Palmer: Origines Liturgicæ 09.
Vol. I: Diss. on Primitive Liturgies, Sect. IX.

[143]

| Section VIII | Contents | Section X |

Project Canterbury

SECTION IX.

LITURGY OF GAUL.

 

IT has been long known that the ancient liturgy of Gaul differed from that of Rome, though the precise nature of the difference was unknown, until Bona and Thomasius discovered and published some ancient monuments of the Gallican liturgy¹. To the learned Mabillon we are indebted for a valuable commentary and observations on these remains²; and at a later period, Martene published an ancient treatise on the Gallican liturgy, professing to have been written by Germanus, bishop of Paris, in the sixth century, which materially elucidates this subject³.

Mabillon traces the composition of the Gallican liturgy principally to three authors; Musæus, presbyter of Marseilles; Sidonius, bishop of Auvergne; and Hilary, bishop of Poictiers. Had this learned writer said "missal," instead of "liturgy," it would [144] probably have been more correct; for we must in the present instance, as before, distinguish between these two things. Musaeus, who died after the middle of the fifth century, is said by Gennadius to have composed for Eustasius, bishop of Marseilles, an excellent and considerable book of sacraments, with lessons, psalms, and forms of supplicating God, and attesting (contestandi) his beneficence⁴. This word contestandi is referred by Mabillon to the ancient Gallican custom of calling the preface, which begins Vere dignum &c., by the name of contestatio, a term which we find applied to it in ancient MSS. of the Gallican liturgy⁵. Sidonius, bishop of Auvergne, who died A.D. 494, also composed a book of Sacraments; and Gregory of Tours, in the sixth century, wrote a preface to it⁶. Hilary bishop of Poictiers, who died A.D. 368, is said by Jerome to have composed a book of hymns, and another of mysteries, that is, of sacraments⁷.

Such seem to have been the authors of the Gallican missal, which contained the liturgy adapted to the various feast days. This liturgy at the close of the sixth century was different from the Roman, as appears by the interrogations of Augustine, first archbishop of Canterbury, to Gregory, patriarch of Rome. He asks, "why the customs of churches are different, when their faith is the same, and one custom of liturgy prevails in the church of Rome, another in those of Gaul⁸?" Abbas Hilduinus, in [145] his Epistle to Louis the Pious, prefixed to the Areopagitica, speaks of ancient MSS. then extant, containing the old Gallican rite, which had prevailed from the first reception of the Christian faith in Gaul, until the Roman was introduced⁹. The Roman rites were introduced in place of the ancient Gallican, in the time of the emperor Charlemagne. A beginning had been made with the Roman chanting and psalmody, which king Pepin introduced into the Gallican church; as Paul, bishop of Rome, intimates, in the epistle which, with the Roman books of anthems and responses, he sent to that prince. Pepin also sent young men to Rome, for instruction in chanting¹⁰. Thus the Roman chant and psalmody were introduced, which was very displeasing to the members of many churches¹¹, who bad not the same political attachment and obligations to the Roman patriarch as their king. Afterwards Charlemagne, son of Pepin, who was also politically indebted to the bishop of Rome, obtained from pope Hadrian the sacramentary of Gregory, or the ancient Roman sacramentary, improved and revised by that bishop; and subsequently he ordained, by an imperial edict, that every priest should celebrate the liturgy in the Roman manner¹². This [146] exertion of royal power was probably very disagreeable to many of the churches of Gaul; and we find, in fact, that not very long after, in the time of the emperor Charles the Bald, there seems to have been some question whether the ancient rite was not to be resumed again¹³. However, the liturgy that was introduced being orthodox, and there being no valid ground of objection to it in itself, the churches of Gaul obeyed the decree of Charlemagne, and gave their sanction to it. Thus the ancient Gallican liturgy was exchanged for the Roman; "whether," as Mabillon says, "it was effected by the Roman pontiffs, who took every care within their power to bring all other churches to an accordance with the Roman; or whether it was done by Charlemagne, to please them."¹⁴ And being once effected, the power of the Roman see, which now became very great, prevented any restitution of the ancient rite.

From the time of Charlemagne, all the sacramentaries were taken from the Roman order; and so effectually was the ancient liturgy abolished, that Charles the Bald, grandson of Charlemagne, appears to have seen the peculiar rites of the Gallican church for the first time celebrated by priests from Toledo in Spain, where the same liturgy as the [147] Gallican was still used. This ancient liturgy afterwards fell into obscurity; and until the time of Bona, who found a MS. of it, the opinions of learned men as to its nature were various and uncertain.

