SIDE-LIGHTS OF CHURCH HISTORY.
THE LITURGY AND RITUAL
ANTE-NICENE CHURCH.
F. E. WARREN, B.D., F.S.A.,
KRCTOR OF BARDWELL, SUFFOLK; HONORARY CANON OF ELY:
AND FOR.MERLY FELLOW OF ST. JOHN's COLLEGE, OXFORD.
PUHLISHKD UXDKR THE DIKECTtON OF THE IKACT COMMIITEE.
LONDON:
SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE,
NORTHUMBERLAND AVENUE, W.C. ;
43, QUEEN VICTORIA STREET, E.G.
BRIGHTON : 129, north street.
New York : E. & J. B. YOUNG AND CO.
1897.
INTRODUCTION.
It has been attempted to put together in this volume
all that is known about the Liturgy and Ritual of the
Ante-Nicene Church, so far as such knowledge can
be gathered (i) from Holy Scripture ; (2) from eccle-
siastical writings prior to A.D. 325 ; (3) from scanty
surviving liturgical remains ; and (4) from a few other
sources, e.g. inscriptions, etc.
A chapter has been added dealing with the
interesting but difficult question as to how far the
worship and ritual of the Christian Church are of
Jewish origin, or are modified by Jewish or other
non-Christian influence.
It is hoped that from the material accumulated
in the following pages, an answer may be found to
the important question, * How far does the Book of
Common Prayer of the Church of England retain
or reflect primitive usage, both absolutely as regards
itself, and relatively, in comparison with the service-
books of other parts of Christendom ? '
INTRODUCTION.
VVc can at once lay our finger on many variations
from primitive usage, e.g. the discontinuance of the
Love-feast, and of Infant Confirmation, and of
Infant Communion, and of the use of Unction, and
of the Kiss of Peace, and of the rite of Exorcism,
etc.; in alterations in the mode of singing, including
the introduction of instrumental accompaniment, in
the general non-separation of the sexes in church,
in structural and verbal alterations in the Liturgy
and other sacramental offices, etc.
Some changes have been necessitated by altered
circumstances ; some even by a difference of climate.
All changes which involve no violation of any
command in Holy Scripture arc within the com-
petence of the governing body of Christ's Church
on earth.
On many of these points the unchanging Eastern
Church adheres more faithfully to primitive practice
than either the Church of England or the Church of
Rome, and, it is needless to add, than the many
Christian bodies which have separated from the
Catholic Church within the last three or four
centuries.
On the other hand, in the simplicity of her
eucharistic, baptismal, confirmation, and ordination
ritual, as well as in the use of the vernacular
language, the Prayer-book retains and reflects the
essential directions of Holy Scripture, and, in some
INTRODUCTION.
respects, the practice of the primitive church more
faithfully, and with less loss or addition, than the
corresponding services in any other part of Western
Christendom.
No liturgy is perfect, because no liturgy is in-
spired. It is quite consistent with loyalty to the
Anglican Church to wish to see a revival of what
has long been discontinued, our Prayer-book itself
expressing such a wish in connection with the ancient
penitential system of the primitive Church ; or to
see this or that liturgical detail altered ; but while
not reaching perfection any more than the Roman
Missal and Breviary, or the Greek Euchologion, the
Book of Common Prayer enshrines a form of
service with which those who are privileged to have
been enrolled as the sons and daughters of the
English Church may be well content.
F. E. W,
Bardwell Rectory,
Bury St. Edmunds,
\ Lammas Day^ 1897.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PACE
I. Traces of Liturgical Worshit in the Old and
New Testaments ... ... ... i
§ I. Ritual Allusions in the Old Testament ... ... i
§ 2. Reliquire Liturgic;\; in the Old Testament ... 2
§ 3. Jewish Liturgy and Ritual a Tj'pe of the Services
of the Chistian Church ... ^ ... ... 5
§ 4. The Position and Meaning of Ritual in the Chris-
tian Church ... ... ... ... 7
§ 5. Ritual Allusions in the New Testament ... ... 9
§ 6. Baptism ... ... ... ... 0
§7. Benediction... ... ... ... ... id
§ S. Church furniture ... ... ... 17
§9. Confirmation ... ... ... ... 19
§ 10. Unction at Baptism and Confirmation ... 20
§ II. Sign of the Cross at Baptism and Confirmation ... 21
§ 12. Creed... ... ... ... ... 23
§ 13. Excommunication ... ... ... ... 23
§ 14. Holy Eucharist... ... ... ... 25
§ 15. Hymns ... ... ... ... ... 33
§ 16, Kiss of Peace ... ... ... ... 36
§17. Laying on of Hands ... ... ... ... 37
§ 18. Love-feast ... ... ... ... 37
§ 19. Marriage ... ... ... ... ... 3^
§ 20. Offerings ... ... ... ... 39
§21. Ordination... ... ... ... ... 39
§ 22. Public Prayer ... ... ... ... 42
§23. Sunday ... ... ... ... ... 45
§24, Unction of the Sick ... ... ... 46
§ 25. Vestments ... ... ... ... ... 47
§26. Washing of Feet ... ... ... 4S
CONTENTS.
;hai'ter
II. Ante-Xicene Ritual
Introductory
§ I. Absolution ...
§ 2. Baptism
...
§ 3. Choral Service
§ 4. Church Furniture
...
§ 5. Confession ...
§ 6. Confirmation
§ 7. Sign of the Cro.-s
§ 8. Exorcism
§ 9. Fasting
§ 10. The Eucharist ...
§ II. Imposition of Hands
§ 12. Incense
...
§ 13. Kiss of Peace
...
§ 14. The Love-feast {^Iga
A') -
§ 15. Marriage ...
§ 16. Ordination, Holy Or
(lers
§ 17. Prayer
§ 18. Saints' Days
§ 19. Sunday
...
§ 20. Unction
...
§ 21. Vestments ...
...
§ 22. Vulgar Tongue, Use
of the
§ 23. Washing of Hands and Feet
PAGE
50
50
56
58
74
75
82
87
98
loi
... lOI
«o5
... 129
129
131
133
137
139
... 141
«55
157
»59
... 162
164
164, 165
HI. .Ante-Nicene Liturcicai, Remains ... ... 167
§ I. A Prayer from the Epistle of .St. Clement ... 167
§2. Extract from the Epistle-ef St. Clement ... 170
§3. Prayers from the /Vr/ar//i'' ... ... ... 172
§4. A Prayer of the Scillitan Martyrs ... ... 174
§5. Prayers of Origen ... ... ... ... 175
§6. Forms of Creed ... ... ... ... 177
§ 7. A Hymn to Christ ... ... ... ... 181
§8. The Virgins' Song ... ... ... 182
§9. An Evening Hymn ... ... ... ... 191
^— § 10. Prayers and Thanksgivings from the ("anons of
Ilippolytus ... ... ... ... . 192
§ II. Anthems, etc., of Uncertain Date ... ... 195
§ 12. Ancient Liturgies ... ... ... 195
CONTENTS.
IX
HAPTER
lAGK
IV. The Connection between the Liturgy and Ritual
or THE Jewish and Christian Churches
200
§ r. Introductory
200
§ 2. The Temple Services ... ... ...
202
§3. The Synagogue Services
204
§4. The Shema
209
§ 5. The Eighteen Benedictions
210
§ 6. Tiie Radish
214
§ 7. The Kedusha ' ...
215
§ 8. The Paschal Supper ... ... ...
216
§ 9. Vitringa's Theory
217
§ 10. Bickell's Theory
2IS
Detailed resemblances in —
§ II. Baptism
219
§ 12. Bells ...
220
§ 13. Benedictions
221
§ 14. Colours
221
§ 15. Confirmation ... ... ... ...
222
§ 16. Churches, Name of
222
§ 17. Silent Prayer
224
§ 18. Bowing at the Sacred Xame
224
§19. Removal of Shoes ...
224
§20. Bowing towards the Altar
225
§ 21. Eastward Position ...
226
§ 22. Ablutions
226
§23. Standing at the Gospel
226
§24. Procession of the Gospel ...
227
§25. Separation of the Sexes
227
§26. Mode of Singing
228
§27. Dedication of Churches
228
§ 28. Fasts and Festivals
229
§29. Hebrew Language, Use of the
230
§30. The Eucharist ...
231
§31. Imposition of Hands
232
§ 32. Holy Orders
233
§ 33. Marriage ...
235
§ 34. Prayer, Hours of
235
§ 35. Prayer, Attitude at ...
237
§ 36. Prayer for the Dead
237
§ 37. Vestments ...
239
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
IV.
§ 38. Jewish Origin of certain Christian Formulae of
Devotion' ... ...
§ 39. Gospel for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity ...
§ 40. Heathen Worship suggested ;is the Source of
some Christian Ritual ...
"~Ai'PENDix : From the Apostolic Constitutions...
§ I. Gloria in F.xcelsis ... ...
§ 2. Triumphal Hymn ... ...
§ 3. A Widow's Thanksgiving ...
§4. A Eucharistic Thanksgiving
§ 5. A Post-Communion Thanksgiving ...
§6. A Thanksgiving for the Holy Oil
§ 7- A General Prayer
§ 8. Baptismal Formula of Renunciation
§ 9. Baptismal Creed ...
§ 10. Consecration of the Water at Baptism ...
§ II. Consecration of the Oil at Baptism
§ 12, A Post-Baptismal Prayer
§ 13. A Prayer at the Consecration of a Bishop ..
§14. The Clementine Liturgy
§ 15. Another Description of the Liturgy
§ 16. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Presbyter
§ 17. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Deacon
§ 18. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Deaconess
§ 19. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Sub-Deacon
§ 20. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Reader
§ 21. A Consecration of Water and Oil
§ 22. An Evening Prayer ...
§ 23. A Morning Prayer
§ 24. A Thanksgiving at the Presentation of the First
fruits ...
§ 25. A Prayer for the Faithful Departed ,„
Indices :
1. Index of l>iblical Quotations und References
2. Index of Greek Words
3. General Index
242
246
247
255
257
260
260
261
261
262
262
272
272
273
273
273
274
275
306
311
312
312
3'3
313
314
314
316
317
•^.18
321
327
331
INDEX OF AUTHORS AND
DOCUMENTS.
LIST OF AUTHORITIES.
N.B. This is not a complete index of ante-Nicene literature. With
regard to Acta Sanctortitn and Apocryphal writings, only those works
are included of which use has been made in this volume. Heretical
writings have been generally omitted, because they are chiefly known to us
through extracts in the pages of orthodox writers, and as not containing
references bearing on the subject-matter of this volume.
Abercius, St., Bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, 2nd cent.,
Epitaph of. See p. 122.
Acts. See Ignatius ; Passion ; Polycarp.
Acts of Apollonius. A senator, martyred at Rome A.D. 180-192.
His Acts were published by the Melchitarists of Venice,
1 874. They are quoted by Eusebius, Eccles. Hist,, Bk. v., cap.
21. Translated from the Armenian by F. C. Conybeare,
in Mo7iui)ients of Early Christianity (Lond., 1894), pp. 35-48.
Acts of Eugenia, 3rd cent., in F. C. Conybeare's Monuments
of Early Christianity iX'Ondon, 1894).
Acts of Fructuosus, Eulogius, and Augurius, 3rd cent., in
Bollandist's Acta Sanctorum, Jan. 21, tom. ii. p. 340.
Acts of Paul and Thecla. A I'eligious romance, probably of the
second century. Its composition is assigned to A.D. 170-190.
Grabe, Spicilegiuni, i. 8r, etc. Translated in A. C. L.,
vol. i., and from the Armenian by F. C. Conybeare in
Monuments of Early Christianity (London, 1894), pp. 61-88.
See Salmon (G.), Introduction to the New Testament,
7th ed. (London, 1894), pp. 329-334-
Acts of the Scillitan Martyrs. See p. 175.
Acts of Thomas [the Apostle]. An early unhistorical Gnostic
romance. Edition by Max Bonnet (Lipsias, 1883).
Acts of Xanthippe, Polyxena, and Rebecca. Recently printed for
the first time from Paris, Bibl. Nat. MS. Cod. Graec, 1458, by
M. 'R.]a.Ts\QS, Apocrypha Anecdota (Cambridge), vol. ii. No. 3,
pp. 43-85 ; A. C. L., vol. for 1897. It is a romance of Gnostic
and Encratite tendency, abounding in the miraculous
xii INDEX OF A UTHORS AND DOCUMENTS.
element, grotesque and otherwise ; but not on that account
to be assigned to a late date. It resembles in general tone
the Acts of Paul and Thecla and the Acts of Thomas.
.\fricanus, Julius. A writer early in the third century. Fragments
only have been preserved by Eusebius.
Apollinaris, Bishop of Hierapolis, in Phrygia, f. A.D. 171. A
few fragments only of his writings have survived : Routh
(J. M.), Rcliquicc Sacnc, 2nd ed,, i. 160.
Apollonius. See Acts of.
Apostolic Canons. These canons, eighty-four in number, are
appended at the close of the Eighth Book of the Apostolic
Constitutions. They have been sometimes referred to the
ante-Nicene period ; but in their present form they are
certainly later. Bishop Lightfoot thought that they might
be as late as the sixth century : Apostolic Faihcrs (London,
1891), vol. i. p. 368. Their first appearance in the Latin
language dates from that century : Hefele (C. J.), A
Hist07'y of the Christian Councils, 2nd ed. (Edinburgh,
1872), p. 449 ; but much earlier material is embedded in
a large number of them. Mr. F. E. Brightman ascribes
them, together with the Apostolic Constitutions, to the
pseudo-Ignatius in the latter part of the fourth century :
Liturgies Eastern and Western, vol. i. p. xxiv. References
are to Ueltzen's edition (Suerini et Rostochii, 1853).
Apostolic Constitutions. These Constitutions have been assigned
to various dates, from the third to the sixth century A.D. ;
but it may now be regarded as settled that in their present
form they are not earlier than the second half of the fourth
century, though they include a great deal of earlier
material : Salmon (G.), Introduction to tJie New Testa-
ment, 7th ed., p. 553 ; and Brightman (F. E.), Liturgies
Eastern and Western, vol. i. pp. xxiv.-xxix. References to
pages, unless otherwise specified, are to Ueltzen's edition
(Suerini et Rostochii, 1853).
Aristides, Apologist. His Apology was written in the earlier
years of the reign of Antoninus Pius (138-161), and may
have been presented to that emperor on the occasion
of some unrecorded visit by him to Smyrna. Cambridge
ed., 1 891. A. C. L., vol. for 1897.
Arnobius, Apologist, Presbyter of the Church in Africa. He
wrote A.D. 303-313.
Athenagoras, Apologist. He wrote an Apology, and a treatise on
the resurrection of the dead, e. 176. Otho's ed. (Jena, i857)'
INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS, xiii
Barnabas, Epistle of. Probably not the work of St, Barnabas
the Apostle ; written between a.d. 70-1 50. Ed. Bp. Light-
foot, The Apostolic Fathers\{hondion, 1891).
Caius. A Roman ecclesiastic early in the third century, a
few fragments of whose writings have been preserved by
Eusebius.
Canons of Hippolytus. It is not certain that these canons are
the genuine work of Hippolytus {q.v.), but they may be
assigned to Rome, and to the first half of the third century.
Sectional and paginal references are to Gebhardt und
Harnack, Texte und Untcrsiichungen zur Geschichte dcr
Alichristlichen Litei'atur (Leipzig, 1891), Band vi. Heft 4,
ss. 38-137, where the difficult questions of their date and
genuineness are discussed at length. See also Brightman
(F. E.), Liturgies Eastern and Western, vol. i. p. xxiii.
Clement, St., of Alexandria, pupil and successor of Pantaenus
as head of the catechetical school at Alexandria, died
c. A.D. 220. Ed. Oxford, 171 5, unless otherwise specified.
Clement, St., of Rome. The first Epistle which bears his
name is in reality an Epistle from the Roman Church to
the Corinthian Church written in A.D. 95 or 96. The second
Epistle of St. Clement, so-called, is really an ancient
homily by an unknown author, written probably at Rome,
and certainly between A.D. 1 10-140. Ed. Bp. Lightfoot, The
Apostolic Fathe}-s (London, 1891); A. C. L., vol. for 1897.
Clementine Homilies, .^.n Ebionite romance, a somewhat later
version of the Clementine Recognitions, c. A.D. 218.
Clementine Liturgy. Contained in the Eighth Book of the
Apostolic Constitutions. See Appendix, p. 275.
Clementine Recognitions. An Ebionite romance, c. a.d. 200.
Commodianus. /\ Christian poet, middle of third century, and
probably an African bishop.
Councils. A large number of Councils were held in various
countries. Eastern and Western, before a.d. 325. The
names of them will be found in the list of contents of the
first volume of Mansi's Concilia. It is needless to repeat
that list here. These early Councils were local in their
character, and some of them very thinly attended, e.g. only
nineteen bishops were present at the third Roman Council
in 313. They were occupied with the more or less local
controversies of the day, and throw very little light . upon
the liturgical language and ritual of the first three centuries.
In many cases only the name of the Council is known to
xiv INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS.
us. In few cases have their acts been wholly (though
sometimes partly) preserved.
Cyprian, St., Bishop of Carthage, A.D. 200-258. Edition used
Parisiis, 1726, unless otherwise specified.
Didache, The ; or, ' Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.' A
document of the late first or early second century, most
probably between a.d. 80-100. The history of its dis-
covery, and reasons for assigning to it so early a date, are
given by Bp. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers (London,
1891), pp. 215, 216. Dr. Salmon's remarks on it deserve
careful study : Introduction to the New Testame7it, 7th ed.
(London, 1894), pp. 551-566.
Diognetus. See Epistle to.
Dionysius of Alexandria. Bishop of that see, 248-265. P'rag-
ments preserved by Eusebius.
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, c. A.D. 1 71-198. Fragments pre-
served by Eusebius.
Dionysius, Pseudo-Areopagita. His works are printed in
Migne's Patrologia Grceca, tomm. iii., iv., under the first
century ; but they belong in fact to the latter part of the fifth
century, and therefore have no proper place in a list of
ante-Nicene authorities.
Egyptian Church Order, The; forming Canons 31-62 of the
Sahidic Ecclesiastical Canons, which as a collection date
from the middle of the fourth century. This document
is later than the Canons of Hippolytus, though largely
identical with them, and earlier than the Apostolic Con-
stitutions. Its exact date has not yet been ascertained.
A German translation has been printed by Gebhardt und
Harnack, Texte und Untcrsucliungen zur Geschichie der
Altchristlichen\Literatur (Leipzig, 1891), Band. vi. Heft 4,
ss. 38-137. The Sahidic te.xt was previously published by
P. de Lagarde, JEgyptiaca, (iottingen, 1883 ; a Greek
translation by C. C. J. Bunsen, Analecta Ante-Nicana,
vol. ii. pp. 451-477, forming the sixth volume of Christianity
and Mankind (hondon, 1854).
Epistle to Diognetus. Authorship unknown ; certainly ante-
Nicene, and probably written before a.d. 150. Bp. Light-
foot's ed. in The Apostolic Fathers {\%(^\). It has been
conjecturally assigned to Hippolytus by J. Ouarry, Hernia-
thena, No. XXII., 1896, pp. 318-357.
Eugenia. See Acts of.
Firmilian, St., Bishop of Ciesarea in Cappadocia, j\.d. 233-272.
INDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS, xv
Some of his writing is preserved among the Epistles of St.
Cyprian.
Fructuosus, etc. See Acts of.
Gregory, Thaumaturgus, St., Bishop of Neo-Ciesarea in Pontus.
died c. 265.
Hcgesippus, Church historian, 2nd cent. Fragments only
of his works have survived. They arc collected in Routh's.
Rcliquia Sacra, 2nd ed., torn. i. pp. 207-219.
Hermas, The Shepherd of Probably not later than a.d. 120 ;
certainly not later than a.d. 150. The work consists of three
parts : The Vision, The Commandments, The Similitudes.
In Bp. Lightfoot's The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1891).
Hippolytus, Bishop of Portus, near Rome, flourished a.d.
190-235. His collected works are in P. G., tom. x. See
also Bunsen (C. C. J.), Analecta Ante-Nicana^ vol. i, pp.
343-414. See Canons of
Ignatius, St., Bishop of Antioch. Martyred at Rome, c. a.d.
no. Writer of seven letters : (i) to the Ephesians, (2) to
the Magnesians, (3) to the TraUians, (4) to the Romans,
(5) to the Philadelphians, (6) to the Smyrna^ans, (7) to
Polycarp. Bp. Lightfoot's ed. The Apostolic Fathers
(London, 1891).
Ignatius, Acts of the Martyrdom of. Not genuine, 4th or
5th cent. Bp. Jacobson's ed. oi Patres Apostolici {OxiorA,
1847), tom, ii. pp. 550-579-
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, 177-202. Ed. Benedictine (Paris,
17 10).
Justin Martyr, Apologist. He wrote about the middle of the
second century, and his martyrdom took place most pro-
bably in a.d. 163. P. G., tom. vi. Translated in A. C. L.,
vol. ii. (Edinburgh, 1879).
Lactantius. The nationality and the date of the birth of this
apologist are subjects of dispute ; but he probably died c.
a.d. 317, and his works are classed as ante-Nicene.
]\Ielito, Bishop of Sardis, c. a.d. 317, fragments of whose
works have been preserved by Eusebius.
Methodius, Bishop of Tyre. Martyred at Chalcis in Greece,
c. a.d. 311.
Minucius Felix, Apologist. Flourished in first half of the
third century. Ed. C. Halm (Vindobonae, 1867).
Origen, Presbyter of Alexandria (185-253). Benedictine
Edition, ed. C. Delarue, vols, i.-iii. (Paris, 1733-1740), iv.
(1759), unless otherwise specified.
xvi IXDEX OF AUTHORS AND DOCUMENTS,
Papias (a.d. 60-70 — 130-140), Fragments of. Bp. Lightfoot's ed.
in The Apostolic Fathers (1891).
I'assion of St. Perpetiia. Martyred a.d. 202 or 203. Anonymous,
but almost certainly written by Tertullian, and preserving
the actual words of St. Perpetua. Cambridge, University
Press, 1 891. Ed. A. J. Robinson.
Paul and Thecla, SS. See Acts of
I'erpetua, St. See Passion.
Peter, St., Gospel of A second century fragment, edit. H. B.
Swete, 1893. A. C. L., vol. for 1897.
Peter, St., Archbishop of Alexandria, (•. 300-311. Fourteen
Canons and fragments of his writings have been preserved.
Pliny, Governor of Bithynia, letter of, to the Emperor Trajan,
c. A.D. 112.
Polycarp, St., Bishop'of Smyrna. Martyred in a.d. 155 or 156-
Writer of a letter addressed to the Philippians.
Polycarp, St., The Martyrdom of. A very early, perhaps con-
temporaneous, account in the form of a letter written by
the Church of Smyrna to the Church of Philomelium.
Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, c. A.D. 180-202, a fragment of
whose writings has been preserved by Eusebius.
Sahidic Ecclesiastical Canons. See Egyptian Church Order.
Sibylline Oracles, The. Partly of pre-Christian and partly of
post-Christian date, containing very few liturgical allusions,
and none of importance for the purpose of this volume.
Tatian, Apologist, and author of the Diatessaron {c. 160), disciple
of Justin Martyr, and, after his master's death, a leader of the
sect of the Encratites. The date of his death is unknown.
He died before 180.
Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. See DidacM.
Tertullian, Presbyter at Carthage, 160-220. Ed. Paris, 1842.
Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, in Syria, 168-182. P. G., torn. vi.
Xanthippe. See Acts of.
Zosimus, Narrative of. Third century, but only known to us in
late MSS. A. C. L., vol. for 1897. p. 219; Apocrypha
Anccdoia (Cambridge, 1893), vol. ii. No. 3, p. 96.
ABBREVIATIONS.
A. C. L. = Ante-A'icene Christian Library (Edin., 1S67-1897).
H. = Hammond (C. E.), Liturgies Eastern and Western
(Oxford, 1878).
P. G. = Migne, Patrologice Gracce Cursiis Completiis.
P. L. = Mij^ne, Pati-ologicr Latincc Cursus Cotnpletiis,
THE LITURGY AND RITUAL
OF THE
ANTE-NICENE CHURCH,
CHAPTER I.
TRACES OF LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN THE OLD AND
NEW TESTAMENTS.
§ I. Ritual allusions in the Old Testament — § 2. Reliquiae Liturgies in
the Old Testament — § 3. Jewish Liturgy and Ritual a type of the
services of the Christian Church — § 4. The position and meaning
of ritual in the Christian Church — § 5. Ritual allusions in the
New Testament — § 6. Baptism — § 7. Benediction — § 8. Church
furniture — § 9. Contlrmation — § 10. Unction at baptism and con-
firmation— § II. Sign of the Cross — § 12, Creed — § 13. Excom-
munication— § 14. Holy Eucharist — § 15. Hymns — § 16. Kiss of
peace — § 17. Laying on of hands — § 18. Love-feast — § 19. Mar-
riage— § 20. Offerings — § 21. Ordination — § 22. Public prayer — •
§23. Sunday — § 24. — Unction of the sick— § 25. Vestments —
§ 26. Washing of feet.
§ I. The liturgical element in Jewish worship, and
the ritual directions and allusions to the Jewish
Scriptures, and more especially in the Pentateuch,
are so plain and so generally known, that it is un-
necessary here to do more than take their existence
for granted. No school of mystical or allegorical
2 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
or spiritualizing interpretation has, so far as we know,
attempted to explain their literal character away.
It may, however, be useful to point out that the
liturgical and ritual character of Divine worship was
not confined to the Levitical dispensation, but that
it was in existence and acceptable to God from the
very first age of the world.
By liturgical worship we mean worship which
involves material offering or sacrifice, and which
expresses itself in audible words as well as in
external and visible actions, as distinguished from in-
audible, invisible, immaterial worship of the heart
only.
In the Book of Genesis we find mention or traces
of the following religious observances : —
The institution of the seventh day as the sabbath
or holy day of rest.^
The offering of the firstfruits of the land and of
cattle in sacrifice to God by Cain and Abel.'-^
The clean and unclean animals are distinguished
by Noah, who builds an altar, and offers of the
former in sacrifice to God.'^
Abraham, in obedience to Divine direction, offers
animals and birds in sacrifice to God.*
The rite of circumcision is ordained as the external
sign of God's covenant with His people.''
Solemn benedictions are bestowed," accompanied
by the imposition of hands.'
■ Gen. ii. 3. ^ Gen. iv. 3-5. * Gen. vii. 2 ; viii. 20.
■* Gen. XV. 8-18. ^ Gen. xvii. 10-14.
* Gen. ,\.\vii. 27-29; xxviii. 1-4. ' Gen. xlviii. 9-20,
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 3
The sacred character of burial is recognized.^
The head is bowed as an expression of worship.'-^
An altar is built for the worship of God.^
Ceremonial washing and change of dress precede
prayer and sacrifice to God.^
A pillar is set up, and dedicated by pouring oil
upon it.^
Vows are solemnly taken in God's presence, and
tithes are dedicated by vow to God.^
In process of time the patriarchal order gave
way to the Mosaic or Levitical dispensation, where,
instead of occasional allusions in isolated texts,
a complete liturgical system, with most elaborate
ritual, is found to be provided for the Jewish
nation by God Himself. We do not attempt here
to describe that system, or even to recapitulate its
leading features. As examples of minuteness of
detail with which it was accompanied, readers may
be referred to the special directions for the com-
position of the holy oil'^ and of incense.^
§ 2. The only remains of Mosaic liturgical verbal
forms are (i) the form of priestly benediction.
' And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise
ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them,
The Lord bless thee, and keep thee :
The Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious
unto thee :
' Gen. xxiii. 17-20; 1. 7-13. ^ Gen. xxiv, 26.
' Gen. xxvi. 25. * Gen. xxxv. 2, 3.
* Gen. xxviii. 18 ; xxxv. 14. ^ Gen. xxviii. 20-22.
' Exod. XXX. 22-25. * Exod. xxx. 34-38,
4 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give
thee peace.' '
(2) The forms of words to be used on offering
firstfruits to God.
On presenting the firstfruits to the priest —
' I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that I am
come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our
fathers for to give us.' ^
After the priest has accepted the firstfruits, and
is presenting them to the Lord —
* A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went
down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and
became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous :
And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and
laid upon us hard bondage :
And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers,
the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and
our labour, and our oppression :
And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a
mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great
terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders :
And He brought us into this place, and hath given us
this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the
land, which Thou, O Lord, hast given me.' ''
(3) The form of words to be used on presenting
the tithe.
'I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine
house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto
the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according
' Numb, vi, 22-26, ' Dcut. xxvi. 3.
^ Deut. xxvi. 5-10.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 5
to all Thy commandments which Thou hast commanded
me ; I have not transgressed Thy commandments, neither
have I forgotten them : ,
I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have
I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given
ought thereof for the dead ; but I have hearkened to the
voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all
that Thou hast commanded me.
Look down from Thy holy habitation, from heaven, and
bless Thy people Israel, and the land which Thou hast
given us, as Thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that
flovveth with milk and honey.' ^
§ 3. There is an interesting feature which we can
only point to the existence of, without attempting
to exhibit it in detail, namely, the number of ways
in which the ritual, ordinances, and incidents of the
Old Testament, and especially of the Levitical
Church, were types of various Christian services,
and especially of the Holy Eucharist.^ It is
important to note that the Divine care for ritual
was not confined to, and did not cease with, the
Levitical age. At the time when the Temple was
to be built (B.C. 1015), David adds in his parting
charge to his son and successor, after an elaborate
description of the pattern of the proposed house
and of its fittings —
' All this the Lord made me understand in writing by
Hisjiand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.' •'
' Deut. xxvi. 13-15.
- This is' the subject of a volume by tlie Kev. \V. E. Ileygate, 7/ie
Eucharist, ils Types, etc. Loudon, 1874.
' I Chron. xxviii. 11-19.
6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I.
And during the actual progress of the work it is
said —
'Now these are the things wherein Solomon was in-
structed for the building of the house of God.' ^
At its completion God's approbation is conveyed
thus : —
' I have heard thy prayer and thy suppUcation, that
thou hast made before Me ; I have hallowed this house,
which thou hast built, to put My Name there for ever ; and
Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually.' -
Within this magnificent temple not only were the
ancient Levitical services, sacrifices, and ceremonial
carried on, but additional splendour was imparted to
Divine service by the introduction, and as time
went on the increase and elaboration, of those songs
of the sanctuary which are known to us under the
title of * The Psalms of David.' The choral element
included both vocal and instrumental music.^ We
get some idea of the enormous size of the temple
choir by the fact that the instrumentalists alone
numbered four thousand persons. ^ Both male and
female singers were included in the choir. ^ The
whole of this chapter must be consulted for the
number, order, and arrangement of musicians and
singers. David's work in this connection has been
summarized thus —
* He set singers also before the altar, that by their voices
' 2 Chron. iii. 3. * i Kings ix, 3.
^ I Chron, xiii. 8 ; xv. 14-16, 28.
* I Chron. xxiii. 5. * i Chron. xxv. 5, 6.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 7
they might make sweet melody, and daily sing praises in
their songs.
He beautified their feasts, and set in order the solemn
times until the end, that they might praise His holy Name,
and that the temple might sound from morning.' ^
Solomon confirmed and perpetuated the arrange-
ments of his father David.
*He appointed, according to the order of David his
father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the
Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the
priests, as the duty of eveiy day required.' -
Yet the object of all this Divine forethought and
kingly care was not a perpetual institution, but a
transitory preparation for the world-embracing dis-
pensation of Christianity, which God in the fulness of
time intended to unfold.
This fugitive character of the Jewish service and
ritual was evident from the typical character of its
ceremonial, and especially of its sacrifices and its
priesthood. Such was seen to be the case by the
Psalmist and prophets, who allude to the impossibility
of their being acceptable in themselves,^ and to the
time coming when not among the Jews only, but
throughout the whole world, incense and a pure
offering should be presented to the Lord. ^ The law
was the schoolmaster to educate the Jewish world
for Christ,^ and Christ being its end and object,^ it
was to disappear when He became incarnate.
§ 4. Then the question arises whether at the
^ Ecclus, xlvii. 9, 10. * 2 Chron. viii. 14. ^ Ps. xl. S, 9.
* Mai. i. II, s Gal. iii. 24. « Rom. x. 4.
8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICEME CHURCH. \\.
Christian era all external worship, with all ritual and
symbolism, were intended to be for ever swept away,
and a purely spiritual worship substituted in its place,
or whether another and a higher, though simpler, form
of worship and ritual was ordained to supersede the
Jewish, full of a deeper significance, and possessed of
a more real value, because it was no longer the
shadow of good things to come,^ but the pledge and
witness of their having arrived.
This question cannot be answered by seizing on
one text, such as, ' God is a Spirit : and they that
worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth,' ^
and then, as some Christian sects do, treating a fixed
Liturgy as incompatible with it, and putting a
non-literal interpretation on any actions or directions
given by our Lord and His Apostles, which seem,
if taken literally, to conflict with the purely spiritual
religion shadowed forth in the last-quoted text. The
more reasonable course is to interpret literally those
texts in the New Testament in which some Christian
ordinance or usage is referred to or enjoined, and
on which a literal interpretation has been placed
by the universal, or almost universal, consent of
Catholic Christendom ; only remembering that such
a text as St. John iv, 24 demands of us something
much deeper than external compliance with the
command to use any rite or ordinance, and that
without a spiritual grasp of the purposes for which
a rite was ordained, or of the gifts of which it is
intended to be the channel, the mere external
' Heb. X. I. 2 St. John iv, 24.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 9
compliance is valueless, and worse than valueless ;
worse than valueless, because it substitutes the
means for the end, and reduces the Christian
religion to the mechanical performance of certain
actions like the religions of Thibet and Japan.
§ 5. We will therefore put together the passages
in the New Testament which bear upon the subject
in any way, arranging them under the headings of
the particular liturgical forms or ceremonial actions
to which they refer. The subjects are referred to
in alphabetical order, as a matter of convenience,
and in no way referring to their relative importance.
It will be found that we not only have general
directions forbidding idolatry, irreverence, disorder,
neglect, or enjoining decency and order,^ but that
there is a very considerable body of explicit direc-
tions with reference to the form and conduct of
Christian worship.
Absolution. See Excommunication, p. 23.
Agape. See Love-feast, p. 37.
Altar. See Church Furniture, p. 17.
Anointing. See Unction, p. 46.
§6. Baptism. Christian Baptism was alluded to
by anticipation when our Lord said to Nicodemus —
'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he
cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' "-
But it was not instituted by Him until the im-
mediate eve of His ascension, when He gave this
commission to His Apostles —
' I Cor. xi, 34; xiv. 40. 2 St, John iii. 5.
lo LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH.
'Go ye therefore, and teach [make disciples of] all
nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost :
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
commanded you : and, lo, I am with you alvvay, even unto
the end of the world.' ^
Or in the words of another Evangelist —
' Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but
he that believeth not shall be damned.' -
There is reason to believe that the baptismal
powers thus entrusted to the Apostles were not
exercised till after the Day of Pentecost.'' Their
previous baptismal acts, recorded in St. John's
Gospel,* were connected with another baptismal
rite, of which we read a good deal in the New
Testament, but which must be carefully distinguished
from Christian baptism, viz. the baptism of St. John
the Baptist. This was called the- baptism of repent-
ance,^ and is believed to have been administered in
the name of the Messiah about to come. It was
submitted to by our Lord Himself, though sinless,
perhaps as the crowning act or seal of the Divine
approval of the Baptist's office and ministry, and
with surroundings which foreshadowed the mysterious
doctrine of the Trinity, which was to be so intimately
connected with the baptismal formula to be used
hereafter for ever in the Christian Church.
' St. Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. - St. Mark xvi. 15, 16.
' Acts i. 5, 8. ■' St. John iii. 22 ; iv. i, 2.
* St. Mark i. 4; Acts xiii. 24 ; xviii. 25.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE, ii
The following are the instances of the administra-
tion of baptism recorded in the New Testament : —
Recipients.
Agents.
Authority.
About three thousand persons
St. Peter ...
Acts ii. 41
Many Samaritans
St. Philip ...
VUl. 12
Simon the sorcerer ...
St. Philip ...
vni. 13
The Ethiopian eunuclr
St. Philip ...
viii. 38
Saul
Ananias
ix. 18
Cornelius and others
Not named
X. 47, 48
Lydia and her household
St. Paul ...
XVI. 15
The jailor of Philippi and his family
St. Paul ...
xvi. 33
Many Corinthians
Not named
xviii. 8
Certain disciples at Ephesus
St. Paul ...
XIX. 5
Crispus and Gaius
St. Paul ...
I Cor. i. 14
The household of Stephanas
St. Paul ...
i. 16
An examination of the words of institution, of the
recorded instances of administration, and of the
language m which reference to baptism is made in
various Epistles, establishes the following points : —
I. The formula of administration, in accordance
with our Lord's explicit direction, was always 'in
the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost'
It has been suggested that side by side with this
formula, there are traces of baptism administered
' in the name of Christ ' or * into the death of
Christ.' This view is based on such texts as the
following : —
' For as yet He was fallen upon none of them ; only they
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.' ^
' When they heard this, they were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus.' "-
* Acts viii. 16.
Acts xix. 5.
12 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
' Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into
Jesus Christ were baptized into His death ? ' ^ ^
One possible interpretation of St. Paul's extremely
difficult words to the Corinthians may be connected
with this subject —
' What shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if
the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for
the dead ? ' -
References to baptism are found in early Christian
documents, which are evidently moulded on these
passages of Scripture ; e.g. in the Teaching of the
Twelve Apostles we read —
' But let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist except
those baptized in the name of the Lord, for regarding this
also the Lord hath said, Give not that which is holy to
the dogs.' ^
And in the Apostolic Constitutions —
' Be it known unto you, beloved, that such as are bap-
tized into the death of the Lord Jesus ought to sin no
more.' ^
But these texts of Scripture and passages from
early Christian writings are merely general expres-
sions as to baptism and the effects of baptism, and
we have no right to press them as indicating an
alternative formula, or alternative formulas, under
which baptism was sometimes, or might be, adminis-
tered. There is no historical evidence for any formula
being employed or approved in the Catholic Church
' Rom. vi. 3. ' I Cor. xv. 29. ^ Chap. ix. § 5,
* Book ii. chap. 7.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 13
except the Trinitarian formula enjoined by our Lord
Himself.i
2. The element employed was always and only
water. This is not only a natural inference from
the word 'baptism,' but is plainly enjoined by Holy
Scripture, as in our Lord's words to Nicodemus —
* Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he can-
not enter into the kingdom of God.' ^
In the description of the baptism of the Ethiopian
eunuch —
' And they went down both into the water, both Philip
and the eunuch ; and he baptized him.' ^
In the description of the Church by St. Paul —
* As Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for
it ; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word.' ^
And of Christians by the author of the Epistle to
the Hebrews —
' Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water.' ^
Therefore such an attempt as that made in Ireland
in the twelfth century to substitute milk for water in
the case of the baptism of the children of the rich
people made their baptism not only irregular but
invalid. "^
3. Immersion, though not expressly ordered, and
' For variations in bodies external to the Catholic Church, see
Bingham, Antiqjiities of the Christian Church, Book xi. chap. 3.
* St. John iii. 5. ^ Acts viii. 38. "• Eph. v. 25, 26.
* Heb. X, 22, "^ Liturgy and Ritual of tlie Celtic Church, p. 65.
14 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I.
apparently impossible in the case of the three
thousand people baptized on one day by St. Peter,^
would be the ordinary practice in a hot Eastern
climate, and is implied in the symbolism of such
passages as these —
'Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into
death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in new-
ness of life.' 2
And—
'Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen
with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who
hath raised Him from the dead.' ^
The total immersion of the whole body beneath
the baptismal waters symbolizes more completely
than any other mode of baptism the burial of our
Lord's body in the grave.
Although affusion or aspersion has been accepted
by the Church as valid, for climatic or clinical reasons,
yet neither of these substitutes for immersion carries
out so well as immersion the idea of cleansing so
frequently expressed in the New Testament by the
word ' washing,' e.g. —
' And now why tarriest thou ? arise, and be baptized, and
wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.' *
'And such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye
are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.' ^
' Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
* Acts ii. 41. - Rom, vi. 4. ^ Col. ii. 12.
* Acts xxii. 16. ^ I Cor. vi. li.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 15
according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.' ^
4. There are traces of the existence of forms of
interrogation in use at baptism, and of a profession
of faith, hke a short creed, being delivered to and
accepted by the candidate.
It is recorded that the Ethiopian eunuch called the
attention of Philip to certain water and asked that he
might be baptized.
'And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart,
thoLi may est. And he answered and said, I believe that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' ^
St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, said —
* For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also
received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures ;
And that He was buried, and that He rose again the
third day according to the Scriptures :
And that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve.' ^
Here the quotation introduced by 'that' (on)
ends. It seems to be a portion of a confession of faith
which St. Paul says that he received. From whom
did he receive it? If he had received it, as he
' Tit. iii. 5.
^ Acts viii.27. Although this verse is absent from all uncial MSS.
except the Codex Laudianus (E.), yet it was known and quoted by
many early writers, commencing with Irenseus in the second century.
Both Dr. Scrivener and Dr. Jessopp agree in supposing that it contains
the words of a very early Church Service-book, first written upon the
margin, and thence creeping into the sacred text (Intyoductio7i to the
Criticism of the New Testament, 2nd ed., p. 554 ; Expositor,
No. LX. p. 403).
' I Cor. XV. 3-5.
1 6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I.
received the history of the institution of the Eucharist,
directly from our Lord, he would surely, in this case
as in that,^ have lent greater dignity and importance
to the statement by mentioning that fact. It is more
probable that it was part of the faith which he
solemnly received at his baptism, and that we have
here the germ of what afterwards developed into the
solemn ceremonial which preceded baptism called
the Traditio Symboli, or 'The Delivery of the Creed,'
The faith thus received was professed before many
witnesses, to which fact there may be allusion in St.
Paul's words to Timothy —
' Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life,
whereiinto thou art also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses.' ^
The questions and answers in the baptismal service
seem to have suggested the form of language in a
difficult sentence of St. Peter connected with this same
subject —
* The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now
save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but
the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the-
resurrection of Jesus Christ.' ^
§ 7. Benediction. — Two ritual actions are re-
corded to have been used by our Lord in connection
with Benediction on different occasions.
I. The imposition of hands.
* Then were there brought unto Him little children, that
* I Cor, xi. 23. * I Tim. vi. 12, * i Tet. iii. 21,
I] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 17
He should put His hands on them, and pray. . . . And
He laid His hands on them, and departed thence.' ^
2. The elevation of hands.
* And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted
up His hands, and blessed them.' ^
«
Several formula; of Benediction occur in the later
books of the New Testament, two of which have been
incorporated into English Liturgies.
1. ' The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all.
Amen.' ^
This occurs at the commencement of the anaphora
in the Clementine and other Eastern Liturgies,^ and
at the conclusion of Matins and Evensong in the
Book of Common Prayer.
2. ',The peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.' ^
This forms the first part of the concluding Bene-
diction of the English Liturgy.
Chalice, or Cup. See p. i8.
§ 8. Church Furniture. — As Christian places
of worship did not begin to be built within
the period covered by the New Testament, we
do not find, and we do not expect to find, any
reference to the structure, arrangement, furniture,
' St. Matt, xix, 13, 15. - St. Luke xxiv. 50. = 2 Cor. xiii. 14.
* See H., pp. 12, 40, 69, 107, 151, 166, 272. It will be noticed that
it is not found in the Alexandrian family of Liturgies, and that in the
Armenian Liturgy (p. 272), as in our Prayer-book, the pronoun is
changed from the second person to the first person plural.
' i'hil. iv. 7.
i8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
or ornaments of such buildings in its pages. It
ought to be unnecessary to add that any attempts
to argue against the lawfulness or expediency of
Christian Churches, or of the accessories of public
worship, from the absence of any mention of them
or allusion to them in the New Testament in-
volves an anachronism. Any dispute over the law-
fulness of the use of organs, surplices, etc., must be
fought out, outside and not inside the four corners
of the New Testament. There was, however, one
exception. There were two Christian ordinances
administered and observed by the disciples from the
very first, even while they continued to frequent
for ordinary devotional purposes the services of the
Jewish Temple. The first of these. Baptism, was
administered wherever there was water, and in its
original simplicity, and before it came to be ad-
ministered within a sacred building, it necessitated
no external artificial aid for its due performance.
The second of these, the Eucharist, celebrated for
many years in some private chamber, needed certain
accessories for its celebration or administration.
Two of these accessories are mentioned in the New
Testament.
{a) The Eucharistic Chalice, or Cup.
' The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com-
munion of the blood of Christ ? ' ^
' Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of
devils.' -
' I Cor. X. l6, = I Cor. X. 21. Sec also l Cor. xi. 25-28.
1.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 19
{b) The Eucharistic Table or Altar.
'Ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table/ and of the
table of devils.' ^
* We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat
which serve the tabernacle.' ^
§ 9. Confirmation, or 'Laying on of hands.' — The
practice of confirmation, or the laying on of hands,
following upon the reception of baptism, is mentioned
in the following passages : —
{a) In the case of the Samaritan converts baptized
by Philip the Deacon, and afterwards confirmed by
St. Peter and St. John —
' But when they believed Philip preaching the things
concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus
Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Now, when the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard
that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto
them Peter and John :
Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that
they might receive the Holy Ghost.
Then laid they their hands on them, and they received
the Holy Ghost.' '
{b) In the case of certain disciples at Ephesus, both
baptized and confirmed by St. Paul— -
' When they heard this, they were baptised in the name
of the Lord Jesus.
' This does not necessarily mean the actual table or altar ; some
early writers have interpreted it of the Sacramental feast.
' I Cor. X. 21.
^ Heb. xiii. 10. This is only one possible interpretation out of
many possible interpretations of a difficult passage.
^ Acts viii. 12, 14, 15, 17.
20 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy
Ghost came on them ; and they spake with tongues, and
prophesied.' ^
There is also the well-known but difficult passage
in the Epistle to the Hebrews, where the doctrine of
' laying on of hands ' is enumerated directly after the
doctrine of 'baptisms' as among the principles of the
doctrine of Christ.
'Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of
Christ, let us go on unto perfection ; not laying again the
foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith
toward God,
Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands,
and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.' -
§ 10. Unction at Baptism and Confirmation.
— The following passages are sometimes quoted as
scriptural evidence for the use of the rite of unction
at baptism and confirmation : —
* Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and
hath anointed us, is God.' ^
' But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye
know all things.' ^
'But the anointing which ye have received of Him
abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you :
but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and
is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye
shall abide in Him.' ^
It is argued that the use of the verb ' to anoint,'
and of the substantive 'unction' or 'anointing' in
> Acts xix. 5, 6. " Ileb. vi. I, 2. * 2 Cor. i. 2i.
^ I St. John ii. 20, * I St. John ii. 27.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 21
these passages, implies the existence of the practice
of unction, and that the existence of such a practice
made the choice of such language natural and intel-
ligible. But this argument may be made to cut
two ways. It may, with equal probability, be argued
that the existence of these metaphorical terms in the
New Testament suggested, and rendered easy, the
introduction of a literal rite of unction at a very
early date in the history of the Church. The word
unction (xpirrfxa) occurs nowhere else in the New
Testament, except in the two above-quoted passages
of St. John. The word anoint (xpiuv) occurs in four
other passages (St. Luke iv. 18; Acts iv. 27, x. 38 ;
Heb. i. 9), in all of which its use is metaphorical and
not literal.
§ ir. Sign of the Cross at Baptism or Con-
firmation.— The following passages are sometimes
quoted to prove the scriptural use of the sign of
the cross. It being taken for granted that * to seal '
is the same as to sign with the cross, in connection
with baptism or confirmation.
* Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the
Spirit in our hearts.' ^
' In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise.' ^
' And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye were
(A.V. are) sealed unto the day of redemption.' ^
But the inference from these texts is equally
precarious with the inference as to unction.
' 2 Cor. i. 22. * Epii. i. 13. ^ £p]^_ j^, ^o.
22 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
If we examine the three passages in the New
Testament (outside the Apocalypse) in which the
word seal ((rcppaylg) occurs, we shall see that it is
used once of circumcision, and in the other two
passages distinctly and necessarily in a metaphorical,
and not in a literal sense.
Its use as a description of circumcision, strongly
suggests that in the above-quoted passages, St, Paul
is referring to its Christian counterpart, Holy Baptism.
'And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the
righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncir-
cumcised.' ^
' For the seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord.' -
'Having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His.'-'
If we examine the passages in the New Testament
(outside the Apocalypse) in which the verb *to seal '
{a(l>payiL,Hv) occurs, in addition to the three passages,
above quoted, we shall find that they are four in
number. In one passage it is used literally, but
certainly with no allusion to the sign of the cross ;
in the other three passages its use is plainly meta-
phorical.
* Sealing the stone, and setting a watch.' *
* He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal
that God is true.' '"
'For Him hath God the Father sealed.'"
' When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed
to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.' ^
' Rom. iv. II. - I Cor. ix. 2. '2 Tim. ii. 19.
* St. Mali, xxvii. G6. ^ St. John iii. 33. « St. John vi. 27.
' Rom. XV. 28.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 23
We conclude, therefore, that the use of the sign of
the cross as a ritual act, though found, as will be
seen afterwards, in the most primitive time of
Christianity, is not referred to in Holy Scripture.
§ 12. Creed. — We have already (p. 16) called
attention to what are believed to be fragments of an
early baptismal creed. In addition to the passages
there quoted, the following texts may be adduced as
containing allusions to the existence of a settled form
of words of sound doctrine in the shape of a received
creed.
*Ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine
which was delivered you.' ^
* Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast
heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.' ^
' Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering.' ^
* Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the
doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in
the doctrine of Christ \lv rrj StSaxjj tov XpiVrou], he hath
both the Father and the Son.' *
* It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you
that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was
once delivered unto the saints.' ^
§ 13. Excommunication. — The power of excom-
munication from, and the correlative power of re-
admitting to the visible Church of Christ on earth,
was given by our Lord on one occasion to St. Peter
singly, and afterwards with equal fulness to all the
Apostles.
* Rom. vi. 17. - 2 Tim. i. 13. ' Heb. x. 23.
* 2 St. John 9. * St. Jude 3.
24 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I.
He said to St. Peter alone —
' And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven : and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth
shall be loosed in heaven.' ^
And afterwards with equal fulness to all the
Apostles —
' Verily I say unto you [u/xu'], Whatsoever ye shall
bind on earth shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever ye
shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' ^
The same power was once again committed to the
Apostles, if possible, in yet more solemn action and
language.
It was after His resurrection that —
' Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you :
as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you.
And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and
saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them ;
and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.' ^
Instances of its exercise are found in the case of
the incestuous Corinthian, whose excommunication
is recorded in i Cor. v. 3-5, and his absolution in
2 Cor. ii. 6-1 1 ; also in the case of Hymenaeus and
Alexander.*
The absolution, or reception back into the visible
fold of the excommunicate person, was, in primitive
times, accompanied by the outward sign of the laying
on of hands. There is one passage in the New
> St. Matt. xvi. 19. - St. Matt, xviii. i8.
^ St. John XX. 21-23. ■• I Tim. i. 20.
I ] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE.
Testament which possibly refers to this imposition of
hands/ though most commentators interpret it of
ordination rather than of absolution.
' Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of
other men's sins.' ^
§ 14. Holy Eucharist. — We have preserved for
us, in the New Testament, four records of the institu-
tion of this, the most distinctive rite of the Christian
dispensation. (See table, p. 26.)
It has been doubted whether i Cor. xi. 26 contains
St. Paul's own words, or words spoken by our Saviour
at the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Most com-
mentators take the former view for granted. It
seems a natural inference from the change from the
first to the third person, and from the reference to
Christ as the Lord (6 }s.vpioq). But it is not a neces-
sary inference. Christ uses the third person of Him-
self when He asks —
' When the Son of Man comelh, shall He find faith on
the earth ? ' ^
And the title of Lord (o KiJpioc) is sometimes used
by Christ Himself, as where He says —
' If I then, your Lord [6 Kvyxos] and Master, have washed
your feet ; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.' *
And again —
* The Lord [6 Ki;juto9] hath need of them.' '"
The liturgical evidence preponderates overwhelm-
* So Bp. Jeremy Taylor, Works, ed. 1824, vol. ix. p. 197.
2 I Tim. V. 22. ^ St. Luke xviii. 8. ■* St. John xiii. 14.
^ St. Matt. xxi. -x.
26 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH.
N
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I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN II. SCRIPTURE. 27
ingly in favour of the view that they are Christ's
own words. As such they are interwoven, or were
once interwoven, along with the words of institution,
into the consecration prayer of the large majority of
ancient Liturgies, as the following table will show : —
I. Western Liturgies.
Inserted in
Omitted in
I.
The Mozarabic.^
I. The Roman.''
2.
The Gallican.-
2. The Anglican.
3-
The Ambrosian.^
II. Eastern Liturgies.
{a) West Syrian.
1. The Clementine.'^ i. St. Chrysostom. '^
2. Greek St. James.'
3. „ St. Basil."
4. Syriac St. James.'
5. ,, Lesser St. James. ^°
6. „ St. Xystus.ii
7. „ St. Peter.i-
' F. Z., torn. Ixxxv. col. 117.
^ Liturgy a7id Ritual of the Celtic C/iuix/i, p. 237. This isaGallican
insertion into a Roman text, by the Irish scribe Moel Caich, In the
older MSS. of the Galilean Liturgy the words of institution are not
printed in full, but only indicated by two or more of the opening
words, ' Qui pridie quam pateretur,' etc.
* Ceriani's print of the oldest extant MS. Ambrosian text, loth cent.,
p. 171. This is an Ephesine survival in a Romanized Milanese text.
It has dropped out of the Ambrosian Missals of the present day.
■* Both in its so-called Gelasian and Gregorian forms.
■ * This Liturgy, together with its Scottish and American derivatives,
owes this omission, together with certain other features, both for better
and for worse, to its Roman descent.
" H.,p. 17. ' Ibid., p. 41. " Ibid., p. 112. ^ Ibid,, p. 70.
'" Renaudot, Liturg. Orien. Coll., tom. ii. p. 127.
" Ibid., p 136. '" Ibid., p. 147.
" H., p. 109. But St. Chrysostom himself held these words to
LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH.
Inserted in Omitted in
8. St. Peter 11.^
9. St. John Evangelist.-
10. The Twelve Apostles."^
11. St. Mark.*
12. St. Clement.5
13. St. Dionysius Areopagita."
14. St, Ignatius.''
15. St. Julius.'
16. St. Eustathius."
17. St. John Chrysostom I.'"
18. St. John Chrysostom II."
19. St. Marutas.^2
20. St. Cyril.i3
21. St. Dioscorus (Alexandrinus).^'
2 3. St. Philoxenus I. (Mabu-
gensis).^^
23. St. Philoxenus II.
(Hieropolitanus).^''
24. Severus Antiochenus.'"
25. St. James Baradatus.^**
26. St. Matthew the Shep-
herd.19
27. St. James of Botnan.-"
28. St. James of Edessa.-^
29. St. Thomas of Heraclea.--
1)0 our Lord's (Horn, in Epli. sect. 4). Were tlicy in tlie Liturgy
of Constantinople in his time? They arc not in the earliest extant
MS. text (Barberini MS., early 9th cent.).
> Renaudot, p. 156. " Ibid., p. 164. ' Ibi'i., p. 171.
* Ibid., p. 178. '" Ibid., p. 189. '• Ibid., p. 205.
' Ibid., p. 216. ^^ Ibid., p. 228. " Ibid., p. 235.
'<• Ibid, p. 244. " Ibid., p. 256. '= Ibid, p. 262.
" llnd., p. 277. " Ibid., p. 28S. '^ Ibid., p. 301.
'« Ibid., p. 311. '■ Ibid., p. 323. '" Ibid., p. 335.
»" Ibid., p. 348. '" IhiJ; p. 359- " i^i'i-^ P- 373- " ^''id., p. 384.
All (8-41) these are Syriac Liturgies. See Brightman (F. E.),
Eastern IJ/urgics, pp. Iviii, lix.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 29
Inserted in Omitted in
30. St. Moses Bar-Cephas.^ 2. The Armenian Liturgy. ^^
31. St. Philoxenus III. (Bag-
dadensis).-
32. The Holy Doctors.^
Ty^. St. John Basorensis.'*
34. St. Michael of Antioch.^
35. St. Dionysius Barsalibi.'^
36. St. Gregory (Catholicus.) '
37. St. John the Patriarch.^
38. St. Dioscorus of Cardou.**
39. Ignatius the Patriarch.^'*
40. Ignatius of Antioch.^^
41. St. Basil (ex Versione
Andrete Masii).^-
(/') East Syrian.
Nestorius.^* Theodore the Interpreter.^^
(The Liturgy of SS. Adasus and Maris is omitted as un-
certain, the words of institution being absent from the text
as known to us, though they are used in practice.)^*^
(
[.) Ak,
xandrian.
I.
St. Mark.i'
I. The
Ethiopia Liturgy.-"
2.
Coptic St.
Basil.
IS
3-
„ St.
Cyril.
I'.t
1
Renaudot, p.
392.
^ Ibid.,
, p. 401.
=> Ibid,,
p. 411.
4
Ibid., p. 424.
" Ibid.,
p. 440.
« Ibid.,
p. 449.
Ibid., p. 459.
" Ibid.,
p. 475-
» Ibid.,
P- 493-
10
Ibid., p. 511
" Ibid.
, 13- 527-
'■ Ibid.,
, p. 54^5.
" H., p. 153.
" Renaudot, Liturg. Oricn. Coll.,\.Q\\\. ii. p. 623.
>^ Ibid., p. 613.
'" H., p. 274 ; Brightman (F. E.), Eastern Liturgies, pp. 246, 285.
'• H., p. 187. " Ibid., p. 211. '^ Ibid., p. 220.
-" Both in the Canon Universalis (H., ut supra, p. 258), and in the
shorter Liturgy, forming part of the Ethiopia Apostolic Constitutions
{Ibid., p. 235).
30 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I,
Inserted in Omitted in
4. Coptic St. Gregory.^ »
5. Greek St. Basil.2
6. „ St. Gregory.''
7. Ancient Fragment.*
The following titles are given to this service : —
{a) ' The breaking of bread.'
' And they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine
and fellowship, and in [the] breaking of bread, and in [the]
prayers.' ^
(/-') * The Lord's Supper.'
* When ye come together therefore into one place, this
is not to eat the Lord's supper.' ''
The title * Communion,' or ' Holy Communion,'
does not occur in the New Testament, but, no doubt,
was suggested by St. Paul's words —
* The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the com-
munion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we
break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ ? ' "
The word ' Liturgy ' (XiiTovpyla) occurs several
times in the New Testament, but never in a technical
sense with exclusive reference to this Christian service."
The word ' Eucharist ' (eJx"^"^"''") occurs frequently
' Renaudot, I.itiirg. On'eit. Coll.y torn. i. p. 30.
- ////(/., p. 67. ^ Ibid., p. 97.
^ Georgius (F. A. A.), Fiaomcittiiin /Cvafigclii, etc. (Rome, 1789),
P- 315-
'" Acts ii. 42. Se', also, ii. 46, and xx. 7. " i Cor. xi. 20.
' I Cor. X. 16.
* The verb Xinovpytlu occurs once in Acts xiii. 2. ' As they ministered
(KfiTovp-yovvTwv) to the Lord, and fasted.' The word liere may in-
chide, but canrcl l)e conlined to, tlic cclelnation of the Cliiistian
Eucharist.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 31
in the New Testament ; but though there are one
or two cases {e.g. i Cor. xiv. 16 ; i Tim. ii. i) in
which it jnay include the offering of the Eucharistic
Sacrifice, it is evident that the word had not yet
assumed exclusively a technical sense, as a title for
that particular service.^
It would be a natural inference from the language
used in i Cor. xii. 26 — whether we regard the words
as spoken by Christ or composed by St. Paul — that
this service was intended to be celebrated frequently,
not infrequently. We are, therefore, not surprised
to find that the two practices for which there is
directly scriptural authority, are daily and weekly
reception of the Holy Communion. The former was
the practice of the first Christians immediately after
the Day of Pentecost.
' And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house [or * at home '],
did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.' -
The latter was the practice at Troas, where the
Eucharist apparently formed part of the Sunday as
distinguished from the week-day worship.
* And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' '*
' St. Augustine interprets the whole of I Tim. ii. I of the Holy
Eucharist [Epist. ad Fatilinum, I49, sect. 16). His words are so im-
portant that they would be quoted here, were they not outside the limit,
as to date, which has been imposed upon this volume. They are quoted
in note I of J. H. Blunt's Diet, of Theology, p. 255. See P. /.,, torn,
xxxiii. col. 636.
■■* Acts ii. 46 ; but Dr. P. Gardner interprets this verse of the Agapii
(Tf.e Origin of the Lord's Supper, p. 15 : London, 1893).
' Acts XX. 7.
32 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
Communion in both kinds was ordered by our
Lord at the original institution, and the following
texts prove (what, without them, could hardly have
been doubted) that it was the practice of the Church
in apostolic times : —
' Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of
devils.' ^
'Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and- drink
this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the
body and blood of the Lord.
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of
that bread, and drink of that cup.
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and
drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's
body.' ^
There remain two points on which there has been
much controversy and some diversity of practice in
later Christendom, and about which no direction is
explicitly laid down in Holy Scripture, viz. the use
of leavened or unleavened bread, and the use of a
mixed or unmixed cup. But though explicit direc-
tions with reference to Christian Kucharistic usage
are wanting, we know, with certainty, that the bread
in use at the Paschal Supper was unleavened ; * and
• I Cor. X. 21.
• The truer reading is *or,' but our translators only followc.l the
reading of the older Vulgates, and of the older Roman Missals, in
printing ' and ' \et\ They were not actuated by any doctrinal motive,
as has been sometimes supposed.
* I Cor. xi. 27-29.
* Exod. xii. 15, 18-20. Even if the feast, at wliich our Lord was
present, was not the I'aschal Supjjer, but an anticijiation of it, unleavened
bread and the mixed cuji would probably have been used.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 33
we know, with something approaching to certainty,
that the cup contained wine mingled with water.^
§ 15. Hymns. — The word 'hymn' (vfivoc), and the
verb to sing ' hymns ' {vfxviZ,uv) , occur several times
in the New Testament. In the case of the hymn
recorded to have been sung by our Saviour and His
disciples after the institution and reception of the first
Christian Eucharist^ it is generally supposed to have
been Pss. cxv.-cxviii., which formed the second part
of the Hallel, and were sung by every Jewish family
or company at the conclusion of the Paschal Supper.
But this does not seem to be necessary or certain
though most probable.
