Cistercian rite

The Cistercian rite finds its expression in the liturgy , discipline and proper law of the Cistercian order .

Basics

The peculiar ritual of the Church of Cîteaux and all monastic communities that can be traced back to it arose when the founders of the Novum Monasterium rearranged the basic principles of their monastic life and adapted them to their way of life. They further developed the Benedictine customs that they had brought with them from the Molesme monastery . These were above all the local traditions and the Benedictine customs of the late 11th century. For this reason, the foundations of the Cistercian rite for the Eucharistic liturgy can be traced back to the form of the Roman rite that was valid in the south-eastern part of today's France with a number of its own elements. The Divine Office was celebrated in the liturgical order of the Regula Benedicti , but with all the elements that were added by the temporal distance and tradition. As reform-oriented monks, the Cistercians wanted to eradicate incrustations and grievances in monastic life. Therefore, they tried to bring their liturgical life into harmony with the requirements of the Rule of Benedict . Where this was no longer possible, they wanted to restore them in as authentic a form as possible, which, according to the knowledge of the time, they believed to be found in Milan and Metz as an expression of Benedictine liturgical sources. The calendar of the Cistercians, also an important part of the rite, built on this interlocking of liturgical reality and tradition by following the tradition of Molesme without losing sight of the needs of the monastic community of Cîteaux. The early calendar only knows a few saints' feasts and a very modest gradation of the festival rank - in fact there are only feasts with twelve lessons and saints commemorations . Wherever the calendar and discipline are intertwined, especially during the festive and fasting periods, the Cistercians fall back on the old monastic traditions. The same applies to the personal piety of the monks. The guidelines that were collected and recorded in the customs, the Ecclesiastica Officia , during the course of the first Cistercian century are an expression of a self-confident and conservative attitude, which is aware that the expression of liturgical life is also an expression of Orthodoxy. The proper law in the Cistercian order is determined by the monastic traditions, the instructions of the first abbots of Cîteaux and the resolutions of the general chapters , which are "legislative" organs to this day.

The development of the mass liturgy in the Cistercian order

history

The monks of the newly founded monastery Citeaux took over for the celebration of the Eucharist the first rite , which it had followed in Molesme. It is therefore not difficult to identify the sources of the Cistercian mass liturgy, since it is essentially the rite of the diocese of Langres, to which Molesme belonged, and then that of the diocese of Châlon, in whose territory the novum monasterium was located. Fulgence Schneider counted him in his study of the Mass rite of the Cistercians to the Gallo-Roman rite , which was Roman in its basic substance, but contained quite a few ancient Gallican elements. In addition, the Cistercian Mass liturgy was not immutable. In the first fifty years after the founding of Cîteaux, at least one major reform was initiated within the liturgy, which ended in 1147. The texts and melodies that were used in the liturgical books had been thoroughly revised and supplemented during this liturgical reform , in which Bernhard von Clairvaux played a key role. But the rite of the Eucharist itself did not remain untouched. For example, the Ecclesiastica Officia of the manuscript Dijon 114, a text witness written after 1175, no longer knows the altar tints at the beginning of the Eucharistic liturgy, which earlier editions still describe in detail. This further development runs through all the following centuries. At the appropriate point, the most important changes in the Mass rite are addressed and, if possible, also classified historically.

As early as the 16th century it became apparent that many priestly monks preferred the Roman rite to their own Cistercian rite. Although the Council of Trent (1545–1563) had confirmed the own rites, the general chapters of the 17th century could only partially prevent the Roman Missal from being used in the monasteries of the order. The newly published missals from 1657 were basically editions of the Missale Romanum with small Cistercian adaptations, which mainly concerned certain measurement forms and smaller rubrics. Only a few monasteries of the order (especially in Spain) adhered to the old Cistercian mass rite until the first half of the 19th century. This liturgical standard was maintained until around the middle of the 20th century. But detailed studies and intensive preoccupation with the origins of the order and its liturgy prompted various religious scholars to look for ways to revive the old Cistercian rite of the Eucharist. A reconstructed rite was therefore used in individual monasteries of the order, such as Boquen and Hauterive.

The liturgical reform of the Roman Church put an end to these attempts. With the approval of the new ritual Cisterciense , the reformed Cistercian rite was officially confirmed.

The Cistercian Eucharist until 1688

The Messordo and its basic structure in the 12th century

The Cistercian Messordo was not a monolithic block even at the beginning of its existence in the 12th century. Its structure varied slightly over the first seventy years of its existence, perhaps due to regional customs.

