Ordo Romanus Primus
English translation by E.G. Atchley
1. To begin with, it must be observed that the city of Rome is divided for ecclesiastical purposes into seven districts, to each of which is allotted one district-deacon; and the collets of each district are subordinate to the deacon of their district by reason of his office through the medium of the district-subdeacon. But when any one of the deacons dies, the collets of that district are subject to the archdeacon until another is chosen in his place: for all collets, of whatsoever district they may be, belong to his administration by reason of his office. Which also must be understood of the remaining Orders; the rights of the rank of archdeacon in particular apply to each one after him, to those holding subordinate positions in the ministry of his Order: so that, if, for instance, any one should have sustained an injury either from an ecclesiastical or some military person; supposing that his case cannot by any means be settled by the head of his own Order, the archdeacon (that is, the pontiff’s vicar) shall take it up, as he is able to adjust the complaints of those under him without any reference to the pontiff: other matters, however, can be settled by the minor Orders.
Now, first, it is necessary to know, in order to understand
how the number of the ecclesiastical districts and the number of the days of
the week correspond, what order they successfully follow. On the first day of
the week (that is, of Easter), the third district is responsible; on Monday,
the fourth district; on Tuesday, the fifth district; on Wednesday, the sixth
district; on Thursday, the seventh district; on Friday, the first district; and
on the Sabbath, the second district. Each district, therefore, will have its
proper position both in procession and in church, or wherever a particular day
may constrain them to go or to minister by reason of its rank, according to the
ancient constitution; nor can the district-clergy be absent from attendance on
the pontiff without incurring some sentence of excommunication or disciplinary
censure. And this attendance they used originally to divide into two parts by a
simple rule, to wit (1) the pope’s procession to the stational church, and (2)
from his leaving the sacristy until the end of mass.
The Procession to the Stational Church.
2. Thus, on solemn days (such for
instance as Easter day) first of all the collets of the third district and the
counsellors of every district meet at daybreak in the Lateran Palace, and
proceed on foot before the pontiff to the stational church: and the lay grooms
walk on the right and the left of his horse in case it stumble anywhere. Those
who ride on horseback in front of the pontiff are the following:—The deacons,
the chancellor, and the two district-notaries, the district-counsellors, and
the district-subdeacons. They proceed moreover in two troops, leaving a space
between them and the pope. The following are those who ride after the pope’s
horse:—The papal vicar, the sacristan, the invitationer, and the treasurer. The
stational-collet goes on foot before the pontiff’s horse, carrying in his hand
an ampull wrapped in a napkin, containing the holy cream: but the rest of the
collets also carry sacks, linen-cloths, and the cream, and walk in the
procession, which duty the stational-collet arranges. Should any person wish to
approach the pontiff, he must (if he is on horseback) dismount directly that he
sees the pontiff coming, and await him by the roadside until he can be heard by
him; and after he has sought a blessing from the pope, his case shall be
investigated by the invitationer or the treasurer, and they shall state it
briefly to the pontiff, and bring it to a conclusion: which, also, in like
manner shall be done if any one should meet the pope even without any petition.
But any one on foot merely stands where he is, so that he may be heard by the
pope or receive his blessing.
But on Easter day all the collets of the third district,
together with the counsellors of every district meet, as day is just breaking,
in the Lateran Palace, so that when the pontiff sets out they may walk before
his horse. But the collets who belong to that church take care to carry the
cream before the pontiff, and the gospel-books, linen cloths, sacks, and
washhandbasons after him, as we said above. But the subdeacon who is going to
read the epistle shall have charge of the epistle-book, and the archdeacon of
the gospel-book. The washhandbasons, the daily paten, the chalice, the
communion-bowls, and the reeds (some golden, some silvern), and the silvern
gemellions, with the golden and silvern strainer, and another larger one of
silver, the silvern flagons, the grail, the rest of the vessels both golden and
silvern, and the golden and silvern candlesticks are taken from the Church of
St. Saviour by the chief sexton, and the bearers carry them. On festivals the
larger chalice and paten and the larger gospel-books are required of the papal
vestry, under the sacristan’s seal on account of the number of precious stones,
lest they be lost. The lay-chamberlain, however, goes on ahead and conveys the
pontiff’s sedan-chair, in order that it may be ready when he comes into the
sacristy.