I have thus presented the substance of Mabillon’s investigations relative to the antiquity of the Gallican missal, and added whatever remarks seemed to me calculated to illustrate the subject. The result of the whole may be briefly stated as follows; that at the end of the eighth century there was a liturgy used in the churches of Gaul so universally, as to be called the Gallican liturgy, or rite; and so anciently, as to be esteemed coeval with the introduction of Christianity into that country. We are not to suppose, when we are informed that Musæus, Sidonius, and Hilary composed books of sacraments, missæ, or mysteries, that they effected any alteration in the liturgy of Gaul. In ecclesiastical writings such expressions imply nothing more than the composition of a variety of collects and prayers for the various feast days, to be used on those days instead of the ordinary portions of the liturgy which corresponded to them. Thus we find that Gregory the Great is said to have composed a book of sacraments; but this is explained to mean nothing more than the composition of new collects instead of old ones, or the alteration and abbreviation of those previously extant. There is therefore no sort of proof that Musæus, Sidonius, or Hilary made any alteration in the Gallican liturgy extant before their time; but it is utterly improbable, if not impossible, that they should have done so. If these persons had each composed a different liturgy, three liturgies would have been used in Gaul; but we find, [148] that in the following ages there was only one rite prevalent there, which was esteemed very ancient¹⁵; and that too without any intimation then, or in later times, that a different liturgy had formerly prevailed in any part of Gaul. Besides this, we have no reason to think that the persons above named had such influence as to cause their own liturgy to be universally received by the Gallican church. And, finally, if any liturgy composed by an individual in the fourth or fifth century had been adopted by the whole Gallican church, we should assuredly have found the name of the author affixed to the Gallican liturgy; but of this we find no sort of trace in the monuments of that church. We may therefore conclude, that the main order and substance of the liturgy was not altered by any of these authors, but remained substantially the same in the fifth century, as it had been before the time of Hilary of Poictiers.

If then it appears probable that the same rite had been used all through Gaul from time immemorial, and if no decree of any council, no authority of any patriarch or prince, can be cited to explain this general conformity, we must look to the only remaining cause by which it could have been produced, namely, to the derivation of all the Gallican churches and liturgies from some one source. That [149] source could not have been the church of Rome, or the church of Milan; for the Gallican rites differed materially from theirs: but the church of Lyons may well claim the Gallican liturgy as her own.

If it should be true that Lyons was the first Christian church of Gaul, and that she sent missionaries through a large portion of that country long before any missionaries from Rome came there; it will appear certain that her influence must have been extensively diffused through Gaul, which would render it probable that any missionaries from Rome would conform themselves to her liturgy. I proceed to shew, in the first place, that Lyons was the first Christian church in Gaul. The question which has been debated with vehemence by French divines, as to whether there were any sees in France, founded by the Apostles, seems to me capable of an easy termination. No authority on this subject can be so powerful as that of Irenæus, who lived in Gaul, and was separated by only one link from the Apostles themselves. Now in his work against heresies, amongst other arguments against the Valentinians, who had obtained a footing even in Gaul, he refers to the doctrines or traditions of the churches founded by the Apostles; such as Rome, Smyrna, and Ephesus; as a sufficient means of proving the falsehood of the Valentinian doctrines¹⁶. If there had been any apostolical churches in Gaul, at Lyons, Arles, Vienne, or Paris, as has been alleged, Irenæeus would not have referred the Valentinians only to Rome, and the eastern apostolical churches, but would have directed them to the nearest repositories of apostolical [150] tradition. His subject required him to mention any such churches in Gaul, had they been in existence; and yet neither he nor Tertullian, who shortly after used a similar argument¹⁷, ever alluded to any apostolical church in Gaul. If no Gallican church be of apostolical antiquity, there is no difficulty in proving Lyons the oldest church in Gaul. It is universally admitted that Lyons was founded at least in the age after the apostolic. Pothinus, bishop of Lyons, died in prison A.D. 177, at upwards of ninety years of age. Irenæus, a disciple of Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, succeeded; and Eusebius, in little more than a hundred years after his time, says that he was bishop of the churches of Gaul¹⁸. This expression implies at least that he was Metropolitan of Gaul, but it more probably means that he was the only bishop in Gaul. This last interpretation is supported by eminent divines, and confirmed by the silence of all authentic history, with regard to the existence of any other bishop in Gaul at that time, or even long after. The two ecclesiastical historians, Sulpitius Severus and Gregory of Tours, who both lived in Gaul, the former in the fourth, the latter in the sixth century, confirm this opinion. Sulpitius speaks of the martyrdoms of Lyons, A.D. 177, as being the first martyrdoms seen in Gaul; "for," he adds, "the religion of God was received late beyond the Alps."¹⁹ Gregory of Tours mentions no [151] bishop of Gaul, as living before the time of Pothinus, bishop of Lyons, and places the foundation of all the principal sees of Gaul a hundred years after that period²⁰. The authentic acts of the martyrdom of Saturninus, mention that on his arrival at Toulouse, (about the year 250, or not long after,) only a few churches had risen in some cities by the devotion of a few Christians²¹. If Christian churches were rare in Gaul in the third century, they must have been still more so in the second; and in fact, Lyons is the only see which can shew an unquestionable succession from the second century. "We wish," says the learned Tillemont, "that we could shew from history, that there were really several bishops in Gaul, but we find nothing on which we can depend in this affair with any certainty."²² Lyons may therefore justly be considered the oldest Christian church in Gaul. Secondly, it appears that the church of Lyons very early sent missionaries to convert the pagan nations of Gaul. It seems probable that Benignus, Andochius, Thyrsus, and Felix, disciples of Polycarp, preached the Gospel at Marseilles, Lyons, Langres, Saulieu, and Dijon²³. At Autun they converted Symphorian, who suffered martyrdom in the reign of Aurelius, about A.D. 180, according to Ruinart²⁴. It appears that Irenæus, at a later period, instructed several disciples to preach the Gospel in Gaul amongst whom [152] were Ferreolus a presbyter, Ferrution a deacon, Felix a presbyter, Fortunatus and Achilles deacons. The two first were sent to preach the Gospel at Bezançon, and the three last, at Valence in Dauphiné. It is probable that they converted a large number of the inhabitants of these towns, and suffered martyrdom A.D. 211 or 212²⁵. The church of Lyons, therefore, from her foundation, sent missionaries into various parts of Gaul to the north, south, and west; and their labours extended over a space of three or four hundred miles in length. Without doubt, the piety and knowledge of Irenaeus gave a new vigour to the Gallican church. He himself says, that in his time there were churches among the Celts, and in Germany²⁶. Tertullian, a few years after, says, that divers nations of the Gauls were submitted to Jesus Christ²⁷, yet there is no reason to think that what was done there, had been effected by any but by the disciples of the church of Lyons. Whatever churches. then, were founded during the second and early part of the third century in Gaul, seem to have received their ministry and ecclesiastical rites from Lyons. Thus room was left for a gradual extension of the liturgy of Lyons through a large part of France; and under these circumstances we may reasonably suppose, that the missionaries who appear to have come from Rome to Gaul about the middle of the third century or not long after²⁸, did not insist on introducing the Roman rite, but acquiesced in the [153] ancient liturgy and rites of the Gallican church. That they did so, we can have little or no doubt; for how otherwise can we account for all the churches of Gaul in two centuries afterwards²⁹ cordially agreeing in one form of liturgy, and that form quite different from the Roman? If these missionaries had introduced the Roman liturgy, we should assuredly have found that some great disputes on the subject of the liturgy occurred in Gaul about the third or fourth century. There would have been a tradition in Gaul, that at some remote period the liturgy was in some places altered, the Roman abolished, and the Gallican introduced; but there is no trace of any such tradition. If then these missionaries received the liturgy of Gaul, and if it has appeared probable that the liturgy they received was no other than that which was used at Lyons; we see that the church of Lyons may well be regarded as the source from which the ancient Gallican liturgy was derived.

