On New Revisions to the Carthusian Liturgy: Guest Article by Mr Calder Claydon

Our thanks to Mr Calder Claydon for sharing with us this account of some research he has been doing on the modern revisions of the Carthusian liturgical books. The pictures are all his, taken during a recent visit to the Charterhouse of St Hugh in Parkminster, England.

The Carthusian Rite has existed, in one form or another, since the very beginning of the order, as a liturgical Use of the Roman Rite separate from that which was codified later by Pope St Pius V. It was heavily influenced by the Use of the see of Grenoble, within whose territory order was founded. The first discussion of it as a separate Use was in the year 1142, when the 7th prior of the order, St Anthelme, instituted a General Chapter. This was the occasion on which the communities following the life and charism of Saint Bruno were united under the authority of the prior of the Grande Chartreuse, and uniformity was brought to the liturgies celebrated in the various charterhouses. It continued in use after the Tridentine reform of the Roman liturgy was promulgated; the last notable revision took place in 1687 at the request of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, but this merely concerned conformity with the text of the Vulgate.

After the Second Vatican Council, a new project of revisions began in 1981, significantly later than the rest of the Church, with the promulgation of a revised Missale Cartusiense, published by the Order itself. Further changes have been made including a revised English edition of the diurnale. In 2008, the Pleterje Charterhouse in Slovenia published an ad experimentum edition of this book, which had not yet received the Imprimatur of the (then) Congregation for Divine Worship.

In 2018, the Congregation for Divine Worship approved a new Calendarium ad usum Ordinis Cartusiensis, which was followed by a further revised edition of the missal in 2021, but without the imprimatur of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, in both Latin and English. In May 2026, a General Chapter will meet at the Grande Chartreuse in France where it is hoped that the final revisions will be approved by the Order, before being presented to the DDW for approval.

The rubrics of the 1981 and 2021 revised editions of the missal inevitably differ, given the forty years between them, but the language seen in the 2021 revising concerning the Roman Rite differs greatly to from that of the 1981 edition.

In the 1981 rubrics, the Roman Liturgy is mentioned three times.

“Patrum nostrorum erga sanctam Missam veneratio et reverentia iam ex eo apparent, quod Guigo noster in Consuetudinibus Cartusiæ apprime de Liturgia conventuali tractet: ubi plurimos usus, ad Missam celebrandam spectantes, nobis tradit. Cartusiensis celebrandi modus in decursu temporis paulatim evolutus est, dum Patres nostri haud pauca e vicinis ecclesiis vel monasteriis, et ulterius e Missali Romano, mutuarentur, ita tamen ut propria suæ vitæ generis indoles omnia quasi pervaderet.

The veneration and reverence of our Fathers towards the Holy Mass is already apparent from the fact that our Guigo, in his Consuetudines Carthusiae, deals particularly with the conventual Liturgy: where he gives us many uses pertaining to the celebration of the Mass. The Carthusian way of celebrating gradually developed over time, as our Fathers borrowed not a few things from neighboring churches or monasteries, and further from the Roman Missal; yet in such a way that the distinctive character of their own manner of life permeated almost everything.”

“Pro celebratione Sanctorum, calendarium nostrum, ad exemplar calendarii romani recognitum, universalitatem sanctitatis christiánæ, per regiones orbis et per tempora, in lucem ponit.

For the celebration of the Saints, our calendar, revised according to the model of the Roman calendar, brings to light the universality of Christian holiness, throughout the regions of the world and throughout time.”

“Novi textus praesertim e Missali Romano, simplicitatis ratione semper habita, desumpti sunt, vel aliquando e veteribus sacramentariis, vel e Sacra Scriptura.

The new texts have been taken primarily from the Roman Missal, always with due regard for simplicity, and at times from the old sacramentaries, or from Sacred Scripture.”

The language of the rubrics explicitly mentions the “Carthusian way of celebrating” as a separate form, with the Carthusian Missal borrowing from neighbouring monasteries and rites, and “further from the Roman Missal”. Furthermore, the rubrics speaks of how the revised Missal has also revised their conventual calendar according to the “model of the Roman Calendar”. Despite this, no mention, or implication, of the Carthusian Liturgy being a use or a form of the Roman Rite is made.

However, in the further revision in 2021, this language changes substantially.

“Ordo quoque Cartusiensis, ut Ecclesiæ voluntatem plenius adimpleret, sana traditio retineretur et tamen via legitimæ progressioni aperiretur, accurata investigatione peracta, proprii Missalis instaurationem perfecit secundum Concilii generales rationes prout in instaurato Missali Romano recipiuntur. Cum autem Cartusiensi Ordini proprii quidam usus sint, in hoc Missali nonnullæ particularitates inveniuntur.

The Carthusian Order, in order to fulfill the will of the Church more fully, to retain sound tradition and yet to open the way for legitimate progress, after careful investigation, completed the restoration of its own missal according to the general principles of the Council as they are received in the restored Roman Missal. However, since there are certain practices specific to the Carthusian Order, some particularities are found in this Missal.”

“Missale Cartusiense antiquam peculiarem formam celebrandi in gremio Ritus romani iugiter servat præbetque. Quapropter et hæc editio fundamenta in Institutione Generali Missalis Romani.

The Carthusian Missal constantly preserves and presents the ancient and special form of celebration within the fold of the Roman Rite. For this reason, this edition also has its foundations in the General Institution of the Roman Missal.”

“Quædam notæ distinctivæ huius instaurationis hæc sunt: a) Prex eucharistica aucta est copia præfationum necnon formulariis a Missali Romano receptis, ut peculiares partes mysterii salutis clarius patefierent, et uberior gratias agendi materia præberetur.

Some of the distinctive features of this restoration are: a) The Eucharistic Prayer has been increased in the number of prefaces and formularies taken from the Roman Missal, so that special parts of the mystery of salvation are more clearly revealed and richer material for giving thanks is provided.”

Firstly, the rubrics speaks of the Carthusian Missal being independently restored “according to the general principles of the Council as received in the restored Roman Missal.” This, in of itself, does not explicitly state an integration of the Carthusian Rite into the Roman Rite, but, further on in the rubrics, this implication seems to be made. The rubric go on to say that, while the Carthusian missal wishes to preserve and present their “ancient and special form of celebration [of the Mass]” it wishes to do so “within the fold of the Roman Rite”, hence why the Revised Missale Carthusiense has “its foundations in the General Institution of the Roman Missal.”

This seems to be the first time that the Carthusian Order has published a liturgical text which separates itself from the idea of being a distinct liturgical use. This in turn seems to suggest that further revisions, such as those which will be presented to the Dicastery for Divine Worship in 2026, will be done with the idea of the revised missal as a form of the Roman one, while preserving some fundamental traditions of the Carthusian Rite.