Ancient Liturgies

This article examines the celebration of Lazarus Saturday in Hagiopolite liturgical practice between the late fourth and early tenth centuries. Lazarus Saturday occupied a significant place within the liturgical year in ancient Jerusalem, signaling the end of Lent and the beginning of Holy Week. Building on several previous studies concerning the structural development of the Lazarus Saturday rites, this work offers a consideration of the broader themes and beliefs celebrated in these liturgies. It concludes by noting that Lazarus Saturday served as an encapsulation of the community’s Paschal celebration of salvation through Christ and a thematic hinge that connected the events of Holy Week to the lives of worshippers.

Análisis de las normas litúrgicas emplazadas en el obispado de Tlaxcala-Puebla, entre el siglo XVI al XIX. Los principios rectores, los manuales y textos oficiales, así como las reformas derivadas de la realidad social y las prácticas de piedad popular.

Gabriella Gelardini offers a form-critical, historical, and intertextual analysis of Hebrews. She starts by acknowledging that Hebrews is frequently categorized formally as an ancient synagogue homily with its consequent Sitz im Leben within the Sabbath gathering. By con- sidering the liturgical conventions in ancient production and recep- tion aesthetics of synagogue homilies, she makes clear that Hebrews must have functioned as the interpretation, teaching, and applica- tion of a first reading from the Torah (sidrah) and a second reading from the Prophets (haphtarah). Gelardini shows that the sidrah must stem from Exod 31:18–32:35 (breaking of the covenant) and the haphtarah from Jer 31:31–34 (covenant renewal). As is usual for homilies conforming to the petichta type, the sidrah in the introduction of the homily is not quoted but rather referred to in midrashic manner, except that it quotes—as it should—the last verse prior to (or first verse of ) the sidrah, namely Exod 31:17b in Heb 4:4. As expected, the complementary haphtarah is quoted explicitly in the central part of the homily. The fact that these readings appear so central for the theme and structure of the homily, and moreover serve as its hermeneu- tical key, does justice to the obvious importance and extraordinary quantity of quotations from the LXX in Hebrews. The reconstructed two readings are part of the liturgical reading cycle, the Palestinian Triennial Cycle in early form, and both of them hint at the most important day of fast in Jewish tradition, Tisha be-Av. This sugges- tion is confirmed when the central quotations and the theological concepts in Hebrews are compared with extra-biblical text and infor- mation on Tisha be-Av.

Starting from the double understanding of peregrinatio as exile and pilgrimage in Augustine, this research aims to investigate the Augustinian motif sursum cor and to discuss its sources and its meanings. I examine the relationship of this motif with the topic of spiritual senses and with the role of the heart for the way of purification of the passion and of the ascent of the human being toward God. Conceived as a pilgrimage toward the Kingdom of Heavens or the eternal Jerusalem, this ascent to God is also suggested in the liturgical use of the formula sursum cor. This study connects the examination of the liturgical practice, which integrates this formula in the Church of Hippo, with ecclesial and eschatological considerations in Augustine’s view.

Wäre Petrus nie in Rom gewesen, wie neuerdings wieder behauptet wird, wäre das ein heftiger Schlag gegen das Papsttum, das sich doch gerade auf das Grab des Apostelfürsten und die Petrusnachfolge beruft. Der Band untersucht deshalb aus einem neuen Blickwinkel Texte des Neuen Testaments, den 1. Clemensbrief und Schiften von Tertullian und Cyprian. Eine Schlüsselstellung nimmt der Brief des Ignatius an die Christen in Rom ein, der sich als echt und aussagekräftig erweist. Gerade er erweist sich als ein neuer, überraschender Zugang zur christlichen Märtyrerverehrung in ihrer frühesten Entwicklung.