When Paul and Silas were imprisoned at Philippi,
it is recorded that 'about midnight they were praying
and singing hymns unto God, and the prisoners were
listening to them,' ^ It is not known, and there are
no means of knowing, what psalms or hymns were
sung then. In a well-known Latin hymn attributed to
St. Gregory the Great, but probably composed in the
seventh or eighth century, and assigned, in most Bre-
viaries, both secular and monastic, to be sung at Matins
on Wednesday, these midnight devotions of Paul [and
Silas] are somewhat fancifully referred to as authority
or the institution of the midnight service of nocturns.^
' Lightfoot (J. ), Hone Hebraica, on St. Matt. xxvi. 26, 27, and on
I Cor. xi. 2^. Oxford, 1859, vol. ii. p. 351 ; vol. iv. p. 247.
- St. Matt, xxvi, 30; St. Mark xiv. 26. ' Acts xvi. 25 (R.V.).
^ ' Mentes manusque toUimus
Propheta sicut noctibus
Nobis gerendum pracipit,
Paulusque gestis censuit.'
Fourth stanza of ' Rerum Creator Optime,'
D
34 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
There are two passages in the Epistles in which
hymns arc enumerated as something distinct from
psalms —
' Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs.' ^ ^
' Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs.' ^
It has been suggested that the three Persons in
the blessed Trinity are referred to as addressed in the
three different kinds of sacred song,^ and from the
words * to yourselves ' that they were antistrophically
arranged and rendered ; * but these are merely
conjectures.
There are good grounds for believing that there
exist embedded in the text of the New Testament
actual fragments of some of the earliest Christian
hymns as distinguished from the recognized and
inspired Psalms and Canticles of Holy Scripture.
The metrical ring is so much more obvious in the
Greek than in the English language, that we offer
no apology for printing the Greek original and an
English line for line version side by side.
(i) Fragment of an Advent Hymn —
"Qpa r]ixd<; ^8r] ' This the hour already
i$ vTTov iyipOijvai, to waken out of sleep,
vvv yap eyyvTcpov for nearer now
yjixwv 7] <rwTT)pia is our salvation
•J) ore e7ri(TT£i;o-ayiiej'' than When we believed ;
' Eph. V. 19. - CoL HL 16.
=■ Blunt (J. II.), A7inolah\i Prayer-book, revised edition, p, 53.
■* Bp. Ch. Wordsworth's Commentary, 3rd ed., on Eph. v. 19, p, 303.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN II. SCRIPTURE. 35
17 vv^ TrpoeKoxpev, the night is far spent,
■fj 8e rjfiepa ^yyiK€v. the day is nigh at hand.' ^
(2) Fragment of a Hymn on Penitence —
"Eyeipe o Ka6(v8m', '' Awake thou that sleepest,
Kal dvdcTTa Ik twv v€Kpu)v, and arise from the dead,
Kttt ivLfjiava-eL (tol 6 Xpioros. and Christ shall give thee
light.' '^
(3) Fragment of a Hymn or Antiphonal Com-
position on Christ —
[0eos or] "Oi
ifftavepwOr) iv (TapKi^
i8tKai<j)6rj iv TTvev/xaTL,
oxjiOq dyye'Aots,
iKrjpv^Orj iv Wv^cTiv,
iTn(TT€v6r] iv KocTfJio},
dr€Xr]ff>dr] iv Su^y.
' Who
was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the Spirit,
seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles,
believed on in the world,
received up into glory.' ''
(4) Another fragment on Christ —
ritcTTos o Aoyos • * It is a faithful saying :
If we be dead with Him, we
shall also live with Him ;
if we suffer, we shall also
reign with Him ;
if we deny Him, He also
will deny us ;
if we believe not, yet He
Et (Tvva7re9dvo/X€V, kul cru^r/-
arofxcv •
ct VTro/Aivofiev, koI crvp.-
jBamXivo'op.^v '
et upvovp-iOa, KciKavos dpvr'j-
o-erat rjfj.d<i •
€1 UTrMTTOU/Xei/, CKetVOS TTia-
TOS fX^VU '
upviQCaarOat iavrbv ov 8vvaTaL>
abideth faithful ;
He cannot denv Himself.'
We append two more quotations apparently from
early Christian formularies, yet of a didactic, rather
than a liturgical character ; they are both introduced
Rom. xiii. ti, 13.
- Eph, V. 14,
* 2 Tim. ii. 1 1-13.
' I Tim. iii. 16.
36 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
by St. Paul as faithful sayings, the first as worthy
of all acceptation {inaToq o Xoyoc ^<!^^ ■Ka.a-i\q a7roSo\T}c
a^ioq), and the second as incumbent upon Titus to
affirm constantly {jtiaToq o Aoyoc k-ta Ttipi toi'twi'
povXof.iai (Ti. ^lafttfiaiovadai),
(5) Ets TovTo yap Kol kottl- ' For, therefore we both
Mfxev KOL oviiSi^ofxiOa, otl labour and suffer reproach,
yiXTLKajxiv tVt ®€(2 t,wvTL, OS because we trust in the living
io-TL crwrr/p Trai'Twv uv^pwTrwi', God, who is the Saviour of
//uXtora TTia-Tiov. all men, specially of tht)se
that beheve.' ^
(6) "Iva (f)povTi^M<TL KaXwv * That they which have be-
tpyiov TTpoLCTTacrOai 01 TrtTno-Tcu- lieved in God might be care-
AOT€s Tw @ew' TavTOL i(TTL TO. ful to maintain good works :
KaAa Kat u)(f)e\Lp.a Tois dvOpu)- these things are good and
Trots. profitable unto men.' '"
There remain some other passages in the New
Testament which may be quotations from early
liturgical or other authorized formularies, but the case
with regard to them is too uncertain for their
insertion here.'^
§ 16. The Kiss of Peace. — The use of the kiss
as an emblem of Christian love and peace is frequently
referred to in the apostolic writings, e.£: —
* Salute one another with an holy kiss.' *
' Greet ye one another with an holy kiss.' '•
* Greet one another with an holy kiss.' "
' I Tim. iv. 10. * Titus iii, 8.
^ On the whole subject see a paper by Dr. Jessopp, in the Expositor,
No. LX., pp. 401-422.
■* Rom. .\vi. 16. ^ I Cor. xvi. 20. " 2 Cor. xiii. I2.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 37
* Greet all the brethren with an holy kiss.' ^
' Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity.' 2
It is true that there is no liturgical position assigned
to this kiss, but the epithet ' holy ' always applied to
it by St. Paul indicates that it was not merely the
ordinary Eastern mode of salutation, but that it
partook of a religious character, and we find it from
the very earliest post-scriptural times associated with
the approach to the Holy Eucharist. Its Eucharistic
connection can hardly fail to have been suggested by
these words of our Lord —
' Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thcc ;
I ,eave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way ; first be
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.' ^
§ 17. Laying on of Hands. — See Benediction
(p. 16) ; Confirmation (p. 19) ; Excommunication
(p. 23) ; Ordination (p. 39).
§ 18. Love-feast. — The love-feast, or agape, was
a common meal, at which the first Christians met
together in token of love and brotherly kindness. It
was partly of a religious, partly of a social, but not of
sacramental character.
It is evident from St. Paul's language in i Cor. xi.,
that it was closely associated with, and it is almost
certain that in scriptural times it preceded, the Holy
Eucharist. But the gross scandals which this close
connection was liable to cause, and did cause in the
Corinthian church, led to their very early severance.
' I Thess. V. 26. " I Pet. v. 14. * St. Matt. v. 23, 24.
58 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
Some commentators have thought that the expression
*the Lord's supper,' in i Cor. xi. 20, refers to the
love-feast and not to Holy Communion.
Further allusions to this love-feast are found in the
Epistle of St. Jude —
* These are spots in your feasts of charity (ayaTrats), when
they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear.' ^
Possibly also in St. Peter's exhortation —
' Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity ' (dydirrji;) - —
the kiss of charity being part of the ceremonial
observed at the feast called the agape.
And in another passage, where oTroVaic may be a
false reading for aycnrcug —
' Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with
their own deceivings, [aTrarais, but read * ayaTrais,' in their
love-feasts] while they feast with you,'^
§ 19. Marriage. — Our Lord's language with refer-
ence to marriage, and the language employed by St.
Paul in reference to the same subject, imply that
marriage is a religious union ; but there is no reference
to any special ceremony to be used in connection with
the marriage service.
Our Saviour says —
' What therefore God hath joined together, let not man
put asunder.' *
St. Paul says —
* The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband
liveth ; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to
be married to whom she will ; only in the Lord.' ''
' St. Jude 12. - I Pet. v. 14. ^ 2 Pet. ii. 13.
* St. Mark x. 9. * i Cor. vii. 39.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 39
And the comparison of the union between husband
and wife to the union between Christ and His Church
might be also quoted,-'
§ 20. Offerings. — The principle of a weekly
Sunday collection, or offering, for charitable pur-
poses is found in the direction given by St. Paul to
the Churches of Corinth and Galatia —
' Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have
given order to the Churches of Galatia, even so do ye,
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay
by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be
no gatherings when I come.' '^
§ 21. Ordination. — Our Lord selected a human
ministry for the purpose of preaching the gospel,
founding the Christian Church, and carrying on
through it, after His own departure, the work which
He came on earth to do.
He specially chose and empowered twelve of His
followers in the first instance —
* And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples,
He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of
disease. . . .
And as ye go, preach, saying. The kingdom of heaven
is at hand.
Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out
devils : freely ye have received, freely give. . . .
He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth
Me receiveth Him that sent Me.' ^
' Eph. V. 22-32. ■ I Cor. xvi. i, 2.
* St. Matt. X. I, 7, S, 40.
40 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
On another occasion He chose and sent forth
seventy disciples — ■
'After these things the Lord appointed other seventy
also, and sent them two and two before His face into every
city and place, whither He Himself would come.' ^
Then follow commissions and instructions similar
to those given to the twelve.
A further commission and mission were given to
the Apostles after our Lord's resurrection. It was
on the evening of the same day on which He had
risen from the grave, that our Saviour suddenly
appeared in the midst of His ten Apostles gathered
together in an upper chamber in Jerusalem, for fear
of the Jews, and said to them —
' Peace be unto you : as My Father hath sent Me, even
so send I you.
And when He had said this. He breathed on them, and
saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost :
Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto
them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are re-
tained.' ^
The act of breathing was sacramental. It was
the outward visible sign accompanying the gift of
the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, to give them
strength for the work of the Apostleship, to which
they were then sent forth. The act seems to betoken
that He who so breathed was the source, and not
only the channel of sacramental grace. Possibly for
this reason it was not repeated or retained, for at
' St. Luke X, I. * St, John xx. 2J-23.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 41
all the ordinations of which we have any record, or
to which there is any allusion in the New Testament,
we find that the imposition or laying on of hands
takes its place —
As at the ordination of the seven deacons —
' Whom they set before the Apostles : and when they had
prayed, they laid their hands on them.' *
At the ordination of Barnabas and Saul —
'And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their
hands on them, they sent them away.' ^
At the ordination of Timothy —
' Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee
by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the
presbytery.' ^
* Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up
the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my
hands.' *
At the ordination of those whom Timothy was
to ordain —
* Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of
otker men's sins.' ^
Fasting was a practice closely connected with
ordination, as may be seen in the passage quoted
above from Acts xiii. 3, and from the following
account of ordinations held by SS. Barnabas and
Paul—
'And when they had ordained them elders in every
' Acts vl. 6. * Acts xiii. 3. ' I Tim. iv. 14.
* 2 Tim. i. 6.
* I Tim. V. 22. For another interpretation of this passage, see p. 25.
43 LITURGY OF ANTE^NICENE CHURCH. [l.
church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended
them to the Lord, on whom they believed.' *
The following is a list of the various ministerial
titles or descriptions used in the New Testament : —
Gi-eek word.
Meaning.
Where used.
English word.
'ATTfJcTOAoS ...
One sent
Frequently
Apostle
'ETriCTKOTTOS
An overseer
Acts XX. 28
Bishop
''A77eAos
A messenger
Rev. ii. I
Angel
n/)€(r/9uTepos ...
An elder
Acts XV. 23
f Presbyter,
'[ or Priest
Aiawoi'os
A servant
I Tim. iii. 12
Deacon •
hilTOVf^is
(One who performs^
) a public duty j
Rom. XV. 16
Minister
Euayyi\i(TTi]s
/ A bearer of good
\ news
}
2 Tim. iv, 5
Evangelist
'Hyov/xfi/os ...
A ruler
Heb. xiii. 17
Ruler
Kvpv^
A herald
I Tim. ii. 7
Preacher
OIkouo/j-os
Manager of house
I Cor. iv. I, 2
Steward
Ilpo(p^T-r)s ...
/One who declares'
\ God's will ;
I Cor. xiv. 29
Prophet
At5d(TKa\os ...
A teacher
I Cor. xii. 29
Teacher
rioiuV
A shepherd
Eph. iv. 1 1
Pastor
Upo'ia-rdfifvos
Presiding
I Thess. V. 12
President
The titles of 'lepeus (= Priest) and 'Apx'^psM (= High Priest
or Arch-Priest) are given to our Lord only (Heb. iv, 14 ; x. 21).^ But
all Christians are called Priests (l Pet. ii. 5, 9 ; Rev. i. 6 ; v. 10), and
all Jews (Exod, xix. 6).
§ 22. Public Prayer. — During our Lord's lifetime
on earth, He and His Apostles frequented the services
of the Jewish temple at Jerusalem and of the syna-
gogues in country places,'^ and this continued to be the
practice of the Apostles and first Christian converts
after the Ascension and after the Day of Pentecost.
' Acts xiv. 23.
- The verb Upovp-yCiv, 'to minister as a priest,' or 'about sacred
things,' is once used by St. Paul of his own work in connection with
the gospel (Rom. xv. 16).
=• St. Matt. xxi. 12, 13 ; St. Mark xi. 15 ; xiv. 49 ; St. Luke iv. 16,'
33 ; vi. 6 ; xix. 45 ; St. John ii. 13-16, etc.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 43
After the Ascension, the Apostles —
* Returned to Jerusalem with great joy :
And were continually in the temple, praising and
blessing God.' ^
After the Day of Pentecost, we find it still recorded
that—
' Peter and John went up together into the temple at the
hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.' •^
St. Paul says of himself —
' It came to pass, that, when I was come again to
Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a
trance.' ^
This custom of frequenting the temple services
prevailed throughout the period covered by the New
Testament ; but, from the very first, there was one
addition or exception necessarily made. The dis-
tinctively Christian ordinance of the Eucharist could
not be celebrated in any Jewish place of worship.
Christian places of worship did not begin to be built
till long afterwards. The difficulty was met by
celebrating the Eucharist in private houses or at
home —
* And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple,
and breaking bread from house to house,'* did eat their meat
with gladness and singleness of heart.' ^
Round these home Eucharists there would naturally
gather the elements of teaching, exhortation, praise,
and prayer.
* St. Luke xxiv. 52, 53. - Acts iii. I. ^ Acts xxii. 17.
^ Kar' oT/coj', better translated, as in the R.V., 'at home.'
* Acts ii. 46.
44 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
These elements are implied when we are told that
the first converts —
' Continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.' ^
And that—
' Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' ^
In Palestine, after the destruction of Jerusalem
and in Gentile countries where there were neither
synagogue nor temple before that time, these
elements of Christian worship grew, were regulated,
were ultimately systematized into settled forms of
worship.
Very {qa\ directions as to the arrangement and
external forms of such worship are to be found in the
New Testament.
St. Paul delivered certain ordinances or traditions
to the Corinthians, and praised them for keeping
them ; '^ but we do not know what these ordinances
were.
They included —
The uncovering of men's heads in prayer.*
The covering or veiling of women in prayer.^
The use of a language understood by the people.^
The prohibition of women from speaking in church.'
Weekly collection of alms for charitable purposes.^
' Acts ii. 42. - Acts XX. 7. ^ I Cor, xi. 2.
* I Cor. xi. 4. ' I Cor. xi. 5. " I Cor. xiv. 19.
' I Cor. xiv. 34, 35. Compare I Tim. ii. 11, 12.
* I Cor. xvi. 2.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 45
And, generally speaking, decency and order.^
The Jewish name of * synagogue ' was used at first
to denote the place of Christian assembly.
St. James said —
* If there come unto your assembly (o-waywyv/V) a man
with a gold ring,' etc.^
He had made use of the same word previously in a
strictly Jewish sense and connection in his speech at
the Council of Jerusalem.^
The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking
of the duty of public Christian worship, says —
* Not forsaking the assembling (l-mawayoiyriv) of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is.' *
The expression ' synagogue of Satan ' is twice used
in the Book of Revelation to denote the gathering
together of wicked worshippers.^
§ 23. Sunday. — There are distinct traces, from the
very earliest times, of the first day of the week taking
the place of the seventh day of the week as the
Christian day of rest and worship, although there is
no Divine or apostolic command authorizing the
change of day. It may have been among the
unrecorded directions given by our Saviour to His
disciples during the forty days before His ascen-
sion. "^
Thus we find how at Troas —
* I Cor. xlv. 40, * St. Jas. ii. 2. ' Acts xv. 21.
* Ileb, X. 25. * Rev. ii. 9 ; iii. 9. " Acts i. 3.
46 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [l.
' Upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.' ^
St. Paul recommends systematic almsgiving upon
the same day —
' Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay
by him in store, as God hath prospered him.' -
As the day on which our Lord had risen from the
dead, it was pre-eminently the Lord's day, and as
such it became known, and is believed to be referred
to in the passage in which St. John says —
' I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.' •'
Table of the Lord. See p. 19.
§ 24. Unction of the Sick. Unction of the
sick is plainly mentioned in two passages. Firstly,
as the practice of the Apostles in our Lord's life-
time—
' And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil
many that were sick, and healed them.' ^
Secondly, as recommended by St. James, to be
used in the case of sick people —
' Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders of
the Church ; and let them pray over him, anointing him
with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up ; and if he have committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him.' ^
For Unction at Baptism or Confirmation, see p. 20.
' Acts XX. 7. ' I Cor. xvi. 2.
' Rev. i. 10. It is doubtful whether ' the Lord's day ' {ri Kvpiaicij
Tjixfpa) in this passage means 'Sunday' or "the Day of Judgment.'
* St. Mark vi. 13. * St. Jaa. v. 14, 15.
I.] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE. 47
§ 25. Vestments. — There is no allusion in the
New Testament to any distinctive dress as worn
either by the Apostles or by persons of any grade
in the Christian ministry, either while engaged in
Divine service or in everyday life.
There is, indeed, one passage which has sometimes
been referred to, especially in recent times,^ as
possibly referring to an article of ecclesiastical dress ;
but there is no ground whatever for such an in-
terpretation—
'The cloke (^aiXoV?/?) that I left at Troas with Carpus,
when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but
especially the parchments.' "^
St. Chrysostom knew nothing of a chasuble theory.
He interpreted the cloke to mean the ordinary article
of attire which now goes by that name. It is in his
first homily on the Philippians, where he is replying
to the objections of some mean persons who excused
themselves from providing a suitable maintenance
for their clergy on the ground of such texts as St.
Matt. X. 9, 10 : * Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor
brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey,
neither two coats, neither shoes,' etc.
' What ? ' he says, ' had not Peter a girdle, and a cloke,
and shoes ? (Acts xii. 8). And Paul too, when he writes
' Rock (D), Hkrurgia, 2nd ed. (London, 1851), p, 438 ; Neale (J.
M.), Essays on Liturgiology, p. 414. Cardinal Bona was doubtful
whether this cloke was a sacerdotal vestment or not {Her, Litiirg.,
lib. i. cap. 24, torn. ii. p. 235 : Turin, 1749). Sala appends a long
note (') in favour of the chasuble theory {Il>id., p. 237).
^ 2 Tim. iv. 13.
48 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [I.
to Timothy : " Do thy dUigence to come before winter,"
and then gives him instructions: "The cloke which I
left at Troas," etc. There now ! he says, the dokc ; and
no one would pretend to say that he had not a second,
namely, the one he was wearing. For if he was not in
the habit of wearing one, it would be superfluous for him
to bid Timothy bring this one ; but if he did wear one,
and could not help wearing one, it is clear that he had
another besides.' ^
Tertullian's reference to the same passage (2 Tim.
iv. 13),^ makes it evident that he understood 'the
cloke ' in the same sense as St. Chrysostom.
§ 26. The Washing of Feet.— After our Lord
had washed the feet of His Apostles in the upper
chamber on the evening of Maundy Thursday, He
used these words —
* Ye call Me Master and Lord : and ye say well ; for so
1 am.
If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet ;
ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I
have done to you.'^
It has generally been, believed that our Lord's
words and actions are metaphorical and symbolical,
and that it was not His design to institute a ceremony
to be observed hereafter in the Church. But a literal
interpretation has caused the washing of the feet of
' Quoted in Field (F.), Oiiut/i \orTutiise, pars terlia. iSSi,
P- 133-
- De Oratiotie, cap. xvi. ; P. L., torn. i. coj. 1171.
^ St. John xiii. 13-15.
I] LITURGICAL WORSHIP IN H. SCRIPTURE.
49
catechumens, or of poor men, to form part of the
ceremonial of Maundy Thursday ; and the washing
of the feet of the newly baptized has also formed an
integral part of certain ancient baptismal offices.^
' E.g. The ancient Gallican (Neale and Forbes' edition, pp. 97,
189, 267) ; the ancient Irish (F. E. Warren, Lit. and R/'L of the
Celtic Churchy p. 217) ; the ancient Spanish (Mansi, Cotici/, torn. ii.
p. 14).
so LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
CHAPTER 11.
ANTE-NICENE RITUAL.
Introductory — § i. Absolution — § 2. Baptism — § 3. Choral Service
— § 4. Church furniture. — § 5. Confession — § 6. Confirmation
— § 7- Sign of the Cross — § 8. Exorcism — § 9. Fasting — § 10.
The Eucharist — § 11. Imposition of hands — § 12. Incense —
§ 13. Kiss of peace — § 14. The Love-feast (Agape) — § 15.
Marriage — § 16, Ordination, Holy Orders — § 17. I'rayer — § iS.
Saints' Days — § 19, Sunday — § 20. Unction — § 21. Vestments
— § 22. Use of the vulgar tongue — § 23. Washing of hands
and feet.
We pass from the evidence which is yielded by-
Holy Scripture as to the character of the worship
and ritual of the Apostolic Church, to describe the
liturgy and ritual of the ante-Nicene Church, so far
as they can be gathered from the writings of the
ante-Nicene Fathers or from other genuine documents
which may bear upon the subject of a date prior to
A.D. 325.
But before going into details, we will quote at
length some passages of a general character, either
describing the worship of the early Christian Church
or explaining or defending certain broad features
which it possessed.
The following description of Christian worship
was given by Pliny, Governor of Bithynia, writing
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 51
to the Emperor Trajan, A.D. 112. Pliny said that
he had obtained his information from certain
apostates from the Christian faith whom he had
examined.
' They asserted that this was the sura and substance of
their fault or their error; namely, that they were in the
habit of meeting before dawn on a stated day, and singing
alternately a hymn to Christ as to a god, and that they
bound themselves by an oath ^ not to the commission of
any wicked deed, but that they would abstain from theft,
and robbery, and adultery ; that they would not break their
word ; and that they would not withhold a deposit when
reclaimed. This done, it was their practice, so they said,
to separate, and then to meet together again for a meal,
which, however, was of the ordinary kind, and quite harm-
less. But even from this they had desisted after my edict ;
in which, in pursuance of your commands, I had forbidden
the existence of clubs.' '^
The following description of the Eucharistic Service
is given by Justin Martyr, in his First Apology,
most probably written and addressed to the Emperor
Antoninus Pius in A.D. 148 : —
'Cap. LXV.
* But we [Christians], after we have thus washed him who
has been convinced and has assented [to our teaching]
lead him to the place where those who are called brethren
' ' Sacramento.' The word ' Sacramentum,' in early Christian
writings, has two senses — (i) 'a sacred ordinance, or doctrine, or fact,'
(2) 'a solemn oath.' It is impossible to decide in which sense it is
used here. If it is used in the former sense the reference is obviously
to the Eucharist. See Bp. Lightfoot's exhaustive note, The Apostolic
fathers (London, 1891), pt. ii. vol. i. p. 51.
- Epp.,\i\i. X. No. 97 (ed. Frankfort, 1611), p. 364.
52 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICE NE CHURCH. [II.
are assembled, in order that we may offer hearty prayers in
common for ourselves and for the illuminated \i.e. baptized]
person, and for all others in every place, that we may be
counted worthy, now that we have learned the truth, by our
works also to be found good citizens and keepers of the
commandments, so that we may be saved with an ever-
lasting salvation. Having ended the prayers, we salute one
another with a kiss. Bread and a cup of wine mingled with
water are then brought to the president of the brethren ;
and he, taking them, gives praise and glory to the Father of
the Universe, through the Name of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost, and offers thanks at considerable length for our
being counted worthy to receive these things at his hands.
And when he has concluded the prayers and thanksgivings,
all the people present express their consent by saying,
" Amen." This word " Amen " answers in the Hebrew lan-
guage to [the Greek] ydvoiTo [i.e. So be it]. And when the
president has given thanks, and all the people have ex-
pressed their assent, those who are called by us deacons
give each of those present the bread and wine mixed with
water, over which the thanksgiving was pronounced, and
they carry away a portion to those who are not present.
Cap. LXVI.
And this food is called among us " the Eucharist," of
which no one is allowed to partake but he who believes
that the things which we teach are true, and who has been
washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins
and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ hath
enjoined. For we do not receive these [elements] as
common bread and common drink, but in like manner as
Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the
word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation,
so likewise have we been taught that the food which is
blessed by the prayer of the word which comes from Him,
II.3 ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 53
and from which our blood and flesh are nourished by trans-
mutation, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made
flesh. For the Apostles in the memoirs composed by them,
which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what
was enjoined upon them that Jesus took bread, and gave
thanks, and said, " Do this in remembrance of Me : this is
My body ; " and that after the same manner He took the cup,
and gave thanks, and said, " This is My blood," and gave it
to them alone. The wicked devils have also imitated this
in the mysteries of Mithras, commanding the same thing to
be done. For you know, or can learn, that bread and a cup
of water are employed with certain incantations in the
mystic rites which accompany the initiation of a member.
Cap. LXVII.
And we afterwards continually remind each other of
these things. And the wealthy among us help the needy,
and we always keep together. And we bless the Creator of
all things, through His Son Jesus Christ, and through the
Holy Spirit, for all things wherewith we are supplied. And
on the day called Sunday all who live in cities or in the
country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of
the Apostles {_i.c. the Gospels], or the writings of the Pro-
phets, are read, as long as time permits. Then, when the
reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs and
exhorts [the people] to the imitation of these good things.
Then wc all rise together and offer prayers. And, as we
have said before, when we have finished the prayer, bread
and wine and water are brought, and the president in like
manner offers prayers and thanksgivings with all his might,^
and the people assent, saying, " Amen," and there is a dis-
tribution to each, and a participation in the Eucharistic
elements, and portions are sent to those who are not present
' "Offt) S{ivafj.t9 aur(S. The bearing of this expression is referred to
hereafter, p. lo6.
54 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
by the deacons. And the well-to-do and the willing give
what each person thinks fit, and the collection is deposited
with the president, who succours orphans and widows, and
those who are in want through sicknesS'or any other cause,
and those who are in prison, and the strangers sojourning
among us, and, in a word, he lakes care of all who are in
any need. We all hold our common assembly on Sunday,
because it is the first day on which God having wrought a
change in darkness and chaos made it cosmos, and because
Jesus Christ our Saviour rose from the dead on the same
day. For they crucified Him on the day before the day of
Saturn [Saturday], and on the day after Saturday, which is
Sunday, He appeared to His Apostles and disciples, and
taught them these things, which we have submitted to you
for your consideration.' ^
Such is the description of simple Christian worship
just before the middle of the second century. Its
very simplicity was sometimes in early days urged as
an argument against, or made a ground for, disputing
the efficacy of the sacraments of the Christian Church.
This is the way in which Tertullian meets the
objection in the case of baptism ; but the argument
would apply equally well in the case of any or all of
the sacraments or sacramental ordinances of Christ's
Church. He says —
' But how great is the power of perversity in weakening
or totally undermining faith, that it should find a ground of
attack in those very elements on which that faith rests !
There is nothing which so hardens men's minds against
accepting the truth as the simplicity of the Divine operations,
as seen in action, contrasted with the magnificence of the
promised results. Take the case of Baptism. With the
* P. G., torn. vi. coll. 427-431.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 55
greatest simplicity, without parade, without any new or
magnificent equipment, without any expense, a man is
immersed in the water ; a few words are said over him while
he is dipped ; he emerges very little, if at all, cleaner out-
wardly than he was before ; therefore it is considered
incredible that he should have acquired the heirship of
eternal life. It would be untrue not to state, on the other
hand, in connection with the worship of idols, that it is the
solemnity and the secrecy and the expense of the prepara-
tions and of the performances which command confidence
and submission.
Alas for a miserable incredulity which denies to God
His own proper attributes — simplicity and power ! What
then ? Is it not a wonderful thing that death should be
washed away in the laver [of baptism] ? Yes ; but so far
from not being believed because it is wonderful, it is on
that account the more to be believed. For of what sort
ought Divine works to be, except works of surpassing
wonder? We also ourselves wonder; but we wonder
because we believe. Unbelief wonders but does not
believe. It wonders at simple rites as if they were empty
of power or meaning ; it wonders at magnificent rites as
impossibilities. Be it as you think, the Divine pronounce-
ment has anticipated both results. God has chosen the
foolish things of this world to confound its wisdom, and
what is impossible among men is possible with God. For
if God is both wise and powerful, which those who neglect
Him do not deny, it is not incongruous that He should lay
the foundations of His operation in the opposites of wisdom
and power, that is to say, in folly and impossibility, for all
virtue originates in those elements from which it is evoked.' ^
Throughout this chapter Tertullian is contrasting
the simplicity of Christian worship as it existed in his
' De Baptismo, cap. ii. ; P. /., torn. i. col. i2oi.
56 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICE lYE CHURCH. [ll.
time with the gorgeousness of idolatrous ceremonial.
One must allow that after the elaboration of Christian
ritual in later ages, this argument lost some of its
force ; but one must insist, likewise, on the fact that
Christian worship in Tertullian's time, with its
unctions, its frequent use of the sign of the cross, its
prolonged vigils, its midnight Easter celebration of
the Eucharist, etc., was elaborateness itself compared
with some modern forms of Christian worship.
Variety in ritual and in ecclesiastical usage began
to be in evidence at a very early date. It was
defended by St. Firmilian writing to St. Cyprian,
c. 255. He pointed out that those who lived at
Rome did not observe in all points their original
traditions ; that it was useless for the Church of Rome
to claim apostolic authority for all its practices, as,
for instance, on the question of the proper day for the
celebration of Easter ; also with regard to many
unspecified points of liturgical arrangements, one way
prevailed at Jerusalem, another at Rome. In most
provinces there were diversities caused by the varieties
of locality and of human nature ; but the peace and
unity of the Catholic Church were never imperilled
by this fact.^
We now pass on from general descriptions to
review in detail the particular usages of the primitive
Church.
§ I. Absolution. — Imposition of hands was the
Outward sign which accompanied the formal bestowal
of absolution, or the public reconciliation to the
' Iiilcr Cypriani EpisMas, No. 75, p. 145.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 57
Church of one who had lapsed into schism or heresy,
or who for some other cause was excommunicatoi
St. Cyprian says —
' In the case of baptized members of the Church lapsing
into heresy, and afterwards recognizing their sin, renouncing
their error, and returning to the truth and to their mother, it
will be sufficient to use imposition of hands,^ as a token of
the reception of the penitent, that so the shepherd may
receive back into the fold, to which it once belonged, the
alienated and wandering sheep.' -
Stephen I., Bishop of Rome, held that in the case
of a convert coming over from heresy, re-baptism was
unnecessary, and that he need only be received with
imposition of hands as a token of penitence.^
The following passage describes the penitential
system of the African Church : —
* In the case of lesser faults, sinners [ordinarily] do
penance for a proper period, and then, according to the
order of discipline, come to [public] confession,^ and by
the imposition of the hands of bishop and clergy receive
the right of communion ; but now, in this rough time, with
persecution still prevalent, and peace not yet restored to
the Church, people are admitted to communion, and the
Eucharist is given to them, with no penance yet performed,
no confession yet made, and the hands of bishop and clergy
not yet laid upon them.' ^
' ' Imponere manum.' It is almost always ' manum,' not ' maniis,' in
Latin writers.
- Ep. 71 ; P. L., torn. iv. col. 423.
' The words of St. Stephen are quoted by St. Cyprian, and combated
by him in Ep. 74 ; but the Roman view and practice on this point
finally prevailed throughout the whole Church.
■• Exomologesis.
'' Ep. ix. p. 18. See also p. 19, et passim, for allusions to this use of
the lavins? on of hands.
58 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
The imposition of hands is mentioned in the
Apostoh'c Constitutions (but not in the Canons of
Hippolytus, xi. 65 ; xiv, 74 ; xv. 79), as used in the
restoration of an excommunicate person to Church
membership.^ See § 5, p. 82.
§ 2. Baptism. — We will first quote some general
descriptions of the administration of baptism before
producing evidence in detail on particular points of
interest connected with it.
The baptism of Xanthippe, in answer to her request
to St. Paul, ' Even now hasten to seal me,' is thus
described —
* He led her by the hand into the house, and baptized
her in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost. Then taking the bread of the Eucharist, he
gave it to her, saying, " Let this be to thee for the remission
of sins, and for the renewing of thy soul." Then the
blessed Xanthippe, having received the Divine gift of holy
baptism, returned to her own home, rejoicing and praising
God.' '
Afterwards the baptism of her husband, Probus, is
thus told —
* Rising early in the morning, he went to Paul, and
found him baptizing many in the Name of the life-
originating Trinity,^ and said. If I am worthy, my master,
to receive baptism, lo ! the hour is come. Paul replied to
' Lil). ii. cap. 1 8. Bp. Jeremy Taylor's interpretation of i Tim.
V. 22 has been already referred to (p. 25). Compare the following
words of Bp. Andrevves : ' By the Holy Ghost we are regenerate
first in baptism ; by Him after confirmed in the imposition of hands ;
by Him after renewed to repentance when we fall away by a second
imposition of hands' (Sertnons, 1865, vol. iii. p. 194).
1 * Page 78, ' El's rh t^s ^wap^'K^s rpiaSos tivofia.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 59
him, My son, behold, the water is ready for the cleansing
of those who approach to Christ. Forthwith, then, eagerly
stripping off his clothes, Paul holding his hand, he leaped
into the water, saying, Jesus Christ, Son of God, and God
eternal, may all my sins be done away by this water. And
Paul said, We baptize thee in the Name of Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost ; and then he made him partake of the
Eucharist of Christ.' '
Later on, Polyxena and Rebecca are described
as baptized by the same Trinitarian formula, the
former having thus made her request, ' Seal me,
as Paul sealeth people, through the laver of re-
generation.' ^
In these passages the scriptural titles given to
baptism, its administration where water could be
found, the administration at once of the Eucharist
to the newly baptized, without the mention of any
intervening rite corresponding in any way to con-
firmation,^ arc to be remarked as noteworthy in
themselves, and as pointing to an early date for the
composition of the story.
Baptism by any other formula than in the Name
of the Trinity, and especially baptism into the death
of the Lord, was forbidden by the Apostolic Canons
XLIX., L. These canons are post-Nicene, but they
point to some irregular forms of the administra-
tion of baptism having sprung up at a very early
date.*
The following account of baptism is given by
Justin Martyr in his first Apology : —
' Fage 73. - Page 78. ' .See p. 87, § 6.
* See chap. i. p. II.
6o LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
*As many as are persuaded and believe that these
things which are taught and said by us are true, and
promise that they are able to live thus, are taught to pray
and ask God, with fasting, for the forgiveness of their former
sins, while we pray and fast with them. Then they are
led by us where there is water, and are regenerated after
the same manner of regeneration with which we ourselves
were regenerated. For they then make their bath in
the water, in the Name of God the Father, and Lord
of all, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the
Holy Ghost. For Christ said, Except ye be born again,
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.^ Now,
it is manifest to all that it is impossible for those who
have once been born to enter again into their mothers'
wombs. But Esaias the prophet has declared how
those who have sinned and repent shall escape from
their sins, saying thus : " Wash you, make you clean,"
etc. . . . -
We have learned from the Apostles the following
reasons for this [rite of baptism]. Since we have received
our first birth without our knowledge or consent . . .
and have fallen into vicious customs and evil modes of
education ; therefore, in order that we may not remain
children of necessity or of ignorance, but of free-will
and understanding, and may obtain forgiveness of sins
formerly committed, the Name of God the Father and
Lord of all is named in the water over him who chooses
to be regenerated and repents for his sins, no other
description [of God] being given by him who leads the
man to be washed to the laver. This laver is called
" illumination," ^ because those who learn these things
have their minds illuminated. I should add that the
person illuminated washes also in the Name of Jesus
Christ, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate ; and in
' St. John iii. 3. " Isa. i. 16.
^ *wTi(Tju<{r, i/hit/thintio, ' enliglitcnment.'
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 6i
the Name of the Holy Ghost, who, through the prophet,
proclaimed beforehand all things concerning Jesus.' ^
Then, after three chapters which are devoted to
show how Christian baptism was counterfeited by
demoniacal agency, Justin Martyr proceeds in the
sixty - fifth chapter, which has been printed on
page 51—
' But we, after we have thus washed the man who has
been convinced and has given his consent [to our teaching],
lead him to the place where those who are called brethren
are assembled, etc. . . . Having ended the prayers, we
salute one another with a kiss. . . .' -
Here Justin Martyr passes on to a description of
the Eucharist in words already quoted.^ It is diffi-
cult to decide whether the kiss of peace just referred
to is the last baptismal or the first Eucharistic action.
The kiss of peace occurs at the commencement of
the Clementine Liturgy, before the expulsion of the
catechumens and others, as well as just before the
offertory.*
Baptism bore many titles. Justin Martyr calls it
the * water of life,' ^ and ' the illumination.' ^ In the
Acts of Paul and Thecla it is called ' the seal of
Christ ; ' '^ and in The ShepJierd of Hermas, ' the seal
of the Son of God.' ^ Tertullian calls it ' the seal of
' Cap. 61 ; P. G., torn. vi. col. 421.
- Cap. 65 ; P. C, vi. col. 427. ' Page 52. * H., pp. 3, 10.
* "TSeop (ms, Dial., cap. 14; P. G., torn. vi. col. 504.
^ *a>T4(r;uos, ApoL, i. cap. 61 ; P. G., torn. vi. col. 421.
' 'H fv Xpt(rr<f) a-(ppayls, Grabe, Spicilegitiiii (Oxford, 1698), torn, i,
p. 106.
* 'H a<ppa-y\% toC xjiov Toii @€ov, Simil. 9, cap. xvi.
62. LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
faith,' ^ * the sacrament of water/ ^ ' the enrolment of
God,'^ It is also called 'the seal of the bath,' ^ and
' the seal of baptism.' ^ St. Clement of Alexandria
calls it ' the seal of the Lord,' '^ a title which is also
used in the Apostolic Constitutions,''^ and he also
calls it ' grace,' ' illumination,' ' the perfect work,*
and ' the bath.' «
Passing from general descriptions, we find proofs
or traces of the following practices existing in ante-
Nicene times : —
{(i) Infant baptism. — This practice is implied in the
language of Polycarp to the heathen proconsul.
When urged at his trial by the latter to renounce
Christ, Polycarp replied—
*■ Fourscore and six years have 1 been His servant, and
He hath done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme
my King who saved me ? ' '^
Justin Martyr, in his first Apology, speaks of there
being many men and women in existence then (that
is, in the middle of the second century) who were
* ' Signaculum lidei,' De Speclac, cap. 24 ; P. L., toni. i. col. 656.
- ' Sacramentum atjua;,' De Baptismo, cap. i. ; P. P., torn. i. col.
II97-
^ ' Dei census,' IbiJ., cap. xvi. ; P. P., torn. i. col. 1218.
* 'H <T^pa'y\s Tov Kovrpov, Acts of T/iomas, ed. M. Bonnet, Leipzig,
1883, cap. 26, p. 19.
^ Canons of Hippolytus, xxix. § 251, p. 135.
* ' Quis dives salvetur,' cap. xlii. ; P. G., torn. ix. col. 647.
' Lib. ii. cap. 14, p. 22.
* XapKTjxa, Kal (pwTKTfxa, koI Te\eiov, Kal Kovrpov, Pddagog., lib. i. cap.
6 ; P. G., torn. viii. col. 281. The whole chapter, which is both
beautiful and curious, should be read.
* Letter of the Smyrnseans on the martyrdom of St. Polycarp,
cap. ix., Lighlfoot (J. B.), The Apostolic Fathers, 1891, pp. 193, 206.
II.] ANTE'NICENE RITUAL. 63
made disciples to Christ from their childhood.^ The
childhood of people who were old people, c. A.D,
150, must have extended back to within the lifetime
of some of the Apostles,
Irenseus used these words —
' Therefore as He [Jesus Christ] was a master, He had
also the age of a master ; not disdaining or going in a way
above human nature ; not breaking in His own Person the
law which He had set for mankind, but sanctifying every
age by the likeness which it has to Him. For He came to
save all persons through Himself — all, I say, who through
Him are regenerated unto God — infants, and little ones,
and boys and youths, and old people. Therefore He went
through every age ; for infants being made an infant,
sanctifying infants ; for little ones being made a little one,
sanctifying those of that age, and at the same time being
made an example to them of godhness, justice, and dutiful-
ness,' etc.-^
Elsewhere he speaks more plainly of ' infants
newly-born and spiritually born again.' ^
St. Cyprian pleaded for the baptism of infants at
a very early age indeed, while yet only two or three
days old, not even advising delay till the eighth day,
in accordance with the analogy of circumcision. He
argued —
' If adults are admitted to the font, how much more
should those be baptized at once who have not sinned,
' Ot \k iraiSaiv e/xaOriTfvBriffavTcp Xpt crrcf. The verb is the same
which was employed in the commission to baptize, as recorded by St.
Matthew, tropevdeures ixadrjTevaaTe TravraTo. edvy], xxviii. 19 (W. Wall,
TAe History of Infant Baptism (Oxford, 1862), vol. i. p. 43).
* Contra Hareses, lib. ii. cap. xxii. % i^; P. G., vii. 783.
* 'fis vaihla. vioyova irvtvjxariKoos avayevviifxevot, Gk. Fragm, 33,
Opera (ed. W. W. Harvey, Cambridge, 1857), torn. ii. p. 497.
64 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
except so far as by natural descent from Adam they have
contracted, in the moment of birth, the infection of ancient
death, who for this very reason may come more easily to
the remission of sins, because it is the sins of another and
not their own which are remitted to them.' ^
St. Clement of Alexandria speaks of ' children that
are drawn up out of the water.' ^
In the Apostolic Constitutions we find this in-
junction—
' Baptize your children, and bring them up in the nurture
and admonition of the Lord, for He saith, " Suffer little
children to come unto Me, and forbid them not." ' ^
The testimony of Origen to the practice of infant
baptism is repeated and explicit. He says that —
* Baptism is administered even to infants, according to
the custom of the Church,' ^
And again that —
' Infants are baptized for the remission of sins. Of whose
sins ? or at what time have they sinned ? or how can any
reason exist for the use of the baptismal laver in the case
of infants, except in that sense about which we have spoken
a short time before ? It is because the birth pollution is
washed away in baptism that infants are baptized, For
except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of heaven."^
' Ep. lix., Ad Fidmn de infantibus baptizandis, pp. 97-99. The
whole Epistle should be read. It is written by St. Cyprian in his own
name and in the names of sixty-five bishops assembled in council.
* Padagog., lib, iii. cap. ii.; P. G., tom. viii, col. 633.
' Lib. vi. cap. 15.
* Horn, viii., In Levit., tom. ii. p. 230.
' St. John iii. 5 ; Horn. xiv. /« Ljic] P. C, tom, xiii. col. 1831.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 65
Elsewhere he calls baptism 'a second circum-
cision.' ^
Again, after pointing out that according to the
Jewish law an offering had to be made for the new-
born infant,^ and after referring to David's assertion,
'Behold, I was shapen in wickedness ; and in sin hath
my mother conceived me,' ^ Origen proceeds to state
that—
* For this reason too the Church has received it as a
tradition from tlie Apostles to administer baptism even to
infants.' *
{U) Profession of fait J i and renunciations. — A pro-
fession of faith, which at a very early time assumed
the form of a definite creed, was made by candidates
for baptism.
Justin Martyr says that before men are regenerated
they must both profess to believe the truth of those
things which they had been taught, and also promise
to live answerably to their knowledge.^
Tertullian uses language which implies that articles
relating to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and
the Church, were part of the interrogations at
baptism.^
For the interrogative form of creed provided in the
Canons of Hippolytus, see chap. iii. § 6, p. 181.
' Horn, v., In Lib.Jcsii Nave, § 6, torn. ii. pp. 40S, 409.
- Lev. xii. 6-8. » Ps. li. 5.
^ Comment, in Ep. ad. Rom., lib. v. § 9 ; P. G., tom. xiv.
col. 1047.
^ Apol. ii. p. 93, as quoted at length by Bingham, Antiqq. of the
Christian Church (London, 1S65), vol. i. p. 520.
* De Baptisino, cap. 6 ; P. L., tom. i. col. 1206.
F
66 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
Irenaeus speaks of the ' canon of truth which every
one received at his baptism.' ^
One of the questions in the African Baptismal
Service of the third century was —
* Dost thou believe in eternal life, and remission of sins
through the holy Church ? '
This was naturally pressed by St. Cyprian with
great force against the validity of heretical baptism.^
Tertullian also mentions the solemn and triple
renunciation of the devil, his pomp, and his angels,
as made twice — firstly, on a person's admission to
be a catechumen, and, secondly, at his actual
baptism.^
ic) Sponsors, who are necessarily introduced if
questions are used at the baptism of infants, are
mentioned by Tertullian, who refers to the danger that
there was of sponsors failing to fulfil their promises,
either by their own death, or through the evil
dispositions which might be developed in the person
for whom they have acted as sponsors.^ Throughout
this chapter, Tertullian is arguing against the baptism
of infants, which was evidently the established church
practice at this time. In the Academy of February
15, 1896, Mr. Whitley Stokes turns the argument the
' Quoted without a reference in Smith's Dictionary of Christian
Antiqq., i. 489.
^ Ep. Ixx. (ed. Antwerp, 1568), p. 172; Routh(J. M.), Kdiqtiia:
Sacra-, 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 108.
^ De Spcctaciilis, cap. iv.; De Corona, cap. iii. ; Dc ciiltu Jcininarnin,
cap. ii.
^ Dc Baptis/no, cap. iS ; /". Z., torn, i, col. 1 221.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 67
other way, and takes the fact that Tertullian argued
against it to be a proof that the practice of infant
baptism was then*^ novel introduction, and suggests
that it was derived from imitation of the lustral
ceremony performed over infants in heathen rites,
with which Christianity was now fast coming into
contact. This is a most-unhkely suggestion, for
heathenism was the deadly enemy of Christianity,
and its abominations ^nd puerilities had been and
were the constant theme of Christian apologists ; and
in the attitude and temper then existing it is morally
impossible that the Christian Church should have
adopted a rite from the religion of their persecutors.^
Sponsors are mentioned in the Canons of Hip-
polytus.^
(d) Milk and honey. — Tertullian mentions that on
leaving the font the newly baptized tasted a mixture
of milk and honey,^ a piece of symbolism probably
suggested by the Old Testament description of the
promised land as a land flowing with milk and
honey, into which the Israelites entered through the
waters of the river Jordan ; but the explanation
given in the Canons of Hippolytus, where the rite
is also enjoined, is that the newly baptized may
remember that they have become as little children,
whose natural food is milk and honey.'*
' See chap. iii. § 40, p. 247.
^ ' Qui pro infantibus parvis respondent,' Canon xix. § II3, p. 94.
' De Corona, cap. iii.; Adv. Marcionem, lib. i, cap. xiv. ; P. Z.,
torn. ii. col. 79 ; torn. ii. col. 262.
* Canon xix. § 144, but § 148 explains it of the future life, and the
sweetness of its blessings.
68 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
St. Clement of Alexandria refers to the same
custom in these words —
' As soon as we are born we are nourished with milk,
which is the nutriment of the Lord. And when we are
born again we are honoured with the hope of rest by the
promise of Jerusalem which is above, where it is said to
rain milk and honey. For by these material things we are
assured of that sacred food.' ^
{e) Sign of the cross and Unction. — The sign of
the cross, which was in such general use in the
earliest days of Christianity, would naturally be in-
cluded in the ceremonial of baptism. Tertullian
says —
'The flesh is washed that the soul may be rid of its
stains ; the flesh is anointed that the soul may be con-
secrated ; the flesh is sealed {i.e. signed with the cross)
that the soul also may be protected; the flesh is ovei-
shadowed by the imposition of hands, that the soul may
be illuminated by the Spirit; the flesh is fed with the
Body and Blood of Christ, that the soul may be made fat
from God.' "
Elsewhere he says —
' Then when Ave come out of the bath [of baptism] we
are anointed with the holy unction, according to the ancient
practice by which men were wont to be anointed for the
priesthood with oil poured out of a horn.' '
How far the anointing and sealing in these
passages belong to the Baptismal Service, and how
far they belong to the Confirmation Service it is not
* Padagog., lib. i. cap. 6 ; P. C, torn. viii. col. 504.
* De Resurrectione carnis, cap. viii. ; P. Z., torn. ii. col. S06.
' De Battisiiio, cap. vii. ; P. L., torn. i. col. 1206.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 69
easy to say. The two rites of baptism and con-
firmation were administered in close succession, and
formed almost one complex rite throughout the
ante-Nicene period ; in fact, for the first thousand
years and more of the Church's existence. It is
perhaps with special reference to this use of the
sign of the cross that baptism is called * the seal '
or ' the seal of Christ,' as where Thecla is represented
as saying to St. Paul —
* Grant me only the seal of Christ, and no temptation
shall affect me.' ^
And in the words of Polyxena previously quoted
from the Acts of Xanthippe.^
(/) Iinmersioii. — Baptism by immersion was both
the custom and the rule, but the validity of baptism
by affusion or aspersion, in the case of sick people,
is defended at length by St. Cyprian, who quotes
in support of it Num. viii. 7 ; xix. 18 ; Ezek. xxxvi.
25, and concludes that a person so baptized is to be
reckoned as a legitimate Christian.^
Cornelius, Bishop of Rome (251-2), records that
Novatian had been baptized on a sick-bed by
affusion. He does not dispute the validity of such
baptism, but he objects to Novatian as not having
afterwards complied with Church regulation as to
the reception of confirmation from the hands of a
bishop. This he calls being signed by the bishop,
' Cap. vi. 14; Hone (W.), Apocryphal Nr^o Test., 1S20, p. 105.
For further information about unction, see sul^-sect. [g).
• Page 59. See § 7, adfinem, p. loi.
^ Ef. 76, %\2; P. Z., toni. iii. coll. 1194-1196.
70 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
apparently alluding to the sign of the cross which
was made by the bishop on the forehead of each
person confirmed.^
Baptism by affusion had been recognized in the
Didachi, in which it was laid down —
' But if thou hast not either, pour water thrice upon the
head in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost.' -
When St. Fructuosus baptized Rogatianus in
prison, immersion must have been an impossibility.'^
Baptismal immersion is specially stated by Ter-
tullian to have been triple. He says —
' We dip not once but three times, at the mention of each
of the three Persons of the Trinity.' *
{g) Unction. — The rite of unction in immediate
connection with baptism is mentioned both by
Tcrtullian and St. Cyprian. The former, after
describing the actual baptism with water, proceeds
thus —
' Then on stepping forth from the font we are anointed
with consecrated oil, a custom derived from the old dis-
pensation, in which men used to be anointed priests with
oil out of a horn, since the time when Aaron was anointed
by Moses ; ^ from which he is called " a christ " from the
chrism, that is, the unction employed. And this unction
' 2(^f»a7i(T0^(/ai inro tov (iriaiconov, Routli (J. ^\.), lic'liqtiur Sncfir,
iii. 25. Dr. Routh argues that to sign (co/tsii^iiare, a<ppayl(,iiv) ami to
lay on hands {manum iniponerc) are the same thing (.•■■/'/(/., p. 69), but
the argument is not convincing.
' Cap. vii. § 3. ^ Fructuosi, etc., Acta, p, 340.
* ' Ter mergitamur,' De Corona, cap. iii. ; /'. /-., torn. ii. col. 79.
* Exod. xl. 15.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 71
gave his name to our Lord, being spiritually performed ;
because He was anointed with the Spirit by God the Father,
as it is said in the Acts : " For of a truth they were gathered
together in that state against thy Holy Child whom thou
hast anointed." ^ Thus too in our case, though the unction
takes place in the flesh, yet it benefits us spiritually ; just
as in the act of baptism itself the immersion in water is
a carnal transaction, but the effect is a spiritual one, namely,
the deliverance from our sins.' "
A reference to this unction is to be found in
another passage of Tertullian, quoted previously.^
Elsewhere he mentions after the baptismal washing,
*the oil with which God anoints His people.' ^
St. Cyprian speaks thus of the same unction —
' The man who has been baptized needs also to be
anointed, in order that in receiving the chrism, that is,
the unction, he may be one of God's anointed ones, and
have within himself the grace of Christ. And the oil,
moreover, wherewith the baptized are anointed is con-
secrated upon the altars by the Eucharist ; but those who
have neither altar nor church could not consecrate the
creature of oil. Wherefore, there can be no spiritual
unction among heretics, as it is evidently impossible for
there to be any consecration of oil or any celebration of
the Eucharist among them.' '"
This is not the only unction mentioned in connec-
tion with the baptism in the ante-Nicene period. A
twofold unction, one before and one after baptism, is
' Acts iv. 27.
^ De Baptismo, cap. vii. ; P. Z., torn. i. col. 1206. * P'ige 6S.
* Adv. Alarcioncm, lib. i. cap. 14; P. L., torn. ii. col. 262.
* Ep. Ixx. p. 125,
72 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
prescribed in the Canons of Hippolytus/ as well as in
the Apostolic Constitutions.^
iji) Fasting. — Fasting is mentioned in connection
with preparation for baptism from the earliest times.
In the DidacJic \hQ.XQ. is this direction given —
' Before baptism let him that baptizeth fast, and
any others who are able, and thou shalt order him
that is baptized to fast a day or two before.' ^
The Canons of Hippolytus order the candidate to
fast on the P>iday preceding his baptism.^
This pre-baptismal fast is enforced at great length
in the Apostolic Constitutions, where it is somewhat
awkwardly connected with, while it is distinguished
from, the post-baptismal fast of our Lord.^
There are frequent allusions to the fast before
baptism both in the Clementine Recognitions" and
in the Clementine Homilies.'
A reference of Justin Martyr to the same subject
has been already quoted.*^
Tertullian states that candidates for baptism should
prepare themselves by prayer, fasting, and confession
of sin.'-'
ii) Time for Baptism. — Tertullian, while allowing
that every Lord's day — in fact, every day and every
hour — is suitable for the administration of baptism,
points out that the festivals, firstly, of Easter, and
* Canon xix., §§ 1 16-135.
' Lib. vii. capp. 42-44. See p. 68, sub-sect, {c), ^ Cap, vii.
*' Canon xix., § 106, p. 92. ^ Lib. vii, cap. 22.
* Lib. vii. capp, 34, 37. " Lib. iv. cap. 73 ; xii. 35 ; xiii. il.
* Page 60. ^ Dc Baptisiho, cap. xx. ; /'. /.., toni. i. col. 1222.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 72,
secondly, of Pentecost, are the most appropriate
occasions.^ To these two seasons the Epiphany was
added at a very early date in the East, and it has
also been found connected with baptism in certain
parts of the West. Its first introduction into Egypt
as a baptismal festival was due to the followers of
Basilides in the second century.^
{k) Washing of Feet. — See § 23, p. 165, and chap,
i. § 26, p. 48.
(/) Consecratiojt of the Water. — The element of
water was consecrated for use at baptism, as the
elements of bread and wine were consecrated for use
in the Eucharist, by words of invocation of the Holy
Spirit.
Tertullian said — ■
' The waters are made the sacrament of sanctification by
the invocation of God. The Spirit immediately descends
from heaven, and resting upon them, sanctifies them by
Himself, and they being so sanctified, imbibe the power of
sanctification.' ^
St. Cyprian said —
' The water must first be cleansed and sanctified by the
priest, that it may have power by baptism to wash away the
sins of the person who is baptized.' ^
{in) Minister of Baptism. — The proper minister of
baptism, according to Tertullian, is the bishop, but
presbyters and deacons, and in case of necessit}-,
* De Baptisnio, cajj. xx. ; P. Z., torn. i. col. 1222.
* Clemens Alex., Stromata) cap. xxi. ; P. G., torn. viii. col. 888.
^ De Baptisnio, cap. iv. ; P. L., toin. i. col. 1204.
* Ep. 70, ad Januarium, Opera (ed. Baluz. Paris, 1726), p. 125.
74 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [II.
laymen, but not women, are permitted to baptize.^
This was an instance of the exercise of those priestly
powers which belong to all the faithful, and about
which IrcncTEus said —
' All just men possess the order of the priesthood ; ' -
and about which Tertullian asked, referring to Rev,
i. 6— - *
* And are not we laity priests ? ' ^
The rest of this passage should be studied. Ter-
tullian pushes the doctrine of the priesthood of the
laity to its extremest limits in order to press home
his Montanistic theory, that as the clergy might not
marry twice, no more might the laity.
Justin Martyr described all Christians as a true
race of priests of God.* Origen has a fine passage
on the same subject.^
It is not within the object of these pages to
describe the baptismal doctrine of the early Church ;
but for a clear passage connecting the gift of the
Holy Spirit with baptism we would refer our readers
to a passage in the writings of Origen.''
§ 3. Choral Service. — It would follow naturally
' Ih BaptisDto, cap. xvii. ; /'. Z., torn. i. col. 1218.
* Contra ILt-res, lib. iv. cap. 8 ; P. G., torn, vii. col. 995.
^ Lib. de ExhorlatJone Castitatis, cap. vii. ; P. Z., toni. ii. col. 922,
^ Dial, cum Try phone, § 116 ; P. C, torn, vi, col. 746.
* Horn. ix. in Levit., § i, torn. ii. jx 236. See also § 9 of the same
Homily, where he refers to the unction which all Christians have
received as conferring on them their ])riesthood.
" Horn. vi. in Levit., § 2, torn. ii. p. 216, left col., lines 8-14. For
a later but similar passage, see Ambrose,- /><• I\fysteriis, cap. ix. § 59,
ad fine7n.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 75
from the musical instincts of human nature, as well
as from the precedent of the Jewish temple services
in the Old Testament, and from the allusions to
singing in the New Testament, that the choral
element would enter into primitive Christian worship.
The analogy of chorus singing in the Greek theatre,
as well as of the psalmody in the Jewish temple,
would likewise suggest that the singing would be
antiphonal in its character. According to a tradition
first found in the pages of the historian Socrates,
the antiphonal mode of singing originated with St.
Ignatius the Martyr, who •' saw a vision of angels,
praising the Holy Trinity in antiphonal hymns, and
left the fashion of his vision as a custom to the
Church in Antioch, whence this custom spread like-
wise through all the churches.' ^ Yet, as Pliny in his
letter to the emperor Trajan describes the Christians of
Bithynia as in the habit of singing hymns to Christ as
God ' alternately,' ^ it may be inferred that antiphonal
singing was already a custom in the Christian Church
in the earlier part of the second century, though there
is later evidence for the early prevalence of a re-
sponsorial mode of chanting or singing as well.
Instrumental music was not employed in Divine
service,'^ and, as is well known, the conservative
Eastern Church has never departed from primitive
practice in this respect up to the present day.
§ 4. Church Furniture. — During a great part
' Hist. Ecclcs., vi. 8. Socrates wrote in the fifth century.
- Epp., lib. X. No. 97. See p. 51.
^ Clemens Alex., Pcedagog.^ lib. ii. cap. 4 ; P. G., torn. vii. col. 443.
l(i LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
of the period with which we are concerned, Christians
possessed no churches, but met for worship in the
privacy of their chambers, or in dens and caves
of the earth. Throughout the Roman empire
Christianity was for a long time a proscribed re-
ligion, and though the penal laws against it were
left at times to slumber, they were liable at any
time to be evoked and put in force.^ Hence it
was the Christians' object to worship God as un-
obtrusively as possible, and we are not surprised to
find that as, for the most part, there were no
Christian churches, so there are but scanty references
to Church furniture, or to the ordinary accessories
of Divine worship in writers of the first three
centuries.
Minucius Felix mentions it as a charge made
against Christians that they had no churches or
altars. It was a cruel charge to be brought against
Christianity by its heathen opponents, because,
though it was true, yet, so far as it was true, it
was due to the persecutions of heathenism, and the
necessity of avoiding publicity. However, Minucius
Felix defends the non-existence among Christians
of churches and altars on other grounds, and in a
passage of such spiritual beauty, that we quote it at
length —
'But do you think that we conceal what we worship if
we have not temples and altars ? And yet what image of
' Christianity was first made a rdigio licita under Gallienus in
261, but it did not obtain complete recognition and toleration till after
the couversion of Constantine the Great in 313.
II.] AyTE-XICENE RITUAL. 77
God shall I make, since, if you think rightly, man himself
is the image of God ? What temple shall I build to Him,
when the whole world, fashioned by His work, cannot
receive Him? And when I, a man, dwell far and wide
shall I shut up the might of so great majesty within one
little building? Were it not better that He should be
dedicated in our minds, consecrated in our inmost heart?
Shall I offer victims and sacrifices to the Lord, such as He
has produced for my use, that I should throw back to Him
His own gifts? Is it ungrateful when the victim fit for
sacrifice is a good disposition, and a pure mind, and a good
conscience ? Therefore, he who cultivates innocence sup-
plicates God- he who cultivates justice makes offerings to
God ; he who abstains from fraudulent practices propitiates
God; he who snatches men from danger slaughters the
most acceptable victim. These are our sacrifices; these
are our rites of God's worship ; thus, among us, he who
is the more just is the more religious.' ^
The same charge against Christians is referred to,
and is met in a similar manner, in the writings of
Arnobius.^ Yet some buildings set apart for Divine
worship must have existed in the third century, when
we find St. Cyprian reproaching a rich woman for
coming into the Lord's house without a sacrifice.^
Churches are also mentioned by Tertullian * and
Origen ^ under the names of 'ecclesia' and 'domus
Dei.' Both Eusebius ^ and Optatus '^ refer to the
' Octaz'ius, capp. xxvi., xxxii. ; F. L., torn. iii. col. 339.
