Aquileian Rite
Encyclopedia
The Aquileian Rite was a particular liturgical tradition within the schismatical province of the ancient patriarchal see of Aquileia.
in 553 and became a schismatical patriarchate, which lasted till the year 698. A number of allusions tell us that Aquileia and certain of its suffragan sees had a special rite (generally called the ritus patriarchinus "patriarchate rite"); but they do not give us any clear indication as to what this rite was.
The earliest and most instructive document of the Patriarchine Rite is a capitulare
of the eighth century added by a Lombard hand to the "Codex Richdigeranus" of the sixth century. Germain Morin
and H. F. Haase, who edited the Codex, show reason to suppose that this capitulare represents the use of Aquileia.
Supposing this, it gives us valuable information about the Aquileian liturgical Calendar for the time it covers (Advent to June). Advent had five Sundays; St. Stephen's Day is 27 December, as in the Rites of Jerusalem-Antioch and their descendants. There is no Septuagesima; two Sundays (Sexagesima and Quinquagesima) prepare for Lent. The "tradition of the symbol" is on the Sunday before Easter. It and Maundy Thursday have each two Masses, as in the Gallican Rite
s. There is a "Mid- Pentecost" feast, as in many Eastern Rites. We have then many indications of the divergence from Rome; this fragment of a calendar points to Gallican usages mixed with some from the East. If we accept the most probable theory that the Gallican Rite is Eastern (Antiochene) in origin, we may consider the local Aquileian Use as one more variant of the widespread Gallican family. For the rest we are reduced to mere conjecture about this liturgy.
There are many theories, especially as to its relation to the rites of Milan, Ravenna, and the fragments in St. Ambrose of Milan
's De sacramentis, IV, 4-6. Dr. Buchwald defends the view that the prayers in "De Sacr." are Aquileian. Aquileia adopted them from Alexandria, under whose influence she stood (according to the synod of Aquileia of 381; op. cit., 47). Rome then took her Canon from Aquileia about the fifth century. If this be true, the influence of Aquileia on the Western liturgy has been enormous. Aquileia would be the portal by which the Roman Canon came to Europe
. Baumstark ascribes De sacramentis to Ravenna
rather than to Milan, but agrees that it came originally from Alexandria
, Egypt
and that Aquileia used the same rite. The ritus patriarchinus then would be the same as the Rite of the Exarchate of Ravenna, which he defends From the time of the formation of separate rites in the fourth century, Aquileia would have certainly had its own use. This use was not the same as that of Rome, but was probably one more variant of the large group of Western Rites, connected by (Eastern?) origin, which we call Gallican. It was probably really related to the old Milanese Rite and perhaps still more to that of Ravenna.
In the later Middle Ages we hear of the ritus patriarchinus yielding steadily to the Roman Rite
. Ebner has published a variant of the present Hanc igitur of the Roman Canon, in litany form, attributed to Paulinus of Aquileia (787-802). De Rubeis in his De sacris foroiuliensium ritibus has printed part of the Aquileian scrutiny of catechumen
s, of the ninth century. This is practically that of the contemporary Roman Ordines; so the Roman Rite
was already replacing the other one. Walafrid Strabo (later ninth century) mentions "hymns" composed by Paulinus of Aquileia and used by him "in private Masses at the offering of the sacrifice."
It seems that the Rite of Aquileia had even been used in Venice since in 1250 Peter IV, Bishop of Castello petitioned the Pope for permission to adopt the Roman Rite. In 1308 and again in 1418 attempts were made to restore the Aquileian Use at Venice
. But in 1456 Pope Callistus III granted permission to the newly created Patriarch of Venice
to follow Roman liturgical practice.
