in place to carry it out. At the bottom was the rusticus who produced the goods. Some rustici were or owned slaves. He turned over part of his produce to a conductor from whom he leased the land. The latter reported to an actionarius , who reported to

10287-404: The last 13 years of his life (590–604) that give us an accurate picture of his work. A truly autobiographical presentation is nearly impossible for Gregory. The development of his mind and personality remains purely speculative in nature. Opinions of the writings of Gregory vary. "His character strikes us as an ambiguous and enigmatic one," historian Norman Cantor observed. "On the one hand he

10414-565: The life of Gregory. Ælfric states, "He was very diligent in God's Commandments." Gregory was born into a wealthy noble Roman family with close connections to the church. His father, Gordianus, a patrician who served as a senator and for a time was the Prefect of the City of Rome, also held the position of Regionarius in the church, though nothing further is known about that position. Gregory's mother, Silvia ,

10541-509: The like had not been seen since the Vandals ". Saint Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel were used for horses. Pope Clement, fearful of the potential for more violence, delayed calling the council. Charles V strongly favoured a council but needed the support of King Francis I of France, who attacked him militarily. Francis I generally opposed a general council due to partial support of

10668-454: The liturgy for the Feast of All Saints . In Northern Europe, such art rarely survived the iconoclasm of the Protestant Reformation . The priests and deacons attended to the ceremony in the chancel or side altar : "For the priest, the most important important parts of the mass would be scripture readings, offertory of bread and wine, consecration, and priest's communion." The laity enjoyed

10795-512: The major continuing policies of his pontificate. Pope Gregory the Great urged his followers on the value of bathing as a bodily need. It is said he was declared a saint immediately after his death by "popular acclamation". In his official documents, Gregory was the first to make extensive use of the term " Servant of the Servants of God " ( servus servorum Dei ) as a papal title, thus initiating

10922-485: The man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that

11049-410: The monastic lifestyle of contemplation. In texts of all genres, especially those produced in his first year as pope, Gregory bemoaned the burden of office and mourned the loss of the undisturbed life of prayer he had once enjoyed as a monk. When he became pope in 590, among his first acts was writing a series of letters disavowing any ambition to the throne of Peter and praising the contemplative life of

11176-569: The monks. At that time, for various reasons, the Holy See had not exerted effective leadership in the West since the pontificate of Gelasius I . The episcopacy in Gaul was drawn from the great territorial families, and identified with them: the parochial horizon of Gregory's contemporary, Gregory of Tours , may be considered typical; in Visigothic Spain the bishops had little contact with Rome; in Italy

11303-461: The office of steward to the property of the poor". In Gregory's time, the Church in Rome received donations of many different kinds: consumables such as food and clothing; investment property: real estate and works of art; and capital goods , or revenue -generating property, such as the Sicilian latifundia , or agricultural estates. The Church already had a system for circulating the consumables to

11430-412: The original edifices during the 17th and 18th centuries) remembers his work. One of the three oratories annexed, the oratory of Saint Silvia, is said to lie over the tomb of Gregory's mother. In England, Gregory, along with Augustine of Canterbury , is revered as the apostle of the land and the source of the nation's conversion. An ancient marble chair, which is believed to be the chair of Pope Gregory

11557-635: The pagan Anglo-Saxons of Britain. It seems that the pope had never forgotten the Anglo-Saxon slaves whom he had once seen in the Roman Forum. The mission was successful, and it was from England that missionaries later set out for the Netherlands and Germany. The preaching of non-heretical Christian faith and the elimination of all deviations from it was a key element in Gregory's worldview, and it constituted one of

11684-565: The papal Church at the time, if necessary with a council in Germany, open and free of the Papacy. After the Pope condemned in Exsurge Domine fifty-two of Luther's theses as heresy , German opinion considered a council the best method to reconcile existing differences. German Catholics, diminished in number, hoped for a council to clarify matters. It took a generation for the council to materialise, partly due to papal fears over potentially renewing

11811-452: The passage of the most important decrees, not more than sixty prelates were present. Although most Protestants did not attend, ambassadors and theologians of Brandenburg, Württemberg, and Strasbourg attended having been granted an improved safe conduct . Pope Paul III (1534–1549), seeing that the Protestant Reformation was no longer confined to a few preachers, but had won over various princes, especially in Germany, to its ideas, desired