- Disputatioiies adv. Geiites, bks. vi., viii.
* ' Qute in dominicum sine sacrificio venis,' Lib. de opere et clecmosynis,
cap. XV. ; P. L., torn. iv. col. 613.
* De Idololatria, cap. vii. ; P. L., torn. i. col. 699.
' Horn. X. in Libritm Jesii Nave, § 3 ; /". 6'., torn. xii. col. 881.
* Hisi. Eccles., lib. x. capp. ii., iii., etc.
' Optatus mentions the existence of forty churches at Rome at this
78 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
existence of many churches at Rome and elsewhere at
the beginning of the fourth century ; and Constantine,
in his letter to Eusebius on the subject of building
Christian churches, refers to the small size and the
ruin of previously existing sacred buildings.^
We now pass to the consideration of certain pas-
sages in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, in which
the word ' altar ' {OvmaaTi'ifiiov) occurs, and which are
sometimes quoted in connection with this subject to
prove that Christians had altars in the second century,
St. Ignatius, writing to the Ephesians, says —
(<?) ' Let no man be deceived. If any one be not within
[the precincts of] the altar, he lacketh the bread of God.' -
Writing to the Magnesians, he says—
{d) ' Hasten to come together all of you as to one temple,
even God ; as to one altar, even to one Jesus Christ, who
came forth from one Father, and is with One, and departeth
unto One.' ^
Writing to the Trallians, he says —
(/) ' He that is within [the precincts of] the altar is clean ;
he that doeth aught without the bishop, the presbytery, and
the deacon, this man is not clean in his conscience.' ^
(d) Writing to the Romans, he says —
' Grant me nothing more than that I may be poured
out a libation to God, while there is still an altar ready.' ^
time (De Schismate Donatistaruin, lib. ii, cap. 4 ; F. L., torn. xi.
col. 951)-
1 Theodoret, Hist. Eccles., lib. i. cap. 14 ; P. G., torn. Ixxii., col.951,
- 'Y.vrhs Tov dv(riaffT7)piov, cap. v.
' 'ns (ttI ev 6vcrta(TT7}ptov, cap. vii.
* 'Evrhs dvffiaaTTipiov, cap. vii.
* 'Cis in GvaiaaTrjpiov '^Toifiov iarty, cap. ii.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 79
{e) Writing to the Philadelphians, he says —
'Be ye careful, therefore, to observe one Eucharist (for
there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup unto
union in His blood ; there is one altar, as there is one bishop,
together with the presbytery and the deacons, my fellow-
servants), that whatsoever ye do, ye may do it after God.' ^
(/) Polycarp, writing to the Philippians, says —
' Our widows must be sober-minded as touching the
faith of the Lord, . . . knowing that they are God's altar,
and that all sacrifices are carefully inspected, and that
nothing escapeth Him either of their thoughts or intents,
or any of the secret things of the heart.' -
Of these six passages four of them, {b), {c), {d),
and (/), are obviously metaphorical, {a) may be
literal ; but if so the word altar must mean the
church, or that portion of the church within which
the altar stands.^ (e) must be classed as meta-
phorical,^ but the employment of this metaphor may
be taken to prove that the word * altar ' was not
unfamiliar to the Christian ear in connection with
the Eucharistic service.
The word altar ialtare) ^ occurs in the following
' ""El/ 6vina(TTi^ptov, cap. iv. " Qvaiaarripiot' Qeov, cap. iv.
' 'Altar' is used in this sense in the 19th and 44th canons of the
Council of Laodicea, A.D. 320 (Mansi, Co/id/, torn. ii. coll. 587, 589).
* So Bp. Lightfoot, Apostolic Fathers, vol. ii. p. 258, 2nd ed.
(London, 1889).
* Boj^bs (like altarc — raised place) is generally used in the LXX.
and earUer Greek Fathers for heathen altars {e.g. i Mace. i. 54, and
Clem. Alex., Strom., vii. 717), and ara (? = place of victim), its
equivalent in the Vulgate, is also sometimes rejected as heathen {e.g.
Min. Felix, Octavius, cap. 32). But dvffiaar'fipiou (= place of offering,
whether bloody or unbloody) seems from the beginning to have had a
wider application than to heathen or even Hebrew rites (cf. Matt. v.
24; Heb. xiii. 10; Ign. Phil, iv., and Mag. vii. Diet, of C.A., i. 61).
So LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
passage of Irenaeus, where still the reference may
be to the heavenly rather than to the earthly altar : —
' We offer to Him, not as standing in need of an offering,
but giving thanks for His rule, and sanctifying His creature.
. . . Thus He wills that we accordingly should offer the
gift at His altar frequently, without intermission. There
is, therefore, an altar in heaven, for thither our prayers and
oblations are addressed,' etc.^
The word ' altar ' is used by St. Clement of Alex-
andria, in a metaphorical sense to denote ' the
assembly of worshippers.' ^
In Africa, in the time of Tertullian and St. Cyprian,
the word * altar' in its literal signification had come
into established use. Tertullian speaks of ' the altar
of God.' ^ St. Cyprian says —
' Another altar cannot be reared, a new priesthood can-
not be constituted, beside the one altar, and the one priest-
hood. He who gathers [people] elsewhere scatters.'*
And again —
* As if after ministering at the altars (aras) of the devil it
were lawful to approach the altar of God.' ^
So he speaks of the altar being placed in the
church,*' of assisting at God's altar,'' of the sacerdotal
> Contra ILcrcs, lib. iv. cap. xviii. § 6.
" Siromala,\ih. vii. cap. 6 ; P. C, ix. 443.
* 'Ara Dei,' De Oratione, cap. xix. ; P. Z., i. 1182. Eede uses
allare for the Christian 'altar,' and ara for a heathen altar (C.
Plummer's ed., vol. ii. p. 60) ; but this distinction of words was not
always observed by the African writers.
■* Jip. xl. p. 53. The preceding sentence on the unity of the Church
should be read.
'•" Ep. Ixiv. See also £fp- xlii., Iv.
" Ep. xlii. p. 56, ' Ep. Iviii. p. 96.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. Si
order being wholly occupied in serving at the altar
and at the sacrifice ; ^ of one who is an enemy to the
altar, and a rebel against the sacrifice of Christ.^
Origen also speaks of the altar and its adornment,^
and of altars.^
Instances of the use of the word ' table,' or ' holy
table,' are rare in ante-Nicene literature, but the two
following instances can be adduced from the writings
of Dionysius of Alexandria. In a letter addressed
to Basilides, he says —
' In former days, as seems most probable, women used to
enter the sanctuary and partake of the holy table.' ^
In another letter addressed to Xystus II., Bishop
of Rome, he refers to 'one who has heard the words of
the Eucharist, and has joined in uttering the " Amen,"
and has stood by the table, and has extended his
hands to receive the holy food,' etc. "
In the Canons of Hippolytus the bishop communi-
cating the newly baptized is described as ' standing
at the table.''
There is no direct contemporary evidence as to the
material of which the altar or ' holy table ' was
' Ep. Ixvi. p. 114. ^ De Uftitaie Ecclesi(£,% xvii.p. 200.
^ Hom. X. in Librjcm Jesii N'ave, § 3 ; ^. G., xii. 881.
■* Ibid., § i. There is a very fine passage about the spiritual altar
(Ihici,, Mom. ix.).
^ Tc) ■ira\a.ibv elaripxofTO yvvaiKes «is rh Ovffiaariipiov Kal anh ttjs ajtas
rpaTre^Tjs funKafifiavov. Gallandius, Bibliotheca, Vet. Pat. iii. 505.
©uo-iao-TTJpiof here is evidently not the altar, but the part of the church
where the holy table stood.
•^ Quoted by Eusebius, Hist, Eccles. lib, vii. cap. 9 (ed, Oxford,
1856), p. 227.
' * Stans ad mensam,' Canon xix. § 143.
82 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
made ; but from later references to the introduction
of stone altars, and to the existence of wooden altars
in the fourth century, and later, it is evident that
the earliest material was wood.^
The only other article of Church furniture of which
we have certain mention is the ' pulpit,' or * ambo,*
from which the gospel was read.'-^
Indirectly it may be inferred that a font was em-
ployed, when among the works of St. Cyprian we
find an African bishop speaking of water consecrated
in the church by the prayer {prex) of the priest.^
§ 5. Confession. — There is no trace of private
confession to a priest, as a sacramental ordinance of
obligation in the ante-Nicene Church, but public
confession in the presence of the clergy and of the
congregation was part of the disciplinary or peniten-
tial system of the early Church, and was in constant
practice. The name by which it was known was
not ' confessio,' but * exomologesis/ a word found in
the writings of Tertullian,'^ St. Cyprian,^ and Origen.*^
' Heales(A), T/w Ai'cJncology of the Christian Altar (l^onCton, 18S1),
p. 4, where see references in footnotes.
- Cyprian, Ep. xxxiii. ; P.L., iv. 38S. The Latin word is ' pulpitum.'
* The bishop was Sedatus of Thuburbum [Sententiic fpiscoporiiiii de
hicreticis baptizandis). No. 18, p. 332.
* Exomologesis est qua delictum Domino nostrumlconfitemur, etc. (/A'
Fcenit€ntia,caY>- i^- 5 ^' '^'•> '• 1243. The whole chapter should be read),
'" De Lapsis, p. igo ; Epp. x. ad Martyres, p. 20; xiii. ad Clcrinii,
p. 23 ; xi. ad Plebem, p. 2i ; Hi. ad Antonianuiii, p. 71, etc.
" Select, in Psalm cxxxv. torn. ii. p. 833. ' Sed si malorum tibi
conscius ali(iuorum fueris, noli occultare, sed per exomologesim, id
est, confessionem revela ea Domino, et spera in eum, et ipse facict '
[Select, in Psalm xxxvi., Horn. i. § 5, torn. ii. p. 659. The rest
of the passage should be read). The word e|o^oAo7T)fns does not occur
in the N.T., but i^ofxoAoyuaQai occurs frequently.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 83
St. Ignatius speaks of the Lord forgiving all penitent
persons if they have recourse to the unity of God and
the council of the bishop.^ Submission to the pres-
byters is counselled by St. Clement.^
Tertullian describes the penitent as ' throwing him-
self on the ground before the presbyters.' The whole
passage must be quoted ; it will be seen that it is the
description of a public and not of a private act.
'This confession is a disciplinary act of great humiliation
and prostration of the man ; it regulates the dress^ the food ;
it enjoins sackcloth and ashes ; it defiles the body with
dust, and subdues the spirit with anguish ; it bids a man
alter his life, and sorrow for past sin ; it restricts meat and
drink to the greatest simplicity possible ; it nourishes
prayer by fasting ; it inculcates groans and tears and invo-
cations of the Lord God day and night, and teaches the
penitent to cast himself at the feet of the presbyters, and to
fall on his knees before the beloved of God, and to beg of
all the brethren to intercede on his behalf ^
Sackcloth and ashes as part of the symbols of
penitence are also mentioned by Commodianus.^
St. Cyprian speaks of confession made before the
priests of God,^ and of remission thus obtained being
pleasing in God's sight.''
Origen's allusions to confession are either expressly
* Ad Philad. cap. viii. - Ep. i. cap. 57.
^ De Pixnitentia, cap. ix.
■* His hexameters, which are difficuU to scan, are these — •
' Idcirco commoneo vulneratos cautius ire
Barbam coniamque foedare in pulvere terra;
VoUitarique saccis et petere summo de rege.'
Instrudiones, xlix, ; P. L., v. 239.
* ' Apud sacerdotes Dei confitentes,' etc. {De Lapsh, \>]y. 190, 191).
" Il)id., cap, 29.
84 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
or inferentially connected with public discipline. He
exhorts sinners —
'Look around diligently for one to whom you should
confess your sins ; ' ^ to find a physician ' learned and
merciful, who will judge if the sickness is of such a nature
that it ought to be exposed in the meeting of the whole
Church.' 2 And again —
' If we reveal our sins not only to God, but also to those
who can heal our sins and wounds, our sins will be blotted
out by Him who says, '* Behold, I will blot out like a cloud." ^
' Consider,' he says, ' what the Holy Scripture teaches
us ; that we ought not to conceal our sin within our
own breast. For, perhaps, as they who are inwardly
oppressed with the humour of phlegm or undigested meat,
which lies heavy upon the stomach, if they vomit it up, are
relieved ; so they who have sinned, if they hide and con-
ceal their sin within themselves, are inwardly oppressed,
and almost suffocated with the phlegm and humour of sin ;
but if any one become his own accuser and confess his sin,
in so doing he, as it were, vomits up his sin, and digests and
removes the cause of his distemper. Only be circumspect
in the choice of him to whom it will be fit to confess thy sin.
Try first the physician to whom thou art to reveal the
cause of thy distemper, and see that he be one who knows
how to be weak with him that is weak, and weep with him
that weeps ; one who understands the disciphne of con-
soling and compassionating ; that so, at length, if he shall
say anything, who hath first shewed himself to be both a
skilful and a merciful physician, and give thee counsel, thou
mayest observe and follow it. If he discerns and foresees
^ Horn, in Psalm xxxvii, § 6, torn. ii. p. 688.
* Jbid.^ xxvi. § 6, torn. ii. p. 688; P. C, xii. 1386.
^ Horn, in Luc. xvii. torn. iii. p. 953. See also Horn. ii. in Lcvit.,
torn. ii. p. 191, and Horn viii. in LiviL, toni. ii. p. 228. The whole
of this laUer homily should be read through. See also a curious inter-
pretation of St. John XX. 23 in Dc Orationc, § 28, torn. i. p, 255.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL, 85
thy distemper to be such as will need to be declared and
cured in the full assembly of the Church, whereby, perhaps,
others may be edified, and thou thyself healed, this is to
be done with great deliberation, and the prudent advice
of such a physician.' ^
This private confession to a presbyter was, then,
not with the view to obtaining immediate and private
absolution, but with the view of obtaining advice or
direction as to whether a person should seek absolu-
tion after public confession in the open penitential
system of the Church. Quotations both from Ter-
tullian and Origen — especially from the latter, from
whose writings more passages bearing on the subject
might be culled — must be read with their context,
and read as a whole, in order to be understood. If
isolated, or read in the light of the practice of later
centuries, they might sometimes be supposed to
refer to private confession and absolution, whereas
they are connected with the ancient public peni-
tential system of the primitive Church.
Forgiveness following on * exomologesis ' or con-
fession to God only is described by Origen in Horn. i.
in Psalm xxxvi. § 5, tom. ii. p. 659.
In the following curious passage ^ Origen enume-
rates seven different ways as provided in the Gospels
for obtaining absolution from sin : —
' I. The first is that by which we are baptized for the
remission of sins.
2. The second remission is in suffering martyrdom.
3. The third remission is that which is given for alms-
' Horn. ii. in Psalm xxxvii. § 6, tom. ii. p. 6SS.
* Horn. ii. in Lcvit. § 4, tom. ii. p. 190,
85 LITURGY OF ANTE- NICE NE CHURCH. [II.
giving ; for the Saviour says, *' But [rather] give alms [of such
things as ye have] ; and, behold, all things are clean to you." ^
4. The fourth remission of sins accrues to us in return
for our forgiving the sins of our brethren. For thus speaks
our Lord and Saviour : " For if ye forgive men their tres-
passes, your heavenly Father will also forgive you : but if
ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses. ^ And as he has taught
us to say in prayer, " Forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors." ^
5. The fifth remission of sins takes place when any one
converts a sinner from the error of his ways, for thus saith
Holy Scripture : " He which converteth the sinner from the
error of his way shall save his soul from death, and shall
hide a multitude of sins." ''
6.. The sixth remission takes place through abounding
love, as the Lord Himself saith, "Verily I say unto thee. Her
sins, which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved much." ^
7. There is also still a seventh remission of sins, though
hard and laborious, through penitence, when the sinner
waters his couch with his tears, and his tears become his
meat day and night, and when he is not ashamed to lay
bare his sin to the priest of the Lord, and to seek medicine,
according to him who saith, " I will confess my sins unto
the Lord, and so thou forgivest the wickedness of my sin." "
Wherein is fulfilled too that which James the Apostle saith,
"Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the
Church ; and let them lay their hands upon him, anointing
him with oil in the Name of the Lord : and the prayer of
faith shall save the sick ; and if he have committed sins,
they shall be forgiven him." ' "'
' St. Luke xi. 41. - St. Matt. vi. 14, 15. ^ St. Matt. vi. 12.
'' St. James v. 20, but reading 'sa'.vat' and 'cooperit.'
^ St. Luke vii. 47.
" Ps. xxxii. 6, but reading ' et tu remisisti impietatem cordis mei.'
' St. James v. 14, 15.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 87
It is strange that while enumerating the different
modes of obtaining remission of sins under the
gospel dispensation, Origen should not have added
as an eighth mode, the partaking of the Eucharistic
cup, of which our Lord said, ' Drink ye all of it, for
this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins.' ^ It is also
strange that in support of number seven he should
not have quoted St. John xx. 23 and St. James v. 16,
instead of or in addition to Ps. xxxii. 6 and St.
James v. 14, 15.
§ 6. Confirmation.— During the whole of the
period of which we are treating Baptism and Con-
firmation were closely connected, the latter being
always administered immediately after the former,
whatever might be the age of the person baptized
and confirmed. Origen unites, almost identifies,
the two ordinances in the following sentence : —
' In the Acts of the Apostles the Holy Spirit was given
in baptism through the imposition of the hands of the
Apostles.' ^
Hence, it is not always easy to separate baptism
from confirmation, or to distinguish the baptismal
unction from the unction of confirmation. Indeed,
the one unction with chrism of earlier days developed
into two unctions in later days ; and in still later
days an interval of years came to separate the two
rites ; and the imposition of hands, of which we
have clear proof in primitive times, dropped out of
1 St. Matt. xxvi. 27, 28.
- De Priiicipiis, lib. i. cap. 3, § 2 ; Z'. 6^., xi. 147.
88 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
use altogether, so far as confirmation is concerned,
in both the Western and Eastern Churches.^
In the Acts of Thomas ' the seal of the bath ' is
immediately followed by the reception of 'the seal
of oil.' 2
The following description of Baptism, Confirma-
tion, and First Communion is taken from the Canons
of Hippolytus (Canon xix.) : —
§§ 112. The time is to be about cock-crow.
113-115. Unvesting of the candidates for baptism.
116-118. Consecration]of two oils by the bishop, and the
delivery of them to the presbyter, viz. * the oil of exorcism '
and ' the oil of unction or thanksgiving.'
119. The candidate is directed to face westward and to
renounce Satan.
120. Unction by the presbyter with the oil of exorcism.
121. 122. The candidate faces eastward, and declares his
belief in Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
123-133. Then he enters the water, and the presbyter,
laying his hand on the candidate's head, immerses him
thrice, asking him at each immersion whether he believes
in the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity, successively,
the presbyter repeating the formula of baptism at each
immersion.
134. Then the presbyter anoints him with the oil of
thanksgiving, in the name of the Trinity, and in the form
of the cross, on the forehead, mouth, breast, whole body,
head, and face.
' An imposition of hands is retained to this day in the Roman
Church, as part of the baptismal office, as testified liy tiie rubric,
' Mox imponlt manum super caput infantis ; ' but it has disappeared
for centuries from the Order of Confirmation. This baptismal imposi-
tion of hands is, however, totally unconnected both in origin and
meaning with tiie laying on of hamls in confirmation.
* Caps. 26, 27, p. 20.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 89
135. The candidate is wiped, clothed, and introduced
into the church.
136-139- The bishop lays his hands on the heads of all
the recently baptized, with prayer.^
139, 140. The bishop signs each of them on the forehead
with the sign of the cross, and gives to each the kiss of
peace, this mutual salvation passing —
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with thy spirit.
141. The kiss of peace is then exchanged between the
newly-baptized and all the congregation.
142-147. The bishop then communicates them with the
reserved eucharistic elements, separately, using these for-
mulae of administration.
Bishop. This is the body of Christ.
R. Amen.
Bishop. This is the blood of Christ.
R. Amen.
^148. The candidates then partake of milk and honey,
which have been brought in chalices by the presbyters,
or, in their absence, by the deacons. The milk and honey
are represented as having a double symbolism ; firstly, as
teaching the, newly baptized that they are babes in Christ;
secondly, as typifying the world to come, and the sweetness
of all good things.
149. They are now designated ' Christiani perfect! ' —
'perfect Christians.'
Tertullian, in his treatise De Baptisuio, describes
baptism as consisting of three parts: (i) Immersion
in water ; (2) anointing with oil ; (3) imposition of
hands. After describing the first part, he proceeds —
* Then on stepping forth from the font we are anointed
' The words of this prayer will be found in chap. iii. § 10 {a).
90 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
with consecrated oil. This is a custom derived from the
Old Testament dispensation, in which men used to be
anointed to the priesthood with oil out of a horn, since
the time when Aaron was anointed by Moses, from which
he is called " a christ," from the chrism, that is, the unction
employed ; and this unction gave his name to our Lord,
being spiritually performed, because he was anointed with
the Spirit by God the Father, as it is written in the Acts,
" For of a truth against Thy holy Child Jesus, whom Thou
hast anointed, were they gathered together." ^ Thus, in
our case also, though the unction takes place in the flesh,
the benefit is spiritual, just as in baptism itself the immer-
sion in water is a carnal transaction, but the effect is
spiritual, namely, the deliverance from our sins. After
that, the hand is laid upon us, invoking and inviting the
Holy Ghost. If human skill can bring wind into water,
and then by application of hands from above can make
the conjunction of those elements breathe out another
wind which produces a loud music, shall we say that God
is unable in his own organ [i.e. man] by means of holy
hands to awaken strains of spiritual sublimity? This rite
also comes from the Old Testament dispensation, in which
it is recorded how Jacob blessed his grandsons by Joseph,
Ephraim and Manasseh, by placing his hands upon their
heads, and at the same time crossing them so as to
represent Christ, and to foreshadow the blessing which
was to come through Him. Then that most Holy Spirit
comes down willingly from the Father upon the bodies
which have been cleansed and blessed.' -
Elsewhere Tertullian refers to the same rite in
a passage which has been already quoted.^
St. Clement of Alexandria advances a curious
' Acts iv. 27.
- De Baptisnio, capp. vii., viii. ; P. L., i. 1206-1209.
^ De Kesurrec. Carnis, cap. viii. ; P. L., ii. 806, See p. 68.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 91
argument against the use of false hair. He con-
demns it, because when the presbyter lays on his
hands [in confirmation] and blesses, he will not
be laying his hands upon the woman who is so
adorned, but on some one else's hair, and so upon
somebody else.^
St. Cyprian of Carthage frequently and plainly
alludes to the imposition of hands. He writes —
* And, therefore, because they {i.e. the Samaritans)
received legitimate and ecclesiastical baptism, there was
no need for them to be further baptized, but that only was
wanting which was done for them by Peter and John, viz.
the invoking and the outpouring on them of the Holy
Spirit, with prayer on their behalf, and the laying on of
hands. This custom is also now observed among ourselves.
Those who are baptized in the church are brought to the
chief officers of the church, and through our prayers and
the imposition of hands receive the Holy Spirit, and are
consummated with the sign [or seal] of the Lord ' \i.e. the
sign of the cross.] -
Again, arguing that, if the validity of heretical
baptism is admitted, the validity of heretical con-
firmation must be admitted as well, he employs
these words —
* If they attribute the effect of baptism to the majesty
of the name, so that those who are baptized in the Name
of Jesus Christ, anywhere and anyhow, are to be con-
sidered renewed, and consecrated, why does not the
baptized person, in the Name of the same Christ, receive
the imposition of hands also there, to the receiving of the
Holy Ghost ? Why does not the same majesty of the
> Padagog., lib. iii. p. 291. ^ Ep. 73, p. 132.
93 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
same Name avail in the imposition of hands, which, as
they contend, availed in the baptismal consecration ? '
And so on, pursuing the argument at great length.^
He also wrote thus to Jubaianus —
' This is our custom now. Those who are baptized in
church are brought to the presidents of the church that
they may receive the Holy Spirit by our prayer, and by the
imposition of our hands, and that they may receive the sign
of the Lord.' ^
At the Carthaginian council of eighty-seven
bishops, who supported St. Cyprian in his attitude
on the question of the re-baptism of heretics,
Nemesianus of Thubunae said —
'Our Lord Christ spoke with His own Divine voice,
saying, " Except a man be born again of water and the
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." This
is the Spirit which moved in the beginning over the water.
For neither can the Spirit work separately without the
water, nor the water without the Spirit, It is, therefore,
a wrong interpretation which some give, who say that they
ought to receive the Holy Ghost by the imposition of
hands, and so be admitted into the Church, when it is
manifest that they ought to be born again, by both sacra-
ments of the Catholic Church.' •'
On the same occasion Secundinus of Carpos (or
Carpis) said that —
'It is impossible for the Holy Ghost to descend
through the imposition of hands alone upon strange
children, and the progeny of Antichrist, it being clear that
heretics have no baptism.' *
» Ep. 74, p. 139. - //'/(/., 72, p. 132.
' Cypriani Opera, p. 330. •• Ibid., p. 333.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 93
Firmilian, Bishop of Csesarea in Cappadocia,
writing to St. Cyprian in support of the Cyprianic
attitude on the subject of the validity of heretical
baptism, thus bears witness to the rite of laying
on of hands in confirmation in Asia Minor, in the
middle of the third century —
' Heretics, if they cut themselves off from the Church
of God, can have no power or grace at all, since all power
and grace is placed in the Church in which elders preside
(ubi praesident majores natu), v/ho have the power both
of baptizing, and of laying on of hands, and of ordaining.
For as a heretic may not ordain, nor lay on hands, so
neither may he baptize, nor perform anything in a holy
and spiritual manner, since he is an alien from spiritual
and Divine holiness. . . . Forasmuch as Stephen [Bishop
of Rome, 253-257] and those who think with him contend
that remission of sins and the second birth can take place
in the baptism of heretics, among whom they themselves
confess that there is no Holy Ghost, let them consider and
understand that there cannot be any spiritual birth without
the Spirit. Accordingly the blessed Apostle Paul baptized
again with spiritual baptism those who had been baptized
by John before the Holy Ghost was sent by the Lord, and
so laid his hand upon them that they might receive the
Holy Ghost. . . . Was Paul less great than these bishops
of to-day, that they should be able to give the Holy Ghost
to heretics who come over by the imposition of hands
alone, while Paul was not qualified to give the Holy Ghost
to those baptized by John by imposition of hands, with-
out first having also baptized them with the Church's
baptism ? ' ^
' What does Stephen mean by saying that those baptized
' Inter Cypiiani Epstolas, No. Ixxv., Opera, p. 145.
94 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
among heretics have with them the presence and sanctity
of Christ ? If the Apostle does not lie when he says, "As
many of you as are baptized into Christ have put on Christ,"
then surely he who is baptized into Christ then has put on
Christ. But, if he has put on Christ, he could also have
received the Holy Ghost, who has been sent by Christ,
and it is vain to lay hands upon him on coming over, that
he may receive the Spirit, unless Christ and the Spirit can
be so divided, as to let heretics have Christ among them,
but not the Holy Ghost.' ^
* If baptism outside the church availed in the name of
Christ for purifying the man, the laying on of hands might
also have availed there in the Name of the same Christ
for receiving the Holy Ghost.' "
The whole letter, which is a long one, should be
read. It dates from a time before it was anywhere
thought or said ' Roma locuta est, causa est finita,'
although in this particular controversy the Roman
view, as maintained by Stephen, has justly and
universally prevailed over the African view upheld
by Cyprian, and over the Asiatic view, agreeing with
the African, and upheld by Firmilian. But our
purpose in quoting these passages has been to prove
that the laying on of hands was the outward sign
of confirmation in the African and in the Eastern
Church in the middle of the third century.
The third Council of Carthage, A.D. 256, distinctly
mentions the imposition of hands (in confirmation)
as following after baptism, and as connected with
the gift of the Holy Spirit.'^
* Inter Cypriani Epistolas, No. Ixxv., Opera, p. 147.
2 Jliid,, p. 148.
' Canons, 5, 24 ; Mansi, Conci/, torn. i. cols. 953, 956.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 95
In the synodical letter sent by St. Cyprian and
his colleagues from Carthage in the same year,
addressed to St. Stephen, Bishop of Rome, they
inform him that they have decided that, in the case
of converts from heresy, it was not sufficient to
receive them by the imposition of hands for the
reception of the Holy Ghost, but that it was neces-
sary that they should receive the baptism of the
Church as well.^
But, as has been already stated, the Roman view
and practice prevailed against the practice of the
Church of Africa ; e.g. we find the Synod of Aries
in Gaul, A.D. 314, laying down in its eighth canon
that in the case of converts from heresy, if it be
proved that they have been baptized in the Name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost, they should be received into the Church with
the imposition of hands only, that they may receive
the Holy Ghost.^
Origen refers twice to this subject, but both times
historically to the practice as recorded in the New
Testament. These passages prove that the laying
on of hands was sometimes spoken of as part of
baptism, sometimes as following after baptism. They
do not prove, but they go some way to imply, that
the laying on of hands was practised in Egypt in
Origen's day ; at least, if it had dropped into desue-
tude, we might have expected some reference to the
* Ep. Ixxii. inter Cypriani Opera, p. 128.
- Hefele (C. J.), A History of the C/iristiaii Councils, 2nd ed.
(Edinburgli, 1872), p. 188.
96 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
fact, if not some explanation of the reason. He
says —
' In the Acts of the Apostles, through the laying on of
the apostolic hands, the Holy Ghost was given in baptism.' ^
And again —
' Lastly, it is for this reason that the grace and revelation
of the Holy Ghost were delivered through the laying on
of the hands of the Apostles after baptism.' ^
We obtain information, incidentally, through
Clement of Alexandria, that imposition of hands
was practised by the Gnostics, in connection with
baptism, in the middle of the second century.
Theodotus, the Valentinian, giving a fanciful inter-
pretation of I Cor. XV. 29, mentions that the formula
which accompanied the imposition of hands in his
sect included the phrase 'into angelic redemption.'^
In the Apostolic Constitutions confirmation is still
spoken of under the title of * the laying on of hands.' ^
We will for once travel beyond our proper time
limit to say that the latest Eastern Father who is
quoted as testifying to this practice of laying on of
hands is St. Athanasius (ob. 373), who says —
'Likewise also all the saints having received the Holy
Spirit in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
* Dc Frincipiis, lib. i. cap. iii., § 2 ; P. C, xi, 147.
- 3id., § 7; i7>id., 153.
^ Atb Kal ej* tt7 Xf*po^«'''^o'^f7''i/(ri«' eirl TfAous' Eis KvTpwcriv ayyeXiK^v,
rovr i<niv, %v koI ayye\oi ex"""'"'? Inter Opera, Clem. Alex., p. 974.
* Xeipo^to-ia, lib. ii. cap. 32. The word occurs twice in this chapter.
It occurs again in lib. vii. cap. 44, where the imposition of hands is
stated to be a necessary sequel of baptism. The word for ' confirmation '
in a modern Greek service book is xp^o't^a.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 97
the Holy Ghost, through the laying on of the hands of
the priest of God, are restored to that primitive state in
which they were before Adam fell.' ^
Western evidence for the practice continues to a
much later date — as late as the twelfth century —
but with gradually dwindling frequency and force.
A passage from St. Jerome is so exactly descriptive
of modern Anglican practice that we venture to
quote it. It is put into the mouth of an orthodox
person disputing with a Luciferian.
' I do not deny that this is the usage of the churches,
that the bishop should make excursions to those who have
been baptized a long way off in the smaller towns by
presbyters and deacons, to lay his hands upon them for
the invoking of the Holy Ghost. But if the bishop lays
on his hands, he lays them upon those who have been
baptized in the right faith.' -
St. Isidore of Seville entitled a chapter (cap. 26)
in his second book on Ecclesiastical Offices ' Of the
Imposition of Hands or Confirmation,' and opens it
thus — ■
' But since after baptism the Holy Spirit is given through
the bishops along with the imposition of hands,' etc.^
Evidence for the use of unction in confirmation
' De Trinitate et Spiritu Sancto, § 21 ; P. tr., xxvi. 1 21 7.
- Dialogus contra Liiciferianos, §9; /'. Z., xxiii. 164. We are
indebted for this, as well as for other quotations on this subject, to Dr.
A. J. Mason's work on The Relation of Coiifirmation to Baptis/n
(London, 1890).
^ The plural word ' manum ' is, contrary to the general rule, used
liere. Ilitcorpius, Dc Cathol. Eccks. Dh'in, Offic. (RomK, 1591),
P- 31-
H
9S LITURGY OF AXTE-NICEXE CHURCH. [II.
has been already given in a passage from Tertullian.^
Elsewhere he says —
' As soon as we are come out of the water we are
anointed with the blessed unction, and then we receive
imposition of hands, invocating the Holy Spirit by a
benediction.' -
Origan mentions unction when he speaks of ' all
those baptized with visible water and visible chrism,' ^
drawing no clear line of demarcation between the
unction of baptism and the unction of confirma-
tion.
In both the Greek and Roman Churches, while the
unction remains, the use of -the imposition of hands
has disappeared for many centuries.
For the use of the sign of the cross in confirmation,
see next paragraph.
§ 7. Sign of the Cross. — The sign of the cross
was in constant use among the early Christians, not
only in baptism and confirmation or while praying,
but also as an accompaniment of the commonest
actions of everyday life. They thought that they
saw or could sec the sign of the cross almost any-
where and everywhere. Justin Martyr bade people
see it in the cross masts of a ship, in the cross handle
of a plough, in the shape of tools used by diggers
and mechanics, in the shape of the human form as
it stands erect with arms extended,'* and especially
' Dc Kesurrcdioiw Carnis, cap. 8 ; P. /,., ii. S06. Sec p. 68.
- Dc Baptistno^ caps. 7, 8 ; P, L., i. 1206, 1207.
^ In Rom. V. §8; /'. G., xiv. 1038.
'■ Apol. i. cap. Iv. ; /'. 6'., vi. 41 1.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. gg
in the case of the extended arms of Moses while the
Israelites defected the Amalekites.^
Tertullian describes how
' In all our travels and movements, in all our coming in
and going out, in putting on our shoes, at the bath, at
the table, in lighting our candles, in lying down, whatever
employment occupies us, we mark our foreheads with the
sign of the cross.' -
In deprecating mixed marriages, he asks how the
Christian wife will be able to escape detection by
the heathen husband, when she makes the sign of
the cross over her body, or over her bed, or to banish
evil thoughts, or when she rises at night to pray.''
St. Cyprian, speaking of the necessity for the
Christian to be armed at all points, says —
' Let thy forehead be protected that the sign of the cross
may be preserved intact.'*
This may be either a general reference to the
use of the sign of the cross, or a special reference
to its use in confirmation, about which he elsewhere
"says that —
'Those who are baptized are brought to the bishops
{prcepositis) of the Church, and obtain the Holy Spirit
through our prayer and the imposition of hands, and are
consummated by the sign of the Lord.' ''
Minucius Felix says —
' We see the sign of the cross naturally in a ship, borne
' DiaL cum Tryphonc, capp. xci, xcvii. ; P. G,, vi. 690, 703.
- De Corona Militis, cap. iii. ; P% /.., ii. 80.
" Ad Uxorein, lib. ii. cap. v. | /-". /.., i. 1296.
* Ep. hi. p. 93. " J'p, ix.xiii, p. 132.
loo LITURGY OF ANTE-NIC ENE CHURCH. [ll.
along with bellying sails; we see it when the ship glides
forward with outstretched oars, and when the yard is
hoisted ; we see it when a pure-hearted man worships God
with extended arms.' ^
Origen thought that the shape of the letter tan
' bore a resemblance to the figure of the cross, and that
therein was contained a prophecy of the sign which is
made by Christians upon the foreheads, for all the faithful
make this sign in commencing any undertaking, and espe-
cially at the commencement of prayer or of reading Holy
Scripture.' '^
In early Acts of the Saints reference is made to
the use of this sign in offering prayer ; ^ it was made
by Thecla on leaving her mother's home.^
A two-fold symbolism is ascribed to it in the
Canons of Hippolytus — firstly, as a sign of conquest
over Satan ; secondly, as a sign of glorying in our
faith.''
The sign of the cross was, as we have seen,'' con-
nected with baptism. St. Cyprian speaks of 'those
persons who have been regenerated, and signed with
the sign of Christ,' '^ and says, ' Let thy brow be
fortified [with the cross] that the sign of God
\i.e. once imprinted at baptism] may be preserved
intact.'^
* Octavius, cap. 29, ed. 1672, p. 287.
- Select, jti Ezek., cap. ix. torn. iii. p. 424.
* Acts of Xanthippe, p. 62.
•* Acts of Paul and TJieclii,y.. 10; Grabe, ^<r/u7/<^'///w (Oxford, 1714),
p. 116.
'- Canon xxix. § 247, p. 134. See also § 245. " Page 68.
' Lib, ad De/>u'trianni?i, cap. xxii. ; F, /-., iv. 580.
* Ep. Iviii. [al. Ivi.] ; P. L., iv. 367.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. loi
It is referred to in the Apostolic Constitutions.^
Origen represents the devil at the Day of Judg-
ment claiming a man as his own in these words —
* Lo ! this man was called a Christian, and was signed
on the forehead with the sign of Christ; but he bore
my will and my mark in his heart. Behold a man who
renounced me and my works at his baptism, but again
occupied himself in my works, and obeyed my laws ! ' ^
§ 8. Exorcism. — No external action is mentioned
in the New Testament in connection with the act
of exorcising or casting out evil spirits (St. Matt,
xii. 2"] ; Acts xix. 13); but the practice of the im-
position of hands in connection with it evidently-
obtained at a very early date.
Origen speaks of the imposition of the hands of
the exorcists which unclean spirits found heavy
upon them.^
Vincentius of Thibaris mentions the imposition of
hands in exorcism as the first rite to be received
by a man on his way to become a full Christian.*
From this we gather that the imposition of hands
in exorcism was practised in Africa in the third
century.
All extant offices of exorcism mention and provide
for it ; but none of these offices, as we know them,
are ante-Nicene.
§ 9. Fasting. — Fasting on Wednesday and
' 'H ffcppayis avrl rov (rravpov, lib. iii. cap. xvii. p. 88.
- Select, ill. Fsalmos, Vs. xxxviii. ; Horn. ii. § 5, torn. ii. p. 698.
* Horn, in Jesu Fil. Nave, xxiv. cap. i ; P. G., xii. 940.
■• 'Inter Sententias Episcoporum Ixxxvii.,' ' De Htereticis Bapti-
zandis,' Cypriani Ofera, p. 334.
I02 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
Friday is recognized and ordered in the Teaching
of the Twelve Apostles —
' But let not your fasts be together with the hypocrites,
for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week ;
but fast ye on the fourth day [Wednesday], and on the
preparation day [Friday].' ^
The same injunction occurs in the Apostolic Con-
stitutions, with a very practical definition of the
object of fasting appended to it —
'We enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week
[Wednesday], and every day of the preparation [Friday],
and bestow the surplusage of your fast upon the needy.' -
The custom is mentioned by Tertullian,'^ by St.
Clement of Alexandria,^ and by Origen.^ In TJie
Shepherd of Hermas the reason for fasting is set
forth at greater length —
' This fasting,' saith lie, ' if the commandments of the
Lord are kept, is very good. This, then, is the way that
thou shalt keep the fast. First of all, keep thyself from
every evil word and every evil device, and purify thy
heart from all the vanities of this world. If thou keep
these things, thy fast shall be perfect for thee. And thus
shalt thou do. Having fulfilled what is written, on that
day on which thou fastest, thou shalt taste nothing but
• Didachc, cap. viii. § i.
2 Bk. V. cap. 20. In the same place fasting upon the Lord's day
and at certain other times is forbidden.
^ Lib. de Oratione, cap. 19, where he argues that the reception of the
Eucharist on tliese days {stationum dicbiis) does not break the fast ;
P. Z., i. I181.
■• Slromnia, lib. vii. cap. 12 ; P. G., ix. 504. Tiie whole chapter as
to the true meaning of the observance of Feast-dnys and Fast-days is a
beautiful one.
* Hom. x. tJi Lcvif., tom. ii. p. 246.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 103
bread and water ; and from thy meals which thou wouldest
have eaten, thou shalt reckon up the amount of that day's
expenditure, which thou wouldest have incurred, and shalt
give it to a widow, or an orphan, or to one in want, and
so shalt thou humble thy soul, that he that received from
thy humiliation may satisfy his own soul, and may pray
for thee to the Lord. If then thou shalt so accomplish
this fast, as I have commanded thee, thy sacrifice shall be
acceptable in the sight of God, and this fasting shall be
recorded ; and the service so performed is beautiful and
joyous, and acceptable to the Lord.' ^
The Apology of Aristides contains this passage,
among others, which describe the life of the early
Christians —
' If there is among them a man that is poor and needy,
and they have not an abundance of necessaries, they fast
two or more days, that they may supply the needy with
tlieir necessary food.' ^
An early reference to the strict view of the binding
character of the Wednesday and Friday fast, irre-
spective of eleemosynary considerations or other
such purposes, occurs in the Acts of St. Fructuosus.
When that saint was on the way to martyrdom, he
refused to touch a cup of wine offered him by his
friends, because it was only 10 a.m. on a Wednesday,
and he would not break the fast which on Wednesday
and Friday was protracted till 3 p.m.^
St. Peter of Alexandria explains the origin of
• Similitude, No. 5, § 3.
^ Cap. XV. p. 49. This chapter contains a beautiful description of
the simple, pure, self-denying life of the early Christians.
' Fnuliiosi Acta, p. 340.
I04 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
these two fast-days, saying that it was usual to fast
on Wednesday 'because of the Jews taking counsel
for the betrayal of our Lord,' and on Friday, 'because
He then suffered for our sakej ^
Origen says —
* We have the forty days of Lent {Qiiadragcsimcc dies)
consecrated to fasting ; we have the fourth and sixth days
of the week (Wednesday and Friday) on which to keep our
solemn fasts.' ^
Lent and Wednesdays and Fridays are mentioned
as times of fasting by Tertullian,^ in the Canons of
Hippolytus,* and, it may be added, in the later Apos-
tolic Canons, where they are ordered to be observed,
both by clergy and laity, under severe penalties.^
In the second century there was variety of custom
with regard to the duration of Lent, some observing
it for one day {i.e. Good Friday), some for two days
{i.e. Good Friday and Easter Even), some for more
days than these two, some for forty days.^
There are traces of a strict and continuous fast
being observed on Good Friday and Easter Even.
This was supposed to be literally carrying out our
Lord's words, 'But the days will come, when the
bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then
* Routh (M. J.)» ReUqticE Sacnr, 2nd ed. p. 45.
* Honi. X. in Levit., torn. i. p. 246.
* Lib. de Jejttniis, cap. xiv. ; F. Z., ii. 973.
* Canon xx. § 154. '" Canon 69.
* Irenaeus, Gr. Fiagm. iii., ed. W. W. Harvey (Cambridge, 1857),
tom. ii. p. 475. IrenDsus goes on to remark that diversity of practice in
this matter caused no break of friendship between the Eastern Polycarp,
the disciple of .St. John, and the Western Anicetus, Bishop of Rome,
though neither could win the other over to Ws practice.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL, 105
shall they fast.'^ It was a prolonged preparation
for the midnight celebration of the Eucharist on
Easter Morning. Lactantius speaks of the night of
Holy Saturday being passed in watchfulness on
account of the Saviour's body coming to life again,
and on account of the second coming of our Lord
and King.'^ Tertullian refers to the difficulty which
would be experienced by a Christian wife in absent-
ing herself all night from her heathen husband on
account of the paschal solemnities.^ The all-night
watch on Easter Even is specially mentioned in the
Canons of Hippolytus.^ Zosimus narrates that the
feast of the resurrection of the Lord is performed
with much watching, for we continue watching for
three days and three nights.^
Eor fasting as a preparation for the reception of
baptism, see p. 72 ; of the Holy Eucharist, see p. 127.
§ 10. The Eucharist. — We do not propose to
discuss fully the much-debated and difficult question
as to the time when the Liturgy of the Christian
Church was first committed to writing. But it should
be stated that there is not sufficient evidence to prove
the existence of any written liturgical books before
A.D. 325, and that there are certain facts and state-
ments which tend to disprove, without amounting to
positive disproof of their existence.
The facts referred to are these —
> St. Matt. ix. 15.
^ Div. Inslitt., lib. vii. ; De Vita Bcata, cap. xix. ; P. Z., vi. 797.
' Ad Uxorei/t, lib. ii. cap. iv. ; P. Z., i. 1294.
* Canon xxxviii. § 255, p. 136.
^ Narrative of Znsinms, cap. xii. ; A, C. Z., vol. for 1897, p. 222.
io6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICE NE CHURCH. [II.
There is no allusion to the surrender, or to any
demand for the surrender, of liturgical books during
the early persecutions, though the surrender, or the
demand for the surrender,, of copies of Holy Scripture
is frequently mentioned.
No appeal is made to the authority of a settled
liturgical text during the controversies of the first
three centuries.
Some phrases used in early descriptions of Christian
worship point to the extempore character of the
prayers used, e.g. in the Teaching of the Twelve
Apostles it is said —
'Suffer the prophets to giv^c thanks as iiiucli as i/uy 7i'/7/.' ^
Justin Martyr, describing the Eucharistic Service,
tells us that —
' Bread and a cup of wine mingled with water are then
hrought to the president of the brethren ; and he, taking
them, gives praise and glory to the Father of the universe
through the Name of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, and
offers iJiauks at considerable length for our being counted
worthy to receive these things at his hands.' ^
And in another description he says —
' When we have finished the prayer, bread and wine and
water are brought, and the president in like manner offers
prayers and t/ianksgivhigs with all his might.' ^
We have put in italics the phrases which seem to
' "OiTa QiKovaLv. This seems to mean ' in what words they will.'
El'xap'o'Ti'a and ivxa-pK^Ti'iv, having a general sense connected with
thanksgiving, as well as a technical sense connected with the Eucharist,
* are the cause of much ambiguity and ditticulty of interpretation.
2 First Apology, cap. Ixv. See p. 52.
* Ibid., cap. Ixvii. "Otrr; Siva/xis axnco lias also been translated
'according to his ability.' See p. 53.
II.] • ANTE'NICENE RITUAL. 107
imply, if they do not prove, the use of extempore
devotional language.
In the Acts of Thomas there is an extremely in-
teresting account of the communion of the newly
baptized, the Eucharist being celebrated for that
purpose by the Apostle, who is represented as em-
ploying words of consecration which are evidently
extempore.^
We append one more passage from a later writer,
which has been taken to mean, and which, as far as
language goes, may mean, but which does not
necessarily mean, that the Liturgy had not yet been
written down in the fourth century.
St. Basil of Caesarea {oh. 379) says —
' Which of the saints has left us in writing the words of
invocation at the consecration of the bread of the Eucharist,
and of the cup of blessing ? For we are not content with
those mentioned by the Apostle or the Gospel, but we also
say some words before them and after them, as being of
great force for the purpose of the sacrament, which we have
received from unwritten tradition.' -
' Language may, however, have become fixed before
it was written. We can trace the ' Sursum corda,' as
an integral portion of the Eucharistic Service, as far
back as the time of St. Cyprian, who says —
> Capp. 46, 47, pp. 35, 36.
- Dc Spiritu Sancto^ cap. xxvii. § 66; 1'. (',., xxxii. i88. The passage
is quoted in full by W. Maskell, Ancient Liturgy of the Church of
England, 3rd ed. p. xxvii. He seems to agree with Renaudot in think-
ing that it may only mean that the words of Eucharistic consecration
are not found in Holy Scripture. Probst (F.) argues that Liturgies
were written at a very early date, at least as early as the DidacliL
Die aeltestcn roemischen Sacj-amcnlaj-icn, Miinstcr, i. W. 1892, pp. 1-12.
loS LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
' The priest, in the preface which is said before the
Prayer [of Consecration], prepares the minds of the brethren
by saying,
Lift up your hearts,
that when the people answer,
We Hft them up unto the Lord,
they may be warned that they ought to think of nothing
but the Lord.' ^
And more fully still in the Canons of Hippolytus —
* And let the bishop say :
The Lord be with you all.*
Let the people reply :
And with thy spirit.
Let him say :
Lift up your hearts.*
Let the people reply :
We lift them up unto the Lord.*
The bishop :
Let us give thanks unto the Lord.*
Let the people reply :
It is meet and right so to do.' * ^
The formulae of administration mentioned in the
same canons are these — •
' De Oratione Dominica, p. 213.
- Canon iii. §§ 21-26, pp. 48-50. The sentences marked witli an
asterisk are given in the Greek language, a proof of the early nature of
this document. Other Greek words, Mritten in Greek characters, wliicli
occur in these Canons, are — llo/ioAJyrjffis (ii. 9), avayydxrrrjs (vii. 48,
etc.), viroSiaKovos (vii. 49, etc.), dfaTpiK6s, Kvi/rtySs (xii. 67), ypafifj.ariK6s
(xii. 69), oiwytffrijs (xv. 76), iraXKiov (xvii. 98), trapaKKrjTos (xix. 131),
evx^ptcrla (xix. 134, etc.), appaficov (xix. 1^8), KvpiaK-q (xxxii. 164, etc.),
afdnvriffts (xxxiii. 169), t^opKicr/xos (xxxiii. 170, etc.), irdcrxa (xxii. 197,
etc.), K\i]pr>s (xxi. 2l8). KoijuriT-fiptoy (xxiv. 22o), \vxvik6s (xxv. 237).
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 109
* This is the body of Christ, i^. Amen.
This is the blood of Christ. IV. Amen.' ^
In the Egyptian Church Order the formula has
become slightly enlarged —
' This is the bread of heaven, the body of Jesus Christ.
IV- Amen.
This is the blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. IV. Amen.'"'
Titles of the Service. — {a) The Breaking of Bread.
The earliest and scriptural title of this service, ' the
breaking of bread,' occurs in a passage of the Epistle
of St. Ignatius to the Ephesians, in which he bids
them —
'Assemble yourselves together in common, every one of
you severally, . . . breaking one bread, which is the
medicine of immortality, and the antidote that we should
not die, but live for ever in Jesus Christ.' ^
And in the following passage in the Teaching of
the Twelve Apostles —
' And on the Lord's day come together, and break
bread, and give thanks, after confessing your transgressions,
that your sacrifice may be pure.' *
In the Acts of Paul and Thecia St. Paul is de-
scribed, on his arrival at the house of Onesiphorus,
as offering prayer, breaking bread, and preaching the
word of God.'^
In the Acts of Thomas we find the expression
• breaking the eucharistic bread.' "
* Canon xix. §§ 146, 147,'pp. loo, lol. There are similar, not identical,
short formulai in the Clementine Liturgy (II., p. 21). See p. 304.
- Canons of Hippolylus, pp. loi, 102. ' Cap. 20. ^ Cap. 14.
" Cap. 2 ; Gallandius, Bib. Vet. FaL, torn. i. p. 178.
" K\o(ras aeroj' t^s ivxapK^rias, cap. 27, p. 20 J cap. 29, p. 22.
no LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [if.
ib) The Eucharist. The word ' Eucharist ' is first
found as a distinct title of ' Holy Communion ' in the
writings of St. Ignatius. He says to the Phila-
delphians —
' Be ye careful, therefore, to observe one Eucharist (for
there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup
unto union in His blood; there is one altar, as there is one
bishop, together with the presbytery, and the deacons, my
fellow-servants), that whatsoever ye do, ye may do it after
God.' 1
He thus describes, among other ways, certain
heretics in his Epistle to the Smyrna^ans —
'They abstain from Eucharist and prayer, because they
allow not that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour
Jesus Christ, which flesh suffered for our sins, and which
the Father, of His goodness, raised up.' -^
In the same Epistle he adds —
' Let that be held a valid Eucharist which is under the
bishop, or one to whom he shall have given a commission.
... It is not lawful, apart from the bishop, either to
baptize or to hold a love-feast.' ^
A few years afterwards the use of the word
' Eucharist ' as a title is definitely fixed by Justin
Martyr. After describing the partaking of the con-
secrated bread and wine and water, he goes on to
say —
* And this food we call the Eucharist, which nobody
may partake of, except,' etc.*
' Cap. 4. - Cap. 6.
" Cap. 8. The expression love-feast (dyoirrj) probably includes the
Kucliarist. Sec B]i. Lightfoot's note, in loco.
' Apol. i. 65 ; also in Dialo^us cum Tryphonc, cap. xli., etc. ; /'. (/'.,
vi. 563.
I.I.] ANTE-XICENE RITUAL. in
St. IrencEus, reproving Victor, Bishop of Rome,
who had broken off communion with the bishops of
Asia Minor because they kept Easter always on the
fourteenth day of the month, whether it was a
Sunday or not, claiming to follow the practice of the
Apostle St. John, tells him that his predecessors
* sent the Eucharist to the Asiatic bishops,' in accord-
ance with a custom of that time, as a mark of inter-
communion between the two Churches.^ In the
same letter he perhaps uses the word ' Eucharist ' to
denote the whole service, telling Victor that his pre-
decessor, Anicetus, conceded the Eucharist to Poly-
carp, i.e. permitted Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist
at Rome.^ Elsewhere Irenaeus says —
' For as the bread from the earth, when it receives the
invocation of God, is no longer common bread, but the
Eucharist,' etc.^
In the Clementine Homilies the curious expression
' to break the Eucharist ' is found.^
St. Clement of Alexandria says that Melchisedech
gave consecrated bread and wine for a type of the
Eucharist.^
Origen says that the symbol of gratitude towards
God is that bread which is called the Eucharist.'^
' Epist. ad V'klorcm apud Eusebii, Flist, Eccks.^ lib. v. cap. 24.
2 Ibid.
^ Contra Hccrcs, iv. 18, 5.
* Lib. xi. cap. 36 : Euxapio'Tiai' KKaaaSf ' Eucharistiam fregit.'
* Stromata, lib. iv. cap. 25 ; /-". C, viii. 137 1 ; also Ecdagog, 111), li,
cap. 2 ; Ibid,, 41 1.
" Contra Cclsiitit^ lib. viii. cap, 57 : also Horn, ii. in Ps. x.xxvii. § 6.
112 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
Tertullian ^ and Cyprian ^ both use the word
* Eucharistia.' Tertullian also uses ' gratiarum actio/
or 'giving of thanks,' as its Latin equivalent.^ In
the Acts of Thomas it is called ' the Eucharist of
Christ' ^
It is this widespread and preponderating use of
the term 'Eucharistia' in ante-Nicene literature,
which has caused us to select the title of ' the
Eucharist' as the heading for this section of the
second chapter.
Among other titles which were given to this
sacrament there should be mentioned the following : —
(r) Sacrifice, either absolutely by itself,^ or with
some epithet attached to it, e.g. ' the pure sacrifice,' ^
'the pure and spiritual oblation,''^ 'the Lord's
sacrifice.'*^
At the trial of Apollonius —
' the prefect said to the Christian martyr, " Come and
sacrifice to Apollo, and to the other gods, and to the
emperor's image." Apollonius replied, " As to my change
of mind, and as to the oath, I have given thee answer ;
but as to sacrifices, I and all Christians offer a bloodless
sacrifice to God, Lord of heaven and earth,'" etc."
Not that the title of ' sacrifice ' was confined to
' Dc Prascript adv. Ilaret., cap. 36 ; P. /,., ii. 50.
"- Ep. liv. p. 77.
^ Adv. Marcion, lib. i. cap. 23 ; P. L., ii. 274.
* Cap. 27, p. 20. ^ Quffla, Didachc, cap. xiv.
" Irenxus, Contra fLercs, lib. iv. cap. 18 ; P. C, vii. 1024.
" Pfaffian fragment, Ireimei 0pp., ed. W. W. Harvey, I'"ragm. 36,
torn. ii. p. 502.
• Cyprian, Ep. 63, § 5 ; P. Z., iv. 3S9.
" Acts of Apollonius, cd. F. C. Conybeare, p. 39.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 113
the Eucharist. St. Clement of Alexandria, contrast-
ing the sumptuous sacrifices offered by the heathen
to their gods with the sacrifice offered by Christians,
identifies the Christian sacrifice with prayer generally ;
no doubt, not excluding, yet not specially naming,
the Eucharistic sacrifice. He says —
' For the sacrifice of the Church is prayer which is ofifered
by holy souls, when the whole mind is opened and offered
in sacrifice to God,' etc.^
{(i) The Lord's Feast J^
(e) The Spiritual and Heavenly Sacrament^
The title of 'E<^oS«ov, or Viaticum, for a death-
bed communion occurs in the thirteenth Canon of the
Council of Nice, but we have not found any instance
of an Ante-Nicene use of this word with an exclu-
sively or necessarily Eucharistic meaning.*
Time of Celebration. — The earliest records which
we possess of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist
outside the pages of Holy Scripture itself, speak of
the early, and fcr the most part of the very early,
morning.
Pliny in his letter to Trajan, c. A.D. 112, describes
Christians as 'persons who met together early in the
morning, and bound themselves with a sacrament,'
etc.^
' Stromata, lib. vii. cap. 6 j P. C, ix. 443.
- TertuUian, Ad Uxurein, lib. ii. cap. 4 ; P. L., i. 1294.
3 Cyprian, Ep. 63, § 13 ; /*. Z., iv. 396.
* The word occurs in the Stromata of St. Clement of Alexandria,
lib. i. cap. I. ; P. G., viii. 691, but not in reference to the Eucharist.
* Or * by an oath.' See page 51, note i.
I
114 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
Justin Martyr, though he gives clear information
on other points, is silent as to the hour of the day.
Tertullian speaks plainly about it. He says —
' The Sacrament of the Eucharist, though it was com-
manded by our Lord at meal-time and to all, we take in
assemblies before daybreak {antelucaitis artibits), and from
the hands of no others except our presidents.' ^
Again, when dissuading a Christian woman from
marriage with a heathen man, he says —
' Your husband will not know what you arc tasting
secretly before all other food.' '^
He refers also to the custom of a midnight cele-
bration of the Easter Eucharist, the attendance at
which will constitute another of the difficulties which
await a Christian wife allied to a heathen husband.^
St. Cyprian thus explains and defends morning as
against evening celebrations of the Eucharist. He is
answering the argument which might be brought
forward, that because Christ instituted the Eucharist
after supper, therefore our celebration thereof ought
to be after supper likewise, and he says —
' It behoved Christ to offer about eventide, that the hour
itself of sacrifice might betoken the setting and evening of
the world, as it is written in the Book of Exodus, " And the
whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill in
the evening." ^ And again in the Psalms, " Let the hfting up
• De Corona Militis, cap. 3 ; P. L., ii. 79.
* Ad Uxorcin, lib. ii. cap. 5 ; P. L,,\. 1296. The reference here is
to the reserved Sacrament.
^ Jbid., cap. 4 ; ibid., 1294. * Exod. jui. 6.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 115.
of my hands be an evening sacrifice." ^ But we celebrate the
resurrection of the Lord in the morning.' 2
Tertullian refers to the celebration of the Eucharist
in connection with a wedding in these words —
' How may we suffice to describe the happiness of that
marriage in which the Church unites, and which the obla-
tion confirms, and the benediction seals ? ' ^
Frequency of Celebration. The earliest evidence
which is forthcoming points to a celebration of the
Eucharist on one day in each week, that day being
Sunday.
The stated day of the week referred to in Pliny's
letter to Trajan ^ may be concluded with moral
certainty to have been the first day of the week, if
we bear Acts xx. 7 in mind, and weigh the fact that
we have contemporary or earlier evidence of a
definite kind about the Sunday worship of the primi-
tive Church. In the DidacJic there is this order —
' And on the Lord's day of the Lord come together and
break breads and give thanks, after confessing your trans-
gressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.' ■''
After describing the Eucharistic Service, Justin
Martyr mentions Sunday as the day on which all
met for worship.^
In the Acts of Eugenia, which date from the third
century, though they have not reached us without
later additions, we read how her mother Clodia —
' Ps. cxli. 2. * Ep. 63, p. 109.
^ Ad Uxoreviy lib, ii. cap. 9 ; P. L,, i. 1302.
* Page 51. * Cap. xiv. § I. "^ Apo/. i. 67. Sec p 53.
Ji6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
* on the Lord's day, at the hour of the completion of the
sacrament, while she was in church and was offering prayer,
gave up her spirit into the hands of Christ, the Lord of all
spirits.' ^
Other days which were specially marked by a
celebration of the Eucharist, besides Sundays, were
the festivals or anniversaries of martyrs ; ^ also the
two station days in each week, Wednesday and
Friday ;^ and probably the fifty days from Easter to
Pentecost, known as Ouinquagesima, or Pentecostes,
or Ouinquagesima Paschalis, which Tertullian de-
scribes as one continuous festival.*
According to the Canons of Hippolytus the
Eucharist was to be celebrated on Sundays, and on
other days when the bishop wished, and also before
the commemoration of the dead.^
But by the beginning of the third century we have
evidence that a daily celebration had become, at least
in Africa, an established custom. Tertullian, describ-
ing a certain class of unworthy clergy, says —
'The Jews once laid their hands on Christ; they daily
harass His body. O hands which should be cut off ! Let
them see to it now whether it was said in a parable, " If thy
hand offend thee cut it off." What hands should be cut off
^ Conybeare (F. C), l\Ionu7iients of Jiarly Cliristianity (London,
1894), p. 187.
2 Tertullian, De Coroni Militis, cap. 3; P. L., ii. 79; Cyprian,
Epp., 34, 37 ; ^'- ^•. iv. 323. 328.
^ Tertullian, Dc Oratione, cap. 19; I\ L., i. 1181.
* Z't' Corona Militis, cap. iii. ; De Idololatria, cap. xiv. ; De
Jejimiis, cap. xiv. ; /". Z., ii. 80; i. 682 ; ii. 973.
* Canon xxxiii. § 1 69, p. 106.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 117
more than those in which the body of our Lord receives
offence ? ' ^
He gives a Eucharistic as well as a literal interpre-
tation of the clause in the Lord's Prayer, ' Give us
this day our daily bread.' ^
St. Cyprian and other African bishops say in the
Synodical Epistle of the Second Council of Carthage
in 252 —
* As priests who daily celebrate the sacrifices of God, let
us prepare [men to become by martyrdom] offerings and
victims to God.' ^
St. Cyprian also says —
' A more serious and a more fierce contest awaits them,
for which the soldiers of Christ ought to prepare themselves
with unsullied faith and stout valour, considering that for
this reason they daily drink the chalice of the blood of
Christ, that they may have power themselves to shed their
blood for Christ.' *
Commenting on the Lord's Prayer, he says —
' But we pray that this bread may be given to us daily,
lest we who are in Christ, and receive the Eucharist daily
as the food of salvation, should, while we are kept away and
prevented from receiving the heavenly bread through the
intervention of some very grave fault, be separated from the
body of Christ.' ^
Communion in both kinds. — It is unnecessary to
produce evidence to prove the undisputed, fact that
' De Idololatria, cap. vii. ; P. L., i. 669.
