Sarah Mitchell
A Catholic sacramentary is a liturgical book used by a bishop or priest to guide them through the mass. It contains the prayers and directives for Mass, as well as a number of sacramental formulas, but does not include the readings of the Mass, which are found in a separate book known as the Lectionary. The term sacramentary was used in the late 20th century in the United States and some other English-speaking countries as the translation of the Roman Missal, particularly those that omitted parts of the Mass not said by the priest. The Roman Missal, on the other hand, includes all the texts of the Mass, whether read by the bishop, priest, or others. It is important to note that the sacramentary is distinct from the missal and includes texts for services other than the Mass, such as ordinations, the consecration of a church or altar, exorcisms, and blessings.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Time period | Early and High Middle Ages, 6th-9th centuries, 15th century |
| Location | Western Church, Gaul, Rome, United States, Canada, Verona |
| Users | Bishops, priests, Pope Leo I, Pope Felix III, Pope Pius V, Pope Paul VI, St. Augustine, St. Gregory, Gregory of Tours, Gennadius of Marseilles, Paulinus of Nola, Alcuin, Archbishop Egbert of York, Pepin the Short |
| Contents | Prayers, directives, sacramental formulas, blessings, exorcisms, consecrations, antiphons, readings, musical notation, scripture, chants, introductions, lessons, ordinations, prefaces, canons, votive masses, etc. |
| Related books | Roman Missal, Lectionary, Evangeliary, Epistolary, Graduale, Gospel Book, Pontificals, Rituals, Antiphonary Missae, Graduale, Ordo, Directorium, Libelli Missae, etc. |
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What You'll Learn
The difference between a sacramentary and a missal
In the Western Church of the Early and High Middle Ages, a sacramentary was a book used for liturgical services and the mass by a bishop or priest. Sacramentaries include only the words spoken or sung by the celebrant, unlike the missals of later centuries that include all the texts of the mass whether read by the bishop, priest, or others. Also, sacramentaries, unlike missals, include texts for services other than the mass such as ordinations, the consecration of a church or altar, exorcisms, and blessings, all of which were later included in Pontificals and Rituals instead.
In the late 20th century, the word sacramentary was used in the United States and some other English-speaking countries for the English translation of the Roman Missal, particularly those that, like earlier sacramentaries, omitted parts of the Mass not said by the priest. The Roman Missal, on the other hand, includes elaborate rubrics, as well as antiphons, which were not in sacramentaries.
In the Roman Rite, the first complete books were the Sacramentaries. A Sacramentary is not the same thing as a Missal. It contains more on the one side, less on the other. It is the book for the celebrant. It contains all and only the prayers that he says. Sacramentaries contain none of those parts of the Mass, no Lessons, no Introits, Graduals, Offertories, etc., but only the Collects, Prefaces, Canon, and all that is strictly the celebrant's part. On the other hand, they provide for his use at other occasions besides Mass.
From the ninth century onwards, the convenience of having everything in one book led to combining the sacramentary, lectionary, and gradual into one book, which came to be known as the Missal. The custom of Low Mass changed the Sacramentary into a Missal. At Low Mass, the celebrant had to supplement personally what was normally chanted by the deacon and subdeacon or sung by the choir. This then reacted upon High Mass, so that here too the celebrant began to say himself in a low voice what was sung by someone else. For this purpose, he needed texts that were not in the old Sacramentary. That book was therefore enlarged by the addition of Lessons (Epistle and Gospel, etc.) and the chants of the choir (Introit, Gradual, etc.). So it becomes a Missale plenarium, containing all the text of the Mass.
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The history of the sacramentary
The sacramentary was a book used for liturgical services and the mass by a bishop or priest in the Western Church during the Early and High Middle Ages. It contained all and only the prayers that the celebrant (the bishop or priest) would say, excluding any parts of the Mass not said by the celebrant, such as readings. Sacramentaries also included texts for services other than Mass, such as ordinations, the consecration of a church or altar, exorcisms, and blessings.
The name "Liber Sacramentorum" or "Sacramentarium" refers to the liturgical book used by the celebrant at Mass in the Western Church from the end of the 4th century to the 13th century, when it was replaced by the Missal. The developmental period of the sacramentary stretched from the late 6th to the early 9th centuries. The earliest form of a eucharistic liturgical book was a booklet or "libellus" (little book) containing the presider's prayers for the Mass of a particular Sunday or feast day. The earliest protosacramentary still in existence dates from the late 6th century and is a private collection of several of these libelli, bound together. The oldest extant copy of the sacramentary, often called the Old Gelasian Sacramentary, was made in the 7th or early 8th century for the abbey of St Denis in Paris. It consists of three books, including masses for feasts and Sundays, ordinations, prayers for the rites of the catechumenate, blessings, and more.
The Leonine, Gelasian, and Gregorian Sacramentaries are the main sources for the early history of the Mass and are the most important of the textual groups of sacramentaries of the Roman Rite still in existence. The Leonine Sacramentary is the oldest, dating from the 7th century. The Gelasian Sacramentary contains everything needed by a priest in charge of a Roman titular or parish church. The Gregorian Sacramentaries were prepared for the pope's use at eucharistic liturgies, while the Gelasian was used by other presbyters in Roman churches.