It may next be inquired, Whence did the church of Lyons derive her liturgy? To trace the liturgy of this church is to trace her origin. In the present instance, there is but little difficulty in the task. It is admitted by all the learned, and supported by irresistible evidence, that the church of Lyons was founded by missionaries from Asia. Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, was a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna. Several missionaries of the church of Lyons and the neighbourhood are also said in memorials of authority to have been disciples of Polycarp³⁰. [154] Pothinus, the predecessor of Irenaeus, seems to have come from the east; and several of the early members of the church testify by their names an eastern origin³¹. Accordingly when the great persecution took place in A.D. 177, and their bishop, with many other Christians, suffered martyrdom, the church of Vienne and Lyons wrote an account of their sufferings to the churches of Asia and Phrygia, and to no others.

It was therefore from Asia that the church of Lyons derived her ecclesiastical traditions; and there can be no doubt that they of Asia received their traditions from St. John the beloved disciple. It appears from authentic history, that St. John exercised a diligent superintendence over the churches of Asia and Phrygia³²; and hence probably, in conjunction with the civil rank of Ephesus, arose the authority of the bishop of that city, who sat in the chair of John, and exercised patriarchal or metropolitical jurisdiction over the churches of Asia, Phrygia, and other adjoining provinces. We need not wonder, then, that the churches of Asia contended sharply in the second century for that custom of observing Easter, which had been delivered to them from ancient times³³. United to the natural unwillingness to change ancient customs, which men have generally felt, was the reverence with which they thought of their apostolical ruler St. John, and of the holy men who had been his disciples and followers. Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, in his Epistle to Victor of Rome, and the Roman church, says, that "John, who rested on the [155] bosom of the Lord, who was a priest, and wore the petalon, who was a martyr and teacher, and fell asleep at Ephesus; Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna; Thraseas, bishop of Eumenia; Sagaris, bishop of Laodicea; the blessed Papirius; Melito, bishop of Sardis; all kept the feast of Easter on the fourteenth day."³⁴ It is plain, from all these things, that the churches of Asia received their ecclesiastical customs and liturgy from St. John, rather than from any other of the Apostles.

