Liturgical Texts

Liturgical Texts

Liturgical books and texts are some of the most important objects from Byzantium, demonstrating some of the most important aspects of the liturgy. The liturgy refers to the services held by the church, which can include ordinary masses and the celebration of the Eucharist, Sacraments, and Baptisms. There are many customs that take place during these services, some of which include: blessing, singing, washing, kneeling, eating, and more. Services have many fixed aspects, but depending on the day or season, service leaders rely on these liturgical texts to help guide the service.

Lectionaries, a general term for books containing readings from the Four Gospels for the liturgical services, can be traced back to the 7th century CE. There are three major types of liturgical books: the evangelion (lectionary) which contains Gospel lections; the prophetolgion which contains Old Testament lections; and the Apostolos which contains lections from the Book of Acts. These texts are crucial as their main purpose is to provide the readings of the church during mass.

Liturgical texts found in this gallery range from fragments of Psalters, to a Menologion (a church calendar), to entire lectionaries made for Hagia Sophia, and are all exceptional examples of the importance of liturgy for the Byzantine world. The Old Testament and the New Testament are all represented, and provide an idea of what a liturgical service during the Byzantine Empire looked like.

Isabel Coopersmith