The 53rd chapter of the Ecclesiastica Officia in the sample copy of the Dijon 114 manuscript in the local Bibliothèque Publique Municipale , which comes from the Cîteaux Abbey and was probably written after 1175, describes the course of a festive mass on days with twelve readings. The priest monk is assisted by a deacon and a sub-deacon. The putting on of the liturgical vestments is part of the preparatory rites; However, the actual Eucharistic celebration of the monastery community on feast days is preceded by the hour of the third . That is why the celebrants only wear alb, [zingulum] and maniples. The priest also puts on the stole. Then the preparation of the sanctuary begins by the deacon and sub-deacon. The altar itself is covered with four cloths; the so-called sudarium or chrismale , an oilcloth the size of the Altarmensa, lies under these towels. After a venia of the altar servants at the altar step, where they touch the floor with the knuckles of their hands, they place the gospel book on the analogy (ambo) covered with a cloth and the missal on the right side of the altar. On the left they deposit the goblet (for cleaning the goblet) under the altar cloth, probably referring to the top one. At this point, the POs speak of the offerings, i.e. bread and wine. They call her benedicta , and it is not unimportant to draw attention to the scope of this expression. The liturgical tradition sees in the gifts intended for the celebration of the Eucharist already sacred offerings which no longer belong to the profane realm. The deacon and sub-deacon then prepare the sideboard at the side of the altar by setting up the chalice (and paten ), as well as corporals and offertory veils. The latter is used to cover the hands during the preparation of gifts at the altar by the deacon or sub-deacon. They now look at the celebrants' seats in the chancel and prepare the piscina, the liturgical wash basin, probably by laying out everything necessary for the liturgical ablutions. All celebrants celebrate the hour of the third from their seats in the chancel. When it is over, the two altar candles that stand on the floor to the right and left of the altar are lit. The priest puts on the chasuble and washes his hands. The deacon takes off his stole, and both he and the sub-deacon wash their hands as well.

The actual beginning of the Eucharistic celebration is the entry of the celebrants. During the opening chant, the introit , they leave the sacristy one after the other and wait in front of a side altar until the cantor begins the doxology of the introit. Then they bow, walk on and go to the altar step, where they bow again and climb up to the altar. The priest walks between the deacon on the right and the sub-deacon on the left, while these two bow down to the priest, who goes straight up to the altar. Priests and altar servants now bow the prayer, as it is called succinctly. From the context of the customs it can be concluded that this is probably the Our Father.

The priest then kisses the altar and makes the sign of the cross, which the deacon also joins, whereupon he kisses the left side of the altar. The confession of guilt now follows at the altar step. To the right and left of the priest are the deacon and sub-deacon who, after the priest, confess their guilt. [In an older manuscript (Trient 1711, probably created between 1130 and 1135) an altar ink follows here, which the priest performs. He incenses the lower center of the altar three times, then the middle three times, then the upper three times. Above, so in the area of ​​the altar mess, three times in the middle, three times on the right and three times on the left.] The priest then goes back to the altar, where the missal is on the right side. The time has now come for the altar servants to perform proscomidy . However, the regulations here explicitly state that there must be enough time before the dominus vobiscum (for the collecta , today's so-called daily prayer) of the priest in order to be able to prepare the offerings. This preparation happens as follows: The deacon, assisted by the sub-deacon, first places the corporal (folded up) on the altar. Then he rinses the goblet with water inside the piscina, places the (unleavened) bread on the paten and pours wine into the goblet. If the priest is free during this period, the deacon or sub-deacon will hand him the jug of water so that he can mix some with the wine. The deacon covers the chalice with the paten; He then wraps these prepared offerings with the offertory velum; then he leaves the altar step on the right.

At the Gloria the deacon stands behind the priest. There he stands for the introductory dialogue of the collecta , because when the priest has spread his hands in greeting, the deacon has to straighten the folds again by slightly lifting the chasuble at the rear hem so that the priest can move freely. All bow to this oration, with the exception of the celebrating priest. After the last oration (on many days liturgical memories that each had their own orations could collapse) the sub-deacon sings the epistle in the middle of the chancel in front of the altar step . Here he also gives satisfaction, that is, he touches the ground with the knuckles of his hands when he makes a mistake in the epistle. If too few singers are present in the monk choir, the subdeacon can reinforce the singers by standing by them.

