The Rule of St Benedict Chapter 15
At what times of year Alleluia is to be said
Text
From holy Easter until Pentecost, without interruption, let Alleluia be said with both the psalms and responsories.
A sancto Pascha usque ad Pentecosten, sine intermissione dicatur Alleluia tam in psalmis quam in responsories.
From Pentecost until the beginning of Lent, it is to be said every night only with the last six psalms at the night office.
A Pentecoste usque ad caput Quadragesimae, omnibus noctibus, cum sex posterioribus psalmis tantum ad nocturnos dicatur.
But on every Sunday outside Lent, let the canticles, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, and None be said with Alleluia. Vespers however with antiphons.
Omni vero Dominica extra Quadragesimam, cantica, matutini, prima, tertia, sexta, nonaque cum Alleluia dicantur. Vespera vero cum antiphonis.
However, the responsories are never to be said with Alleluia except from Easter to Pentecost.
Responsoria vero nunquam dicantur cum Alleluia, nisi a Pasch usque ad Pentecosten.
Comment
It may seem strange to us to have a chapter devoted to the saying of Alleluia and I gave this one some thought. Why was St Benedict so particular? Why say the last 6 psalms of the Night Office with alleluia every day? Why say alleluia all day Sunday except at Vespers?
I looked in my books and found nothing specific to help me. If you know any texts discussing this, drop me a line!
We know that the word Alleluia is Hebrew in origin. In essence it means “Praise the Lord” and is often translated as such in our Bibles, though some do use the word “Alleluia” instead. Various spellings exist for this word; “alleluia” is from the Vulgate Latin transliteration of the Hebrew word. I thought about the Gospels; does it appear there? I couldn’t think of anywhere. So why do we say it?
The Encyclopedia Britannica tells me that it was most likely chanted as an antiphon with the psalms in Jewish worship, and in fact it does appear in several psalms, these are psalms 104-105 (Greek 103-104), 111-117 (Greek 110-116), 135 (Greek 134), 146 (Greek 145)–150. Some of these psalms are known as the “Hallel” psalms, psalms of praise which are sung at the Passover. If you recall, Jesus and his disciples sung the psalms before he went out to the Garden of Gethsemane on Holy Thursday. So Alleluia is closely liked with the death of Jesus.
In the New Testament, the word only appears in Revelation/Apocalypse chapter 19, which begins:
After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God… Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.
It is repeated a couple more times in this chapter, but I think you get the idea. This chapter is all about the song of victory in heaven, before the destruction of the unbelievers and the last judgment. So Alleluia is also connected with the triumph of God over the world.
The portion of the Great East (Apocalypse) Window (1408) at York Minster which portrays these words from Revelation/Apocalypse. Note the use of the word Alleluia as text.
Dom Delatte (in his commentary on the Rule) and the Encyclopedia Britannica tell us that Alleluia was adopted by early Christians in connection with Easter. There was apparently some discussion about whether it should be kept for use at Easter alone, which may be why St Benedict felt the need to regulate it. Who knows?
On my shelf containing as yet unread books, I have one called “Fragments of Christianity” by Rick Brannan. This contains text and comment on the written liturgical texts from the early centuries of Christianity which survive only as fragments of papyrus. The book is interesting (it contains the earliest text of the Sub tuum Praesidium) but not an easy read! Out of interest, I looked for something on the Alleluia.
I found there is a fragment of papyrus believed to be from some kind of liturgical book and dating from 400-599 AD. The text seems to derive from the Psalms. Being a fragment, complete sentences are a rarity, but here are some extracts:
I will bless my people forever. Alleluia.
But I myself will not stop blessing you, Lord, with the harp every day of my life before your house. Alleluia.
The eyes of all [are] in you. I hope to receive food from you, Lord, because you satisfy very living being with whatever it desires. You open your hand to the good things, Lord. Alleluia.
The second phrase here comes from Isaiah 38:20, the rest are reminiscent of the Psalms. So it seems clear that the word Alleluia was used in the liturgy very early on. As we have already seen, St Benedict often codifies practices which already exist and the use of Alleluia may be one of them.
In the divine office, the word Alleluia is banned during Lent. In the Mass during Lent, the Tract replaces the Alleluia normally sung before the Gospel. But it returns at Easter. If you have ever spent a length of time praying the divine office, you will notice the Alleluia especially during Eastertide, when every antiphon consists of alleluias. Composers of Gregorian chant had their work cut out in creating many different melodies for the same word! If you ever listen to the portrayal of the word in chant, you may notice it is not triumphal, but quietly joyful, to reflect (in my opinion) inner joy rather than that of the world.
So while in the Old Testament, the word literally means “Praise the Lord”, for Christians it has an extra meaning connected to the resurrection and joy at the new life brought by the risen Christ. That’s worth reflecting on as we approach the next Alleluia season.