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Views from the Choir Loft

The Ascension Depicted in the Rabbula Gospel Book

Fr. David Friel · May 13, 2021

NCIENT Christian manuscripts vary quite a bit. Some are practical, while others are luxury items. Some are spartan in appearance, but others are rife with decorative elements. Some are thick, and some are thin. They can be difficult to categorize, as well, since their creators often did not have in mind the formal genres we like to identify today (e.g., missal/sacramentary, book of hours, antiphonary, epistolary, Gospel book, capitularium, etc.).

One very famous manuscript is the Rabbula Gospel Book. All sorts of facts about this evangelarium are available on the Internet (like here and here), so I won’t rehash them all here. Suffice it to say that the Rabbula Gospel Book is a 6th-century manuscript produced in Syria, completed in AD 586 at the Monastery of St. John of Zagba. The texts of the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles are presented in Syriac. This is one of the earliest Christian manuscripts to be illuminated with (the oxymoronic) “large miniatures.” The manuscript, which is held by the Biblioteca Mediceo Laurenziana in Florence (cod. Plut. I, 56), is especially notable for its use of bright colors and the miniaturist’s interest in conveying movement.

My reason for mentioning the Rabbula Gospel Book today is twofold. First, fol. 13v features a large miniature (33 x 25 cm) of today’s feast, the Ascension.

Ascension of Christ, Rabbula Gospel Book (fol. 13v)

This is a very interesting image, framed with multi-colored geometric forms. In the upper half, the Lord is shown within a mandorla, ascending into heaven on a chariot. Many of the features in this portion of the miniature—the four living creatures (tetramorph), the four wheels, the hand of God—are drawn from the prophet Ezekiel’s mystical vision of God (c.f., Ezek 1).

In the lower half, the miniaturist gives great prominence to the Blessed Virgin Mary, despite the fact that the scriptural accounts do not specify her presence on this occasion (c.f., Mk 16:19-20 and Lk 24:50-51). She stands out in blue, and she is the only disciple given a halo/nimbus. The Blessed Mother is flanked by angels—the “two men dressed in white garments” (c.f., Acts 1:10)—each with a halo/nimbus. Mary and Jesus are the only two characters in the scene shown facing forward. The Blessed Mother is shown praying, and she distinctly does not share in the state of confusion manifest among the other disciples.

The remaining characters number twelve, although neither Judas nor Saint Mathias is included. Instead, Saint Paul is portrayed with his characteristic attributes of a long beard and a book of his letters. This is an anachronistic interpolation, inasmuch as Saul of Tarsus had not yet been converted to Christ by the time of the Ascension.

The second reason for highlighting the Rabbula Gospel Book today is that it presents a very uncommon image related to tomorrow’s feast of Saint Mathias. On folio 1v of the manuscript, one finds the scene of Saint Mathias being chosen to fill Judas’ place among the Twelve (c.f., Acts 1:15-26).

Election of St. Mathias, Rabbula Gospel Book (fol. 1v)

This image is interesting in its own right, but all the more so since, in later art, this scene has rarely been depicted.

Curiously, the Rabbula Gospel Book includes more illustrations of scenes from the Acts of the Apostles than from the four canonical Gospels. This is a good reminder not to neglect our study of Acts, particularly throughout Eastertide.

“While they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.'” (Acts 1:10-11, RSV)

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Traditional Catholic Artwork Last Updated: May 13, 2021

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“In 1848, Franz Liszt attended a performance of Schumann’s 1st Piano Trio, held in his honor in the Schumanns’ home. Liszt arrived two hours late with Wagner (who hadn’t been invited), derided the piece, and spoke ill of the recently deceased Mendelssohn. This upset the Schumanns, and Robert physically assaulted Liszt.”

— Janita Hall-Swadley

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