- De Oratioiie, cap. vi. ; P. L., i. 1160.
' Ep. liv,, p. 78. * Ep. Ivi., p. 90.
■^ Lib. de Oratione Dominica, p. 209.
ii8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
ordinarily the Eucharistic elements were administered
to the communicants in both kinds ; but an argument
which is based exckisively on the administration of
the cup, and which would have to be abandoned or
altered in that part of Christendom where the cup is
now withheld from all save the celebrant, deserves to
be quoted and remembered.
In the synodical Itpistle addressed to Cornelius,
Bishop of Rome, after the second Council of
Carthage in 252, St. Cyprian and his colleagues
say —
' Hov/ do we teach or encourage men to shed their blood
in the confession of His Name, if'as they are about to start
on their warfare we deny to them the blood of Christ ? Or
how do we fit them to drink the cup of martyrdom if we do
not first admit them with the right of communicants, to
drink the cup of the Lord in church ? ' '
llic Prayer of Consecration. — The text of no ante-
Nicene Liturgy having come down to us, we do not,
and cannot, know with precision the exact formula
of consecration, but we can infer something of its
character from the titles by which it is described.
In the first place, it was a prayer, that is to say,
it was not merely a recital of the words of institution,
or of any other words in the shape of a formula,
incantation, or charm. Origen says —
* Let Celsus, then, as an agnostic, tender his thanks to
demons ; while we, giving thanks to the Maker of the
universe, eat also, with prayer and thanksgiving for blessings
* Ep. 54, p. 78. See also St. Cyprian's words just previously quoted
on p. 117.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 119
received, our oblations of bread, which, through the prayer
[of consecration, 8ta t^v ^h^]v\i becomes a certain holy
body, which makes those holy who partake of it with right
dispositions.' ^
The nature of this prayer is further defined in a
difficult passage which occurs in the earlier writings
of Justin Martyr, who says that —
' As Jesus Christ our Saviour was incarnate by the Word
of God, and assumed flesh and blood for our salvation, so
we have been taught that the food, from which our flesh
and blood derive nourishment by assimilation, having been
blessed [or made the Eucharist] by prayer of the word
which is from Him," is both the flesh and blood of that
same Jesus who was made flesh.' "
The expression ' prayer of the word which is from
Him' is difficult to interpret. It has by some been
taken to refer to the words of institution, by others
to mean the Lord's Prayer,'^ by others to mean the
invocation of the Holy Ghost.^ It must remain
sufficient here to have pointed out the chief varieties
of interpretation, without discussing them at length,
or attempting to decide between them.
The Latin equivalent of t^x''' ^^ ' prex ' or ' prcx
Domini,' as in the following passage from St.
Cyprian, where ' prex Domini ' evidently denotes
the Eucharistic consecration prayer, though ' prex '
' Contra Cclsiim, lib. viii. p. 33, torn. i. p. 766.
" Eiix^'Pto'Tride^oav 5:' evxvs \6yov toD trap' aiiTOv,
* ApoL, i. cap. 66. See p. 52 for a slightly varying translation.
■• Wordsworth, J. (Bp. of Salisbury), The Holy Commtinioii (Oxford,
1891), p. 62.
* Ffoiilkcs (E. S.), Friiiiitive. Constxration, p. 54.
I30 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
is elsewhere used by St. Cyprian of prayer in a
general sense : —
' How does he diink that his hand can be transferred to
the sacrifice and to the prayer of the Lord, which has been
held in captivity to sacrilege and crime ? ' ^
Another expression for the consecrating formula is
' the Word of God.' Irenaeus says —
'When therefore the mixed cup and the natural bread
receive the word of God (tov \6yov tov 0£o?) it becomes the
Eucharist of the blood and body of Christ.' -
A more frequent phrase is ' the word of invocation,'
or the invocation of God (twiKXiiaig GfoC). Irenaius
says again —
' As the bread which is from the earth, after receiving the
invocation of God upon it, is no longer common bread, but
the Eucharist, consisting of two things, an earthly and a
heavenly, so our bodies after partaking of the Eucharist are
no longer destructible, having hope of the resurrection that
is for ever.' ^
Describing the proceedings of a certain heretical
Marcus, he reports how —
' Pretending to consecrate the Eucharist with a chalice
of wine and water mixed, and making the word [or address,
Toi/ Xuyov tFjs cTTtxAi^o-ews] of the invocation unusually long,
he contrived that they should appear purple and red, as
though the grace which is from the powers on high dropped
its own blood into those chalices at his invocation.' ■*
' Ep. Ixiv. p. III.
* Cojitra I/icres, lib. v. cap. 2 ; P. C, vii. 1125.
' Ibid., lib. X. cap. iS ; F. G., vii. 102S.
* Il>id.,\\h. i. cap. 13; P. O'., vii. 579. See also Fiagm. xx.wiii,
Benedict ed., p. 26.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 121
Origen says that it is sanctified by the word of
God and by prayer.^
St. Firmilian describes a female religious impostor,
who not only baptized people, but also dared to con-
secrate bread by a not contemptible [form of] invoca-
tion, and to pretend to offer the Eucharist."-^
There is a difficult passage in TertuUian, where he
connects the words of institution with the prayer of
consecration. He says that our Lord —
' Took bread, and distributed it, and made it His body,
by saying, " This is My body," that is to say, a figure of
My body. But it would not have been a figure unless
there had been a true body [for it to be a figure of].' ^
The primitive consecration prayer, then, may be
taken to have included an invocation, and the repeti-
tion of the words of institution. We do not know,
because we are not told in what order they came, or
of what words they consisted ; but probably the
order and the wording are those preserved in the
Clementine Liturgy. With regard to words, there is
one small point as to which we have information.
There was a concluding ' Amen ' uttered by the con-
gregation. TertuUian asks how the mouth which has
repeated ' Amen ' at the holy service * can shout
approval at a gladiatorial combat.^ Cornelius,
1 'Per verbum Dei et oiationem,\Hom. in Matt, xi. torn, iii,
p. 499.
- St. Cyprian's Epistles, No. 75, p. 146 ; P. Z., iii. 1165.
' Adv. Marcioneiii, lib. iv. cap. 40 ; F. L., ii. 460.
* ' In sanctum,' which some persons would translate ' at tlie
reception of the Holy gift.'
* Dc Spectaculis, cap. 25 ; P. L., \. 657.
122 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
Bishop of Rome, describes how the schismatic
Novatian, in administering the Eucharist, compelled
the communicants to substitute a formula of alle-
giance to himself for the 'Amen' wont to be said
immediately after reception.^
The Mixed Chalice. — The mixed cup of wine and
water is mentioned in Justin Martyr's description of
the Eucharistic Service.^ Irenseus mentions and con-
demns the Ebionites for rejecting the mixed chalice,
and employing water only in the Eucharist,^ and
says that when the mixed cup and broken (MS.
o yijovioq, factus) bread receive the word of God,
they become the Eucharist of the blood and body
of Christ.'
The mixed cup is mentioned in the epitaph of
Abercius (Avircius Marcellus), a supposed successor
of Papias in the see of Hierapolis in Phrygia, c. A.D.
iGo? This epitaph is so important, as well as
interesting, and at the same time is so little known,
that we do not hesitate to print it in full, appending
brief, but not always certain, explanations of difficult
phrases in the footnotes.''
' Routh (J. M.), Reliqiiiix: Saciw, 2nd cd. vol. iii. p. 27.
- Apol. i. cap. Ixv. See p. 52.
' Conlra Ihrres, lib. v. c.ip. i. Later on St. Augustine mentions
tlie Aquarii, a sect who adopted the same practice {Dc ILcrcs, cap. 64 ;
tEhler, Corpus Harcsiologicuni, torn. i. p. 215).
■• Contra Hares, lib. v. ^ap. 2 ; /'. C, vii. 1125.
'' But see p. 123, note 10.
" The translation and notes are mainly those of Bp. Lightfoot.
The original Greek is printed by De Rossi, Inscriptiones Christiamt
urbis Roma:, vol. ii. pt. i., Introd. pp. xii.-xxiv., and by Bp. Lightfoot,
The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1885), pt. ii. vol. i. pp. 476-4S5.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 123
* The citizen of an elect ^ city, I made this [tomb] in my
lifetime, that in due season I might have a resting-place for
my body. Abercius by name, I am a disciple of the pure
Shepherd, who feedeth His flocks of sheep on mountains
and plains, who hath great eyes looking on all sides ; for
He taught me the faithful writings [of life]. He also sent
me to royal Rome to behold it, and to see the golden-
robed, golden-sandalled Queen.^ And there I saw a people
bearing the splendid seal,'' and I saw the plain of Syria, and
all the cities, even Nisibis, crossing over the Euphrates.
And everywhere I had associates.'* In company with
Paul,^ I followed, and everywhere Faith led the way, and
set before me the Fish " from the fountain, mighty and
stainless, whom a jDure Virgin "' clasped, and gave this to
friends to eat always, having good wine, and giving the
mixture "^ with bread. These words I, Abercius, standing
by, ordered to be inscribed. In sooth, I was in the course
of my seventy-second year. Let every one who considers
my meaning and thinks with me pray for Abercius.'^ But no
man shall place another tomb above mine. If otherwise^
then he shall pay two thousand pieces of gold to the
treasury of the Romans, and a thousand pieces of gold to
my good fatherland, Hieropolis.' ^^
St. Cyprian is positive and vehement on the subject
of the mixed chahce. He calls it a tradition from.
' 'E/cAf/CTTjy, i.e. Christian.
- Either the Empress Faustina or the Chuicli.
^ Probably the sign of tlie cross, especially as impressed at baptism
and confirmation.
■* iS'.n'.- fellow-Christians.
'^ Having St. Paul's writings with him, or being a traveller like St. Paul.
" The well-known emblem of our Lord found in tlie earliest
paintings in the Catacombs.
' The B. V. M., or allegorically of the Church.
* KepacTfia, the mixed chalice.
" Early testimony to the practice of prayer for the departed.
'" Near Symnada, not Hierapolis on the Ma^ander.
124 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
our Lord (^Dominica traditio), and urges that we ought
to do nothing else than that which in the first
instance our Lord did for us, viz. that the cup which
is offered in commemoration of Him should be a
mixed one.^ He quotes, in support of it, the text,
' Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the cup which
I have mingled.' ^ He then goes on, after adducing
an extremely fanciful interpretation of the reason of
the mixed chalice, to assert that it is necessary for
the validity of the Eucharist, neither water alone nor
wine alone being sufficient. He says —
' We see that people are to be understood by the water,
and that the blood of Christ is exhibited in the wine.
When water is mixed with wine in the chalice, the people is
united to Christ and the multitude of believers is coupled
and joined to Him in Whom they have believed; while
coupling and joining of water and wine is thus made in the
cup of the Lord as an inseparable commixture. . . . Thus,
in consecrating the chalice of the Lord, water alone cannot
be offered, just as wine alone cannot be offered. For if any
one offer wine only, the blood of Christ begins to be in
existence without us. If, however, there be water only,
the people begin to be in existence without Christ. But
when both are mixed and joined in mutually confused
union, then the spiritual and heavenly sacrament is per-
fected.' ^
This curious and inconclusive argument occurs in a
letter intended to confute a practice introduced by
some persons of consecrating water only for the
Eucharist. So far as the invalidity of the use of
> j-:/>, 63, p. 104. = PioY. ix. 5 ; j:/. 63, p. 105.
^ Ep. 63, p. 108. »
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 125
water only is concerned, St. Cyprian has been
supported by the voice of the universal Church ; so
far as the invalidity of the use of wine only is
concerned, he has been overruled.
Origen stands alone among the Fathers in asserting
that our Lord used pure unmixed wine at the Paschal
Supper.^
Mr, F. C. Conybeare thinks that he has got proof
that in the primitive Eucharist water only was used ;
but the passages which he prints and adduces in
support of such a view from the Acts of Paul and
Thecla, and from the Acts of Callistratus, appear to
contain no reference whatever to the Eucharist.^
One fact may be mentioned with reference to the
chalice in early times. Tertullian informs us that
it sometimes had the figure of the Good Shepherd
painted on it.^
Reservation. We find traces of this custom for at
least three purposes —
{a) For sending to the absent, or for the coninncnion
of the sick. Justin Martyr, in his account of the
Eucharistic service, describes how, after those present
had been communicated, the deacons bore away from
the church portions of the consecrated elements for
those who were absent.^
' In Jeremiam, Horn. xii. §2, torn. iii. 194. The fact seems to be
stated to enable a far-fetched allegorical interpretation to be worked
out consistently.
- Monuments of Early Cliristlanity (London, 1894), pp. 75, 292.
See also p. 275.
^ De Pjidicitia, vol. ii. p. 645.
^ Apol. i. cap. 65 ; see p. 52. For evidence of this practice in the
fourth century, see .St. Basil, Ep. 93 ; P. G., xxxii. 485.
126 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
/ {p) For private tise. St, Cyprian, writing against
the custom of some Christians to frequent heathen
games and shows, in spite of the immoralities and
indecencies connected with them, denounces the pro-
fanity of the Christian worshipper, fresh dismissed
from church, hastening at once to the play, and still
carrying along with him, in accordance with custom,
the Eucharist.^ It was carried in a small basket or
box {area). St. Cyprian tells a story of a woman
who tried to open her box which contained the holy
gift of the Lord {sanctum Domini), but who desisted,
being terrified by the fire which rose from the box.^
TertuUian advised scrupulous persons who would
not receive at the three p.m. celebration of the Holy
Eucharist on fast days, for fear of breaking their fast
thereby, to attend the service, but to reserve their
portion of the consecrated elements for reception at
home in the evening, i.e. till the conclusion of the
fast.3
He dissuades people from mixed marriages, because
the heathen husband will get to know what is the
food which the Christian wife tastes secretly before
any other food,^ referring evidently to the consecrated
portion reserved for consumption at home.
{c) For despatch to strangers as a token of amity.
We have already referred to the letter from Irenaeus
to Victor, Bishop of Rome, in which the former tells
the latter that his predecessors in the Roman see
sent the Eucharist to other bishops who disagreed
' De Spectaculis, p. 381. ^ £>e Lapis, p. 189.
* Ad Uxorcm, lib. ii. cap. 5. ■* Jhid., cap. 4.
II.] ANTE-NICENE KITUAL. \rj
with them as to the proper day for the observance of
Easter ; and how Bishop Anicetus and Polycarp,
on the occasion of the visit of the latter to Rome,
agreed to differ on this point without any breach of
intercommunion.-^
Origen, in one passage, lays stress on the fact that
at the institution of the Eucharist the bread was
given to the disciples for immediate consumption,
and not to be reserved for the morrow ; but the
context shows that he is arguing, not against the
reservation of the material elements, but, metaphori-
cally, against anything like staleness in offering the
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving,^
Mode of Reception. — Many details have not come
down to us, but there is trace of a custom at Alex-
andria— a custom not universally followed even there
— of permitting the communicants to approach the
holy table, and to take, each for themselves, a portion
of the consecrated Eucharist.^ The same custom
seems to be referred to in a letter from Dionysius of
Alexandria to Xystus II., Bishop of Rome, preserved
by Eusebius.*
Fasting Reception. — The fasting reception of the
Eucharist by the newly baptized is ordered in the
Canons of Hippolytus,^ and also more generally for
all the faithful ; but in language which half suggests
that fasting reception was not then the universal and
' See p. III. * Horn. v. in Levit. %%; P. C, xii. 453, 454.
* Stromata, lib. i. cap. i. ; P. G., viii. 691. * See p. 81.
^ Canon xix. §§ 150-153, pp. loi, 102. These passages are bracketed
]jy the editors as probably an interpolation, but not as a later addition.
12S LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
compulsory rule at all times, but that it was rigidly
enforced on Good Friday.
' Let not any of the faithful taste anything before he has
partaken of the mysteries, especially on the day of the
holy fast.' ^
We must again call attention to the passage in
which Tertullian warns the Christian wife of a
heathen husband that one of the difficulties of her
situation will be that her husband will not know, and
if he knows will not understand, what it is that she
cats secretly before all other food.^
These are the only references which we have found
in ante-Nicene writings to this subject. This is the
more remarkable, because there is plentiful evidence
for the fasting reception of the other great sacrament
of the gospel.^
Infant Commtmion. — This is necessarily involved
in the fact that infants were baptized, and that
baptism was always immediately followed, if possible,
by confirmation and first communion. St. Cyprian
incidentally refers to the custom in his story about
a child, who, unknown to its Christian mother, had
been permitted by its nurse to taste food offered
to idols, and who afterwards in church frantically
refused to taste the contents of the consecrated
' Canon xxviii. § 205, p. 119. The same direction appears in the
somewhat later Egyptian Chjirch Order, with the enlargement that no
deadly gift shall be able to injure the faithful recipient of the Eucharist
{ibid.). This is evidently an allusion to St. Mark xvi. 17.
- See p. 114. P'or a curious translation and interpretation of 'ante
omnem cibum ' (/.f. before every meal), see F. T. Kingdon, Fasting
Commtmion (London, 1875), p. 203.
^ See p. 72.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 129
chalice, and vomited when forced to do so.^ On the
other hand, a passage may be quoted from Origen
to prove that infants were not communicants.^ The
reconciliation of the two passages lies in this :
infants received the Eucharistic elements, probably,
once in close connection with their baptism, but did
not become regular communicants till they were more
advanced in years.
Holy Days. See Saints' Days.
§ II. Imposition of Hands. — We find reference
to a fourfold usage and meaning of the ceremony of
imposition of hands —
{a) In Absolution. See p. 56.
{b) In Confirmation. See p. 91,
{c) In Ordination. See p. 139.
{d) In Benediction. Several instances of this
occur in the Acts of Thomas,^ and probably else-
where. Directions are given in the Apostolic Con-
stitutions.*
§ 12. Incense. — There is no evidence for the use
of incense in Christian worship during the first three
centuries."^ The offering of incense was so intimately
associated with the worship of idols, and with the
early persecutions of the Christian religion, that we
' Lib. de Lapsis, cap. xxv. p. 189.
' 'Antequam panis ctelestis consequamur annonam, et carnibus agni
immaculati satiemur, antequam verce vitis qute ascendit de radice
David sanguine inebriemur, donee parvuli sumus et lacte alimur,' etc.
{In Lib. Judicum, Horn. vi. § 2).
^ Cap. 10, ad finem, p. 10 ; cap. 29, p. 22 ; cap 46, p. 35.
* Lib. viii. cap. 37. See also cap. 38.
* A passage in Origen (Horn, iii., In Lib. Judiaim, § 2), where he
uses the words ' de altari Domini quod deberet incensi suavitate
fragrare,' is plainly metaphorical.
K
I30 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
may well conjecture, though we have no proof, that
it was the association of incense with idolatry, and
with suffering for the truth, which accounts for its
non-use in the earlier days of Christianity.
The famous prophecy of Malachi ^ was frequently
commented upon in early Christian literature ; but
though its Eucharistic reference is nearly always
maintained, the allusion to incense is either passed
over in silence or explained as referring to prayer
in connection with Rev. v. 8.^
The following words, used by Tertullian, may be
evidence that incense was not used in Christian
worship in his time. He says that —
' as a Christian, he offers to God the rich and better
offering which he himself has commanded, namely, prayer
proceeding from a chaste body and an innocent mind,
inspired by the Holy Spirit ; not grains of incense of the
value of one as, not the exudations of an Arabian shrub,
not two drops of wine,' etc.^
It is possible that this, being a rhetorical passage,
should not be pressed to prove the non-use of
incense any more than it can be pressed to prove the
non-use of Eucharistic wine.
Arnobius speaks of idol-worship and of the use of
incense in terms which make it morally certain that
he had no knowledge of any custom of using incense
in Christian worship.*
' Mai. i. II.
- Didachi, cap. xiv. ; Justin Martyr, Dialogus cum Tryphone, capp,
28, 41, 116, 117; Trenaeus, Contra Hares, lib. iv. capp. 17, 18;
Tertullian, Adv.Jiidaos, cap. 5 ; Adv. Marcioiicm, lib. iii. cap. 22.
^ ApoL, cap. XXX. ; P. L., i. 444.
^ Adversus Gentes, lib. vii. caps. 26-28 ; /'. Z., v. I135-1145.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 131
Lactantius, in a very fine passage on 'the true
worship and sacrifice due to God,' speaks of the
uselessness of external offerings of victims, vestments,
gold, silver, incense, etc., in language which seems
to imply, though it does not directly state, that none
of those things formed part of Christian worship in
his time.^
Incense is first ordered for use in the Apostolic
Canons,^ and in the writings of Dionysius the Areo-
pagite;*^ both post-Nicene authorities. See List of
Authorities, pp. xii, xiv.
§ 13. Kiss of Peace. — The kiss of peace {Osadmn,
Pax) was a recognized Christian custom throughout
the period with which we are dealing. In the Passion
or Acts of St. Perpetua we are told how the martyrs
first kissed each other that they might complete their
martyrdom with the solemnity of the kiss.* It
formed part of the ritual of every Eucharistic cele-
bration, its position being after the dismissal of the
Catechumens and before or at the commencement of
the Anaphora, or Mass of the Faithful. This is plain
from the account of the service given by Justin
Martyr,'' and from the Canons of Hippolytus,*' as
well as from its position in the Clementine Liturgy.'
Tertullian refers with disapproval to a custom of
omitting ' the kiss ' on fast-days generally, though
' Epitome Div. Institt.^ cap. Iviii. ; P. L., v. 1135-1145. Origen has
a fine passage to the same effect {Contra Celsunif lib. viii. capp. 17-19).
^ Canon 3.
^ De Eccles. Hierarch,, cap. iii. %z; P. C, iii. 426.
* Cap. xxi. * Apol. i. cap. 65. See p. 52.
^ Canon iii. § 19, p. 48. ' H., p. 11. See p. 289.
132 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
he would retain its omission on the greatest of all
fast-days, Good Friday.^
Origen, in his Commentary on the Song of Solomon,
refers to that kiss which we give to each other in
church at the time of the Mysteries,^ and in his
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, said that it
was a traditional custom in the Church for brethren
to salute each other with the kiss of peace after
prayers,^
But the kiss was not only Eucharistic in its associa-
tion. It was given at baptism to the newly baptized.
Some people shrank from kissing an infant only
a (e-w days old, as an impure thing, but St. Cyprian
thus argues with them in favour of the baptismal
kiss —
' No one ought to shudder at that which God hath con-
descended to make. For although the infant is still fresh
from its birth, yet it is not just that any one should shudder
at kissing it, in giving grace and making peace ; since in
kissing the infant, every one of us ought, for his .very
religion's sake, to bethink him of the hands of God them-
selves, still fresh, which in some sort we are kissing in the
man lately formed and freshly born, when embracing that
which God hath made.' *
A kiss of peace, which may be described as partly
baptismal, partly Eucharistic, is mentioned in the
Canons of Hippolytus, where, as the priest gives
ihe kiss to the newly baptized, he says, 'The Lord
' De Oratione, cap. xviii. ; F. L., i. 1 176.
* Lib. i. torn. iii. p. 37.
^ Lib. N. § 33 ; ^'- G-r xiv. 1282, * Ef: SO, V- 98,
II.] ANTE-NICE NE RITUAL. I33
be with you,' and then the administration of the
Holy Eucharist to them forthwith follows.^
As to the Ordination Service, the Canons of
Hippolytus direct that the newly consecrated bishop
shall receive the kiss of peace from all.'^ In later
times it was ordered that the newly ordained
presbyter should receive the kiss from the bishop
and the rest of the clergy.^
Tertullian mentions the kiss at marriage as an old
heathen custom, but he does not expressly say
whether it was retained or not in the Christian mar-
riage ceremonial of his day.*
§ 14. The Love-feast, or Agape.— The agape
was a feast or meal, of which in the earliest times
all the members of the Christian Church partook in
common as a token of brotherhood. It was an
ordinary meal of a quasi-religious character.
In St. Paul's time, A.D. 57-8, the Eucharist and
the agape were closely connected, the latter ap-
parently preceding the former. This is an inference
from Acts xx. 7 ; and still more from the profane
and scandalous behaviour condemned by St. Paul
in I Cor. xi. 17-34. The title ' The Lord's Supper,' in
I Cor. xi. 20, was originally applied to the combined
agape and Eucharist, and after the two had become
dissociated, and after the former had become obsolete,
* Canon xix. § 139, p. 99. Fuller details are found in the Apostolic
Constitutions, lib. viii. cap. 5.
- Canon iii. § 19, p. 48.
^ Dionysius Pseudo-Areop., l)e Ecdcs. Hierarch., cap. 5, %7 ; P C,
iii. 510.
* De Velandis Virginilnis, cap. xi. ; P. I.., 904, 905.
134 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
was retained as a title for the Eucharist only. We
do not know the exact date at which the dissociation
took place. Probably it was very soon after St.
Paul's time, and in order to avoid the possibility
of such scandals as that which the Apostle had to
condemn at Corinth.
It is a fair inference, from the language of Pliny's
letter to Trajan/ that in Bithynia, in A.D. 112, the
severance had already taken place, and that the
Eucharist was then celebrated by itself at an early hour
in the morning. The laws of imperial Rome were
very strict against anything in the nature of a sodalitas
or guild for social or other non-religious purposes,
which involved a number of people meeting together.
In order to avoid falling under this law, the agapa;
were abandoned in the province of Bithynia-Pontus,
ruled over by Pliny, and probably elsewhere as well."-^
It is also inferred that in Justin Martyr's time at
Rome [c. A.D. 140) the Eucharist was celebrated by
itself at an early hour in the morning.^
On the other hand, there is an expression in the
Epistle of St. Ignatius to the Smyrnrcans which has
been taken to imply that the dissociation had not
taken place at Antioch or at Smyrna c. A.D. 1 10.
Ignatius tells the Smyrnaeans that it is not lawful
to baptize or to celebrate the agape apart from
the bishop.^ There would be incongruity in this
• Page 51.
* Ramsay (\V. M.), The Church in the Roman Empire before
A.D. 170, pp. 206, 215, 219, 358.
^ Apol. i. capp. 65, 67, pp. 51-53. ■* Ad Smyrnaos, cap. viii.
n.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 135
juxtaposition unless the other great sacrament was
intended or included ; and it seems impossible to
resist the inference that the Eucharist and love-
feast were still so closely united together, that the
expression ' to celebrate the agape ' denoted or
connoted to celebrate the Eucharist as well.^
This close connection between the love-feast and
the Eucharist makes it sometimes difficult to decide
whether passages and expressions in the earliest
writings refer to the love-feast separately, or to the
Eucharist separately, or to both conjointly. This
difficulty arises with regard to the interpretation of
the ninth and tenth chapters of the DidacJie, which
will be quoted at length and described hereafter.'-^
The following passage from Tertullian gives a
graphic description of the love-feast in the earlier
part of the third century : —
'Yet about the modest supper-room of the Christians
alone a great ado is made. Our feast explains itself by its
name. The Greeks call it love \_Agape\. Whatever it costs
our outlay in the name of piety is gain, since with the good
things of the feast we benefit the needy. Parasites do not,
as with you, aspire to the glory of satisfying their licentious
propensities, selling themselves for a belly feast to all dis-
graceful treatment ; but, as it is with God Himself, a
peculiar respect is shown to the lowly. If the object
of our feast be good, in the light of that consider its further
regulations. As it is an act of religious service, it permits
no vileness or immodesty. The participants, before
^ This is Bp. Lightfool's conclusion. See his note in Apostolic
Fathers (London, 1885), pt, ii. vol. ii. sect. i. p. 312.
* Chap. iii. § 3. See p. 172.
136 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
reclining, taste first of prayer to God. As much is eaten as
satisfies the cravings of hunger ; as much is drunk as befits
the chaste. They say it is enough, as those who remember
that even during the night they have to worship God ; they
talk as those who know that the Lord is one of their
auditors. After manual ablution, and the bringing in of
lights, each is asked to stand forth and sing, as he can,
a hyvnn to God, either one from the Holy Scriptures or
one of his own composing. This is a proof of the measure
of our drinking. As the feast commenced with prayer,
so it is closed with prayer. We go from it, not like
troops of mischief-doers, nor bands of roamers, nor to
break out into licentious acts, but to have as much care of
our modesty and chastity as if we had been to a school
of virtue rather than a banquet. Give the meeting of
Christians its due, and hold it unlawful if it is like as-
semblies of the illicit sort, by all means let it be condemned
if any complaint can be validly laid against it, such as is
laid against secret factions. But who has ever suffered
harm from our assemblies ? We are in our meetings just
what we are when we are separated from each other ; we
are as a community what we are as individuals ; we injure
nobody ; we trouble nobody. When the upright, when the
virtuous meet together, when the pious, when the pure
assemble in congregation, you ought not to call that "a
faction," but "a curia" — that is, "a sacred meeting."'^
St. Clement of Alexandria alludes to the love-
feast, warning his readers that the love-feast itself
is not charity, but that it is a sign of that social
benevolence which willingly imparts to others of its
own abundance.^
In the Canons of Hippolytus it is implied that
' ApoL, cap. xxxix. ; P. L., '\. 468.
^ Padagog., lib. ii. p. 166.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 137
the regular love-feast will take place on Sunday-
evening at the time of the lighting of the lamps.^
Some of the glass cups and plates found in the
Roman catacombs, decorated with sacred figures and
memorial inscriptions, may be dated back as far as the
third century, and were probably in use at agapae.'^
The love-feast was celebrated by the Christians
of the Thebaid on the sabbath (Saturday) as late
as the time of Socrates.^
§ 15. Marriage. — From the earliest days marriage
has been regarded as a religious act, and solemnized
with religious ceremonial. St. Ignatius of Antioch
wrote —
' It is fitting for men and women who marry to form this
union with the approval of the bishop, that their union
may be according to the will of God, and not according to
the dictates of concupiscence.' ^
We have seen from Tertullian that the marriage itself
was accompanied by a celebration of the Eucharist.^
A marriage so entered upon was regarded as
indissoluble, except by death. Even in the case of
a wife's unfaithfulness, though the innocent party
might obtain a divorce, he might not marry again
while his divorced wife was alive.
* What then, sir, say I, shall the husband do, if the wife
continue in this case ? Let him divorce her, saith he, and
let the husband abide alone ; but, if after divorcing his wife,
* Canons xxxii. § 164; xxxiii. § 172. There are other interesting
details about the agape in these Canons.
- Smith and Cheetham, Diet, of Christian Antiqq., i. 734.
^ i.e. in the fifth century (^Hist. Eccks., v, 22 ; F. G., Ixvii. 635).
* Epist. ad Polycarpitm, cap. 5. ^ Page 115.
138 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
he shall marry another, he likewise committeth adultery.
If then, sir, say I, after the wife is divorced she repent and
desire to return to her own husband, shall she not be
received? Certainly, saith he. If the husband receiveth
her not, he sinneth and bringeth great sin upon himself;
nay, one who hath sinned and repented must be received,
yet not often ; for there is but one repentance for the
servants of God. For the sake of her repentance, there-
fore, the husband ought not to marry. This is the manner
of acting enjoined on husband and wife.' ^
As to ceremonial details, we gather that the bride
was usually dressed in white and veiled,^ and that
joining of hands and the kiss of peace were part
of the Marriage Service.^ The use of the ring at
espousals was a part both of heathen and of Jewish
nuptial ceremonial. It is alluded to more than
once by Tertullian, who does not, however, expressly
state that Christians used it. But St. Clement of
Alexandria speaks of its Christian use in his time,
saying that the ring is given to the woman, not as
an ornament, but as a seal to signify the woman's
duty in preserving the goods of her husband, because
the care of the house belongs to her.'* The bride and
bridegroom were not crowned. •''
' Shepherd of Hermas, Mandate iv. § i. See Tertullian, Adv.
Marciomm, lib. iv. cap, 34; P. /.., ii. 441 ; Clem. Alex., Stromata,
lib. iii. cap. 23 ; P. 6'., viii. 1096.
* Hermas, Vision iv. § i ; Clem. Alex., J\cdagog., lib. iii. cap. 11 ;
/'. 6^., viii. 627, 657.
^ Tertullian, De Virginibus Velandis, cap. xi. ; /'. Z., ii. 904.
* Picdagog., lib. iii. cap. II ; /*. G.., viii. 632.
* Ibid., lib. ii. cap. 8. Crowns were forbidden at first as a heathen
custom (Justin Martyr, Apol., i. 89 ; P. C, vi. 339 ; Tertullian,
Apol., cap. 42 ; /'. A., i. 492). Their introduction is post-Nicene.
II.J ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 139
The marriage of the clergy of all grades was
recognized throughout the primitive Church. The
Apostolic Constitutions ordained that bishops, priests,
and deacons should be only married once.^
§ 16. Ordination, Holy Orders. — No extant
office for the ordination or consecration of bishops,
priests, or deacons is ante-Nicene in date ; but we find
allusions to the imposition of hands as forming the
essential external act of ordination in primitive times.
Cornelius, Bishop of Rome (A.D. 251-2), writing to
Fabian, Bishop of Antioch, describes the consecra-
tion of the schismatic Novatian to the episcopate,
as performed by three Italian bishops by the im-
position of hands.'-^ That was evidently regarded
as the essential outward sign. Had any other
ceremony been regarded as essential we may be
sure that Novatian would not have weakened his
position by disregarding it, and that its use would
have been recorded. In this same letter Cornelius in-
cidentally mentions the number of the Roman clergy
in his time. They were — 46 presbyters, 7 deacons,
7 sub-deacons, 42 acolytes, 52 exorcists, readers, and
doorkeepers; and there were 1500 widows and dis-
tressed persons supported by the Church.
In the Canons of Hippolytus the imposition of
haads is prescribed at the ordination of bishops,
priests, and deacons, without further ceremonial.''
' Lib. vi. cap. 17.
^ X€(peirj0€(rfo, Roulh (J. M.), Reliqiiicc Sacrce^ 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 23.
^ Canons iii., iv., v., §§ 10, 30, 38. The imposition of hands is the
only ceremony mentioned in the Egyptian Church Order and in the
Apostolic Constitutions.
I40 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
The following titles are found of persons in various
grades of holy orders : —
Degree.
Title.
Authority.
Bishop
Priest
'E7rt(T«07roj
npoKa9e(6fj.fvos...
npoTj-you/itei/os ...
''f^pX'iv fKK\r)(Tlas
'Apxtfpevs^
Episcopus
Antistes
Propositus
Pontifex
Sacerdos
Princeps sacer-
dotum
Summussacerdus
TlpoeffT(is
npffffivrepos
'leptvs ...
Patres Apostolici, passim^ etc. ; Clemen-
tine Homilies, lib. iii. cap. 67, etc.
Clementine Homilies, lib. iii. cap. 72.
Clement of Rome, Ep. to Cor., cap.
xxi. ; Shepherd of Hermas, Vision iii.
§9-
Origen, C. Celstim, lib. iii. cap. 30, tom.
i. p. 466.
Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xl.
Canons of Hippolytus, xxxvi. § 186, p.
112, etc.; Tertullian, De Pncscript.
Hciret., cap. xvi., etc. ; Cyprian, Ep.
68, etc.
Cyprian. See P. Z., tom. iv. index.
Firmilian, Ep. ad Cyprianiim ; Cyprian,
Opera ; P. L., iii. 1158.
Origen, in Levit., Hom. iv. § 6.
Cyprian most frequently uses this word
for episcopus, but sometimes for ' pres-
byter ; ' Canons of Hippolytus, xxxvi.
§§ 186-188, p. 112.==
Canons of Hippolytus, xxiv. § 200, p.
Tertullian, Dc Bapt., cap. xvii."
Justin Martyr, ApoL, i. cap. 67. Comp.
1 Tim. V. 17.
Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., capp. xxi.,
xlvii., etc. ; Clementine Homilies, lib.
iii. cap. 67, etc.
Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xl. ; Ig-
natius, Ad Philadelph., cap. ix. p. 126 ; *
Canons of Hippolytus, xxxvii. § 201,
' But possibly the reference in this word is to Christ.
- It is not quite clear whether the sacerdos in this passage is the same
as the episcopus or different.
' We may add that in the oldest Roman Sacramentary {Sacramen-
iarium Leojiianum), in seven masses for St. Xystus, ii. (Aug. 6), he is
seven times entitled sacerdos (including once pnccipuus sacerdos and
once sedis apostoliccB sacerdos), once prasul apostolicus, onct pontifex.
* The context renders it uncertain whether this word is applied to
the Jewish or the Christian priesthodil.
II.]
yl NTE-NICENE RITUAL.
141
Degree.
Title.
Authority.
p. 1 1 8, etc.; Polycrates, in Euseb.
Hist. Eccles., lib. v. cap. 24.'
Priest
'ETTt'tr/coTros ...
Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xlii. :
Didachi^ cap. xv.
»>
Presbyter
Tertullian, De Prascript. Hccrel., cap.
xli., etc. ; Cyprian, Ep., 36, etc. ;
Origen, /w Lib. Jesu Nave, Horn. xvi.
§1.
Tertullian, ApoL, cap. 39 ; Firmilian,
>i
Senior
Ep. ad Cyprianum ; Origen, In Lib.
Jesu Nave, Hem. xvi. § i.
)»
Sacerdos
Cyprian, Ep. 68, etc. ; Origen, in Ge-
nesim, Horn. xvi. § 5 ; Origen, in
Levit., Horn. v. § 12, etc.
Deacon
^MKOVOS
Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xlii. ;
DidachS, cap. xv. ; Patres Apostolici,
passim.
>>
Diaconus
Tertullian, De Preeseript. Hicret., cap.
xli., etc. ; Cyprian, Ep. 68, etc. ;
Canons of Hippolytus, xxxvii. § 201,
p. 118.
1
Levita
Clem. Rom., Ep. ad Cor., cap. xl. ;
Origen, Hom. ii. In Librum Jesu
Nave, § I ; Origen, Hom. xii. in
Jeremiam, § 3 ; Apostol. Constit., lib.
ii. cap. 25.^
§ 17. Prayer. — ia) Attitude. The posture ordi-
narily assumed by the earliest Christians while
engaged in the act of prayer was that of standing.
This may be seen in the representations of the
orantes in the paintings of the Roman catacombs.
The figures are (it is believed always) there depicted
as standing, with arms extended outwards and
upwards.
' The word usually employed in the Clementine Liturgy is TrpeffPiirepos,
but iepivs occurs once.
^ Episcopi, Presbyteri, and Diaconi are mentioned together in one
sentence by Origen in his Selecta in Psalinos, Hom. i. in Ps. xxxvii. § 2;
tom. ii. p. 681.
142 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
Minucius Felix saw in these hands extended the
sign of the cross,^
TertulHan condemns the hands extended to a
strange heaven and another god.'-^ Elsewhere he
says —
* Gazing up heavenward, we Christians pray with hands
extended because they are innocent ; with the head un-
covered, because we are not ashamed ; finally, without a
guide, because we pray from the heart.' •'
The last expression points to the use, but not
necessarily to the exclusive use, of extempore prayer.
The same practice may be also implied in an expres-
sion used by Justin Martyr in his description of
Sunday worship in his 5rst Apology.'^
In another place he mentions standing as an
attitude for prayer, to be adopted on Sundays and
during the period which extends from Easter to
Pentecost.^ So also does Irenasus. St. Peter of
Alexandria speaks of standing as the Sunday attitude
of prayer.
* We keep the Lord's Day as a day of gladness, because
on it he rose again, and on it, according to tradition, we do
not even kneel.' "
St. Cyprian exhorts that ' when we stand to pray,
we should watch and join in the prayers with our
whole heart.''
' See p. loo. * Adv. Marciovem, lib. i. cap. 23 ; P. L., ii. 274.
' ApoL, cap. XXX. ; P. Z., i. 442. * .See p. 53, note i.
^ The Quinquagesima Paschalis, De Corona, cap. 3 ; P. L., ii. 79,
•* Kouth (J. M.), ReliqiiiiC Sacne, 2nd cd. vol, iv. p. 45.
' De Orationc Domini, p. 213.
11.] ANTE'NICENE RITUAL. 143
Origen says beautifully —
' Before a man stretches out his hands to heaven he
must lift up his soul heavenward. Before he raises up his
eyes he must lift his spirit to God. For there can be no
doubt that among a thousand possible positions of the
body, outstretched hands and uplifted eyes are to be pre-
ferred above all others, so imaging forth in the body those
directions of the soul which are fitting in prayer. We are
of opinion that this posture should be preferred, where
there is nothing to forbid it, for there are certain circum-
stances, such as sickness, where we may pray even sitting
or lying,' etc.^
But from the first, side by side with standing,
kneeling or prostration was also adopted as an
attitude of prayer.
With the example of our Lord Himself,- as well
as of St. Stephen, St. Peter, and St. Paul,^ on record,
independently of the innate appropriateness of such
a posture, it could hardly have been otherwise.
St, Clement of Rome, in a general exhortation to
repentance from schism, says —
' Let us therefore root this out quickly, and let us fall
down before the Master, and entreat Him with tears,' etc.*
When St. Ignatius, before his martyrdom, prayed
for all the churches, he is represented to have been
joined by all the brethren kneeling.'"'
In his first Vision, Hermas thus describes his
locality and position —
> De Oratione, cap. 31, torn. i. p. 267. 2 St. Luke xxii. 41.
* Acts vii. 60 ; ix. 40 ; xx, 36 j xxi. 5,
* Ep. to the Corinthians^ cap. 48, p. 77.
'" S. Ignatii Marfyrium, cap. vi. p. 571.
144 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
'When then I had crossed the river, I came into the
level country, and knelt down and began to pray to the
Lord and to confess my sins.' ^
Hegesippus relates of St. James the Just, that he
used to enter the temple alone, and to be found on
his knees, which from continuous kneeling became as
callous as the knees of a camel.^
Tertullian, referring to the miracle of the rain sent
in answer to Christian prayers in the case of the
Melitine legion in the Marcomannic war, c. 174,
asks —
' When have not even droughts been driven away by our
kneelings and fastings ? ' ^
Eusebius, afterwards, in describing that incident,
narrates how the Christian soldiers ' put their knees
on the ground as our custom is in prayer.' *
Origen says that the posture of kneeling is neces-
sary in confession of sin to God.
• It should be known that bending of the knees is neces-
sary when any one is about in supplication to confess
{acaisaturns) his sins before God, that they may be forgiven
and that he may be healed from them.'''
St, Cyprian, on his way to martyrdom, is narrated
to have knelt on the ground and prayed." St.
Fructuosus and his companions knelt in prayer while
» The Shepherd, Vision i. § i, p. 405.
2 Eusebius, Hist. Ecclcs., lib. ii. cap. 23.
» Ad Scapulam, cap. iv. torn. i. p. 155.
< Hist. Eccles., lib. v. cap. 5.
* De Oratione, § 31, torn. i. p. 267.
« Acta P?-oconsHlaria, prefixed to St. Cypriani Opera, col. cxlvii.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 145
they were being burned to death.^ In the Acts of
Paul and Thecla prayer is called a bending of the
knees.^
From these and other passages which might be
quoted it appears that the recognized attitude for
prayer, liturgically speaking, was standing, but that
kneeling was early introduced for penitential, and
perhaps ordinary ferial, seasons, and was frequently,
though not necessarily always, adopted in private
prayer.
(h) The eastward position. The eastward position
in prayer seems to have been usual from the earliest
times. Tertullian refers to the suspicion of the
heathen, that the Christians were worshippers of
the sun, not only because Sunday {Dies Solis) was
their holy day, and because they prayed at sunrise,
but also because of their well-known custom of
turning to the East in prayer.^
St. Clement of Alexandria said that —
' Prayers are made looking towards the sunrise in the
East, and that because the East is the image of our spiritual
nativity, and from thence the light first arises and shines
out of darkness, and the day of true knowledge, after the
manner of the sun, arises upon those who lie buried in
ignorance.' *
Origen, in his work on Prayer, devotes a short
chapter to explaining and defending the eastward
' Frucltiosi, etc.. Acta, p. 34O.
- KA/(rts 'yova.TU)v, Grabe, Spicilegium (Oxford, 1698), torn. i. p. 96.
^ ApoL, cap. xvi. ; P. L., i. 369. See also Adv. Vahntinianos,
cap. iii.
* Stromata, lib. vii. cap. 7 ; P. C, ix. 462.
L
146 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
position as the usual and most appropriate position
for prayer.^
At an early, but post-Nicene, date the candidate
for baptism turned to the East to profess his belief
in the Holy Trinity.^ The Apostolic Constitutions
are no doubt referring to a long-established custom
when they direct that the whole congregation shall
pray eastwards, in churches built eastward, and give
various reasons for the direction.^
{c) Prayer for the dead. With regard to the sub-
ject matter of prayer there is only one point as to
which it may be desirable to produce evidence,
because there has been much popular misapprehen-
sion with regard to it. We refer to prayer for the
departed. This was a recognized practice from the
second century onwards. On this, as on most points,
it is impossible, from dearth of material, to produce
extra-Scriptural evidence of the first century, either
for or against this kind of devotion.
The epitaph of Abercius, as has been seen, closes
with this request —
' Let every one who considers my meaning, and thinks
with me, pray for Abercius.' ■*
Tertullian says plainly —
' We offer oblations for the dead on the anniversary of
their birth.' ''
' De Oratione, cap. 32, torn. i. p. 270.
" St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catecheses, i, § 16, delivered in A.D. 347.
' Lib. ii. cap. 57. * See p. 123.
' Dc Corona, cap. iii. ; /*. Z., ii. 79.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 147
Denouncing second marriages, he describes the
true Christian widow as one who —
' prays for his \i.e. her husband's] soul, and requests re-
freshment for him in the meanwhile, and fellowship in the
first resurrection, and she offers [sacrifice] on the anniver-
saries of his falling asleep.' ^
As an argument against being married more than
once, he denounces the praying constantly, and
annually offering [sacrifice] for two wives.^
St. Cyprian, in a letter addressed to the clergy and
laity of Carthage, announcing the appointment of
the confessor Celerinus to the office of reader, re-
minds them how many martyrs the family of Cele-
rinus had produced, viz. his grandmother Celerina,
his uncles Laurentius and Egnatius, the one on his
father's side, the other on his mother's side, and then
adds —
'You remember we always offer sacrifices for them as
often as with annual commemoration we celebrate the
passions and days of the martyrs.' ^
Origen says that —
' We devoutly make memorial [memories] of thy saints,
and of our parents and friends, who die in the faith, as well
as to rejoice in their refreshment, as to desire for ourselves
a pious consummation in the faith.' *
' Dc Monogamia, torn, ii. p. 636. The Montanism of this fragment
does not interfere with its genuineness, or with the value of the evidence
of the passage quoted.
- Lib. de Exhoj-tatioiie Castitatis, cap. xi. ; P. L., ii. 926,
^ Ep. xxxiv. § 3 ; P. L., iv. 319.
* Lib. iii. in Job, torn. ii. p. 902, col, I.
I4S LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
And again —
' It seems fitting and convenient to make remembrance
of the saints in our solemn assemblies, in order that we
may benefit ourselves by the recollection of their doings.' ^
In the Canons of Hippolytus it is ordered that —
' If a memorial is celebrated for those who are departed,
before people sit down [to the feast], let them partake of
the Mysteries, but not on the first day of the week. After
the oblation let there be distributed to them the bread of
exorcism before they sit down.' -^
Arnobius, referring to the destruction of Christian
churches in the Diocletian persecutions, asks —
' What have our conventicles done that they should be
ruthlessly destroyed, places in which God most High is
prayed to, peace and pardon are asked for all men, for
magistrates, armies, kings, friends, and foes, for persons
still living, and for persons delivered from the bondage of
the flesh ? ' ^
In the Passion of St. Perpetua that saint in the
second vision sees her brother Dinocrates, who had
died of gangrene in the face at the age of seven
years, in a dark place, dirty and pale, and with the
wound still in his face. He is hot and thirsty, and
vainly trying to get at the water of a font, the rim
of which is above his head. In a later vision she
sees him, in answer to her prayers, cleansed, well
clad, and refreshed ; only the scar of the old wound
is to be seen ; the rim of the font is lowered to the
* Lib. ix. in Rom. xii. § 12 ; P. 6'., xiv. 1220.
' Canon xxxiii. §§ 169, 170, p. 106.
' Adversus Gentes, lib, iv. cap. 36 ; P. L., v. 1076,
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 149
boy's waist ; he gets as much water out of it as he
wants, drinking out of a golden goblet which never
fails. When his need was thus supplied, he departed
from the water to play after the manner of children
with great delight. ' Then,' adds Perpetua, * I under-
stood that he was released from punishment.' ^
In the Acts of Paul and Thecla it is recorded that —
* after the beasts had been shown, Trifina took Thecla
home with her, and they went to bed; and behold the
daughter of Trifina, who was dead, appeared to her mother
and said, " Mother, let the young woman Thecla be re-
puted by you as your daughter in my stead ; and desire
her, that she should pray for me, that I may be translated
to a place of refreshment." '
Thecla complied with the request, and offered this
short prayer —
' O Lord God of heaven and earth, Jesus Christ, Son of
the most High, grant that her daughter Falconilla may
live for ever.' ^
The evidence yielded by early Christian inscrip-
tions in the catacombs is of the same character.
Many of them merely state or imply that the soul
of the departed Christian is in peace, others are cast
in the shape of prayer for the peace and refreshment
of the soul of the departed ; e.g. —
' Hilaris, may you live happily with your friends ; may
you be refreshed in the peace of God.' ^
' Capp. vii., viii., pp. 29, 72-75.
* Cap. viii. ; Grabe, Spicilegium (Oxford, 1714), pp. 108, 109.
* The original Latin or Greek of this and the following inscriptions,
together with the cemetery in which the inscription is found, is given in
I50 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
'Kalemeros, may God refresh thy spirit, together with
that of thy sister Hilara.' ^
'Timothea, mayest thou have eternal hght in Christ' ^
' Irenaea, mayest thou Hve in God, Alpha and Omega.' ^
* Marius A^itellianus to his most faithful wife Primitiva.
Hail, innocent soul, dear wife, mayest thou live in Christ.' *
' Mayest thou live among the saints in peace.' ^
The names of the departed for whom prayer was
specially desired were mentioned by the priest in
the course of divine service, being probably placed
before him in some convenient form, such as the
diptychs of later days.
St. Cyprian mentions that at Carthage no one was
allowed, on dying, to nominate a cleric as executor
or guardian, and that if any one did so, no offering
was to be made for him, and no sacrifice celebrated
for his repose {pro dormiiiofte ejus).
' For that man does not deserve to be named at the altar
in the prayer of the priests, who was ready to call away
priests and ministers from the altar.' "
A few lines further on we learn that the particular
prayer in which the name of the deceased was
mentioned was called ' deprecatio ' (aut deprecatio
aliqua nomine ejus in ecclesia frequentetur). This
is interesting, because we know that a similar usage
Dr. H. M. Luckock's J/fer Death, Sth ed. (London, 1890), p. 94.
They are a sample selected out of some six thousand extant epitaphs,
about half of which may be ante-Nicene, and many of which might be
quoted to the same effect.
' Ihid., p. 94. - Ibid., p. 95. ' Ibid., p. 95.
* Ibid., p. 96. * Ibid., p. 97. « Ep., Ixvi. p. 114.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 151
and a similar use of the term ' deprecatio ' prevailed
afterwards in both the Gallican and Celtic churches.^
These prayers for the departed always referred to
the peace and happiness of their souls, and contained
no reference to the doctrine of a purgatorial fire,
which was evolved in later times, and formulated in
the Council of Trent.^
Nor did they imply that the eternal destiny of
the soul of man could be altered by human inter-
cession. Such a supposition is rendered impossible
by such language as the following : —
' While we are on earth, then, let us repent ; for we are
clay under the craftsman's hand. For in like manner as
the potter, if he is making a vessel, and it get twisted or
crushed in his hands, re-shapeth it again ; but if he have
once put it into the fiery oven, he shall no longer mend
it. So also let us, while we are in this world, repent with
our whole heart of the evil things which we have done in
the flesh, that we may be saved by the Lord, while we
have yet time for repentance. For after that we have
departed out of the world, we can no more make confession
then, or repent any more.' ^
* Once gone forth from hence there is no more place for
repentance; no satisfaction can be accomplished. It is
here that life is lost or saved ; it is here that eternal salva-
tion is provided for by the worship of God, and the fruits
of faith.' -^
' Liturgy and Ritual of the Celtic Church, pp. 105, 106.
- ' Prceterea est purgatorius ignis, quo piorum animaa ad definitum
tempus cruciatae expiantur, ut eis in reternam patriam ingressus patere
possit ' {Catechismjis Concil. Trident., Pars prima, Art. v. § 5),
^ Second Epistle of .St. Clement to the Corinthians, § 8, p. 89.
* St. Cyprian, Lib. ad Demctrianntn, ad finem, p. 224.
152 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
{d) Prayer to the departed. While there is
abundant evidence for the practice of prayer for
the departed from the earliest times, there is not a
single genuine passage which can be quoted from
any ante-Nicene Father in favour of the practice of
prayer to the departed.
One ambiguous passage is sometimes quoted from
Origen,^ which may quite as well refer to prayer to
living saints as to departed saints, and which, we
may say, certainly does so in face of the absolute
statement made by Origen elsewhere to this effect.
' For every prayer, and supplication, and intercession,
and thanksgiving is to be sent up to the supreme God,
through the High Priest, who is above all the angels, the
living Word and God' ^
Still, departed saints were held by him to be assist-
ing those oh earth. He says —
' I think that all those fathers who have fallen asleep
before us, are fighting with us and helping us with their
prayers.' "^
There are, however, a considerable number of
inscriptions in the catacombs, which contain invo-
cations of departed saints. They are mostly post-
Nicene in date ; but a few may be assigned to the
third century, or at least to a date before A.D. 325.
Out of the thirty-five dated inscriptions, which are
earlier than A.D. 325 (inclusive), only one contains
' De Oralionc, § 14, torn. i. p. 221. The Greek originnl and a
translation are printed by Dr. Luckock, ut supra, p. 175. See also
pp. 187, 188.
- Contra Celsiim, lib. v. § 4, torn. i. p. 580.
^ Horn. xvi. in Lib. Jesji A''avc, § 4, ton), ii. p. 437.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 153
an address to the departed, and that this very simple
one —
' Mayest thou live among the saints ! ' ^
But among undated inscriptions we find such as the
following : —
' Matronata Matrona, who lived for a year and fifty-
two days. Pray for thy parents ! ' '■^
'Anatolius made this for his well-deserving son, who
lived seven years, seven months, and twenty days. May
thy spirit rest well in God. Pray for thy sister.' ^
Are these epitaphs ante-Nicene or post-Nicene ?
It is impossible to decide. But, whatever their date,
they are more like pious ejaculations than formal
prayers. They do not involve more than *ora pro
nobis.' They fall far short of the strong appeals made
to the departed saints for help of all kinds, and of the
extravagant language in which these appeals were,
and are frequently clothed, in mediaeval and modern
times. They are a testimony to the very early date
at which a desire to appeal to departed saints began
to take possession of men's minds. They are to be
regretted, not as demonstrably wrong in themselves,
but as unwise in the absence of any revelation as
to whether departed saints can or cannot hear and
give effect to our prayers to them, and as dangerous
' De Rossi, Inscriptiones Christiana Urbis Kama: {Rome, 1857-61),
p. 16. It is referred to the date 268 or 269.
* Northcote (J. S.), Epitaphs of the Catacombs (London, 1878),
p. 81, No. 5.
* Ibid., No. 6. It may be of interest to add that of the few early-
dated epitaphs only one occurs in the first century ; two occur in the
second century ; twenty-three or twenty-four in the third centurj'.
154 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
in view of the extravagant character which prayer
to departed saints assumed in after centuries.^
(e) Times of prayer. See Saints' Days (p, 155),
Sunday (p. 157).
As to hours of prayer, there was probably no
settled order of services corresponding to the
night and day hours of the later Breviaries. The
Christian Church was in too inchoate a condition,
and too much harassed by heathen persecution,
to admit of its elaborating such a scheme of
worship as that known to us by the name of the
' Divine Office ; ' but allusions to prayers in the
morning, in the evening, at night, at the third,
sixth, and ninth hours of the day {i.e. Tcrce,
Sext, and None) are found in the writings of
Tertullian, St. Clement of Alexandria, and Origen.'-
Even if they refer primarily to private prayer, they
foreshadow the Divine Office of later times. Terce,
Sext, None, sunset {vespere, Xv^vIkoj, candle-light),
midnight, and cock-crow are mentioned in the Canons
of Hippolytus.^ An early daily public service is
described in the following canon : —
'Let presbyters, subdeacons, and readers, and all the
jjeople assemble daily in the church at time of cock-crow
{s:^aind/iiu)n), and betake themselves to prayer, to psalms,
and to the reading of the Scriptures, according to the
' Littledale (R. F.), Plain Keasous. etc. (S.P.C.K., Loiulon, 1886),
J). 30, etc.
* The passages are given at length by Dom S. Baeumer, Geschicltte
des Breviers (Freiburg in Breisgau, 1895), pp. 42-49. Origen's refer-
ences, which are less explicit, will be found on pp. 50, 51.
' Canons XXV. p. 127 ; xxvii. pp. 131, 133.
II.l . ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 155
command of the Apostles, " Until I come attend to
reading." ' ^
This passage is interesting as proving that the
Divine Office was not exclusively monastic in its
origin, or intended for the use of the clergy or of
the cloister only. Other canons in the same collec-
tion are devoted to urging people to frequent the
church on all days on which there are prayers, unless
business prevents them from hearing the word of
God ; on those days on which there is not a service
in church they are to read the Bible at home. On
such days —
' Let the sun in the morning see the Scripture upon thy
knees.' ^
§ 18. Saints' Days. — Saints' days, so far as
martyrs are concerned, began to be kept at a very
early date. In the letter of the Smyrnaeans, de-
scribing the martyrdom of St. Polycarp, we are told
how the Christians, after he had been burned to
death, gathered together his bones —
'and laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will
permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able,
in gladness and joy, and to celebrate the birthday of his
martyrdom, for the commemoration of those who have
already fought in the contest, and for the training and
preparation of those who shall do so liereafter.' ^
' Canon xxi. § 217, p. 122.
* Canons xxvi., xxvii. pp. 125, 126. These Canons deserve special
notice. There is nothing corresponding to them in the Apostolic
Constitutions. One would have thought that in the third century there
could not have been sufficient copies of Holy Scripture in circulation to
make the last-quoted direction capable of general observance.
^ Cap. 18. Bp. Lightfoot, Tlic Apostolic Fathers, 1S91, p. 209.
156 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [[I.
St. Cyprian enjoins the presbyters and deacons —
* to note down the days of the deaths of the confessors,
that the commemoration of them might be celebrated
among the memorials of martyrs.' ^
In another place he says —
* We always offer sacrifices for them, as often as we
annually celebrate and commemorate the passions and
death-days of the martyrs.' ^
In A.D. 258, after the Decian persecution, when
St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of Neocit:sarca,
returned to his diocese, he ordered annual feasts in
commemoration of the martyrs who had been faithful
unto death.^
It will be noticed that, although St. Cyprian
mentions confessors, yet it is martyrs who are
specially referred to in all these cases. The com-
memoration of martyrs preceded all other com-
memorations. Those of other classes of saints,
confessors, virgins, etc., were added afterwards. Even
for the Blessed Virgin Mary no festival or com-
memoration was appointed in the first three centuries.
The following is the list of festivals and fasts enu-
merated in the Apostolic Constitutions : — Christmas
Day ; the Epiphany ; Lent, consisting of the week
before Easter, including Maundy Thursday, Good
Friday, and Easter Even ; Easter Day ; Low
Sunday; the forty days of Eastertide ; the Feast of
' Ep. xxxvii. p. 50. * Ep. xxxiv. p. 47.
=• Smith and Wace, Dkt. of Christian Biography, vol. ii. p. 735. A
panegyric on martyrs by him may be read in P. G., x. 1 199-1202.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 157
Pentecost, with the week after -it ; all Sundays in
the year ; all Saturdays in the year are feasts,
except Easter Even ; and all Wednesdays and
Fridays are fasts.^
Sign of the Cross. See § 7, p. 98.
§ 19. Sunday. — St. Ignatius describes Christians
as no longer keeping the sabbath (Saturday), but as
* living after the Lord's day,' ^ that is to say, not
only observing the first day of the week instead of
the seventh, but thereby also showing their belief in
a risen Saviour, and their acceptance of all which
that belief involves. This is probably the first extra-
scriptural allusion to the Christian Sunday.
In the Didache, people are enjoined thus —
' And on the Lord's own day, gather yourselves together,
and break bread, and give thanks, first confessing your
transgressions, that your sacrifice may be pure.'^
The same title, KvpuiKi], or the Lord's day, for
Sunday, occurs in the recently discovered fragment
of the Gospel of St. Peter, which probably belongs
to the second century."*
In the Epistle of Barnabas the author writes —
' Wherefore we keep the eighth day as a day of gladness,
on which also Jesus rose from the dead, and after He had
appeared, ascended into heaven.' ^
' Lib. V. capp. 13, 20. We have employed the modern nomen-
clature in writing down this list.
* Kara KvpiaK^v C'^vres, Ep, to the Magnesians, cap. ix, pp. 114,
145-
^ Cap. xiv. pp. 223, 234.
* Salmon (G.), Introd. to the A^ew Testawcnt, 7th ed., p. 584.
* Cap. XV. p. 261.
158 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
Justin Martyr explained the selection of the first
day as being that on which God destroyed darkness
and chaos, and created the world, and because Jesus
Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the
dead.^ He also declares Sunday to be the first and
chiefest of all days, and refers to circumcision on the
eighth day as a type of it^^
Irenaius, referring to the paschal controversy, in a
letter to Victor, Bishop of Rome, said that the
mystery of the Lord's resurrection ought to be
celebrated only on the Lord's day;^
Origen ingeniously argued that manna was rained
down from heaven on the Lord's day, and not on
the sabbath day, to show the Jews that even in the
time of Moses the former was preferred before the
latter.'*
Melito of Sardis wrote a treatise about the Lord's
day, which, unfortunately, has not come down to us.^
St. Clement of Alexandria says that —
' Man thoroughly keeps the command in the Gospel, and
makes that day the Lord's day, when he abandons an evil
disposition, and assumes that of the gnostic, glorifying the
Lord's resurrection in himself.' "
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, mentions the Lord's
day as holy.'''
' Apol. i., cap. 67. See p. 54.
^ Dial, cum Try phone, § 41 ; /". C, vi. 564.
' Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., lib., iv. cap. 26. i
■* Horn. ii. ill Exod. § 5, torn. ii. p. 151.
^ Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., lib. iv. cap. 26.
'' Slroinata, lib. vii. cap. 12; P. G., ix. 506.
' Quoted by Eusebius, Hist. Ecc/es., iv. 23. 8.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 159
Tertullian tells us that it was unlawful to fast on
the Lord's day.^
We have already quoted the prohibition against
kneeling on the Lord's day.^ The attitude of stand-
ing in prayer on that day was explained as sym-
bolical of the resurrection, through which, by the
grace of Christ, we were saved from sin and death.**
In the Apostolic Constitutions, after double daily
prayer has been ordered, it is added —
' And on the day of our Lord's resurrection, which is the
Lord's Day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God
that made the universe by Jesus, and sent Him to us, and
condescended to let Him suffer, and raised Him from the
dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who
does not assemble on that day to hear the saving word
concerning the resurrection ? On that day we pray, stand-
ing thrice, in memory of Him who arose after three days,
and on that day there is performed the reading of the
prophets, and the preaching of the gospel, the oblation of
the sacrifice, and the gift of the holy food.' *
And again —
' Every sabbath day, excepting one [i.e. Easter Even],
and every Lord's day, hold your solemn assemblies and
rejoice.' '
§ 20. Unction. — Most of what has to be said
about Unction has already been said in connection
' De Corona, cap. 3 ; F. Z., ii. 79. - Page 142.
* Irenseus, Gr. Fragm. vii., W. W. Harvey's ed. (Cambridge, 1857),
vol. ii. p. 478.
* Lib. ii. cap. 58.
* Lib. V. cap. 20. A mine of information on the subject of Sunday
will be found in Dr. G. A. Hessey's Bat?ipton Ltcturcs, 5th ed.
(London, 1889), p. 279, etc.
i6o LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
with Baptism ^ and Confirmation.^ One or two
passages of a general character remain to be quoted.
Theophilus, sixth or seventh Bishop of Antioch,
writing c. i8o, thus defends himself against the taunt
still levelled against the name of Christian by the
heathen —
* When you laugh at me, calling me a Christian, you do
not know what you are saying. First, that which is
anointed is sweet and serviceable, and ought not to be
laughed at.^ What ship can be serviceable and seaworthy
unless it be first anointed ? Or what tower or house is
sightly or serviceable when it has not been anointed ?
What man, on entering into this life, or when contending
in the games, is not anointed with oil ? What work can be
comely and sightly if it be not anointed and polished ?
Then even the air and all that is under heaven is, in a kind
of way, anointed with light and spirit, and do you not wish
to be anointed with the oil of God? We, therefore, are
called Christians on this account, because we are anointed
with the oil of God.' *
Origen mentions unction once, but incidentally,
and without detail ; though it is plain, from the
context, that it was post-baptismal —
' If God have washed thee [in baptism], and the word of
the law and the unction of the chrism have made thee clean,
and then if the grace of baptism have remained uncon-
taminated in thee,' etc.
— in a fine passage comparing the dress and the
» Pages 68, 70. ^ Pages 89, 98.
' This is a play upon the words xpi<i'r6s (anointed) and xfii)Ct7oi
(serviceable).
* Apologia ad Autolycum, lib. i. § I2; Z'. G., vi. 1042.
11.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. i6i
ornaments of the Levitical priesthood to the virtues
which should adorn a Christian.^
Sometimes unction is metaphorically referred to,
as when Tertullian tells the martyrs that Christ their
Master has anointed them with His Spirit.^
We have already seen that there were two separate
rites of unction, the one immediately before and
preparatory to baptism, the other immediately after
baptism, and so closely connected with confirmation,
that in the East, at least from the earlier part of the
fourth century, it has entirely superseded the action
of laying on of hands. In the West, the same super-
session was more gradual, and not universal till a much
later date. Both baptismal unctions are mentioned
in the Canons of Hippolytus. At the second unction
with the chrisma {ivyapiariaq), the formula to be used
by the presbyter is, ' I anoint thee in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' "'*
They are both described in the Apostolic Constitu-
tions with much fuller detail.^ There the unction
after baptism {jxvpov) is called laying on of hands
{x,iiif)odi(Tia), and is thereby identified with confirma-
tion, and is made an essential complement or accom-
paniment of baptism.
There is no allusion to unction of the sick or
' Horn, vi. in Levit., § 5, torn. ii. p. 218.
- Ad Marty res, cap. iii. torn. i. p. 258. The passage is a vigorous
piece of Latin : ' Bonum agonem subituri estis, in quo agonothetes
Deus vivus est, xystarches Spiritus Sanctus. Corona isternitatis, brabiun^
angelicce substantia, politia in CDslis, gloria in soecula SKCulorum.
Itaque epistates vester Christus Jesus, qui vos Spiritu unxit,' etc.
^ Canon xix. § 134, p. 98.
* Lib. vii. caps. 42-44, pp. 184, 185.
M
1 62 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
'extreme unction' in ante-Nicene literature. Origen
is sometimes referred to in connection with this
subject, but if readers will refer to the passage
adduced, they will find a rhetorical sentence in which
St. James v. 14 is quoted, but not in such away as to
make it fair or possible to quote Origen as an
authority for the practice of unction of the sick.^
§ 21. Vestments. — If we except one recently dis-
covered passage quoted below, there is no evidence
that any distinctive kind of dress was worn by the
clergy in the first three centuries, either in ordinary
life or at any time of their ministrations. On the
contrary, there are plain statements in later writers
that special vestments were unknown to the primitive
Church. We will quote two sentences from medireval
ritualists of recognized authority.
Walafrid Strabo, writing in the ninth century,
says —
* In primitive times priests used to celebrate mass clothed
in their ordinary dress, as some of the Orientals are reported
to do even to the present day.' -
Beleth of Paris, writing in the twelfth century,
says —
* Formerly the [Eucharistic] Sacrifice was celebrated by
the Apostles and by Apostolic men in the primitive Church
with vessels of wood, and in common dress.' ''
The earliest reference to a special vestment appears
' Horn. ii. in Levit., § 4, torn. ii. 191.
- De Rebus Eccles., cap. 24; P. L., cxiv. 952.
' Diviiwrum Officioruvi Explicatio, cap. ^lii. (Naples, 1859),
p. 778.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 163
to be in the Canons of Hippolytus, which lay down
directions for a white ministerial dress —
' As soon as the bishop wishes to celebrate the mysteries,
let the deacons and presbyters come together to him, clad
in white vestments more beautiful than all the people, and
as splendid as possible. But good work excels all vest-
ments. Let the readers also have festival garments. . . .
The readers also are to wear festal dresses,' '■
Afterwards, in the Apostolic Constitutions, the
celebrant is described as standing at the altar clad in
a shining garment.'-^
The golden plate or fillet or mitre (ro TrtVaAoi')
which Polycrates informs us was worn by St. John
the Divine,^ and which a later authority, Epiphanius,
tells us was worn by St. James the Less,' seems
to have been something quite exceptional in its
character, and cannot be referred to as an instance of
settled ministerial dress.
Origen has a long disquisition on the vestments of
the Jewish priesthood, and with his usual ingenuity
calls attention to their counterpart in the various
virtues which should adorn and clothe the Christian ;
but he nowhere makes any allusion to their finding a
material counterpart in any article or articles of
Christian ministerial dress.^'
The ' poderis,' ' rationale,' and ' tiara sacerdotalis,'
' Canon xxxvii. §§ 201, 203, pp. I18, 119.
'-' Aa^Trpd// eVOrjTa jti6T€;/5vs, lib. viii. cap. 12, §3, see p. 290.
' In his letter to Victoi', Bishop of Rome, preserved by Eusebius,
Hist. Eccles., lib. v. cap. 24.
■* Uteres., xxix. 4 (ed. CEhler, torn. ii.. pars prior), p, 232.
* Horn, vi. in Levit., torn, ii, p. 215.
1 64 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [ll.
mentioned by him in his Commentary on Psahn
xxxiv. 2} are, we imagine, Jewish, and not Christian,
vestments. There are frequent references to them in
the Old Testament. All three words are found as
the names of Christian vestments in mediaeval writers.'-^
§ 22. Vulgar Tongue, Use of the. — There is
no trace of the use of a dead language in the services
of the early Church. It would seem to be incon-
sistent with the line of argument used by St. Paul in
I Cor. xiv., as well as with the dictates of common
sense.
Justin Martyr describes the reading of the Holy
Scriptures in the Christian assemblies, and then the
founding of a discourse thereon by the president in a
way which plainly indicates that all was conducted
in intelligible language, and that there was no need
of an interpreter.'^
Origen says, in answer to a charge of the un-
intelligibility of Christian worship brought by
Celsus —
' The Grecians use the Greek language in their prayers,
and the Romans the Roman, and so every one in his own
dialect prays to God, and the God of all languages liears
them that pray in all dialects, understanding their different
languages as well as if they spake with one tongue.' *
§ 23 {a). Washing of Hands. — The custom of
washing the hands before prayer is referred to by
Tertullian, who appends a caution when he asks —
' Tom. ii. p. 650. •' Sec Du Cange, Glossarium.
* Apol. cap. 67. See p. 53.
' Contra Cchunt, lib. viii. § 37 ; /'. C, xl. 1574.
II.] ANTE-NICENE RITUAL. 165
'What is the use of entering on prayer with the hands
washed indeed, but with the spirit defiled ? ' ^
A reference to the ablution of the hands at the
love-feast has already been quoted from the same
writer.^
In the Canons of Hippolytus the Christian is
directed to wash his hands whenever he prays.^
Ablution of hands, no doubt, preceded every act of
worship, and may have originated in a natural
instinct of cleanliness, before it was crystallized into
the ceremonial lavabo of later times.
{b) Washing of Feet. — The washing of feet was
ceremonially practised in the week before Easter in
the mediaeval Church, as it is still practised in some
places in imitation of our Lord washing the feet of
His Apostles in the upper chamber on the first
Maundy Thursday. But there is no evidence- for its
practice by the earliest Christians. Indeed, Origen,
commenting at length on the scriptural feet-washing,
as described in St. John's Gospel,^ decides that it is
not to be perpetuated literally.^
The curious custom of a baptismal pedilavinni, or
washing of the feet of the newly baptized after their
baptism, as found in some of the baptismal offices of
Spain, Gaul, Milan, and Ireland, or as referred to in
' De Oratiotte, cap. xi. torn. i. p. 250.
- Page 136.
^ ' Christianus lavet nianus omni tempore , quo oral,' Canon xxv.
§ 224, p. 124, and Canon xxviii. § 241, p. 130.
* Cap. xiii. 2-30.
* P. G., xiv. 773, 774.
1 66 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [II.
writings or canons connected with those places, may
have stretched back into the third century, for we
find it prohibited by the 48th Canon of the Council
of Elvira, A.D. 306.^
' Hefele, History of the Christian Councils, 2nd cd, (Edinbuigli,
1872), vol. i. p. 157. Sec p. 49.
( i67 )
CHAPTER III.
ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS.
§ I. A Prayer from the Epistle of St. Clement — § 2. Extract from the
Epistle of St. Clement — § 3. Prayers from the Didaclic — § 4. A
Prayer of the Scillitan Martyrs — § 5. Prayers of Origen — § 6.
Forms of Creed— § 7. A Hymn to Christ— § 8. The Virgins'
Song — § 9. An Evening Hymn — § 10. Prayers and Thanksgivings
from the Canons of Hippolytiis — § li. Anthems, etc., of uncertain
date — § 12. Ancient Liturgies.
It is proposed in this chapter to collect together
and lay before the reader such devotional formula.%
prayers, hymns, etc., as can with certainty be assigned
to the ante-Nicene period of the Christian Church.
Though not all strictly liturgical, they may be
ranged under the head of liturgical remains, if we
interpret the epithet ' liturgical ' in the general sense
which it has gradually acquired, and in which it is
now frequently, though not with technical correctness,
used.
§ I. A Prayer of the Christian Church of
THE P'irst Century, taken from Chapters LIX.,
LX., LXI. of the [first] Epistle of St. Clement of
Rome to the Corinthians. — The references in the
notes seem to justify the conclusion that we have
1 68 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [III.
here preserved to us a piece of the Roman Liturgy
of the first century.^
59. ' Grant unto us, Lord, that we may set our hope on Thy
Name, which is the primal source of all creation, and open
the eyes of our hearts, that we may know Thee, who alone
abidest Highest in the Jiigh, Holy in the Jioly ; - who layest
low the insolence of t/ie p/'ond,^ who scatterest the iniaginini^s of
nations ; ^ who settest the lojvly on high ; ^ who niakest rich
and makcst poor ;^ \s\iokillcst and make st alive ;'^ who alone
art the Benefactor of spirits and the God of all flesh ; who
lookest into the abysses,^ who scannest the works of man ; the
succour of them that are in peril, the Saviour of them that
arc in despair'^ the Creator and Overseer of every spirit ; '"
who multipliest the nations upon earth, and hast chosen
out ■ from all men those that love Thee, through Jesus
Christ, Thy beloved Son, through whom Thou didst in-
struct us, didst sanctify us, didst honour us. We beseech
Thee, Lord and Master, to be our help and succour}'^ Save
those among us who are in tribulation ; have mercy on the
lowly; lift up the fallen; show Thyself unto the needy;
Ileal the ungodly ; convert the wanderers of Thy people ;
feed the hungry ; release our prisoners ; ^'- raise up the
' r,ightfuot (J. B.), Tlie Apostolic Fathers (London, 1890), I'ait I.,
vol. ii., whence the following notes are mainly taken.
- Isa. Ivii. 15. This and the following references are to the LXX.
' Isa. xiii. il. '' Ps. xxxii. 10. * Ezek. xxi. 26.
" I Kings ii. 7. ' Deut. xxxii. 39.
^ Suggested by Ecclus. xvi. 18, 19. In the preface of tlic Liiurgy
of St. Basil, God is addressed as o Ka6r]fi(Pos inl Opovov 5y|rjy Kal
firifi\eirwi' dfiuffcTovs (H., p. I06).
" Judith ix. II. The phrase also occurs with variation and amplifi-
cation in the Great Intercession in the Liturgy of St. Mark (II., p. iSi),
and in the same part of the Liturgy of St. Basil (H., p. 122).
'" Adapted from Job x. 12. Compare iiriaKone waa-ris ffapicos in the
Great Intercession in the Liturgy of St. Mark (II, , p. iSi).
*' Ps. cxviii. 1 14. The phrase occurs in tiie Prayer of Humble Access
ill the Clementine Liturgy (II., p. 20).
'" A similar iJclitiun occurs in tiic Clementine Litiu'gy (II., p. 9),
III.] ANXE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 169
meek; comfort the faint-hearted. Let all the Gentiles
know that Thou art God ahmc^ and Jesus Christ is
Thy Son,^ and we are Thy people and the sheep of Thy
pasture.^
60. Thou through Thine operations didst make manifest
the everlasting fabric of the world.* Thou, Lord, didst create
the earth. Thou that art faithful throughout all genera-
tions, righteous in Thy judgments, marvellous in strength
and excellence, Thou that art wise in creating and prudent
in establishing that which Thou hast made, that art good in
the things which are seen, and faithful with them that trust
on Thte, pitiful a?id compassionate,'^ forgive us our iniquities,
and our unrighteousness, and our transgressions and short-
comings. Lay not to our account every sin of Thy servants
and of Thine handmaids, but cleanse us with the cleansing
of Thy truth, and guide our steps to walk in holiness^' and
righteousness, and singleness of hearty and to do such things
as are good and well-pleasing in Thy sight," and in the sight
of our rulers. Yea, Lord, make Thy face to shine upon us in
peace for our good^^ that vve may be sheltered by Thy right
hand,^^ 2^n^ delivered from every sin by Thine uplifted arm ?-^
And deliver us from them that hate us wrongfully. Give
and in many of the ancient Liturgies ; Liturgy of St. Mark (H., p. 181) ;
Liturgy of St. James (H., p. 44). In the West we find similar allusions
in some of the ancient Gallican Liturgies, which form a strong proof of
their great antiquity, as in the Missale Gothicum : * Domini miseri-
cordiam deprecemur pro fratribus et sororibus nostris captivitatibus
elongatis, carceribus detentis, metallis deputatis,' a proefatio among
the Orationes Paschales (No. xxxiii.).
' I Kings viii. 60.
- This word (ttSis) is twice applied to Christ in the Clementine
Liturgy (H., pp. 20, 23).
" I's. xcix. 3.
* Part of this sentence, partly based on Wisdom vii. 17, is borrowed
in the Apostolic Constitutions, lib. viii. cap. 22.
* Ps. cii. 8, and frequently. " Ps. xxxix. 2 ; cxviii. 133.
' 2 Kings ix. 4. » Deut. xiii. 18.
' Suggested by Jer. xxi. 10. '*> Exod. vi. i, and frequently.
I70 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICEXE CHURCH. [III.
concord and peace to us and to all that dwell on the earth
as Thou gavest to our fathers, when they called on Thee in
faith and trnth^ with holiness, [that we may be saved] while
we render obedience to Thine almighty and most excellent
Name, and to our rulers and governors upon the earth.
6 1. Thou,- Lord and Master, hast given them the power of
sovereignty through Thine excellent and unspeakable might,
that we, knowing the glory and honour which Thou hast
given them, may submit ourselves unto them, in nothing
resisting Thy will. Grant unto them therefore, O Lord,
health, peace, concord, stability, that they may administer
the government which Thou hast given them without
failure. For Thou, O Heavenly Master, King of the ages,
givest to the sons of men glory and power over all things
that are upon the eartli. Do Thou, Lord, direct their
counsel, according to that which is good and well pleasing
in Thy sight ; that, administering in peace and gentleness
with godliness, the power which Thou hast given them,
they may obtain Thy favour. O Thou, who alone art able
to do these things, and things far more exceeding good
than these for us, we praise Thee through the High Priest
and Guardian " of our souls, Jesus Christ, through whom be
the glory and the majesty unto Thee both now and for all
generations, and for ever and ever. Amen.'
§ 2. Extract from the Epistle of St.
Clement. — The following' passage occurs in the
^ Ps. c.xliv. i8.
- Prayers for earthly rulers, reseinblinj; this, are a common and con-
spicuous feature in ancient Liturgies. See Clementine Liturgy,
IL, p. i8. They reflect the teaching of St. Paul (i Tim. ii. 42;
Rom. xiii. 1-7), and St. Peter (i Pet. ii. 17), and form an eloquent
testimony to the law-abiding spirit and loyalty of the early Christians,
sometimes under the most trying and adverse conditions.
' These two titles, dpx'fps "^^ "^"^^ ■trpotTTo.Trjs, are both applied to Christ
in the Clementine Liturgy, the former twice (IL, pp. 12, 16), the latter
once {Ihid., p. 10).
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS, iji
thirty-fourth chapter of St. Clement's [first] Epistle
to the Corinthians : — ^
'Let us submit ourselves to His (God's) will; let us
mark the whole host of His angels how they stand by and
minister {XuTovpyovanv) unto His will. For the Scripture
saith, " Ten tJiousand times ten thousand stood by ffitn, and
thousands of thousands ministered tinto Him : and they cried
aloud, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Sabaoth : all creation is
full of His glory T"- Yea, and let us ourselves then, being
gathered together into one place ^ with intentness of heart,'*
cry unto Him as from one mouth earnestly, that we may be
made partakers of His great and glorious promises. For
he saith, " Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, and it hath not
entered into the heart of man what great things He hath pre-
pared for them that patiently await Him.''^ ' ^
The liturgical cast of this passage has been
frequently noticed. We infer from it that the
Triumphal Hymn, commonly called the ' Tersanctus,'
formed part of the Roman Liturgy at the cIofj
of the first century, and that thp r'jrlptu.iil ^''otation,
* Eye hath not seen,' etc., wa?. likewise embedded in it.
The Triumphal Hymn formed a part of every
known ancient Liturgy, and in the following Litur-
gies there occurs the two-fold reference to Isa. vi. 3
as well as to Dan. vii. 10 : — The Clementine Liturgy,*^
' Lightfoot (J. B.), The Apostolic Fathers (London, 1891), pp. 23,
71-
- Dan. vii. 10 (but mark the liturgical term iKeirovpyovv substituted
by Clement for the LXX. fdfpdirevov) and Is. vi. 3.
* 'Eiri TO avTo. Bp. Lightfoot translates it ' in concord.'
* Or ' with a lively conscience.' The Greek words both for this
phrase and for ' earnestly ' are of common occurrence in the ancient
Liturgies.
^ Is. Ixiv. 4, as quoted by St. Paul in i Cor. ii. 9. " II., p. 16.
172 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom,^ St. Mark,^ Coptic
St. Cyril,^ Ethiopic,* SS. Adaeus and Maris/' Greek
St. James,^ Syriac St. James ; "' but in the last two
named Liturgies the reference to Dan. vii. lo has
got transplaced into the Preface to the Lord's
Prayer. There does not appear to be any such
quotation in Western Liturgies, Roman, Ambrosian,
Mozarabic, or Gallican.
The text from i Cor. ii. 9, ' Eye hath not seen,'
etc., is found in various positions in Liturgies, both
Eastern and Western, e.g. in the Great Oblation in
the Liturgy of Greek St. James ;^ in the Diptychs
of the Dead in the Liturgy of St. Mark ;^ in a Preface
in the Gallican Liturgy ;^° in a Capitulum in the
Mozarabic Breviary, in Festo S. Torquati.^^
Chapters xl. and xli. of the same Epistle imply
the existence of a settled Christian Liturgy, though
ihey do not throw any further light upon its
lan;^uagc orcontsiits _
§ 3. Prayers from ftiE ' Didach£.' — The follow-
ing forms of thanksgiving are found in the Didach^,
or the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles : — ^^
Chapter 9.
* But as touching, the eucharistic thanksgiving, give ye
thanks thus. First, as regards the cup —
' H., pp. 107, loS. - Ihid.^ p. 185. ' Ibid., p. 21S.
* Ibid., p, 257. * Ibid., p. 273. " Ibid., pp. 40, 47.
' Ibid., pp. 69, 78. * //'/(/., ]i. 42. •' Ibid., p. 183.
'" Sacrantentariitm Gallicanum, Mabillon's ccL, p. 361.
" Migne's ed. ; /'. I., torn. Ixxxvi. col. III5.
'" See list of autlioiilies, p. xiv.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 173
" We give Thee thanks, O our Father, for the holy vine
of Thy son David, which Thou madest known unto us
through Thy Son Jesus; Thine is the glory for ever and
ever."
Then as regards the broken bread —
" We give Thee thanks, O our Father, for the life and
knowledge which Thou didst make known unto us,
through Thy Son Jesus ; Thine is the glory for ever and
ever. As this broken bread was scattered upon the
mountains, and being gathered together became one, so
may Thy Church be gathered together from the ends of
the earth into Thy kingdom; for Thine is the glory and
the power through Jesus Christ, for ever and ever."
But let no one eat or drink of this eucharistic thanks-
giving, but they that have been baptized into the Name of
the Lord ; for concerning this also the Lord hath said,
" Give not that which is holy to the dogs." ^
Chapter 10.
And after ye are satisfied,- thus give ye thanks —
** We give Thee thanks, Holy Father, for Thy holy Name
which Thou hast made to tabernacle in our hearts, and for
the knowledge and faith and immortality, which Thou hast
made known unto us through Thy Son Jesus ; Thine is the
glory for ever and ever. Thou, Almighty Master, didst
create all things for Thy Name's sake, and didst give food
and drink unto men for enjoyment, that they might render
thanks to Thee ; but didst bestow upon us spiritual food
and drink and eternal life through Thy Son. Before all
things we give Thee thanks that Thou art powerful. Thine
is the glory for ever and ever. Remember, Lord, Thy
Church to deliver it from all evil, and to perfect it in Thy
love, and gather it from the four winds,'' even the Church
' St. Malt. vii. 6. " Mero tu e/x7rA7j(r6f;i^o(.
^ St. Matt, xxiv, 31.
174 LITURGY OF ANTE- NICE NE CHURCH, [ill.
which has been sanctified, into Thy kingdom which Thou
hast prepared for it ; for Thine is the power and the glory
for ever and ever. May grace come, and may this world
pass away. Hosanna to the Son of David. If any man
is holy let him come ; if any man is not, let him repent.
Maranatha. Amen."
But permit the prophets to offer thanksgiving as much
as they desire.' ^
It has been debated whether the above thanks-
givings are connected with the Sacrament of the
Eucharist, or with the agape, or love-feast. There
are the following reasons for thinking that the
former connection is impossible : —
{a) The thanksgiving connected with the cup pre-
cedes the thanksgiving connected with the broken
bread.
{b) No traces of these thanksgivings have been
found in any existing Liturgies, Eastern or Western.
[c) The Eucharist is separately treated of later on
in the DidachJ {c^.^. 14).
{d) Such an expression as fi^ra to \fnr\r]<^By]vui,
though it might be paralleled in rhetorical passages
of such a writer as Bishop Jeremy Taylor, or in the
enraptured devotions of mediaeval or modern saints,
could hardly be used, in a direction resembling a
rubric in such a formal document as the DidacJu^.
§ 4. Prayer of the Scillitan Martyrs.— A
prayer which the earliest extant Greek Version (a.D.
890) puts into the mouths of the Scillitan martyrs,
' This allusion to ihe existence of a class of persons exercising the
function of prophets, and still called by that name, is one of the proofs
of the very early date of the Didacltc,
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 175
who suffered death by the sword for the faith in
Africa, on July 17 (a.d. iSo).-^ Their names were
Speratus, Nartzalus, Cittinus, Veturius, Felix, Aqui-
linus, Celestinus [in the Latin text, Laetantius],
Januaria, Generosa, Vestia, Donata, Secunda.
' We give thanks to Thee, thrice-holy Lord, and we
magnify Thee because Thou hast mercifully completed the
conflict of our confession, and Thy kingdom endureth for
ever and ever. Amen.'
§ 5. Prayers of Ortgen. — Origen quotes the
following short prayer as in constant use in church
in his time : —
' Grant us, O Almighty God, grant us a part with Thy
prophets ; grant us a part with the Apostles of Thy Christ ;
grant that we may be found at the feet of Thy only-
begotten Son.' -
The following prayers also occur in his writings : —
'Almighty Lord God, may it never happen to us that
Jesus Christ, after He is risen from the dead, should again
die in us. For what doth it profit me if He liveth in
others from their virtue, while He dieth in me from the in-
firmity of sin ? What doth it profit me if He doth live in me
and in my heart, and doth not work out in me the works of
life ? What doth it profit me if in another He is born and
made again from good desires, good faith, and good works,
' The original Latin version, contained in a ninth-century MS. in the
British Museum (Addit. MS. No. 1 1880), shortens this prayer to two
words, ' Deo gratias ' (Appendix to J. A. Robinson's edition of the
Passion of St. Perpelua, p. 116 ; A. C. L., vol. for 1897, p. 283).
- Horn. xiv. in Jerem, § 14, Opera, torn. iii. p. 217. This prayer
occurs in substance, though abbreviated, in the Diptychs of the dead in
the centre of the Preface, Liturgy of St. Mark : 'Grant unto us to have
part and lot with all Thy saints' (H., p. 183).
176 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
while in me and in my heart He is, as it were, strangled
and put to death by evil thoughts, unlawful desires, and
most evil imaginations.' ^
' O Lord Jesu, Son of David, come, I pray Thee, lay
aside from Thee the nature wherewith Thou hast clothed
Thyself on my account, and gird Thyself for my sake, and
pour water into a bason, and wash the feet of Thy servants,
and cleanse away the filth of Thy sons and of Thy
daughters. Wash Thou the feet of our mind, that we,
imitating and following Thee, may put oft" from us our old
garments, and may say, " By night I have put off" my coat ;
how shall I put it on ? I have washed my feet ; how shall
I defile them ? " ' For as soon as Thou shalt have washed
my feet, make me to recline with Thee, that I may hear
Thy words, " Ye call me Master and Lord : and ye say
well ; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have
washed your feet ; ye also ought to wash one another's
feet." ^ I too, therefore, am willing to wash the feet of my
brethren, to wash the feet of my fellow disciples. And,
therefore, I take water, and I draw from the fountains of
Israel that which I wring out of the Israelitish fleece. For
at one time I wring water out of the fleece of the Book
of Judges, and at another time water from the fleece of
kingdoms, and water from the fleece of Isaiah or Jeremiah ;
and I pour it into the bason of my mind, conceiving the
sense in my heart ; and I take the feet of those who ofTer
themselves, and prepare themselves for supper ; and, in so
far as the power lies in me, I desire to wash the feet of my
brethren, and to fulfil the commandment of the Lord, that
through the word of teaching the hearers may be purged
from the contamination of their sins, and may cast away
from themselves all the uncleanness of their vices, and may
have clean feet wherewith they may rightly walk towards
' In Lib. JitdiatDU Horn. ii. § 2, torn. ii. ]i. 461.
= Cant. V. 3. ^ St. John xiii. 13, 14.
in.] ANTE-NICEXE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 177
the preparation of the gospel of peace ; so that all of us,
purified together in Christ Jesus by the Word, may not be
rejected from the Bridegroom's chamber, because of our
unclean garments ; but that with shining vesture, and washed
feet, and clean heart, we may recUne at the banquet of
the Bridegroom, our Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, to whom
be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.' ^
' Haste Thee to help me, [O Lord God of my salvation],
for the battle is great and the adversaries are powerful.
The enemy is hostile, the invisible foe fighting through
visible forms. Haste Thee, therefore, to help us, and
assist us through Thy holy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom Thou hast redeemed us all, through whom
be glory and power to Thee for ever and ever. Amen.' 2
§ 6. Forms of Creed. — The following creeds, or
fragments of creeds, have been put together from
writers of the pre-Nicene period : —
{a) From the Apology of Aristides, written in the
reign of Antoninus Pius, A.D. 138-161 : —
' We believe in one God, Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth ;
And in Jesus Christ His Son,
]3orn of the Virgin ISLiry ;
He was pierced by the Jews ;
He died, and was buried ;
The third day He rose again ;
He ascended into heaven ;
He is about to come to judge.' ^
' In Lib. Judicum, Horn. viii. § 5, torn. ii. 476. The whole prayer
is proof that Origen did not interpret the command as to the
' Pedilavium ' literally.
- Select, in Fsalmos, in Ps. xxxvii., Horn. ii. § 9, tom. ii. p. 689.
' The Apology of Aristides, edited by J. R. Harris, with an appendix
by J. A. Robinson, being vol. i. of Texts and Studies (Cambridge,
1891), p. 25.
N
178 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
ib) From the Apology of Athenagoras, presented to
the emperors AureHus and Commodus, c. a.d. 177 —
' We acknowledge one uncreated, and eternal, and in-
visible, and impassible, and incomprehensible, and illimi-
table God. ... By whom, through His word, the universe
has been created and adorned, and is preserved.
We acknowledge the Son of God. . . . The Son of
God is the Word of the Father, in form and efficacy ; for
according to Him, and by Him, have all things been made,
since the Father and the Son are one,' ^ etc.
{c) From the writings of St. Irenaeus, A.D. 170-180 —
' We believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
Who made heaven, and earth, and the seas, and all that
in them is.
And in one Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
Who was made flesh for our salvation.
And in the Holy Ghost,
Who preached through the prophets.
And the birth [of Jesus Christ] of a Virgin,
And His passion.
And His resurrection from the dead,
And the ascension into heaven in the flesh, of the beloved
Christ Jesus our Lord,
And His coming from heaven in the glory of the Father,
to gather up again all things unto Himself,
And to raise up all flesh of the human race.' -
' Supplicatio [see Legatio] pro Chrisiianis, cap. x. ; P. G., torn. vi.
col. 908.
- Irenreus, Adv. Hares., lib. i. cap. x. § i ; P. G., torn. vii. col. 549 ;
Heurtley (C. A.), A Hist07y of Earlier Formularies of the Faith (Oxford,
1893), p. 20.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 179
(d) From the writings of TertuUian —
' [I believe in] one God Almighty, the Creator of the
world :
And in His Son, Jesus Christ,
Born of the Virgin Mary,
Crucified under Pontius Pilate ;
On the third day He rose from the dead,
He was received into heaven,
He is now seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come to judge the quick and the dead,
Through the resurrection also of the flesh.' ^
{e) From the writings of St. Cyprian —
' I believe in God the Father,
In Christ the Son,
In the Holy Spirit :
I believe in the remission of sins,
And life eternal,
Through the Holy Church.' -
(/) The Confessio fidei of Hippolytus, printed by
Bunsen, is rather a treatise than a creed."^
i^g) The Creed of Novatian, c. 260, the ringleader
of a schism at Rome which hinged on a point not of
doctrine but of discipline, was similar to the above,
as may be gathered from St. Cyprian's allusions to
Novatian and his teaching in his Epistle to Magnus.^
(Jl) Creed of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, produced
between a.d. 260-265.
^ Liber de Virginibus Velandis, cap. i. ; P. L., torn. ii. col. 889;
Heurtley (C. A.), ut supra, p. 22.
" This is put together from S. Cypriani, Ep. Ixxvi. (al. 69), ad
Magnum {Opera omnia, ed. Baluz, Paris, 1726, p. 154), and Ep. Ixx.
ad Januarium et ceteros episcopos Numidas (ed, tif supra, p. 125).
' Aiialccta aiitc-Nicccna, yo'- ii- P- 383- ^ See note 2.
i8o LITLRGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [III.
' There is one God, Father of Him who is the Living Word,
subsisting Wisdom, and Power, and eternal Impress, Perfect
Begetter of the Perfect, Father of the Only-Begotten Son.
There is one Lord, Alone of the Alone, God of God,
Impress and Image of the Godhead, the operative Word ;
Wisdom comprehensive of the system of the universe, and
Power productive of the whole creation ; true Son of true
Father, Invisible of Invisible, and Incorruptible of Incor-
ruptible, and Immortal of Immortal, and Eternal of Eternal.
And there is one Holy Ghost, who hath His being of
God, who hath appeared, that is to mankind,^ through
the Son, Image of the Son, Perfect of the Perfect ; Life,
the cause of all them that live ; Holy Fountain, Holiness, the
Bestower of sanctification, in whom is manifested God the
Father, who is over all and in all, and God the Son, who is
through all. A perfect Trinity, not divided nor alien in
glory and eternity and dominion.' -
(Ji) An early instance of the expansion of the
Creed is found in the letter sent by Hymenaius,
Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in A.D. 273, and his
colleagues to Paul of Samosata. The faith which
has been handed down from the beginning was —
' That God is unbegotten, One without beginning, un-
seen, unchangeable, whom no man hath seen or can sec,
whose glory and greatness it is impossible for human nature
to conceive or to trace out adequately . . . but we must be
content to have a moderate conception of Him. . . . His
Son reveals Him. ... as He Himself says, " No man knoweth
the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son
revealeth Plim." We confess and proclaim His Begotten
' These four words arc of doubtful authority.
* Smith and Wace, Dictionary of CiLristian BiograpJiy, vol. ii. p. 733,
where the authorities for and against the genuineness of this passage are
set forth,
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. i8i
Son, the only-begotten, the Image of the invisible God, the
Firstborn of every creature, the Wisdom and Word and
Power of God, being before the worlds God, not by fore-
knowledge, but by essence and substance,' etc.^
(/) The following interrogative form of creed is
put to the candidate for baptism in the Canons of
Hippolytus : —
* Dost thou believe in God the Father Almighty ?
i^. I do believe.
Dost thou believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom
the Virgin Mary begat of the Holy Ghost, who came
to save the human race, who was crucified [for us] under
Pontius Pilate, who died, and rose from the dead on the
third day, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right
hand of the Father, and shall come again to judge the
quick and the dead ?
ly. I do believe.
Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost [the Paraclete,
proceeding from the Father and the Son] ?
IV. I do believe.'
After each response the candidate is directed to
be immersed beneath the water, and the baptismal
formula is repeated at each of the trine immersions.^
A much fuller form of Baptismal Creed will be
found in the Apostolic Constitutions."^
§ 7. A Hymn to Christ. — The following hymn
to Christ was composed by St. Clement of Alex-
andria (a.d. 170-220). The original Greek is given
in Daniel's Thesaiims Hymnologicus, tom. iii. p. 3.
' Routh (J. M.), Rel. Sac, and ed. vol. iii. p, 290.
- The words within brackets are later additions. Canon xix. §§ H2-
133. PP- 94-97-
^ Lib. vii. cap. 41. See p. 272.
1 82 LITURGY OF ANl E-NICENE CHURCH. [III.
Further information about its authorship and
character will be found in Julian's Dictionary of
Hyninology, pp. 238, 456,
The present translation is taken from A. C. L.,
iv. 345,^ where also a metrical, but necessarily less
literal version is given.
'Bridle of untamed colts, Wing of unwandering birds,
Sure helm of babes, Shepherd of royal lambs, assemble Thy
simple children to praise holily, to hymn guilelessly, with
innocent mouths, Christ, the Guide of children.
O King of Saints, all-subduing Word of the most high
Father, Ruler of wisdom. Support of sorrows, rejoicing in
eternity, Jesus, Saviour of the human race. Shepherd,
Husbandman, Helm, Bridle, Heavenly Wing of the all-holy
flock, Fisher of men who are saved, catching the chaste fishes
with sweet life from the hateful wave of a sea of vices ; —
Guide us, Shepherd of rational sheep ; guide, O holy
King, Thy children safely along the footsteps of Christ ; O
heavenly Way, perennial Word, immeasurable Age, eternal
Light ; Fount of mercy, Performer of virtue.
Noble is the Hfe of those who hymn God, O Christ Jesus,
heavenly Milk of the sweet breasts of the graces of the
Bride, pressed out of Thy Wisdom. Babes nourished with
tender mouths, filled with the dewy spirit of the rational
pap, let us sing together simple praises, true hymns to
Christ our King, holy fee for the teaching of life, let us sing
in simplicity the powerful Child. O choir of peace, ye
Christ-begotten ones, O chaste people, let us sing together
the God of peace.'
§ 8. The Virgins' Song ('AxnoBtv irapOtvoi). —
The following song was composed by Methodius,
' One slight alteration being introduced in the last sentence, and the
readings in two notes preferred to those in the main text.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. i8-
Bishop of Tyre (see List of Authorities, p. xv.). The
original Greek is printed in P. G., torn, xviii. coll.
207-214, The spirited translation given here was
composed by the Rev. A. W. Chatfield, and is quoted
from his Songs and Hymns of the Earliest Greek
Poets (London, 1876), p. 141. Further information
will be found in Julian's Dictionary of Hyinnology,
p. 458 ; Greek Hymnody, § x. 2, as well as in Mr.
Chatfield's introduction.
I.
The Bridegroom cometh ! Overhead
The shout descending wakes the dead !
Go forth to meet the King,
The gates just entering.
Virgins, white-robed, with lamps haste eastward forth to
meet Him ;
Haste ye, O haste ye to greet Him !
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
Earth's mournful bliss I left, and toys
Of wanton life, and foolish joys :
To Thee alone I cling :
Thou art my Life, my King ;
Grant that I may, O Blessed, ever close to Thee,
Thy royal beauty see.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
1 84 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
3-
Thou art my wealth : for Thee I fled
All worldly lure, and upward sped ;
And come in spotless dress
Of Thine own righteousness,
With Thee to enter in the bridal chamber gates,
Where perfect bliss awaits.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
4.
Saved from the dragon's myriad wiles,
By which the simple he beguiles,
I bore the dreadful fire,
And wild beast's savage ire ;
Waiting till Thou from heaven, O Hope of all creation,
Shouldst come to my salvation !
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
5.
My home and country for Thy sake,
And maiden dance, 1 did forsake,
And mother's pride and race,
And thoughts of rank and place ;
For Thou, O Christ the Word, art all in all to me,
I long for naught save Thee.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 185
6.
Hail ! Christ the Life, unchanging Day,
Accept this humble virgin lay ;
To Thee our song of praise
With heart and voice we raise !
In Thee, O Thou perfection's flower, O Word Divine,
Love, joy, mind, wisdom shine.
The Refrain,
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
7-
0 Bride, triumphant now in light,
And clad in robes of purest white,
Sweet breathing, sinless, free,
Ope wide the gates to me :
Sit we in self-same company near Christ above,
And sing Thy marriage, Love !
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
1 go to meet my Lord returning.
Ah me ! some virgins vainly pour
Their sobs and cries outside the door :
Their lamps are quenched, and they
No burning light display :
Their error they would mend ; but ah ! they come too late,
And closed is the gate.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
1 86 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
9-
For they a foolish part had played,
And from the sacred pathway strayed ;
Oil, they had purchased none :
Ah ! wretched and undone !
Forbidden with dead lamps the home of bliss to see,
They wail their misery.
The Rcfrai7i.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
lO.
Lo ! goblet filled with sweetest wine ;
Drink we, O virgins, 'tis Divine,
And forth-set for our need :
Lo ! this is drink indeed ;
This for the guests, who to the marriage bidden are,
The Bridegroom doth prepare.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
II.
First type, O Blessed One, of Thee
In Abel shining bright we see :
To Heaven he lifts his eyes.
Blood-dripping, and thus cries :
' Me, by my cruel brother slain, receive, O Lord,
O Thou the Eternal Word.'
The Refrain,
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 187
12.
Joseph, another type of Thee,
Won highest prize of purity :
Whom Thou wouldst own Thy child,
He scorned to be beguiled
By shameless woman ; stripped, he yet her wrath defied,
And straight to Thee he cried.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
1 go to meet my Lord returning.
13-
A lamb for sacrifice is sought :
A lamb-like victim Jephthah brought :
For rash-made vow he cared,
Nor virgin daughter spared :
A type, O Blessed One, of Thy humanity,
She poured her soul to Thee.
The Rcfra'm.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
14.
In valour Judith holds high post :
The leader of the oppressing host.
She smote by beauty's lure,
Herself a type all pure :
He headless lay ; and unto Thee the conquering maid
Her love in song displayed.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
i8S LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [III.
15'
The judges twain, by passion's flame
Enkindled, and all dead to shame.
Would chaste Susannah bind
To their unhallowed mind :
To their proposals base, she gave a just reply,
And raised her voice on high :
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
1 6.
' 'Twere better far that I should die,
Than traitress be to marriage tie,
And, yielding to your will,
Both soul and body kill :
Base men ! God's fire of wrath eternal would me seize.
Save me, O Christ, from these.'
The R(frain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
17-
And he who thousands washed from sin,
Of Thy true light the bringer-in.
For Virtue's cause alone
Is into prison thrown
By wicked king, and staining now the ground with gore.
He cried to Thee the more.
The Refrain,
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 189
And Thy blest mother, spotless maid,
Was thought her vows to have betrayed,
When travailing with Thee,
O Lord of purity :
And found with child of transcendental heavenly birth,
She raised her voice from earth.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
19.
Thy saints, all eager that they may
Behold the glories of the day
Of Thine espousals high,
With holy gifts draw nigh :
For Thou, O Word, hast called them, Thou the angel's
King,
White-robed to Thee they sing.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
20.
0 holy Church, O heavenly Bride,
With hymns, attending at Thy side,
We yet on earth below
Thine honour thus forth-show :
All snow-white thou, all beauteous spouse of Christ above,
All purity, all love.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
1 go to meet my Lord returning.
IQO LITURGY OF AXTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
21.
Past are corruption, sickness, pain,
Nor tears shall ever flow again ;
For troubles all have fled,
And death itself is dead :
And sin and folly with dark dismal train arc gone,
Since grace in glory shone.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
2 2.
No longer Paradise of men
Is void ; for there God wills again
That man should safely dwell ;
Yea, man the same who fell
Beneath the serpent's wiles : now in the promised rest,
Immortal, fearless, blest.
The Refrain.
W^ith holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
23-
Thou now to heavenly places raised,
By all th'e virgin choir art praised,
O Bride of heavenly King,
And song all new we sing :
With lighted torch in hand, with snow-white lilies crowned.
Thy praise in Christ we sound.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 191
24.
Father of Heaven, supreme in might,
Dwelling in pure eternal light
With Thine own Son most dear,
Admit — for we are here —
E'en us within the gates of life, to sing Thy love
In Thy blest courts above.
The Refrain.
With holy feet, and lamps bright burning,
I go to meet my Lord returning.
§ 9. An Evening Hymn. — The following evening
hymn of the Greek Church may be referred to an
earlier date than A.D. 300. St. Basil the Great,
writing in the 4th century, alludes to it as an ancient
composition of unknown authorship.^ It was sung
in the ancient Church at the lighting of the lamps,
and hence is known as 'The Lamp-light, or Candle-
light Hymn ' i^i.Tn\\)\vioi: i.v\upi(^T[a). The original
Greek may be seen, with further authorities and
details, in Julian's Dictionary of Hyuinology, p. 894.
The translation here appended is taken from Rev.
A. W. Chatfield's Songs and Hymns of the Greek
CJiristian Poets (London, 1876), p. 176. A less literal
but more familiar translation occurs in Hymns
Ancient and Modern, No. 18.
* Propitious light of holy glory.
Of the immortal heavenly Father,
Holy, blessed,
O Jesu Christ,
' Dc Spirittt Saticlo, cap. 29.
192 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
Having come to the setting of the sun,
Having seen the evening light,
We hymn the Father, the Son,
And the Holy Spirit, God.
Thou art worthy at all times
To be hymned with thankful voices,
O Son of God, Who givest life.
Wherefore the world glorifieth Thee.'
§ 10. Prayers and Thanksgivings from the
Canons of Hippolytus.
{a) A Prayer to be said by the Bishop at the
Imposition of Hands on the newly baptized, as
prescribed in the Canons of Hippolytus.
' We bless Thee, O Lord God, who hast rendered these
persons worthy of being born again, and over whom Thou
pourest out Thy Holy Spirit, that those who have been
united to the body of the Church may never be separated
from it by wicked works. Grant rather to those, to whom
Thou hast already given the remission of sins, the pledge
also of Thy kingdom, through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom to Thee, with Himself and with the Holy
Ghost, be glory for ever and ever. Amen.' ^
{b) Form of ' Gloria Patri ' to be said after the
Benediction of each of the Offerings of Firstfruits by
the Celebrant in the Holy Eucharist.
' Glory be to Thee, to the Father, and to the Son, and to
the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.'-
{c) Form of Prayer at the Reception and Blessing
of the Firstfruits.
' Canon xix. §§ 137, 138, p. 98. - Canon iii. § 29, ji. 56.
III.] ANTE-NICEXE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 193
' We give thanks to Thee, Almighty Lord God, for that
Thou hast made us worthy to see these fruits which the
earth hath this year produced. Bless them, O Lord, as
the crown of the year, according to Thy lovingkindness,
and let them be for the satisfying of the poor among Thy
people; and bless Thy servant N. who hath offered these
[firstfruits] out of Thy gifts, because he feareth Thee.
Bless him from Thy holy heaven, together with his house-
hold and his sons, and pour upon them Thy mercy and
Thy holy grace, that he may know Thy will in all things,
and cause him to inherit that which is in heaven, through
our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, and the Holy
Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.' ^
{d) A Prayer to be used at the Consecration of a
Bishop.
' O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of
mercies and God of all consolation, who dwellest \_habitat]
in high places, and beholdest the lowly, and knowest all
things before they happen. Thou, who hast fixed the
bounds of Thy Church, by whose command it takes place,
that the race of the just should continue from Adam by
reason of this Bishop who is the great Abraham, '-^ who hast
constituted prelacy and princedom,'' look upon Thy servant
N., giving him Thy strength, and the spirit of power, which
Thou gavest unto Thy holy Apostles, through our Lord
Jesus Christ, Thine only Son ; to them who have founded
the Church in every place to the honour and glory of Thy
holy Name. Because Thou hast known the heart of each,
grant unto him that he may behold Thy people without
sin, that he may be worthy to feed Thy great and holy
' Canon xxvi. §§ 189-193, pp. 112, 113.
- ' Ratione hujus episcopi, qui est magnus Abraham.' This is un-
intelligible. The words do not occur in the later forms of the prayer
found in the Egyptian Church Order and in the Apostolic Constitutions.
* ' Prrelaturas et principatus.'
O
194 LITURGY OF ANTE-NIC ENE CHURCH. [III.
flock. Grant also that his manner of life \]norcs\ may be
superior to that of all the people, without any falling away.
Grant also that on account of his excellence he may be
envied by all ; and accept his prayers and oblations, which
he shall offer by day and night, and let them be unto Thee
a sweet-smelling savour. Give unto him, O Lord, the
office of bishop, and the spirit of clemency, and the power
of remitting sins ; and endue him with the power of breaking
all the chains of wickedness of devils, and of healing all
diseases ; and tread down Satan under his feet swiftly,
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom to Thee be
glory with Him and with the Holy Ghost for ever and
ever. Amen.' ^
In Canon iv. § 31, this same praj^er is directed to
be used at the ordination of a presbyter, the word
' presbyter ' being substituted for the word ' bishop.'
{e) Prayer to be said at the Ordination of a
Deacon, as the Bishop lays his hands upon him.
* O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we
earnestly beseech Thee that Thou wouldest pour Thy
Holy Spirit upon Thy servant N,, and prepare him a
place with those who serve Thee according to Thy good
pleasure, as Stephen, and that Thou wouldest grant unto
him the strength to conquer all the power of the crafty
one by the sign of Thy Cross, wherewith he himself is
signed ; and that Thou wouldest grant unto him a manner
of life without sin in the presence of all men, and teaching
on behalf of many, whereby he may lead a numerous
people into the holy Church, unto salvation, without
scandal. Accept all his service through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom to Thee with Himself, and with the
Holy Ghost be glory for ever and ever. Amen,' ^
' Canon iii, §§ 11-18, pp. 42-47.
• - Canon V. §§ 39-42, pp. 66, 67,
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 195
§ 1 1. Anthems, etc., of Uncertain Date. — The
foregoing, we believe, exhaust the list of formulae of
Christian devotion, to which an antc-Nicene date
can be assigned with certainty.
There are other ancient devotional forms which
may possibly or even probably be of ante-Nicenc
antiquity, but we have no certain evidence of the
fact, and the documents in which they first reach
us are not themselves of an ante-Nicene date.
Such are the hymn * Gloria in Excelsis,' of which
the earliest known forms are found in chaps. 47-49
of Book iii. of the Apostolic Constitutions, and in
the Codex Alexandrimis of the Bible, a fifth-century
MS. now in the British Museum ; the Triumphal
Hymn, or Tersanctus, which is found in the Clemen-
tine Liturgy, in the eighth book of the Apostolic
Constitutions ; numerous prayers, thanksgivings,
benedictions, etc., in the Apostolic Constitutions,
and more especially in the seventh and eighth books
thereof,
§ 12. Ancient Liturgies.— We must, however,
say a few words about ancient Liturgies. In the last
volume of their Ante-Nicene Library, Messrs. Roberts
and Donaldson somewhat arbitrarily select and
translate in extenso the following Liturgies and no
others : —
(i) The Liturgy of St. James; (2) The Liturgy of
St. Mark ; (3) The Liturgy of the Holy Apostles
(Adaeus and Maris).
There are no very early MSS. of these Liturgies in
11,6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
existence. They are not ante-Nicene in their present
form, though much of their substance, no doubt —
probably the greater part of it — springs from a date
anterior to A.D. 325. But the same remark is true
of many other Liturgies both Eastern and Western.
Bunsen, in the third volume of his Analccta Ante-
Nicccna, prints the whole or part of many of them,
including even the Roman Canon of the Mass (St.
Gregory's) ^ which is the one Liturgy of which it may
be confidently asserted that it is not ante-Nicene.
If any one Liturgy has a claim above others to be
ranked as ante-Nicene, it is the so-called Clementine
Liturgy preserved in Book viii. of the Apostolic Con-
stitutions, and which is given in its entirety in the
Appendix, p. 278. Bunsen has printed this in the
second volume of his Analecta Ante-Niccena?' Its
claim to antiquity rests not only on the place and
mode of its preservation, but also on internal points
of evidence in favour of a very early date, which, how-
ever, we must not attempt to produce and examine
and discuss here.
It is not known in what Church it was in use, or
whether it ever was actually in use in any Church.
Internal evidence points to Antioch as the place of
its composition ; but it would hardly have been
attributed to St. Clement unless it fairly represented
the Liturgy of the Church of Rome during the first
three centuries, while that Church was still a Greek-
speaking community. It claims to be the composition
of St. Clement, Bishop of Rome. But this claim
' Page 287. '-' Page 380, etc.
III.l ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 197
cannot be substantiated. A great quantity of early
Christian literature was labelled as Clementine.
It is due to the highly inconvenient — we will not
say dishonest, because it was not intended to be
dishonest — but the highly inconvenient practice of
attributing documents to some early Father, or to
one of the Twelve Apostles themselves, in order to
secure for them acceptance and respect.
There is, however, external testimony for assigning
to the Clementine Liturgy the earliest date among
all Liturgies in a statement made under the name
of Proclus, Patriarch of Constantinople (434-446), in a
tract attributed to him, about the 'handing down of
the Divine Liturgy.' ^ This tract, even if not genuine,
and in some respects not historical, is so important
for other reasons besides its statement about the
Clementine Liturgy, that it deserves to be translated
and laid before our readers in full.
'Many other pastors and teachers of the Church who
succeeded the Apostles have committed an edition of the
mystic Liturgy to writing, and iiave handed it down to the
Church ; of whom these are the first and the most con-
spicuous, The blessed Clement : the disciple and successor
' Aoyoj Tzipi irapaSocrfciis rrjs deias Xetrovpylas, printed in /". C.,
torn. Ixv. col. 849. Its genuineness has been doubted by many writers,
chiefly on internal evidence, e.g. because of the position of honour
which it assigns to the Clementine Liturgy ; because the Liturgy of St.
liasil does not seem to be sufficiently abbreviated as compared witii
those of St. Clement and .St. James to substantiate Proclus' assertion
about St. Basil's action in this matter. In our opinion these objections,
if of sufficient weight to disprove its genuineness, do not rob the
anonymous document of its great interest and importance. The subject
has been discussed at length by Rev. E. S. Ffoulkes, rriiiiitivc Conse'
c?-atioii yQtc. (London, 1885), p. 178, etc.
iq8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH, [ill.
of the chief of the Apostles, at the dictation of the holy
Apostles themselves, and the divine James, whose lot lay
in the Church of Jerusalem, of which he was appointed the
first bishop by the first and greatest High Priest, Christ
our God. Then Basil the Great noticed the slothfulness
and degeneracy of men, and that they were wearied by the
length of the liturgy — not that he himself considered that
there was anything too long or superfluous in it — and cut
away the idle objections of those who prayed and those
who heard, which in the course of long time had grown up,
by abbreviating it.
After the ascension of our vSaviour into heaven, the
Apostles, before they were scattered over the whole world,
met together and spent whole days in prayer, and found
such consolation in the mystic sacrifice of the Lord's body,
that they chanted it at very great length, and they con-
sidered it their chiefest duty to teach others to do the same.
They spent time over this Divine rite with happiness and
with the greatest joy, remembering the word of the Lord when
He said, " This is My body," and " Do this in remembrance
of Me ; he that eateth My flesh and drinketh my blood
abideth in Me, and I in him." Therefore, with contrite
hearts they chanted many prayers, imploring the Divine
favour. They also accustomed the newly baptized converts
both from the Jews and Gentiles to attend these mysteries
of grace, piously teaching them and training them to desert
the services which preceded the dispensation of grace ; and
which were a shadow of good things to come.
By such prayers, then, they besought and expected the
descent of the Holy Ghost, in order that by His Divine
Presence He might cause and make the bread and wine
mingled with water, which were proposed for sacrifice, to
become the very body and blood of our Saviour Jesus
Christ. This is still done among us at the present day,
and will be done till the end of the world. But their
successors, losing the firmness and fervour of the first faith.
III.] ANTE-NICENE LITURGICAL REMAINS. 199
and entangled with the business and cares of the world,
became wearied, as I said above, with the length of the
Liturgy, and were got with difficulty to come and hear the
Master's words. Wherefore the Divine Basil, by way of
medicinal remedy, shortened the Liturgy. Again, not long
afterwards, our Father, John Chrysostom, like a good
shepherd caring for the safety of his flock, contemplating
the slothfulness of human nature, determined to cut off, root
and branch, all the excuses suggested by Satan. Accord-
ingly he cut off many things, and still further shortened
the celebration of the holy rite, lest by degrees men, who
most dearly love freedom and leisure, should become
deceived by the fallacious reasonings of the adversary,
and should hold aloof from the service of apostolic and
Divine appointment ; a defection which we have seen
taking place by many people at many times and in many
places, and which may be seen till the present day.'
But in spite of the certainty that part, and the
possibility that the whole, of the Clementine Liturgy
belongs to a date prior to the Council of Nice, we
do not feel justified in printing it here, because the
earliest document in which it has come down to us,
viz. Book viii. of the Apostolic Constitutions, is a
compilation of the second half of the fourth century,
and it is impossible for us to say with certainty what
additions or touches it may have received at the
hands of the compiler of those Constitutions.^
' This compiler has been identified by Rev. ¥. E. Brightman (and
others), with the pseudo-Ignatius, the interpolator of the seven genuine
epistles and the forger of the remaining six of the long recension of the
Ignatian Epistles {Liturgies, Eastern and Western, Oxford, 1896, vol. i.
p. xliii.).
200 LITURGY OP ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
CHAPTER IV.
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE LITURGY AND
RITUAL OF THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
CHURCHES.
§ I. Introductory — § 2. The Temple Services — § 3. The Synagogue
Services — § 4, The Shema — § 5. The Eighteen Benedictions —
§ 6. The Kadish — § 7. The Kedusha — § 8. The Paschal Supper
— §9. Vitringa's theory — § 10. Bickell's theory. Delailed resem-
blances in : § II. Baptisrri — § 12. Bells — § 13. Benedictions —
§ 14. Colours — § 15. Confirmation — § 16. Churches, name of —
§ 17. Silent Prayer — § 18. Bowing at the Sacred Name— § 19.
Removal of shoes — § 20. Bowing towards the altar — § 21. East-
ward position— § 22. Washing of hands, etc. — § 23. Standing up
at the Gospel — § 24. Procession of the Gospel — § 25. Separation
of the sexes— § 26. Modeof singing— § 27. Dedication of churches
— § 28. Festivals and Fasts — § 29. Hebrew language, use of the
— § 30. The Eucharist— § 31. Imposition of hands — § 32. Holy
orders— § 33. Marriage — § 34. Prayer, hours of— § 35. Prayer,
attitude at— § 36. Prayer for the dead— § 37. Vestments — § 38.
Jewish origin of certain Christian formuh\; of devotion — § 39.
Gospel for the Tenth Sunday after Trinity — § 40. Heathen worship
suggested as the source of some Christian ritual.
§ I. Introductory. — It is proposed to bring before
the reader in this chapter a difficult subject, on whicii
different views have been held by various writers at
various times ; namely, the relationship, or absence
of relationship, of the Liturgy and Ritual of the
Christian Church to the Liturgy and Ritual of the
Jewish Church which preceded it.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 201
It must be allowed at starting that the following
grounds constitute a strong, a priori ground for sup-
posing that the Christian and Jewish organization,
liturgy, and ritual would show at least some signs
of connection and resemblance : —
(i) The Divine Founder of the Christian Church
was Himself, in His human nature, of Jewish
nationality.
(2) He lived throughout His life on earth as a loyal
son of the Jewish Church, frequenting its services,
and fulfilling all that the Levitical law enjoined.
(3) On the night before His death He was actually
engaged in the solemnization of the Jewish Paschal
Supper when He instituted the Christian Eucharist.
(4) The Apostles and the saints who founded the
first Christian Churches were likewise Jews, and
frequented the temple services, certainly at first,
and probably as long as the temple stood.
The law of evolution would lead us to expect a
natural continuity between Jewish and Christian
worship. But when we come to details, to decide
exactly what part of the temple service or of the
synagogue service was the basis on which some
apparently corresponding part of the Christian
service was formed, to decide whether certain re-
semblances in points of ritual were and are inten-
tional or accidental, then we are confronted with
great difficulties. There is no direct statement upon
the point in Holy Scripture, or in apostolic or sub-
apostolic times. Mediaeval writers have a good deal
to tell us on this subject ; but medirevalism was .
302 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
uncritical, and unless statements of this sort made
by mediaeval writers are supported by evidence, they
cannot be relied upon as necessarily true.
Then, unfortunately, there are not extant sufficient
authentic Jewish liturgical remains of the first century
A.D., for us to base an independent conclusion upon
them with certaint}'. Such early remains as do
exist come to us through the Misckna, of the second
century after Christ, yet containing documents of
an earlier date ; the TosipJitha, a little later than the
MiscJina ; and the two Gemaras, that of Jerusalem
(4th century), and that of Babylon (5th century).
All these are included in the corpus of the Jewish
documents known as the Talmud.
Perhaps the most helpful plan will be to lay before
the reader the main facts about the services of the
temple and the synagogue, together with an account
of the Paschal Supper, giving in extenso the few
portions of the Jewish Liturgy which are by general
consent as old as the time of our Saviour. We will
then call attention to points of similarity in the Jewish
and Christian services, and shall have to decide how
far such similarities are accidental, or due to a con-
nection between the former and the latter.
§ 2. The Temple Services. — These included the
daily offering of a lamb on the altar of burnt offer-
ing, in the morning and at even, accompanied with
a meat offering (flour and oil), and a drink offering
(wine). On the sabbath two lambs were offered
instead of one. There was a daily offering of incense
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 203
on the altar of incense in the morning before, and
in the evening after the daily sacrifice. In connection
with the offering of the burnt sacrifice, there was
vocal and instrumental music ; the priests blew
silver trumpets, and the Levites played on various
instruments. A special psalm was appointed for
use on each day of the week, viz. on Sunday,
Ps. xxiv. ; on Monday, Ps. xlviii. ; on Tuesday, Ps.
Ixxxii. ; on Wednesday, Ps. xciv. ; on Thursday,
Ps. Ixxxi. ; on Friday, Ps. xciii. ; on the sabbath,
Ps. xcii. There were special sacrifices and services
on the great festivals, which we will not describe
here, though it will be necessary to speak later on
about the Passover. In addition to these there were
a multitude of private offerings and sacrifices, of
which it is unnecessary to give any description here.
On the sabbath day the Song of Moses (Deut.
xxxii.), divided into six portions for as many
sabbaths, was sung after the morning sacrifice,^ and
the Song of Moses (Exod. xv.) was sung after the
evening sacrifice.^
There is no early evidence forthcoming as to any
scheme of the regular repetition of the Psalter corre-
sponding to the use of the Psalter in the Divine
Office of the Christian Church, either in the case of
the temple or of the synagogue services.
' Deut. xxxii. 1-43 is used at Lauds, daily (Greek use), on some
Sundays (Mozarabic), instead of Benedictus on Sundays in Advent,
Cliristmas Day, Circumcision, Epiphany (Ambrosian), on Saturdays
(Roman).
