Reform of the Eucharist rite (ordo Missae) in the Frankish state (VIII-IX centuries): theological and church-political aspects

The article is focused on the study of the theological (ideological) and religious-political aspects of the reform of the eucharist liturgy (of the Mass) in the Frankish state in the VIII-IX centuries. Church reforms were part of the large-scale state reforms, the purpose of which was proclaimed the restoration of the Roman Empire (Renovatio imperii Romanorum). This aim was not a formal restoration of the old Western Roman Empire, which had been dissolved in 476, but the building of a new theocratic Imperia christiana, uniting the population of the Frankish kingdom into a single people of God (populus Dei). One of the most important directions of the ecclesiastical reform was the unification of divine service on the model of the Roman Church. The Church of Rome was thought to be “the head of all Churches (omnium vere ecclesiarum caput)”, and ancient Rome was thought to be the spiritual center of Christian civilization. The introduction of a single rite of worship also pursued an obvious political goal - the unity and cohesion of the people around the Church under the authority of the king, and from 800 AD. - emperor as the supreme patron and defender of the Christian faith. However, following the Roman liturgical tradition as a model did not mean blind copying. Roman liturgical books were edited and supplemented with Gallican rites and formularies. Thus, a hybrid Romano-Frankish liturgical tradition emerged, which later spread throughout Europe, including Rome itself. Charlemagne's imperial ideas and ambitions created an inevitable competition with Constantinople. The struggle for imperial status led to the introduction of the doctrine of the “double” proceeding of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son and the reading of the Creed (Credo) with the addition of Filioque.