MOZARABIC, LITURGY. – The liturgy officially used in Spain until the second half of the 11th century, when the Roman liturgy was imposed, but preserved in the following centuries, from the 12th to the 15th, in some parishes of Toledo and, from the 16th century to the present day, in the chapel of the “Corpus Christi” of the primatial church of Toledo.
I. ORIGIN
It can be stated with certainty that Mozarabic liturgy as a whole is not of Eastern origin, but
Western, and in it the general character and numerous rites were imported from Italy, probably from Rome, by the first preachers of the Gospel in Spain: the rest is the work of the bishops, doctors, literati, and musicians of the peninsula (cf. M. Férotin, *Liber ordinum*, cited in bibliography, p. xiii). The liturgy is therefore distinctly of Latin origin, precisely Roman in its beginnings, but developed especially from the 6th century (when political unity, achieved by King Leovigild, gave impetus to liturgical unity, with the conversion of his son Recared to the Catholic faith [587]) until the beginning of the 7th century in the native environment without other foreign influences. Those who shaped this unity were the fathers of the Visigothic era, among whom the most deserving were: Peter of Lerida (5th–6th centuries), St. Leander of Seville (d. 599), John, bishop of Saragossa (d. 631). Special mention should be made of the archbishops of Toledo who worked with great zeal not only in restoring the liturgy but also in enriching it with new elements: Eugenius (d. 657), who had a special interest in chant which was named after him as “Eugenian chant”; St. Ildefonsus (d. 669), author of many Masses and some canticles in honor of St. Leocadia of Toledo; St. Julian (d. 690), who composed hymns and a Missal.
II. ABOLITION
In the 11th century the official abolition of Mozarabic liturgy took place in Spain at least in Castile, Aragon, and Navarre, despite indications that in some places even afterwards the celebration of the Mozarabic liturgy was combined with the Roman, and the latter was considerably influenced by the former until unification in the Mass and Divine Office with the publication of the Missal and Breviary of St. Pius V. The primary cause of this abolition was the use of Mozarabic texts by Elipandus of Toledo and Felix of Urgel to confirm their Adoptionist error, which aroused strong aversion and open hostility toward the Mozarabic rite and led the papal legations sent to examine the rites to abolish II. It seems that the celebration of the Roman Mass and Office in place of the Mozarabic began in the monastery of St. Salvador de Leyre (Navarre) in 1007, during the reign of King Sancho. The same occurred in March 1071 in the Aragonese monastery of St. John of the Peña. There are no reliable data on the introduction of the Roman rite in the Catalan territory, but it can be stated with a high degree of probability that in the 8th and 11th centuries there was a coexistence of the two rites or an influence of the Roman rite on the Mozarabic, especially in chant. The codices preserved in the cathedrals of Vic and Gerona seem to confirm these assertions. Gregory VII continued the work of his predecessors, addressing the king of Spain, the abbot of Cluny, and Bishop Simeon, hinting at his intention to preserve unity in the Church through liturgical unity. The result was the establishment of the Roman rite in the Kingdoms of Castile and León, according to the decision of the Council of Burgos in 1080; a large part in this change was played by the monks of Cluny and also by Queen Agnes, the first wife of Alfonso VI. The outcome obtained by the Pope was not, however, complete. Toledo, still subject to the Moors, retained its own rite; but once the city fell into the hands of Alfonso VI (25 May 1085), he and the archbishop, with papal approval, imposed the Roman rite; the Mozarabic rite would nonetheless remain in the six existing parishes of Sts. Justa and Rufina, St. Mark, St. Eulalia, St. Sebastian, St. Luke, and St. Torquatus, as indeed continued to be done until the early 16th century.Another cause that led to the decline of the Mozarabic rite was the fact that neither a complete Missal nor a Breviary existed, but only particular books for those who took part in the celebration of the liturgical offices. There was also the serious inconvenience that these books were written in Visigothic script, whose reading became increasingly difficult for the majority of readers. As the Mozarabic Office was gradually forgotten by those who were supposed to preserve it, it would inevitably have fallen into ruin had not the intelligence and zeal of Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros arranged (1495) for the publication of the complete Missal (1500) and Breviary (1502) and established the Mozarabic chapel of the “Corpus Christi” in the primatial cathedral of Toledo, in which the Mozarabic liturgy alone now survives.