11938-458: The poor: associated with each of the main city churches was a deacon . He was given a building from which the poor could apply for assistance at any time. The circumstances in which Gregory became pope in 590 were of ruination. The Lombards held the greater part of Italy. Their depredations had brought the economy to a standstill. They camped nearly at the gates of Rome. The city itself was crowded with refugees from all walks of life, who lived in

12065-845: The prayers on the boundaries of the Mass: Pre-Tridentine prayers said mostly in the sacristy or during the procession to the altar as part of the priest's preparation were formalized in the 1570 missal of Pope Pius V as the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar ; prayers that followed the Ite missa est changed or changed position (for example, in the 1570 edition, the Canticle of the Three Young Men and Psalm 150 in Pius V's edition

12192-437: The president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. In chapter 65, Justin Martyr says that the kiss of peace was given before the bread and the wine mixed with water were brought to "the president of

12319-466: The priest was to say while leaving the altar were later omitted.) Between 1478 and 1501, the bishops of 52 dioceses, including the primates of France, Castile, England, the Holy Roman Empire and Poland each independently published, in print, official liturgical texts for their diocese, because of the extent of parish and monastery variation. In some places, this involved stripping variations back to

12446-582: The propers constructed freely: according to historian Yitzhak Hen "each bishop, abbot or priest was free to choose the prayers he found suitable." Cross-pollenation and recycling of liturgical prayers was common, as priests and bishops took sacramentaries (manuscripts of liturgical prayers) between regions, and new prayers were composed. Numerous regional styles of chant thrived, including Old Roman chant , Gallican chant , Ambrosian chant (still in use) and Beneventan chant . Following Gregory I came substantial changes in what became known as Gregorian chant . In

12573-478: The same as the anointing of Jesus performed by a woman that Luke (alone among the synoptic Gospels ) recounts as a sinner. Preaching on the passage in the Gospel of Luke , Gregory remarked: "This woman, whom Luke calls a sinner and John calls Mary, I think is the Mary from whom Mark reports that seven demons were cast out." Modern biblical scholars distinguish these as three separate figures/persons. However, within

12700-610: The same wording as now, by the year 400; the Communicantes , the Hanc igitur , and the post-consecration Memento etiam and Nobis quoque were added in the fifth century. Before the pontificate of Pope Gregory I (590–604), the Roman Mass rite underwent many changes, including a "complete recasting of the Canon " (a term that in this context means the Anaphora or Eucharistic Prayer). At

12827-470: The scribe, Bebo of Seeon Abbey , presenting the manuscript to the Holy Roman Emperor , Henry II . In the upper left the author is seen writing the text under divine inspiration. Usually the dove is shown whispering in Gregory's ear for a clearer composition. The late medieval subject of the Mass of St. Gregory shows a version of a 7th-century story that was elaborated in later hagiography . Gregory

12954-415: The streets and had few of the necessities of life. The seat of government was far from Rome in Constantinople and appeared unable to undertake the relief of Italy. In 590, Gregory could wait for Constantinople no longer. He organized the resources of the church into an administration for general relief. In doing so he evidenced a talent for and intuitive understanding of the principles of accounting, which

13081-508: The subject of the legitimacy of John III Scholasticus , who had occupied the Patriarchate of Constantinople for twelve years prior to the return of Eutychius (who had been driven out by Justinian). Gregory turned to cultivating connections with the Byzantine elite of the city, where he became extremely popular with the city's upper class, "especially aristocratic women". Ekonomou surmises that "while Gregory may have become spiritual father to

13208-515: The territories which had de facto fallen under the administration of the papacy were beset by the violent Lombard dukes and the rivalry of the Byzantines in the Exarchate of Ravenna and in the south. Pope Gregory had strong convictions on missions: "Almighty God places good men in authority that He may impart through them the gifts of His mercy to their subjects. And this we find to be the case with