After the Council of Trent
and Pope Pius V
's Missal (1570) one after another of the cities which had kept the Aquileian Use conformed to Rome: Trieste
in 1586, Udine in 1596. Como
alone made an effort to keep the old local use. In 1565 and 1579 diocesan synods still insisted on this. But in 1597 Clement VIII insisted on Roman Use here too. Only St Mark's Basilica
, still the chapel of the Doge
and not yet cathedral of Venice, kept certain local peculiarities of ritual which apparently descended from the "ritus patriarchinus" until the fall of the Republic in 1807. http://research.umbc.edu/eol/MA/index/number1/fenl1/fe1.htm
But long before its final disappearance, the Aquileian Rite in these local forms was already so romanized that little of its original character was left. Francis Bonomio, Bishop of Vercelli, who went to Como in 1579 to persuade its clergy to adopt the Roman Breviary, says that the local rite was almost the same as that of Rome "except in the order of some Sundays, and the feast of the Holy Trinity, which is transferred to another time". So the Missale pro s. aquileyensis ecclesiae ritu, printed at Augsburg in 1494, breviaries and sacramentaries (rituals) printed for Aquileia, Venice and Como in the fourteenth century, although still bearing the name of the "ritus patriarchinus" (or "ritus patriarchalis"), are hardly more than local varieties of the Roman Rite .
History
The See of Aquileia under Bishop Macedonius broke communion with Rome in the Schism of the Three ChaptersSchism of the Three Chapters
The Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected the Roman Catholic Church in North Italy lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time...
in 553 and became a schismatical patriarchate, which lasted till the year 698. A number of allusions tell us that Aquileia and certain of its suffragan sees had a special rite (generally called the ritus patriarchinus "patriarchate rite"); but they do not give us any clear indication as to what this rite was.
The earliest and most instructive document of the Patriarchine Rite is a capitulare
Capitulare
Capitulare can be:*a medieval Latin verb, meaning "to draw up in heads or chapters, arrange conditions," from capitulum "chapter, heading," diminutive of caput "head"A noun, with the following uses:...
of the eighth century added by a Lombard hand to the "Codex Richdigeranus" of the sixth century. Germain Morin
Germain Morin
Germain Morin was a Belgian Benedictine historical scholar and patrologist, of the Beuronese Congregation.-References:* Grosselin, Oliver A., O.S.B., "Dom Germain Morin," American Benedictine Review, 6:4 408-418...
and H. F. Haase, who edited the Codex, show reason to suppose that this capitulare represents the use of Aquileia.
Supposing this, it gives us valuable information about the Aquileian liturgical Calendar for the time it covers (Advent to June). Advent had five Sundays; St. Stephen's Day is 27 December, as in the Rites of Jerusalem-Antioch and their descendants. There is no Septuagesima; two Sundays (Sexagesima and Quinquagesima) prepare for Lent. The "tradition of the symbol" is on the Sunday before Easter. It and Maundy Thursday have each two Masses, as in the Gallican Rite
Gallican rite
The Gallican Rite is a historical sub-grouping of the Roman Catholic liturgy in western Europe; it is not a single rite but actually a family of rites within the Western Rite which comprised the majority use of most of Christianity in western Europe for the greater part of the 1st millennium AD...
s. There is a "Mid- Pentecost" feast, as in many Eastern Rites. We have then many indications of the divergence from Rome; this fragment of a calendar points to Gallican usages mixed with some from the East. If we accept the most probable theory that the Gallican Rite is Eastern (Antiochene) in origin, we may consider the local Aquileian Use as one more variant of the widespread Gallican family. For the rest we are reduced to mere conjecture about this liturgy.
There are many theories, especially as to its relation to the rites of Milan, Ravenna, and the fragments in St. Ambrose of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
's De sacramentis, IV, 4-6. Dr. Buchwald defends the view that the prayers in "De Sacr." are Aquileian. Aquileia adopted them from Alexandria, under whose influence she stood (according to the synod of Aquileia of 381; op. cit., 47). Rome then took her Canon from Aquileia about the fifth century. If this be true, the influence of Aquileia on the Western liturgy has been enormous. Aquileia would be the portal by which the Roman Canon came to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Baumstark ascribes De sacramentis to Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
rather than to Milan, but agrees that it came originally from Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and that Aquileia used the same rite. The ritus patriarchinus then would be the same as the Rite of the Exarchate of Ravenna, which he defends From the time of the formation of separate rites in the fourth century, Aquileia would have certainly had its own use. This use was not the same as that of Rome, but was probably one more variant of the large group of Western Rites, connected by (Eastern?) origin, which we call Gallican. It was probably really related to the old Milanese Rite and perhaps still more to that of Ravenna.
