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ER 2396

Liber ordinum, the ritual in the use of the Church in Iberian Peninsula, probably representing the liturgy from the period between the 7th c. (or even the 6th c.) to 11th c., includes the rite of funeral of the bishop presided by another bishop accompanied by the presbyters, deacons and other clergy.

XLIII. — ORDO QVID CONVENIAT OBSERVARE CLERICIS CIVITATIS ILLIVS CVIVS EPISCOPVS IN VLTIMA EGRITVDINE POSITVS FVERIT.

Scilicet, ne pigri sint in aduocandum episcopum alium. Qui antequam episcopus prius ipsorum ab hac luce discedat, ante alius episcopus ad sepeliendum eum occurrat.

Here follows a citation from canon 3 of the Seventh Council of Toledo in 646 from the words "si quis sacerdotum". See [536].

ORDO OBSERVANDVM IN FVNCTIONE EPISCOPI

Hora quisquis ille episcopus mortuus fuerit, siue per diem, siue per noctem, statim signum publice in ecclesia seniore sonabit: simulque per omnes ecclesias, que possunt infra duo milia esse, signum similiter sonaturum est.

Deinde, aliquibus ex clero per girum sollicite ac deuote aut recitantibus aut psallentibus, exuitur corpus morientis episcopi a presbiteris uel diaconibus. Deinde lauato corpore, aut tuta secundum morem posteriora, uestitur solitis uestimentis secundum morem, id est: tunica, deinde femoralia et pedules; post hec capello et sudario. Deinde inponitur ei alba et orarium per ceruicem et ante pectus, sicuti quum solet sacerdos missam celebrare. In manu quoque ei ampulla ponitur. Deinde pollices manuum de institis ligantur, id est de paruis linteolis aut nastulis. Similiter et pedes ei ligantur. Post hec, inponitur ei casulla alba.

Deinde, substrato de subtus linteo mundissimo, ponitur corpus in feretro, recitantibus semper aut psallentibus presbiteris, diaconibus et omni clero, cum oblato semper incenso.

Sic deinde in choro ecclesie ubi prefuit, cum precedentibus et subsequentibus luminariis, ponitur. Ac deinde, supra pectus eius euangelium plenarium ponitur, ita ut supra euangelium aliud uelamentum non ponatur, sed ipsum euangelium super palleum agnabum ei desuper in pectore ponitur.

Sicque fit, ut siue per diem, siue per noctem, mors ei contingat, sine intermissione semper super eum psallendum aut recitandum sit; donec, hora diei debita, sacrificium Deo pro eius requie in principali altario offeratur.

Deinde leuatur corpus eius a diaconibus cum illo euangelio supra eius pectus posito; et sic usque ad sepulcrum cum luminariis precedentibus et subsequentibus perducitur, cantantibus omnibus qui ex clero sunt antiphonas, aut responsuria, que solent de mortuis decantare.

Post hec, celebrata iterum missa, in ecclesia illa ubi sepeliendus est, in sepulcro eius sal exorcizatum adspargitur, et incensum intus in ipso sepulcro offertur. Deinde, tollitur euangelium de pectore eius, et deponitur corpus a diaconibus in sepulcrum, cantantibus aliis religiosis antiphonam hanc:

Ant.: In sinu Abrahe amici tui conloca eum Domine...

Sicque, iterum oblato incenso super corpore ipso, accedit episcopus qui ad eum humandum uenerit, et aperiens ei os, mittit crismam in ore, dicens ei ita:

Hoc pietatis sacramentum sit tibi in participatione omnium beatorum.

Here follows antiphonies, verse, the Glory is sung, and then an antiphony is repeated. Then the bishop presiding over the funeral says a prayer. A deacon says a prayer. Then follows another prayer and a blessing.

Post hec secundum morem sepulcrum cooperitur et cera marmoratur. Hec ipsa oratio conuenit et in conmendatione presbiteri.

(ed. Férotin 1904: col. 139-144)

XLIII. — THE RITE THAT SHOULD BE OBSERVED BY CLERICS OF THE CITY WHOSE BISHOP IS TERMINALLY ILL

To be sure they are not slow to call another bishop so that before [their] bishop leaves this world, another bishop would be present to bury him.

Here follows a citation from canon 3 of the Seventh Council of Toledo in 646 from the words "si quis sacerdotum". See [536].

