Gaulish Communion Rite: Inspiration, Context, and Practice
The Gaulish Communion Rite is a modern ceremonial reconstruction that draws inspiration from Gaulish religious sensibilities and from the historical Gallican Rite, understood here as a regional liturgical tradition of Gaul rather than the expression of a separate people or identity. In Latin usage, Gallicanus simply means “of Gaul,” much like Gallicus, and does not designate a distinct group called “the Gallicans.” When scholars speak of the Gallican Rite, they refer to the form of Christian worship practiced in Gaul during Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, not to a population differentiated from the Gauls themselves.
The peoples of Gaul had long practiced polytheism, ancestor veneration, and reciprocal relationships with land, waters, and divine powers. Following Roman conquest and the gradual spread of Christianity, Gauls did not cease to be Gauls. What changed was theology, not geography or embodied patterns of ritual life. As Christianity took root in Gaul, it developed liturgical forms distinct from those of Rome. These Gallican liturgies preserved regional ceremonial structures — including procession, orientation, bodily gesture, communal acclamation, and poetic invocation — even as their theological content became Christian. The Gallican Rite thus reflects a Christianized ritual form shaped in Gaul, rather than a rupture from earlier modes of ritual engagement.
This rite does not claim that the Gallican liturgy preserves pre-Christian Gaulish religion, nor that Gallican Christianity consciously transmitted pagan belief. Rather, it recognizes that ritual forms — patterns of movement, spatial awareness, communal participation, and ordered speech — often endure across religious change. The Gallican Rite provides a historically grounded ceremonial structure shaped in Gaul, which is here re-used as a vessel for a consciously polytheistic Gaulish communion practice.
It should also be noted that the term “Gallican” later acquired a separate and unrelated meaning in early modern and modern France, referring to Gallicanism, a political and ecclesiastical position concerning the autonomy of the French Church in relation to the Roman papacy. That usage is not intended here.
A communion ritual, in this context, is a ceremonial act in which participants share offerings and enter into a symbolic relationship with divine, ancestral, and elemental powers. Its purpose is not petition alone, but alignment, gratitude, and ethical grounding — fostering a sense of right relationship between people, the sacred, and the living world. Unlike the Christian Eucharist, this communion does not center on a single salvific figure or sacrament, but on participation, reciprocity, and acknowledgment of cosmic order.
Pre-Christian parallels to communion-like practices are well attested in Greek and Roman religious life. In Greece, sacred feasting and rites such as Theoxenia or those found within the Mystery Cults involved shared consumption that symbolized participation in divine presence and favor. Libations poured to the gods reinforced communal and cosmic bonds. In Rome, sacrificial meals following offerings, household rites honoring the Lares and Penates, and public festival feasts such as the Epulum Jovis demonstrate the same underlying pattern: offering, sharing, and alignment with divine and civic order. Across these traditions, the essential elements of communion are shared participation, bodily and spatial awareness, and the recognition of reciprocal bonds — elements reflected in the Gaulish Communion Rite.
This modern Gaulish Communion Rite draws primarily on three sources of inspiration: the Gallican Rite itself; the Divine Liturgy of Saint Germanus of Paris as a representative example of Gallican ceremonial structure; and the Adoration Rite described by Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia (28.25).
Surviving liturgical fragments such as the Missale Gothicum and the Missale Gallicanum Vetus preserve the structure and ceremonial rhythm of Gallican worship, including procession, orientation, intercessions, readings, offerings, and communal acclamations. Pliny’s account, meanwhile, records that the Gauls performed religious gestures primarily with the left hand and often turned the body as part of acts of adoration, emphasizing bodily orientation and acknowledgment of the sacred in all directions.
In this reconstruction, the Adoration Rite is integrated at both the opening and closing of the Communion Rite. It serves as a bridge between individual devotion and communal alignment, situating participants physically and symbolically within the world, the Gods, the ancestors, and the land.
The Gaulish Communion Rite begins with Adoration: facing east, performing the Kiss of Offering, turning sunwise, and opening oneself bodily and attentively to the divine and the land. Spoken or silent acclamations acknowledge the Gods, ancestors, and natural world. The Liturgy of Lore and Truth follows, consisting of three readings: one addressing cosmic order, one recounting myth or divine deeds, and one teaching Îanoi, the virtues of what is right, fitting, and sustaining. These readings are followed by reflection, intercessions, and obligations expressed through call-and-response petitions for the people, the land and waters, the Gods, and the cultivation of balance and restraint.
Offerings of bread, grain, or libations are then presented with spoken acknowledgment of reciprocity and right order. Communion consists of sharing these offerings as a symbolic participation in divine, ancestral, and elemental presence. The rite concludes with thanksgiving, a final blessing, and the Seal: a closing Kiss of Offering accompanied by the words Sertom ē — “So be it.”
