Father Miguel Arranz S.J. passed away

On July 16, 2008 Father Miguel Arranz S.J., the well-known liturgics professor who taught at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, in Moscow and in St Petersburg, passed away. The funeral took place two days later, at the Jesuit chapel of the Vatican Curia in the Vatican.

Miguel Arranz was born on July 9, 1930 in Guadalajara, Spain. Between 1941 and 1949, he studied at the Seminary of Toledo and in 1949 come to the Oriental Institute. He was ordained a deacon in 1952 and become a priest two years later. After spending a period of time studying in Belgium, Father Arranz returned to Rome in 1967 and began his study of the Messina Typicon. In 1979, he defended a work titled „How did the ancient Byzantines pray?" at the Saint Petersburg Orthodox Spiritual Academy. Between 1969 and 1975, he taught Liturgics at the same Academy where in 1975 Patriarch Pimen appointed him a full-time professor. Between 1996 and 2001, he taught in Moscow and in St Petersburg. He was the mentor of many contemporary liturgists such professor Pentkovskij.

The primary subject of interest to professor Arranz was the Studite Typicon. He dedicated his entire academic carrier to studying worship in the East and is known among liturgists as a defender of the historical study of manuscripts. His major works are: Le Typicon du Monastere du Saint-Sauveur a Messine: Codex Messinensis. Gr. 115 (A. D. 1131): Doctoral Dissertation, 1969 (OCA 185); Как молились Богу древние византийцы: Суточный круг Богослужения по древним спискам византийского Евхология: Master's study, СПб., 1979; L'Eucologio Costantinopolitano agli inizi del secolo XI: Hagiasmatarion & Archieratikon (Rituale & Pontificale), 1996; studies published in OCP between 1971 – 1997 (Vol. 37-44, 47-59, 61-63); L'economie du salut dans la priere du Post-Sanctus des anaphores de type antiocheen, La Maison-Dieu. P., 1971. Vol. 106. P. 46-75; Le "sancta sanctis" dans la tradition liturgique des Eglises (Conferences Saint-Serge 1972) // Archiv fur Liturgiewissenschaft. 1973. Vol. 15. P. 31-67 and others; Bibliotheсa "Ephemerides Liturgicae": Subs. R., 1975-1982. Vol. 1, 7, 9, 14, 16, 18, 25 and others; History of Typicon : 1 course / ЛДА. Л., 1978; History of the Divine Liturgy – 2 courses / ЛДА. Л., 1978; Исторические заметки о чинопоследованиях Таинств по рукописям греч. Евхология: 3 courses / ЛДА. Л., 1979; Evharistija Vostoka I Zapada, Rome, 1998. The most known work of Father Arranz is his historical study of the Typicon (Istorija Tipikona, Leningradskaja Duhovnaja Akademija 1979) in which he examined the development of worship and worship books such as the Služebnik, Horologion, Octoechos, Triodion, Menaion and early Tipicons, with special attention on the Studite and the Sabbaitic Typicons.

Professor Arranz's bibliography can be found on www.miguel-arranz.net