To whom does the GIRM apply?

[thistle]

Many posters refer to the GIRM to make a point and say the priests should stick to what is in it. My question is what do they actually mean when they say that. Who should stick to it?
GIRM as far as I know stands for General Instructions for the Roman Missal. Local adaptations are allowed if approved by the Holy See so any local adaptations say, for the USA, do not apply to other countries. Is there a list of countries which have received approval for local adaptations?
My next question is about which Church the GIRM applies to. As far as I can see from various articles the Catholic Church has many churches which submit to the Pope. We in the west belong to the Roman Church, Latin Rite but there are 21-23 other churches (couldn’t pin down the exact number) and 23 rites (including sub-rites). What liturgical instructions do they follow. I assume its not the GIRM, or is it?

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Thistle,

First, a small correction. Although there are 23 (some will say 24) Churches that form the Catholic Church, there are only six Rites (Latin, Armenian, Byzantine, Chaldean, Coptic, and Syriac). There are fourteen Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite, one that follows the Armenian Rite, one that follows the Latin Rite, and so on.

Now, having said that, the GIRM pertains to all Latin Rite Catholics (you will find directives there for laity and clergy). Yes, there are local adaptations – and these are generally printed in the edition for the particular country so that there is no confusion. Those adaptations apply to all Latin Rite Catholics in that particular country.

The bulk of the directives there pertain to the priest/bishop with some for the deacon, (installed) acolyte, lecotrs/readers, altar servers and some general directives that apply to the laity in the pews (as opposed to installed acolytes, readers, lectors and altar servers, all of whom are also laity).

Hope this helps.

Deacon Ed

 

[thistle]

Deacon Ed:

Thistle,

First, a small correction. Although there are 23 (some will say 24) Churches that form the Catholic Church, there are only six Rites (Latin, Armenian, Byzantine, Chaldean, Coptic, and Syriac). There are fourteen Churches that follow the Byzantine Rite, one that follows the Armenian Rite, one that follows the Latin Rite, and so on.

Now, having said that, the GIRM pertains to all Latin Rite Catholics (you will find directives there for laity and clergy). Yes, there are local adaptations – and these are generally printed in the edition for the particular country so that there is no confusion. Those adaptations apply to all Latin Rite Catholics in that particular country.

The bulk of the directives there pertain to the priest/bishop with some for the deacon, (installed) acolyte, lecotrs/readers, altar servers and some general directives that apply to the laity in the pews (as opposed to installed acolytes, readers, lectors and altar servers, all of whom are also laity).

Hope this helps.

Deacon Ed

I think I get it. So any adaptations for say the USA only apply to Latin rite catholics in the USA and do not apply to Latin rite catholics elsewhere?
Therefore anyone who says the priest should stick to the GIRM should acually qualify it by saying which country they mean because a local adaptation may not apply in another country.
What governs the Liturgy in the other rites: Armenian, Byzantine, Chaldean, Coptic, and Syriac? Do they have an equivalent of the GIRM and is it approved by the Holy See?

By the way the following EWTN article says there are over 20 rites.

www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/catholic_rites_and_churches.htm

 

[Deacon_Ed]

thistle:

I think I get it. So any adaptations for say the USA only apply to Latin rite catholics in the USA and do not apply to Latin rite catholics elsewhere?
Therefore anyone who says the priest should stick to the GIRM should acually qualify it by saying which country they mean because a local adaptation may not apply in another country.
What governs the Liturgy in the other rites: Armenian, Byzantine, Chaldean, Coptic, and Syriac? Do they have an equivalent of the GIRM and is it approved by the Holy See?

By the way the following EWTN article says there are over 20 rites.

www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/catholic_rites_and_churches.htm

First, there is no specific equivalent to the GIRM in the Byzantine tradition, and I’m pretty sure that applies to the Armenian, Chaldean, Coptic and Syriac traditions as well. As a general rule, the Byzantines follow the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom as their primary liturgy, with the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil on selected days, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts during Lent and, occasionally, the Divine Liturgy of St. James. Each Church, however, has its own “recension” which is approved by the Synod of Bishops of the particular Church.

Second, I see the confuson on the EWTN page. But, no, it isn’t showing 20 Rites but, rather Churches within a Rite. For example, under the “Alexandrian Rite” (which is not, technically speaking, a Rite) he shows the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches. The latter is really the Ge’ez (pronounced “gaze”) Church which is from Eritrea. But the major Rites as Colin has listed them on his answer are Antiochian (they are really Byzantine), West Syriac and East Syriac (usually simply called the Syriac Rite), Byzantine in which he includes Armenian which is really a separate Rite. Don’t count Churches but Rites.

Deacon Ed

 

[thistle]

Would I be correct in thinking, therefore, that movements, gestures and other things at Mass could be not only different within the Latin rite through local adaptations (approved), but different in all the other rites too?

 

[muledog]

Deacon Ed,

Do particular churches have an equivalent to the GIRM in their own missals? For example, is there a “General Instruction to the Missal of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” for Byzantine Rite Catholics?

 

[Deacon_Ed]

thistle:

Would I be correct in thinking, therefore, that movements, gestures and other things at Mass could be not only different within the Latin rite through local adaptations (approved), but different in all the other rites too?

Thistle,

Yes, there can be (and are) local variations – although by “local” I am referring to nations since these adaptations are, in general, things approved by the national conference of bishops. There may also be a few variations permitted in a given diocese where the bishop has the right to make a few minor adaptations for his people.

Movements are, indeed, somewhat different in the various Eastern Rites. For example, genuflection is not found in the Eastern Churches and metanies, while found in the Latin Rite, are generally minimized (a metany is a bow, either from the waist or with the head touching the floor).

In the Latin Rite liturgical dancing is prohibited in Western cultures because of the profane nature of dance in the West. It is, however, used in Native American liturgies and in African liturgies because it has a spiritual connotation there.

Deacon Ed

 

[Deacon_Ed]

muledog:

Deacon Ed,

Do particular churches have an equivalent to the GIRM in their own missals? For example, is there a “General Instruction to the Missal of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom” for Byzantine Rite Catholics?

Mike,

No. There is a book called Byzantine Daily Worship which is used by the Churches of the Byzantine Rite in the United States. There are, however, variations of this (called recensions) that are approved by the Synod of Bishops of the various Churches. Additionally, when Abp. Raya was developing this book there were very few deacons, so he generally did not include all of the deacon functions. These are generally pasted into the book so that they are done. But there is no single reference source that is equivalent to the GIRM, even for the Churches of the Byzantine Rite.

Deacon Ed