Aprakos
Encyclopedia
Aprakos is a kind of Gospel
or Acts of the Apostles
book, otherwise known as weekly or service Gospel (Acts). In aprakoses, the text is organized not in the natural order of books, but along with the weekly church readings starting from the Holy (Easter
) Week as used in the Eastern Orthodox Church
. In particular, the text of Aprakos-Gospels begins with the first chapter of Gospel according to John (In the beginning was the Word...), whereas regular Gospels (Tetra-Gospels) begin with the Gospel according to Matthew (The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David...). Many oldest Slavic manuscripts are aprakoses, like Codex Assemanius
or Ostromir Gospels.
Similar books used in the Western Christianity (Catholic Church and others) are known as Lectionaries
(the term of much broader meaning), or (Gospels only) as Evangeliarium
or Evangelistarium.
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
or Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
book, otherwise known as weekly or service Gospel (Acts). In aprakoses, the text is organized not in the natural order of books, but along with the weekly church readings starting from the Holy (Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
) Week as used in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
. In particular, the text of Aprakos-Gospels begins with the first chapter of Gospel according to John (In the beginning was the Word...), whereas regular Gospels (Tetra-Gospels) begin with the Gospel according to Matthew (The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David...). Many oldest Slavic manuscripts are aprakoses, like Codex Assemanius
Codex Assemanius
Codex Assemanius is a rounded Glagolitic Old Church Slavonic canon evangeliary consisting of 158 illuminated parchment folios, dated to early 11th century...
or Ostromir Gospels.
Similar books used in the Western Christianity (Catholic Church and others) are known as Lectionaries
Lectionary
A Lectionary is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion.-History:...
(the term of much broader meaning), or (Gospels only) as Evangeliarium
Evangeliarium
An Evangeliary or Evangelion, the English term for the Latin Evangeliarium , is a liturgical book containing those portions of the Four Gospels which are read during Mass or in the public offices of the Church...
or Evangelistarium.