Lyonese Rite

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LYONESE RITE

The historical pre-Vatican II liturgical rite of the Archdiocese of Lyons. This article treats the rite's history and liturgical specialties.

History. Before the 4th century there is no evidence of a stereotyped liturgy in Lyons; the early Christian immigrants from ephesus did not initiate the Lyonese rite. Except for some few details, the rite owes nothing to the Gallican rite, even though the latter prevailed in Lyons from the 5th to the 7th century. The Church at Lyons suffered much from the Saracen invasion (725) and the levies of charles martel. For a number of years Lyons did not even have a bishop. While Bishop Ado (c. 767c. 797) possibly attempted to introduce the Roman rite, the recognized father of the Lyonese rite was leidradus (798814). Charlemagne directed this monk from his school at Aachen to introduce liturgical worship at Lyons according to the usage of Aachen's chapel. Aachen followed the rite of the Church at Metz, a Roman liturgical center after the return of St. chrodegang of metz from Rome in 751. A cleric from Metz assisted Leidradus in his liturgical reforms at Lyons. Hence the Lyonese rite is not Ephesine or Gallican, but Roman in origin.

Leidradus's successor, Bishop Agobard (814840), maintained local customs and introduced corrections that made the rite a Carolingian variant of the Roman rite. In the 11th century the Romano-German pontifical exerted the last significant influence on the formation of the rite of Lyons. The prototype of the Lyonese liturgical books is the 10th-century Alcuin edition of the Gregorian Sacramentary, which continued to be reproduced with minor variations down to the Missal of Bishop De Marquemont (1620).

The neo-Gallican period for the Lyonese liturgy began with Archbishop C. de Neuville's Breviary (1695). A pandering to neo-Gallican tastes also appeared in Archbishop C. de Rochebonne's Missal (1737). Archbishop A. de Montazet further destroyed Lyons's traditional rite by introducing the liturgical books of Paris (Missal, 1768; Breviary, 1772) while retaining the Lyonese rubrics and sanctoral. In 1776 Parliament's enforcement of these books brought about their general use in Lyons.

The Lyonese liturgy reached its nadir during the french revolution. Bishop A. Lamourette established constitutional worship in 1791. His destruction of the cathedral's apse altar and erection of a new altar at the transept confused rubrics in the cathedral ceremonial books until 1936, when the altar was restored to its original position. Pagan worship of the goddess of reason, begun in 1793, was followed by a restoration of the Catholic religion and Montazet's neo-Gallican books in 1799.

Pius IX resolved a three-way controversy regarding the future of the Lyonese liturgy (return to the traditional, Gallican, or Roman liturgy) in favor of Cardinal M. de Bonald's traditional position (1863). Although the 1866 Missale Romano-Lugdunense retained many of Montazet's Prefaces, Proses, and Propers, it used Marquemont's Missal (1620) as its model. A revised edition approved by the Congregation of Rites appeared in 1904 as the Missale Romanum in quo antiqui ritus Lugdunensis servantur.

In 1864 the Roman Breviary of Pius V, with a diocesan Proper, replaced Montazet's Breviary; the ancient ceremonial for the Office, however, was kept. The Ritual had nothing distinctive about it except for an unusually prolix rite for the Sacrament of the Sick (12 anointings).

Liturgical Specialties. Although basically the same as that of the classical Roman rite, the Lyonese Mass had enough variants to make it distinctive. Such variations could be seen in the shorter prayers at the foot of the altar, in more frequent proses (20), in the slightly varied Offertory prayers with an Epiclesis-like prayer before the Suscipe, sancta Trinitas. The 1904 Missal contained, besides the Roman Prefaces, seven others. From the Unde et memores to the Canon's doxology, the celebrant assumed a cruciform position. He held the Host over the chalice from the doxology to sicut in caelo of the Pater, at which point the little elevation occurred. The Pater's embolism was said or sung aloud. The Agnus Dei preceded the Commingling and was said with the Host particle held above the chalice. Lyons reversed the order of Rome's ablution prayers.

At solemn Mass the three official ministers were assisted by extra priests, deacons, and subdeacons, each properly vested. Each official minister had from two to six co-ministers, depending upon the solemnity of the feast. This ceremonial concelebration occurred on important feast days. Between the Epistle and Gospel there was a rite for testing the wine at a pontifical Mass. After the Gospel all the clergy in choir kissed the Gospel book. The subdeacon held the paten as usual but with his maniple. At the beginning of the Offertory the priests offered the celebrant a host; after the incensing of the oblation, chapter members offered a coin. The celebrant incensed above the altar; the deacon incensed below. A solemn blessing followed the Pater's Embolism at a pontifical Mass. After reception of Communion at solemn Mass, the sacristan administered wine as a mouth ablution. The Blessed Sacrament after Communion was carried in procession to a repository altar.

Bibliography: d. buenner, L'Ancienne liturgie romaine: Le Rite lyonnais (Lyons 1934), the basic work. a. a. king, Liturgies of the Primatial Sees (Milwaukee 1957). l. moille, "The Liturgy of Lyons," The Month 151 (1928) 402408.

[r. x. redmond/eds.]