La "cattedrale doppia" e la storia della liturgia

I - The author sets out to examine the theory, which is based, in part, on a passage from the Itinerarium Egeriae, and which concerns the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, according to which the "Martyrium" is thought to have been the site of the first part of the Mass (the Liturgy of the Word), whereas the eucharistic rite was celebrated within the "Anastasis". This thesis, favoured by liturgists, was generally applied to "double cathedrals". Most recent historiography, however, has demonstrated that, whereas the oblatio was celebrated within the Martyrium, a lengthened or repeated, "oblatio" took place within the Anastasis. In the second part of the article, the author, taking into consideration information from Jerusalem and Milan, and reasoning on the basis of wider considerations within the history of liturgy, attempts to demonstrate that even the double episcopal churches of Trier and Aquileia, from the time of the Constantinian Peace, corresponded to the double character of early Christian worship (Sunday eucharist - weekday liturgical offices of praise and intercession). The larger church was intended principally for festive Masses, the smaller churches for the daily offices of matins and vespers. II - Re-examining an ordo scrutinomm, perhaps from the sixth century (within its original nucleus), and the "Testamentum Domini" (5th century), in addition to the Itinerarium Egeriae (4th century), the author maintains that there were no sites specifically intended for the instruction of the competentes. Instead, such instruction took place within the episcopal church during Lent. The more advanced catechumens and the competentes were allowed to participate in the Liturgy of the Word and in the daily offices of lauds, along with the faithful. Even acknowledging that fixed rules did not necessarily exist concerning the practices of the 'liturgical year', it can be said that in the case of the "double cathedral", the larger church was utilised for the instruction of the competentes, and the smaller church for the catechesis of neophytes during the Easter Octave (Jerusalem).