This does not mean that the liturgy found in the Missal and Breviary of Cisneros is in all its purity the Mozarabic liturgy, for it is undeniable that, despite the immense work of the commission of parish priests presided over by Canon Ortiz, it was not possible to formulate the Mass and Office according to the true Hispanic liturgy.
III. MOZARABIC LITURGICAL CODICES
The literary sources of the Mozarabic rite are currently found in the codices of the cathedral of Toledo, the National Library of Madrid, the Academy of History, the private library of the King of Spain, that of the abbey of Silos, the cathedral of León, etc., as well as in various foreign libraries, such as the National Library of Paris, the Chapter Library of Verona, and the British Museum in London. The most important are: the *Toledo Sacramentary* (cod. 35. 3), from the second half of the 11th century; the *Oraisonale* of Verona from the end of the 7th or beginning of the 8th century, the oldest of the Mozarabic codices coming from the church of Tarragona (cod. LXXXIX: ed. J. Vives, Barcelona 1946); the *Liber Ordinum* of the abbey of Silos from the 11th century; the *Antiphonary* of León, from the end of the 9th or beginning of the 10th century (cod. 8 of the cathedral of León). All the codices currently known, except for the Oraisonale of Verona and the *Antiphonary* of León, are from the 10th or 11th centuries, but it is certain that they are copies of older codices now lost, and thus logically the liturgy they offer is that which was in use in Spain in earlier centuries.IV. MOZARABIC MISSAL
Part of these codices were incorporated into the compilation of the Gothic or Mozarabic Missal, published by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros: *Missale mixtum secundum regulam beati Isidori, dictum mozarabes*, Toledo 1500; another edition, Rome 1755, edited by A. Lesley and M. Azevedo (PL 85); another, Rome 1804, under the auspices of Cardinal F. A. Lorenzana.V. THE MOZARABIC BREVIARY
The Gothic Breviary according to the Rule of St. Isidore, also published in Toledo in 1502, does not, as the preface states, contain the prayers “prout antiqui ea regula fruebantur simpliciter, sed secundum quid.” This does not mean that the prayers, readings, antiphons, etc., were invented, but that in transcribing what was known from the codices before them, the Office was arranged in a way that made it easier to recite by merging the two existing forms, the monastic and the cathedral, into one. Cardinal Lorenzana produced a new edition (Madrid 1775).VI. HORARIUM
This is the third book currently in use in the Mozarabic chapel, and it contains the Office of the Minor Hours; and in addition, the common of the other hours of the saints. At the beginning there is the Mass of the Apostle St. James the Greater and an introductory exposition of both the Mass and the Divine Office by Cardinal Lorenzana, still archbishop of Mexico (Puebla de los Angeles 1770; Toledo 1875).VII. THE MASS
That the present Mozarabic Mass is not entirely the same as the Hispanic, Gothic, or other Masses is critically certain; but it would be going too far to assert from this fact that it is a mixture that does not allow us to know the true “cursus” of the authentic Mozarabic Mass. Although in some specific points it coincides with the Toledan Roman liturgy, in these coincidences it is difficult to see which of the two was influenced, and it would not be rash to say that the Mozarabic liturgy influenced the Toledan more than the latter influenced the Mozarabic.I. Mass of the Catechumens
The greatest number of coincidences with the Roman liturgy is found in the Mass of the Catechumens, where many elements were certainly incorporated. The first part (*ante Missam*) consists principally of readings, canticles, antiphons, as well as certain orations. It is worth noting that in the present “ordo” of the Mozarabic Mass, where the psalm *Judica* and the *Confiteor* appear—though with a particular formula of evident Roman influence—the preparation of the offerings is made immediately after ascending the altar, before beginning the *praelegendum*, in the manner of an introit. According to the codices, it is probable that this preparation of the offerings was formerly made in the sacristy, the priest already vested. In the Sunday Masses of Lent, it is done after the reading of the prophecy. The priest then descends to the foot of the altar, holding the chalice thus prepared in his hands and singing certain very melodious prayers.Once the offering is prepared, the priest proceeds with the “ad Missam officium” according to the rubrics of the Cisneros Missal, or “ad praelegendum” as the codices say, similar to the Introit of the Roman rite. This is followed by the *Gloria*, except during Lent, in the middle of the altar. At the end of the *Gloria*, after saying “per omnia saecula saeculorum,” the priest goes to the Epistle side, where he reads the oration in the manner of a Collect. He then returns to the center of the altar with his hands extended