Arrival at the Stational Church.
4. At break of day on festivals all the
clergy go on ahead of the pope to the appointed station (that is, to the church
at which it had been previously at the announced that the stational mass would
be celebrated), excepting those whose duty it is to accompany him, as we said
above, and await the pontiff in the church, with the papal almoner and the
bearers and the rest who carry crosses, sitting in the presbytery; the bishops,
that is, on the left hand as they enter, the presbyters on the other hand on
the right, so that when the pontiff sits down and looks towards them, he may
see the bishops on his right hand and the presbyters on his left. Now when the
pontiff draws near to the church, the collets and counsellors belonging to the
district which is responsible for duty on that day, stand humbly awaiting him
at the appointed spot, before he comes to the place where he will dismount: in
like manner also the presbyter of the title or church at which the station is
going to be held, together with the major-domos of the Roman Church, or the
father of the hostelry (should that church happen to have one),with the
presbyter subordinate to him [i.e. to the presbyter of the title], and
the sexton, carrying a censer out of respect to the pope; and they all bow
their heads when he arrives. First the collets with the counsellors, then the
presbyters with their [‘curates’?] having sought a blessing, separate into
groups on either side, as their service requires, and go before the pontiff to the
church. But the advocates of the Church, although they stand with the
major-domos, do not go in front with them, but merely follow the pontiff's
palfrey, together with the collet who carries the washhandbasons: who must always
follow the pontiff until the time when he goes up to the altar, and be ready at
his elbow in the presbytery when he is called upon by the district-subdeacon to
offer water.
The Vesting.
5. Now when the pontiff enters the
church, he does not go straight up to the altar, but first enters the sacristy,
supported by the deacons who received him when he dismounted from his palfrey;
and when he is gone therein he sits in his sedan-chair; and the deacons, after
saluting the pontiff, go out of the sacristy and change their clothes before
the doors: and he who is going to read the gospel makes ready the gospel-book (the
seal of which has been unlocked by order of the archdeacon), which a collet
holds for him outside his planet. If it should be necessary, on account of the size
and weight of the larger gospel-book, two collets hold it outside their planets
while he makes it ready. Which done, the collet carries the gospel-book into
the presbytery before the altar, the subdeacon-attendant leading the way, who,
taking it, carries it outside his planet and places it honourably on the altar
with his own hands. Meanwhile, after the deacons go out of the sacristy, there remain
with the pontiff the chancellor, the secretary, the chief counsellor, the
district-notaries, and the subdeacon-attendant who bears the pontiff's pall
with its pins on his left arm outside his planet.
6. Now the pontiff changes his
vestments, with the assistance of the district-subdeacons, in the following manner.
The clerical chamberlain brings them, all folded up, after having received them
from the door-warden. Near the head of the bench the district-subdeacons take the
vestments to put on the pontiff according to their order, one the linen,
another the girdle, a third the amice, a fourth the linen dalmatic, a fifth the
larger dalmatic, and another the planet: and thus they vest the pontiff in order.
The chancellor and the secretary arrange his vestments so that they may hang
well. Then, last of all, one of the deacons whom the lord pontiff may choose,
or one of the subdeacons whom he may command, takes the pall from the hand of
the subdeacon-attendant, and sets it about the pontiff’s shoulders, fastening
it to the planet behind, in front, and on his left shoulder by means of the
pins. Then he salutes the lord pontiff, saying, Bid a blessing, my lord.
He answers, May the Lord save us: and the deacon (or subdeacon) replies,
Amen.
7. Then a district-subdeacon, holding
the pontiff’s napkin on his left arm over his unrolled planet, goes out to the
gate of the sacristy, and says, The choir. They answer, I am present.