The deacon is now preparing to preach the gospel. To this end, he asks the abbot, or, in his absence, the priest standing at the altar, for the blessing ( Dominus sit in corde et in ore tuo ut digne annunties Gospel of Christ ) and approaches the analogy. The gospel is preached towards the north and at the words Gloria tibi Domine everyone makes the great sign of the cross and turns to the gospel. According to the gospel, the deacon also gives satisfaction when he has made a mistake. Then the priest and the deacon kiss the gospel, and the latter places the book under the cloth on the analogy.

This is followed by the Credo or directly the transition to equipping the altar. The deacon now unfolds the corporal in the middle of the altar; it is folded three times in width and four times in height. He covers his hands with the offertory velum and takes the chalice with his left hand and the paten with his right hand, which he hands over to the priest, who then kisses his hand. The priest places them on the altar next to the corporal and leaves the preparation to the deacon. To do this, he places the offertory velum on the altar, places the chalice on the second fold of the corporal and places the bread in front of the chalice. Over both he hits the rear part of the corporal from behind. Finally, he puts the offertory velum and paten on the sideboard. The incense of the offerings follows. To do this, the priest first takes the censer, swings it once around the chalice, incenses the altar once on the right, once on the left and once in front. Then he passes the censer on to the deacon, who ends the incense by incensing the right side of the altar twice, then the cross twice, and finally circling the rear of the altar to analogously incense the left side. In the meantime the priest washes his hands. This is followed by the priest's orate fratres , to which there is probably no response from the fellow celebrants. During the offering prayer that follows, the deacon and sub-deacon also wash their hands. After the gift prayer (s), the deacon steps behind the priest and remains there until the Lord's Prayer. The subdeacon takes the paten, veiled with the offertory velum, in his hands; then he stands behind the deacon.

The introductory dialogue of the prefation between priest and community is characterized by a peculiarity that is not mentioned in the EO: according to Bernhard von Clairvaux, the priest raises his outstretched arms to heaven when he says Sursum corda . Bernhard interprets this in his sermon to the monks in such a way that they should lift their hearts to heaven, based on the priest's arms. The Roman mass canon follows the preface . In order to raise the chalice a little above the Eucharistic bread after the words, the priest embraces it with the corporal who is still covering the offerings. The rite does not yet know an elevation of the Eucharistic figures after the words of institution, and the Roman knee flexion is also missing, which is not replaced by a bow at this point. The priest kisses the altar once during the canon of the mass, with the words ex hac altaris participatione (through this participation in the altar), while repeatedly crucifying the offerings or himself. Towards the end of the canon, the deacon enters the altar step on the right, kisses the altar, and helps the priest with his right hand to reveal the Eucharistic figures, while the priest on the left does the same. According to the doxology, they both cover the chalice again and the deacon again steps behind the priest.

During the Lord's Prayer, the sub-deacon hands the deacon the revealed godfather, kisses his hand and steps to the right. The deacon hands it to the priest and kisses his hand too. According to the Lord's Prayer, the priest places the host on the paten and breaks the priest's host above the chalice into three parts during embolism . With the wafer in his right hand, he makes three signs of the cross in the chalice when he wishes for peace, says Agnus Dei three times and a silent prayer and lowers this part of the host into the chalice. This is followed by the kiss of peace, which among the Cistercians only the communicants receive, a prayer and the communion of the priest with a third of the three-part host.

After Communion, he places the paten with the rest of the hosts on the right corner of the altar. If necessary, i.e. on Sundays and Maundy Thursday, he renews the Eucharistic reserve in the hanging pyxis above the altar at this point . Deacon and sub-deacon then communicate with the remaining third of the priestly host and walk behind the altar to the left to communicate with the chalice there. When many of the monastery community go to communion, the sub-deacon and all subsequent communicants use a communion tube. If the number of communicants is very high, the deacon can pour (unconsecrated) wine from a jug into the Eucharistic chalice, which mixes with the consecrated form of the wine. After communion, every communicant receives a sip of ablution wine at the eastern entrance to the monks' choir, with which he rinses his mouth. After communion, the sub-deacon goes from behind to the right side of the altar and pours wine into the chalice for the priest, who cleans his fingers in it. Special rites follow to cleanse the fingers and vessels. The priest finally prays the closing prayer on the right side of the altar and speaks the call for discharge. The Cistercian rite does not know a final blessing.

