Around about the year 381, a nun called Egeria made the difficult journey from the Atlantic coast of Spain or France to the Middle East. She wrote of her pilgrimage in a vivid book of travels, describing how she was welcomed to the great Syrian Christian centre of Edessa by the bishop who marvelled how her faith had brought her “right from the other end of the earth”. The high point of her journey was the places made holy by the life of Christ, and particularly the holy places of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. She carefully noted how Christians worshipped there and especially the pattern of services for Holy Week and Easter. From that ancient description is derived the pattern of the great traditional services of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter that are still at the centre of Christian celebration of the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord.
Geoffrey Rowell: Egeria the fourth century nun and the litany
Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Church History
I’d be interested in seeing how her notes reflect the worship life of the church today — what are the similarities and differences?
There was a radio program about a year ago that presented what they said was ‘the earliest liturgical music’ recorded (on paper, of course! Who thought CD??? Detention!), from a nun who lived in the 4th century(??). I wonder if it was the same nun? And were they called ‘nuns’ back then?
Oh the program was Millennium of Music on NPR, hosted by Robert Aubry Davis, aka RAD-man. Fantastic program, but our station doesn’t carry it any longer.