Then he asks, Who is going to sing the psalm? and they answer, So-and-so,
and so-and-so. Then the subdeacon returns to the pontiff, offers him the napkin,
bowing himself to the pope’s knees, and says, My lord’s servants, so-and-so
the district-subdeacon will read the epistle, and so-and-so of the choir will
sing. And after this no change may be made in either reader or singer: but
if this should be done, the ruler of the choir (i.e. the fourth of the
choir who always informs the pontiff on matters that relate to the singers)
shall be excommunicated by the pontiff. When this has been announced, the
subdeacon-attendant stands before the pontiff until such time as the latter
shall sign to him that they may sing the psalm. As soon as the signal is given,
he immediately goes out before the doors of the sacristy, and says, Light
up! And as soon as they have lit their candles the subdeacon-attendant
takes the golden censer and puts incense in it in front of the sacristy doors,
so that he may walk before the pontiff. And the ruler of the choir passes
through the presbytery to the precentor or the succentor or vice-succentor, and
bowing his head to him says, Sir, command!
The Introit.
8. Then they rise up and pass in order before the altar, and
the two rows arrange themselves in this manner: the men-singers on either side
without the doors [of the presbytery], and the children on each side within.
Immediately the precentor begins the anthem for the entry: and when the deacons
hear his voice, they at once go to the pontiff in the sacristy. Then the
pontiff, rising, gives his right hand to the archdeacon, and his left to the
second [deacon] or whoever may be appointed: who, after kissing his hands, walk
with him as his supporters. Then the subdeacon-attendant goes before him with
the censer, diffusing the perfume of incense: and the seven collets of the
district which is responsible for that day, carrying seven lighted candlesticks,
go before the pontiff to the altar. But before they arrive at the altar, the
deacons put off their planets in the presbytery, and the district-deacon takes
them and gives each severally to a collet of the district to which each deacon
belongs. Then two collets approach, holding open pixes containing the Holy
Element; and the subdeacon-attendant, taking them, with his hand in the mouth
of the pix, shows the Holy Element to the pontiff and the deacon who goes
before him. Then the pontiff and the deacon salute the Holy Element with bowed
head, and look at the same in order that if there be too many fragments he may
cause some of them to be put in the aumbry. After this the pontiff passes on,
but before he comes to the choir the bearers of the candlesticks divide, four
going to the right and three to the left; and the pontiff passes between them
to the upper part of the choir, and bows his head to the altar. He then rises
up, and prays, and makes the sign of the cross on his forehead; after which he
gives the kiss of peace to one of the hebdomadary bishops, and to the
archpresbyter, and to all the deacons. Then turning towards the precentor, he
signs to him to sing, Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, etc.; and
the precentor bows to the pontiff, and begins it. Meantime the ruler of the
choir precedes the pontiff in order to set his faldstool before the altar, if
it should be the season for it: and approaching it, the pontiff prays thereat
until the repetition of the verse [i.e. the anthem for the entry]. Now when As
it was in the beginning is said, the deacons rise up in order to salute the
sides of the altar, first two, and then the rest by twos, and return to the
pontiff. And then the latter arises, and kisses the book of the gospels and the
altar, and, going to his throne, stands there facing eastwards.
The Kyries.
9. Now, after the anthem is finished, the choir begins, Lord,
have mercy. But the precentor keeps his eye on the pontiff, so that the
latter may sign to him if he wishes to change the number of the Kyries, and
bows to him. When they have finished, the pontiff turns himself round towards
the people, and begins, Glory be to God on high, if it be the season for
it, and at once turns back again to the east until it be finished.
The Collect.
Then, after turning
again to the people, he says, Peace to you, and once more turning to the
east, says, Let us pray, and the collect follows. At the end of it he
sits, and the bishops and presbyters sit in like manner.
The Scripture Lessons.