This rite emphasizes communal and personal obligation rather than request-based prayer, ethical grounding through the practice of Îanoi, and embodied participation as a form of devotion. It maintains continuity with Gaulish ritual sensibilities while using Gallican ceremonial structure as a stable framework for modern polytheistic practice.
It is important to be clear about what the Gaulish Communion Rite is not. It is not a historical reconstruction of pre-Christian Gaulish religion, as much of that theology and cosmology is irretrievably lost. It is not Christian worship, and it invokes neither Christ nor Christian sacraments. It is not anachronistic syncretism: while its structure is informed by the Gallican Rite, its theological content is consciously Gaulish and polytheistic. It is not merely symbolic or meditative, but relies on active gesture, speech, offering, and participation. Finally, it does not prescribe belief; participants are encouraged to engage according to their own understanding of the Gods, ancestors, and the land.
By combining Gallican ceremonial structure, Gaulish-inspired theology, and the kinesthetic Adoration Rite recorded by classical sources, the Gaulish Communion Rite offers a living ceremonial form — one that honors ancestral modes of ritual engagement while providing a grounded, adaptable practice for modern communal devotion.
The wording, gestures, and readings presented here form a generic and inclusive framework. They may be adapted to season, place, and community need, while preserving the structure and intent of the rite itself.
Adaððus Combortii
Rite of Communion
Adoration
Adoration is how we arrive fully. Through simple gestures and orientation, we place ourselves within the world and acknowledge the Dêuoi, the Regentiâ, and the land. This moment is about presence and respect, not asking or expecting anything in return.
Face East, the direction from which the Dêuoi rise and all blessings flow.
Gesture of Reverence
- Raise the left hand to the lips — Potî Uediās, the Kiss of Offering.
- Hold a silent moment of respect.
- Release the kiss to the unseen powers.
Cosmic Alignment
- Step with the left foot and turn sunwise (dexsiuos) once (or three times in ceremonial rites).
- Extend both palms upward to the sky and downward to the earth, opening yourself fully.
“Between Albios and Dumnos, upon Bitus, between the seen and the unseen, we take our place at Drus.”
Spoken or Silent Acclamation:
“I honor all that moves, I honor all that remains, I honor the Dêuoi, the Regentiâ, and the Land.”
This gesture bridges personal devotion with communal ritual, aligning the practitioner, space, and cosmos. You may light a candle and incense.
Invocation of the Powers
The Invocation opens the rite by naming peace and balance between all parts of existence — Dêuoi and people, living and dead, seen and unseen. It marks the space as shared and sets a calm, ordered foundation for what follows.
The Gutuatir calls the attention of the divine, ancestral, and elemental powers:
“Peace between the Dêuoi and the people. Peace between the living and the dead. Peace upon this place and this gathering.”
Invoke:
- The Dêuoi of the Rite (seasonal, tutelary, or communal)
- Regentiâ (named or unnamed)
- Spirits of place
Liturgy of Lore and Truth (Readings)
The readings remind us who we are and how the world holds together. They speak of the order of the cosmos, the actions of the Dêuoi, and the virtues that keep life steady. This is shared teaching, meant to be carried beyond the rite.
Cosmic Order
Before names were given, before paths were walked, the world was set in motion by measure and return. Fire rose,and water flowed. The cosmos received both and endured.
What is born passes. What passes feeds what comes after. Nothing stands alone; nothing is lost. The cosmos remembers every footstep. The waters carry every breath. The fire transforms but does not destroy. Thus, the world remains — not fixed, but ordered; not still, but balanced.
Response: “This is remembered. This is carried.”
Myth or Divine Deed
When the people faltered and the land grew silent, the Dêuoi did not abandon the world. They walked the hidden paths, taught the crafts of hand and mind, and set signs in sky and stone. They showed when to sow and when to rest, when to speak and when to remain silent. They did not remove hardship, but taught endurance. They did not erase danger, but taught wisdom. Through their presence, the world was made livable.
Response: “This is remembered. This is carried.”
Îanoi (Virtue Teaching)
Virtue is not claimed — it is practiced. What is right sustains the people. What is fitting sustains the land. What is restrained sustains the self. To give when able, to speak when needed, to act without excess — these uphold the bond. A person of Îanoi does not seek praise, but leaves the world steadier than they found it. Thus, the Dêuoi are honored not only by offerings, but by lives well held.
Response: “This is remembered. This is carried.”
Reflection
What is affirmed is the order of the world. Fire and water endure, land receives and gives, and all things move in cycles rather than ends. What is required is right relation — to the Dêuoi, Regentiâ, land, and each other. What must be upheld is Îanoi — the virtues of right, fitting, and sustaining action. The world must remain ordered after we depart this place.