THE RITE TO OBSERVE IN THE FUNERAL OF THE BISHOP

At the hour of a bishop's death, whether it is day or night, at once, the bells will toll in the main church. Also in all the churches which are within a two miles radius, the bells shall toll.

Then presbyters or deacons strip the body of the dead bishop while clerics standing around diligently and piously recite or sing psalms. Then, after the body has been washed and all other things have been taken care of according to the custom, the bishop is dressed according to the custom with conventional vestments: a tunic, leg coverings, and socks, after that, head and face coverings. Then they dress him in an alb and put a stole around the back of his neck [so that the ends lie] on his breast, in the same way as it is worn by the priest who celebrates the mass. Also, they put a vial in his hand. Then his fingers are bound with fillets, that is narrow strips of cloth or ribbons. His feet are similarly bound. After that, they put on him a white chasuble.

Then, placing beneath a sheet of the cleanest cloth, they put the body on a bier while presbyters, deacons, and all the clergy all the time recite and sing psalms, and offer incense.

In that manner he is then placed in the choir of the church in which he presided with men carrying candles in front of and behind him. And the complete evangeliary is placed on his breast in such a way that no cloth is put on the evangeliary but the evangeliary is placed on the piece of fine cloth [?] on his breast.

And it is done in that manner that, whether he died during the day or during the night, psalms are recited or sung by him without pause to the moment in which, on a proper hour of the day, the sacrifice is offered to God for his rest on the principal altar.

After that his body with the evangeliary placed on his breast is picked up by the deacons and in that manner they carry him to his tomb with men carrying candles in front of and behind him, while all clerics sing usual antiphonies and responsories for the office of the dead.

Then, after another mass celebrated in the church where he was buried, exorcized salt is scattered over his tomb and incense is offered inside the tomb. Then they take the evangeliary from his breast and the deacons place his body in the tomb, while all clerics sing this antiphony:

ANT.: At the bosom of Abraham, your friend, place him, o Lord...

Then, after incensce was again offered over his body, the bishop who had arrived to bury him, opens his mouth and puts some chrism inside saying to him what follows:

Let this sacrament of piety make you participate with all the blessed.

After that they close the tomb according to the custom and seal it with wax. The same prayer is appropriate for the funeral of a presbyter.

(trans. M. Szada)

Discussion:

The rubrics describe the very solemn rite of the burial of the bishop. It has several particularities that startled Férotin, especially as he believed in the early date of its composition. For example, he notes that the mention of the tolling of bells for the occasion is rare and one of the earliest. He also notes some rare or otherwise unattested words and expressions (agnabum, nastulae, cera marmorantur). They are, however, less unexpected when we assume that the text is of a later date. In the 7th century, though, we can notice some preoccupation with the propriety of the bishopric burial, especially as attested by the canons (for example, canon 3 of the Seventh Council of Toledo cited before the rubrics). This was probably a starting point for the evolution of this elaborated funeral rite.

Place of event:

Region

Iberian Peninsula

About the source:

Title: Liber ordinum
Origin: Iberian Peninsula
Denomination: Catholic/Nicene/Chalcedonian

Liber ordinum is the ritual book used in the Old Spanish liturgy consisting of the various prayers and the sacramental rites performed by the priest or the bishop. It was edited in 1904 by Marius Férotin who based his edition on the four manuscripts - three codices from the monastery of Silos (Archivo del Monasterio, ms. 3 and 4), the first one from 1039 (cod. A in the edition of Férotin), the second from 1052 (cod. B), the third, Rituale antiquissimum, from the eleventh century; and the codex from Madrid, the so-called Manuale mozarabicum (cod. 56, formerly F.224, in the library of Real Academia de la Historia), also from the eleventh century. The copyists used different old books of the Old Spanish liturgy, and various texts included in these Libri ordinum might come from different periods. However, according to Férotin, who based his interpretation on internal evidence, most of it was composed in the sixth and seventh centuries. He dated only a few prayers (e.g. the exorcism of oil, no. 1) to the later period.

Edition:

M. Férotin, Le Liber ordinum en usage dans l’église wisigothique et mozarabe d’Espagne du cinquième au onzième siècle, Paris 1904.

Categories:

Ritual activity - Burying the dead

Relation with - Bishop/Monastic superior

Relation with - Deacon

Relation with - Lower cleric

Ritual activity - Chanting

Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL: M. Szada, Presbyters in the Late Antique West, ER2396, http://presbytersproject.ihuw.pl/index.php?id=6&SourceID=2396