The deacon then immediately takes the chalice and paten from the altar and carries them to the sideboard. There he cleans the liturgical vessels several times with wine. Meanwhile, the priest bows in the middle in front of the altar and says a prayer, perhaps the placeat . Then he kisses the altar and makes the sign of the cross, bows and goes out with the chasuble lowered. When the deacon and sub-deacon have finished cleaning the vessels, they precede him. Everyone takes off their liturgical vestments in the sacristy. The priest then goes back to the altar step, where he performs a venia , that is, the deep bow where the hands touch the floor. On working days, however, he bows so low that the knees and knuckles of the hands touch the floor.

This very detailed description of the Cistercian Messordo on feast days gives the basic structure of the Eucharistic liturgy. Depending on the degree and time of the festival, the Eucharist can also be celebrated with just one minister, i.e. a deacon or sub-deacon. Masses in the side chapels that are stripped of all solemnity (the so-called missae privatae - from privare = liberate from, deprive) also know a slightly modified rite.

The Cistercian rite and the Roman Ordo Missae after 1970

The Second Vatican Council had called for a fundamental revision of the Roman Missal . This revision of the Roman missal was a challenge for the liturgy commission of the Cistercian order OCist and OCSO. This commission developed its own Institutio generalis Missalis cisterciensis , i.e. a Latin introductory text to the Cistercian Missal, which wanted to introduce the Cistercian mass rite in detail and in depth. However, the responsible Roman commission advised those in charge of the order to forego their own institute and instead issue a revised Rituale Cisterciense . This revised Cistercian ritual, which is more of a supplement to the previous editions up to 1974, was published in 1998. In it the Cistercians u. a. the following individual rites are allowed in the Messordo:

1. The deep bow instead of a knee flexion wherever the latter is prescribed in the Roman rite.

2. The great sign of the cross in the proclamation of the Gospel.

3. The custom of performing certain rites in silence, e.g. B. the kiss of the Gospels, the offering of the gifts and the washing of hands.

4. The ancient custom of preparing wine and water in the chalice before it is brought to the altar (the proscomidy ).

The Cistercian rite in the Liturgy of the Hours

From the beginning until 1969

For the hourly services in Cîteaux and in all monasteries of the order, the stipulations of the Benedictine Rule were adhered to, which regulates the distribution of the psalms over the seven days of a week (from Sunday to Saturday) and certain liturgical processes. The Carta Caritatis also stipulated that the same prayer times from the same books were celebrated in all Cistercian abbeys so that monks who visited another monastery could attend the services without problems.

The texts and melodies of the hymns, antiphons, responsories and verses, however, were the subject of numerous reforms, the most important of which is that of the third abbot of Cîteaux, Stephan Harding. This reform, which cannot be precisely timed (Stephan Harding died in 1134 in Cîteaux), changed the Molesmensian religious service order by referring to the wording of the Benedictine Rule: This provides, for example, Ambrosian hymns, which is why the Cistercian hymn is modeled on the Milan church was redesigned. The revision of the Bible by Abbot Stephan Harding also flowed into the liturgy books of Cîteaux, as its texts were now used in worship and liturgy. In addition to striving for authentic texts, there was also concern for good musical foundations for the chant. Therefore, new - what was thought to be more authentic - melodies were requested from Metz, a well-known center of chant. A second major reform, which was completed around 1147, however, had to reverse or fundamentally revise many elements of the first.

In the course of the centuries that followed, the general chapters made numerous resolutions to amend and expand them, which were gradually incorporated into the liturgical books of the Cistercian rite. Distinctive points were the introduction of the Marian office and the expansion of the original two festival ranks (12 lessons and commemoration) to several degrees (sermo festivals, days with two masses, 3 lessons and mass, commemoration).

With the introduction of letterpress printing, it was possible for the first time to produce several identical copies of an original. The Cistercians made use of this new technique to make use of it in their pursuit of uniformity. The abbot of Cîteaux had liturgical books of the order printed very early on. As early as 1545, the noted Cistercian Office was made fully accessible in a printed edition.

Another turning point were the reforms of Abbot Claude Vaussin of Cîteaux, who wanted to reconcile the liturgical currents within the order (in accordance with the general chapters) through a liturgical reform. The approximations to the Roman rite undertaken under his leadership in the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass liturgy ensured the continued existence of the Cistercian rite, but mixed the traditions to a considerable extent. In addition to the reformed Breviarium cisterciense (published in numerous editions), evidence of this reform is above all the Rituale cisterciense from 1689 (with new editions in 1892 and 1949) and the Missale cisterciense (in many editions from 1657).