Under these circumstances, it would appear probable that the ancient Gallican liturgy and rites were originally derived from St. John; and some testimonies may be found which will confirm this idea. In the seventh century the churches of Britain and Ireland differed from the Roman and other western churches in the celebration of Easter. This difference was caused by the adoption of different paschal cycles. In the celebrated conference on this subject, held at Strenaeshalch in Britain, between Colman and Wilfrid, Colman defended the British and Irish rule, saying, that they derived it by tradition from St. John. Wilfrid very justly replied, that they did not derive this tradition from St. John, for they did not, like him, keep the feast on the fourteenth day of the first month, without any regard to the day of the week on which it fell³⁵. It might appear from this, that Colman had knowingly stated an untruth: but Aldhelm, abbas Meldensis, afterwards bishop of Sherborn, about the end of the same century, enables us to redeem the character of Colman from this charge. It appears [156] from him, that the British and Irish derived their paschal cycle from that of Severus Sulpitius, a monk of Gaul³⁶, and it is this tradition which the Irish and British ascribed to St. John. The simple reason, then, for Colman’s reference to St. John was, that the ancient Gallican customs were esteemed to be derived from that Apostle.

The cycle of Sulpitius might have been introduced into Ireland by Patrick, who conversed with the holy Martin, bishop of Tours: and amongst the disciples of the latter was Sulpitius, and also Germanus, the principal instructor of Patrick³⁷. The same Germanus may have introduced the cycle of Sulpitius into the British church, when at the request of the British clergy, and by direction of the council of Arles, he came, A. D. 429 and 447, with Lupus and Severus, to oppose the Pelagian heresy in Britain³⁸.

However this may appear, we are certain that the tradition of the Irish, and probably of the British churches was, that St. John actually originated the Gallican rites. The ancient Irish author, whose tract was published by Spelman, is by all critics allowed to have written not later than the beginning of the eighth century. He affirms it [157] positively thus: "John the Evangelist first chanted the Gallican course," (i.e. offices or liturgy, which, as Mabillon observes, this author seems to confound together,) "then afterwards the blessed Polycarp, disciple of St. John; then afterwards, thirdly, Irenæus, who was bishop of Lyons in Gaul, chanted the same course in Gaul."³⁹ This author distinguishes the Gallican course from the Roman, St. Mark’s, the Irish and British, the Oriental, the Ambrosian, and that of Benedict the abbot. In the next section it will be seen that there are reasons for thinking that the Spanish liturgy must have been originally derived from the Gallican in the third century; and combining this proof of the antiquity of the Gallican liturgy with the tradition of the ancient British and Irish churches above noticed; remembering the testimony of Hilduinus Abbas, that the same liturgy had prevailed from the first introduction of Christianity into Gaul; and reflecting that Lyons, the first church in Gaul, derived her liturgy from the churches ruled by St. John, that there is no trace or tradition of any other liturgy having prevailed in Gaul in primitive times, that this ancient liturgy differed from the Roman, the Alexandrian, and the oriental; it appears altogether probable that the Gallican liturgy was derived originally from the instructions given by St. John to the churches of Asia and Phrygia, and therefore that we may invest it with the dignity of an apostolical liturgy. In treating of the liturgy of Ephesus in the fifth section of this Dissertation, I have remarked, that although the great oriental liturgy has long been used in the churches of Asia [158] and Phrygia, yet there are reasons for thinking that, up to the fourth century a different form was used there; and on consulting the remains of the Gallican liturgy, I have shewn that it is very likely that the council of Laodicea, held in Phrygia in the fourth century, introduced the great oriental liturgy in place of another which resembled the ancient Gallican. If this be so, we may feel almost certain that the Gallican liturgy was derived from a period of apostolical antiquity.

Having examined the origin and history of the Gallican liturgy, I may now proceed to state its order and substance, according to the monuments which still remain. As to the very words of this liturgy during the primitive ages, or indeed at any time, we need not attempt to seek for them. The Gallican missals admitted of more variety in the method of performing divine service than any other. The number and order of the lessons and prayers, the main substance and tendency of some of them, the words commemorating our Redeemer’s deeds and words at the institution, the hymn Tersanctus, the Lord’s Prayer, and a few minor particulars, seem to have been all that was fixed.

Germanus informs us, that the liturgy began with an anthem followed by Gloria Patri⁴⁰, after which the deacon proclaimed silence, and a mutual salutation [159] having passed between the priest and people, the hymn Trisagios, in imitation of the Greek rite, was sung, and was followed by Kyrie eleëson⁴¹, and the song of Zacharias the prophet beginning Benedictus⁴², after which the priest read a collect, entitled Post prophetiam in the Gallican missals. The office so far, though ancient, cannot be traced to the most primitive ages of the Gallican church, as doubtless the liturgy originally began with the lessons from holy Scripture, which I now proceed to consider.

