Author: Kristijan Kuhar
Cyrillo-Methodian Foundations
The origins of the Glagolitic liturgy (Old Church Slavonic liturgy) are inseparably linked to the Moravian mission of Saints Constantine Cyril and Methodius, who translated the Holy Scriptures and liturgical texts from Greek and Latin. In 869, they received approval from Pope Adrian II in Rome to celebrate the Roman Rite in Old Church Slavonic. Consequently, in addition to Latin, Old Church Slavonic also became lingua sacra (‘sacred language’) in the Roman Church. In addition to the Latin script the Glagolitic script was recognized as a worthy medium for recording sacred texts.
Methodius’ Doctrine
The earliest preserved reference to Glagolitic liturgy appeared in the decision of the Councils of Split (925), which required clergymen serving Mass in the “national” (Old Church Slavonic) language to be also proficient in Latin, the official language of the Roman Church. This decision reflected a prevailing mistrust of the Glagolites, rooted partly in the unfamiliarity of the Old Church Slavonic language and the perceived illegibility of the Glagolitic script. Moreover, the Croatian clergymen who celebrated liturgy in Old Church Slavonic were accused of heresy. The Glagolitic liturgy was labeled Methodii doctrina – Methodius’ doctrine – and the Glagolitic priests were accused of departing from the tradition of the Roman Church, supposedly creating a new practice based on a new language and script.
These misconceptions were dispelled in 1248 when Pope Innocent IVth gave the permission to preserve the custom of celebrating liturgy in the Croatian Church Slavonic language, using books written in angular Glagolitic script to the Bishop Filip of Senj. In his decree, the Pope also referenced the Glagolites’ claim that their script originated from St. Jerome.
A Croatian Privilege
Pope Innocent’s authorization spurred the development of Glagolitic liturgy and Croatian Glagolitic liturgical literature. This literary tradition, consisting of translations of Roman Latin breviaries and missals into Croatian Church Slavonic, although employing a different language and script, maintained ritual equivalence with liturgical books written in the Latin language and the Latin script.
Glagolitic liturgical singing, comparable to Gregorian chant within the Latin liturgical tradition, enriched the Glagolitic liturgy. Notably, while the Roman Catholic Rite in the Middle Ages was bilingual (Latin and Croatian Church Slavonic) and used both Latin and angular Glagolitic scripts, Croats were the only people to partake in a non-Latin liturgy. This privilege lasted for a thousand years, until the Second Vatican Council (20th century) on which the vernaculars were generally introduced into liturgy.
Literary Achievements
In addition to liturgical texts (missals, breviaries, rituals, psalters), Croatian Glagolites translated theological, patristic, homiletic, apocryphal, and other Christian writings, compiling them into Croatian Glagolitic anthologies. Though the Glagolitic script and Croatian Church Slavonic were exceptional phenomena in medieval Western Europe, culture of which was founded on Latin, the persistent translation efforts of the Glagolites integrated Croatian territories into a broader Western European cultural milieu.
Following European liturgical and literary trends, Croatian Glagolites printed their first book in 1483, the Missal According to the Law of the Roman Court. This missal inaugurated a series of Croatian Glagolitic liturgical books, printed in the same codicological format as Latin liturgical books.
Modern Era
The Glagolitic liturgy endured in Croatian regions until the 20th century. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new missals were published due to the efforts of Dragutin Parčić (1893 and 1896) and Josef Vajs (1905 and 1927). During this period, the Catholic Church liturgical movement laid the foundation for the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). Croatian bishops present at the council, including Monsignor Frane Franić and Monsignor Josip Arnerić, contributed to the “linguistic” aspects of these reforms, with Monsignor Arnerić celebrating Mass in Croatian Church Slavonic before the council fathers.
After the publication of the Missal of Paul VI in 1969, which introduced vernacular languages into liturgy, Glagolitic liturgy became a historical heritage which survived in certain dioceses along the Croatian Adriatic coast and among Franciscan Third Order communities, where solemn Masses are occasionally celebrated in Croatian Church Slavonic, using the missal prepared by Josip Leonard Tandarić in 1980.