11. Then the deacon kisses the pontiff’s feet, and the
latter says to him in an undertone, The Lord be in thy heart and on thy
lips. Then the deacon comes before the altar, and after kissing the book of
the gospels, takes it up in his hands; and there walk before him [to the ambo]
two district-subdeacons, who have taken the censer from the hand of the
subdeacon-attendant, diffusing incense. And in front of them they have two
collets carrying two candlesticks. On coming to the ambo, the collets part
before it, and the subdeacons and the deacon with gospel-book pass between
them. The subdeacon who is not carrying the censer then turns towards the
deacon, and offers him his left arm on which to rest the gospel-book, in order
that the former may open it with his right hand at the place where the mark for
reading was put: then, slipping his finger into the place where he has to
begin, the deacon goes up to read, while the two subdeacons turn back to stand
before the step coming down from the ambo. The gospel ended, the pontiff says, Peace
to thee, and then, The Lord be with you. Answer is made, And with
thy spirit, and he says, Let us pray.
When the deacon is come down from the ambo, the subdeacon
who first opened the gospel-book previously, takes it from him and hands it to
the subdeacon-attendant, who stands in his rank. Then the latter, holding the
book before his breast, outside his planet, offers it to be kissed by all who
stand [in the quire] in the order of their rank. And after this a collet is
ready on the step by the ambo with the case, in which the same subdeacon puts
the gospel-book so that it may be sealed. But the collet of the same district
as that to which the subdeacon belongs carries it back to the Lateran.
12. The deacon in the meantime returns to the altar, where a
collet stands holding a chalice with a corporas lying on it; raising the
chalice in his left arm, he offers the corporas to the deacon, who takes it off
the chalice and lays it on the right part of the altar, throwing the other end
of it over to the second deacon in order to spread it. Then there go up to the
throne the chancellor and the secretary, and the chief counsellor, with all the
district-officials and notaries: but the subdeacon with the empty chalice
follows the archdeacon.
The Offertory.
13. The pontiff now goes down to the
place where the notables sit, the chancellor holding his right hand and the
chief counsellor his left: and he receives the loaves of the princes in the
order of their *promotion* (?). The archdeacon next receives the flasks of
wine, and pours them into the greater chalice which is carried by a
district-subdeacon, and a collet follows him holding a bowl outside his planet,
into which the chalice when full is emptied. A district-subdeacon takes the
loaves from the pontiff and hands them to the subdeacon-attendant, who places
them in a linen cloth held by two collets. An hebdomadary bishop receives the
rest of the loaves after the pontiff, so that he may, with his own hand, put
them into the linen cloth which is carried after him. Following him the
deacon-attendant receives the flasks of wine, and pours them into the bowl with
his own hand, after the archdeacon. Meanwhile the pontiff, before passing over
to the women’s side, goes down before the Confession, and there receives the loaves of the chancellor, the
secretary, and the chief counsellor. For on festivals they offer at the altar
after the deacons. In like manner the pontiff goes up to the women’s side, and
performs there all things in the same order as detailed above. And the
presbyters do likewise, should there be need, either after the pontiff or in
the presbytery.
The Lavatory.
14. After this, the pontiff returns to
his throne, the chancellor and the secretary each taking him by the hand, and
there washes his hands. The archdeacon stands before the altar and washes his
hands at the end of the collection of the offerings. Then he looks the pontiff
in the face, signs to him, and, after the pontiff has returned his salutation,
approaches the altar.
The Preparation of the Offering.
Then
the district-subdeacons, taking the loaves from the hand of the
subdeacon-attendant, and carrying them in their arms, bring them to the
archdeacon, who arranges them on the altar. The subdeacons, by the bye, bring
up the loaves on either side. Having made the altar ready, the archdeacon then
takes the pontiff’s flask of wine from the subdeacon-oblationer, and pours it
through a strainer into the chalice; then the deacons’ flasks, and, on
festivals, those of the chancellor, the secretary, and the chief counsellor as
well.
Then the subdeacon-attendant goes down into the choir, receives a ewer of water from the hand of the ruler of the choir and brings it back to the archdeacon, who pours it into the chalice, making a cross as he does so. Then the deacons go up to the pontiff: on seeing which, the chancellor, the secretary, the chief of the district-counsellors (sic), the district notaries, and the district-counsellors come down from their ranks to stand in their proper places.
