A dignified liturgy was an important element of the service of the Order of St. John as the whole service was to glorify God. The Chapter General even enacted separate "Church Regulations" under Master Jobert, which laid down exact rules for these services. One had to behave properly in church and there should be eternal light burning in it. The church had to provide liturgical equipment. The order of celebrations provided that the morning mass must not begin before dawn and that no priest was allowed to say Mass more than once a day. The priest should be served by clerics (which according to contemporary Canon Law meant anybody having started the candidacy for the priesthood by receiving the tonsure) in albs on the altar. Readings of the Holy Scripture and Sprinkling with Holy Water should take place in the hospital itself on Sundays. The commemoration of the deceased played a big role among the liturgical celebrations. These ceremonies were prescribed through extensive regulations in chapter 14 of the Rule and chapters 1, 4 and 5 of the "Church Regulations".
This page is part of the publication: Blessed Gérard and his "everlasting brotherhood": The Order of St. John of Jerusalem
This page was last updated on Monday, 13 October 2014 14:38:41