Gloria in excelsis Deo (Hadrian II.)
Gloria in excelsis Deo ( Glory to God in the highest ) is a letter ( papal bull ) written by Pope Hadrian II in 869 to the Slavic princes Rastislav (Prince of Moravia ), Svatopluk (Prince of Nitra ) and Kocel (Prince of Pannonia ).
Lore
The original Latin text of the bull has been lost. Only the Old Church Slavonic translations in the legend Life of the Method (the text of the bull is almost completely preserved in chapter 8) and in another version in the legend of Praise to St. Cyril and Method . Both are not literal translations of the original Latin text, but they are based on this text. The authenticity of the writing has been questioned by some historians. The letter may have been written with the assistance of Anastasius Bibliothecarius . With the recognition of the Slavic liturgy and the ordination of the priests, the papal curia wanted to bind the Slavic countries more closely and to reduce the influence of Byzantium .
content
The letter is named "Gloria in excelsis Deo" after his first words. (cf. Luk. chap. 2, verse 14)
The pope
- praises the desire of the Slavic princes to get to know God. After realizing that their lands fall under Roman jurisdiction, they turn to the Holy See in Rome .
- consecrates Method as archbishop and his disciples as priests after testing their faith.
- approves the use of the Slavic liturgy , with the restriction that the Gospel should be read first in Latin and then in Slavonic during the Mass. The Moravian Slavic Church saw itself recognized by the Pope. This served her as the main argument against her adversaries among the Latin clergy.
- sends Method back to continue teaching in the national language and translating books.
- decreed that those who despise the Slavic books should be excommunicated .
Texts
The two traditional texts of the papal bull are reproduced below:
“Hadrian, Bishop and Servant of God
to Rastislav, Svatopluk and Kocel.
Glory to God on high and peace on earth and good will among men.We have heard of your spiritual search and wished for your salvation with longing and prayer, because God awakened your heart that you were looking for him and he showed you that one should serve him not only with faith but also with good works. For faith without works is dead and those err who know my God but deny him with their works.
You have not only sought a teacher from this archbishop's chair, but also from the pious Emperor Michael . He sent you the blessed philosopher Constantine with his brother when we could not. When they realized that your countries belong to the Apostolic See, they did not teach anything against the canon, but came to us and took the bones of St. Clement with them. Filled with threefold joy, we tested Method, our son and a man of the highest wisdom and right faith, and consecrated him with his disciples. And we send him to your countries to teach you as you have asked and to translate books of the whole ecclesiastical order into your language, with Holy Mass, with service and baptism, as the philosopher Constantine did by God's grace and had begun under the intercession of St. Clement.
Furthermore, if someone else can translate the Scriptures with dignity and orthodoxy so that you can more easily learn the commandments of God, let him be sanctified and blessed by God, by us and by the whole Catholic Apostolic Church. It is only necessary to maintain the one habit that at Mass the Epistle and the Gospel are read first in Latin and then in Slavic, so that the word of Scripture may be fulfilled: "All the peoples will praise the Lord" and another Place: "They will all speak of the great deeds of God in different languages, just as the Holy Spirit gives them to pronounce".
But if one of the teachers among you, who flatter the ears and mislead people of the truth, dares to incite against you and despise your books, he should be expelled from the church until he improves. Because they are wolves and not sheep and you have to recognize them by their fruits and beware of them.So you, beloved children, obey God's teaching and do not reject the ecclesiastical ordinances, so that you may honor God, our heavenly Father, together with all the saints in the truth. Amen."
“Hadrian, bishop, servant of all servants of God,
to Rastislav, Svatopluk and Kocel.
Glory to God on high and peace on earth and good will among men.Because we have received the good news of your spiritual search for redemption, we are sending our brother, the honorable Method, consecrated as Archbishop to your countries, as you have asked us to do. He is to teach you and translate books into your language so that the prophetic word may be fulfilled, which says: "Praise God all peoples and praise him all people, every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord for the glory of God the Father." And in the Gospel, when he was sending his disciples, the Lord said: “Go teach all the peoples and baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to keep all that I have commanded you. And see, I am with you every day until the end of time, Amen. "
But you, beloved children, obey the teaching of God that was given to you in the last days for your redemption, so that, as you have been taught, you may become a worthy fruit and receive the imperishable wreath, in this and in the future with all Saints. Amen."
See also
Remarks
- ↑ cf. Jak. Cape. 2, verse 26
- ↑ cf. Psalm 117 , verse 1
- ↑ cf. Acts Cape. 2, verses 4 + 11
- ↑ cf. Matth. Cape. 7, verses 15 + 16
- ↑ Translated in German from the Czech translation of Leben des Method on moraviamagna .
- ↑ cf. Phil. Chap. 2, verse 11
- ↑ cf. Math. Chap. 28, verses 19 + 20
- ↑ Translated in German from the Czech translation of Praise of St. Cyril and Method in Moraviamagna .
literature
- Latin translation of the legend of Praise to Saints Cyril and Methodius with the text by Gloria in excelsis Deo in: Grivec, Franc: Sermo panegyricus in memoriam ss. Cyrilli et Methodii . In: Acta Academiae Velehradensis . No. 18 , 1947, p. 1-25 (Latin).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Literature on authenticity in: Vavřínek, Vladimír: Staroslověnské životy Konstantina a Metoděje (= Old Church Slavonic life of Konstantin and Method) . In: Rozpravy Československé Akademie Věd . Nakladatelství Československé Akademie Věd (NČSAV), Prague 1963, p. 41–42 (note 132) (Czech, 123 p., With French resume).
- ^ Dvorník, Francis : Byzantine Mission among the Slavs: SS. Constantine-Cyril and Methodius . Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey 1970, ISBN 0-8135-0613-1 , pp. 147-149 (English, 484 pages).
- ↑ Vavřínek, Vladimír: Staroslověnské životy Konstantina a Metoděje (= Old Church Slavonic life of Constantine and Method) . In: Rozpravy Československé Akademie Věd . Nakladatelství Československé Akademie Věd (NČSAV), Prague 1963, p. 96 (Czech, 123 p., With French resume).
Web links
- Gloria in excelsis Deo Czech translation from the 8th chapter. of Life of the Method , with comments. Retrieved January 25, 2017
- Život sv. Methoda (Life of St. Method) . In: Josef Emler (ed.): Fontes rerum Bohemicarum I: Vitae Sanctorum et aliorum quorundam pietate insignium. Chapter: Life of St. Method (Pannonian legend) . Praha 1873 ( Life of Method, Chapter VIII [accessed January 25, 2017] in Cyrillic and Czech).