Evangeliario Fiorentino

iconographic research by Msgr. Timothy Verdon

Church tradition has always had special regard for the form of the Book of the Holy Gospels that are proclaimed during Eucharistic celebrations, through the special attention paid to the characters of the text, the images illustrating it and the binding, highlighting the artistic expressions of every era. When the Florentine church celebrated the Year of Faith and prepared to experience the pastoral visit, it wanted to offer its own contribution to this testimonial of faith. As a result, it prepared its own Evangeliary, collecting the evangelical pericopes read on Sundays and the solemn celebrations of the liturgical year, as well as the feasts of the diocesan calendar. The text is richly illustrated with images that illuminate it, taken from the great history of Florentine art over the centuries, from medieval magnificence to the richness of the Renaissance and on to manifestations of religious spirit using modern artistic languages.