before his chest, saying: “Per misericordiam tuam, Deus noster, qui es benedictus et vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum.” After greeting the people with “Dominus sit semper vobiscum,” he goes to the Epistle side for the two readings, the first of which is always prophetic, whether from the Old or New Testament, and the second from the New Testament, with a “psallendo” in the manner of a gradual in between. Sometimes, particularly in ferial Masses, there are more than two readings, and for this reason the Mass begins without the “ad Missam Officium,” *Gloria*, or oration. The Gospel is not followed by the kissing of the book nor by the invocation: “Ave, verbum divinum, reformatio virtutum, restitutio sanitatum.” This is followed by the *Lauda* in the manner of an Alleluia, which, according to canon 12 of the Fourth Council of Toledo, must always be sung after the Gospel. The priest then makes the offering of the Host and the Chalice and subsequently asks the faithful to assist him with their prayers in the action of the Sacrifice with the words: “Adiuvate me, fratres, in orationibus vestris, et orate pro me ad Deum,” to which the choir responds: “Adiuvet te Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus.” He then recites the “Sacrificium” (the Offertory in the Roman Mass) and goes to the Epistle side for the Lavabo, immediately returning to the center of the altar where, deeply bowed, he recites the oration “Accedam,” composed by St. Julian. The “omnimode” Mass of the *Liber Ordinum* of Silos places this oration at the beginning of the Mass, when the priest arrives at the altar (Dom Férotin, *Liber Ordinum*, c. 229).
2. Mass of the Faithful
In this part, more variants are found in relation to the Roman Mass. In the Roman Canon, in fact, except on a few days of the liturgical year, there are no variations, or if they exist, they are of little importance, with only a brief mention of the Mystery being celebrated. In the Mozarabic liturgy, however, in the Canon proper, there are nine orations that are always variable, both in the temporal and sanctoral cycles, as well as in the Common of Saints: *Oratio*, *Alia*, *Post nomina*, *Ad pacem*, *Inlatio*, *Post Sanctus*, *Post pridie*, *Ad orationem dominicam*, *Benediciones*, which gives the Mozarabic liturgy a literary richness far superior to all other Eastern and Western liturgies.After reciting the oration “Accedam,” the priest, with his hands placed over the altar, continues the Mass with the liturgical greeting “Dominus sit semper vobiscum,” to which the choir responds “Et cum spiritu tuo.” This is followed by the first proper oration. After reciting the “Per misericordiam,” the priest says “Oremus,” without adding anything else, and the choir responds: “Agios, Agios, Domine Deus, Rex aeterna! Tibi laudes et gratias.” Next, the priest asks that all the Church be kept in mind in prayer, so that the Lord may grant it steadfastness in faith, hope, and charity; sinners, prisoners, the sick, and pilgrims, so that the Lord may look upon them with favor and redeem, heal, and comfort them, to which the choir responds “Concedilo, aeterno et omnipotente Deus.” This is followed by the second proper oration called *Alia*, and after this comes the reading of the diptychs, preceded by a kind of Preface in which, besides recalling the pope first of all, it is said that the Sacrifice is offered in union with the other bishops, for themselves and for all the clergy and peoples of the Church, for each one in particular and for the entire Christian people; and that the Sacrifice is also offered for all priests, deacons, clerics, and all the faithful present, for themselves and for their loved ones. The choir reinforces this affirmation by saying: “They offer it for themselves and for the universal brotherhood.” After this Preface, the reading of the diptychs is followed by the commemoration of the Apostles and martyrs, preceded by the names of the Virgin, Zechariah, John, and the Holy Innocents. After this, the choir responds: “And of all the martyrs.” Then comes the mention of some great Doctors, the most important of the Western Church, including St. Athanasius of the East, and the great Fathers and Doctors of the Spanish Church: Fulgentius, Leander, and Isidore, ending with the list of Toledan bishops, before and after the Reconquest, ending with Dominic (1262–66) and adding the names of Julian, another Julian, Philip, Stephen, John, another John, and Felix. This is followed by the third proper oration, called “Post nomina,” after which the kiss of peace is given, following the reading of the fourth oration “Ad pacem”; then comes the Preface or *Inlatio*, the fifth proper oration, which ends with the *Sanctus* and the *Benedictus*, and the sixth proper oration or “Post sanctus.” The secret part of the Mass continues, which contains the formula of the Consecration according to the wording of St. Paul; this formula appears to have been replaced by order of Pope John X, at the time of the legation of Zanello.
