What happened to the various local liturgies?

[Harpazo]

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Since today in the Orthodox Church is the feast of St. John (Maximovitch) of Shanghai and San Francisco on the Old Calendar, I was doing some reading on him. He had a great fascination with the local liturgies in the West before the schism. Apparently he helped to resurrect the Gallican Rite (known as the Divine Liturgy of St. Germanus of Paris), which many Orthodox Christians in France use.

My question is, when did this particular liturgy disappear and why? The website in the link above barely speaks about what happened. In my opinion, it is a beautiful liturgy. Does anyone think that a liturgy like this would be suitable nowadays and if it was, would you attend one? I, myself, would be interested in seeing one in person, but I don’t think I will be going to France anytime soon.

In Christ,
Andrew

 

[Harpazo]

Anyone?

 

[Filioque]

There were many. If you can find a copy of Archdale King’s, Liturgies of the Past (long out of print) in a local library it will go into detail.

There was as you posted the Gallican. In England the Sarum Rite, centered around Salsbury Cathedral. In Scandinavia they had a rite (Nindaro) I think, The Celtic Rite, and a couple of other major variant Rites of Benevento and Aquielea.

The book has been reprinted, but it still commands a hefty price. So start your search in a major library or in a University Library. I do have a copy somewhere, but am in the process of catolouging my books, so it may be some time before I get to it.

 

[AJV]

It’s actually a bit impossible to reconstruct the Gallican rite as it existed because we only have a few prayers -many key sections are missing, although we have descriptions of what happened/didn’t happen (the ost famous being that often attributed to Germanus). Then too there are scholarly debates abotu what certain things mean: e.g. the Thrice-Holy - is it the Spanish variant or an Eastern thing or what. The liturgy that is supposedly reconstructed is actually heavily Byzantinized.

One of the reasons that the Gallican rite fell out of use was the admiration of thign sRoman and a strong Romanizing tendency. For example, rulers tended to impose the Roman rite to ensure conformity with the Apostolic See and its standard of orthodoxy. Monks and priests who travelled brought back Roman books and ‘corrected’ or inserted things in their own to conform them ot the Roman type. Certain Popes also encouraged it. The result being that the Gallican rite disappeared in its pure form. However, many prayers and features entered the stark and simple Roman rite e.g. many of the private prayers of the priest in the Traditional Mass, many of the prayers and ceremonies at the Dedication of a Church in the pre-60 Pontifical, and others blessings and rites.