The Aromanian Missal ( rup, Lituryieru armãnescu; ro, Liturghier aromânesc) is an anonymous Aromanian-language instructive liturgical book (

missal A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pries ...

) variously referred to as dating from the beginning, the first half, the middle and the second half of the 18th century. It is the first extensive text in Aromanian, and includes translations of

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

s and other religious texts into Aromanian. The Aromanian Missal is believed to have been written in Moscopole, once a prosperous Aromanian city, and uses the

Greek alphabet The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BCE. It is derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and was the earliest known alphabetic script to have distinct letters for vowels as we ...

due to archaic forms of Greek being considered the appropriate language for high and literary functions in those times within the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. In recent times, the text of the liturgy has begun to circulate more actively among the

Aromanians in Albania sq, Arumunët në Shqipëri , native_name_lang = , image = File:Aromanians in Albania.png , image_caption = Map of Aromanian settlements in Albania , population = 8,266 (2011 census)Estimates go from 100,000 to 200,000 , ...

with support from the

Aromanian diaspora The Aromanian diaspora ( rup, Diaspora armãneascã) is any ethnically Aromanian living outside its traditional homeland in the Balkans. The Aromanians are a small Balkan ethnic group living scattered throughout Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, North ...

. In a 2002 study on the Aromanians, German researcher

Thede Kahl Thede Kahl (born 30 March 1971 in Hamburg) is a German ethnographer and ethnolinguist. He is the head of the Institute of South Slavic Studies in the University of Jena (in which he is a professor), in Germany. His research focuses are the Slav ...

stated that priest Thoma sang this Aromanian-language liturgy at the St. Nicholas Church ( rup, Bãserica Ayiu Nicola, link=no) of Moscopole. The Aromanian Missal was discovered in 1939 by

Ilo Mitkë Qafëzezi The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and ol ...

, a scholar and writer of mixed

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

–Aromanian origins, in the archives of the National Library of Albania in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. Upon its discovery, Qafëzezi sent copies of the manuscript to his colleagues at the University of Bucharest

Theodor Capidan Theodor Capidan (–September 1, 1953) was an Ottoman-born Romanian linguist. An ethnic Aromanian from the Macedonia region, he studied at Leipzig before teaching school at Thessaloniki. Following the creation of Greater Romania at the end ...

and , as well as to the

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

newspaper '' Universul''. Later, in 1957, Qafëzezi sent copies of the document to the for the missal's study. In a 1962

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

, the Aromanian linguist Matilda Caragiu Marioțeanu formally published the contents of the missal as the ''Liturghier aromânesc'' ("Aromanian Missal"). The Aromanian Missal is one of the earliest Aromanian-language works along with the also anonymous Codex Dimonie and the publications of

Theodore Kavalliotis Theodore Anastasios Kavalliotis ( el, Θεόδωρος Αναστασίου Καβαλλιώτης; rup, Teodor Anastasie Cavalioti; sq, Theodor Kavalioti, 1718 – 11 August 1789) was a Greek Orthodox priest, teacher and a figure of the Greek E ...

Daniel Moscopolites Daniel of Moscopole or Daniil of Moscopole (1754–1825; rup, Daniil Moscopoleanu or ; el, Δανιήλ Μοσχοπολίτης, Daniil Moschopolitis), also known as Mihali Adami Hagi ( rup, Mihali Adami Hagi), was an Aromanian scholar from Mo ...

and

Constantin Ucuta Constantin Ucuta was an Aromanian academic and protopope. He was born in Moscopole, an economically powerful city and Aromanian centre at the time then part of the Ottoman Empire and now part of Albania. He migrated to Posen, in Prussia (now P ...

. Caragiu Marioțeanu described the Aromanian language of the missal as being "relatively unitary, systematic, and consistent, and closer to the language used by the writers from the end of the 19th century". She also highlighted that it is the only Aromanian-language book for divine service without

or newly-introduced

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

influences.__NOTOC__

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* , modern digitized version in Latin script by Dumitru Piceava {{Moscopole Aromanian manuscripts History of the Aromanians Moscopole Anonymous works Eastern Orthodox liturgical books 18th-century Christian texts 18th-century manuscripts Missals Aromanian studies