- Exod. XV. I-19 is used at Lauds, daily (Greek use), Easter-tide
(INIozarabic), Sundays (Ambrosian), Thursday (Roman).
20J\. LITURGY OF ANTE-l^ICENE CHURCH. [IV.
The Talmud is our earliest extant authority for
the character of services held originally in the temple,
and afterwards transferred to the synagogue, viz.
at morning (Shacharith), noon (Musaph), afternoon
(Minchah), and evening (Arbith). The greater part
of the Psalter was used, and is used still, at these
and other services ; e.g. in the morning service of the
London Synagogue of to-day the following Psalms
are used on sabbaths and Holy Days : xix., xxxiv,,
xc, xci., cxxxv., cxxxvi., xxxiii., xcii., xciii. ; and
on all days of the week, cxlv,, cxlvi., cxlvii., cxlix.,
cxlviii., cl.^ We need not go through the whole of
the Jewish Prayer-book. If these services are as
ancient as the time of Christ, and if they were
held in the temple before being transferred to the
synagogue, then it is impossible not to trace in
them the origin, or at least the inspiring, idea of
the Christian Divine Office. Can it be a mere coin-
cidence that Psalms cxlviii.-cl., which formed an
integral part of the daily Jewish morning service,
have been found everywhere as an unvarying element
in the daily morning Christian service of Lauds ?
§ 3. The Synagogue Services. — Tlie chief parts
of the service in the synagogue were, according to
the Mischna,^ (i) The recitation of the Shema;-'
(2) prayer; (3) the reading of the Thorah {i e. the
Pentateuch) ; (4) the reading of the Prophets ; (5)
the blessing ; to which was added a translation
' The Authorized Daily Prayer-book of (he United Ilebreio Coitgjrgation
0/ the British Empire, 3rd ed. (London, 1892), pp. 20-33.
- Megilla, iv. 3. ^ See § 4.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS.
into the vernacular Aramaic of the lessons, read
in the ancient Hebrew, and a discourse founded
thereon.
It will be noticed that the recitation of the Psalter,
which is the centre of the Christian Divine office, and
round which everything else circles, is absent from
the synagogue service as here described. Its main
object appears to be instruction, whereas the main
object of the Christian Divine office is worship.^ We
are inclined to extend to the whole Christian service
a remark which Mons. E. de Pressense makes with
regard to sacred song —
' Its cradle was not the synagogue, where the frigid ser-
vice consisted only of reading and prayer, without any
intermingling songs of praise (Luke iv. 17; Acts xv. 21).
Christian song comes directly from the temple, tlie offspring
of that grand Hebrew poetry uttered by lips touched by the
live coal from off the altar, the sublimest lyric expressions
ever given to the griefs and yearnings of the human heart.' ^
The mediaeval Liturgy of the synagogue is full of
blasphemies against Jesus Christ and the Blessed
Virgin Mary,^ which seem to be the outcome and
the perpetuation of a deep-seated and long-standing
hostility between the Jewish Synagogue and the
Christian Church.
It should also be borne in mind that synagogues
' But see end of § 3. The translation of Trpotreux^j "^ Acts xvi. 13,
16, as 'a house of prayer' is untenable.
- Christian Life aud Practice in the Early Church (London, 1877),
p. 299.
^ Streane (A. W.), jfesiis Christ in the Talmud, etc. (Cambridge,
1893), pp. 21*, 27*.
2o6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
in the first century A.D. were a comparatively modern
institution, and had no hereditary claim on the
reverence or affection of either Jews or Christians.
The contrary has sometimes been inferred from the
statement of St. James, in Acts xv. 21, but the words
used there might mean anything from one thousand
to one hundred years. As a matter of fact, the
meaning must be near the latter and not the former
limit. There is no reference to synagogues in the
Old Testament. Ps. Ixxiv. 8 is generally admitted
to be a mistranslation ; ^ nor can 3 Mace. vii. 20 be
relied upon, although it is usually supposed to refer
to the building of a synagogue at Alexandria, c.
217-215 B.C. There is really no evidence for the
generally accepted theory and often-repeated state-
ment that the foundation or re-foundation of syna-
gogues took place in the days of Nehemiah or Ezra.^
Synagogues were village institutes and police
courts as well as halls of worship. Within their
precincts cases were tried, prisoners were sentenced,
and the sentences were carried out.
Our Lord said —
' They shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you,
delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons,
being brought before kings and rulers for My Name's
sake.' ^
' If it is not a mistranslation, this Psalm is assigned to the period of
the Maccabees in consequence of this verse (S. R. Driver, Intro-
duction to the Literature of the Old Testament, 3rd ed. p. 364).
- The fact is doubtfully accepted in Smith's Dictionary of the Bible,
vol. iii. p. 1398-
« St. Luke xxi. 12.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 207
'Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the
councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues.' ^
St. Paul tells how—
'I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that
believed. , . . I punished them oft in every synagogue,
and compelled them to blaspheme ; and being exceedingly
mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange
cities.' -
In later times St. Paul was himself five times
sentenced by his fellow-countrymen to undergo the
penalty of the lash,^ and the place where these
scourgings were inflicted must have been the syna-
gogue. Surely, with such painful and degrading
associations and recollections, the synagogue would
not have been the quarter to which the first Christians
would have turned to find a model, either for their
proceedings or their services."* Their thoughts would
more naturally centre round the temple, which our
Saviour, and His Apostles after Him, regularly fre-
quented, and which was, par excellence, the house
of God.
Yet some further information about the arrange-
ments of the synagogue may be acceptable.
The building faced so that the worshippers might
look towards the Holy City. The door for the
entrance of the congregation was at one end of the
building. At the further end — which we will call
' St. Matt. X. 17; xxiii. 3, 4; St. Luke xii. Ii.
- Acts xxii. 19; xxvi. 11, ^2 Cor. xi. 24,
* See King (R.), The Ruling Elder [Kixaixgh, 1892— not published),
capp. xxxii.-xxxiv.
2o8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
the east end — elevated on steps, was an ark, or
closet, over which a canopy was spread. This ark
always contained the scrolls of the law, and some-
times the official garments of the officers of the
community.
The desk for the leader of Divine worship was
placed in front of the ark.
The rostrum, or bema, an elevated pulpit or plat-
form, from which the lessons of the law were read
and discourses were delivered, usually stood in the
centre of the building.
In front of the ark there were armchairs, in which
the elders of the synagogue and doctors of the law
sat, facing the congregation.
A light was kept perpetually burning, in evident
imitation of the temple light. ^
Trombones were kept, to be blown on the first
day of the year, and trumpets, to be blown on
feast days.
The usual hours of daily worship in the synagogue
were nine a.m., when the morning sacrifice was being
offered in the temple, and three p.m., when the
evening sacrifice was being offered in the temple, or
rather, while the sacrifice in the temple was being
burned, which was interpreted to mean any hour
between dark and dawn.
It is not known with precision what the Jewish
service was in the time of our Lord.
Dr. Ginsburg says —
' That the Jews in the time of Christ had a liturgical
* Exod. xxvii. 20.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 209
service is certain ; but it is equally certain that the present
Liturgy of the synagogue embodies a large admixture of
prayers which were compiled after the destruction of the
second temple.' "^
Dr. Schlirer says —
'As the Shema undoubtedly belongs to the time of
Christ, it is evident that certain established prayers were
then already customary in public worship. It can, how-
ever, hardly be ascertained how much of the somewhat
copiously developed Liturgy of post-Talmudic Judaism
reaches back to that period.' '
It is of no use, therefore — or rather, it is worse
than useless, because it would be misleading — to take
up a Jewish Prayer-book of the present day, and,
with that as an authority, to institute a comparison
between the liturgical language and ritual of the
Jewish and Christian Churches.
We will now quote those portions of the Jewish
Liturgy, which, apart from, and in addition to,
lections from Holy Scripture, are believed to be as
old or older than Christianity, and to have been in
use in the time of our Lord.
§ 4. The Shema. — Two introductory benedictions,
called the Shema, or KeriatJi Shema.
I. ' Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the
universe, who createst light and formest darkness, who
makest peace and createst all things. He in mercy
causes the light to shine upon the earth and the inhabitants
' Article ' Synagogue,' in Kitto's Cyclop,cdia of Biblical Literature,
iii. 905.
- A History of the Jr.i<isli People, <\\\. ii. vol. ii. p. 77.
P
2IO LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
thereof, and in goodness i renews every day the work of
creation. Blessed art Thou, the Creator of light.
2. With great love hast Thou loved us, O Lord our God.
Thou hast shown us great and abundant mercy, O our
Father and King, for the sake of our forefathers who
trusted in Thee. Thou who didst teach them the love of
life, have mercy upon us, and teach us also ... to praise
and acknowledge Thy unity in love. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord, who in love hast chosen Thy people.'
[Recitation of the ten commandments. The
Shema consisting of Deut. vi. 4-9 ; xi. 13-21 ;
Numb. XV. 37-41.]
3. Concluding benediction — ■
' It is true and lirmly established that Thou art the
Lord our God, and the God of our forefathers ; there
is no God besides Thee. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the
Redeemer of Israel.'
It is to be noticed that, in the conversation between
our Saviour and the lawyer who inquired, ' Master,
what must I do to inherit eternal life ? ' the lawyer
recited a verse of the Shema (Deut. vi. 4, 5 ; St.
Luke X. 26, 27).
§ 5. The Eighteen Benedictions, or the
Prayer ' Shemonah Esrah.' — These were recited
in the temple daily ; three of them were pronounced
upon the people by the priests every day in the
temple court. The sixteenth and seventeenth were
used by the high priest on the Day of Atonement.
I. ' Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, the God of our
Fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, great, omnipotent,
fearful, and most higli God, who bountifully shewest mercyj
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 2a
who art the possessor of all things, who rememberest the
pious deeds of our fathers, and sendest the Redeemer to
their children's children, for His mercy's sake in love, O our
King, Defender, Saviour, and Shield. Blessed art Thou,
O Lord, the Shield of Abraham !
2. Thou art powerful, O Lord, world without end.
Thou bringest the dead to life in great compassion, Thou
boldest up the falling, healest the sick, loosest the chained,
and shewest Thy faithfulness to those that sleep in the dust.
Who is like unto Thee, Lord of might ? and who resembles
Thee ? a Sovereign killing and bringing to life again, and
causing salvation to flourish, and Thou art sure to raise
the dead. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who raisest the
dead.
3. Thou art Holy, and Thy Name is Holy, and the holy
ones praise Thee everyday continually. Blessed art Thou,
O Lord the holy God.
4. Thou mercifully bestowest knowledge upon men, and
teachest the mortal prudence. Mercifully bestow upon
us from Thyself, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who mercifully bestowest
knowledge.
5. Our Father, lead us back to Thy law. Bring us very
near, O King, to Thy service, and cause us to return in
sincere penitence into Tliy presence. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord, who delightest in repentence.
6. Our Father, forgive us, for we have sinned ; our King
pardon us, for we have trangressed ; for Thou art forgiving
and pardoning. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, merciful and
plenteous in forgiveness.
7. Look at our misery, contend our cause, and deliver
us speedily, for Thy Name's sake, for Thou art a mighty
deliverer. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the Deliverer of
Israel.
8. Heal us, O Lord, and we shall be healed ; save us,
2 12 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
and we shall be saved, for Thou art our boast ; grant us a
perfect cure for all our wounds, for Thou, O Lord our King,
art a faithful and merciful physician. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord, who healest the sick of Thy people Israel.
9. Bless to us, O Lord our God, for good this year, and
all its kinds of produce. Send Thy blessing upon the face
of the earth, satisfy us with Thy goodness, and bless this
year as the years bygone. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who
blessest the seasons.
10. Cause the great trumpet to proclaim our liberty,
raise the standard for the gathering of our captives, and
bring us together from the four corners of the earth. Blessed
art Thou, O Lord, who gatherest together the dispersed of
Israel.
11. Reinstate our judges as of old, and our councillors
as of yore ; remove from us sorrow and sighing, and do Thou
alone, O Lord, reign over us in mercy and love, and judge
us in righteousness and justice. Blessed art Thou, O Lord
the King, who lovest righteousness and justice.
12. Let the apostates have no hope, and let those who
perpetrate wickedness speedily perish ; let them all be
suddenly cut off; let the proud speedily be uprooted,
broken, crushed, and humbled speedily in our days.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who breakest down the enemy,
and humblest the proud.
13. On the righteous, on the pious, on the elders of Thy
people, the House of Israel, on the remnant of the Scribes,
on the pious proselytes, and on us bestow, O Lord our God,
Thy mercy; give ample reward to all who trust in Thy
name in sincerity, make our portion with them for ever, and
let us not be ashamed, for we trust in Thee. Blessed art
Thou, O Lord, the Support and Refuge of the righteous.
14a. To Jerusalem, Thy city, in mercy return, and
dwell in it according to Thy promise ; make it speedily in
our day an everlasting building, and soon establish therein
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 213
the throne of David. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who
buildest Jerusalem.
xifi. The branch of David Thy servant speedily cause
to flourish, and exalt his horn with Thy help, for we
look to Thy help all day. Blessed art Thou, who causest
to flourish the horn of David.
15. Hear our voice, O Lord our God, have pity and
compassion on us, and receive with mercy and acceptance
our prayers, for Thou art a God hearing prayer and suppli-
cation, our King ; do not send us empty away from Thy
presence, for Thou hearest the prayers of Thy people
Israel in mercy. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who hearest
prayer.
16. Be favourable, O Lord our God, to Thy people
Israel, and to their prayer ; restore the worship to Thy
sanctuary ; receive lovingly the burnt sacrifice of Israel and
their prayer, and let the service of Israel Thy people be
always well-pleasing to Thee. May our eyes see Thee
return to Israel in love. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who
restores! Thy Shechinah to Zion.
17. We thankfully confess before Thee that Thou art the
Lord our God, and the God of our fathers, world without
end, and that Thou art the Shepherd of our life, and the
Rock of our salvation, from generation to generation ; we
render thanks unto Thee, and celebrate Thy praises.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord, whose Name is goodness, and
whom it becomes to praise.
18. Bestow peace, happiness, blessing, grace, mercy, and
compassion upon us, and upon the whole of Israel Thy
people. Our Father, bless us all unitedly with the light
of Thy countenance, for in the light of Thy countenance
didst Thou give to us, O Lord our God, the law of life,
loving-kindness, justice, blessing, compassion, life, and
peace. May it please Thee to bless Thy people Israel
at all times, and in -crery moment with peace. Blessed
214 LITURGY OF ANTE- NICE NE CHURCH. [IV.
art Thou, O Lord, who blessest Thy people Israel with
peace.' ^
It will be evident from i^a and i6 that in this
form, the earliest form known to us, the eighteen
Benedictions are more recent than the destruction
of Jerusalem, A.D. 70. They may be dated A.D. 70
to A.D. 100, but their groundwork is more ancient,
and we have printed them as containing, for the
most part, material as ancient or more ancient than
the time of Christ.
§ 6. The Kadish. — The Kadish was part of the
morning service of the synagogue. It was in these
words, the legate of the congregation speaking, the
congregation taking up the responses —
1. ' Exalted and hallowed be His great Name in the
world which He created according to His will ; let His
kingdom come in your lifetime, and in the lifetime of the
whole House of Israel, very speedily.
IV. Amen. Blessed be His great Name, world with-
out end.
2. Blessed and praised, celebrated and exalted, extolled
and adored, magnified and worshipped be Thy holy
Name. Blessed be He far above all benedictions, hymns,
thanks, praises, and consolations, which have been uttered
in the world.
IV. Amen.
3. May the prayers and supplications of all Israel be
graciously received before their Father in heaven.
R/. Amen.
4. May perfect peace descend from heaven, and life
upon us and all Israel.
IV. Amen.
' Kitto, Cycloihicdia of Biblical Li lerattirc, vol. iii. p 907.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 215
5. May He who makes peace in His heaven confer
peace upon us and all Israel.
IV. Amen.'i
Two petitions in the Lord's Prayer, as taught by
our Saviour, seem to be based upon the first section
of this KadisJi. »
§ 7. The Kedusha. The following is the word-
ing of the Kedusha, which was substituted in public
worship for the third of the eighteen Benedictions.
It is said in the same way as the Kadis/i.
* Hallowed be Thy Name on earth as it is hallowed in
heaven above, as it is written by the prophet, And one
calls to the other, and says —
l^. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of Sabaoth ; the
whole earth is filled with His glory.
Those who are opposite them respond —
IV. Blessed be the glory of the eternal, each one in
his station.
And in Thy Holy Word it is written, thus saying —
IV. The Lord shall reign for ever and ever, Thy God,
O Zion, from generation to generation. Hallelujah.
From generation to generation we will disclose Thy great-
ness, and for ever and ever celebrate Thy holiness, and
Thy praise shall not cease in our mouth, world without end ;
for Thou, O Lord, art a great and holy King. Blessed art
Thou, holy God and King.'-^
It will be seen that the Triumphal Hymn, or
Tersanctus, which is now part of the Christian
Liturgy, had a position previously in the Kedusha
of the Jewish Church. The first section of it is
also suggestive of a petition in the Lord's Prayer.
' Kitto, tit supra. " Kilto, tit stipra, p. 908.
2i6 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
§ 8. The Paschal Supper. — We proceed next to
describe the order and ceremonial of the Paschal
Supper.
' The company having assembled, after the lamps were
lighted, arranged themselves in due order on couches, round
the tables, reclining on their left sides. A cup of red wine
mingled with water, was filled for every one, and drunk,
after a benediction by the head man of the group. A basin
of water was then brought in, that each might wash his
hands, and then another blessing was pronounced. A table
was then carried into the open space between the couches,
and bitter herbs and unleavened bread, with a dish, made
of dates, raisins, and other fruits mixed with vinegar to the
consistency of lime, in commemoration of the mortar with
which their fathers worked in Egypt, set on it, along with
the paschal lamb. The head man then took some of the
herbs, dipped them in the dish, and after giving thanks to
God for creating the fruits of the earth, ate a small piece,
and gave one to each of the company. A second cup of
wine and water was then poured out, and the son of the
house, or the youngest boy present, was asked the meaning
of the feast. The questions to be put had been minutely
fixed by the rabbis, and were as formally and minutely
answered in appointed words, the whole story of deliverance
from Egypt being thus repeated year after year, at each
Passover table, in the same terms throughout all Israel.'
The first part of the great ' Hallel ' or ' Hallelujah '
(Psalms cxiii., cxiv.) was now chanted, introduced by
the formula —
' Therefore it is our bounden duty to thank, praise, exalt,
glorify, praise and celebrate Him who has done all these
things for our fathers, and for us. He has led us out of
bondage to freedom, out of misery to joy, out of mourning
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 217
to rejoicing, out of darkness to great light, out of slavery
to liberty. Therefore let us sing before Him a new song,
Hallelujah.'
The resemblance of these words to the Preface
in the Christian Eucharistic Service will be noticed
at once.
Then followed a prayer, beginning —
' Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the uni-
verse, who hast redeemed us and our forefathers from
Egypt.'
Upon which the blessing and the drinking of the
second cup followed. This was followed by a second
washing of hands. A third cup was now poured
out, and then came the grace after meals. A fourth
and last cup followed, and then Psalms cxv.-cxviii.,
which formed the rest of the 'Hallelujah;' and
another prayer closed the feast. Ps. cxxxvi. was
sung at the conclusion of the Hallel, and was itself
called the Great Hallel. ^
§ 9. Vitringa's Theory.— The Dutch Protestant
theologian, Vitringa,^ whose voluminous writings on
the subject have been conveniently translated by
the Rev. J. L. Bernard,^ maintained that the order,
discipline, and ritual of the Christian Church were
directly derived not from the Jewish temple, but
from the Jewish synagogue. Whether the Christian
Liturgy itself was derived from the same source, he
' The above account is mainly taken from Geikie (C.), Life of Christ,
vol. i. p. 216.
- Wix'm'g'a., Di Syna^oga Fij/tv-f (Francqueroe, 1696).
^ The Synagogue and the Church (London, 1842).
2i8 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
held it to be impossible to decide in the absence
of primitive Christian service books ; but he illustrated
his point by references, especially, to synagogical
laws and practices in the matter of excommunication,^
ordination,^ preaching,*^ lections of Holy Scripture,^
the use of lights,^ of a pulpit, desk, etc./' the pro-
liibition of women from speaking in public,'' the
attitude of prayer,*^ etc. He says —
' In a word, if we attentively consider the laws made in
the early ages respecting the Church and its furniture, the
reverence and respect due to it, there is hardly a law to be
found that is not derived from the canons of the syna-
gogue.' '•'
We do not think that Vitringa established his
point. Some of the above arrangements are based
upon the ordinary requirements of convenience ; a
great part, and the more distinctive part, of the regu-
lations which he adduces, were common to both the
synagogue and the temple.^'*
§ 10. Bickell's Theory.— Dr. G. BickelV^ fol-
lowed by Dr. W. F. Skene,^^ has laboured to prove
that the earlier part — the pre-anaphoral part — of the
Christian Liturgy is based upon the Jewish Sabbath
' Bernard, «/ j«/ra, p. 6i. -' /iJi/V., pp. 83, 145. = //W., p. 93.
* Ibid., p. 124. ' •'■ Ibid., p. 46. '' Ibid., p, 141.
' Ibid., p. 206. '* Ibid., p. 203. " Ibid., p. 144.
'" But Vitringa lias been largely followed. Sec Bingham, Christian
Anti(]q.,V>V. viii. cap. vi. § 10. Bingham mentions, without endorsing,
the theory that the structural arrangements of the early Christian
Churches were borrowed from the synagogue. In Smith's Dictionary
of the Bible, under the article 'Synagogue,' Vitringa's position is sub-
stantially adopted.
" Messe iind Pasciia i(\\mv\z, 1872).
'- Tlic Io)d's Supper and lite Pasclial Ritual (Edinburgli, 1S91).
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 219
Morning Prayer ; and that the latter part of it — the
anaphora, or canon — is based upon the language and
ritual used in the Paschal Supper, The supposed
similarity is exhibited in parallel columns/ the
Clementine Liturgy being used as a basis, supple-
mented from other quarters, especially from the
Syriac Liturgy of St. James. If any one will read
through these parallel columns, he will probably come
to the same conclusion as the present writer, viz. that
the resemblance, though sometimes evident, is gene-
rally slight, in some cases fanciful, in other cases
undiscernible, and that there is not, on the whole,
sufficient similarity to establish or to disestablish the
theory which has been built upon it.
There are, however, a considerable number of the
ordinances of the Christian Church, and of points of
order, ritual, and language, which find a counter-
part in the worship and ceremonial of the Jewish
Church.
We will enumerate and describe them, after which
we shall be in a better position to decide whether
the resemblances are the result of relationship or of
chance.
§ II. Baptism. — Baptism was used by the Jews
for the admission of proselytes into the Jewish
Church, in addition, no doubt, to certain other
* Messe iind Pascha, \)Y>. 100-104, 1 16-122. Bickell's view has been
adopted and popularized in a series of interesting articles in the Dazvn
of Day{^.V.Q.Y^.., 1895-96). They are entitled, 'The Passover and the
Holy Communion,' by E. M.
2 20 LITURGY OF ANTE-NIC EN E CHURCH. [IV.
ceremonies which it would be beside our purpose to
mention or describe here.^
Bathing", or washing with water, was also tlic
appointed rite for the removal of certain Levitical
defilements, and before the execution of priestly-
offices, such as entering the Holy Place, offering
sacrifice, etc.^
It is quite possible that our Lord followed Jewish
precedent in selecting and ordaining baptism as the
rite of initiation into the Christian Church, the age
at which it was administered being derived from the
Jewish law and practice with regard to circumcision
with w^hich Christian baptism is expressly associated
by St. Paul.^ At least this seems more probable
than that pagan rites for the purification of infants
should have been copied, as has been suggested by
one of the most eminent writers of the present day.''
The unction which accompanied baptism is ex-
pressly stated by Tertullian to have been borrowed
from the practice of the Old Testament dispensa-
tion, and likewise the imposition of hands/'
§ 12. Bells. — Bells form part of the ministration
robes of priests in the Greek Church, and were
occasionally found attached to sacerdotal vestments
in the Western Church,'"' just as they formed part
' For proof of this statement, which has been sometimes doubted, sec
Schiirer, The Jewish People, etc., Div. ii. vol. ii. pp. 319-324.
* Exod. xxix. 4; Levit. xvi. 4, etc. ^ Col. ii. 11, 12.
■* Mr. Whitley Stokes. See correspondence in the Academy of
Feb. 15 and Feb. 22, 1896.
^ His words have been quoted in chap. ii. § 6, p. 90.
" Scudamore (W. E,), A'otilia E/icharistiea, 2nd ed. p. 89.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 221
of the dress of the Jewish hic^h priest as described in
the Book of Exodus.^
§ 13. Benedictions at Lections. — Benedictions
were pronounced before and after each of the lessons
read out of the Old Testament in the Jewish sabbath
morning prayers.^ These apparently correspond to
the benedictions and responsories connected with the
lessons in Western Breviaries.
§ 14. Colours. — Various sequences of colours
have grown up in course of time to be in use in
the Christian Church, They were simple at first,
but grew more complex as time went on. The
following curious attempt to associate them with
a Levitical origin is taken from a mediaeval Irish
tract preserved in the Lebar Bvecc : — ■
' Query, by whom were your various colours first broughl
into the robe of offering ?
Not hard to say : Moses, son of Amram, brought them
into the robe of offering of Aaron, son of Amram, his own
brother. He was the first priest in the law of Moses.
It is worth knowing how many colours were set by Moses
in Aaron's robe.
Not hard to say : eight, to wit, yellow, blue, white, green,
brown, red, black, purple. That, then, is the number of
colours which every robe of offering is bound to have in it
from that time to this.
It is worth knowing why that diversity was brought into
the robe of offering, instead of its being one colour.
Not hard to say : through mystery and figure.
It is not fitting for any priest to approach Christ's body
' Chap, xxviii. 33-35.
2 Skene (W. F.), The Lord's Supper and the Paschal Ritual, p. 146.
LITURGY OF ANTE- NICE NE CHURCH. [IV.
towards the offering, without a robe of shining satin around
him, with the various colours therein/ ^ etc.
§ 15. Confirmation.— There is something, at
first sight, analogous to confirmation, at least as
administered now in the Western Church, and
especially in the Church of England, in the way
in which a Jewish lad, when twelve years of age,
was presented in the temple or the synagogue, and
formally taking upon himself the obligations of
the Jewish Church, was solemnly admitted into full
membership. Yet the resemblance must be acci-
dental. Confirmation was originally closely con-
nected with baptism, and its ceremonial finds no
counterpart in the Jewish reception of the twelve-
year-old lad."-^
§ 16. Churches, Name of. — There are a consider-
able number of points connected with the structure
and arrangement of churches, with their dedication,
their decoration, and the reverence shown for them, on
which comparisons might be drawn out at considerable
length between Jewish and Christian customs ; but
the connection between them is of too unsubstantial
and unproven a character to make it worth while to
pursue the matter in detail. Probably similar com-
parisons might be worked out between the temples
' This document, with the original Iri.sh, is printed by Mr, Whitley
.Stokes in his Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, Rolls Series (London,
1887), pt. i. p. clxxxvii.
- St. Luke ii. 42. See Norton (J. G.), Worship in Heai'en and on
Earth (London, not dated), pp. 477-479, where there is an interesting
description of the Jewish ceremony.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 223
and worship of the Christian and the Buddhist
or almost any other religion. There is, however,
one trace of a Jewish influence or connection to
which attention may be drawn, namely, the use
of the word * synagogue/ as a kind of loan word
to describe a Christian place of worship. We have
already seen that it occurs in that sense in the
New Testament.^
St. Ignatius, in his Epistle to Polycarp, says —
* Let Church assemblies (synagogse) be held frequently.' -
In The Shepherd of Hermas we read —
' When a man having the Divine spirit comes into a
synagogue of just men.' •'
Thcophilus of Antioch speaks of —
' The synagogues yet called the holy churches.' *
Theodotus (the Valentinian) calls —
' The Church, which is Christ's Body, the blessed syna-
gogue.' ^
The word is used by Firmilian of C^esarea in his
Epistle to St. Cyprian, in which he says —
' We do not share the same synagogue with heretics.' "
A Greek inscription over a Marcionite church on
Mount Hermon, a.d. 308 or 318, runs thus —
' Page 45. " Cap. iv.
^ Mand, xi. § 9, p. 335. :s,vva'y<»yr] is used more than once in this
chapter.
^ Ad. Autol. ii. 14.
* Inter Opera Clem. Alex., ed. 1715, p. 971.
" ^-P- 75 ; Cypri.ini Opcm omnia, ed. 1716, p. 147.
224 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
* Suvaywyr/ Ma/sKtwvto-TOJV Koj/jt[>^s] Ae/3d.S(j)v tov K\ypiojv Kat
2[wTJ7]p[os] 'lr](rov JCprjcTTOv irpovoLo. JlavXov 7rpecr^[vT€pov] tov
Ai^ I'tous.' ^
These are all instances of the perpetuation in
Christian usage of a Jewish word.
The following modes or marks of Jewish reverence
or devotion seem to correspond to similar character-
istics in Christian worship : —
§ 17. Silent Prayer. — The silent prayer which
accompanied the offering of incense^ may have
suggested the silent prayer in Eastern Liturgies;'
and the oratio seer eta said super ohlata, as well as
the canon now said secreto in the Roman rite.
§ 18. Bowing at the Sacred Name.— When
the name of Jehovah was mentioned, Jewish wor-
shippers bowed down or prostrated themselves to
the ground.^ This is akin to the Christian custom
of bowing at the ascription of praise to God or to
the Holy Trinity, or at the mention of the Name
of Jesus, though the latter is more likely to have
arisen out of a misunderstanding of Phil. ii. 10.
§ 19. Removal of Shoes. — Jewish worshippers
removed their shoes from their feet when they
entered the temple, a custom connected with
Exod. iii. 5 and Josh, v, 15. Sandals were worn
' Inscriptions dc la Syric, No. 2558 ; .Smith and Wace, Dictionary
oj Christian Biography^ iii. 819.
" Dr. Edeisheiin, The Temple, etc., p. 138.
^ Brightmau (F. E.), Eastern Liturgies (Oxford, 1896), p. S3, t-lc.
Titiv iricTTwi' rpe7i evxai ■nptlrriv Sia ai.o)Tri)s, Concil. Laod., Canon 19.
■* Norton (J. G.), Worship in Heaven, and on Earth, pp. 430,
447-44S.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 225
by Jewish priests in the temple, but they were
barefooted while actually engaged in any minis-
tration.^ It is interesting to find traces of a
similar custom in certain parts of the Christian
Church. Irish ecclesiastics appear to have taken
off their sandals at the chancel rail when they went
to celebrate or to pray at the altar, and to have put
them on again when they returned thence. This
custom is implied in a story told of St. Columba
and his attendant Scannlan in the Book of Lisniorei^
It is also an Eastern practice. Mr. Butler tells us
that in the Coptic Church it is a rule for all who
enter the haikal (= sanctuary) to put off their shoes
at the door, and this applies even to the celebrant.
This practice does not prevail in the Nestorian and
Armenian Churches, though in the latter the priests
wear special sandals or slippers.''
Cassian tells us of the Egyptian monks that they
always wore sandals instead of shoes, and that they
always put off their sandals when they went to
celebrate or to receive the holy mysteries.^
§ 20. Bowing towards the Altar. — On en-
tering the temple all the congregation reverently
bowed their heads. On leaving the vicinity of the altar
both the priests and the worshippers were required
to walk backward as far as the Gate of Nicanor, and
there to stand, with their heads reverently bowed
' Dr. Edersheim, 77/1? Temple, etc., p. 117.
^ Lives of the Saints, from the Book of Lisiiiore, ed. by W. Stokes,
P-3I3-
' Butler (A. J.), Ancient Coptii Cliurches, vol. ii. p. 233.
■• Institt., lib. i. cap. 10.
Q
226 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
towards the altar before withdrawing.^ The mediaeval
and modern Christian custom of bowing towards the
altar is an act of reverence of the same kind, but it
is impossible to establish directly the derivation of
the Christian from the Jewish custom, especially in the
absence of any allusion to the practice in ante-Nicene
times. Bingham follows Mede in thinking that it is
highly probable that the Christian act of reverence is
derived from the Jewish, though proof is wanting.^
§ 21. Eastward Position. — The Jewish wor-
shipper always turned his face towards the Holy of
Holies, i.e. towards Jerusalem. This would always
involve, in European congregations, the orientation
of synagogues, and the eastward position in prayer,
which have prevailed so generally, though not
universally, in Christendom.^
§ 22. Ablutions. — The numerous ceremonial
washings of hands or feet or body, prescribed to the
Jewish priests in the Levitical code, bear a certain
resemblance to the ceremonial ablution of the hands,
known as the lavabo, which, either at the offertory
or at some other point, forms a feature of most, if
not all, Christian Liturgies, and also to the ceremonial
washing of the feet, known as the pedilaviuiii, on
Maundy Thursday and at baptism.'*
§ 23. Standing at the Gospel. — The standing
' Norton (J. G.), tit supra, p. 432.
- Antiqq. of the Christian Church, Bk. viii. chap. x. § 7.
' Vitringa, De Synagoga Vctere, lib. i. pars. i. cap. 8, p. 178 ; lil). i.
pars, iii. p. 457,
^ See pp. 164-166.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 027
up of the congregation in the synagogue at the
reading of the law is analogous to the widely spread
Christian custom of standing, as an act of reverence,
during the reading of the liturgical gospel.^
§ 24. Procession of the Gospel. — The solemn
procession of the roll of the law to the reader's desk
in the synagogue, resembles the ceremonial procession
of the Holy Gospels in Eastern Liturgies, known as
' The Little,' or ' The Lesser Entrance.' -
§ 25. Separation of ti-ie Sexes. — The separa-
tion of the sexes in the Jewish Church, the men
occupying the body of the synagogue and the women
the galleries, or the congregation being divided upon
the ground floor, was adopted in the early Christian
Church, and is, to some extent, retained still.
It might seem to be in the Christian Church
merely the outcome of general Oriental sentiment as
to the separation of the sexes, but a specially Jewish
origin for it has been generally maintained.^
The separation of men and women in church was
ordered in the Canons of Hippolytus,'' which also
directed that women were to be ctirefully veiled.^
In no case was a woman allowed to preach, except
in certain heretical communities."
" Norton (J. G.). ut supra, p. 458.
- Neale (J. M.), Liturgies ofSf. Mark, etc. (London, 1859), p. xii.
* Prideaux, Contieclion, e\.c., Pt. ii. Bk. v. p. 504; Schiirer (E.),
The Jc-ii<ish People, etc. (Edinburgh, 1890), Div. ii. vol. ii. p. 75 ;
Bingham, Antiquities, etc., Bk. viii. chap. v. § 6.
* Canon 97, p. 88. '"• Canon 98, p. 88.
* Tertullian, De Prtrscriptionibus, cap. xli. ; P. Z., torn. ii. col. 56 ;
De Virginibits Velandis, Ibid., col. 901 ; Apostolic Constitutions,
lil). ii. cap. 57, p- 67.
228 LITURGY OF ANTE-XICENE CHURCH. [IV.
§ 26. Mode of Singing. — The mode of singing
in the Jewish Divine service — partly responsorial,
partly antiphonal, and possibly the actual chants
used — are believed by some persons to have passed
on into the service of the Christian sanctuary. In a
letter attributed to .St. Germanus Parisiensis {sixth
century, but probably of somewhat later date), the
use of antiphons and of antiphonal singing is derived
from King Solomon, and the use of responsorial
chanting from Miriam.^
According to a modern authority, Jewish melodic
recitation may be the basis of the mode of chanting
the service in the Christian Church.^
§ 27. Dedication of Churches. — The solemn
dedication of places of worship was observed through-
out Jewish history, as in the case of the dedication
of the tabernacle,'^ of Solomon's temple,"* of the temple
rebuilt under Zerubbabel,^ of the building of the
temple and rebuilding of the altar when Judas Mac-
cabreus had driven out the Syrians,'' of the temple as
restored under Herod.'' This practice of dedication
passed on into the Christian Church. The rubrics
in the earlier Latin Pontificals and Sacramentaries,
which, however, do not date from further back than
the eighth century, seem purposely to borrow their
language from the Old Testament, and to copy
details in the Levitical ritual. The expression, ' the
' Germani Parisiensis, Ep. ii. ; P. L., torn. Ixxii. col. 97.
- Nauman (E.), History of Music (London, not dated), vol. i. p. S4.
" Exod. xl. i-ii. ^ I Kings viii. '■' Ezra vi. 16, 17.
• I Mace. iv. ; 2 Mace. x.
' Joscphus, AiUiqq. of llw Jdi's, Hk. xv. cap. xi. § vi.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 229
horn,' or 'the horns of the altar,' is used to denote
the corner or the corners of the altar.^ This ex-
pression is evidently borrowed from Exod. xxvii. 2 —
' And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four
corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou
shalt overlay it with brass.'
The directions to employ hyssop for sprinkling,
and the sevenfold perambulation round the altar,-
seem to be based upon Exod. xxii. 22, etc., and Levit.
iv. 17, etc. Any sprinkling water which remained
was directed to be poured out at the base of the
aitar,^ an expression drawn from Exod. xii. 29 and
Levit. iv. 25, etc.
§ 28. Fasts and Festivals. — Dec. 25 (25th of
Chislev) was the Jewish Feast of the Dedication.^
It was adopted at a very early date by the Christian
Church as the Feast of the Nativity of our Saviour,
or Christmas-Day ; but there is no proof that the
identity of date is more than a coincidence, or that
there was any connection between the Jewish and
the Christian festival.
The four fasts observed annually by the Jews,
and referred to in Zech. viii. 19, are stated to have
suggested the institution of the four Ember seasons.
The connection, as to number, is maintained in a
' Sacramentariuiii Gelasiamim, Muratori's ed. col. 6l0 j Ordo
Roinanus, ii., Ibid., 1027.
- Both ordered in rubrics in the Order for Consecrating a Church in
the Pontifical of Egbert and in that of Robert of Jumieges : Martene,
De Antiq. Eccles. Rit. (Bassani, 1788), lib. ii. cap, xiii. Ordines
ii., iii.
' ' Ad basim altaris,' Ibid. ■* St. John x. 22.
230 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
passage in a treatise, * De Hasresibus,' by Philaster,
Bishop of Brixia, in the middle of the fourth century ; ^
but the purposes for which these Jewish and Chris-
tian fasts were instituted were of a totally different
character, and it is difficult to believe that there was
any connection between them. There were two weekly
Jewish fast-days, Monday and Thursday, for which
the Christian Church at a very early date substituted
Wednesday and Friday, commemorating the betrayal
and the crucifixion of our Lord, but we have not met
with any statement or allusion asserting or suggesting
any connection between the two arrangements.
A high sabbath connected with a feast was the sab-
bath previous to it, not the sabbath after it, or the
sabbath within the octave, as is usually the case in the
Christian Church. The only similar arrangement which
has come under our notice is in the case of the Eastern
Church, where Quinquagesima week is the week before
and not the week after Quinquagesima Sunday.-^
§ 29. Hebrew Language, Use of the. — It has
been stated by Durandus that in the primitive Church
the Divine Mysteries were celebrated in Hebrew,^ and
some Orientalists have expressed an opinion that the
structure of certain liturgical sentences indicates a
translation from a Semitic language.^ But wc have
' Cap. clxix. (Jihler, Corpus Hccresiologicuin, lom. i. p. 167,
referring not to Ember Days, but to Advent, Lent, Rogation Days
(probably), and Pentecost. See CEhler's notes on a doul)tful and
difficult passage.
- Stiidia Biblica (Oxford, 1890), ii. 114.
^ Rationale, lib. iv. cap. i. § 10.
■* Church Quarterly Review, July, 1894, j). 350.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 231
searched in vain for corroboration of Durandus'
statement. Hebrew words occasionally occur in
Latin Liturgies, but only in the case of such ex-
pressions as ' Amen,' ' Hallelujah,' ' Hosanna,' or of
such titles of God as ' Hel,' ' Rucha.' ^ The alphabet
inscribed by a bishop at the consecration of a church
was once written in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew.'-^
§ 30. The Eucharist. — {a) Dr. Edersheim thinks
that the word ' Haggadah,' which means 'shewing
forth,' and which was a Hebrew term for the Paschal
Liturgy, suggested the language of St. Paul —
' As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do
shew the Lord's death till He come.' ^
{b) The washing of hands, which took place in the
Paschal Supper after the partaking of the first and
also of the second cup,"* is suggestive of the Eucharistic
lavabo.
ic) Only red wine was allowed to be used at the
Paschal Supper, and it was always mixed with water,
just as the mixed chalice has been almost universally
used in the Christian Eucharist.
{d) Dr. Edersheim quotes a passage from the
Mischna,-'' which looks as if the water thus used was
warm water —
' If two companies eat [the Passover] in the same house,
' Winchester Tropcr, ed. by W. H. Frere (1S94), p. 48, being
vol. viii. of the publications of the Henry Bradshaw Society.
- Martene, De Antiq. Eccles. Ritibus (Bassani, 178S), torn. ii. p. 243.
' The Temple, etc., p. 199; but the word ' Haggadah ' has a wider
signification. Compare Exod. xiii. S,
■* Ibid., pp. 205, 207. ■'■ Pes. vii. 13.
232 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
the one turns its face to one side, the other to the other,
and the kettle [warming kettle] stands between them,' ^
This offers a curious parallel to the infusion of
warm water into the chalice at the commixture in
the Byzantine rite, for which, however, no very early
authority can be produced, nor is the practice known
in any other Liturgy, Eastern or Western.^
{e) The Paschal Supper was preceded by a fast.
The evening sacrifice was ordinarily offered at 2.30
p.m. and slain at 3.30 p.m., but on the eve of the
Passover these hours were put back to 1.30 p.m. and
2.30 p.m. No food was partaken of from that hour
until the Paschal Supper,'' and that was not commenced
until dark. This may have suggested the practice
of fasting reception of the Eucharist, which has been
observed with rare exceptions from the earliest times.
§ 31. Imposition of Hands.— This was not part
of the prescribed Levitical ritual, but it was the
recognized external sign accompanying benediction,
and appointment to office.^ There had been variation
of practice in earlier times, but for some time before
our Lord's day the appointment or ordination of a
rabbi had come to be made or performed by the laying
on of hands, and the presence of three ordained
rabbis was required to make such an ordination
' The Temple, etc., p. 204.
- II,, p. 123; 2nd ed. by F. E. Brighlman, pp. 341, 394; but tlic
words ' Irene da calda[m] ' are inscribed over a figure in a represen-
tation of the agape in the catacombs (W. E. .Scudamore, A~otiiia
iLxcharistica, 2nd cd., p. 6S9).
^ Dr. Edersheim, llie Temple, etc., p. 203.
* Gen. xlviii. 14; Deut. xxxiv. 9.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS.
valid.^ This is suggestive of the only universally
used external sign which has scriptural authority
in connection with ordination in the Christian
Church, and reminds us of the early Canons which
made the presence and co-operation of three bishops
necessary not to the validity, but to the regularity of
a consecration.-^
§ 32. Holy Orders. — The conviction that the
Christian ministry in its threefold form was evolved
out of the ministerial organization of the Jewish
Church, found support at an early date. It is sug-
gested by the language of St. Clement of Rome, in
a chapter in which he is evidently describing the
office and work of the Christian ministry, wherein
he says —
* For to the high-priest (rw apx"P«0 ^.re given certain
functions, and to the priests (rois iep€t)crti/) their proper place
is assigned, and to the Levites (XemVais) appertain their
proper ministries, and the laymen (o XuCkos avOpoiTro<;) are con-
fined within the bounds of what is commanded to laymen.' ^
Later on St. Jerome said —
' What Aaron, and his sons, and the Levites were in the
temple, the same bishops, priests, and deacons are in the
Church.' '
The comparison is drawn out in still greater detail
in the Apostolic Constitutions, where it is said that —
'The Jewish sacrifices are the Christian prayers and
' Dr. Edersheim, T/ie Life and Times of Jesus, 2nd ed. ii. 382.
- Apostolic Canons, i. ; Apostolic Constitutions, viii. 4, 27, etc.
* Ep. ad Cor. cap. xl. It has been considered by some to be uncer-
tain whether St. Clement refers here to the Jewish or Christian ministry.
■• Ep. xlvi. ; P. L., torn. xxii. col. 1195.
234 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
supplications and Eucharist. Jewish firstfruits and tithes,
and offerings, and gifts, are the oblations offered by the
holy bishops to the Lord God through Jesus Christ, who
died for them. For the bishops are your high priests, and
the presbyters are your priests, and the deacons of to-day
are your J.evites, and so on with your readers, and singers,
and ostiarii, and with your deaconesses, and widows, and
virgins, and orphans ; a*iid the bishop, who is above all
these, is the high priest.' ^
In its earliest form, in apostolic times, the three-
fold ministry of the Christian Church was differently
constituted. It consisted of, firstly, Apostles; secondly,
presbyters or bishops ; thirdly, deacons. These
gradations, according to a modern liturgical writer
of eminence, had also their Jewish counterparts.
The Apostles corresponded to ethnarchs ; the pres-
byters to rulers of the synagogue ; the deacons to
the inn]f)ir(u.'^
Mons. de I'ressense maintained that the two
Christian orders of bishops, or elders, and deacons
{the Apostles representing the first order, divinely
appointed, and not intended to be perpetuated) were
borrowed not from the temple worship, but from
the synagogue, which had nothing priestly about it,
and the very simple organization of which singularly
adapted it to the needs of the new community.^
These connections and correspondences may be
deemed unproven or even fanciful, but they are
' Apostulic Conslilulions, lib. ii. cap. 25.
* Duchesne (L.), On'giues du Ciilte Chntioi (I'aris, 1SS9), p. 10.
^ Christian Life and Practice in tlie Early Cliurdi (I.onclon, 1S77),
P- 39-
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS, 235
infinitely more probable than the theory put forward
now in certain quarters that the Christian Church
borrowed or adapted its ministerial organization from
paganism.
§ 'i^'X,. Marriage. — Some of the ceremonies con-
nected with the Christian marriage service were
probably taken over from Judaism, though, as in
the case of the ring and of the white dress, they
may have prevailed far and wide outside and beyond
the Jewish community.
The ring was recognized in the Old Testament,
and used as a token of fidelity, and of reception into
a family.^
The distinctive attire of the bride, including the
white dress,^ if she were not a widow, and the veil,*^
and the crown or chaplet,** were also Jewish usages
to which reference is made in Holy Scripture, They
have all been adopted into Christian marriage ritual ;
the crown especially in the Greek Church, where
both bride and bridegroom are crowned, and where
the whole service is known as ' the Service of the
Coronation.' ^
§ 34. Prayer, Hours of. — In connection with
Jewish devotion, we find in Holy Scripture references
to various hours of prayer both by day and night, e.g. —
' And they stood up in their place, and read in the book
of the law of the Lord their God, one fourth part of the
* Gen. xli. 42 ; St. Luke xv. 22.
" Rev. xix. 8. ' Gen. xxiv. 65. ' Cant. iii. 11.
* ' AKo\ov6ia rod ^'S,T€(pa.i/wfjia.Tos, Euchologion.
236 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
day, and another fourth part they confessed, and worshipped
the Lord their God.' ^
' In the evening, and morning, and at noon-day will I
pray, and that instantly : and He shall hear my voice.' ^
* At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee,
because of Thy righteous judgments.' ^
' Seven times a day do I praise Thee, because of Thy
righteous judgments.' "^
' Arise, cry out in the night : in the beginning of the
watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of
the Lord.' '"
* He kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and
prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did afore-
time.'"
' For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is
but the third hour of the day.' ~
' Now Peter and John went up together into the temple
at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.' ^
' Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the
sixth hour.'"
There can be little doubt that the sevenfold
division of the day services of the Christian Church
into Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and
Compline, and the lengthy night services called
* Nocturns ' or ' vigiliae nocturnae,' owe their existence
to the indications of Jewish customs contained in the
' Nell. ix. 3. The Vulgate text runs, ' Et consurrexerunt ad
standum ; et legerunt in volumine legis Domini Dei sui, quater in die,
et quater confitebantur, et adorabant Dominum Deum suum (II. Lib.
Esdrse ix. 3).
- Ps. Iv. 18. 3 Ps. cxix. 62. •» Ps. cxix. 164.
'" Lam. ii. 19. • Consurge, lauda in node in principio vigiliarum,'
etc. (Vulgate).
* Dan. vi. 10. ' Acts ii. 15. * Acts iii. i. See also x. 3.
* Acts X. 9.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 237
above verses. We do not mean that the arrange-
ment was taken over at once from the Jewish temple,
because we do not know that such a multiform
arrangement of services ever existed there ; but,
that when, in the course of centuries, the Christian
scheme of services was developed, it was very
largely influenced by scriptural, that is, by Jewish,
considerations.
§ 35. Prayer, Attitude at. — The ordinary
attitude in prayer among the Jews was standing,^
though kneeling and prostration were also practised.
We have described at length early Christian practice
in this matter,^ which, deliberately or otherwise,
followed very closely upon Jewish precedent.
§ 36. Prayer for the Dead.— There is no plain
direction to pray for the departed either in the Old
or the New Testament, nor is there any instance of
such a prayer, if we except St. Paul's pious aspiration
with regard to the probably deceased Onesiphorus —
' The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of
the Lord in that day.' ''^
But there can be no doubt that such prayer was
in use among the Jews before the time that our
Lord was upon earth. A statement with reference
to Judas Maccabaeus, in the Second Book of Mac-
cabees, puts this fact beyond all question —
' For if he had not hoped that they that were slain
should have risen again, it had been superfluous and vain
to pray for the dead.
' Deut. X. 8; Neh. ix. 2-4; St. ^Nlatt. vi. 5.
- Chap. ii. § 17, p. 141. =2 Tim.i. 18.
J38 LITURGY OF ANTE-xYICENE CHURCH. [IV
And also in that he perceived that there was great
favour laid up for those that died godly, it was an holy
and good thought. Whereupon he made a reconciliation
for the dead, that they might be delivered from sin.' ^
Accordingly we are not surprised to find that the
following prayer has formed part of- the Jewish
Liturgy. It was said in some congregations on each
sabbath morning, in others on certain of the highest
festivals, in others only on the Day of Atonement.
We have not been able to ascertain the date of its
composition, nor whether it existed in the time of
our Lord. Neither this prayer, nor any other form
of prayer for the dead, is found in the Authorized
Daily Prayer-book of the United Hebrew Congregations
of the British Empire (London, 1892).
A Prayer.
' May God remember the souls of my father and mother,
my grandfather and grandmother, my uncles and aunts,
my brothers and sisters, my relatives on the father's and
mother's side, who have passed into their eternity. For the
sake of the alms which I commend for them, may their
souls be included in the bundle of life with the souls of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah,
and the other righteous men and women in Paradise ; and
let us say, Amen.' -
The evidence of early Jewish tombstones is in
favour of the custom of prayer for the dead, but the
date of these mortuary inscriptions has not been
' 2 Mace. xii. 44, 45.
- Bickell {Vy.), Messc und Pascka (Mainz, 1872), p. 69 : Luckock
(II. M.), After Deal h, 8th eel. (London, 1890), p. 58.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 239
ascertained with sufficient certainty for any conclusive
argument to be based upon them.-^
We have already produced evidence as to the
widespread practice of prayer for the departed in
the early Christian Church.'-^ In the silence of Holy
Scripture on the subject, one naturally asks, ' Whence
was the practice derived ? ' It may be a deep-seated
instinct or craving in our spiritual and intellectual
nature finding outward expression for itself in formal
prayer. But, more probably, the practice was taken
over from the Jewish Church, a transfer made more
easy by the absence of any condemnation of it, on
the part of our Lord or His Apostles, in the pages
of the New Testament.
On the other hand, in the absence of certain proofs
that prayer for the dead formed part of the Jewish
Liturgy in our Lord's time, some modern writers
have held that it was a later importation from Chris-
tianity into Judaism.^ But, considering the conser-
vatism of the Jews, and their hostility to the Christian
Church, this seems to be improbable. M. Israel Levi
is conscious of this difficulty, but does not do much
to meet it."*
§ 37. Vestments.— We have seen that there is
little proof of the existence of any distinctive dress
of the Christian clergy during the first three cen-
turies.'' The first reference to a vestment is in the
' Luckock, at supra, pp. 61-64. " Chap. ii. § 17, p. 146.
= Article by M. Israel Levi, The Rcvuc des Etudes Jttivcs, Jul)'"
Sept. (Paris, 1S94), torn. xxix. pp. 43-60.
* //'/,/., p. 59. '^ Chap. ii. § 20.
240 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
Canons of Hippolytus^(p, 163). The next is early
in the fourth century, when the emperor Constantino
gave to Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, a rich vestment
embroidered in gold, to wear when administering
baptism.^ After that time varied and splendid vest-
ments began to be worn by officiating clergy — bishops,
priests, and deacons, having each their distinctive
dress — and the common theory of the medireval
ritualists, in which they are largely followed by writers
of the present day, is that these vestments were copied
from those of the Levitical priesthood ; e.g. Rabanus
Maurus, in the ninth century, asserts this of vestments
in general, and of the amice, or superhumcral, in
particular.'-^ Durandus, writing in the thirteenth
century, makes the same assertion, but in qualified
terms, as to vestments generally.'^ The Levitical
theory is incorporated in a rubric of a ninth-century
Service Book of English Use, which runs thus —
' Incipiunt orationes ad vestimenta sacerdotalia sen
levitica.'*
The Chasuble and Rationale are both described as
of Jewish origin in a letter attributed to S". Germanus
Parisiensis (A.D. 555-576), but probably of somewhat
ln.ter date/'
' Theodoret, Hist. Eccks., lib. ii. cap. 23; P. C, toni. Ix.vxii.
col. 1065.
- De Jnstitutione Clcricoritm, lib. i. capp. 14, 15.
^ Rationale Divinorum Ojjicioriim, lib. iii. cap. i, § 2.
^ Liber Pontifualis Gemmetiiensis, MS. 362 in tlie public lil:)rary at
Rouen, as quoted by Martene, De A/ttii/. Jiccles. Ritibits, III), ii. cap. x.
ordo. iii. (ed. 1788), p. 252.
* Ep. ii. ; /'. /,., torn. Ixxii. col. 97.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 241
Bishop Young, writing in the present day, says —
' If any one will compare the engravings of the vestments
of the Jewish high priest, priest, and levite, as given by
Calmet, with those now in use by the bishops, priests, and
deacons of the Oriental Church, he will be struck with the
resemblance between them, and the presumptive proof
which the comparison affords that the latter were derived
from the former.' ^
But can this theory as to the origin of vestments
be true ? Wc think not ; because considering the
state of alienation and antipathy, which existed
between Jews and Christians during the early and
middle ages, it is an unlikely, though not an impos-
sible, supposition that the latter should have directly
borrowed their ministerial dress from the former ;
and there is a simpler theory of the origin of vest-
ments, which has philological support, viz. that the
Christian ministerial dress is a survival of the ordi-
nary lay dress of the opening centuries of the
Christian era. We repeat ^ that there is slight trace
of special dress in use before the reign of Constantino ;
then if we examine the names which the clerical
vestments now bear, and have borne from the first,
we find that they denote ordinary articles of lay
attire once in everyday use. Such names are —
Alba, the white undergarment, tunic, or shirt.
Capa, the cope, a late Latin word, denoting an article of
dress corresponding to the toga, the ordinary outer
garment of a Roman citizen. Another name for the
' Young (J. F.), Papers on Liturgical Eiirichment (New York, 18S3),
p. 17-
* Chap. ii. § 21, p. 162.
242 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
cope was ' pluviale,' literally, that which protects a
man's body from the rain.
CasLila, the chasuble, a little hut, covering the whole body,
corresponding to the 'p^enula,' an outer garment or
cloak.
Cingulum, the cincture or girdle with which the tunic was
fastened.
Manipulus, the maniple, literally a handful, i.e. the hand-
kerchief in the hand.
Stola, the stole. This word did not come into use to
designate an article of ecclesiastical dress till the ninth
century, and it probably has no connection with the
classical stola. The earlier name for stole was
'orarium' or handkerchief.
A somewhat similar process has been going on in
England, in another department of clerical dress,
in recent times. The levee dress, in which clergy
have to appear at court in 1897, including buckle-
shoes, silk stockings, knee-breeches, and three-cornered
hat, is the everyday dress of the clergy of two
centuries ago, petrified for a particular purpose, and
perpetuated in state ceremonial.
§ 38. Jewish Origin of Christian Formulae
OF Devotion. — It may be asked, Have any por-
tions of Jewish liturgical language been transferred
into the services of the Christian Church ? and if
so, to what extent ? It is not easy to give a com-
plete answer to these questions, but the answer must
undoubtedly be. To a considerable extent. It is no
matter of surprise that such a borrowing should have
taken place in the case of New Testament Canticles,
which were the devout outpourings of the minds of
persons familiar with the devotions of the Jewish
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 243
Temple and synagogues from their childhood ; but
similarity of thought and language extends and is
found beyond them, as may be seen by aid of the
following parallel tables : —
St. Luke
49
51
52
54
55
68
69
71
72
73
Magnificat,
He that is mighty hath
done to me great things.
He hath scattered the
proud in the imagination of
their hearts.
He hath put down the
mighty from theii seats,
and exalted them of low
degree.
He hath holpen His ser-
vant Israel, in remembrance
of His mercy;
As He spake to our
fathers, to Abraham, and
to his seed for ever.
Benedictiis.
Blessed be the Lord God
of Israel ; for He hath
visited and redeemed His
people.
And hath raised up an
horn of salvation for us in
the house of His servant
David.
That we should be saved)
from our enemies, and from!
the hand of all that hate us ;)
To perform the mercy)
promised to our fathers and I
to remember His holy cove- J
nant ; |
The oath which he sware |
to our father Abraham, J
The Eighteen Benedictions .
2. Thou art mighty, O
Lord, world without end.
. . . Who is like unto thee,
Lord of might ?
12. Let the proud speedily
be uprooted, broken, crushed
and humbled speedily in our
days. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord, who breakest down
the enemy, and humblest the
proud.
I. Blessed art Thou who
rememberest the pious deeds
of our fathers, and sendest
the Redeemer to their chil-
dren's children. Blessed art
Thou, O Lord, the Shield of
Abraham.
Tlie Eighteen Benedictions.
I. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord our God, the God of
our fathers Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, who rememberest
. . . and sendest the Re-
deemer to their children's
children.
14/^. The branch of David
Thy servant speedily cause
to ilourish, and exalt his horn
with Thy help. . . . Blessed
art Thou, O Lord, who
causest to flourish the horn
of David.
See St.Lukei.51,52; Ben. 12.
See St. Luke i. 54 ; Ben. i.
244 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
Si. lAike
77
78
79
St. Lulvc
ii.
14
29
30
To give knowledge of sal-
vation unto His people
by the remission of their
sins.
Through the tender mercy
of our God.
To give light to them that
sit in darkness and in the
shadow of death, to guide
our feet into the way of
peace.
Gloria in Excelsis,
Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men.
Nunc Diniittis.
Lord, now lettest Thou
Thy servant depart in peace ;
For mine eyes have seen
Thy salvation.
4. Thou mercifully be-
slowest knowledge upon men,
and teachest the mortal pru-
dence. Mercifully bestow
upon us from Thyself, know-
ledge, wisdom, and under-
standing.
6. Our P'ather, forgive us,
for we have sinned ; our
King, pardon us, for we have
transgressed, for Thou art
forgiving and pardoning.
13. On us bestow, O Lord
our God, Thy mercy.
18. Bestow . . . mercy,
compassion upon us, and upon
the whole of Israel Thy people.
18. Bless us all unitedly
with the light of Thy counte-
nance ; for in the light of Thy
countenance didst Thou give
to us the law of life, etc.
May it please Thee to bless
Thy people Israel at all times
and in every moment with
peace. Blessed art Thou, O
Lord, who blessest Thy people
Israel with peace.'
The Kadish.
Blessed and praised, cele-
brated and exalted, . . . may
perfect peace descend from
heaven, and life upon us and
all Israel. -
The Eighteen Benedictions.
2. Thou loosest the chained,
and shewest Thy faithfulness
to those that sleep in the dust.
16. May our eyes see Thee
return to Israel in love.
Blessed art Thou, O Lord,
who restorest Thy Shechinah
to Zion.^
^ The contents of these parallel columns are borrowed largely from
F. H. Chase, The Lord's Prayer in the Early Church (Cambridge,
I 891), pp. 147- 149-
* Page 214, ' Pages 211, 213.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 245
The LorcTs Prayer.
Hallowed be Thy Name,
The Triumphal I/yiim.
Holy, holy, holy, Lord of
Sabaoth ; heaven and earth
are full of His glory. Blessed
be He for ever. Amen."
The Eucharistic Preface.
It is verily meet and right,
holy and becoming, and
advantageous, to our souls,
Jehovah, Lord God, Father
Almighty, to worship Thee,
to hymn Thee, to give thanks
to Thee, to return Thee
praise, etc.*
The Keduslia.
Hallowed be Thy Name
on earth, as it is hallowed
in heaven above.^
The Kediisha.
Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord God of Sabaoth ; the
whole earth is filled with His
glory.^
At the Paschal Supper.
Therefore it is our bound en
duty to thank, praise, exalt,
glorify, praise, and celebrate
Him, etc.*
The ' Kyrie Eleyson,' preserved in its Greek form
in Latin Liturgies, was probably in its origin a Greek-
Jewish liturgical formula, derived from such Old
Testament passages as the following : — Kuptt, tXEijo-ov
TjyUac ; '^ Y\i\\aov ^ixaq, Kvfiie, iXir^aov iijuag ',^ 'EAtJjcroi'
There is a curious addition to the text of ' Gloria
in Excelsis ' in several ancient Irish versions, con-
sisting of the words ' et omnes dicimus Amen' ('and
we all say, Amen '). It has also been found in the
Armenian version of the Vespers evening hymn,
' Hail, gladdening light,' etc. There can be little
doubt that this is an importation of the phrase
|PN 10X31. (= 'and say we, Amen') which occurs so
' Page 215. * From the Clementine Liturgy, p. 297,
^ Page 215. * From the Liturgy of St. Mark.
' Page 216. " Isa. xxxiii. 2.
' Ps. cxxxii. 3. * Ps. vi. 3,
246 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
frequently in the Kadish and in other parts of the
Jewish Morning Service.^
For a list of Hebrew words surviving in use in the
Christian Liturgy, see § 29, p. 230.
Dr. J. F. Young, Bishop of Florida, has printed in
parallel columns portions of the Jewish Sabbath
Morning Service and of the Greek Liturgy of St.
