A History of the Byzantine “Divine Liturgy” Part I: The Liturgy of the Word

• Applicant: Professor Stefano Parenti, Ph.D.
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology ; Medieval History
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 460825310

The Byzantine Divine Liturgy with its two formularies attributed to Basil of Caesarea and John Chrysostom is, after the Roman Mass, the most widespread Eucharistic rite in the world, celebrated every Sunday and on the main feasts of the year by all the Churches of the Orthodox Communion, by the Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine rite, and by some Churches of the Reformation.After the publication in 1948 of Joseph A. Jungmann’s Missarum Sollemnia, the need for a history of the Byzantine mass was felt in many quarters. Robert Taft assumed the task and between 1975 and 2008 published four volumes (II, IV, V, VI) of the "History of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom". The volume on the anaphora itself (vol. III) is being published posthumously by the undersigned applicant.I myself contributed to the drafting of volumes V and VI and in 2014 I published a revision of the second volume, which has increased in volume by about 250 pages. However, the first volume, which is to be dedicated to the liturgy of words, is still completely missing. There is only a series of articles by Juan Mateos, which were written between 1965 and 1970 and published in an anthology in 1971.In the almost fifty liturgical science has made very significant progress, and some of Mateos’ theses have proved to be without foundation. It is therefore essential to develop a volume ex-novo on the Liturgy of the Word, from the opening rites to the prayers of the faithful in both formularies attributed to Basil and Chrysostom.The study will be useful not only for liturgical scholars, but also for theologians, Byzantine scholars and medievalists, all of whom are now more conscious of the importance of the liturgy in the medieval world. The same is true also for those who teach contemporary religious culture in Europe.Below are the main objectives of my project:1. From the point of view of attention to the history of the Byzantine rite as a study of the evolution of distinct regional rites, local peculiarities will be highlighted when the manuscript tradition allows a certain or at least probable localization.2. The comparative dimension of the research will be accentuated, especially in the traditions that have had relations with the Byzantine rite such as the Hagiopolitan rite in the Middle East, the Armenian rite in Cilicia, and the Roman-Gallican rites in southern Italy.3. Each prayer of the Synaxis of the Word will undergo a lexical investigation through the use of the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG) and other databases.4. also to identify the causes of its changes and reforms, specifying from time to time whether they are part of more general reforms, or particular changes affecting a single liturgical unit.5. to develop a Byzantine phenomenology of liturgical reform to confront the paradigms put forward by other scholars.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants