Read Scriptures in Latin?

[patrick457]

It’s also worth noting here that the reading of Sacred Scripture during Mass is not strictly for the sake of the congregation: it’s not merely teaching the people what the Bible says. The readings are very much so a ritual, with symbols that contain an important meaning – this is most easily seen in the TLM, where the readings are done from different areas of the Sanctuary:

The Epistle is read towards “Liturgical South.” The priest (subdeacon in Solemn Mass) stands on the right side of the altar, and reads the Epistle to the “south” because the Epistles were written by the Apostles to those who had already been converted, who were generally in the “south” (i.e. Jerusalem and throughout Palestine).

The Gospel is read towards “Liturgical North.” The priest (deacon in Solemn Mass) stands on the left side of the altar (at the ambo in Solemn Mass), turned facing partly away from the center of the altar, and proclaims the Gospel of Christ to those who have not yet been converted (i.e. the Gentiles in Greece, Italy, etc., to the north of Jerusalem).

So specifically with regard to the Holy Mass, proclaiming Sacred Scripture is not “Bible study” time, it is a liturgical ritual (as evidenced by the symbolism of reading the Epistle to the converted; the Gospel to the unconverted), so it does not need to be in a language the congregation understands; it makes more sense for it to match the language of the rest of the liturgy.

In my opinion, the common practice of repeating the day’s readings in the vernacular prior to the homily is the ideal compromise between ancient ritual and modern practicality.

In Rome, the deacon originally faced southwards when reading the gospel from the ambo, which back then was halfway down the church in the middle of the nave, where everyone could hear. (Where there were two ambos - as in San Clemente - he used the ambo on the northern side, whence he faced south.) Why did the deacon face the south? Because that was the men’s side, and St. Paul wrote that women should be silent inside the church (1 Corinthians 13:33b-35; yes, a connection was actually made between that and this).

Back then, the congregation was segregated into men and women. Men and women attending the liturgy stood separately, in opposing halves of the nave and the adjacent aisles: the men were at the southern side aisle(s), while the women were on the opposite side. Viewed from the sanctuary (I’m envisioning here the ‘Roman’ orientation, which has the façade to the east and the sanctuary to the west - so that when the celebrant turned towards the East he would have been facing the church doors), men are on the right-hand side, while women are on the left. Of course this isn’t versus populum due to the simple fact that the congregation is not literally in front of the celebrant. They were not standing in the central nave facing the sanctuary front-and-center like we do at church today.



So why and when did the deacon begin to face the north? The medieval liturgical treatise known as the Micrologus attributes it to the development of Low Mass: when deacons began to be scarce and not always available for every liturgy, priests began to take it upon themselves to read the gospel from the northern side of the altar - since that was where the gospel-book was placed. Deacons then began to emulate this custom and started reading the gospel facing the north as well, and by degrees this custom became the rule.

 

[ProVobis]

In Rome, the deacon originally faced southwards when reading the gospel from the ambo, which back then was halfway down the church in the middle of the nave, where everyone could hear. (Where there were two ambos - as in San Clemente - he used the ambo on the northern side, whence he faced south.) Why did the deacon face the south? Because that was the men’s side, and St. Paul wrote that women should be silent inside the church (1 Corinthians 13:33b-35; yes, a connection was actually made between that and this).

Back then, the congregation was segregated into men and women. Men and women attending the liturgy stood separately, in opposing halves of the nave and the adjacent aisles: the men were at the southern side aisle(s), while the women were on the opposite side. Viewed from the sanctuary, men are on the right-hand side, while women are on the left.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...lan.png/320px-Old_St_Peters_Basilica_plan.png

So why and when did the deacon begin to face the north? The medieval liturgical treatise known as the Micrologus attributes it to the development of Low Mass: when deacons began to be scarce and not always available for every liturgy, priests began to take it upon themselves to read the gospel from the northern side of the altar - since that was where the gospel-book was placed. Deacons then began to emulate this custom and started reading the gospel facing the north as well, and by degrees this custom became the rule.

So it wasn’t to address the barbarians to the north?

 

[patrick457]

So it wasn’t to address the barbarians to the north?

I think that is more of an allegorical explanation appended ‘after the fact’ (medieval liturgists after all loved to apply allegorical meanings to each and every detail). Another thing which could have determined the change in position is the bishop’s cathedra in the middle of the apse: since the right side is the side of honor, the deacon reads the gospel on the right of the bishop, but without turning his back on him, facing the congregation (or at least, the men). Of course, since the earliest churches in Rome are oriented so that the façade is to the east and the apse is to the west, this would mean that in Rome, the deacon will face the south.

 

[hoop0826]

So now we have the question of what language the Scripture is read in, who reads it, and also what direction the person faces when he is reading it. This seemed to matter to Christians in an earlier time, for some reason, should this not also matter to us today?

 

[patrick457]

So now we have the question of what language the Scripture is read in, who reads it, and also what direction the person faces when he is reading it. This seemed to matter to Christians in an earlier time, for some reason, should this not also matter to us today?

Speaking of direction, I believe the northern one only became standard by the 16th century and afterwards: at least there were still places where the deacon apparently still faced southward during the gospel by the late 15th century (including a few areas in England), although most already have the deacon facing north - in some, it was even mandated by the rubrics.

Of course, that’s just speaking for the Roman Rite and its various uses. The situation might be different in other Western Rites (I’ll check); AFAIK it definitely is in the East.

 

[ProVobis]

This seemed to matter to Christians in an earlier time, for some reason, should this not also matter to us today?

Definitely. As Patrick pointed out, there is history and symbolism in all you’ve mentioned. Scripture is more than just translated text, which most will have forgotten five minutes after it’s been read to them.

 

[hoop0826]

So it seems that the rubrics of the liturgy can change? So do they change depending upon the state of the world that the Church is currently living in? Do the rubrics point and aim at something? Do they bring the Christian into the life of Christ through the liturgy? Is there a native language to the life of Christ through the liturgy?