The Gothic Missal includes prayers for the celebration of mass on the feast day of *Sixtus/Xystus II (bishop and martyr of Rome, S00201). Written in Latin in Gaul, perhaps at Luxeuil for the Christian community of Autun, c. 680/710.
E08242
Liturgical texts - Sacramentaries
Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment codex
The Gothic Missal (Missale Gothicum)
MISSA IN NATALE SANCTI SIXTI PAPAE VRBIS ROMAE
389. Domine deus, fidelium insuperabilis fortitudo, qui inter mundana conuersationes aduersa sanctorum nos maxime glorificationie solaris <...> tui indesinenter accendis. Excita, domine, in aeclesia tua spiritum, cui ille seruiuit, ut studeamus diligere quod amauit et opera exercere quod docuit. Per dominum nostrum Iesum filium tuum.
390. COLLECTIO SEQVITVR. Praesta nobis, omnipotens et misericors deus, ut beati Sixti martyris tui repetita sollempnitas et liberationem nobis perfectam tributat et salutem. Per dominum nostrum.
391. COLLECTIO POST NOMINA. Adesto, domine, supplicationibus nostris et intercessionem martyris tui Sixti perpetuam nobis misericordiam benignus inpende, et nomina, quae recitata sunt nostrorum carorum in caelesti pagnia iobeas intimare. Per dominum nostrum.
392. COLLECTIO AD PACEM. Accipe, quaesomus, domine, munera dignanter oblata et beati Sixti episcopi et martyris suffragantibus meritis ad nostrae salutis agumentum prouenire concide, et illa, quae in eo flagrauit fortis filectio, in nobis adspira benignus. Per eum quem.
393. IMMOLATIO MISSAE. Vere dignum et iustum est, aequum et salutare est tibi assiduas laudes canere, domine, sancte pater, omnipotens aeterne deus, per Christum dominum nostrum, qui per aduentum suum credentes in se homines ad calestia regna transire permisit. Quoniam hii, qui se tuae testes offerunt ueritatis, inimicum dum occiduntur occidunt, ex quibus est sanctus ac uenerabilis Syxtus martyr, cuius hodie sollempnitas celebratur, qui dum apostolicae sedis excepisset insignia et se primum esse conspiceret sacerdotum, occansionem salutaris passionis excipiens, non tantum saeculares exuit sordes contagii, uerum etiam exemplum fuit ceteris. Nam mox suus quoque minister eximius uenerabilis Laurentius uicturiae palmam imitatus accepit ornamentum quod debuit poena subire, ut gloriam mereretur aeternam consequere. Per Christum.
'Mass for the Feast of Saint Sixtus, Bishop of the City of Rome
389. Lord God, insuperable force of the faithful, who, amid the adversities of life on earth, comforts us especially through the glorification of the saints, [and who] unceasingly urges [us to the greatest examples of patience through the victory of] your [holy Sixtus]: arouse in your Church, O Lord, the Spirit that he served, that we strive to love what he loved and to practice the works that he taught. Through our Lord Jesus your Son.
390. Collect follows. Almighty and merciful God, grant us that the recurring feast of your blessed martyr Sixtus gives us a perfect liberation and salvation. Through our Lord.
391. Collect after the names. Hear our supplications, O Lord, and favourably grant us perpetual mercy through the intercession of your martyr Sixtus, and may you command that the names of our beloved that are recited are announced in the heavenly book.
392. Collect at the kiss of peace. Accept the worthily offered oblations, so we ask, O Lord, and grant that our salvation increases thanks to the merits of the blessed bishop and martyr Sixtus. And mercifully instil in us that vigorous love which burned in him. Through him who [...]
393. Prayer of sacrifice. It is truly worthy and just, it is fair and salutary that we incessantly sing praise to you, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Christ our Lord, who through his coming permitted the people who believe in him to pass over to the heavenly kingdom. For those who offer themselves as witnesses of your truth kill the enemy while they are killed, to whom belongs the holy and venerable martyr Sixtus, whose feast is celebrated today. For having received the insignia of the apostolic seat, and perceiving that he was the most prominent of bishops, on receiving the occasion of the salutary martyrdom he not only freed himself from the sordid contagiousness of the world but also formed an example for others. For his excellent minister the venerable Laurence, who followed him, also quickly received the palm of victory as a distingushing mark that he had to endure as punishment, in order to be deemed worthy to obtain eternal glory. Through Christ.'
Text: Rose 2005, 499-501.
Translation: Rose 2017, 266-7.
Service for the saint
Eucharist associated with cult
Liturgical invocation
Chant and religious singing
Other liturgical acts and ceremonies
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Ecclesiastics - Popes
Ecclesiastics - lesser clergy
Source
The Gothic Missal (Missale Gothicum) is the standard editorial name used for Vatican City, Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 317, a liturgical manuscript (sacramentary) compiled in Burgundy at the turn of the eighth century. It provides an exceptionally rare witness to late antique liturgical practice in Gaul. The inclusion of an entry for the late Merovingian political martyr Leudegar of Autun (eastern Gaul) (ob. 677/9) gives both an earliest possible date for the manuscript's compilation, and, since it appears alongside an entry for the earlier Autun martyr Symphorianus, an indication of the community for which the codex might have been made. On palaeographical grounds, E.A. Lowe located the Missal's production to the scriptorium of Luxeuil (c. 130 miles northeast of Autun), at a date no later than c. 710.The full manuscript is now available to view online: https://spotlight.vatlib.it/it/latin-paleography/catalog/Reg_lat_317
Discussion
The codex as it survives includes entries for nine biblical saints and nine from the city of Rome (plus Cyprian of Carthage, commemorated with Pope Cornelius), alongside six Gallic feast days and one from Spain (Saturninus, Eulalia, Ferreolus and Ferrucio, Symphorianus, Maurice and the Theban Legion, Leudegar, and Martin). The Missal covers most feasts in roughly chronological order, beginning after Christmas with the feast of Stephen (usually 26 Dec.). The manuscript does not, however, provide any dates for the celebration of these feasts: presumably, its users would have also had a separate liturgical calendar at hand.For an overview of the contents of the Gothic Missal, see E08222.
This entry for Pope Sixtus (II) in the Gothic Missal is the only one of its kind in the surviving corpus of Gallic liturgical books. It is heavily dependent on liturgical material from Rome (Rose 2005, 282-5).
Bibliography
Edition and study:Missale Gothicum e codice Vaticano Reginensi latino 317 editum, ed. Els Rose (Turnhout, 2005).
Translation:
The Gothic Missal, trans. Els Rose (Turnhout, 2017).
Further reading:
Lowe, E.A., Codices latini antiquiores, 11 vols (Oxford, 1937-71), i. 32.
Benjamin Savill
04/09/2022
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00037 | Laurence/Laurentius, deacon and martyr of Rome | Laurentius | Certain | S00201 | Xystus/Sixtus II, bishop and martyr of Rome | Sixtus | Certain |
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