This order of worship remained in its basic features until the liturgical reform of the Roman rite after 1965. The general chapters of the religious family from 1967 to 1969 finally decided in favor of less strict uniformity in liturgical questions.

The development of the liturgia horarum after 1969

The original uniformity was threatened by the dissolution of the mother monastery Cîteaux in the course of the French Revolution and was lost with the Second Vatican Council.

However, in accordance with the great importance that Our Lady has for the Cistercians, a Marian antiphon was and is sung in all Cistercian communities not only after Compline, but at least also after Lauds and Vespers.

The Cistercian rite in the life of the monastic community

The liturgical discipline

Even the founding generation of Cîteaux referred to the monastery community as Cisterciensis ecclesia , the Church of Cîteaux . Life in such a Cistercian congregation comprises three recurring moments: common, official prayer , reading and contemplation of the Holy Scriptures, and work . Incidentally, these three basic occupations of the monk are not typically Cistercian or monastic, but common to all Christians. The Cistercian liturgical discipline brings prayer, reading and work together in a very specific way. This typical connection becomes a trait that can be characterized as follows:

- The life of the monk takes place in a clearly delimited space that is supposed to guarantee a life in solitude, silence, poverty, penance and prayer.

- The specifications of the Benedictine Rule and the customs of the Church of Cîteaux should be observed uniformly.

From these guidelines it can be seen that liturgical life includes not only worship in the narrow sense, but all the activities of the monk. This is expressed most clearly by the fact that the entire monastery is called domus Dei , House of God. Thus the monk who was given the task of providing light, coal and other necessary things during the day and night is called the servitor ecclesiae , the church servant . Kitchen servants and table readers also perform a liturgical service, which is transmitted in a separate liturgical celebration. It is noticeable that the congregation in the assembly room, called the chapter room , and in the refectory , the dining room, does not behave fundamentally differently than it does in the oratorium , i.e. the monastery church. The same applies to the liturgical discipline of the individual monk. His personal prayer is borne by the common praise of God. Fasting and feasting times, the physical postures during prayer - that is, standing, kneeling, venia , satisfactio , deep bowing -, silent reading, looking at and working are of fundamental importance for the Cistercian rite. That is why all of these activities are described in the Rituale Cisterciense , a liturgical book in which the liturgical specifications of the Ecclesiastica Officia and the Statutes of the General Chapter are summarized.

While in other Latin rites liturgical reality has continuously developed on the basis of time-related components, the Cistercian rite was able to preserve many elements that are less time-bound, but all the more inherited from apostolic tradition. This continuity is shown in the loyalty to detail, especially in common worship, in personal prayer and in monastic discipline. In contrast to the Roman rite, the Cistercians do not usually know a simple knee flexion (exceptions confirm the rule here). The deep bowing is an expression of the highest reverence or adoration. In keeping with the guidelines of the first councils, the actual venia with bent knees is only permitted on weekdays when there are no fixed days. It is similar with the customs of fasting, which are closely related to the early liturgical and monastic tradition.

The holidays and fasts

The liturgical life of the Cistercian community is shaped by the different cycles of year, month, week and day. The calendar regulates the fixed days of remembrance and festivals. There are the periods of fasting: the monastic fast from September 14th to Easter and the forty days, the quadragesima , (introduced by the approximately three-week pre - fasting period ) from the Monday before Ash Wednesday to the Easter vigil . The forty-day fasting period is seamlessly followed by the great fifty-day festival of Easter, which ends on Pentecost Sunday . Certain festivals have a previous fast and an octave , an eight-day post-celebration. Each week also has its own cycle of holidays and fasts. The first day of the week, Sunday , does not know fasting because it is celebrated as Lord's Day or Resurrection Day ( dominica ). The Cistercian community usually fasts on Wednesday and Friday; This means that certain foods (and drinks) do not come on the table and that the meal can be postponed. This regulation also applies to the fasting times listed above. The Cistercian rite is characterized by a relatively high degree of fidelity to the ecclesiastical and monastic traditions of the first Christian centuries. The monastic day is divided into the seven hours , the vigils or night watches and the celebration of the Eucharist . All of these components can be shifted depending on the season of the week, day of the week, festival or fast, whereby today the monasteries are given great possibilities for variation and each monastery can determine its own rhythm depending on the location or task.