A lesson from the prophets or Old Testament was first read⁴³, then one from the Epistles⁴⁴, which was succeeded by the hymn of the three children, Benedicite⁴⁵, and the holy Gospel⁴⁶. In latter times the book of the Gospels was carried in procession to the pulpit by the deacon, who was accompanied by seven men bearing lighted tapers, and the choir [160] sung anthems before and after the Gospel⁴⁷. After the Gospel was ended, the priest or bishop preached⁴⁸, and the deacon made prayers for the people⁴⁹, (probably in imitation of the Greek liturgies, where a litany of the kind occurs after the Gospel⁵⁰,) and the priest recited a collect, Post precem⁵¹. Then the deacon proclaimed to the catechumens to depart⁵², but whether any previous prayers were made for them seems doubtful. Germanus speaks of its being an ancient custom of the church to pray for catechumens in this place, but his words do not absolutely prove that there were particular prayers for them in the Gallican church, and no other author refers to the custom, as far as I am aware. The catechumens, and those under penitential discipline, having been dismissed⁵³, silence was again enjoined, and an address to the people on the subject of the day, and entitled Præfatio, was recited by the priest⁵⁴, who then repeated another prayer⁵⁵. The oblations of the people were next received⁵⁶, while the choir sang an offertory anthem, termed sonum by Germanus. The elements were placed on the holy table, and covered with a large and close veil [161] or pall⁵⁷, and in latter times the priest here invoked the blessing of God on the gifts⁵⁸. Then the tablets called diptychs, containing the names of the living and departed saints, were recited, and the priest made a collect "post nomina."⁵⁹ Then followed the salutation and kiss of peace; after which the priest read the collect, "ad pacem."⁶⁰ The mystical liturgy now commenced, corresponding to the Eastern "prosphora," or "anaphora," and the Roman preface and canon. It began with the form "Sursum corda,"⁶¹ &c. and then followed the preface or thanksgiving, called "contestatio," or "immolatio,"⁶² in which God’s benefits to the human race were variously commemorated; and at the proper place the people all joined in singing the hymn Tersanctus.⁶³ The thanksgiving then [162] continued in the form called "post sanctus,"⁶⁴ which terminated with the commemoration of our Saviour’s deeds and words at the institution of this sacrament⁶⁵. Afterwards the priest recited a collect, entitled "post mysterium," or "post secreta," probably because, the above commemoration was not committed to writing, on account of its being esteemed to have great efficacy in the consecration. The collect, "post mysterium," often contained a verbal oblation of the bread and wine, and an invocation of God to send his Holy Spirit to sanctify them into the sacraments of Christ’s body and blood⁶⁶. After this the bread was broken⁶⁷, and the Lord’s Prayer repeated by the priest and people, being introduced and concluded with appropriate prayers, made by the priest alone⁶⁸. The priest or bishop [163] then blessed the people, to which they answered, Amen⁶⁹. Communion afterwards took place, during which a psalm or anthem was sung⁷⁰. The priest repeated a collect of thanksgiving⁷¹, and the service terminated.

It is obvious that this liturgy was an independent rite, and that it cannot be said to have been derived from the oriental, the Alexandrian, or the Roman forms. However, it came nearer to the oriental form than to either of the others. The chief difference between the Gallican and oriental liturgies consisted in this, that the prayers for the living and departed members of the church, occurred after the thanksgiving and consecration in the oriental liturgy while in the Gallican they preceded the salutation of peace and thanksgiving. There is another difference which has been already noticed, namely, that the Gallican had not the three prayers of the faithful, which seem to have been introduced into the oriental liturgy about the early part of the fourth century.

With regard to the form of consecration, some difficulty occurs. The more sacred part of this form, which contains our Lord’s words, is not written in any of the Gallican missals: however, we may not unreasonably suppose that it accorded with the corresponding portion of the Spanish or [164] Mosarabic liturgy. But a greater difficulty occurs with regard to the portion of the Gallican liturgy which immediately followed our Saviour’s words. The collect called "post secreta" sometimes contains, like the oriental rite, a verbal oblation of the gifts to God, and an invocation of God to send his holy Spirit, and make the elements the mystical body and blood of Christ. In other missae, however, one or both of these forms are wanting. That the more solemn part of the liturgy in the Gallican church contained some such invocation, in addition to the thanksgiving and words of institution, is, I think, to be derived from the words of Irenæus: "The bread which is of the earth, having received the invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the eucharist."⁷² This invocation seems to imply more than a thanksgiving, it is such a "calling upon" God as is supposed to be "received" by the bread. What can we more naturally understand by this expression, than the invocation which is found in all the oriental and Alexandrian liturgies, "that God will send his holy Spirit to consecrate the bread and wine?" This form has always been called the "invocation" by the oriental churches, as Grabe shews from the writings of Cyril of Jerusalem, and Basil⁷³; and many of the oriental liturgies give it the same appellation⁷⁴. It seems also, that the Spanish or Mosarabic liturgy, which was the same as the Gallican, contained some invocation of this [165] kind; for Isidore Hispalensis says, that the "sixth prayer" of the liturgy, which corresponded with the Gallican "post secreta," "was the confirmation of the sacrament, that the oblation which is offered to God, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, may be confirmed as the sacrament of the body and blood."⁷⁵ I think, therefore, that there are reasons enough to warrant us in holding the opinion, that the liturgy of the Gallican church originally contained always some invocation or prayer to God for the sanctification of the elements an invocation which we actually find in several of the ancient Gallican "missæ."

