Liturgical Manuscripts and the Siglum Lit in the Kurzgefasste Liste

Classification and Transmission

Abstract

This study critically re-evaluates the classification of “Lit” (liturgical) manuscripts within the Kurzgefasste Liste der griechischen Handschriften des Neuen Testaments. It argues that these codices – often Euchologia, Menaia, and Hieratika – are primarily liturgical books, not biblical manuscripts. Their current categorization, based on the incidental presence of New Testament pericopes, obscures their true nature as instruments of Byzantine worship. By analyzing a corpus of 184 manuscripts, this article demonstrates that a structural and liturgical, rather than purely philological textual, criterion is essential for accurate classification. The proposed reclassification aims to refine the Liste and better situate these manuscripts within the intertwined histories of the New Testament text and Byzantine liturgical praxis