13335-775: The theological views of Patriarch Eutychius of Constantinople before the emperor Tiberius II . Although he was the first pope from a monastic background, his prior political experiences may have helped him to be a talented administrator. During his papacy, his administration greatly surpassed that of the emperors in improving the welfare of the people of Rome. Gregory regained papal authority in Spain and France and sent missionaries to England , including Augustine of Canterbury and Paulinus of York . The realignment of barbarian allegiance to Rome from their Arian Christian alliances shaped medieval Europe. Gregory saw Franks , Lombards , and Visigoths align with Rome in religion. He also combated

13462-659: The three periods varied considerably. The council was small to begin with, opening with only about 30 bishops. It increased toward the close, but never reached the number of the First Council of Nicaea (which had 318 members) nor of the First Vatican Council (which numbered 744). The decrees were signed in 1563 by 255 members, the highest attendance of the whole council, including four papal legates, two cardinals, three patriarchs, twenty-five archbishops, and 168 bishops, two-thirds of whom were Italians. The Italian and Spanish prelates were vastly preponderant in power and numbers. At

13589-605: The time of Gregory I, regional customisation of liturgies were encouraged in missionary areas: according to Bede Gregory instructed Augustine of Canterbury to select "any customs in the Roman or the Gaulish Church or any other Church which may be more pleasing to Almighty God", and to teach them to the church of the English. In Gaul, the Merovingian period in (approx. 500-750) has been called "the experimental age of liturgy," with

13716-513: The two theological systems. This proposal met the opposition of the Pope for it gave recognition to Protestants and also elevated the secular Princes of Europe above the clergy on church matters. Faced with a Turkish attack, Charles held the support of the Protestant German rulers, all of whom delayed the opening of the Council of Trent. In the to-and-fro of medieval politics , Pope Pius II , in his bull Execrabilis (1460) and his reply to

13843-417: The vernacular. Dates of switching to the vernacular, in whole or in part, varied widely by location. In some Lutheran areas this took three hundred years, as choral liturgies were sung by schoolchildren who were learning Latin. Historian Virginia Reinburg has noted that the medieval eucharistic liturgy as experienced by (French) lay people, and shown in their prayer books, was a distinct experience from that of

13970-461: The week the naked text of the Sunday's gospel, that he understands the gross story, and tell it to the people, that is if he understands Latin and does it every week of the year. And if he understands no Latin, go he to one of his neighbours that understands, which will charitably expound it to him, and thus edify he his flock[...] There are few records about the liturgy in remote, rural areas. This table

14097-425: The woman, Pateria, forty solidi for the children's shoes and forty bushels of grain". Soon he was replacing administrators who would not cooperate with those who would and at the same time adding more in a build-up to a great plan that he had in mind. He understood that expenses must be matched by income. To pay for his increased expenses he liquidated the investment property and paid the expenses in cash according to

14224-504: The world, which the real Gregory, despite his reclusive intent, was seldom allowed to have. This scene is shown as a version of the traditional Evangelist portrait (where the Evangelists' symbols are also sometimes shown dictating) from the tenth century onwards. An early example is the dedication miniature from an eleventh-century manuscript of Gregory's Moralia in Job . The miniature shows

14351-412: Was Latin, which had become the language of the Roman liturgy in the late 4th century. However, there have been exceptions: At various times there were calls for the prayers of the Mass to be in the vernacular, such as by Erasmus . The Pre-Tridentine Mass survived post-Trent in some Anglican and Lutheran areas with some local modification from the basic Roman rite until the time when worship switched to

14478-475: Was accused of imparting "theatrical elements and stage mannerisms" to the Frankish liturgy. The medieval lay experience was often highly sensory: churches featured chanting and singing, bells, high-tech organs, incense, busy paintings, brilliant robes, rare colours, shiny utensils, clouds of saints and angels, and stained-glass light, not to mention the taste of the host, the splashing of baptism, or even, perhaps,

14605-530: Was an able and determined administrator, a skilled and clever diplomat, a leader of the greatest sophistication and vision; but on the other hand, he appears in his writings as a superstitious and credulous monk , hostile to learning, crudely limited as a theologian, and excessively devoted to saints, miracles , and relics ". Gregory was among those who identified Mary Magdalene with Mary of Bethany , whom John 12:1-8 recounts as having anointed Jesus with precious ointment, an event that some interpret as being

