Laszlo Illes Kaulics PRAYER FOR THE DEAD FROM AMBROSE TO GREGORY THE GREAT (THEOLOGY AND LITURGY) MA Thesis in Medieval Studies CEU eTD Collection Central European University Budapest May 2011 PRAYER FOR THE DEAD FROM AMBROSE TO GREGORY THE GREAT (THEOLOGY AND LITURGY) by Laszlo Illes Kaulics (Hungary) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner ____________________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2011 PRAYER FOR THE DEAD FROM AMBROSE TO GREGORY THE GREAT (THEOLOGY AND LITURGY) by Laszlo Illes Kaulics (Hungary) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ____________________________________________ External Examiner CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2011 PRAYER FOR THE DEAD FROM AMBROSE TO GREGORY THE GREAT (THEOLOGY AND LITURGY) by Laszlo Illes Kaulics (Hungary) Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Medieval Studies Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU ________________________ Supervisor ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection Budapest May 2011 I, the undersigned, Laszlo Illes Kaulics, candidate for the MA degree in Medieval Studies declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person‘s or institution‘s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 23 May 2011 __________________________ Signature CEU eTD Collection ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to Prof György Geréby, who supervised my research, and provided me with invaluable feedback, advice and support. Greatly appreciated were also the helpful remarks of Prof István Perczel at the MA thesis workshops, the linguistic corrections of Prof Judith Rasson and the advice I received at the MA thesis seminars from both teachers and students. Special thanks to my family and friends who supported me during my studies. CEU eTD Collection TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................ iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................ iv INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... 10 PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD AS RECORDED IN LATIN PATRISTIC SOURCES FROM THE FOURTH TO THE SIXTH CENTURIES .................................................... 10 1.1. Ambrose of Milan ......................................................................................................... 10 1.1.2. Heaven, Hell, and the Interim State ........................................................................ 11 1.1.3. De excessu Satyri .................................................................................................... 13 1.1.4. De obitu Ualentiniani ............................................................................................. 15 1.2. Augustine of Hippo ....................................................................................................... 18 1.2.1. The sources ............................................................................................................. 20 1.2.2. The primary condition of salvation: Baptism ......................................................... 24 1.2.3. The role of merits ................................................................................................... 27 1.2.4. Prayers in practice .................................................................................................. 28 1.2.5. The purifying fire .................................................................................................... 33 1.2.6. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 34 1.3. Peter Chrysologus ......................................................................................................... 35 1.4. Gregory the Great .......................................................................................................... 39 1.4.1. The riddle of the Dialogues .................................................................................... 39 1.4.2. Supplications and the offering of the Eucharist ...................................................... 42 1.4.3. Heaven, Hell and the Interim Place ........................................................................ 47 1.4.4. Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 48 CEU eTD Collection CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 50 PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD IN EARLY ROMAN LITURGIES ................................... 50 2.1. The sources .................................................................................................................... 52 2.1.1. Ordo 49 (Ordo qualiter agatur in obsequium defunctorum) ................................... 52 2.1.2. Incipit de migratione animae in MS. Phillipps 1667. ............................................ 53 2.1.3. Sacramentarium Veronense .................................................................................... 53 i 2.1.4. The Commendatio Animae in the MS Vaticanus Reginensis Latinus 316 ............. 56 2.2. The Structure of the Funeral Rites ................................................................................ 58 2.3. The Structure of the Masses for the Deceased .............................................................. 62 2.4. The theological contents................................................................................................ 63 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 68 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................. 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 82 CEU eTD Collection ii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. The structure of the funeral rites. CEU eTD Collection iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CCSL: Corpus Christianorum Series Latina CSEL: Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum DR: The Holy Bible, Douay–Rheims Version FC: Fathers of the Church Series IGP: Inserted Gregorian Passage MPL: Migne Patrologia Latina NPNF: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers O: Ordo 49 (Ordo qualiter agatur in obsequium defunctorum) in MS Rome, Vatican Library, Ottob. Lat. 312. Ph: Incipit de migratione animae in MS. Berlin, Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Phillipps 1667. SC: Sources Chrétiennes Vat: Deus, apud quem (Commendatio Animae) in MS. Rome, Vatican Library, Regin. Lat. 316. Ver: Sacramentarium Veronense, MS. Verona, Biblioteca Capitolare, 85. CEU eTD Collection iv INTRODUCTION The prayer for the dead is closely tied to ecclesiology, which enables a mutual counter-active relationship between the living and the dead. The Church is the body of Christ1, of which the living and the dead are also members. The pilgrim church on earth and the other beyond the boundaries of this life constitute a single entity – the Communio Sanctorum – which is united by the offering of the Eucharist and in which prayer works effectively in both directions. The prayers of the living in a mysterious way can help the dead waiting for judgement, however, similarly the intercession of the souls in heaven constitutes a great help for those struggling to live a virtuous life on earth. The books of the New Testaments2 profess that salvation is only possible through Christ. As baptism is the visible manifestation of one‘s belonging to Christ, it became an indispensable pre-condition for salvation and consequently also for the efficacy of the prayers for the dead. No dead person could benefit from prayers of the living members of the Church or the sacrificial offering of the Eucharist if he had not become a member of this Church body previously. One could be initiated either through conventional baptism by water or through the extreme case of baptism by blood, i.e., martyrdom. The following prayer from the sixth-century Verona Sacramentary succinctly summarizes the reason for making supplications for the dead. 1 Col 1:18; Eph 1:22-23. 2 ―Jesus saith to him: I am