The liturgical equipment

The furnishings of a Cistercian church

The early days of the order

The Ecclesiastica Officia [EO], which was compiled relatively late (after 1175), speaks of the first church in Cîteaux, which is called "a church with an altar". In the first half of the 20th century, this original church building was located on the site of the Cîteaux Abbey and the foundations were bricked up. In fact, there was little more than an altar and chairs for the monks. Although this single-nave and small-sized church remained an exception, the EO refer to it in some places. And indeed, for the customary book, the one altar, which it also calls the magnum altare , is the center of a Cistercian church. Normally this altar stands free in the presbytery , as it has to be walkable. The presbytery itself is raised a step or two above the nave . The altar stands on a further step. The piscina , a kind of liturgical wash basin, and the sideboard , also known as the ministry , are set into the wall . On the level between the altar step and the nave are the seats for the celebrants , i.e. priests , deacons and sub-deacons ; then a so-called analogium or ambo is set up there for the preaching of the gospel in the holy mass . The consecration of candles on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord ( Candlemas ) and the ashes consecration take place here on Ash Wednesday . In the Easter vigil , the Easter candle is consecrated here. Behind the altar is the cross of the monastic community, made of wood and with a painted body of Christ. It is of modest size as it is also the processional cross of the community. At least in the early days of the order, the altar cross was the only cross in the monastery. Outside the celebration of the Eucharist the altar is uncovered. There is an iron candlestick or two next to him. On special feast days, special lamps are lit in three (but no more than five) places in the Cistercian church, namely in front of the steps of the chancel, in the middle of the monks' choir and in the rear choir. The monk's choir takes the place in the main nave of the church, so that the celebrants can move straight from the sacristy to the steps of the chancel for the Eucharist . The seats of the abbot and prior in the west (the normally east-facing church) and their immediate neighbors are drawn in at right angles to the east, so that they look to the east and a passage to the west remains open between the abbot and prior seat. Behind the angled choir stalls are the places for the sick, the so-called rear choir. The analogy or lectern for the Liturgy of the Hours is also here, especially for the vigils or night watches . A relatively high wall, called clausura by the Cistercians , closes the monk's church to the west. Only two passages allow the conversationalists to come to communion in the monk's church and probably also to keep an eye on the monks' services in order to join them in prayer. The Church of the Conversations usually has an altar with the associated piscina , depending on the structure. The conversations also have their own stalls in which they can follow the monks' worship, if the customs so provide. In the back of the Konversenkirche, in the far west, the employees of the monastery, the familia , can celebrate the services on certain days. The Ecclesiastica Officia , for example, allow the worship of the cross for the guests and the familia to take place on Good Friday .

The furnishings of the Cistercian church after 1970

With the new version and revision of the liturgical books of the Roman rite after 1965, the Cistercian order was also faced with the question of how the liturgy and divine service should be celebrated in the individual monastic communities in the future. Several general chapters dealt with this question. The old principle of uniformity was given up in favor of greater freedom, especially with regard to the question of the liturgical language and the concrete implementation of the Cistercian rite. Quite a few changes therefore also had to be made in the churches of the order, above all because most of the monasteries were either historical buildings, or because newly built churches meet the current requirements (especially the changed position of the priest at the altar and the celebration of a heterogeneous congregation was no longer sufficient. In the new version of the Missale Romanum from 1970 it became apparent that the editors had refrained from rigorous rubricism and liturgical-relevant forms with regard to the furnishings of the church, which had proven to be time-related. This came very close to the spirit of the Cistercian liturgy, and so the individual monastic communities were able to go to a fundamental reorganization of their own liturgical places, which until then had largely been adapted and assimilated to the Roman rite. In many churches of the order, however, the remnants of the Cistercian customs that had survived the centuries also disappeared. A difficulty had to be overcome that had hitherto hardly been noticed in Latin rites: the question of participatio actuosa . The monastery community could no longer define itself as a closed group celebrating the "prayer of the church" "in the name of the church", but was called upon to rediscover its own Cistercian roots, which saw the monastic liturgy as a constitutive element of catechesis, prayer and active glorification of God look at. In the meantime, not only the language had stood in the way of this claim, but on the one hand the clericalization of the monastic communities and on the other hand the liturgical forms practiced in the women's communities. The Cistercian churches were therefore redesigned for a liturgy taking into account the old traditions and the changed circumstances of the time, which takes into account the essential elements of the Christian and especially monastic Cistercian liturgical traditions.

