A pontifical () is a Christian
liturgical book containing the
liturgies
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a community, communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, ...
that only a bishop may perform. Among the liturgies are those of the
ordinal for the ordination and consecration of
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
s, priests, and bishops to
Holy Orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
. While the ''
Roman Pontifical'' and closely related ''
Ceremonial of Bishops'' of the
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...
are the most common,
pontificals exist in other
liturgical traditions.
History
Pontificals in
Latin Christianity first developed from
sacramentaries by the 8th century. Besides containing the texts of exclusively
episcopal liturgies such as the
Pontifical High Mass
A Pontifical High Mass, also called Solemn Pontifical Mass, is a Solemn Mass, Solemn or High Mass celebrated by a Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop using certain prescribed ceremonies. Although in modern English the word ''pontifical'' is al ...
, liturgies that other clergymen could celebrate were also present. The contents varied throughout the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, but eventually a pontifical only contained those liturgies a bishop could perform.
[ The ''Pontificale Egberti'', a pontifical that once belonged to and was perhaps authored by Ecgbert of York, is regarded as one of the most notable early pontificals and may be the oldest to survive.]
The ordination liturgies of the Sarum Use pontifical was adapted by Thomas Cranmer
Thomas Cranmer (2 July 1489 – 21 March 1556) was a theologian, leader of the English Reformation and Archbishop of Canterbury during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI and, for a short time, Mary I. He is honoured as a Oxford Martyrs, martyr ...
into his 1550 ordinal for the Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
following the English Reformation
The English Reformation began in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away first from the authority of the pope and bishops Oath_of_Supremacy, over the King and then from some doctrines and practices of the Catholic Church ...
.[ Among the complaints lodged by Anglicans against the medieval Catholic pontificals was that the laying on of hands during the conferral of ]Holy Orders
In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
was "obscured by ceremonies."
A pontifical was printed in Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in 1485 but the first authoritative '' Roman Pontifical'' was not printed until 1596 under Clement VIII.[ Revisions of the ''Roman Pontifical'' () continued over the next centuries, though was largely replaced by the ''Ceremonial of Bishops'' () that had been developing alongside it, with the rubrics for the celebration of a Pontifical High Mass deleted from the pontifical and celebrated from the ceremonial.][ Among the contents of both these texts during the 17th century was the inclusion of illustrations depicting the relevant pontifical vestments to be worn during the celebration of the liturgies. The 1961 ''Roman Pontifical'' modified the blessings for these vestments, adding the cope and humeral veil to the list of articles that might be blessed.
]
The Union of Utrecht
The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...
, a communion of Old Catholic denominations, adapted and translated the ''Roman Pontifical'' into German at Bern
Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
in 1899. The pontifical was later translated into Dutch and Polish. This was just one of several liturgical books of the Roman Rite translated by the Union of Utrecht in its early years. An English translation of this pontifical, executed by Arnold Mathew and including the Old Catholic missal, was published in 1909. In 1985, this pontifical was replaced by a new text that incorporated a rite for ordaining deaconesses.[
Within the Maronite Church–an Eastern Catholic church–the term "pontifical" was applied to texts of a similar purpose as their Latin counterparts by the 18th century. During the 17th century, such a text was approved by the Maronite clergy and submitted for review in Rome, though went unpublished. The manuscript, labelled as a pontifical, was translated into ]Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
in 1723 at the Maronite College. In 2008, a revised Maronite pontifical by Stephen Youssef Doueihi was published and approved for English-language use.
Byzantine Rite
In the Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...
and Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic churches, the equivalent of a pontifical is the ''Archieratikon'' ( Greek: Ἀρχηιερατικόν; Slavonic: Чиновникъ, ''Chinovnik''). This book is often in a large format and contains only those portions of Vespers
Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...
, Matins, and the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy () or Holy Liturgy is the usual name used in most Eastern Christian rites for the Eucharistic service.
The Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Lutheranism, Eastern Lutheran Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church believe the Divi ...
which pertain to the bishop (hierarch). It also contains those rites (ordination, the consecration
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...
of a church or altar, etc.) which are normally performed only by a bishop. The '' Euchologion'' combines some features present in Latin missals, ritual
A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...
s, and pontificals into a single text.
See also
*'' Book of Common Prayer''
* Customary (liturgy)
* Pontificale Romano-Germanicum
* Primer (prayer book)
References
{{reflist
Anglican liturgical books
Eastern Orthodox liturgical books
Christian ordination
Latin liturgical rites
Old Catholicism