Readings:
Bel and the Dragon 23-27
Psalm 112:1–9
Matthew 13:24-30Preface of a Saint (1)
[Common of a Monastic or Professed Religious]
[Common of a Theologian and Teacher]
[Of the Holy Trinity]
Almighty God, who didst raise up thy servant Alcuin as a beacon of learning: Shine in our hearts, we pray, that we may also show forth thy praise in our own generation, for thou hast called us out of darkness and into thy marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
Almighty God, who raised up your servant Alcuin as a beacon of learning: Shine in our hearts, we pray, that we may also show forth your praise in our own generation, for you have called us out of darkness and into your marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This commemoration appears in Lesser Feasts & Fasts 2018 with revised lessons & collects.
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Last updated: 21 May 2023
ALCUIN
DEACON, SCHOLAR, AND ABBOT OF TOURS (20 MAY
804)
Alcuin
was an Englishman from York, born into a noble family about 730, and educated
by a pupil of Bede. Having become a deacon, he was made head of the cathedral
school at York around 770. In 781 he was asked by the Emperor Charlemagne
to become his minister of education. He accepted, and established schools
at many cathedrals and monasteries, and promoted learning in every way he
could. In the preceding years of constant wars and invasions, many ancient
writings had been lost. Alcuin established scriptoria, dedicated to the
copying and preservation of ancient manuscripts, both pagan and Christian.
That we have as much as we do of the writings of classical Roman authors
is largely due to Alcuin and his scribes. (He is credited with the invention
of cursive script, in which the letters are connected for greater speed
of writing.) To Alcuin, backed by Charlemagne, belongs much of the credit
for the revision and organization of the Latin liturgy, the preservation
of many of the ancient prayers, and the development of plainchant. He and
his fellow theologians at Charlemagne's capital of Aachen (or Aix-la-Chappelle)
were important advocates of the doctrine that the Holy Ghost proceeds from
the Father and the Son jointly. Unfortunately, the East, which regarded
the Emperor at Byzantium as the sole Emperor, resented Charlemagne's assumption
of the title of Holy Roman Emperor, and this hardened their opposition to
the aforesaid doctrine, thus contributing to the rift between East and West.