After the elevation of the Host and the chalice (an elevation that is not properly speaking a consecration), the priest continues with the proper prayer “Post pridie,” concluding with the “Te prestante...”; he makes the Sign of the Cross over the offerings, as in the Roman liturgy at the words: “Sanctificas, vivificas, benedicis et prestas nobis,” and when saying: “Ut sit benedicta a Te, Deo nostro, in secula seculorum,” he makes the Sign of the Cross. At this point the priest recites the Creed (when the feast so requires), holding the Host in his right hand above the chalice and first saying the admonition: “Fidem quam corde credimus, ore autem dicamus.” When the Creed is not recited, the antiphon “Ad confrontationem,” proper to the feast or common, is said instead.
This is followed by the fraction of the Host into two equal halves, and immediately these are subdivided: the first into five parts and the second into four, while the principal mysteries of the Lord are enumerated with the words: “Corporatio, Nativitas, Circumcisio, Apparitio, Passio, Mors, Resurrectio, Gloria, Regnum.” The nine particles are arranged on the paten in the form of a cross, and the “Memento pro vivis” is said. At the end of this, the prayer “ad orationem Dominicam” is recited, which concludes with the “Pater Noster,” the choir responding to each petition with “Amen.”
Next comes an embolism after the last response of the choir, in the Roman manner but much more extensive in concept and expression. After genuflecting, the celebrant takes the last particle into which he has divided the Host and, holding it over the chalice, says the “Sancta sanctis” and the words of commingling. Once this is done, the triple blessing (“benedictiones”) follows, preceded by an exhortation to the people to humble themselves to receive it, concluding with the “per misericordiam” and the “Dominus sit semper vobiscum.” After this comes the “antifona ad accedentes,” which varies according to the season: one for ordinary time, another for Lent, and a third for Eastertide. During this time, and also during the Octave of Corpus Christi, the following is said three times: “Vicit leo de tribu Juda, radix David, alleluia,” to which the choir responds each time: “Qui sedes super Cherubim, radix David, alleluia.”
It is now the moment for the priest’s Communion. Beforehand, holding the particle “Gloria” in his hand above the pair of the chalice, he recites the “Memento pro defunctis.” After this, he says the preparatory prayer for Communion, which the priest does by taking one by one the particles into which he has divided the Host, but in reverse order. Before communicating himself with the first particle, making the Sign of the Cross with it, he says: “Ave in aevum, sanctissima caro Christi in perpetuum, summa dulcedo.” And as he gathers any particles that may have remained on the paten, he says: “Ave in aevum caelestis potus, qui mihi ante omnia et super omnia dulcis es.” Then, making the Sign of the Cross with the chalice, he says: “Corpus et sanguis Domini Nostri Jesu Christi custodiat corpus et animam meam in vitam aeternam, amen,” while the choir sings an antiphon.
At the purification of the chalice, he says the prayer: “Domine Deus...,” and concludes by gathering the corporal and covering the chalice. He then recites a prayer in the manner of a “Postcommunio” at the Epistle side, and with his hands joined before his chest, he goes to the center, saying: “Per misericordiam...” as before the Collect. After saying the “Dominus sit semper vobiscum,” he dismisses the people with the words: “Sollemnia completa sunt. In nomine Domini Nostri Jesu Christi votum nostrum sit acceptum cum pace” in more solemn feasts, or in less solemn ones with the words: “Missa acta est. In nomine Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, perficiamus cum pace.” Descending to the foot of the altar, he recites the “Salve Regina” with the prayer “Concede,” after which he returns to the altar and gives the blessing to the faithful, tracing a cross over the altar and kissing it, while saying: “in unitate sancti Spiritus.” Then he raises his eyes and hands toward the Cross and says: “Benedicat vos,” and turning to the people, he gives them the blessing, saying: “Pater et Filius.” Thus the Mozarabic Mass ends.
