Agnus Dei
Agnus Dei ('Lamb of God') is the Latin name under which Jesus is honoured within Christian liturgies descending from the historic Latin liturgical tradition, including those of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism.[1] It is the name given to a specific prayer that occurs in these liturgies, and is the name given to the music pieces that accompany the text of this prayer.[2][3]
The use of the title "Lamb of God" in liturgy is based on John 1:29,[4] in which John the Baptist, upon seeing Jesus, proclaims "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
Liturgical usage
[edit | edit source]Latin Catholic
[edit | edit source]The Syrian custom of a chant addressed to the Lamb of God was introduced into the Roman Rite Mass by Pope Sergius I (687–701),[5][6] in the context of his rejection of the Council of Trullo of 692 (which was well received in the Byzantine East), whose canons had forbidden the iconographic depiction of Christ as a lamb instead of a man.[7]
The verse used in the first and second invocations may be repeated as many times as necessary whilst the celebrant prepares the host and wine for communion.[8]
In a Tridentine Requiem Mass, the words miserere nobis are replaced by dona eis requiem ('grant them rest'), while dona nobis pacem is replaced by dona eis requiem sempiternam ('grant them eternal rest'). Virtually every Mass setting includes an Agnus Dei.
The priest uses the phrase "Lamb of God" again, later in the Mass. While displaying the Eucharistic species to the people before giving them Holy Communion, he says: "Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. Beati qui ad cenam Agni vocati sunt." ("Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.")[9]: 132
Lutheran
[edit | edit source]The version found in the Lutheran Service Book of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is:
In celebrations of the Mass done in English, the following translation is employed by the Church of Sweden:[1]
Anglican
[edit | edit source]The following instances are found in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer:
From "The Litany":
From "Holy Communion":
The following versions are found in Common Worship, the alternative Anglican liturgical resources, and also in the Episcopal Church's liturgical resources:
Evangelical Protestants
[edit | edit source]A popular worship song among Evangelical Protestants is a reaction to the Lamb of God being seated on the throne in Revelation 5 by Michael W. Smith. This version is response of praise to scene, while the other liturgical versions are prayers.
The words are:
A Ukrainian translation was sung in 2015 in Lviv, Ukraine, during the War in Donbas[10] at an event organized by Franklin Graham. The song was notably sung again on Easter 2022 in Lviv by a choir of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the Russo-Ukrainian War.[11]
References
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedCOS2007 - ↑ Randel, Don Michael, ed. (2003). The Harvard Dictionary of Music (4th ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 28. ISBN 0-674-01163-5.
- ↑ Atkinson, Charles Mercer (1975). The Earliest Settings of the Agnus Dei and Its Tropes. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina. p. 14.
- ↑ John 1:29
- ↑ Duffy, Eamon (2006). Saints & Sinners: A History of the Popes (3rd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 84. ISBN 0-300-11597-0.
- ↑ Reader Daniel Lieuwen. "Lives of Orthodox Western Saints". McKinney, Texas: St Nicholas Orthodox Church.
- ↑ Ekonomou, Andrew J. (2007). Byzantine Rome and the Greek Popes: Eastern Influences on Rome and the Papacy from Gregory the Great to Zacharias, A.D. 590–752. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. p. 223. ISBN 978-0-7391-1977-8.
- ↑ General Instruction of the Roman Missal. §83.
The supplication Agnus Dei, is, as a rule, sung by the choir or cantor with the congregation responding; or it is, at least, recited aloud. This invocation accompanies the fraction and, for this reason, may be repeated as many times as necessary until the rite has reached its conclusion, the last time ending with the words dona nobis pacem ('grant us peace').
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedmissal - ↑ Chandler, Charles (20 June 2015). "Christians in Ukraine After Festival of Hope: 'Great and Mighty Is Our God'". Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
- ↑ "Ukrainian choir composed of refugees celebrates Easter from Lviv". Fox News. 17 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
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