 

1 Bona, Rer. Lit. lib. i. c. 12. Thomasius, Codices Sacramentorum 900 annis vetustiores. Rom. 1680.

2 De Liturgia Gallicana. Paris. 1685.

3 Martene, Thesaurus Anecdotorum, tom. v. p. 85, &c.

4 Gennad deVir. illustr. c. 81.

5 Mabillon, Lit. Gall. p. 28.

6 Gregor. Turonens. Hist. Franc. lib. ii. c. 22.

7 Hieron. de Scriptor. c. 1000.

8 "Cum una sit fides, sunt ecclesiarum diversæ consuetudines, et altera consuetudo missarum in sancta Romana ecclesia, atque altera in Galliarum tenetur." Bed. Hist. Eccl. lib. i. c. 27.

9 "Cui adstipulari videntur antiquissimi et nimia pene vetustate consumpti, missales libri, continentes missæ ordinem more Gallico, qui ab initio receptæ fidei, usu in hac occidentali plaga est habitus, usque quo tenorem, quo nunc utitur, Romanum susceperit." Hilduin. Areopagit. apud Surium, Octob. 9.

10 Mabillon, Lit. Gall. p. 16. Carol. Mag. adv. Imag. lib. i. c. 6.

11 Carol. Magn. adv. Imagines, lib. i. c. 6. "Plures ecclesiæ quæ quondam apostolicæ sedis traditionem in psallendo suscipere recusabant, nunc eam cum omni diligentia amplectantur." p. 54. ed. 1549.

12 Mabill. Lit. Gall. p. 17.

13 "Usque ad tempora abavi nostri Pipini, Gallicanæ ecclesiæ aliter quam Romana vel Mediolanensis ecclesia divina celebrabant officia sicut vidimus et audivimus ab iis, qui ex partibus Toletanæ ecclesiæ ad nos venientes, secundum morem ipsius ecclesiæ coram nobis sacra officia celebrarunt. Celebrata etiam sunt coram nobis missarum officia more Hierosolymitano, auctore Jacobo apostolo; et more Constantinopolitano, auctore Basilio: sed nos sequendam ducimus Romanam ecclesiam in missarum celebrations." Carol. Calv. Imper. Epist. ad Cler. Ravennatens.

14 Mabill. Lit. Gall. p. 16.

15 "Advenit dies Dominicus, et ecce rex cum his qui ab hoc sacerdote communioni abesse jussi fuerunt, ecclesiam est ingressus. Lectis igitur lectio nibus, quas canon sanxit antiquus, oblatis muneribus super altare Dei," &c. Gregor. Turon. cap. 17. de Vit. Patrum. "Altera consuetudo missarum in s. Rom. eccl. atque altera in Galliarum tenetur." Beda, lib. i. c. 27. Interrogatio Augustini ad Gregor. Magnum. "Missales libri continentes missæ ordinem more Gallico." Hilduin. Abb. Areopagitica. ap. Surium, Oct. 9.

16 Irenæus adv. Hæres. lib. iii. c. 3.

17 Tertull. de Praescript. adv. Haereticos, c. 36.

18 Pheretai d’ eiseti nun—graphê—tôn kata Gallian de paroikiôn has Eirênaios epeskopei. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. v. c. 23.

19 "Sub Aurelio deinde Antonini filio, persecutio quinta agitata. Ac tum primum inter Gallias martyria visa, serius trans Alpes Dei religione suscepta." Sulp. Sever. Hist. Sacr. lib. ii. c. 32.

20 Gregor. Turonens. Hist. Franc. lib. i. c. 28, 29.

21 Passio S. Saturnini ap. Ruinart. Acta Martyrum sincera, p. 130. edit. Amsterdam. 1713.

22 Tillemont, Hist. Eccl. tom. iii. part 1. p. 455. edit. Brussels, 1699.

23 Tillemont Hist. Eccl. tom. iii. part 1. p. 63, &c. Ruinart. Acta Martyrum, p. 79, 80.

24 Ruinart. p. 80.

25 Tillemont, tom. iii. part 1. p. 163, &c.

26 Adv. Hæres. lib. i. c. 3. See Tillemont, tom. iv. part 3. p. 987.

27 Tertull. in Jud. c. vii. p. 189. ed. Rigalt. Paris. 1674.

28 Gregor. Turonens. Hist. lib. i. c. 28. lib. x. c. 31. Liber de Gloria Confessorum, c. 30.

29 I think the expression of Gregory of Tours, above quoted, antiquus canon, implies as much. If the Gallican canon, or rule of liturgy, was ancient in the sixth century, when Gregory wrote, we may carry it back at least to the fifth century, which was the second after the arrival of the Roman missionaries.