Response: “We accept what is affirmed. We commit to what is required. We uphold what must endure.”
Intercessions and Obligations
In this part, we speak aloud what we are responsible for. These are not wishes, but commitments — to each other, to the land and waters, to the Dêuoi, and to restraint in our own actions. The shared response makes these obligations communal rather than individual.
- For the Community: honesty, generosity, courage, mutual care
- For the Land and Waters: responsible stewardship, reciprocity
- For the Dêuoi: honor, remembrance, fidelity to rites
- For Balance and Restraint: measured speech, temperance, wisdom in action
Gutuatir: For the people: truthfulness of heart, faithfulness to word, and responsibility for one’s actions.
All: We remember, and we uphold.
Gutuatir: For the community: honesty in speech, generosity in deed, courage in difficulty, care for one another.
All: We remember, and we uphold.
Gutuatir: For the land and the waters: respect, restraint, and reciprocity.
All: We remember, and we uphold.
Gutuatir: For the Dêuoi: honor, remembrance, and fidelity to the rites.
All: We remember, and we uphold.
Gutuatir: For balance and restraint: measured words, temperance of action, and wise judgment.
All: We remember, and we uphold.
Closing acclamation:
“These are not wishes alone, but bonds we accept.”
All: We remember and we uphold.
Offerings
Offerings express reciprocity. By giving food, drink, or symbolic gifts, we acknowledge that life is sustained through mutual care. What we offer is not a bargain, but a sign of respect and right relationship.
- Bread, grain, water, or libations are presented.
- Offered with the spoken formula:
“We give not to command, but to honor. We give so that right order endures.”
Naming the Cosmos
Here we name the wider world that holds us. We recognize the forces that shape land, breath, fire, and water, and place ourselves within that living order. This moment gathers everything into balance before sharing what has been given.
“You who shaped the cosmos and set its bounds, You who move unseen through breath, flame, and flowing water, You who receive the gift and the life that gives it meaning —Be present here.”
“Let what is above and what is below and what stands between be held in right order. Let the Dêuoi be honored, the Regentiâ remembered, and the living bound rightly to one another. We stand within the world as it is given.”
(A brief silence is held.)
Acclamation of Presence
This acclamation affirms that the sacred is already present — in the land, the sky, and the depths. It reminds us that we do not summon holiness; we recognize it where we stand.
“The land is full of your presence. The sky bears your names. The deep remembers you.”
Calling Blessing
This invites blessing upon what has been offered and shared. It asks that the bond between the Dêuoi and the people remain strong, steady, and rightly ordered.
“Let this offering be received. Let blessing rest upon it. Let the bond between Dêuoi and people be renewed.”
Communion — Participation in Blessing
Communion is the act of sharing. By receiving what has been offered, we take part in the blessing together. This is a moment of connection — with one another, with the Dêuoi, and with the living world.
- Participants share in offerings: food, drink, or symbolic portions.
- Spoken reflection:
“What is given returns to us as strength, as clarity, as right order.”
Bidding Prayers and Collects
These prayers extend care outward. We remember the Regentiâ, the living community, and the land itself, affirming that our responsibilities reach beyond this gathering and continue after the rite ends.
- For the Dead: “May the Regentiâ rest. May their names be spoken. May they walk in peace.”
- For the Living: “May the people stand firm. May virtue guide their hands.”
- For the Land: “May the fields be fertile. May the waters remain clean.”
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving acknowledges what has taken place. What was given has been received; what was shared has been honored. The bond formed in the rite remains, even as we return to daily life.
“What was given is acknowledged. What was shared is honored. The bond remains.”
Seal of the Rite
The Seal closes the rite with intention. Through a final gesture and spoken affirmation, we confirm what has been done and accepted. The rite ends with resolve rather than farewell.
With the right hand, give a Kiss of Offering — a declaration, not an invocation:Sertom ē — “So be it.”
The Adoration marks the opening of sacred space. Through orientation, gesture, and silence, the space is set apart from ordinary time and ordered for ritual work. After the Adoration, it is appropriate to light a candle and incense, signaling that the space has been opened and is now held for the rite. The Gutuatir is the one who leads the rite. The word Gutuatir means “master of invocation,” indicating the person responsible for speaking the rite aloud, guiding its flow, and holding its structure. When leading the rite, you assume this role for its duration, whether the rite is performed communally or solo. The wording of the rite may be adapted to suit seasonal focus, local landscape, or community needs, provided the structure and intent are preserved. This form is offered as a stable, inclusive foundation rather than a fixed script.
More information on the Adoration rite can be found Here and Here.
Dêuoi meaning gods
Regentiâ meaning ancestors
The Witch's and Druids Den 