Then the subdeacon-attendant goes down into the choir, receives a ewer of water from the hand of the ruler of the choir and brings it back to the archdeacon, who pours it into the chalice, making a cross as he does so. Then the deacons go up to the pontiff: on seeing which, the chancellor, the secretary, the chief of the district-counsellors (sic), the district notaries, and the district-counsellors come down from their ranks to stand in their proper places.
The Offerings of the Clergy.
15. Then the pontiff, arising from his
throne, goes down to the altar and salutes it, and receives the loaves from the
hands of the hebdomadary presbyter and the deacons. Then the archdeacon
receives the pontiff’s loaves from the subdeacon-oblationer, and gives them to
the pontiff. And when the latter has placed them on the altar, the archdeacon
takes the chalice from the hand of a district-subdeacon and sets it on the
altar on the right side of the pontiff’s loaf, the offertory-veil being twisted
about its handles. Then he lays the veil on the end of the altar, and stands
behind the pontiff, and the latter bows slightly to the altar and then turns to
the choir and signs to them to stop singing.
16. The offertory being finished, the bishops stand behind the pontiff, the senior in the midst, and the rest in their order; the archdeacon standing on the right of the bishops, the second deacon on their left, and the rest in order arranged in a line. And the district-subdeacons go behind the altar at the end of the offertory and face the pontiff, so that when he says, For ever and ever, or, The Lord be with you, or, Lift up your hearts, or, Let us give thanks, they may be there to answer, standing upright, until the time when the choir begin to sing the angelical hymn, that is, Holy, holy, holy.
The Canon.
And when they have finished it, the pontiff rises alone and
enters on the canon. The bishops, however, and the deacons, subdeacons, and
presbyters remain in the presbytery, and bow themselves down. Now when the
pontiff says, To us sinners, also, the subdeacons rise up, and when he
says, By whom all these things, O Lord, the archdeacon arises alone.
The Sacring.
When the pontiff says, By him, and with him, the
archdeacon lifts up the chalice with the offertory-veil passed through its
handles, and, holding it, raises it towards the pontiff. Then the latter
touches the side of the chalice with the loaves, saying, By him, and with
him, as far as, For ever and ever. Amen. Then the pontiff sets the
loaves down again in their place, and the archdeacon puts the chalice down by
them, and removes the offertory-veil from the handles of the same.
The removal of the Paten.
17. We have, by the bye, omitted
something about the paten. When the pontiff begins the canon, a collet comes
near, having a linen cloth thrown around his neck, and holds the paten before
his breast on the right side [of the altar?] until the middle of the canon.
Then the subdeacon-attendant holds it outside his planet, and comes before the
altar, and waits there with it until the district-subdeacon takes it from him.
18. But at the end of the canon, the
district-subdeacon stands behind the archdeacon with the paten. And when the
pontiff says, And safe from all unquiet, the archdeacon turns round, and
after kissing the paten, takes it and gives it to the second deacon to hold.
The Sancta; and The Kiss of Peace.
When the pontiff says, The peace of the Lord be with you
alway, he makes a cross with his hand thrice over the chalice, and drops a
consecrated fragment [reserved from the last solemn mass] into it. Meanwhile
the archdeacon gives the kiss of peace to the chief hebdomadary bishop, then to
the rest of the clergy in order, and then to the people.
The Fraction.
The invitations to breakfast.
The invitationer and the treasurer, and the notary of the
papal vicar, when the choir sing O Lamb of God, go up and stand facing
the pontiff in order that he may sign to them to write down the names of those
who are to be invited either to the pontiff’s table, by the invitationer, or to
the papal vicar’s, by his notary: and when the list of names is completed, they
go down and deliver the invitations.
The Fraction continued.
The archdeacon now lifts up the chalice and gives it to the
district-subdeacon, who holds it near the right corner of the altar. Then the
subdeacons-attendant, with the collets, who carry little sacks, draw near to
the right and left of the altar: the collets hold out their arms with the
little sacks, and the subdeacons-attendant stand in front, in order to make
ready the openings of the sacks for the archdeacon to put the loaves into them,
first those on the right, and then those on the left. The collets then pass
right and left among the bishops around the altar, and the rest [i. e. the
subdeacons] go down to the presbyters, in order that they may break the
consecrated loaves. Two district-subdeacons, however, have proceeded to the
throne, carrying the paten to the deacons, in order that they may perform the
fraction. Meanwhile the latter keep their eyes on the pontiff so that he may
sign to them when to begin: and when he has signed to them, after returning the
pontiffs salutation, they make the fraction.
