Search

…

[German Version] I. Bible – II. Liturgy I. Bible Together with water, bread was the staple food in the ancient Near East and was prepared with barley, millet, spelt, or wheat. It was the task of the housewife to prepare fresh bread daily (Prov 31:15). She began before daybreak to crush, pound, and grind the grain on a grindstone, in …

[German Version] I. Liturgy – II. Music I. Liturgy Already at an early stage the Eastern Church describes the Eucharistic bread as Amnos (Lamb) and signifies the breaking of bread as Christ's sacrifice (John 1:29; Rev 5:6f.). The Syrian pope Sergius I (died 701) introduced the Agnus Dei – known from the Gloria and litany – as a frequently repeated chant for the breaking of bread. With the introduction of eucharistic wafers its use lapsed; the now three-fold acclamation changes to the Peace and closes with the petition “give us your peace.” Hans-Christoph Schmidt-Lauber Bibliography J.A. Jungmann, Missarum sollemnia, vol. II, 51962, 413–422. II. Music The changing of the liturgical function of the Agnus Dei between the 10th and 12th centuries can be traced in its earliest musical settings. Like other mass ordinary songs these appear in soloists' books such as t…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Israel – III. Christianity I. Religious Studies The term comes from the Lat. “altare,” which is derived from “adolere,” “burn” (thus already Sextus Pompeius Festus, De verborum significatione, v. 14: “altaria sunt in quibus igne adoletur”). In addition to “altare/altaria”, the common term “ara” (from “areo,” “burn”) has the same meaning. Accordingly, the Roman altar could be defined as “place of fire” or “sacrificial hearth.” In Greek, there are a number of alternating terms. Of these θυμέλη/ thymélē and θυσιαστήριον/ thysiastḗrion (fr…