30 Ruinart. Acta Mart. p. 80.

31 Lib. v. cap. 1. Hist. Eccl. Eusebii, v. not. Valesii in loc.

32 Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 1. lib. iii. c. 23.

33 Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. v. c. 24.

34 Euseb, Hist. Eccl. lib. v. c. 24.

35 Beda, Hist. Eccl. lib. iii. c. 25.

36 Aldhelmi Epistola ad Geruntium, &c. apud Bonifacii Mogunt. Ep. num. 44. "Porro isti (Britanni) secundum decennem novennemque Anatolio computatum, aut potius juxta Sulpicii Severi regulam, qui 84 annorum cursum descripsit, 14 lunæ cum Judæis paschale sacramentum celebrant." On the subject of the paschal controversy, between the Britons and Romans, see Appendix ad Bed. Hist. Eccl. a Smith, Num. ix. O’Conor, Rer. Hibernicar. tom. i. Prolegomena, p. 2. pag. cxix.

37 O’Conor, Rer. Hibern. Scriptores, p. lxxxii. xci. ciii. See also Usser. Brit. Eccl. Antiq. c. xvii. p. 482.

38 Usserii Antiq. c. xi. xii.

39 Spelman, Concilia, tom. i. p. 176.

40 Germanus de Missa, Martene, Thesaur. Anecdotorum, tom. v. p. 91. "Dum sanctam ingrederentur basilicam, hanc antiphonam ex improviso primicerius qui erat imposuit," &c. Gregor. Turon. Hist. lib. ii. c. 37. "Et ecce chorus psallentium qui ingressus basilicam, postquam dicta gloria Trinitati, psallentii modulatio conquievit," Greg. Turon. Gloria Martyrum, lib. i. c. 34. See Le Brun. tom. iii. p. 250. Le Brun has given the best and fullest exposition of the Gallican liturgy that I have seen. He has corrected several slight errors into which Mabillon and others have fallen.

41 Germanus, p. 91. Concil. ii. Vasens. can. 3.

42 Germanus, p. 92. "Fratres vero consacerdotesque qui aderant, locum Palladio episcopo ad agenda festa praebuerunt, quo incipiente Prophetiam," &c. Gregor. Turon. lib. viii. c. 7.

43 Germanus, p. 92. "Haec ergo mensa unde cibus vitæ spiritalis accipitur—cum vel præscripta legis vel prophetarum voces ab Ecelesiæ viris ad revelationem divini consilii tractantur." Hilarias Pictav. Tractat. in lxvii. Ps. p. 225. edit. Benediet. "Est et mensa lectionum Dominicarum in qua spiritalis doctrinæ cibo alimur." Idem, p. 428.

44 Germanus, p. 92.

45 Germanus, p. 92. "Jubet Rex ut Diaconum nostrum, qui ante diem ad missas psalmum responsorium dixerat, canere juberem." Greg. Turon. lib. viii. c. 3.

46 Germanus, P. 93. Gregor. Turon. lib. viii. cap. 4. Cæsarius, Hom. 80. numbered 281. in the Appendix of the Sermons of Augustine, tom. v. p.468. "Lectiones sive Propheticas, sive Apostolicas, sive Evangelicas etiam in domibus vestris, aut ipsi legere, aut alios legentes audire potestis: consecrationem vero corporis vel sanguinis Domini non alibi nisi in domo Dei," &c. See also Concil. iii. Lugd. tom. iv. p. 1585.

47 Germanus, p. 93. Greg. Tur. lib. viii. c. 4.

48 Germanus, p. 93, 94. Hilarius Pictav. Tract. in lxvii. Ps. cited above. Andoeni vita S. Eligii, c. 22. Cypriani vita S. Cæsarii Arelat. c. ii. 19.

49 Germanus, p. 94.

50 Goar, Rituale Græc. p. 69.

51 Germanus, p. 94. "Usque ad orationem plebis quæ post Evangelia legeretur. "Concil. iii. Lugd. Conc. tom. iv. p. 1585. See Le Brun, tom. iii. p. 249. 254.