14732-417: Was begun especially as an attempt to prevent the formation of a general council including Protestants , as had been demanded by some in France. The council was reconvened by Pope Pius IV (1559–1565) for the last time, meeting from 18 January 1562 at Santa Maria Maggiore , and continued until its final adjournment on 4 December 1563. It closed with a series of ritual acclamations honouring the reigning Pope,

14859-401: Was forced to rely on Scripture because he could not read the untranslated Greek authoritative works. Gregory left Constantinople for Rome in 585, returning to his monastery on the Caelian Hill . Gregory was elected by acclamation to succeed Pelagius II in 590, when the latter died of the plague spreading through the city. Gregory was approved by an Imperial iussio from Constantinople

14986-410: Was high." He had thick, "subdivided" lips and a chin "of a comely prominence" and "beautiful hands". In the modern era, Gregory is often depicted as a man at the border, poised between the Roman and Germanic worlds, between East and West, and above all, perhaps, between the ancient and medieval epochs. On his father's death, Gregory converted his family villa into a monastery dedicated to Andrew

15113-527: Was no hope of reassembling the council while the very anti-Protestant Paul IV was Pope. During the second period, the Protestants present asked for a renewed discussion on points already defined and for bishops to be released from their oaths of allegiance to the Pope. When the last period began, all intentions of conciliating the Protestants was gone and the Jesuits had become a strong force. This last period

15240-401: Was not to be invented for centuries. The church already had basic accounting documents: every expense was recorded in journals called regesta , "lists" of amounts, recipients and circumstances. Revenue was recorded in polyptici , " books ". Many of these polyptici were ledgers recording the operating expenses of the church and the assets , the patrimonia . A central papal administration,

15367-505: Was over in Rome by 552, and a subsequent invasion of the Franks was defeated in 554. Like most young men of his position in Roman society, Gregory was well educated, learning grammar, rhetoric, the sciences, literature, and law; he excelled in all these fields. Gregory of Tours reported that "in grammar, dialectic and rhetoric ... he was second to none". He wrote correct Latin but did not read or write Greek. He knew Latin authors, natural science, history, mathematics and music and had such

15494-476: Was part of the Roman delegation (both lay and clerical) that arrived in Constantinople in 578 to ask the emperor for military aid against the Lombards . With the Byzantine military focused on the East , these entreaties proved unsuccessful; in 584, Pelagius II wrote to Gregory as apocrisiarius , detailing the hardships that Rome was experiencing under the Lombards and asking him to ask Emperor Maurice to send

15621-634: Was poor. The council was postponed indefinitely on 21 May 1539. Pope Paul III then initiated several internal Church reforms while Emperor Charles V convened with Protestants and Cardinal Gasparo Contarini at the Diet of Regensburg , to reconcile differences. Mediating and conciliatory formulations were developed on certain topics. In particular, a two-part doctrine of justification was formulated that would later be rejected at Trent. Unity failed between Catholic and Protestant representatives "because of different concepts of Church and Justification ". However,

15748-472: Was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church . Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the embodiment of the Counter-Reformation . The Council issued key statements and clarifications of the Church's doctrine and teachings, including scripture , the biblical canon , sacred tradition , original sin , justification , salvation , the sacraments ,

15875-823: Was the last good pope. He is the patron saint of musicians and teachers. Gregory was born around 540 in Rome , then recently reconquered by the Eastern Roman Empire from the Ostrogoths . His parents named him Gregorius , which according to Ælfric of Eynsham in An Homily on the Birth-Day of S. Gregory, "is a Greek Name, which signifies in the Latin Tongue, Vigilantius , that is in English, Watchful". The medieval writer who provided this etymology did not hesitate to apply it to

16002-399: Was to plead Rome's cause before the emperor, there seems to have been little left for him to do once imperial policy toward Italy became evident. Papal representatives who pressed their claims with excessive vigor could quickly become a nuisance and find themselves excluded from the imperial presence altogether". Gregory had already drawn an imperial rebuke for his lengthy canonical writings on

16129-415: Was well-born, and had a married sister, Pateria, in Sicily . His mother and two paternal aunts, Trasilla and Emiliana , are honored by Catholic and Orthodox churches as saints. Gregory's great-grandfather had been Pope Felix III . Gregory's election to the throne of St. Peter made his family the most distinguished clerical dynasty of the period. The family owned and resided in a villa suburbana on

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