In the late 20th century, the word "sacramentary" was used in the United States and some other English-speaking countries for the English translation of the Roman Missal, particularly those that omitted parts of the Mass not said by the priest. However, during the translation process of the current edition, it was decided to abandon the use of the term "sacramentary" and unify the name of the altar book as the "Roman Missal" for all English-speaking countries.
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The sacramentary's contents
The Catholic sacramentary is a book used for liturgical services and the Mass by a bishop or priest. It includes only the words spoken or sung by the bishop or priest, unlike the missals of later centuries that include all the texts of the Mass, whether read by the bishop, priest, or others. Sacramentaries, unlike missals, include texts for services other than the Mass, such as ordinations, the consecration of a church or altar, exorcisms, and blessings.
The Leonine, Gelasian, and Gregorian Sacramentaries are the main sources for the early history of the Mass and are the most important of the textual groups of sacramentaries of the Roman Rite still in existence. The Leonine Sacramentary is the oldest, dating back to the seventh century. It is a pure Roman use with no Gallican elements and is not a book compiled for use at the altar. The Gelasian Sacramentary consists of three books. Book I includes masses for feasts and Sundays from Christmas Eve to the octave of Pentecost, together with ordinations, prayers for all the rites of the catechumenate, blessing of the font and oil at Easter Vigil, dedication of churches, and reception of nuns. Book II includes the Proper of Saints throughout the year, the Common of Saints, and the Advent Masses. Book III includes masses for any Sunday, what would today be called votive masses, masses for the dead, some blessings, and various prayers for special occasions.
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The Leonine, Gelasian, and Gregorian sacramentaries
The Leonine Sacramentary is the oldest of the three and was written in the seventh century. It was found in the library of the cathedral chapter of Verona and was published by Joseph Bianchini in 1735. It is attributed to Pope Leo I (440-61) and bears his name. The Leonine Sacramentary is not a book meant to be used at the altar; rather, it is a collection of Propers (Collects, Secrets, Prefaces, Postcommunions, and Orationes super populum), of various Masses with ordination forms, arranged according to the civil year.
The Gelasian Sacramentary is the second oldest western liturgical book and consists of three books. Book I includes masses for feasts and Sundays from Christmas Eve to the octave of Pentecost, ordinations, prayers for all the rites of the catechumenate, blessings of the font and oil at the Easter Vigil, dedication of churches, and reception of nuns. Book II includes the Proper of Saints throughout the year, the Common of Saints, and the Advent Masses. Book III includes masses for any Sunday, votive masses, masses for the dead, blessings, and various prayers for special occasions. The Gelasian Sacramentary contains everything needed by a priest in charge of a Roman titular or parish church.
The Gregorian Sacramentary is in three parts: the Propers for the year beginning with Christmas Eve, following the ecclesiastical year; the feasts of saints (days of the month in the civil year) are incorporated in their approximate places in this; and the Roman Stations. There are still no Masses for the Sundays after Epiphany and Pentecost.
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The sacramentary's evolution
The sacramentary was the earliest form of a liturgical book, dating back to the late 4th century. Initially, it was not a book at all but more like a booklet or missalette: a libellus or "little book". Each libellus contained the presider's prayers for the Mass of one particular Sunday or feast day. The earliest known protosacramentary dates from the late 6th century and is a private collection of several libelli, bound together into a single, incomplete volume. This book was first called the Leonine Sacramentary, as it was thought to have been compiled by Pope Leo I. The Leonine Sacramentary is the oldest of the textual groups of sacramentaries of the Roman Rite still in existence.
In the Western Church of the Early and High Middle Ages, a sacramentary was a book used for liturgical services and the Mass by a bishop or priest. Sacramentaries only included the words spoken or sung by the bishop or priest, unlike the missals of later centuries that include all the texts of the Mass. Sacramentaries also included texts for services other than the Mass, such as ordinations, the consecration of a church or altar, exorcisms, and blessings.
In the late 20th century, the word "sacramentary" was used in the United States and some other English-speaking countries for the English translation of the Roman Missal, particularly those that omitted parts of the Mass not said by the priest. However, in 2018, it was decided to abandon the use of the term "sacramentary" and unify the name of the altar book as the "Roman Missal" for all English-speaking countries.
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Frequently asked questions
A Catholic Sacramentary is a book used for liturgical services and the Mass by a bishop or priest. It contains only the words spoken or sung by the bishop or priest, unlike the missals of later centuries that include all the texts of the mass.
Sacramentaries include only the words spoken or sung by the bishop or priest, whereas Missals include all the texts of the mass, whether read by the bishop, priest, or others. Sacramentaries also include texts for services other than the mass such as ordinations, the consecration of a church or altar, exorcisms, and blessings.
Sacramentaries include prayers and directives for Mass and a number of sacramental formulas, but they do not include the readings of the Mass.
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