3. Kiss of Peace
A characteristic of the Mozarabic rite is the place occupied by the kiss of peace. In the Mozarabic liturgy, unlike the African liturgy (according to the testimony of St. Augustine) and the Roman liturgy (according to the “Ordines Romani”), where it is given immediately before Communion, the Mozarabic rite anticipates it to before the beginning of the Canon, at the Inlatio. The kiss of peace was exchanged among the faithful without being transmitted by the celebrant, as the Council of Compostela (a.d. 1056) states in canon I, and this is also indicated by the phrase still used today according to the Missal of the Cistercian rite: “Quomodo adstatis, pacem facite.” At present, the celebrant kisses the paten and gives the kiss of peace to the deacon, so that he may transmit it to the choir and the people; in Masses without ministers, he kisses the aspergillum presented to him by the server, who in turn gives it to those in the choir. When giving the kiss to the paten, he says: “Habete osculum dilectionis et pacis, ut apti sitis sacrosanctis mysteriis Dei.”4. **Public nature of the liturgical act.** — The participation of the people in the Mozarabic Mass is much more active than in the Roman Mass. In it there are no silent prayers, except for the prayer immediately preceding the consecration and that which follows II. Everything is said aloud, and the people respond.
5. **Consecration.** — The formula of consecration in the Mozarabic rite is not the same as that in the Roman rite. As can be seen in the “Missa omnimode” of the Silos ritual, the consecration formula, along with the words that precede it, is titled “Missa secreta” and is taken from 1 Cor 11:23-26, whereas that of the Roman Mass is taken from the Synoptics. This formula of the “Missa secreta,” which seems to have been abolished at the time of Pope John X, is reproduced in the edition of the Missale plenum of Cisneros without any other formula in the text, whether in the Ordinary of the Mass of the First Sunday of Advent or in the Ordinary of the Mass following Holy Saturday.
VIII. MOZARABIC OFFICE
Although the Mozarabic Breviary did not have the 200 years prescribed by St. Pius V, since it was the work of Cardinal Cisneros at the beginning of the 16th century, it could still be used because its cursus was older than 200 years. The prayers, readings, themes, canticles, psalms, antiphons, and so forth are indeed the same as those that, in remote times, formed the corpus of the Divine Office.BIBL.:
Mozarabica, Liturgia - Canone della Messa m. Credo e figura della partizione dell'Ostia nell'Editio princeps del Missale mixtum secundum regulam b. Isidori dictum mozarabes, Toledo 1500, f. 227 V. - Esemplare della Biblioteca Vaticana.
Mozarabica, Liturgia - Messa m. Partizione dell'Ostia in nove parti collocate sulla patena in forma di croce. I due pezzi interi posti a destra servono per la comunio “sotto” e per la comunione del sacerdote (sopra) - Toledo, cappella della Primaziale.
The hours currently in use in the Mozarabic Office are as follows: Vespers, Compline, Matins and Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext and Nona (in some ferial Offices, another hour called Aurora precedes Prime). The internal arrangement of each of these differs entirely from the Roman rite. Notable is the absence of the Psalter: some psalms are recited, especially in the Sunday and ferial Offices, but the orderly and complete recitation of the Psalter is not found. This psalmody, which is currently lacking in the Mozarabic Office, does not appear to be the authentic one. From the manuscripts known, especially the *Rituale antiquissimum* of Silos, the *Psalterium Toletanum*, those in the British Museum in London with nos. 30.844-40 (all deriving from Silos), and those 35.5-35.7 from the cathedral of Toledo, it may be deduced that in antiquity, especially in the “monastic cursus,” the psalms formed almost the entire body of the Divine Office.