The Gothic Missal includes prayers for the celebration of mass on the feast day of *Iohannes and Paulus (brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian, S00384). Written in Latin in Gaul, perhaps at Luxeuil for the Christian community of Autun, c. 680/710.
E08246
Liturgical texts - Sacramentaries
Late antique original manuscripts - Parchment codex
The Gothic Missal (Missale Gothicum)
MISSA IN NATALE SANCTORVM GERMANORVM IOHANNIS ET PAVLI
409. Quaesomus, omnipotens et misericors deus, ut nos geminata laetitia hodiernae festiuitatis excipiat, qua de beatorum martyrum tuorum Iohannis et Pauli glorificatione procedit, quos eadem fides et passio fecit esse germanus. Per.
410. COLLECTIO SEQVITVR. Omnipotens sempiterne deus, ne aput iustitiam tuam peccata nostra nos adgrauent, germanorum martyrum suffragiis adiuuemur, quos et partus una et par martyrii palma coniunxit. Per.
411. COLLECTIO POST NOMINA. Suscipe, domine, propitius praeces nostra et tuorum depraecatione iustorum Iohannis et Pauli pietate tuae perfice benignus acceptas, et quos sanguis propinquitas coniunxit et fides, patrocinium nobis deferant solaminis. Per.
412. COLLECTIO AD PACEM. Intende, domine, munera, quaesomus, altaribus tuis pro beatorum martyrum tuorum Iohannis et Pauli commemoratione praeposita, ut sicut per haec beata mysteria illis gloriam contulisti, nobis indulgentiam largiaris. Per dominum.
413. IMMOLATIO MISSAE. Vere satis est dignum atque iustum in horum martyrum Iohannis et Pauli, germanitate pariter et beatitudo consortes, tibi omnipotens deus dicere laudes, quos et fratres sorte nascendi et magnifica praestetisti passione germanos, ut simul essent uenerandae gloria genetricis et florentissima prolis ecclesiae. In quorum memoria passionis oblatum sacrificium accepe libens, domine, et per eum nos cum ipsorum martyrum intercessione emundans, ut liberis uocibus et consonis mentibus tibi hymnum dicere laudis mereamur cum angelis et archangelis clamantes: SANCTUS.
'Mass for the Feast of the Holy Brothers Iohannes and Paulus
409. Almighty and merciful God, we ask that the double joy of today's feast sustains us, which proceeds from the glorification of your blessed martyrs Iohannes and Paulus, who were made brothers by the same faith and passion. Through.
410. Collect follows. Almighty and everlasting God, may we be helped by the support of the brother-martyrs, joined by one birth and the same palm of martyrdom, lest our sins burden us in the face of your righteousness. Through.
411. Collect after the names. Mercifully receive, O Lord, our prayers and graciously make them acceptable to your love for the sake of the supplication of your righteous Iohannes and Paulus, and let them, united in their blood relation and faith, grant us the protection of solace. Through.
412. Collect at the kiss of peace. Look upon the gifts, so we ask, O Lord, which lie displayed on your altar for the commemoration of your blessed martyrs Iohannes and Paulus, that as you brought them glory through these blessed mysteries, you mildly grant us forgiveness. Through the Lord.
413. Prayer of sacrifice. It is truly most worthy and just, almighty God, that we praise you on [the feast] of these martyrs Iohannes and Paulus, companions through their brotherhood and equally through their blessedness, whom you made brothers through the circumstances of their birth and kindred through their splendid martyrdom, so that they became both the glory and flourishing offspring of the venerable Mother Church. Willingly accept the sacrifice offered in memory of their martyrdom, O Lord, and purify us through it, just as through the intercession of these martyrs, that we are deemed worthy to sing a hymn of praise to you with free voices and united hearts, when, with the angels and archangels, we cry out to you: HOLY.'
Text: Rose 2005, 505-7.
Translation: Rose 2017, 271-2.
Service for the saint
Eucharist associated with cult
Liturgical invocation
Chant and religious singing
Other liturgical acts and ceremonies
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesAltar
Non Liturgical ActivityPrayer/supplication/invocation
Transmission, copying and reading saint-related texts
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesFamily
Angels
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 short entry for John and Paul comprises mostly of material taken from the liturgy of the city of Rome (Rose 2005, 289-90).
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 | S00384 | Iohannes and Paulus, brothers and eunuchs, martyrs of Rome under the emperor Julian | Iohannes et Paulus | Certain |
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