The abbey church of Cîteaux

In doing so, u. a. the following points are particularly included in the considerations, namely

1. how the monastery community can celebrate the opus Dei together with the guests and visitors without being too restricted by the spatial conditions.
2. how a historical building substance can be adapted to the renewed liturgy without this building being deformed.
3. how the specific service of a monastery community can also become the service of a community with frequently changing fellow celebrants without having to give up its essential elements.
4. how the requirements of the old Cistercian rite can be implemented in its renewed form without forgetting the spirit of the fathers.
5. whether the Cistercian rite does not provide some answers to questions posed by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council.

The liturgical vestments in the Cistercian rite

The early days of the order

The first legislative documents of the Cistercians give a good overview of the liturgical vestments and their composition. Accordingly, use in the liturgy: humeral (shawl) and Albe linen, stole and maniple of silk, Messgewand or Kasel of cotton or linen. In Cope , diaconal dalmatic and tunic subdiakonale were dispensed with altogether. No mention is made of a cingulum for covering the alb; however, the Ecclesiastica Officia (chap. 53.1) say that all celebrants on feast days should be helped with dressing by the Hebdomadars of the previous week. This will mainly refer to the donning and apron of the alb that was worn over the monk's robe, the kukulle . All liturgical vestments should be made without gold or silver decorations. The shawl and alb, which, according to the custom, could have jewelry on the seams, are also mentioned here. The garment prescribed for all liturgical activities was the alb. However, it could possibly be omitted for certain activities (e.g. for liturgical handouts). In this case only the dome was worn. The chasuble ( casula ) is made in such a way that it completely encloses the body of the celebrant. A regulation therefore reads as follows: "Then () [the priest] bows and goes out with the chasuble that he had carried up over his arms on the way to the altar before Mass." The liturgical colors used today in the Roman rite for the vestments were unknown to the Cistercians (even until the Baroque period). When side chapels became common in the Cistercian church, there (or in the sacristy) was also a chasuble that was used at every Eucharistic celebration.

outlook

The Cistercian rite as a Latin rite is often and has long been declared dead. The existence of its own rite was sometimes - depending on position and inclination - in the Roman dicasteries the object of subtle and learned input. The ritus cisterciensis as a specifically monastic expression of a particular way of life is to be seen today as a sign of lived orthopraxis , which was able to preserve much that has let unfavorable circumstances and human weakness in the faith of the churches perish.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Exordium Cistercii, Chapters 1, 2 and 2, 2
2. ^ Schneider, Fulgence: L'Ancienne Messe Cistercienne. Tilbourg: Fig. N.-D. de Koningshoeven, 1929
3. ↑ EO chap. 53 and variant chap. LXXVI, 19th
4. ↑ cf. Council of Trent, 22nd session, chap. 8th
5. ↑ Rituale Cisterciense: iuxta Statuta Capituli Generalis sive O. Cist. sive OCSO [...] post Concilium Vaticanum II. - Langwaden: Bernardus Verl., 1998
6. ↑ EO chap. 53, 3 and footnote 196 in the Latin-German output
7. ↑ EO chap. 53, 29 and footnote 200
8. ↑ cf. EO, Latin-German Ed., Footnote 205
9. ↑ EO chap. 53, 78-87
10. ↑ EO chap. 57, 1
11. ↑ EO chap. 58, 4
12. ↑ cf. EO chap. 53, 146
13. ↑ EO Latin-German Edition, Appendix 9, 42
14. ↑ EO chap. 53, 148
15. ↑ EO chap. 54
16. ↑ EO chap. 59
17. ↑ Altermatt even gives the entire period from around 1099 to 1133 as a framework for a first Cistercian liturgical reform (Altermatt, The first liturgical reform in Cîteaux ...).
18. ↑ The new hymn was probably introduced in Cîteaux between 1108 and 1113/15. In any case, this is the common dating of Brem / Altermatt (Unanimous in Love) and Waddell (The Twelfth-Century Cistercian Hymnal).
19. ↑ The "Monitum", a kind of accompanying letter from Stephan Harding, dates the revision of the Holy Scriptures to the year 1109 (Einmütig in der Liebe, p. 88/89).
20. ↑ The "Prologue to the Cistercian Antiphonary" by Bernhard von Clairvaux lists the main criteria of the revision (innovation and renewal, p. 126/127 ff.).
21. ↑ See an introduction to: Alicia Scarcez, L'antiphonaire 12A-B de Westmalle dans l'histoire du chant cistercien au XIIe siècle ... (Bibliologia 32). Turnhout, Brepols 2011.
22. ↑ In 1486 Jean de Cirey commissioned the printing of the Missale cisterciense in Strasbourg.
23. ↑ 1968 in Rome and 1969 in Marienstatt for O.Cist., 1967 and 1969 in Rome for OCSO
24. ↑ cf. Letter from Stephan Hardings in: Einmütig in der Liebe, pp. 214/215
25. ↑ cf. Exordium Cistercii, Exordium Parvum etc. in: Unanimous in love
26. ↑ cf. z. B. in Exordium Cistercii: "ipsam regulam observari", ibid., 1,4
27. ↑ Exordium Parvum, 17.5
28. ↑ EO, chap. 105
29. ↑ cf. RB and EO, chap. 106 and 108
30. ↑ See also " fasting / fasting times" in www.cistopedia.org.
31. ↑ cf. Resolutions of the General Chapter ..., chap. 25 in Brem / Altermatt: unanimously in love
32. ↑ cf. to Benedictine Rule [RB] ch. 39, 41, 48
33. ↑ cf. on this EO 90, 48
34. ↑ cf. EO chap. 53, 2
35. ↑ cf. Exordium Parvum chap. 17, 6 and EO chap. 53, 7
36. ↑ cf. EO chap. 67
37. ↑ cf. EO Kap, 22, 24
38. ^ Missale Romanum / Ed. typica. Romae: type. Polygl. Vaticanis, 1970
39. ↑ cf. Exordium Parvum chap. 17, 6 ff. In: Brem / Altermatt: Unanimous in love
40. ↑ cf. on this Braun, Joseph: The liturgy. Dress in Occident and Orient ... Freiburg i. Brsg .: Herder, 1907
41. ↑ EO chap. 53, 145

