What does evangeliary mean?
An evangeliary is a book or manuscript containing the four Christian Gospel accounts, or selected portions of them, for use in worship or liturgical reading. The term is especially associated with the study of medieval manuscripts, including decorated books produced in monastic and courtly settings, but it can refer more broadly to any codex preserving Gospel texts. An evangeliary should not be confused with an evangelical, which is chiefly an adjective, or with a lectionary, which arranges selected readings according to the liturgical calendar. Although the word may appear formal or historical in ordinary speech, it remains useful and precise in religious studies, manuscript cataloguing, and book history. Its name ultimately expresses the central Christian idea of “good news,” reflecting the Greek origin of the related words Gospel, evangelical, and evangelist.
nounA book or manuscript containing the four Gospel accounts, or portions of them, especially for Christian worship or liturgical use.
- A book, manuscript, or codex containing the four Gospel accounts, or extracts from them, particularly for use in Christian worship.
"The monastery preserved a richly illuminated evangeliary containing the four Gospel accounts."
"The catalog described the object as an illuminated evangeliary with substantial silver decoration."
"A scholar compared the text of the evangeliary with other early manuscripts of the Gospels."
The regular plural refers to multiple books or manuscripts of this kind.
"The exhibition displayed several medieval evangeliaries from different regions."
An evangeliary is not a preacher's biography—it is a book built around four.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does evangeliary come from?
English evangeliary comes through medieval Latin evangeliarium, a book of the Gospels, from Greek euangelion. Greek euangelion combines eu, meaning “good,” with angelos, meaning “messenger,” and literally denotes “good news” or a message of good news. Related English words include evangelical, evangelist, and evangelize, all developed from the same Greek and Latin etymological tradition.
Related word forms
How evangeliary is actually used
This is chiefly a specialist term used in manuscript studies, religious history, bibliography, and the description of historical objects. It may sound formal or archaic, but it remains the precise term for a Gospel book.
Easily confused with evangeliary
An evangeliary is a book containing Gospel texts, whereas evangelical is primarily an adjective relating to the Christian Gospel or to its proclamation.
An evangeliary contains the Gospel accounts or substantial portions of them, while a lectionary presents selected readings arranged for use throughout the liturgical year.