Why is Latin the liturgical language?

Latin continued as the Western Church’s language of liturgy and communication. One simply practical reason for this may be that there were no standardized vernaculars throughout the Middle Ages. Church Slavonic was used for the celebration of the Roman Liturgy in the 9th century (twice, 867-873 and 880-885).

Why did the Roman Catholic Church speak Latin?

Greek was the original lingua franca of the Church because it already was the common language of the Mediterranean world. Latin was added as a third language (after Aramaic/Hebrew) rather quickly as the language of the nobility of Rome, and the official language of the empire, was Latin.

Is Latin a liturgy?

A Latin Mass is a Roman Catholic Mass celebrated in Ecclesiastical Latin. While the liturgy is Latin, any sermon may be in the local vernacular, as permitted since the Council of Tours 813.

Is Latin the official language of the Catholic Church?

Current use. Latin remains the official language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.

When did Catholic Church start using Latin?

fourth century
The use of Latin in the Church started in the late fourth century with the split of the Roman Empire after Emperor Theodosius in 395. Before this split, Greek was the primary language of the Church as well as the language of the eastern half of the Roman Empire.

Where was the origin of the Latin liturgy?

Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church sui iuris of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once dominated. Its language is now known as Ecclesiastical Latin.

When did Latin become the official language of the Catholic Church?

Christians living in Rome adopted Latin and it became the Church’s language in the fourth century. Saint Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, an edition called the Vulgate, because he used the common (or “vulgar”) Latin language.

What is the liturgical language of the Catholic Church?

Aramaic is also a liturgic language of the Catholic Church, for instance among Maronites and Palestinian Catholics. Latin is only the liturgical language of the LATIN Church, which is however where the papacy is and is so the largest liturgical grouping within the Catholic Church.

What was Latin Latin used for?

Latin was the Liturgical language of the Patriarch of Rome however Rome was not the only one. There were 4 others by the middle of the 4th century. The 4 original were Rome , Alexandria which used Coptic , Antioch and Jerusalem which used Aramaic and then the Greek speaking areas became the Patriarchte of Constantinople.

What was the language of the Roman Empire?

St. Peter fixed the centre of the Christian faith in Rome, the capital city of the Empire, and the Church gradually adopted the language of the Romans, and finally used it in many parts of the world over which she extended her dominion. Latin, however, was far from being the sole language of the Roman Empire.

Why did Latin become the literary language of Western Christendom?

In the course of time, Latin became the literary language of western Christendom, because it was familiar to the clergy, who were the educated class and the writers of books.