The Story of the Liturgy in Ireland / Edmond Gerard Cullinan

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One constant theme throughout the work is that Ireland's liturgical history cannot be understood without reference to that of Western Europe, for various trends and developments within the Latin rite were reflected in the liturgical life of the Irish Church, the only Western region outside of the Roman Empire that had an established Christian community by the time of the fall of the Roman Empire.

While most readers are familiar with the mission of St Patrick, it is interesting to note that Palladius was consecrated a bishop for Ireland in AD431 for Irish believers, which implies that there was already a Christian presence.

In discussing the early Irish Church, Fr Cullinan explores the possibility that the liturgy may originally have been offered in the vernacular. However, the major contribution that the Irish Church made to the development of the liturgy during the Dark Ages was its penitential system which mitigated the harsh and rigorous penitential system hitherto in place. Scholars generally note this as an important stage in the development of the administration of the Sacrament of Penance.

Due to its isolation, the Irish Church developed a different method of computing the date of Easter from the rest of the Western Church, with the result that when missionaries from Ireland went to the north of England, different communities celebrated different dates for Easter. The matter came to a head when in one Anglo-Saxon kingdom the queen celebrated a different date from the king!...

The Story of the Liturgy in Ireland is an interesting introduction, not only to Irish liturgical history but also to that of much of the Latin rite. While it appears to be well researched and contains extensive footnotes, this work is written for the average reader."

Read the rest of the AD2000 review here.