Bibliography

• Benedicti Regula / [Benedictus de Nursia]. Recens. Rudolphus Hanslik. - Ed. old. emend. Vindobonae: Hoelder-Pichler-Tempsky, 1977 (Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum; 75)

On the history of the Cistercian liturgy and customs

• Unanimous in love: the earliest source texts by Cîteaux; Latin-German / Ed. Hildegard Brem; Alberich Martin Altermatt. Langwaden: Bernardus-Verl., 1998. (Sources and studies on Cistercian literature ; 1) ISBN 3-910082-58-0
• Innovation and renewal: important source texts from the history of the Cistercian order from the 12th to 17th centuries; Latin-German / Ed. Hildegard Brem. Langwaden: Bernardus-Verl., 2003. (Sources and studies on Cistercian literature; 6) ISBN 3-934551-74-2
• Ecclesiastica Officia: Customs book of the Cistercians from the 12th century; Latin text based on the manuscripts Dijon 114, Trient 1711, Ljubljana 31, Paris 4346, Wolfenbüttel Codex Guelferbytanus 1068 / based on the Latin-French Edition by Danièle Choisselet u. Placide Vernet , transl., Arr. u. ed. v. Hermann M. Herzog a. Johannes Muller. Langwaden: Bernardus-Verl., 2003. (Sources and studies on Cistercian literature; 7) ISBN 3-934551-75-0
• L'Ancienne Messe Cistercienne / Fulgence Schneider. Tilbourg: Abbaye N.-D. de Koningshoeven, 1929
• The first liturgical reform in Cîteaux (approx. 1099 - 1133) / Alberich M. Altermatt. In: Rottenburger yearbook for church history. Sigmaringen. 4: 119-148 (1985).
• The Twelfth-Century Cistercian Hymnal / Chrysogonus Waddell. Gethsemani Abbey: 1984. (Cistercian Liturgy Series 1 & 2).
• The Primitive Cistercian Breviary: (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Ms. Lat. Oct. 402) with Variants from the "Bernardine" Cistercian Breviary / Chrysogonus Waddell. Friborg: Academic Press, 2007. (Spicilegium Friburgense; 44) ISBN 978-3-7278-1561-4 ISSN  0561-6158
• Le bréviaire cistercien Troyes, Bibliothèque municipale, Ms. 2030 / Claire Maître. Friborg, Academic Press, 2015. (Spicilegium Friburgense; 46) ISBN 978-2-8271-1092-6
• Partial working translation of the Rituale cisterciense (1892, 1949, 1998) into German