Gospel Book

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Evangeliary.
For individual books, see Gospel Book (disambiguation).
The Book of Kells, c. 800, an illuminated manuscript showing the lavishly decorated text that opens the Gospel of John.

A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (

liturgical calendar.[1]

Liturgical use in churches of a distinct Gospel book remains normal, often compulsory, in

Roman Catholicism and some parts of Anglicanism and Lutheranism
.

History

Folio 72 verso of the Codex Aureus of Lorsch. Christ in Majesty

In the

liturgical calendar; previously gospel readings had often worked through the books in sequence.[3] Many of these volumes were elaborate; the Gospel Book was the most common form of heavily illuminated manuscript until about the 11th century, when the Romanesque Bible and Psalter largely superseded it in the West. In the East they remained a significant subject for illumination until the arrival of printing. The Evangelist portrait was a particular feature of their decoration.[4] Most of the masterpieces of both Insular and Ottonian illumination are Gospel Books.[5]

But most Gospel Books were never illuminated at all, or only with decorated

Eusebius of Caesarea explaining the Eusebian Canons he had devised.[6]

Luxuriously illuminated gospel books were mainly a feature of the Early Middle Ages, as the evangeliary or a general lectionary gradually became more common for liturgical use, and other texts became most favoured for elaborate decoration.[7]

Western use

Roman Catholicism

Jackson, MS

In current

Mass in the course of the liturgical year. However, use of the Book of the Gospels is not mandatory, and the gospel readings are also included in the standard Lectionary.[8][9]

The Book of the Gospels, if used, is brought to the altar in the entrance procession, while the Lectionary may not be.[10] When carried in procession, the Book of the Gospels is held slightly elevated, though not over the head. It is particularly proper for the deacon to carry the Book of the Gospels in procession, as the reading of the gospel is his particular province. When there is no deacon, the Book may be carried by a lector.[11] Upon reaching the altar, the deacon or lector bows in veneration of the altar, then places the Book upon the altar, where it remains until the Alleluia.[12]

During the singing of the Alleluia, the deacon (who before proclaiming the gospel receives the presiding priest's blessing), or in his absence, a priest, removes the Book from the altar and processes with it to the ambo. If incense is used, the Book of the Gospels is censed by the deacon before the reading or chanting. An altar server or acolyte will swing the censer slowly during the reading or chanting.[13] The Book of the Gospels remains on the ambo until the Mass concludes, unless it is taken to a bishop to be kissed, after which it may be placed on the credence table or another appropriate and dignified place.[14]

Lutheranism

In the Lutheran Churches, the Book of the Gospels is "carried in procession".[15][16]

Anglicanism

The Gospel Book at St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

In the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America the practice of using a Gospel Book was recovered with the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which suggests that the lessons and gospel "be read from a book or books of appropriate size and dignity".[17]

Eastern use

Aleksandrov).
Reading the Gospel during the Divine Liturgy.

Significant gospel books

Illuminated page from the 6th century Rossano Gospels, one of the oldest extant Gospel Books.

See also the categories at bottom.

Notes

  1. ^ a b "General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 44" (PDF). Catholic Bishops' Conference of England & Wales. Catholic Truth Society. Retrieved 2 February 2015. Among gestures included are also actions and processions: of the priest going with the deacon and ministers to the altar; of the deacon carrying the Evangeliary or Book of the Gospels to the ambo before the proclamation of the Gospel ...
  2. ^ Calkins, 31
  3. ^ Calkins, 18-19
  4. ^ Calkins, 23-29, and chapters 1 and 3
  5. ^ Calkins, chapters 1 and 3 deals with these in turn
  6. ^ Calkins, 25
  7. ^ Calkins, 148-150
  8. ^ Deiss, 36-37
  9. ^ ""The Proclamation of the Gospel at Mass" (The Catholic Liturgical Library)". Archived from the original on 2018-04-18. Retrieved 2015-02-02.
  10. ^ General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 120
  11. ^ Deiss, 38-39
  12. ^ Commentary, 128
  13. ^ Paul Turner, "The Book of the Gospels"
  14. ^ Edward McNamara, "A Place for the Book of the Gospels"
  15. ^ Eckardt, Burnell; Frahm, John A. (6 July 2017). "Give Attention to the Public Reading of Scripture: I Timothy 4:13: Lectors, Pastoral Stewardship, and Gender Considerations". Gottesdienst: The Journal of Lutheran Liturgy. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  16. ISBN 978-1-108-49092-4
    .
  17. ^ 1979 US Book of Common Prayer, p. 406

References

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