The archdeacon, after that the altar has been cleared of the
loaves, except the fragment which the pontiff broke off his own loaf and left
on the altar (which is done so that, while the solemnities of mass are being
celebrated, the altar may never be without a sacrifice), looks at the choir,
and signs to them to sing, O Lamb of God, and then goes to the paten
with the rest.
The Commixture.
The fraction being finished, the second deacon takes the
paten from the subdeacon and carries it to the throne to communicate the
pontiff: who after partaking, puts a particle which he has bitten off the holy
element into the chalice which the archdeacon is holding, making a cross with
it thrice, and saying, May the commixture and consecration of the Body and
Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be to us who receive it for life eternal, Amen.
Peace be with thee. [And he answers] And with thy spirit. And then
the pontiff is communicated with the chalice by the archdeacon.
The Communion.
20. Then the archdeacon comes with the
chalice to the corner of the altar, and announces the next station: and after
he has poured a small quantity of the contents of the chalice into the bowl
held by the collet, there approach to the throne, so that they may communicate
from the pontiff’s hand, first the bishops in order, and then the presbyters in
like manner, so that they may communicate after them. Then the chief
hebdomadary bishop takes the chalice from the hands of the archdeacon, in order
to administer the species of wine to the remaining ranks down to the chief
counsellor. Then the archdeacon takes the chalice from him, and pours it into
the bowl which we mentioned above: he then hands the empty chalice to the
district-subdeacon, who gives him the reed wherewith he communicates the people
with the species of wine. But the subdeacon-attendant takes the chalice and
gives it to the collet, who replaces it in the sacristy. And when the
archdeacon has administered the cup to those whom the pope communicated, the
pontiff comes down from his throne, with the chancellor and the chief
counsellor, who hold his hands, in order to communicate those who are in the
places allotted to the magnates, after which the archdeacon communicates them
with the cup.
After this the bishops communicate the people, the
chancellor signing to them to do so with his hand under his planet, at the
pontiff’s formal request: and then the deacons administer the cup to them. Next
they all pass over to the left side of the church, and do the same there.
Moreover, the presbyters, at a sign from the chancellor, by command of the
pontiff, communicate the people also, and afterwards administer the cup to them
as well.
The Communion anthem.
Now as soon as the pontiff began to communicate the
magnates, the choir immediately began to sing the communion-anthem by turns
with the subdeacons; and they go on singing until, when all the people have
communicated, the pontiff signs to them to sing Glory be to the Father,
and then, after repeating the verse, they cease.
21. Then a district-subdeacon stands
before the pontiff in order that he may sign to him: but the pontiff first
looks at the people to see if they have finished communicating, and then signs
to him. Then he goes to the pontiff’s shoulder and looks towards the precentor,
making a cross on his forehead as a sign to him to sing Glory be: and the
precentor returns his salutation, and sings Glory be to the Father, etc.,
As it was in the beginning, etc., and the verse.
The Post-communion.
At the end of the anthem the pontiff rises with the
archdeacon and comes before the altar and says the post-communion collect,
facing eastwards. For at this part of the service, when he says, The Lord be
with you, he does not turn to the people.
The Dismissal
At the end of the collect, one of the deacons, appointed by
the archdeacon, looks towards the pontiff for him to sign to him, and then says
to the people, Go, [mass] is over! and they answer, Thanks be to God.
Then the seven collets carrying their candlesticks go before
the pontiff, and a district-subdeacon with the thurible, to the sacristy. But
as he goes down into the presbytery, first the bishops say, Sir, bid a
blessing; and the pontiff answers, May the Lord bless us, and they answer,
Amen. After the bishops the presbyters say the same, and then the monks,
then the choir, then the military banner-bearers, i.e. those who carry
standards: after them the bearers, after them the taperers, after them the
collets who watch the gate (of the Confession?); after them, but outside the
presbytery, those who carry the crosses; then the junior sextons, and this done
the pontiff enters the sacristy.