52 Germanus, p. 94.

53 Germanus, p. 94. Gregor. Turon. Vitæ Pat. c. 17.

54 Le Brun, tom. iii. p. 255.

55 Le Brun, ibid. This prayer was sometimes entitled, "Collectio ante Nomina."

56 Germanus, p. 94. Concil. Matisconens. ii. can. 4. A.D. 585.

57 Gregor. Turon. Historia Franc. lib. vii. c. 22. Germanus, p. 95.

58 Le Brun, tom. iii. p. 257.

59 Germanus, p. 95. Miss. Gothic. ap. Mabillon de Liturg. Gall. p. 188. 191, &c. Le Brun, tom. iii. p. 257, 258. Innocentius of Rome, in the fifth century, in his Epistle to Decentius of Eugubium, reproved this position of the prayers.

60 Germanus, p. 95. Miss. Goth. p. 188. 191, & c.

61 "Sursum corda ideo sacerdos habere admonet, ut nulla cogitatio terrena maneat in pectoribus nostris in hora sacræ oblationis," &c. Germanus, p. 96. "Cum enim maxima pars populi—recitatis lectionibus exeunt de ecclesia, cui dicturus est sacerdos Sursum corda?" Cæsarii Hom. 8o. August. Oper. tom. v. Append. p. 469.

62 Miss. Gothic. ap. Mabillon, Lit. Gall. p. 188. 191. &c. "Cum nos rite sacrosancta solemnia celebrando, Contestationem de sancti Domini virtutibus narraremus." Gregor. Turon. lib. ii. de Mirac. S. Mart. c. 14. Hilary of Poictiers seems nearly to transcribe a portion of the thanksgiving. Hilar. Pictav. lib. iii. de Trinitate, p. 811. edit. Benedict. "Hanc oblationem Ecclesia sola purarn offert Fabricatori, offerens ei cum gratiarum actione ex creatura ejus—quomodo autem constabit eis eum panem in quo gratiæ actæ sint," &c. Irenæus adv. Hæres. lib. iv. c. 18. al. 34.

63 Miss. Goth. Mabillon, 189. &c. "At ubi expedita contestatione omnis populus sanctus in laudem Domini proclamavit," &c. Gregor. Turon. lib. ii. de Mirac. S. Mart. c. 14. "In omnibus missis—semper Sanctus S. S. eo ordine quo ad missas publicas dicitur dici debeat." Concil. ii. Vasens. can. 3. "Consistens quis extra ecclesiam—spectet celebres hymnorum sonitus." Hilar. Pictav. p. 174. edit. Benedict. Cæsarii Hom. 80. Append. S. August. tom. v. p. 469.

64 Miss. Gothicum, Mabillon, de Liturgia Gallicana, p. 189, &c.

65 Ibid.

66 Ibid. p. 228. 230. 285. 296. 300.

67 Germanus, p. 96. "Verum ubi explicitis verbis sacris, confracto Dominici corporis sacramento, et ipse sumpsit, et aliis distribuit ad edendum," Gregor. Ttiron. lib. i. de Gloria Martyrum, c. 87. It appears that the bread was broken before the Lord’s Prayer was said, for the prayer generally called "post secreta," is sometimes in the Gothic Missal termed "collectio ad panis fractionem." Mabillon, p. 251.

68 Miss. Goth. Mabillon, p. 189, &c. Germanus, p. 96. "Quadam die Dominica cum reliquo populo stabat. Factum est autem cum Dominica oratio diceretur, hæc aperto ore coepit sanctam orationem cum reliquis decantare." Gregor. Turon. de Mirac. S. Mart. lib. ii. c. 30. "Audiat orantis populi consistens quis extra ecclesiam vocem." Hilar. Pictav. Tract. in lxv. Ps. p. 174. edit. Bened. Cæsarii Hom. 80. in Append. August. Oper. tom. v. p. 469. edit. Bened. Hom. 81. pag. 471.

69 Germanus, p. 96. Miss. Gothic. 189, &c. Cæsarii Hom. 80, 81. tom. v. Append. Oper. S. August. p. 469, 470.

70 Aureliani Regula in fine. The response of the communicants, Amen, is probably referred to by Hilary of Poictiers: Inter divinorum quoque sacramentorum officia, responsionem devotæ confessionis accipiat," p. 174. edit. Bened. Though he may allude in this place to the general response made at the end of the benediction.

71 Miss. Goth. Mabillon, p. 190. 193, &c.

72 Ôs gar apo gês artos proslambanomenous tên epiklêsin tou Theou ouketi koinos artos estin, all’ eucharistia. Iren. adv. Hæres. lib. iv. c. 18. al. 34.

73 See Irenæi Oper. a Grabe, p. 400. not. i.

74 Renaudot, Liturg. Orient. tom. i. Lit. Basil. p. 16. Cyril. 48. p. 238, &c.; tom. ii. p. 33. 88, &c.

75 "Porro sexta exhine succedit, confirmatio sacramenti; ut oblatio quae Deo offertur, sanctificata per Spirituni Sanctum, corporis et sanguinis (sacramentum) confirmetur." Isidori Hispal. de Eccl. Officiis lib. i. c. 15.

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