In the later Middle Ages we hear of the ritus patriarchinus yielding steadily to the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
. Ebner has published a variant of the present Hanc igitur of the Roman Canon, in litany form, attributed to Paulinus of Aquileia (787-802). De Rubeis in his De sacris foroiuliensium ritibus has printed part of the Aquileian scrutiny of catechumen
Catechumen
In ecclesiology, a catechumen , “‘down’” + ἠχή , “‘sound’”) is one receiving instruction from a catechist in the principles of the Christian religion with a view to baptism...
s, of the ninth century. This is practically that of the contemporary Roman Ordines; so the Roman Rite
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite is the liturgical rite used in the Diocese of Rome in the Catholic Church. It is by far the most widespread of the Latin liturgical rites used within the Western or Latin autonomous particular Church, the particular Church that itself is also called the Latin Rite, and that is one of...
was already replacing the other one. Walafrid Strabo (later ninth century) mentions "hymns" composed by Paulinus of Aquileia and used by him "in private Masses at the offering of the sacrifice."
It seems that the Rite of Aquileia had even been used in Venice since in 1250 Peter IV, Bishop of Castello petitioned the Pope for permission to adopt the Roman Rite. In 1308 and again in 1418 attempts were made to restore the Aquileian Use at Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. But in 1456 Pope Callistus III granted permission to the newly created Patriarch of Venice
Patriarch of Venice
The Patriarch of Venice is the ordinary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice. The bishop is one of the few Patriarchs in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church...
to follow Roman liturgical practice.
After the Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
and Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V
Pope Saint Pius V , born Antonio Ghislieri , was Pope from 1566 to 1572 and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He is chiefly notable for his role in the Council of Trent, the Counter-Reformation, and the standardization of the Roman liturgy within the Latin Church...
's Missal (1570) one after another of the cities which had kept the Aquileian Use conformed to Rome: Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
in 1586, Udine in 1596. Como
Como
Como is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy.It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como....
alone made an effort to keep the old local use. In 1565 and 1579 diocesan synods still insisted on this. But in 1597 Clement VIII insisted on Roman Use here too. Only St Mark's Basilica
St Mark's Basilica
The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Venice, northern Italy. It is the most famous of the city's churches and one of the best known examples of Byzantine architecture...
, still the chapel of the Doge
Doge
Doge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa....
and not yet cathedral of Venice, kept certain local peculiarities of ritual which apparently descended from the "ritus patriarchinus" until the fall of the Republic in 1807. http://research.umbc.edu/eol/MA/index/number1/fenl1/fe1.htm
But long before its final disappearance, the Aquileian Rite in these local forms was already so romanized that little of its original character was left. Francis Bonomio, Bishop of Vercelli, who went to Como in 1579 to persuade its clergy to adopt the Roman Breviary, says that the local rite was almost the same as that of Rome "except in the order of some Sundays, and the feast of the Holy Trinity, which is transferred to another time". So the Missale pro s. aquileyensis ecclesiae ritu, printed at Augsburg in 1494, breviaries and sacramentaries (rituals) printed for Aquileia, Venice and Como in the fourteenth century, although still bearing the name of the "ritus patriarchinus" (or "ritus patriarchalis"), are hardly more than local varieties of the Roman Rite .
Sources
- ALTHAN, Iter liturgicum foroiuliense (Rome, 1749)
- BAUMSTARK, Liturgia romana, pp. 170-73
- BONA, Rerum litugicarum, II, ed. SALA (Turin, 1747), Appendix: De ritu antiquo Aquilejensis patriarchino nuncupato
- BURN, Nicetas of Remesiana (Cambridge, 1905);
- DE RUBEIS, Monumenta ecclesiae Aquilejensis (Strasburg, 1740)
- DICHLICH, Rito veneto antico detto Patriarchino (Venice, 1823)
- DOM DE PUNIET, '"L'année liturgique à Aquilée" in Revue bénédictine, 1902, p. 1
- EBNER, The Mass (London, 1912)
- LE BRUN, Ancien rite d'Aquilee appele le Patriarchin in his Explication de la messe, III (Paris, 1777), 220 sqq.