Supplement, showing
what things are done differently if the stational mass is celebrated by another
bishop when the pope is unable to be present.
22.
First, that the deacons, and not the bishop who is celebrating that day,
enter with the candlestick and thurible. Secondly, that the bishop does
not sit in the throne behind the altar. Thirdly, that he does not say the
collect behind the altar, but at the right side of it. Fourthly, that
the deacon, and not the bishop himself, makes the sign of the cross in the
place where it is customary. Fifthly, that the chalice is not elevated
by the archdeacon after the canon, where, By whom thou dost create all these
things, O Lord, is said. Sixthly, when, The Peace of the Lord be
with you alway, ought to be said, the subdeacon-oblationer brings a
fragment of the Fermentum, which has been hallowed by the pope, and
gives it to the archdeacon, and he offers it to the bishop, who making the sign
of the cross with it thrice as he says, The Peace of the Lord be with you
alway, drops it into the chalice. This also is done differently, for the
pope does not break one of the loaves, but the bishop breaks one over the cloth
on the altar which is called a corporas. Then all communicate, save only the celebrant
bishop, for he does not communicate himself by his own hand. Another bishop
puts a part of a loaf into his hand, and then he communicates himself from his
own hand. Likewise a presbyter does for a presbyter, and a deacon for a deacon.
Everything else the bishop does just as the pope.
In like
manner also things are done by a presbyter when he celebrates masses at a
Station, except, Glory be to God on high, for this is not said by a
presbyter save only at Easter.
Bishops who
rule over cities perform all things as the pope himself.
[The rite of
concelebration on festivals.]
48.
On festivals, that is to say on Easter day, Pentecost, St. Peter’s day, and
Christmas day, the cardinal presbyters assemble, each one holding a corporas in
his hand, and the archdeacon comes and offers each one of them three loaves.
And when the pontiff approaches the altar, they surround it on the right and
the left, and say the canon simultaneously with him, holding their loaves in
their hands, and not placing them on the altar, so that the pontiff’s voice may
be heard the more strongly, and they simultaneously consecrate the body and
blood of the Lord, but the pontiff alone makes a cross over the altar.
2 comments:
What is this exactly? The pre-Tridentine Roman rite?
Let's just say that it's substantially the Roman Mass of circa the 6th-8th century. ;)
From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
The first of these Ordines Romani, describing the ceremonies of a solemn Mass celebrated by the pope himself or his deputy, is the most valuable, as it is also one of the most ancient. Modern opinion inclines to the belief that the early part of it (numbers 1-21) really represents in substance the usages of a stational Mass in the time of Pope Gregory the Great (Kösters, "Studien zu Mabillons röm. Ord.", 6; cf. Grisar, "Analecta Romana", I, 193), but there are also, undoubtedly, in our present text adjustments and additions which must be attributed to the end of the seventh century (Atchley, "Ord. Rom. Primus", 7, favours a later date, but in this he only follows Probst). The fact that Amalarius, who seems to have had a copy of this Ordo before him did not find its description of paschal ceremonies in agreement with the actual Roman practice of his day, as expounded to him by Archdeacon Theodore in 832, need not lead us, with Mönchemeyer ("Amalar", 141), to the conclusion that the ceremonial never represented the official Roman use, and that it was merely an outline serving as a model for similar ceremonies in the Frankish dominions. On the contrary, so far as regards numbers 1- 21, every detail attaches itself in the closest way to the pontifical ceremonies of Rome. An introduction portions out the liturgical service among the clerics of the seven regions. Then the procession to the stational church and the arrival and reception there are minutely described. This is followed with an account of the vesting, the Introit, the Kyries, the Collects, and all the early part of the Mass. Very full details are also given of the manner of the reception of the offerings of bread and wine from the clergy and people, and to this succeeds a description of the Canon, the Kiss of Peace, the Communion, and the rest of the Mass. The account ends with number 21.
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