Basil ; and also the Jewish supplications used during
the Ten Days of Penitence (the Sabbath excepted)
at the morning service and the Greek Ektene. In
each case there is a general resemblance, but that
resemblance seems to be too vague to justify the
conclusion that the Christian formula of devotion
has been borrowed from the Jewish, or that there
is any direct connection between them.'-^
The Rev. J. E. Field has written many pages to
prove the Jewish origin of the Christian Liturgy,
but his proof of such origin is made up mainly of
slender coincidences of diction or similarities of
subject-matter, in the case of single sentences or
even of single words, and does not carry conviction.-''
§ 39. Gospel for the Tenth Sunday after
Trinity. — The selection of the passage from St.
Luke xix. 41-48, in which our Lord's prophecy of
the destruction of Jerusalem occurs, as the Gospel for
the Tenth Sunday after Trinity is said to have been
' The author is indebted to the Rev. Duncan MacGregor for this
suggestion. See Antiphonary of Bangor, Part ii. (London, 1895),
pp. 75-77, and p. 257 of this book.
- Papers on Liturgical Enrichment {^t^ York, 1883), p. 17,
* The Apostolic Liturgy a7id the Fpistlc to the Hchre^vs (London,
1882), Appendix v. p. 622.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 247
determined by its near coincidence with one of the
days of prayer and fasting (the ninth of Ab), on
which the Jews bewail the fall of their capital and
the destruction of the temple.^
A review of the facts accumulated in this chapter
will, we think, bring most readers to the conclusion
that on some points there has been deliberate imita-
tion of Jewish usage on the part of the Christian
Church ; while on other points an unintentional
resemblance exists, a resemblance based on an
instinct of reverence, which, whether in the Jewish
or the Christian, or indeed in any non-Jewish and
non-Christian religion, would naturally show itself
in the same or in a similar way,
§ 40. Heathen Worship suggested as the
Source of Christian Ritual. — In connection
with the subject-matter of this chapter, it is desirable
to mention the fact that a totally different theory
of the origin and development of Christian ritual,
and of the growth of Christian terminology in con-
nection with the sacramental ordinances of the
Church, has been recently put forward both in this
country and abroad. Take up the Hibbert LecUires
for 1888. Their author. Dr. Hatch, selects for his
title, TJie Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon
the Christian Chnrch. In chapter x. he maintains that
' Kingsbury (T, L.), The Holy Tears of Jesus (London, 1S92), p. 12,
This passage forms the Gospel for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
in the Leofric Missal, and for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost in the
present Roman use.
248 LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
the sacramental ritual and terms of the Christian
Church, as developed from the second to the fifth
centuries of the Christian era, were borrowed from
the Eleusinian mysteries. He dwells especially
upon —
{a) Eleusinian baptism, with its various titles, with
the preparation of its recipients, and the ritual of its
administration.
(/;) The processions with lights.
if) The offerings of worshippers laid upon a holy
table.
{d) The common or communion feast which
followed.
(6') The secrecy, resembling that of Freemasons,
with which the Eleusinian rites were conducted.
(/) The exclusion of the unworthy from initiation
into and participation in the mysteries.
{g) The formula or password only told to the
initiated.
(/;) The mystic crown worn by them.
These and other Eleusinian observances are com-
pared to the ritual, nomenclature, and practices of
the Christian Church as commencing to be developed
directly after the Apostolic age, and as fully de-
veloped in the fifth and sixth centuries ; and the
latter are concluded to be derived from the former.
We cannot do justice to Dr. Hatch's argument
in a short summary. It is thoughtfully worked out,
and finished with the following eloquent passage : —
' In the splendid ceremonial of Eastern and Western
worship, in the blaze of light<5, in tlie separation of the
IV] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUAIS. 249
central point of the rite from common view, in the proces-
sion of torch-bearers, chanting their sacred hymns, there
is the survival, and in some cases the galvanized survival,
of what I cannot find it in my heart to call a pagan cere-
monial ; because though it was the expression of a less
enlightened faith, yet it was offered to God from a heart
that was not less earnest in its search after God, and in its
effort after holiness, than our own.' ^
Although a prima facie case is made out by Dr.
Hatch in a chapter w^hich deserves to be read
through carefully by every person interested in the
subject, yet we are convinced that on further con-
sideration the whole theory will break down on the
following grounds : —
I. It seems to be a moral impossibility that a
religion like Christianity, the raison d'etre of which
was a protest against heathen theology and heathen
morality, which threw unmeasured ridicule and con-
tempt upon the heathen gods, especially in the pages
of its earlier apologists, Aristides, Minucius Felix,
etc., should have borrowed its ritual practices and
terminology from a heathen source. This remark
applies to the Church in the ante-Nicene period.
No doubt in later days, when Christianity came
more widely in contact with heathenism, and when
heathenism had lost the power, if not the will, to
persecute, there may have been some adaptation of
heathen ritual observances.^
' Hatch (E.), Hibbe7-t Lechtres ioi 1888, The theory of an Eleusinian
origin of the Eucharist is persuasively and ingeniously supported by
Dr. P. Gardner, The Origin of the Lord^s Supper (London, 1893).
- As has been shown by Mr. Bass Mullinger, in his article on
LITURGY OF ANTE-NICENE CHURCH. [IV.
2. The cause why the earliest Christian rites were
performed with secrecy, both as to manner and
time and place, was the danger of persecution and
martyrdom which always attended or was liable to
attend the profession and practice of Christianity
until it became a religio licita. This characteristic
of secrecy lingered on as against the heathen and
catechumens long after the dangers in which it origi-
nated had passed away.
3. Such words as ^wr/^t/y, (ptoTiafiog, (7(j)payiL,^iv,
(T^fHtyic, fivtiaOui, fivfTTi'ipiov, are derived directly from
the New Testament, and not from the Eleusinian
mysteries. It is not necessary here to discuss the
further question, Whence did the writers of the
New Testament, especially St. Paul, derive the use
of the words ?
The similarity between certain parts of the ritual
and liturgical language of heathenism and both
Judaism and Christianity, was noticed long ago by
a famous Christian thinker and writer, who offered
a far more probable explanation of it than the
Hibbert Lecturer, viz. that the false religion is an
imitation of the true, and not '!>ice versa.
Tertullian said —
* The (luestion will arise, By whom is the sense of the
passages which make for heresies interpreted ? By the
devil, of course, to whom pertain those wiles which pervert
the truth, and who, l)y the mystic rites of his idols, vies even
with the essential portions of tlie Divine sacraments. He
' Paganism ' in Smith and Cheetham's Dic/ionaiy of Christian
Antiipiities.
IV.] JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 251
too baptizes some, that is, his own believers and faithful
followers ; he promises the putting away of sin by a laver ;
and, if my memory still serves me, their Mithra sets his
mark on the foreheads of his soldiers ; he celebrates also an
oblation of bread, and introduces an image of a resurrection,
and beneath a sword wreathes a crown. What must we also
say of the fact that he limits his high priest to a single
marriage, and that he has his virgins and his votaries pro-
fessing continence. But if we consider the superstitions of
Numa Pompilius, his priestly offices, badges, and privileges,
his sacrificial services, and the instruments and vessels of
the sacrifices themselves, and the curious rites of his
expiations and vows, shall we not clearly see that the devil
imitated the well-known moroseness of the Jewish law ?
Satan, therefore,who showed such great eagerness to express
in the rites of idolatry those very things of which the ad-
ministration of Christ's sacraments consists, possessing still
the same genius, set his heart upon and succeeded in adapt-
ing to his profane and rival creed the very instruments of
Divine things and of the Christian saints, his interpre-
tation from their interpretations, his words from their
words, his parables from their parables,' etc.^
A theory of the heathen origin of Christian vest-
ments has been sometimes put forward, e.g. by a
recent writer, who says —
' The mitre is the head-dress of the Persian priests, and
of the Mithra worshippers of Commagene, on statues of the
early Roman period. This is by no means the only
instance in which Pagan vestments came to be used by
Christian priests. The scarlet robes of the flamens were
adopted by cardinals; the alb was an Egyptian sacred
dress ; the dalmatic, a short-sleeved skirt, was worn by
' Liber de Prcescriptionilms Adversus Hareticos, cap. xl, ; P. L.,
torn. ii. col. 54.
252 LITURGY OF ANTE- NICE NE CHURCH. [IV.
Commodus and by Elagabalus, the emperor who was priest
of the Sun-God, symboHzed by the black stone brought
from Emesa in Syria to Rome. The practice of kissing
the foot of an emperor was introduced by Cahgula from
Persia.' ^
There is no proof ofifered for these statements
except in the case of a supposed etymological con-
nection between ' Mithras ' and ' Mitre.' They are
extremely improbable. It would not be more
fanciful to connect the scarlet robes of the flamens
with the academic full dress of Doctors of Divinity.
The Puritans at the time of the Reformation
denounced the surplice as heathenish, as well as
popish. It was described not only as ' the white
linen garment that the Mass-priest wears in the
popish religion/ but also as ' the mark of the linigeri
calvi of Isis,' as ' a kind of garment used by the
priests of Isis' and as 'the costume of the priests of
Baal.' 2
The threefold constitution of the Christian ministry
has been referred to a heathen origin in recent times
by many distinguished writers, including Hatch in
England,^ and Harnack in Germany;'* but \h.Qd priori
' Edinburgh Review, Jan. 1895, p. 225.
- For authorities, see note in Mullingcr (J, B. ), History of the
University of Catnhridge, ii. 195-
^ Tlie Organization of the Early Christian Churches, Bamplon
Lecttcres (London, 1888), 3rd ed.
'' Ibid., translated, with introduction and appendices, by Adolf
Harnack, Giessen, 1883. Renan holds a similar view of the evolution
and development of the Christian ministry, but he does not trace the
borrowing process from the civil organization and surroundings of
heathen society {EEglise Chrettenne (Paris, 1879), chap, vi.).
IV.] JEWISH AXD CHRISTIAN RITUALS. 253
improbability of early Christianity condescending to
borrow from the heathenism which it denounced, and
by which it was persecuted, applies to this as well as
to all other cases of alleged or supposed borrowing,
apart from difficulties which may arise peculiar to
the particular loan or debt under consideration.
APPENDIX.
FROM THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS.
§ I. Gloria in Excelsis — § 2. Triumphal Hymn — § 3. A Widow's
Thanksgiving — § 4. A Eucharistic Thanksgiving — § 5. A Post-
Communion Thanksgiving — § 6. A Thanksgiving for the Holy
Oil — § 7. A General Prayer — § 8. Baptismal Formula of Renuncia-
tion— § 9. Baptismal Creed — § 10. Consecration of the Water at
Baptism — § 11. Consecration of the Oil at Baptism — § 12. A
post-Baptismal Prayer — § 13. A Prayer at the Consecration of a
Bishop — § 14. The Clementine Liturgy — § 15. Another Descrip-
tion of the Liturgy — § 16. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Presbyter
— § 17. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Deacon — § 18. A Prayer
at the Ordination of a Deaconess — § 19. A Prayer at the Ordina-
tion of a Sub-Deacon — § 20. A Prayer at the Ordination of a
Reader — § 21. A Consecration of Water and Oil — § 22. An
Evening Prayer — § 23. A Morning Prayer — § 24. A Thanksgiving
at the Presentation of the Firstfruits — § 25. A Prayer for the
Faithful Departed.
In this appendix we place before the reader the
devotional formulae — anthems, prayers, etc., includ-
ing the so-called Clementine Liturgy — which are
contained in the compilation known as the Apos-
tolic Constitutions. As that compilation dates
from the second half of the fourth century, we have
not ventured to include any of its contents in
Chapter iii., unless know^n to us through earlier
J56 APPENDIX.
writings, although much of the following devo-
tional material may be, and much of it no doubt
is, ante-Nicene.
§ I. Gloria in Excelsis.
The following is a very ancient hymn of un-
known authorship. The two earliest forms in which
it is known to us occur in the seventh book of the
Apostolic Constitutions, and in the Codex Alexan-
drinus of the Bible, now in the British Museum. In
the latter it is labelled *A Morning Hymn.' In the
former the context would imply its use at eventide ;
but the one MS. which gives it any title describes
it as 'A Morning Hymn.' In the AntipJionary of
Bangor, a seventh-century Irish service-book, it is
headed, ' For the Evening and for the Morning,' or as
we might say, ' At Vespers and Matins ' ; for its con-
nection was with the Divine office. The Eucharistic
use of it, now prevalent in Western Christendom,
is of later origin.
We give in parallel columns translations of the
three earliest texts of ' Gloria in Excelsis,' to
which reference has been made, together with the
anthems or other devotional formulae appended to
them.
Further information about the origin, growth, and
use of this hymn will be found in Julian's Dictionary
of Hymnology (London, 1892), pp. 425, 459; Smith
and Cheetham's Dictionary of Christian Antiquities
(London, 1875), vol. i. p. 'j^'^.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS.
'57
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26o APPENDIX.
^ 2. Triumphal Hymn.
The ' Triumphal Hymn,' or ' Tersanctus,' or
' Sanctus/ is a constituent portion of all Liturgies.
From its being found in the Apostolic Constitutions,
where it forms part of the Clementine Liturg\% we
know that it is as old as the fourth century. It is
probably older still, perhaps almost as ancient as
Christianity. It will be found printed on p. 297 in a
shape nearly resembling that in our present English
Liturgy. It must be distinguished from the ' Trisa-
gion,' which occurs in most Eastern Liturgies, but
in a different position, and which is also found among
the Reproaches on Good Friday in the Roman Missal.
Its words are —
' Holy God, holy and mighty, holy and immortal, have
mercy upon us.'
This Trisagion is not found in the Clementine
Liturgy, and the date of its composition is unkncnvn.
The following formula: of devotion are also con-
tained in the Apostolic Constitutions : —
§ 3. A Widow's Thanksgiving,
' Blessed art Thou, O God, who hast refreshed m\- fellow-
widow. Bless, O Lord, and glorify him that ministered unto
her, and let his good work ascend in truth before Thee, and
remember him for good in the day of his visitation. Add
glory to my bishop who hath well fulfilled liis ministry before
Thee, and hath directed a seasonable alms to be given to
my fellow widow in her destitution ; grant unto him a crown
of rejoicing in the day of the revelation of Thy visitation.' ^
' Lib. iii. cap. 13, p. 102.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS, 261
§ 4. A EucHARiSTic Thanksgiving,
' We thank Thee, O our Father, for that Ufe which Thou
hast made known to us, through Thy Son Jesus, through
whom also Thou makest all things, and takest thought for
the whole world ; whom too Thou didst send to become
man for our salvation, and didst permit Him to suffer and
to die, whom Thou didst also raise up and wast pleased to
glorify, and hast seated Him on Thy right hand, through
whom also Thou hast promised unto us the resurrection of
the dead. Do Thou, O Lord Almighty, eternal God, as
this grain was once scattered, and afterwards gathered
together so as to form one loaf, so gather Thy Church
together from the ends of the earth into Thy kingdom.
Furthermore, we thank Thee, O our Father, for the precious
blood of Jesus Christ which was shed for ilte, and for His
precious body whereof we celebrate the antitype, He Him-
self having commanded us to show forth His death ; for
through Him glory is to be given to Thee for ever.
Amen.' '
§ 5. A Post-Communion Thanksgiving.
' We give thanks to Thee, O God and Father of Jesus
our Saviour, for that holy thing which Thou hast made,
to tabernacle within us, and for the knowledge, and faith,
and love, and immortality, which Thou hast given to. us
through Thy Son Jesus. Thou, O Almighty God, the God
of the universe, didst create the world, and the things
which are therein, through Him, and didst implant a law
in our souls, and didst prepare things beforehand for their
reception by men. O God of our holy and blameless
fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Thy faithful servants,
Thou art powerful, and faithful, and true, and without deceit
' Lib. vii. cap. 25. A shorter form of this prayer is given in the
Didaclie (see p. 173). Its use, as here expanded, is necessarily
Eucharistic.
j62 appendix.
in Thy promises. Thou didst send upon earth Jesus, Thy
Christ, to converse among men as man, and to take away
error by the roots, being Himself both God the Word and
man. Do Thou, even now, through Him, remember this
holy Church, which Thou hast purchased with the precious
blood of Thy Christ, and deliver it from all evil, and perfect
it in Thy love and Thy truth, and gather us all together
into Thy kingdom which Thou hast prepared. Maranatha.
Hosanna to the Son of David ; blessed is He that cometh
in the Name of the Lord. God is the Lord who was
manifested to us in the flesh. " If any one be holy, let him
approach ; if any one be not holy, let him become so by
repentance." Permit also to your presbyters to offer thanks-
giving.' 1
§ 6. A Thanksgiving for the Holy Oil.^
' We give thanks to Thee, O Lord, the Creator of all
things, both for the fragrancy of the oil, and for the im-
mortality which "J'hou hast made known unto us through
Thy Son Jesus.' ■'
§ 7. A General Prayer.
It is plain from chap. xxx. that it was intended for
Sunday use, and it is probable, from expressions in
the prayer itself, that it was intended to be used on
the sabbath, or seventh day of the week.
Chap. xxx. is short, and is worthy of being given
in full—
' On the day of the resurrection of the Lord, which we
call the Lord's day, assemble yourselves together, uninter-
mittingly giving thanks to (iod, and confessing the benefits
' Lib. vii. cap. 26, p. 170. This is an enlargement and an alteration
of the form of prayer, and of the directions contained in the DidacJie,
cap. X. (see p. 173). Some of the alterations are of much interest, and
betoken a later dale.
- Mvpov. '■' Lib. vii. cap. 27, p. 171.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 263
which God hath conferred upon us through Christ, having
deUvered us from ignorance, from error, and from bondage,
so that your sacrifice may be unblamable and acceptable to
God, who has said concerning His ecumenical Church, " In
every place shall incense be offered unto Me and a pure
offering ; for I am a great King, saith the Lord Almighty,
and My Name is dreadful among the heathen." ' ^
Then after two chapters devoted to the character-
istics of true bishops, presbyters, and deacons, and of
those false prophets who will arise in the latter days,
the following lengthy form of prayer is provided for
general use in chapters xxxiii.-xxxviii. : —
[Cap. XXXIIL] ' O our eternal Saviour, King of gods, who
alone art Almighty and Lord, the God of all things that
exist, the God of our holy and blameless fathers, and of
those that were before us, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, who art merciful and compassionate, long-suffering
and of great pity, to whom all hearts are open and all secret
desires are known, the souls of the righteous call upon Thee,
and the hopes of holy men are fixed on Thee, Thou Father
of the blameless, who hearest those that call on Thee in
righteousness, who kncwest the supplications which are not
uttered, for Thy forethought reacheth to the innermost
recesses of human hearts, and by Thy knowledge Thou
searchest the hearts of each man, and in every region of the
world the incense of prayer and supplication is sent up to
Thee. O Thou who has appointed this present world as the
place where men should run the race of righteousness, and
hast opened the gate of mercy unto all, and hast demon-
strated unto every man, by implanted knowledge and
natural judgment, and from the exhortation of the law, that
the possession of wealth is not everlasting, that the ornament
of beauty is not perpetual, that the force of power is easily
> Mai. i. II.
264 APPENDIX.
dissolved, that everything is smoke and vanity, and that
only the good conscience of faith passes without guile
through the midst of heaven, and returning with truth seizes
the right hand of future nourishment,^ and before the
promise of the regeneration is fulfilled, the soul itself exults
in hope and rejoices. For from the beginning of the truth
which was in our forefather Abraham, when he changed his
laborious journey, Thou didst guide him with a vision, and
didst teach him what kind of a world this world is, and
knowledge preceded his faith, and faith succeeded his know-
ledge, and the covenant was the consequence of his faith.
For Thou saidst, " I will multiply thy seed as the stars of
the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore." '^
Moreover, when Thou hadst given him Isaac, and knewest
him to be like Abraham in his way of life, then wast Thou
also called his God, saying, " I will be a God unto thee, and
to thy seed after thee." ^ And when our father Jacob was
sent into Mesopotamia, Thou shewedst him Christ, and
spakedst by him, saying, " Behold, I am with thee, and I
will increase and multiply thee exceedingly." * And thus
Thou spakedst unto Moses, Thy faithful and holy servant in
the vision of the bush, saying, " I AM THAT I AM : this is My
Name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all genera-
tions." '' Champion of the seed of Abraham, blessed art
Thou for ever.
[Cap. XXXIV.] Blessed art Thou, O Lord, the King of
seons," who by Christ has made the whole world, and by
Him at the beginning didst reduce into order the disordered
parts ; who dividedst the waters from the waters by the
firmament, and didst infuse into them the spirit of life ; who
didst fix the earth, and extend the heavens, and dispose
each creature by an accurate constitution. For at Thy
desire, O Lord, the world was beautified, and the heavens,
' It is impossil)Ie to make any sense of this sentence, and it has been
suggested to read rpv(pr)s (enjoyment), for Tpo<^f/s (nourishment).
- Gen. xxii. 17. ' Gen. xvii. 7. ^ Gen. xlviii. 4.
* Exod. iii. 14, 15. * For * ceons,' see p. 292, note i.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 265
fixed as an arch, were decorated with stars for our comfort
ill darkness ; and the Hght and the sun were created for the
demarcation of days, and for the production of fruits ; and
the waxing and waning moon for the revolving seasons ; and
the one was called " night," and the other was entitled " day,"
And the firmament was exhibited in the midst of the abyss,
and Thou commandedst the waters to be gathered together
and the dry land to appear. As for the sea itself, how can
any one describe it ? which comes in furiously from the ocean,
and retreats from the sand, where it is stayed at Thy com-
mand, for Thou hast said that on it shall its waves be broken.^
And Thou didst make it a highway for little and for great
living creatures, and for ships. Then the earth became green,
picked out with all kinds of flowers, and with a variety of
different trees ; and the glittering luminaries, the nourishers
of these plants, preserve their unchangeable path, in nothing
departing from Thy command. Where Thou biddest them,
there do they rise and set, for signs of seasons and years,
regulating by alternation the labours of men. Afterwards
the different kinds of animals were created, inhabiting the
dry land, or the water, or the air, or amphibious ; and the
cunning wisdom of Thy providence imparts a corresponding
providence to each oT them. For as He was not unable to
produce different kinds of animals, so neither did He dis-
dain to exercise a different providence towards each one.
And as the conclusion of creation, Thou gavest direction
unto Thy Wisdom, and createdst a rational living creature,
the citizen of the world, saying, " Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness," '^ exhibiting him as the ornament
of the world,-' fashioning a body for him out of the four
elements, the primary substances, and furnishing it with a
soul created out of nothing, and endowing it with the five
senses, and setting the mind over the senses as the charioteer
' Job xxxviii. II. - Gen. i. 26.
* It is impossible to preserve the play in the original words, k6(Tixov
Koff^ov. They occur again in the Clementine Liturgy, p. 285, note I,
and p. 293, note 2.
266 APPENDIX.
of the soul. And in addition to all these things, O Lord
Crod, who shall worthily describe the course of clouds big
with rain, the shining of lightning, the noise of thunder,
providing an appropriate supply of food, and an all-harmo-
nizing temperature of the air? And when man was dis-
obedient Thou didst deprive him of the reward of life ; yet
didst Thou not totally destroy him, but laidest him to sleep
for a little time, and then didst summon him with an oath
to a resurrection, having loosed the bond of death, O Thou
quickener of the dead, through Jesus Christ, our hope.
[Cap. XXXV.] Great art Thou, O Lord Almighty, and
great is Thy power, and of Thy understanding there is no
count. Creator, Saviour, rich in graces, long-suffering and
full of pity, who dost not take away salvation from Thy
creatures ; for Thou art good by nature, and sparest sinners,
and invitest them to repentance, and Thy admonition is
pitiful. For how should we abide if we were required to
come to judgment immediately, when after so much long-
suftering we hardly get clear of our own weakness ? The
heavens declare Thy power, and the quivering earth, sus-
pended upon nothing, ThyJ security. The wave-tossed sea,
feeding the myriad host of living creatures, is bound with
sand, standing in awe of Thy command, and compels all
men to cry, " O Lord, how manifold are Thy works ! in
wisdom hast Thou made them all : the earth is full of Thy
riches." ^ And the flaming host of angels, and the intellectual
spirits say to Palmoni,'-^ " One is holy," and the holy
seraphin, together with the six-winged cherubin, sing to
Thee the triumphal hymn, and cry with voice unceasing,
" Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts ; heaven and earth
are full of Thy glory." •' And the other multitudes of the
orders, angels, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities,
authorities, powers, cry aloud and say, " Blessed be the
' r,s. civ. 24.
- Dan. viii. 13. ' Unto that certain saint which spake ' (A. V.)
in LXX., Tij? <piK^ovv\. The meaning ri; not known.
"' Isa. vi. ?.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 267
glory of the Lord from His place." ^ But Israel, Thy
Church on earth, taken out of the Gentiles, emulating the
heavenly powers night and day, with a full heart and a
willing soul, sings, " The chariots of God are twenty thousand,
even thousands of angels : and the Lord is among them,
as in the holy place of Sinai." - The heaven knows Him
who fixed it in the form of an arch as a cube of stone upon
nothing, who united land and water to one another, and
poured the vitalizing air abroad, and conjoined fire there-
with, for warmth and for comfort under darkness. The
choir of the stars strikes us with admiration, declaring Him
that numbered them, and showing forth Him that named
them, as living creatures declare Him that breathed life
into them, and trees Him that made them grow ; all of
which having come into existence by Thy word, show forth
tlie might of Thy power. Wherefore every man ought to
send up to Thee through Christ, the hymn of thanksgiving
for all these benefits, as he has power over them all by
Thine appointment. For Thou art kind in Thy benefits,
and beneficent in Thy compassions, who alone art Almighty ;
for Thy eternal power both quenches flame, and stops the
mouths of lions, and tames the monsters of the deep, and
raises the sick, and overturns powers, and overthrows the
army of the enemy, and the people numbered in pride.-'
Thou art He that is in heaven, upon the earth, in the
sea, in all finite things. Thyself confined by nothing, for
there is no limit to Thy greatness. This is not our saying,
O Lord ; it is the oracle of Thy servant, which saith, " And
thou shalt know in thy heart and consider, that the Lord
thy God is God in heaven above, and upon the earth
beneath : there is none else beside Him." * For there is
no God beside Thee alone ; there is none holy beside Thee,
O Lord God of knowledge, God of saints, holy above all
holy beings, for they are sanctified under Thy hands. ^
' Ezek. iii. 12. - Ps. Ixviii. 17. ' See 2 Sam. xxiv. 1-17.
^ Deut. iv. 39. ' See Deut. xxxiii. .5.
26S APPENDIX.
'J'hou art glorious and highly exalted, invisible by nature,
unsearchable in Thy judgments. Thy life is without want,
Thy duration neither alters nor fails, Thy operation is
without toil, Thy greatness is unbounded. Thy excellency
is perpetual, Thy habitation is unapproachable, Thy
dwelling-place is unchangeable, Thy knowledge is without
beginning. Thy truth is immutable. Thy work is unassisted.
Thy might is unassailable, Thy monarchy is without suc-
cession. Thy kingdom is without end. Thy strength is
irresistible. Thy host is very numerous. Thou art the
Father of wisdom, the Creator of the world by a Mediator
as the original Cause, the Bestower of providence, the Giver
of laws, the Fulfiller of want, the Punisher of the ungodly,
the Rewarder of the just, the God and Father of Christ,
and the Lord of them that reverence Him ; whose promise
is infallible, whose judgment is not open to bribes, whose
decision is incapable of change, whose piety is incessant,
and His thanksgiving is everlasting ; through whom adora-
tion is worthily due to Thee from every rational and holy
nature.
[Cap. XXXVI.] O Lord Almighty, Thou didst create the
Christ, and didst ordain the sabbath day in memory of
this fact that, on it Thou didst rest from Thy works, in
order to meditate upon Thy laws. Thou hast also appointed
festivals for the rejoicing of our souls, that we might come
to remember that Wisdom which was created by Thee ; how
for our sakes He condescended to be born of woman, and
appeared in life, and manifested Himself at His baptism,
as one who appeared as both God and man ; He suffered
by Thy permission on our behalf, and died, and rose again
by Thy power. Wherefore we solemnly celebrate the feast
of the resurrection on the Lord's day, and rejoice over Him
that conquered death, and brought life and immortality to
light. For through Him Thou hast brought the Gentiles
to Thyself for a peculiar people, the true Israel, beloved
of God and seeing Him.^ For Thou, O Lord, didst bring
' See p. 306, note 2.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 269
our fathers out of the land of Egypt, and didst deUver them
out of the iron furnace, and from the clay and brickmaking.
Thou didst ransom them from the hand of Pharaoh and
his subordinates, and didst lead them through the sea as
through dry land, and didst bear with their manners in the
wilderness, supplying them with all good things. Thou
didst give them the law or the decalogue which was spoken
by Thy voice and written down with Thy hand. Thou
didst enjoin the observation of the sabbath, not as affording
to them an occasion for idleness, but an opportunity of
piety, for increasing the knowledge of Thy power and the
hindrance of evils, having limited them, as it were, within
a holy circuit, for the sake of instruction, and for a rejoicing
every seven days. On this account there was appointed
one week, and seven weeks, and the seventh month, and
the seventh year, and the revolution of this year in the
jubilee, which is the fiftieth year for remission ; so that
they might have no excuse for pretending ignorance. On
this account He permitted men to rest on every sabbath,
so that no man might be willing to send forth an angry
■word out of his mouth on the sabbath day. For the
sabbath is the ceasing from creation, the completion of
the world, the seeking after laws, and praise and thanks-
giving unto God for the gifts which He hath bestowed upon
men. The Lord's day surpasses all these, as it exhibits
the Mediator Himself, the Provider, the Law-giver, the
Cause of the resurrection, the First-born of every creature,^
God the word, and man, born of the Virgin Mary alone
without a man, who lived a holy life, and was crucified
under Pontius Pilate, and died, and rose again from the
dead. Thus, the Lord's day, O Lord, commands us to
offer unto Thee thanksgiving for all things. For this is the
grace afforded by Thee, which by its greatness has obscured
all other blessings.
' Col. i. 15. Yet much of the preceding language in this long
prayer seems to set forth inadequately the co-equal divinity of God
the Son.
270 APPENDIX.
[Cap. XXXVIL] Thou who hast fulfilled the promises
made by the prophets, and hast had mercy upon Sion and
compassion upon Jerusalem, by exalting the throne of
David Thy servant in the midst of her, by the birth of
Christ who was born of his seed, according to the flesh,
of a virgin alone, do Thou now, O Lord God, accept the
prayers which proceed from the lips of Thy people, which
are of the Gentiles, which call upon Thee in truth ; as Thou
didst accept the gifts of righteous men in their generations.
In the first place. Thou didst favourably regard and accept
the sacrifice of Abel ; of Noah on his coming out of the ark ;
of Abraham after his leaving the land of the Chaldees ; of
Isaac at the well of the oath ; of Jacob in Bethel ; of Moses
in the desert ; of Aaron betwixt the quick and dead ; of
Jesus the son of Nave in Gilgal ; of Gideon at the rock
and the fleeces before his sin ; of Manoah and his wife in
the field ; of Samson in his thirst before his transgression ;
of Jephthah in the war before his rash vow ; of Barak and
Deborah in the time of Sisera ; of Samuel at Mizpeh ; of
David at the threshing-floor of Oman the Jebusite ; of
Solomon at Gibeon and at Jerusalem ; of Elias at Mount
Carmel ; of Elisseus at the barren spring ; of Jehoshaphat in
war ; of Ezekias in sickness and in the time of Sennacherib ;
of Manasses in the land of the Chaldeans after his trans-
gression ; of Josias in Phassa ; ^ of Esdras at the return from
the captivity ; of Daniel in the lions' den ; of Jonas in the
whale's belly ; of the three children in the fiery furnace ; of
Anna in the tabernacle before the ark ; of Neemias at the
rebuilding of the walls, and of Zerubbabel ; of Mattathias
and his sons in their zeal for Thee ; of Jael in blessings ;
now, therefore, also receive the prayers of Thy people which
are offered unto Thee with knowledge through Christ in
the spirit.
[Cap. XXXVIII.] We give thanks to Thee for all things,
O Lord Almighty, because Thou hast not taken away Thy
' The reference is not known. It has been conjectured that *a(r(ra
may be a misreading for ^atre/f, used for Pascha in 2 Chron. xxxv. 6,
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 271
mercies and compassions from us, but in each generation
after generation Thou dost save, deliver, assist, and protect
us. For Thou didst assist in the days of Enos and Enoch ;
in the days of Moses and Jesus ; in the days of the Judges ;
in the days of Samuel and Elias, and the prophets ; in the
days of David and the Kings ; in the days of Esther and
Mordecai ; in the days of Judith ; in the days of Judas
Maccabseus and his brethren ; and in our days Thou hast
assisted us by Thy great High Priest Jesus Christ Thy Son,
For He hast delivered us from the sword, and hath freed us
from famine, and nourished us, and hath healed our sick-
ness, and sheltered us from the evil tongue. For all things
we give thanks to Thee through Christ, who hast given to us
an articulate voice for confession, and hast supplied a well-
adapted tongue to an instrument, like the bow which strikes
the lyre, with a proper taste, and a correspondent touch ;
and sight for seeing, and the hearing of sound, and the
smelling of vapours, and hands for work, and feet for
walking. Thou mouldest all these members from a little
drop in the matrix, and after such formation Thou dost
bestow on it an immortal soul, and producest it into the
light as a rational living creature, even man. Thou didst
instruct him by Thy laws, and brighten him with Thy judg-
ments, and though Thou hast brought upon him dissolution
for a little while. Thou didst promise his resurrection.
Wherefore, what life is in itself sufficient, or what length of
ages will suffice for men to express their thanks ? To thank
Thee worthily is impossible ; to thank Thee according to
our ability is meet and right. For Thou hast redeemed
us from the impiety of polytheism, and hast brought us out
from the heresy of those that slew Christ, delivering us from
error and ignorance. Thou didst send Christ as a man
among men, being the only-begotten God.^ Thou hast
* This phrase seems to establish the divinity of Jesus Christ, though
much, of the language used in these Clementine devotions seems to fall
short of the full Catholic doctrine of the co-equality of the Persons in
the Trinity.
272 APPENDIX.
caused the Paraclete to dwell in us. Thou hast given Thine
angels charge over us ; Thou hast put the devil to shame.
Whereas we were not, Thou didst make us ; Thou takest
care of us when we are made ; Thou measurest out life unto
us ; Thou providest us with food ; Thou hast promised
repentance. For all these things glory and worship be
unto Thee through Jesus Christ, now, and for ever, and
throughout all ages. Amen.' ^
§ 8. Baptismal Formula of RenUxXciation.
' 1 renounce Satan, and his works, and his pomps, and
his service, and his angels, and his inventions, and all things
that are under him.' -
§ 9. Baptismal Creed.
' I believe and am baptized into one unbegotten only true
God, Almighty, Father of Christ, Creator and Maker of all
things, from whom all things do come.
And in the Lord Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son,
the First-born of every creature, begotten before the ages
through the good pleasure of the Father, by whom all things
were made, things in heaven and things on earth, both
visible and invisible ; who in those last days came down
from heaven, and took flesh, and was born of the holy
Virgin Mary, whose conversation was holy according to the
laws of His God and Father. He was crucified under
Pontius Pilate, and died for us, and rose again from the
dead after His passion on the third day ; He ascended
into heaven, and sat on the right hand of the Father,
and is coming again with glory at the end of the world to
judge the (juick and the dead ; whose kingdom shall have
no end.
And I am baptised into the Holy Ghost, that is to say,
the Paraclete, ; who wrought in all the saints from the
' Lib. vii. capp. 33-38, pp. 174-181.
- Lib. vii. cap. 41, p. 183.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 273
beginning of the world, and was afterwards also sent from
the Father to the Apostles, according to the promise of our
Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ ; and, after the Apostles, to
all believers in the holy and Apostolic Church ; into the
resurrection of the flesh, and into the remission of sins, and
into the kingdom of heaven, and into the life of the world
to come.' ^
§ 10, Consecration of the Water at Baptism.
' Look down from heaven, and sanctify this water, and
give to it grace and power, so that he that is baptized
therein according to the commandment of Thy Christ, may
be crucified with Him, and may die with Him, and be
buried with Him, and may rise again with Him unto the
adoption of sonship which is in Him, by becoming dead
unto sin and living unto righteousness.' ^
§ II. Consecration of the Oil at Baptism. *
' O Lord God, who art without generation, and without a
superior, the Lord of the whole world, who hast caused the
sweet odour of the knowledge of the gospel to extend to all
nations, do Thou grant now that this oil may be efficacious
upon him that is being baptized, so that the fragrance of
Thy Christ may remain firm and fixed upon him, and
that having died with Christ, he may rise and live with
Him.' ■■'
§ 12. A Post-Baptismal Prayer.
' O God Almighty, the Father of Thy Christ, Thy only-
begotten Son, give me a body undefiled, a pure heart, a
watchful mind, unerring knowledge, the descent upon me of
the Holy Spirit, for the acquirement and full possession of
the truth through Thy Christ, through whom be glory to
Thee in the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.' *
' Lib. vii. cap. 41, p. 183. - Ibid., cap. 43, p. 185.
' Ibid.^ cap. 44, p. 185. * Ibid., cap. 45, p. 186.
T
274 APPENDIX.
§ 13. A Prayer at the Consecration of a Bishop,
To be used while Deacons are holding the Book of the Gospels
over the newly elected Bishop's Head.
'Thou self-existent One, our Master and Lord, God
Almighty, who alone art unbegotten, and ownest allegiance
to no other king, who always art, and wast before the ages,
who standest in need of nothing, and art above all causation
and generation ; who alone art true ; who alone art wise ;
who alone art most highest ; who art by nature invisible ;
whose knowledge is without beginning ; who alone art good
and incomparable ; who knowest all things before they come
into being ; who art acquainted with hidden things ; who art
unapproachable, owning no lord above Thee ; the God and
Father of Thy only-begotten Son, our God and Saviour ; the
Creator of all things by Him, the Forethinker, the Care-taker,
the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort,' who hast
Thy dwelling on high, and yet humblest Thyself to behold
the things that are on the earth ; - Thou that dost set
bounds to Thy Church, by the presence of Thy incarnate
Christ, of which the Holy Ghost is witness, through Thy
Apostles, and through us the Bishops who by Thy grace are
here present ; Thou who from the beginning didst fore-
ordain priests for the government of Thy people, Abel in
the first place, Seth, and Enos, and Enoch, and Noe, and
Melchisedech, and Job ; who didst appoint Abraham, and
the rest of the patriarchs, together with Thy faithful servants
Moses and Aaron, and Eleazar, and Phinees ; who didst
appoint from among them rulers and priests in the tabernacle
of the testimony; who didst choose out Samuel to be a
priest and a prophet ; who didst not leave Thy sanctuary
without ministers in sacred things ; who wast well-pleased
with those in whom Thou chosest to be glorified ; — Do
Thou Thyself now through us, by the mediation of Thy
Christ, pour down the power of Thy guiding Spirit, which
waiteth on Thy ])eloved Son Jesus Christ, which He bestowed
' 2 Cor. i. 3. - Ps. cxiii. 5.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 275
according to Thy will upon the holy Apostles of Thee, the
eternal Crod. Grant in Thy name, O God, that searchest
the hearts, that this I'hy servant, whom Thou hast chosen to
be bishop, may feed Thy holy flock, and fill the office of high
priest before Thee, serving Thee without blame night and
day ; that with the approbation of Thy countenance He may
gather together the number of those that shall be saved,^
and may offer to Thee the gifts of Thy holy Church. Grant
unto him, O Lord Almighty, through Thy Christ, the Com-
munion of the Holy Ghost, so that he may have power to
remit sins according to Thy command, to give forth lots
according to Thy direction, and to loose every band accord-
ing to the power which Thou gavest unto the Apostles ; and
that he may please Thee by meekness and purity of heart,
steadfastly, unblameably, irreprovably offering unto Thee the
pure and unbloody sacrifice, which Thou didst ordain through
Christ, the mystery of the New Testament, for a sweet-
smelling savour, through Thy holy Child, Jesus Christ, our
God and Saviour, through whom glory, honour, and worship
be to Thee in the Holy Ghost, now, and for ever, and for
endless ages. R. Amen.' -
§ 14. 'The Clementine Liturgy.' ^
We now come to the famous Liturgy embedded
in the Apostolic Constitutions, and known as ' The
Clementine Liturgy.' The following features in its
structure or wording imply a very early date for its
composition, and for the most part point to an ante-
Nicene origin : —
I. The length of many of the prayers, and espe-
cially of the Preface, with its exhaustive commemora-
tion of God's providential dealings in creation and
- Lib. viii. cap. 5, pp. 195-197. A shorter form of this prayer is
given in the Canons of Hippolylus, c. iii. § II, p. 42, See p. 193.
' Lib. viii. capp. 5-15, pp. 197-217.
2/6 APPENDIX.
redemption, and in the Old Testament and New
Testament history generally.^
2. The elaborate forms of the dismissal of the
Catechumens, Energumens, Competentes, and Peni-
tents. The presence of these forms implies a date
when the disciplinary system of the primitive Church
was in full force.
3. The repeated references to the sufferings of
persecuted Christians in exile, or in prison, or at
work, or in the mines, together with prayer for the
emperors that persecute them.-
4. The inexactness of the theological language
used, indicating an ante-Arian and a pre-Niccnc age.
5. The absence of a Creed.
6. The non-mention of incense.
7. The omission of the Lord's Prayer.
The Lord's Prayer, having been delivered by the
I'ounder of Christianity to His Apostles and others,
would naturally form an integral portion of Christian
worship from the earliest times. In the DidacJic, where
it is given with the doxology in a curtailed form, it is
ordered to be repeated three times a day.^ Its omission
from the Clementine Liturgy, as its text has reached
us, is liturgically unique, and has never been satis-
factorily explained. There are several passages in
that Liturgy which are adaptations from or which
refer to various petitions in the Lord's Prayer.^
' See p. 291, etc.
- See pp. 2S7, 300, 301. The first section of Bk. v. of the Apostolic
Constitutions is ' Concerning the Martyrs,' and was evidently written
before heathen persecutions had ceased.
" Cap. viii. ad fincm. So Apostolic Constitutions, lib. vii. ca]). 24.
' There are nine passages quoted by F. II. Chase, which incorporate
or echo phrases in the Lord's Prayer. In some of them the echo is
certainly faint (The J.O'-ii\s Prayer in the Early Chitn/i, Cambridge,
1891, pp. 142, 143)-
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 277
It is contained in the Apostolic Constitutions ^ in
a form similar to, but not verbally identical with,
the form given in the Didachc} It is there also
ordered to be used by the newly baptized person
directly after the post-baptismal anointing.'-^ It is
to be said by him standing, and with face turned
towards the East.
Guided then, so far as guidance is given, by the
Clementine Liturgy, we see the following to have been
the main features and order of the Christian Liturgy
in the earliest complete form in which it has come
down to us ; —
Mass of the Catechumens.
[Preparation and approach to the altar.]
Lections (p. 278).
Sermon (p. 279).
Dismissal of Catechumens, Energumens, Competentcs,
Penitents (pp. 279-285).
Mass of the Faijhful.
Deacon's Bidding Prayer, or Eucharistic Litany for all
sorts and conditions of men (p. 285).
Prayer of the Faithful (p. 288).
Kiss of Peace (p. 289).
Lavabo (p. 290).
Offertory (p. 290).
Secret Prayer (p. 290).
Sursum Corda (p. 290).
Preface (p. 291).
Trium])hal Hymn, or Tersanctus (p. 297).
Consecration Prayer^
(a) Commemorationoftheworkof Redemption (p. 297).
(6) Commemoration of the Institution (p. 299).
' Lib. vii. cap. 24, p. 169. - Ibid., cap. 44, p. 185.
2/8 APPENDIX.
{c) The Great Oblation (p. 299).
{(i) The Epiklesis, or Invocation of the Holy Ghost
(p. 299).
The Great Intercession, for the whole State of Christ's
Church Militant on earth and at rest in Paradise, followed
by another Deacon's Bidding Prayer (p. 300).
Prayer of humble access (p. 303).
Sancta Sanctis (p. 303).
Communion of Celebrant and People (p. 304).
Thanksgiving after reception, with bidding thereto (p. 304).
Benediction (p, 306).
Dismissal (p. 306).
Another description of the primitive Liturgy, differ-
ing in some of its details, is given in another part
of the Apostolic Constitutions, It is of great interest,
and will be found translated on page 307.
We translate from the text as given in the Eighth
Book of the Apostolic Constitutions.^ More recent
reprints of the Greek text may be seen in Ham-
mond's (C. E.) Liturgies, Eastern and Western (Ox-
ford, 1878), pp. -^-21 ; and in Maskell's (W.) Ancient
Liturgy of the Clinreh of England, 3rd Edition
(Oxford, 1882), pp. 281-293.
[Mass of the Catechumens.]
[Lections.]
' And after the reading of the Law, and the Prophets,
and our- Epistles, and the Acts, and the Gospels^''
' Capp. S-15, UeUzcn's ed. Suerini et Rostochii, 1853, pp. 197-217.
- The various directions in the Apostolic Constitutions are, by a sort
of pious fraud, very common in early ecclesiastical literature, and not
considered dishonest by the public opinion of the day, referred to the
Apostles themselves, who are introduced as speaking in the first person.
In this translation we have omitted the jiassages which introduce them.
^ Three lections apjiear to be intended here : an Old Testament
Lection, the Epistle, the Gospel — perhaps more.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 279
let the [neiii/y] ordained \Bishop\ ^ salute the Church,
saying :
[Salutation.]
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God
the Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with
you all.-
And let all ansiucr :
And with thy spirit.
[The Sermon.]
And after this let him address to the people words of exhorta-
tion, and when he hath finished the word of instruction,
let all stand up, and let the Deacon, ascending up to some
high place, proclaim : ^
[Dismissal ok the Catechumens.]
Let none of the hearers,* let none of the unbelievers [be
present].
And Id all the faithful pray for them in their hearts, saying :
Lord, have mercy.
' The Clementine Liturgy is embedded in an oftice for the Conse-
cration of a Bishop. This may account for the absence of any
reference to any preliminary prayers, or to an Introit, or to the Little
Entrance ; i.e. the procession of the Gospel in the Eastern Church at
Mass.
- 2 Cor. xiii. 14.
^ This rubric and what follows is attributed in the original Greek to
St. Andrew. We have omitted this and other passages which claim
an Apostolic origin for the whole or any part of this Liturgy.
^ There are believed to have been four grades of Catechumens, but
the existence of the first class, as a class, is uncertain.
I. 'Elojeouyusj/oi ... Externi ... Outsiders.
II. 'AKpoci/xevoi ... Aicdientcs ... Hearers.
III. TovvKXlvovns ... Gcmifectentes ... Kneelers.
IV. *wTi^'oVe»'oi ... Competentes ... Candidates for baptism.
Hefele, however, will not allow that there ever were more than two
grades of Catechumens, viz. Class II. and Class IV., with which Class
III. is identical {History of the Christian Councils, Edinburgh, 1872,
2nd edit., p. 421).
28o APPENDIX.
And let him minister on their behalf, saying :
Let us all beseech God for the Catechumens, that He,
who is good and the lover of men, may mercifully hear
their prayers and supplications, and, receiving their requests,
may assist them, and grant them their hearts' desires, in
such way as may be expedient for them ; that he may reveal
to them the gospel of His Christ, may enlighten ^ them and
cause them to understand, may instruct them in the know-
ledge of God, may teach them His commandments and
judgments, may implant in them His holy and salutary fear,
and may open the ears of their hearts to occupy themselves
in His law day and night ; '^ that He may stablish them in
piety, may unite and number them together in His holy fold,
may count them worthy of the laver of regeneration, of the
vestment of immortality, and of the true life ; and that He
may preserve them from all impiety, and may give no place
to the enemy against them ; and that He may purify them
from all pollution of flesh and spirit,-' and may dwell in
them and walk in them,'* through His Christ ; that He may
bless their coming in and their going out,^ and may direct that
which lies in front of them, as may be expedient for them.
Furthermore, let us earnestly supplicate on their behalf, that
having obtained remission of their sins through the initiation
of baptism," they may be found worthy of participation in
the holy mysteries, and of perseverance with the saints.
[Silent prayer.]
Catechumens, stand up.
Ask for the peace of God through His Christ, and that
this day and all the time of your life may be peaceful and
sinless, that your ends may be Christian, that God may be
merciful and gracious ; and for the remission of your sins.
Commend yourselves to the only unbegotten God, through
His Christ,
Bow down, and receive the blessing.
' 4>wTi(r7j, <pwTi(r/ji6s was a recognized title of baptism.
- Cf. Ps. i. 2 ; cxix. 97. * 2 Cor. vii. i.
* 2 Cor. vi. 16. ^ Cf. Ps. cxxi. 8. '' A/a rf/y /nvriafus.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 281
And, as we have presc?-ibed before, let the people say for each
of those tvhovi the Deacon addresses :
Lord, have mercy.
And before all let the children ^ say it. And while the
Catechumens boiu down their heads, let hint that ha'h
been elected Bishop bless them with the following blessing :
Almighty God, the Unbegotten and Unapproachable, the
only true God, the God and Father of Thy Christ, Thy
only begotten Son, the God of the Paraclete, and Lord of
all, who didst by Christ constitute Thy disciples as teachers
for instmction in piety, do Thou Thyself also now look
down upon these Thy servants, the Catechumens of the
gospel of Thy Christ. Give to them a new heart, and
renew a right spirit within them,- to know and to do Thy
will with a full heart and willing soul. Make them worthy
of" the initiation of holy baptism,^ and unite them to Thy
holy Church, and make them partakers of the Divine
mysteries, through Christ, our hope, who died for them,
through whom be glory and worship to Thee, in the Holy
Ghost for ever. Amen.
After this let the Deacon say :
Depart, ye Catechumens, in peace.
[Dismissal of the Enerc.umen.s.]
And after they have departed let him say :
Pray, ye Energumens, who are vexed with unclean
spirits :
Let us all earnestly pray for them, that the merciful God
through Christ would rebuke the unclean and evil spirits,
and deliver his supplicants from the oppression of the
adversary ; that He who rebuked the legion of devils,^
' Ta iraiSla. It is not known what children are referred to ; they
were possibly the children of the choir ; but more probably the children
mentioned later on (pp. 290, 308) as present with their mothers.
- Ps. li. 10. 3 Trjs ayias fxvi']Uio>s.
* Cf. St. Mark v, 2-20.
282 APPENDIX.
and the devil, the fount of evil, would now rebuke these
apostates from piety, and deliver the works of His own hands
from the active hostility of Satan, and cleanse them whom
He hath created with great wisdom.
Let us, further, earnestly pray for them.
vSave them, and raise them up, O God, in Thy might.
Ijow down, ye Energumens, and receive the blessing.
And let the Bishop pray ore?- them, savl/ii:^ :
Thou who didst bind the strong man and spoil all his
goods ; ^ Thou who didst give us power to tread upon
serpents and scorpions, and upon all the power of the
enemy ; ^ Thou who didst deliver up unto us the murdering
serpent a prisoner, as a sparrow unto children ; ^ before
whom all things shake and tremble at the presence of
Thy power ; Thou that didst cast him down as lightning to
earth from heaven,* not with a local fracture, but from
honour to dishonour, through his deliberate evil-minded-
ness ; whose look drieth up the depths, and whose indigna-
tion maketh the mountains to melt away, and whose truth
remaineth for ever ; ^ whom infants praise, and sucklings
bless ; whom angels worship and adore ; who lookest
upon the earth and makest it to tremble ; who touchest
the hills and they smoke ; " who rebukest the sea and
makest it dry, and driest up all its rivers, and the clouds
are the dust of Thy feet ; '' who walkest upon the sea as
upon a pavement, the only-begotten God, Son of the
mighty Father; — rebuke the evil spirits and deliver the
works of Thy hands upon the activity of an adverse
spirit; for to Thee belongeth glory, honour, and adora-
tion, and through Thee to Thy Father in the Holy Ghost,
for ever. Amen.
Then let the Deacon say :
Depart, ye Energumens.
> St. Mark iii. 27. " St. Luke x. 19. ^ Job. xli. 5.
^ St. Luke X. 18. '^ 2 Esdr.is viii. 23. ^ Ps. civ. 32.
^ Nahum i. 4, 3.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 283
[Dismissal ok the Co.mpetentes, or Candiuates for Baptism.]
And after they have gone let him proclaim :
Pray, ye candidates, for baptism.^
Let us, the faithful, all pray earnestly for them, that the
Lord would make them worthy to be baptized - into the
death of Christ, and to rise again with Him, and to be
made members of His kingdom, and partakers of His
mysteries ; that He would unite them and enrol them along
with such as shall be saved *' in- His holy Church.
Save them and raise them up by Thy grace.
Then having beeti sealed * to God through His Christ, let them
how down, and he blessed hy the Bishop with his blessing:
O God, who didst say beforehand through Thy holy
prophets to them that are to be baptized,'' " Wash you,
make you clean," "^ and didst through Christ appoint a
spiritual regeneration, look down now Thyself upon these
persons who are to be baptized. Bless them and sanctify
them, and prepare them that they may be worthy of Thy
spiritual gift, and of their true adoption as sons, and of
Thy spiritual mysteries, and of being gathered into the
number of those that shall be saved, .through Christ our
Saviour, through whom to 'I'hee in the Holy Ghost be
glory, honour, and adoration for ever. Amen.
Then let tJie Deacon say :
Depart, ye candidates for baptism.
[Dismissal of the Penitents.]
Afterwards let him make this proclamation :
Pray, ye that are in penitence.
Let all of us earnestly pray on behalf of our brethren
who are in penitence, that the God of mercy would show
unto them the way of repentance ; that He would receive
■• KaTacr(f>payi(Tdfi.(Voi, ^ Mvov/xevois. " Isa. i. 16.
284 APPENDIX.
their recantation and confession ; that He will bruise Satan
under their feet shortly,^ and ransom them from the snare
of the devil,- and from the despitefulness of demons, and
deliver them from every unlawful word, and from every
unseemly deed and wicked thought ; that He would for-
give them all their offences, both voluntary and involuntar\-,
and blot out the handwriting that is against them,'' and
write their names in the book of life,* and cleanse them from
all filthiness of the flesh and spirit,-'' and restore and unite
them to His holy flock ; for He knoweth whereof we are
made : for who will boast, " I have made my heart clean ? "
Who will claim, " I am pure from my sin ? " '"' k'or wc are
all worthy of punishment. ""
Let us pray for them yet more earnestly, because there
is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth," that
turning away from every unlawful work, they may become
associated with every good action, in order that (Jod, the
Lover of men, may speedily and favourably accept their
supplications, may restore them to their former position,
and may give them back the joy of His salvation, and
stablish them with His free " spirit,^'* so that their footsteps
no more slip,^^ but that they be deemed worthy to be
jjartakers of His most holy things, and sharers of the
Irvine mysteries ; in order that being jn'oved worthy of
the adoption of sons, they may attain life eternal.
Let us all still earnestly say on their behalf:
Lord, have mercy.
Save them, and raise them up by 'J'hy grace.
Rise up, and bow down before God through His Christ
and receive the blessing.
' Rom. xvi. 20. - 2 Tim. ii. 26. ^ Col. ii. 14,
^ Phil. iv. 3. •'■ 2 Cor. vii. l. " Prov. .\x. 9.
' Ecclus. viii. 5. * St. Luke xv. 10.
" 'HyffxoviKaJ. Here, as elsewhere in quotations, we have substituted
the A.V. rendering for a literal translation of the Greek word or
words.
'» Ps. Ii. 12, 14. " Ps. xvii. 5.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 2S5
Then Id tJie Bishop pray over them as followcth :
Almighty and everlasting God, Lord of the whole world,
Creator and Governor of all things, who through Christ
didst consecrate man to be the ornament of the world,^ and
didst give him a law implanted and written, that he might
live, as a reasonable being, according to Thy statutes ; and
w hen he had sinned didst give him Thine own goodness as
a pledge to repentance, look down upon those who have
bowed to Thee the necks of their souls and bodies ; because
Thou wouldest not the death of a sinner, but rather that
he should repent, so that he should return from his evil
way and live,- Thou who didst receive the repentance of
the Ninevites ; who wiliest that all men should be saved,
and come to the knowledge of the truth ; ^ who didst
through Thy fatherly pity receive the son who devoured his
substance in riotous living because of his repentance ;* do Thou
Thyself now accept the repentance of Thy supplicants, for
there is none that sinneth not against Thee,^ and if Thou,
Lord, will be extreme to mark what is done amiss, O Lord,
who may abide it ? for there is mercy with Thee : " and
restore them to Thy holy Church in their former reputation
and honour, through Christ our God and Saviour, by whom
in the Holy Ghost be glory and honour to Thee for ever.
Amen,
The/i let the Deacon say :
Depart, ye penitents.
[Mass of the Faithful.]
Let the Deacon add:
Let none of those who are not able to pray with us draw
near.
Let those of us who are among the faithful kneel :
' It has not been found possible to preserve the play upon \\onls
contained in the Greek expression icSa/xov k6(t^ov. See p. 265, note 3 ;
J). 293, note 2.
-' Cf. Ezek. xviii. 23. ' i Tim. ii. 4. ^ Cf. St. Luke xv. 1 1-32,
' 2 Chron. vi. 36. " Ps. cxxx. 3, 4.
286 APPENDIX.
[EccHARisTic Litany, or Deacon's Bidding T'rayer.]
Let us entreat God through His Christ.
Let us all earnestly beseech God through His Christ.
Let us pray for the peace and good condition of the
world and holy churches, that He who is God of all may
bestow His own peace upon us, eternal and that cannot be
taken away, to the end that He may preserve us, persevering
in the fulness of that virtue which is according to godliness.
Let us pray for the holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,
which extends from one end of the world to another, that
the Lord would preserve it and guard it continually, un-
shaken and unstormed, till the end of the world, founded
upon the Rock.^
Let us pray for the holy parish - here, that the Lord of
all would vouchsafe to us to pursue unfailingly His heavenly
hope, and to pay to Him unceasingly the debt of our
prayer.
Let us pray for the whole episcopate which is under
heaven of those who rightly divide the word of Thy truth, ^
Let us pray for our bishop James ^ and his parishes.
Let us pray for our bishop Clement '" and his parishes.
Let us pray for our bishop Evbdius '' and his parishes.
That the merciful God would vouchsafe to preserve them
to their holy Churches, in safety, honour, and length of days,
and would grant to them an honourable old age in piety
and righteousness.
Let us pray for our presbyters, that the Lord would
deliver them from all unseemly and wicked deeds, and
would grant to them a presbyterate botli safe and honour-
able.
Let us pray for the whole diaconate and ministry in
Christ, that the Lord would vouchsafe to them an unblam-
able diaconate.
' St. Matt. vii. 25 ; xvf. 18. '-' Tiapomio.. ^ 2 Tim. ii. 15.
* First Bishop of Jerusalem.
•" First, second, or third Bishop of Rome, after SS. Peter aiul Paul.
" First Bishop of Antioch.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 2S7
Let us pray for the readers, singers, virgins, widows, and
orphans, for married women, for women with child, that the
Lord would have mercy upon them all.
Let us pray for eunuchs walking in holiness of life.
Let us pray for those in a state of continence and piety.
Let us pray for those who bring forth fruit in the holy
Church, and who give alms to the poor.
Let us pray for those who bring offerings and firstfruits to
the Lord our God :
That God, Who is the Fountain of all goodness, would
recompense them with His heavenly gifts, and would give
unto them a hundredfold more in the present world, and in
the world to come life everlasting, '^ and would grant unto
them eternal things instead of temporal, and things of
heaven instead of things of earth.
Let us pray for our newly baptized- brethren, that the
Lord would strengthen and confirm them.
Let us pray for our brethren tried with weakness, that the
Lord would deliver them from all sickness and all infirmity,
and restore them sound to His holy Church.
Let us pray for those who travel by land or water.
Let us pray for those who are in mines, in exile, in prison,
or in bonds for the name of the Lord.^
Let us pray for those who travail in the bitterness of
servitude.
Let us pray for our enemies and for them that hate us.
Let us pray for those who persecute us for the name of
the Lord, that the Lord would soften their anger and scatter
their wrath against us.
Let us pray for those that are without and wandering, that
the Lord would bring them back.
Let us pray for the children of the Church, that the Lord
would perfect them in His fear, and would bring them to
the full measure of their age.
' Cf. St. Malt. xix. 29. - Hfo<pa>Ti(rTuv.
' This petition implies an early date, in the times of heathen
persecution.
288 APPENDIX.
Let us pray for each other, that the Lord would guard us
and preserve us by His grace unto the end, and deUver us
from evil,^ and from all the scandals of those that work
iniquity, and that He would preserve us unto His heavenly
kingdom.
Let us pray for every Christian soul.
Save us and raise us up, O God, by Thy pity.
Let us rise up.
With earnest prayer let us commit ourselves and each
other to the living God through His Christ.
[Prayer of the Faithful.]
Then let the Bishop add this pray e?-, and say :
O Lord, Almighty, Most Highest, who dwellest on high.
Holy One resting in holy ones, without beginning, the only
Potentate, who hast given to us by Christ the preaching of
knowledge, to the acknowledgment of Thy glory and of
Thy name, which He hath made known to us for our
comprehension ; do Thou also now look down through Him
upon this Thy flock, and deliver it from all ignorance and
evil-doing, and grant that they may fear Thee with fear, and
lovingly love Thee, and be reflected on from the face of
Thy glory. Be gracious unto them, and merciful, and
hearken unto their prayers, and keep them immovable/
unblamable, irreprovable, that they may be holy both in
body and spirit, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing,- but that they may be complete, and that not one of
them may be defective or imperfect. Thou that art mighty
to help, and no respecter of persons, be Thou the Assister
of this Thy people, whom Thou liast jxuchased with the
precious blood of Thy Christ ; be Thou their Protector,
Aider, Provider, Guardian, their most Strong Wall of
defence, their Bulwark of security, because none is able
to pluck them out of Thy hand ; ^ for there is no other
' St. Matt. vi. 13. But toD irovripod in the Clementine text is almost
certainly masculine. It is to be noted that we have here part of the
Lord's Prayer embedded in the Liturgy.
- Eph. V. 27. ' Cf. St. John x. 29.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 289
fiod than Thou, and in Thee is our hope. Sanctify them
through Thy truth ; Thy word is truth. ^ Thou who dost
nothing for favour, Thou who canst not l)e deceived, deUver
them from every sickness, and from every weakness, from
every offence, from all injury and deceit, from fear of the
enemy, from the arrow that tiieth by day, from the pestilence "-^
that walketh in darkness ; ^ and deem them worthy of eternal
life, which is in Christ, Thy only-begotten Son, our God and
Saviour, by whom in the Holy Ghost be glory and honour
to Thee, now, and for ever, and for endless ages. Amen.
