Lectio divina.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A lection, also called the lesson, is a reading from scripture in
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
. In many
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
s, the readings of the day are appointed in the
lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...
.


History

The custom of reading the
books of Moses A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arra ...
in the
synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s on
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...
is a very ancient one. Since the prophetic books were written after the books of Moses, readings from them began later, and were common at the time of Jesus. This element in synagogue worship was taken over with others into the Christian divine service, as may be gathered from passages in the gospels such as
St Luke Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
4:16–20 and 16:29. During early Christianity, readings began to be made from the writings of the
Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
and
evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...
s as the New Testament canon developed. Mention of this is found within the New Testament itself, for example in Colossians 4:16 and in First Thessalonians 5:27. The oldest manuscripts of the Gospels have marginal marks, and sometimes actual interpolations, which can only be accounted for as indicating the beginnings and endings of liturgical lessons. From the
2nd century The 2nd century is the period from 101 ( CI) through 200 ( CC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. Early in the century, the Roman Empire attained its greatest ex ...
onwards references multiply, though the earlier references do not prove the existence of a fixed
lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...
or order of lessons, but rather point the other way. Justin Martyr, describing divine worship in the middle of the 2nd century says: "On the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the Apostles, or the writings of the Prophets are read as long as time permits" (''Apol.'' i. cap. 67). Tertullian about half a century later makes frequent reference to the reading of Holy Scripture in public worship (''Apol.'' ~9; 36; ''De amina'', 9). The canons of Hippolytus, written in the first half of the
3rd century The 3rd century was the period from 201 ( CCI) to 300 (CCC) Anno Domini (AD) or Common Era (CE) in the Julian calendar.. In this century, the Roman Empire saw a crisis, starting with the assassination of the Roman Emperor Severus Alexander ...
says, "Let presbyters,
subdeacon Subdeacon (or sub-deacon) is a minor order or ministry for men in various branches of Christianity. The subdeacon has a specific liturgical role and is placed between the acolyte (or reader) and the deacon in the order of precedence. Subdeacons in ...
s and readers, and all the people assemble daily in the church at time of cockcrow, and betake themselves to prayers, to psalms and to the reading of the Scriptures, according to the command of the Apostles, until I come attend to reading" (canon xxi). There are traces of fixed lessons coming into existence in the course of the 3rd century. Origen refers to the
Book of Job The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars ar ...
being read in Holy Week (''Commentaries on Job'', lib. i.). In the 4th century such references are frequent. John Cassian (c. 380) states that throughout Egypt the Psalms were divided into groups of twelve, and that after each group there followed two lessons, one from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament (''De caenob. inst.'' ii. 4), implying but not absolutely stating that there was a fixed order of such lessons just as there was of the Psalms. St Basil the Great mentions fixed lessons on certain occasions taken from Isaiah, Proverbs, St
Matthew Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Ch ...
and
Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
(Hom. xiii. ''De bapt.''). From
Chrysostom John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of ab ...
(Horn. lxiii. in Act. etc.), and Augustine (Tract. vi. in Joann. &c.) both state that
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
was read in
Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
, Job and Jonah in
Passion Week Holy Week ( la, Hebdomada Sancta or , ; grc, Ἁγία καὶ Μεγάλη Ἑβδομάς, translit=Hagia kai Megale Hebdomas, lit=Holy and Great Week) is the most sacred week in the liturgical year in Christianity. In Eastern Churches, wh ...
, the Acts of the Apostles in Eastertide, lessons on the Passion on
Good Friday Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
, and lessons on the Resurrection on Easter Day. In the
Apostolic Constitutions The ''Apostolic Constitutions'' or ''Constitutions of the Holy Apostles'' (Latin: ''Constitutiones Apostolorum'') is a Christian collection divided into eight books which is classified among the Church Orders, a genre of early Christian litera ...
(ii. 57, ca. 380) a service is described which is required of the church. First come two lessons from the Old Testament by a reader, the whole of the Old Testament being made use of except the books of the Apocrypha. The Psalms of David are then to be sung. Next the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of Paul are to be read. Finally the four Gospels are to be read by a deacon or a priest. Whether the selections were ad libitum or according to a fixed table of lessons is not mentioned. The
Third Council of Carthage The Councils of Carthage were church synods held during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries in the city of Early centers of Christianity#Carthage, Carthage in Africa. The most important of these are described below. Synod of 251 In May 251 a synod, as ...
(397) forbade anything but Holy Scripture to be read in church. This rule has been adhered to so far as the liturgical
epistle An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
and gospel, and occasional additional lessons in the Roman Missal are concerned, but in the
divine office Divine Office may refer to: * Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of certain Christian prayers at fixed hours according to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church * Canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark t ...
, on feasts when nine lessons are read at matins, only the first three lessons are taken from Holy Scripture, the next three being taken from the sermons of ecclesiastical writers, and the last three from expositions of the day's gospel; but sometimes the lives or Passions of the saints, or of some particular saints, were substituted for any or all of these
breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such a ...
lessons. Nothing in the shape of a
lectionary A lectionary ( la, lectionarium) is a book or listing that contains a collection of scripture readings appointed for Christianity, Christian or Judaic worship on a given day or occasion. There are sub-types such as a "gospel lectionary" or evang ...
is extant older than the 8th century, though there is evidence that
Claudianus Marnercus Claudianus may refer to: People * Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus (fl. 1st century BC), a senator in Roman Republic and father of Livia, Roman empress and Augustus' third wife * Claudianus (1st century), an Egyptian ''strategos'' of the nome, to wh ...
made one for the church at Vienna in 450, and that
Musaeus Musaeus, Musaios ( grc, Μουσαῖος) or Musäus may refer to: Greek poets * Musaeus of Athens, legendary polymath, considered by the Greeks to be one of their earliest poets (mentioned by Socrates in Plato's Apology) * Musaeus of Ephesus, liv ...
made one for the church at Marseille ca. 458.


Conclusion of readings

In many
Christian denomination A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity that comprises all church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadership, theological doctrine, worsh ...
s, when the lector finishes reading the scripture lesson, they say one of the following: *"The Word of the Lord." *"May God bless the reading of His Word." *"Here endeth the first/second lesson." The congregation responds with "Thanks be to God." If the reading is from one of the
Epistle An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
s in the Bible, lectors may conclude it with: *"Here endeth the Epistle." If the reading is from one of the
Gospels Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
in the Bible, lectors may conclude it with: "The Gospel of the LORD." The congregation responds with "Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ" (along with a bowing their heads at the mention of the name "Jesus Christ").


See also

* Gospel Book * Lector *''
Lectio Continua In Christianity, Lectio continua (Latin for ''continuous reading'') refers to the practice of reading Scripture in sequence over a period of time. Each reading (which may take place every day or every Sunday) etc. begins where the previous session ...
'' *'' Lectio Divina'' *'' Lectio Sacra''


References

{{Authority control Order of Mass Christian practices Christian terminology Reading of religious texts