Aficj- this, let the Deacon say :
Let us attend.
Then let the Bishop salute the Church, and say :
The peace of Ciod be with you all.
And let the people answer :
And with Thy spirit.
[The Kiss of Peace.]
Then let the Deacon say to all:
Greet one another with an holy kiss.
Then let the clergy kiss the Bishop, and the laymen kiss the
laymen, and the women kiss the women; and let the
children * stand at the reading desk ; ^ and let another
Deacon stand by them, that they may 7iot be disorderly,
and let other Deacons watch the fnen, and the women,
that there be no disturbance ; that 710 one nod, or whisper,
or sleep. And let Deacons be stationed at the doors of the
men, and Sub-Deacons at the doors of the women, to see
that no one go out, and that no door be opened, even by one
of the faithful, during the time of the Anaphora!^
^ St. John xvii. 17. - Xipa.yix.a.ros. ' Ps. xci. 5, 6.
* It is doubtful whether the children mentioned here are the children
of the congregation or the children of the choir. vSee p. 281, note i.
'•' BriixaTi. Thebema, ambo, or reading-desk, from which the liturgical
lessons were read.
" The Anaphora of the Eastern Liturgy is the equivalent of the
Canon in the Latin Mass.
U
igo APPENDIX.
[The Lavaro.]
TJicu let a Sub-Deacon bring wafer to wash the hands of
tJic Priests^ loJiich is a symbol of the purity of sonls devoted to
God.
Then let the Deacon say : ^
Let none of the catechumens, let none of the hearers,
let none of the unbelievers, let none of the heterodox
remain. Ye who have joined in the former prayer depart.
Mothers, take up your children. Let no one have aught
against any man. Let no hypocrite remain. Let us stand
upright before the Lord to present unto Him our offerings
with fear and trembling.
[The Offertory.]
JVhen this is done, let the deacons bring the gifts to the bishop
at the altar, and let the presbyters stand on his right
hand and on his left, as disciples stand by their Master.
And let two deacons, on each side of the altar, hold a fan
of thin membranes, or of peacocks' feathers, or of fine
linen, and let them gently drive aioay the small winged
insects, so that they may not touch the cups.
Then let the Bishop^- having prayed in secret, accompanied
by the Priests,^ put on a splendid vestment, and stand at
the altar. There, having made the sign of the cross 7i>ith
his hand upon his forehead, let him say :
The grace of Almighty God, and the love of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost be with
you all."*
Then let all with one voice say :
And with thy spirit.
[SURSUM CORDA.]
Bishop. Lift up your mind.^
' Mr. Maskell begins to print at this point : Aucieiit Liturgy of the
Clnirch of England, 3rd ed. p. 282.
- 'AjOxifpei's. ' 'lepeuffij'. ■* 2 Cor. xiii. 14.
' For the Versicle, 'Lift up your hearts' (Sursum Corda), and the
Response, ' We lift them up unto the I>ord,' etc., see pp. 107, icS.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 291
People. We lift it up unto the I>ord.
Bishop. Let us give thanks unto the Lord.
People. It is meet and right so to do.
■
[Preface.]
Then h-t the Bishop say :
It is very meet and right before all things to sing praises
unto Thee, who art the true Ood, existing before all things
that are, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth
is named, ^ who alone art unbegotten, without beginning,
without a ruler, without a master, standing in need of
nothing, the Author and Giver of all good things, who
art beyond all cause and all generation, the same yesterday,
to-day, and for ever, from whom all things, as from a
starting point, came into existence. For Thou art kno\\ -
ledge without beginning, eternal sight, unbegotten hearing,
untaught wisdom ; the first in nature, alone in existence,
and lieyond all number ; who through Thy only-begotten
Son didst bring all things into existence out of nothing,
having begotten Him before all ages by Thy will, and
power, and goodness, without any medium, the only-
begotten Son, God the Word, the living Wisdom, the First-
born of every creature,- the Angel of Thy great counsel,-'
Thy High priest, the King and Lord of all intellectual and
sensible nature, who was before all things, "^ by whom all
things were made.
For Thou, O eternal God, didst make all things by Him,
and by Him dost vouchsafe a suitable providence over the
whole world; for by the same Person that Thou didst
graciously bring all things into being, by Him Thou hast
granted that all things should continue in well-being. O
God and Father of Thy only-begotten Son, who by Him
before all things didst create Cheioibim and Seraphim, oeons
and hosts, principalities and powers, dominions and thrones,
' Eph. iii. 15. 2 Col. i. 15.
^ Isa. ix. 6. •« Col. i. 17.
292
APPENDIX.
archangels and angels,^ and after all these things didst
create by Him this visible world, and all things that are
therein. For Thou art He that did fix the heavens as
an arch, and did spread them out as a curtain,^ and did
found the earth upon nothing by Thy will alone. I'hou
hast established the firmament, and hast prepared the night
and the day, bringing forth light out of Thy treasures, and
superinducing darkness to overshadow it, to provide rest
for the living creatures which roam to and fro in the world.
Thou hast appointed the sun in the heaven to rule the day,
and the moon to rule the night ; ^ Thou hast inscribed in
the heaven the choir of stars to praise Thy great glory.
Thou createdst water for drink and cleansing, the vital air
for respiration, and for the manufacture of the voice by the
tongue striking the air, and the hearing which co-operates
with it, so as to receive and perceive the words which fall
upon it. Thou hast made the fire for our consolation in
darkness, for the relief of our necessities, for warmth and
light. Thou hast divided the great sea from the land, and
hast made the one navigable, and the other a basis for our
feet in walking ; ■* the former Thou hast replenished with
' (i.) Hierarchy
ofDionysius(Z>(.'
(ii.) Hierarchy
of Clementine
Cixksti Hierarcliia, caps, vii.-ix.).
Liturgy.
I. ^epa(j)(ij.
Seraphim.
I. Xfpovfii/j.
Cherubim.
2. Xepov^ifj.
Cherubim.
2. 'S,ipa<pin
Seraphim.
3. @puvoL
Thrones.
3. Alwvis
/Eons.
4. Kvpl6TT]TeS ...
Dominions.
4. 2,TpdTiai
Hosts.
5. 'E|ot'(7tai
, Authorities.
5. Avvafxiis
Powers.
6. Avvd/xfts
Powers.
6. Efoi^tnai
Authorities.
7. 'Apxai
Principahties.
7. 'Apxai
Principalities.
8. 'Apx<^yyi^oi...
Archangels.
8. @p6voi
Thrones.
9, "AyyeXot
Angels.
9. ' Apxiyy^^oi
Archangels.
10. " Ayy iXoi
Angels.
Tlie addition <
af CEons in list (ii.) is curious, an(
1 suggestive of
Gnostic influence
on the Clementine
Liturgy.
- Ps. civ. 2.
=> Gen. i. 16.
•• Compare the
accounts of the creation in the long
Prefaces in the
early Gallican Missale Hkhenovense,
Missa vi. ; Neale and Forlies, T/ie
Ancient Litiirgic.
V of the Gallican
Church (P)Urntislai
nd, 1855), pt. i.
pp. 17, i8-
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 293
small and great beasts, and the latter Thou hast filled with
the same both tame and wild ; and Thou hast wreathed it
with various plants, and crowned it with herbs, and beau-
tified it with flowers, and enriched it with seeds. Thou
didst collect together the great deep, and surround it with
a mighty cavity, seas of salt water heaped together, hedged
round with barriers of finest sand. Sometimes Thou dost
crest it with Thy winds to the heiglit of mountains, some-
times levelling it as a plain, sometimes making it rage with
a storm, sometimes stilling it with a calm, making it easy
for sea-faring voyagers to traverse. Thou hast girdled round
wdth rivers the world which was made by Thee through
Christ, and hast watered it with mountain-streams, and hast
moistened it with everflowing springs, and hast bound it
round with mountains, to make the earth most secure and
unmoved. Thou hast replenished Thy world and adorned
it with fragrant and medicinal herbs, with many and dif-
ferent kinds of living creatures, strong and weakly, edible
and workable, tame and wild ; with the hissing of serpents,
and the cries of many-coloured birds ; with the revolutions
of years and the numbers of months and days, the suc-
cession of seasons, and the courses of clouds big with rain,
for the production of fruits, and the support of living
creatures. Thou hast appointed the station of the winds, ^
which blow at I'hy command, and the multitude of plants
and herbs.
And not only hast Thou created the world, but Thou
didst also make man the citizen therein, exhibiting him as
the ornament thereof.- For Thou didst say to Thy Wisdom,
" Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air." '^ Wherefore, too. Thou madest him
of an immortal soul and a perishable body, the soul out of
' Job xxviii. 25.
- ^^iofx-ov Koar/xov. It has not been found possible to preserve the
play upon the words in a translation. See pp. 265, note 3 ; 2S5, note i.
' Gen. i. 26,
294 APPENDIX.
nothing, the body out of the four elements; and as to the
soul, Thou didst endow him with rational knowledge, with
the power of discerning between piety and impiety, and of
observing right and wrong ; and, as to the body. Thou didst
grant him five senses, and the power of progressive motion.
For Thou, O Almighty God, didst by Christ plant a garden
eastwards in Eden,^ adorned with every kind of edible
food, and into it as into a sumptuous dwelling-place Thou
didst introduce man. And when Thou madest him. Thou
didst give him an implanted law, that at home and within
himself he might have the seeds of divine knowledge. And
when Thou hadst brought him into this paradise of luxury,'-^
Thou didst allow unto him the power of partaking of all
things, forbidding him only the taste of a single tree, in
hope of greater blessings, in order that if he kept the com-
mandment, he might receive the reward of his obedience
in immortality. But when he neglected the commandment
and tasted the forbidden fruit by the guile of the serpent
and the counsel of his wife,^ Thou didst justly cast him out
of paradise ; yet in Thy goodness Thou didst not suffer
him to fall into utter destruction, for he was the work of
Thy hands, but Thou didst subject creation to him, and
didst grant unto him that he should procure sustenance for
himself by the sweat of his brow and the labour of his
hands, while Thou didst cause all the fruits of the earth
to spring up, and grow, and ripen. At length, having laid
him to sleep for a little while. Thou didst promise with an
oath to recall him to a regeneration, having loosed the bond
of death, and promised him life after resurrection. Nor
was this all, but Thou didst also multiply his posterity
without number, glorifying those Avho remained true to
* Gen. ii. 8.
- napaSeKTos Tpvtpris. Tliis phrase is found in Gen. ii. 15 ; iii. 24.
^ This long account of the fall is paralleled by a similar but still
more detailed account of the same event in the fragment ofaCopto-
Thebaic Liturgy published by F. A. A. Georgius (Rome, 1789), and
assigned by him to the end of the fourth century {F7-agmeitttim
Evangelii S. loliaiinis, pp. 301-315).
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 295
Thee, and punishing those who rebelled against Thee.
And while Thou didst accept the sacrifice of Abel as of
an holy man, Thou didst reject the offering of Cain who
slew his brother as of an accursed person. Besides these
Thou didst accept of Seth and Enos, and didst translate
Enoch. For Thou art the Creator of men, and the Sup-
plier of life, and the Fulfiller of want, and the Giver of laws,
and the Rewarder of those who keep them, and the Avenger
of those who break them. Thou didst bring the great flood
upon the world because of the number of the ungodly,
saving righteous Noe from it in the ark with eight souls, ^
the last of the foregoing and the first of succeeding gene-
rations. Thou didst kindle a fearful fire upon the five
cities of Sodom," and didst turn a fruitful land into a salt
lake for the wickedness of them that dwell therein,-' but
didst snatch holy Lot out of the burning. Thou art He
who didst deliver Abraham from the impiety of his fore-
fathers, and madest him heir of the world, and revealedst
unto him Thy Christ.* Thou didst beforehand ordain
Melchisedech to be the high priest in Thy service. Thou
didst render Thy much-suffering servant Job conqueror
over the serpent, the originator of evil. Thou madest
Isaac the son of the promise, and Jacob the father of twelve
sons, whose descendants Thou didst multiply exceedingly,
bringing him into Egypt with seventy-five souls. Thou,
O Lord, didst not overlook Joseph, but gavest him, as a
reward for his chastity for Thy sake, the government of
the Egyptians. Thou, O Lord, didst not overlook the
Hebrews when they were evil-entreated by the Egyptians,
on account of the promises made unto their fathers, but
Thou didst deliver them, and punish the Egyptians. And
when men corrupted the law of nature, sometimes deeming
creation to be an automaton, sometimes honouring it more
than was meet, and marshalling it against Thee who art
' Cf. I Pet. iii. 20 ; 2 Pet. ii. £. " Wisdom x. 6,
3 Ps. cvii. 34. " Cf. St. John viii. 56.
296 APPENDIX.
the God of all things,^ Thou didst not suffer them to err ;
l3ut Thou didst raise up Thy holy servant Moses, and by
him didst give the written law to assist the law of nature,
showing the creation to be Thy handiwork, and abolishing
the error of polytheism. Thou didst adorn Aaron and his
sons with the honour of the priesthood. Thou didst punish
the Hebrews when they sinned, and didst receive them
again when they returned to Thee, Thou didst take
vengeance on the Egyptians with ten plagues. Thou didst
divide the sea, causing the Israelites to pass through, de-
stroying the Egyptians who pursued them beneath its waves.
With wood Thou didst make the bitter water sweet. Thou
didst bring water out of the precipice of stone. Thou didst
rain down manna from heaven, and broughtest food from
the air in the form of quails.- Thou gavest them a pillar
of fire by night to give them light, and a pillar of cloud by
day as a shadow from the heat. Thou appointedst Jesus
to be the leader of their hosts, and through Him didst
destroy the seven nations of the Canaanites. Thou didst
divide Jordan, and dry up the rivers of Etham,^ and over-
throw walls without machinery, and without the aid of
human hands.^
For all these things glory be to Thee, O Lord Almighty.
Countless hosts of angels, archangels, thrones, dominions,
principalities, authorities, powers, hosts, ceons * worship
Thee ; the Cherubim and six-winged Seraphim, with
twain covering their feet, and with twain covering their
heads, and with twain flying,'^ together with thousand
' Cf. Rom. i. 21-25. " I^s. Ixxiv. 15.
^ For the historical portion of this Preface compare the confession of
the Levites in Neh. ix. and ch. xi. of the Epistle to the Hebrews.
' Both in Dr. Neale's translation of this Liturgy {The Liturgies
of St. Mark, etc., London, 1859, p. 82), and in the translation con-
tained in A. C. L. (Edinburgh, 1870, vol. xvii. p. 230), the mention of
:eons is omitted, aluywv being read as alwyiut', and made to agree
with (TrpaTiuv.
•" Isa. vi. 2.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 297
thousands of archangels, and ten thousand times ten
thousand of angels, saying incessantly with unsilenccd
shouts of praise :
[Triumphal Hymn, or Tersanctus.']
Atid let all the people say together :
" Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts. Heaven and
earth are full of His glory." - Blessed is He for ever. Anien.^
[Commemoration of the Work of Redemption.]
After this let the Bishop ■* say :
Yox truly Thou art holy, and most holy, the most highest
and highly exalted for ever. Holy also is Thy only-begotten
Son, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, who in all things
doing service to Thee His God and Father, both in the
creation of different things, and in taking care of them as
they required, did not overlook the perishing human race ;
for after the law of nature, and the warnings of the positive
law, and the reproofs of projjhets, and the superintendence
of angels, when men were corrupting both natural law and
the positive law, and were banishing from their memory
the burning [of Sodom], and the plagues of Egypt, and the
slaughter of the nations of Palestine, being just ready to
perish universally, the Creator of man was pleased Himself
with Thy consent to become man, the Law-giver to become
a subject, the High Priest to become a victim, the Shepherd
to become a sheep. And He appeased Thee His God and
Father, and reconciled Thee to the world, ^ and freed all
' This is the more correct title; the title of 'Trisagion' belongs
to another hymn, for some account of which see p. 260.
- Isa. vi. 3.
^ This short form of the Hymn without the full Benedictus closely
resembles the form in the Anglican Liturgy.
* 'O apx^ep^vs.
* This is a curious phrase, inverting St. Paul's order of words in
2. Cor. vi. 19. It points to an early date when liturgical language had
not acquired theological exactness. See p. 276.
298 APPENDIX. '
men from the impending wrath. He was born of a Virgin,
incarnate, God the Word, the beloved Son, the First-born of
every creature,^ and, according to the prophecies spoken
l)efore concerning Him by Himself, of the seed of David and
Aliraham, and of the tribe of Judah. He who fashioneth
all who arc born into this world was formed in the Virgin's
womb ; He took tiesh who was without flesh ; He who was
begotten in eternity was born in time. He was holy in His
conversation, and taught according to the law. He drove away
all manner of sickness and all manner of disease from among
the people.- He wrought signs and wonders in their midst. ^
He who nourisheth all that stand in need of nourishment, and
fiUeth all things living with plenteousness,'* partook of food,
and drink, and sleep. He made manifest Thy Name to them
that knew it not ; He put ignorance to flight ; He kindled the
light of piety ; He fulfilled Thy will, finishing the work
wliich Thou gavest Him to do.^ And having accomplished
all these things, He was seized by the hands of wicked men,
priests and high priests, falsely so called, and a lawless mob,
through the treachery of one who was possessed by wicked-
ness as by a disease. And He suffered many things at their
hands, and endured all manner of indignity by Thy per-
mission, and was delivered over to Pilate the governor.
And the Judge was judged, the Saviour was condemned,
the impassible One was nailed to the cross ; He who was by
nature immortal died ; the Giver of life was buried,^ that He
might loose from suffering and deliver from death those for
whose sake He came, and that He might break the chains
of the devil, and deliver mankind from his deceit. And on
the third day He rose again from the dead, and after con-
tinuing forty days with His disciples, He was received uj)
' Col. i. 15. - St. Matt. iv. 23. ^ Acts v. 2.
^ Ps. cxlv. 16. '- St. John xvii. 4.
" The language of the original Greek is here very beautiful. There is
a terse antithesis in repeated clauses which it is impossible to preserve
fully in a translation.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 299
into heaven, and sat on the right hand of Thee His God and
Father.^
[Commemoration of the Institution.]
Mindful therefore of what things He suftered on our
behalf, we give thanks to Thee, Almighty God, not as we
ought, but as we are able, and we fulfill His institution.
For in the same night in which He was betrayed. He took
bread in His holy and spotless hands, and looking up to
Thee His God and Father, He brake it, and gave it to His
disciples, saying, " This is the mystery of the New Testament.
Take of it, eat ; this is My body, which is broken for many
for the remission of sins." Likewise also having mingled
the cup with wine and water, and having blessed it. He gave
it to them, saying, " Drink ye all of it ; this is My blood,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Do this
in remembrance of me ; for as often as ye eat this bread, and
drink this cup, ye do show My death until I come." -
[The Great Oblation.]
Remembering therefore His passion, and death, and
resurrection from the dead, and ascension into heaven, and
His future second coming, in which He cometh with glory
and power to judge the quick and the dead, and to render
to every man according to his deeds, ^ we offer to Thee,
our King and our God, according to His institution, this
bread and this cup, giving thanks to Thee through Him that
Thou hast thought us worthy to stand in Thy presence, and
to offer as priests before Thee.
[The Invocation.]
And we beseech Thee that Thou wouldest look graciously
on these gifts now lying before Thee, O God, who needest
naught : and that Thou wouldest be well-pleased to accept
them to the honour of Thy Christ, and that Thou wouldest
send down Thy Holy Spirit, the witness of the sufferings of
1 St. Mark xvi. 19.
- Chiefly based on St. Matt. xxvi. 26-2S, and I Cor. xi. 23-26.
^ Rom. ii. 6.
300 APPENDIX.
the Lord Jesus/ upon this sacrifice, that He may make -
this bread the body of Thy Christ, and this cup the blood
of Thy Christ ; so that they who partake thereof may be
confirmed in piety, may obtain remission of their sins, and
be dehvered from the devil and his wiles, may be filled with
the Holy Ghost, may be made worthy of Thy Christ, and
may obtain eternal life. Thou, 0 Lord Almighty, being
reconciled to them.^
[Great Intercession.]
^Ve further beseech Thee, O Lord, for Thy holy Church
universal,* which Thou hast purchased with the precious
blood of Thy Christ, that Thou wouldest keep it, unshaken
and unstormed, until the end of the world, and for every
episcopate rightly dividing the ^^'ord of truth.^
We further beseech Thee on behalf of myself, who am
nothing, who now offer unto Thee, and on behalf of the
whole presbyterate, on behalf of the deacons, and of all the
clergy, that Thou wouldest endue them all with wisdom, and
fill them with the Holy Ghost.
Furthermore, we beseech Thee, O Lord, for the king and
those that are in authority,*^ and for the whole army, that
they may be peaceably disposed towards us,' in order that
leading all the rest of our life in peace and quietness we
may glorify Thee through Jesus Christ our hope.
Furthermore, we offer unto Thee on behalf of all Thy
saints who have pleased Thee from the beginning of the
world, patriarchs, prophets, just men, apostles, martyrs,
confessors, bishops, presbyters, deacons, sub - deacons,
' I Pet. V. I.
■- 'Airo(pripri, which may also be rendered J may show this bread
to be.'
' This curious expression reminds us of the previously used phrase
on p. 297, where see note 5.
■* 'Atrh TrepctTUV ectis izipartav.
" 2 Tim. ii. 15. "^ i Tim. ii. 2.
' This petition implies an early date, when the king and the army
were slill heathen and hostile to the Christian religion.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 301
readers, singers, virgins, widows, laity, and all those whose
names Thou Thyself knowest.
Furthermore, we offer unto Thee, on behalf of this people,
that Thou wouldst make them,^ to the praise of Thy Christ,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation ; '^ on behalf of those who
are living in virginity and purity ; on behalf of the widows
of the Church ; on behalf of those who are living in holy
matrimony, and who are labouring with child ; and on
behalf of the infants among Thy people, that Thou wilt not
suffer any of us to be cast away.
Furthermore, we ejntreat Thee also on behalf of this city,^
and them that dwell therein ; for the sick ; for those who
are in the bitterness of slavery ; * for those in banishment ; *
for those in prison ; * for those who are travelling by land
or water, that Thou wouldest be the Helper, Assister, and
Supporter of them all.
Furthermore, we beseech Thee also on behalf of those
who hate us and persecute us for Thy Name's sake; on
behalf of those that are without, and wandering out of the
way ; that Thou wouldest convert them to that which is
good, and appease their wrath against us.
Furthermore, we beseech Thee also on behalf of the
catechumens of the Church, and for those who are vexed
by the adversary,^ and on behalf of our brethren who are
])enitents, that Thou wouldest perfect the former in the faith,
and cleanse the second from the possession of the evil one,
and accept the repentance of the last, and forgive unto them
and unto us our trespasses.
Furthermore, we also offer unto Thee that we may
experience a seasonable temperature and receive the fruits
of the earth in due season, in order that perpetually
' 'Aw5e%s. - I Pet. ii. 9.
^ Jerusalem, Rome, or Antioch, the Bishops of which cities have
been previously named on page 286.
* These expressions imply an early date, in the times of heathen
persecution.
^ i.e. possessed by the devil, energumens.
APPENDIX.
partaking of good things from Thee, we may praise Thee
unceasingly, Who givest food to all flesh. ^
Furthermore, we beseech Thee also on behalf of those
who are absent for a just reason, that Thou wouldest keep us
all in piety, and gather us immovable, unblamable, irre-
proachable, within the kingdom of Thy Christ, the God of
all sensible and intelligent nature ; for to Thee be all glory,
worship and thanksgiving, honour and adoration, to Father,
and Son, and Holy Ghost, both now and ever, and for
unceasing and unending generation after generation.
And Id all the people sav :
Amen.
Then Id tJie Bishop say :
The peace of God be with you all.
And Id all the pccplc say :
And with Thy Spirit.
Then let the Deacon prodaini attain :
Let us again and again beseech God through His
Christ.
Let us pray to the Lord our God on behalf of the gift
which has been offered, that the good God would receive
it through the mediation of His Christ upon His heavenly
altar for a sweet-smelling savour.-
Let us beseech Him on behalf of this church and people.
Let us beseech Him for the whole episcopate, the whole
presbyterate, the Avhole diaconate and ministry in Christ,
and for the whole body which fills up the church, that the
Lord would preserve and keep them all.
Let us beseech Him for kings and those in authority,
that they may be peaceably disposed towards us, that we
may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and
honesty.''
Let us remember the holy martyrs, that we may be found
worthy to become partakers of their trial.
' Ps. cxxxvi, 25. -' Eph. V. 2. ^ I Tim, ii. 2.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 303
Let us pray for tliose who have passed to their rest in
faith.
Let us pray for a seasonable temperature, and for the
full maturing of the fruits of the earth.
Let us pray on behalf of the newly baptized,' that they
may be confirmed in the faith.
Let us entreat God on behalf of one another. Raise us
up, O God, by Thy grace. '-^
Let us stand up, and dedicate ourselves to God through
His Christ.'''
[Prayer of Humj-.le Access.]
Then let tJie Bishop say :
O God, who art great, and whose Name is great, who
art great in counsel and powerful in works, the God and
Father of Thy holy Child Jesus,^ our Saviour, look upon us,
and upon Thy flock, which Thou hast chosen through Him
to the glory of Thy Name ; sanctify us both in body and
soul, and grant that being cleansed from all filthiness of
flesh and spirit,^ we may partake of the good things spread
tfefore us ; and judge none of us unworthy of them, but be
« Thou our Supporter, and Helper, and Protector, through
Thy Christ, with whom to Thee and to the Holy Ghost,
be glory, honour, praise, adoration, and thanksgiving for
ever. Amen.
And after all have said ' Amen,' let the Deacon say :
Let us attend.
[Sancta Sanctis.]
Then let the Bishop make this proclamation to the people :
Holy things to holy persons.
And let the people reply :
There is one holy One, one Lord, one Jesus Christ, to the
glory of God the Father, blessed for ever. Amen. Cilory
' Neo(poiirl(TTaip.
- This is the people's response to the deacon's invitation.
' This is another invitation on the part of the deacon.
* Acts iv. 30. * 2 Cor. vii. I.
30+ APPENDIX.
to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards
men.^ Hosanna to the Son of David, hlessed is He that
cometh in the name of the Lord.'- God is the Lord who
hath also appeared unto us.'' Hosanna in the highest.
[Thk Communion.]
After this, let the Bishop receive; then the Presbyters , and
Deacons, and Snb-Dcacons, and Readers^ and Singers,
and Ascetics, and among the 7Uonien the Deaconesses, and
the Virgins, and the Widows ; then the children, and
afterwards ail the people in order with fear and reverence,
without tnmult :
Then let the Bishop administer the oblation, saying:
The Body of Christ.
And let the person receiving say :
Amen.
Then let the Deacon take the cup, and as he administers it let
him say :
The Blood of Christ, the cup of life.
And let him that drinketh say :
Amen.
And let the thirty- third Psalm * be said tvhile all the rest
are receiving, and when all, both men and women have
received, let the Deacons take up what remains [of the
consecrated elements'] and bear it to the sacristy :
[The Post-Communion Thanksgiving.]
And when the Singer has finished let the Deacon say :
Having received the precious hody and the precious
blood of Christ, let us give thanks unto Him who hath
deemed us worthy to partake of His holy mysteries, and
let us beseech Him that it may not be to us for condemna-
tion, but for salvation, to the benefit of soul and body, for
' St. Luke ii. 14. - St. Matt. xxi. 9.
' Ps. cxviii. [Ixx. cxvii.] 27.
'' I.e. Ps. xxxiv. in A.'V. ; especially suitable on account of verse 8.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 305
the preservation of godliness, for the forgiveness of sins, and
for the Hfe of the world to come.
Let us arise. In the grace of Christ let us commciid
ourselves to God, the only unbegotten God, and to His
Christ.
[Thanksgiving.]
A/id Id the Bishop give thanks :
O Lord (iod Almighty, Father of Thy Christ Thy blessed
Son, who art ready to hear them that with uprightness call
upon Thee, and who knowest the petitions of them that
are silent, we yield Thee thanks for that Thou hast vouch-
safed unto us to partake of 'I'hy lioly mysteries, which Thou
hast given unto us, for the fulfilment of good resolutions,
for the preservation of piety, and for the remission of trans-
gressions; because the name of Thy Christ hath been
called over us, and we have been enrolled in Thy family.
Thou who hast separated us from fellowship with the ungodl}',
unite us with those who have been sanctified to Thee,
establish us in the truth by the descent of the Holy Ghost ;
that which we do not know do Thou reveal ; that which is
wanting do Thou fill up ; in that which is known to us do
Thou strengthen us ; preserve Thy priests ^ blameless in
Thy service ; maintain kings in peace, and rulers in righteous-
ness ; preserve the atmosphere in a good temperature, the
fruits of the earth in fertility, the world in Thv all-powerful
providence. Soften the nations that delight in war, turn
back that whicli has gone astray ; hallow Thy people ;
guard the virgins ; keep married people faithful ; strengthen
the continent ; bring infants to riper years ; confirm the
newly baptized ; - instruct the catechumens ; cause them to
become worthy of initiation,'^ and lead us all into the
kingdom of heaven, through Christ Jesus our Lord, with
whom to Thee and to the Holy Ghost be glory, honour, and
worship for ever. Amen.
' 'Upf'ts. See chap. ii. § 16, p. 140. - Thvs veortAus.
' Ti)y ^uTjo-fcoy, i.e. baptism.
X
3c6 APPENDIX.
[Benediction.]
Then Id the Deacon say :
iJow down to God through His Christ, and receive the
blessing.
And let the Bishop pray over them, saying :
O God Ahiiighty, true and incomparable, who art every-
where, and art present in all things, though existing in
nothing as part hereof. Thou who art not circumscribed by
place or aged by time, who art not limited by ages, or led
aside by words, who art not subject to generation and
needest no guard, who art superior to corruption, and un-
susceptible of change, who art immutable by nature, dwelling
in the light which no man can approach unto,^ naturally
invisible, yet comprehensible to all reasonable natures that
with good will seek for Thee, the God of Israel, Thy
people which truly seeth Thee,- and which hath believed
in Christ, be favourable and hear me for Thy name's sake,
and bless those that have bowed their necks unto Thee, and
grant unto them their hearts' desires so far as may be
expedient for them, and suffer none of them to be cast
away out of Thy kingdom, but sanctify them, guard them,
shelter them, assist them, rescue them from the adversary
and from every enemy, protect their houses ; keep them in
their coming in and in their going out ; for to Thee be-
longeth glory, praise, majesty, worship, and adoration, and to
Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, and God, and King, and to
the Holy Ghost, now and ever, and for endless ages. Amen.
[Dismissal.]
And the Deacon shall say :
Depart in peace.'
§ 15. Another Description of the Liturgv.
This will perhaps be the most convenient point
at which to append the description of the early
^ I Tim. vi. 16.
* According to a popular but erroneous derivation, ' Israel ' wa§
believed to mean * one who sees God.'
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 307
Christian Liturgy, as found in Book ii. chap. 57 of
the Apostolic Constitutions. The person addressed
is the bishop.
' When thou callest together the Church of God, as the
commander ^ of a great ship, order the assembUes to be
made with all knowledge, charging the Deacons as mariners
to assign places to the brethren as passengers, with all care-
fulness and solemnity.
And, in the first place, let the building be long, turned
towards the East, with vestries on both sides at the east
end ; and it will be like a ship. Let the Bishop's throne -
be placed in the middle, and the Presbyters be seated on
each side of him, while the Deacons stand by in for the
most part closely girt vestments, because they correspond
to the sailors and to the overseers of the rowers on each
side of the ship. Let these so arrange that the laymen be
seated in a different part of the church, in a silent and
orderly way ; and let the women be seated apart by them-
selves, they also keeping silence.
[Lections.— (a) Old Testament.']^
In the middle let the Reader, standing in some elevated
position, read the Books of Moses and of Jesus the son of
Nave, Judges, Kings, Chronicles, and Books connected with
the return from the Captivity ; and in addition to these the
Books of Job, of Solomon, and of the sixteen prophets.
[{l>) Ads and Epistles.^
And when two lessons have been read, let some one else
sing the hymns of David,^ and let the people join at the
conclusion of the verses.** Afterwards let our Acts be read,
' Ku^epvfjTTis.
■ &p6vos. This word does not necessarily mean ' a throne,' or ' chair
of state ; ' any seat is a dpovos.
" Evidently the Book of Psalms.
^ This is probably not the ' Gloria Patri,' but the verse, or portion of
a verse, sung over again by the people after a certain number of verses
in the old responsorial mode of chanting.
3o8 APPE.\DL\.
and the Epistles of Paul, our fellow-labourer, which he sent
to the Churches under the conduct of the Holy Ghost.
[(c) Gospel.]
-\fter this, let a Deacon or Presbyter read the Gospels,
both those which we Matthew and John have delivered to
you, and those which the fellow-labourers of Paul received
and left to you, Luke and ^lark.
And when the Gospel is read, let all the Presbyters, and
Deacons, and all the people stand in perfect silence, for it
is wTitten, " Take heed, and hearken, 0 Israel," ^ and again,
" Do thou stand here and hearken." -
[Sermon.]
Next let the Presb)1:ers exhort the people, one by one,
not all together, and last of all the Bishop who resembles
the commander.^
Let the door-keepers stand at the men's entrances and
guard them, and the deaconesses at the women's entrances,
like persons taking seamen on board. For the same
[description and] pattern was also in the tabernacle of the
testimony, [and in the temple of God.] ^ And if any person
be found sitting in a wrong place, let him be rebuked by the
Deacon, as by the man standing at the ship's head, and let
him be transferred to his proper place. For the church
is not only like a ship, but it is also like a sheepfold. For
as shepherds place these brute beasts, goats and sheep,
separately according to their kind and age, and each of
them has a tendency to run together, the like to his like ; so
let it be in the church ; let the yoimger people sit by them-
selves, if there be a place for them, if not let them stand
upright ; and let those who are already advanced in years
be seated in order. As to the children who are standing,
let their fathers and mothers take charge of them. The
younger women again let them sit by themselves, if there
be room, but, if not, let them stand behind the women. ^\nd
' Deut. xxvii. 9. - Deut. vi. 31. ' Kuj8ep«/^T»js.
* The words within brackets are omitted in some MSS.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIOSS. 309
let the women who have been already married, and have
borne children, be placed by themselves. The virgins, and
Andows, and the older women should stand or be seated
first of all. The Deacon should be the disposer of places
beforehand, in order that every one who enters may go into
his proper place, and may not sit at the entrance. In the
same way let the Deacon superintend the people, in order
that no one may whisper, or slumber, or laugh, or nod : for
people ought to stand in church wisely, and soberly, and
watchfully, ha\-ing their attention fixed on the word of the
Lord.
[Expulsion of Catechumens and Penitents. —
Prayer of the Faithful, etc.]
After this, let all rise up with one consent, and looking
eastward, after the departure of the catechumens and peni-
tents, pray in the eastward position to God who ascended
up to the heaven of heavens, remembering also the original
situation of paradise in the East, whence the first man was
expelled, after he had broken the commandment, persuaded
by the serpent's guile.
After the prayer, let some of the Deacons attend upon
the oblation of the Eucharist, waiting upon the body of the
Lord with fear, and let others of the Deacons keep watch
on the congregation,^ and ensure silence among them.
Then let the Deacon who is in attendance on the Bishop -
say to the people :
Let no one have a quarrel against any. let no one come
in hypocrisy.
[Kiss OF Peace.]
Then let the men salute each other, and the women
salute each other with the kiss of peace, but let no one act
deceitfully, as Judas betrayed the Lord with a kiss.
[Deacon's Bidding Prayer.]
After this, let the Deacon pray for the whole Church, and
for the whole world, with the parts thereof and the fruits
310 APPENDIX.
thereof, for priests and rulers, for the Bishop,^ and the king,
and for universal peace.
[Benediction of the People.]
After this, let the Bishop^ pray for peace upon the
people, and bless them, as Moses commanded the priests
to bless the people with these words, " The Lord bless thee,
and keep thee. The Lord make His face to shine upon
thee, and give thee peace." -
Then let the Bishop pray over the people, and say, " Save
Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thine inheritance, which
Thou hast purchased and acquired with the precious blood
of Thy Christ, and hast called a royal priesthood and a holy
nation." ^
[Great Oblation. — Communion.]
After this, let the sacrifice follow, all the people standing,
and praying silently ; and when the oblation has been made,
let each rank by itself partake of the body of the Lord and
His precious blood, in order, with reverence, and godly
fear.
Let the women approach with their heads covered, as
becometh the rank of women. The doors should be guarded,
lest any unbeliever, or any unbaptized* person should
come in.'
- Abbreviated from Numb. vi. 24-26. This Levitical Benediction
appears in the old Gallican Liturgy ; Germanus, Expositio hrcvis Antiqine
Liturgies Gallicamt, given in Martene, De Aniiqiiis Eccksicc Riiibiis,
lib. i. cap. iv. art. xii. ordo. i. ; in the old Irish Liturgy as represented
by the Book of Dimma, Book of Mulling, and the Stowe Missal ;
Warren (F. E. ), Litwgy and Ritual of the Celtic Chtirch, pp. 171, 172,
225 ; in the Anglo-Saxon Liturgy, where it occurs among the Episcopal
Benedictions at Mass for special days in the Leofric Missal (p. 24S), and
for the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Benedictional of St. Ethelwold.
It occurs in its present abbreviated form at the end of the Commination
Service in the Book of Common Prayer.
^ I Pet. i. 19 ; ii. 9. ■• 'AyUvjjToy.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 311
§ 16. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Presbyter.
This prayer is to be said by the bishop while he is
laying his hands on the candidate in the presence of
the presbyters and deacons —
' O Lord Ahnighty, our God, who hast created all things
by Christ, and who, with mutual love, takest care of the
whole world by Him ; for He who had power to make
different creatures, has also power to take care of them in
different ways. Wherefore, O God, Thou providest for
immortal beings by bare protection, but for mortal beings
by succession— in the case of the soul by attention to laws,
in the case of the body by the supply of its wants. Do
Thou now, therefore, also look down Thyself upon Thy
holy Church, and increase it, and multiply those that preside
over it, and grant them power to labour, both in word and
deed, for the edification of Thy people. Look down also
now upon this Thy servant, who is advanced to the pres-
byterate by the vote and decision of the whole clergy, and
fill him with the spirit of grace and counsel, that he may
help and guide Thy people with a pure heart, as Thou didst
look down upon Thy chosen people, and didst command
Moses to choose elders,^ whom Thou didst fill with Thy
spirit. Do Thou also now, O Lord, grant this, and preserve
in us the unfailing spirit of Thy grace, in order that Thy
servant, being filled with the gifts of healing and the word
of teaching, may in meekness instruct Thy people, and may
serve Thee sincerely with a pure mind and a willing heart,
and may blamelessly discharge the priestly ministrations on
behalf of Thy people ; ^ through Thy Christ, with whom to
Thee and the Holy Ghost, be glory, honour, and worship
for ever. Amen.' ^
' npeo-^fTepous. We have translated it by the word ' elders,' as found
in Ex. xxiv. 9 (A.V.).
- Kai roiS virep rod \aov lepovpylas ajj-wnovs e/freAj;.
* Lib. viii. cap. 16, pp. 217, 218.
312 APPENDIX.
§ 17. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Deacon.
This prayer is to be said by the bishop, laying his
hands on the candidate in the presence of the pres-
byters and deacons —
' O God Almighty, true and without guile, who art rich
unto all them that call upon Thee in truth,^ fearful in
counsels, wise in understanding, powerful and great, hear
our prayer, O Lord, and hearken unto our supplication, and
cause the light of Thy countenance to shine upon this Thy
servant, who is being ordained to the office of deacon in
Thy service ; and replenish him with the Holy Spirit and
with power, as Thou didst replenish Stephen the martyr and
follower of the suflTerings of Thy Christ. Do Thou m.ake
him worthy to discharge acceptably the office of a deacon
now committed unto him, steadily, unblamably, without
reproach, that so he may become worthy of a higher degree ;
through the mediation of Thy only-begotten Son, with whom
glory, honour, and worship be unto Thee and the Holy
Spirit for ever. Amen.' -
§ 18. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Deaconess.
This prayer is to be said by the bishop, laying
his hand upon the candidate in the presence of the
presbyters, deacons, and deaconesses —
' O eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Creator of man and woman, who didst fill with Thy spirit
^Miriam, and Deborah, and Anna, and Huldah ; who didst
not disdain that Thy only-begotten Son should be born of
a woman ; who in the tabernacle of witness and in the
temple, didst ordain women to be the keepers of Thy holy
gates,^ do Thou now also look down upon this hand-
maiden, who is being ordained to the office of deaconess ;
' Rom, X. 12. - Lib. viii. cap, 18, pp. 2l8, 219.
' There is no mention of these female doorkeepers in the Bible.
THE APOSTOLIC COXSTITUTIOXS. 313
give unto her the Holy Spirit, and cleanse her from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit,^ so that she may worthily
accomplish the work committed to her hands, to Thy glor}-,
and to the praise of Thy Christ, with whom to Thee, and
to the Holy Spirit, be glory and worship for ever. Amen.' -
§ 19. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Sub-Deacon.
This prayer is to be said by the bishop as he lays
his hands upon the head of the candidate —
' O Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and of
all things that are therein : who also in the tabernacle of
witness didst appoint the vergers to be the guardians of Thy
holy vessels ; ^ do Thou also now look down upon this
Thy serv'ant elected to the office of sub-deacon ; and give
unto him the Holy Spirit, that he may worthily handle Thy
sacred ^ vessels, and do I'hy will always ; through Thy
Christ, with whom to Thee, and to the Holy Ghost, be
glor}-, honour^ and worship for ever. Amen.' ^
§ 20. A Prayer at the Ordination of a Reader.
This prayer is to be said by the bishop as he lays
his hands upon the head of the candidate —
' O eternal God, who art plenteous in mercy and com-
passions, who hast made manifest the constitution of the
world by Thy operations therein, and who keepest the
number of Thine elect ; do Thou also now look down upon
Thy servant who is ordained to the office of reading Thy
Holy Scriptures to Thy people, and grant to him Thy Holy
Spirit and the spirit of prophecy. Thou who didst give
Thy servant Esdras skill to read Thy law to Thy people,''
now also hear our prayers, and give Thy sers-ant skill, and
grant unto him, that he may fulfil, without blame, the work
' 2 Cor. vii. I. - Lib. viii. cap. 20, p. 219.
' Viz. the Kohathites. Xumli. iii. 31.
■* Tiiv ^eiTOvpyiKwv aov (TKevwv. ' Lib. viii. cap. 21, p. 220.
•= Xeh. viii. i-S.
3H APPENDIX.
which hath heen entrusted to him, and be found worthy of
higher advancement, through Christ, with whom to Thee,
and to the Holy Ghost, be glory and worship for ever.
Amen.' ^
§ 21. A Consecration ok Water and Oil.
' O Lord of hosts, the God of powers, Creator of the
waters, and Supplier of oil, who art merciful and a Lover
of man, who gavest water for drink and for purification, and
oil to make him a cheerful countenance,^ do Thou now also
sanctify this water and this oil through Thy Christ, in the
name of him [or her] that hath offered it ; and give to them
a power to restore health, to banish diseases, to put devils
to flight, and to bring to nought every hostile design, through
Christ our hope, with whom to Thee, and to the Holy Ghost,
be glory, honour, and worship for ever. Amen.' -''
§ 2 2. An Evening Prayer.
It will be easier to understand its character, if we
reproduce here the preliminary directions and arrange-
ments. When it is evening the bishop is directed to
assemble the Church ; during the lighting of the
lamps a psalm is to be sung ; then the deacon is to
bid prayers for the catechumens, the energumens,
competentes, and penitents. After the dismissal of
these, the deacon invites the faithful to pray, and
uses these words —
' Save us, O God, and raise us up by Thy Christ. Let
us stand up, and pray for the mercies and compassions of
the Lord, for the angel of peace, for what things are good
and profitable, for a Christian end, for an evening and
night peaceful and without sin, and let us pray that the
whole course of our life may be without condemnation.
Let us commend ourselves and each other to the living
God, through His Christ.' *
' Lil). viii. cap. 22, p. 220. - Ps. civ. 15.
^ Lib. viii. cap, 29, p. 223. ■* Lib. viii. cap. 36, p. 229.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 315
Then let the Bishop add this prayer, and say :
O God, who art without beginning and without end,
who madest the whole world through Christ, and who carest
for it, but who art before all things His God and Father,
the Lord of the Spirit, the King of all things known to our
intelligence or our sense ; who hast made the day for the
works of light and the night for rest, for our weakness ; for
the day is Thine, and the night is Thine : Thou hast pre-
pared the light and the sun ; ^ O Lord, Thou Lover of men,
and full of all goodness, accept favourably this our evening
thanksgiving.- Thou who hast led us through the length
of the day, and hast brought us to the beginning of the
night, guard us through Thy Christ, give us a peaceful
evening, and a night free from sin ; and make us worthy of
eternal life, through Thy Christ; through whom to Thee,
and to the Holy Ghost, be glory, honour, and worship for
ever. Amen.'^
And let the Deacon say :
Bow down for the laying on of hands.
And let the Bishop say :
O God of our fathers, and Lord of mercy, who by Tliy
wisdom didst form man as a reasonable creature, beloved of
God above all other creatures on the earth, and gavest him
power to rule over all things that are in the world; who
hast willed to appoint rulers and priests, the former for the
security of life, the latter for the regularity of worship, do
Thou now also stoop down, O Lord Almighty, and make the
light of Thy countenance to shine upon Thy people, who
bow the neck of their hearts before Thee. Bless them
through Christ, through whom Thou hast enlightened us
with the light of knowledge, and hast revealed unto us
Thyself, with whom worthy adoration is due to Thee, and
' Ps. Ixxiv. 16.
- Euxaptaria. The strictly liturgical use of this term seems to be
Western only.
' Lib. viii. cap. 37, p. 229.
;i6 APPENDIX.
to the Spirit, which is the Paraclete, from every reasonable
and holy nature for ever. Amen.^
Ajid hi the Deacon say :
Depart in peace.'
§ 23. A Morning Prayer.
After the repetition of the morning Psalm,- and
the dismissal of the catechumens, energumens, com-
petcntes, and penitents, and after the usual bidding,
the deacon is directed to say —
' Save them, O Lord, and raise them up by Thy grace.
Let us beg the mercies and compassions of the Lord,
that this morning, and this day, and the whole time of our
sojourning here, may be peaceful and without sin ; that He
will send to us the angel of peace, and grant to us a Christian
end, and the mercy and lovingkindness of God. Let us
commend ourselves and each other to the living God,
through His only-begotten [Son].^
And let the Bishop add this prayer, and say :
O God, the God of the spirits and of all flesh, incom-
parable, and in want of nought, who gavest the sun to rule
the day, and the moon and the stars to govern the night,* do
Thou now also look down upon us with the eyes of pity, and
receive our morning thanksgivings, and have mercy upon us.
For we have not holden up our hands to any strange God,''
neither is there among us any new god, save Thou only the
Eternal and Everlasting. Thou who hast given to us our
being through Christ, and hast granted to us our well-being-
through the same, deign also to make us worthy of eternal
life through Him, with whom to Thee, and to the Holy
Ghost, be glory, honour, and worship for ever. Amen.^'
• Lib. viii. cap. 37, p. 229. - Vs. Ixiii.
^ Lib. viii. cap. 37, p. 230. '' Ps. cxxxvi. 7, 8.
* Ps. xliv. 21. ''• Lib. viii. cap. 38, p. 230.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTTTUTIONS. 317
And Id tlic Deacon say :
Bow down for the laying on of hands.
And Id the Bishop add this prayer, and say :
O God, ^faithful and tme, who hast mercy on thousands,
and ten thousands in them that love Thee,^ Lover of the
humble and Protector of them that want, of whom all things
stand in need, because all things are subject unto Thee :
look down upon this Thy people, who have bowed down
their heads to Thee, and bless them with spiritual blessings ;
keep them as the apple of an eye ; ^ preserve them in piety
and righteousness ; and deem them worthy of eternal life in
Christ Jesus Thy well-beloved Son ; with whom to Thee
and the Holy Ghost, be glory, honour, and worship, now, and
for ever, and for endless ages. Amen.^
And Id the Deacon say :
Depart in peace.'
§ 24. A Thanksgiving at the Presentation of
THE FiRSTFRUITS.
' We give thanks to Thee, O Lord Almighty, Creator and
Provider of the universe, through Thy only-begotten Son
Jesus Christ our Lord, for the firstfruits now offered unto
Thee, not in such manner as we ought, but to such extent
as we are able. For who among men can worthily give
thanks unto Thee for those things which Thou has given
unto them to partake of? O God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, and of all the saints, who madest all things bear to
jDcrfection by Thy word, and didst command the earth to
bring forth every kind of fruit for our refreshment and our
food, giving juices for more sluggish and sheepish natures,
grass for animals that eat grass, flesh for some, and seed for
others ; but corn to us, as advantageous and suitable for our
food; and many different things, some for use, some for
health, and some for our delight. On all these accounts
' Exod. xx. 6. - Ps. xvii. 8. ' Lib. viii. cap. 39, p. 231.
31 8 APPENDIX.
Thou art worthy to be exalted in hymns of praise, for Thy
beneficence unto all, through Christ, through whom to
Thee in the Holy Ghost be glory, honour, and worship for
ever. Amen.' ^
§ 25. A Prayer for the Faithful Departed.'-
First of all, the deacon is directed to bid as
follows : —
' Let us pray for our brethren who have passed to their
rest in Christ, that God, the Lover of men, who hath
received his soul, may forgive him every sin, both voluntary
and involuntary, and may be merciful and gracious unto
him, and may assign him a place in the country where the
pious range at large, in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, with all those that have pleased Him, and done His
will from the beginning of the world, whence grief, and
sorrow, and sighing have fled away. Let us arise and com-
mend ourselves and each other to the eternal God through
the Word which was in the beginning.
And let the Bishop say :
O Thou, who art by nature immortal and unending,
from whom every creature, both immortal and mortal, hath
its being ; who hast made man, the reasonable living crea-
ture, the denizen of this world, in his constitution mortal,
therewithal adding the promise of a resurrection ; who didst
suffer Enoch and Elias not to taste of death ; the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, Thou art
their God, not as of the dead, but as of the living ; ^ for the
souls of all live unto Thee, and the spirits of the righteous
are in Thy hand, and there shall no torment touch them ;■*
for they are all sanctified under Thy hands ; ^' do Thou now
also regard this Thy servant, whom Thou hast selected and
received into another state, and pardon him whatever sin
' Lib. viii. cap. 40, p. 231. " Lib. viii. cap. 41, p. 231.
^ St. Matt. xxii. 32. ■* Wisdom iii. i.
^ Dent, xxxiii. 3. See LXX.
THE APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS. 319
he hath committed vokmtarily or involuntarily ; and send
angels of mercy to him, and place him in the bosom of the
patriarchs and prophets, and apostles, and all who have
pleased Thee from the foundation of the world, where there
is no grief, nor pain, nor sighing, but the place where pious
souls range at large, and a land where the righteous are at
rest, and the inhabitants whereof see the glory of Thy Christ,
through whom to Thee, in the Holy Spirit, be glory, honour,
and worship, thanksgiving, and adoration for ever. Amen.
And let the Deacon say :
Bow down and receive the blessing.
And let the Bishop offer thanksgiving over them in the words
which follow :
O Lord, save Thy people, and give I'hy blessing unto
Thine inheritance,'^ which Thou hast purchased with the
precious blood of Thy Christ. Shepherd them under Thy
right hand, and cover them under Thy wings, and grant
unto them to fight the good fight, and to finish their course,
and to keep the faith, ^ immutably, unblamably, and irreprov-
ably, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son, with
whom to Thee, and to the Holy Ghost, be glory, honour,
and worship for ever. Amen.' ^
' Ps. xxviii. IC. " 2 Tim. iv. 7.
' Lib. viii. cap. 41, pp. 231-233.
IX'DliX OF BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS
AND REFERLNCES.
XoTE. — In cases where an asterisk (*) ha? been prefixed the Septuagint
numeration of the Psalms has been followed.
I.— OLD TESTAMENT.
Gknesis i. i6 292
26 265, 293
ii. 3 2
8 294
15 294
iii. 24 294
iv. 3-5 ' 2
vii. 2 2
viii. 20 2
XV. 8-18 2
xvii. 7 264
10-14 2
xxii. 17 264
xxiii. 17-20 3
xxiv. 26 3
65 235
xxvi. 25 3
xxvii. 27-29 2
xxviii. 1-4 2
18 3
20-22 3
XXXV. 2-3 3
14 3
xli. 42 235
xlviii. 4
264
Gen. xlviii. 9-20. ,
14...,
Exodus iii. 5 . . . .
14-15-
vi. I . . . .
229
203
42
317
PAGTC
.... 2
232
224
264
169
xii. 15, 18-20 32
29.-
XV. 1-19
xix. 6
XX. 6
xxii. 22 229
xxvii. 2 229
20 20S
xxviii. 33-35 221
xxix. 4 220
XXX. 22-25 3
XXX. 34-38 3
xl. I-II 22S
15 70
Levit. iv. 17 229
25 229
xii. 6-8 65
xvi. 4, etc 220
Numb iii. 31 313
vi. 22-26 4
Y
322
INDEX.
Vl'.C.V.
Numb. viii. 7 69 1
XV, 37-41 210 :
xix. 18 69 I
Deut. iv. 39 267
vi. 4-9 210
31 30S
X. 8 237
xi. 13-21 210
xiii. 18 169
xxvi. 3 4
5-10 4
13-15 5
xxvii. 9 308
xxxii. 1-43 203
39 168
xxxiii. 3 267, 318
xxxiv. 9 232
Josh. V. 15 224
2Sa1n.xxiv.1-17 267
I Kings ii. 7 168
viii. — 228
60 169
ix. 3 6
1 Chron.xiii.S 6
XV. 14, 16, 28 6
xxiii. 5 6
XXV. 5-6 6
xxviii. 11-19 5
2 Clnoii.iii. 3 6
vi. 36 285
viii. 14 7
Ezra vi. 16, 17 228
Nell. viii. 1-8 313
ix. 2-4 237
3 236
Jol) xxviii. 25 293
xxxviii. II 265
xli. 5 282
Tsalm i. 2 2S0
V. I, 2, 3 259
vi. 3 245
xvii. 5 284
8 317
xix. — 204
Psalm xxiv. — 203
xxviii. 10 319
xxxii. 6 86, 87
*xxxii. 10 168
xxxiv. — 204, 304
8 304
xxxvi. 9 259
10 259
*xxxix. 2 169
xl. 8, 9 7
xli. 4 259
xliv. 21 316
xlviii. — 203
Ii.5 65
10 281
12, 14 2S4
Iv. iS 236
Ixiii. — 316
Ixviii. 17 267
Ixxiv. 8 206
15 296
16 315
Ixxxi. — 203
Ixxxii. — 203
Ixxxviii. 13 259
xc. — 204
I 259
xci. — 204
5. 6 289
xcii. — 203, 204
xciii. — 203, 204
xciv. — 203
*xcix. 3 169
civ. 2 292
15 314
24 266
32 282
cvii. 34 295
cxiii. — 216
5 274
cxiv. — 216
cxviii. 27 304
*cxviii. 1 14 1 68
*cxviii. 133 169
BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS AND REFERENCES. 323
Ps. cxix. 12..
62..
97..
164.
cxxi. 8. . .
cxxiii. 3 . .
cxxx. 3, 4,
cxxxii. 3 . .
cxxxv. — . .
cxxxvi, — . .
7,8.
25...
cxli. 2 . . .
cxliii. 9, 10.
*cxliv. 18. . .
cxlv. — . . .
2 . . .
16...
cxlvi. — . ,
cxlvii. — . . ,
cxlviii. — . . ,
cxlix. — . . .
cl. — ..,
I'rov. ix. 5 . . ,
259,
259
Prov. XX.
236
Cant. iii.
280
V.
236
Isaiah i.
280
vi.
259
28s
IX.
24s
Xlll.
204
xxxiii.
204
Ivii.
316
Ixiv.
302
Jer. xxi.
ii.S
Lam. ii.
259
Ezek. iii.
170
XVlll.
204
xxi.
259
XXXVI.
298
Dan. vi.
204
vu.
204
Dan. viii.
204
Nahum i.
204
Zech. viii.
204
Mai. i.
124
9 •
II.
3 •
16.
2 .
PACK
, 284
. 235
. 176
, 60
. 296
3 171, 266, 297
291
168
6 . .
II..
2 ..
15-.
4 ••
10..
19..
12. .
23..
26..
25- •
10. .
10. .
I3--
3, 4
19..
245
168
171
169
236
267
285
168
69
236
171
, 266
282
229
II 7, 130, 263
II.— APOCRYPHA.
2 Esd. viii. 23.
Tobit viii. 5 •
Judith ix. II.
Wisdom iii. I .
vii. 17.
X. 6 .
282
259
168
318
169
295
Ecclus. viii.5 2J
Ecclus. xvi. 18, 19 16S
xlvii. 9, 10 7
Song of the 3 Ch. 29, 30. . . . 259
I Mace. i. 54 79
iv. — 22S
2 Mace, X, — 22S
•■^ii- 44, 45 238
III.— NEW TESTAMENT.
St. Matt. iv. 23 ...
V. 23, 24
vi. 5 .:..
12....
I3--.
14, 15
vii. 6 . . . .
298 I St.Matt.vii.25 2S6
37 X. I, 7, 8, 40 39
237 9, 10 47
86 17 207
288 I xvi. 18 286
86 : xvi. 19 24
173 wiii. 18 24
324
INDEX.
PAGE
St. M»tt. xix. 13, 15 17
,. ,^ ^ 29. , 287
, ,-^>fi- 3 •.•• 25
9 304
. 12, 13 42
xxii. 32 318
xxiii. 3, 4 207
xxiv. 31 173
xxvi. 26-28.. 26, 33, 87, 299
30 33
xxvii. 66 22
xxviii. 19-20 10
St. Mark i. 4 10
iii. 27 282
V. 2-20 281
vi. 13 46
J X. 9 38
xi. 15 42
xiv. 22-24 26
26 33
49 42
xvi. 15, 16 10
19 299
Si. Luke i. 49, 51, 52, 54, 55 243
68, 69, 71-73- •• 243
77-79 244
ii. 14 244,304
29, 30 244
29-32 259
42 222
iv. 16, 33 42
17 205
18 21
vii. 47 86
X. I 40
18 282
19 282
26, 27 210
xi. 41 86
xii. II 207
XV. 10 284
11-32 285
22 235
xviii. 8 25
PACK
St. Luke xix. 45 42
xxi. 12 206
xxii. 19-20 26
41 143
xxiv. 50 17
52, 53 43
St. John ii. 13-16 42
iii. 3 60
5 9. 13. 64
22 10
33 22
iv. I, 2 10
24 8
vi. 27 22
viii. 56 295
X. 22 229
29 288
xiii. 13, 14 25, 48, 176
xvii. 4 29S
17 289
XX. 21-23 24, 40, 87
Acts i. 3 45
5.8 10
ii. 15 236
41 II, 14
42.--. 30, 44
46 30. 31. 43
iii- I 43. 236
iv. 27 21, 71, 90
30 303
V. 2 29S
vi. 6 41
viii. 12, 13 II
12, 14, 15, 17... 19
16 II
27 15
38 II, 13
ix. iS II
X- 3 236
9 236
38 21
47. 48 n
xii. 8 47
xiii. 3 41
BIBLICAL QUOTATIONS AND REFERENCES. 325
Actcxiii.
xiv.
XIX.
XX.
XXVI,
Rom. i.
PAGE
24 10
23- 42
21 .-. 45. 205
23 42
15. 33 "
25 ••• 33
& II
25 10
5, 6 II, 20
7 31,44. 46,
IIS. 133
28
16
17
19
II
21, 25
6
XIII.
XV.
4 ....
17
4
12
II, 12
16....
28....
xvi. 16. . . .
20. . . .
1 Cor. i. 14, 16
ii. 9 ....
iv. I, 2 ..
V. 3-5...
vi. II
vii. 39
ix. 2
X. 16....
42
14
43
207
207
296
299
22
12
14
23
7
312
35
42
22
36
284
II
172
• 42
• 24
• 14
• 38
. 22
18, 30
21 18, 19, 32
2, 4, 5 44
17-34 37. 133
20 30, 38, 133
23 16
23-26 26, 299
171
rAGK
I Cov. xi. 25-28.** 18
26 25
27-29. 32
34 9
xii. 26 31
29 , 42
xiv. 1-28 164
. 16 31
19 44
29 42
34, 35 44
40 9. 45
XV. 3-5 15
29 12, 96
xvi. I, 2 39, 44, 46
20 36
2 Cor. i. 3 274
21 20
22 21
ii. 6-1 1 24
vi. 16 280
viL I.. 280, 284, 303, 313
xi. 24 207
xiii. 12 36
14 17. 279. 290
Gal. iii. 24 7
Eph. i. 13 21
iii. 15 291
iv. II 42
30 21
V. 2 302
14 35
19 34
22-32 39
25,26 13
27 288
Pliil. iv. 3 284
7 17
Col. i. 15 269, 291, 298
17 291
ii. II, 12 14, 220
14 284
iii. 16 34
I Thess. V. 12 42
326
INDEX.
PAGE
I Thess. V. 26 ... , , 37
1 Tim. i. 20 24
ii. I 31
2 300. 302
4 285
7 42
iii. 16 35
iv. 10... 36
14 41
22 25, 41
vi. 12 16
16 306
2 Tim. i. 6 41
13 23
18. .« 237
ii- 11-13 35
15 286, 300
19 22
26 284
iv- 5 42
7 319
13 47> 48
Titus iii. 5 15
8 36
Ileb. i. 9 21
vi. I, 2 20
X. I 8
22 13
PAGU
Heb. X, 23 , . » 23
25 45
xiii. 10 19
17 42
St. Jas. ii. 2 45
V. 14-15 46,86, 87
16 87
1 St. Pet. i. 19 310
ii- 5 42
9 42, 30i> 310
iii. 20 295
21 16
. V. I 300
14 37. 38
2 St. Pet. ii. 5 295
13 38
I St. John ii. 20 20
27 20
2 St. John 9 23
St. Jude 3 23
12 38
Rev. i. 6 42
10 46
ii. I 42
9 45
iii. 9 45
xix. 8 235
INDEX OF GREEK WORDS.
aydirrif 38, 1 10, 135
&yye\ot, 292
&yy f\os, 42
ayia fivriffts, 28 1
ay la rpdire^a, 8 1
Aiwves, 292, 296
a-Kpowfitvoi, 279
a.fiv7}Tos, 310
avayv(iaT7>s, 1 08
oi/aSejKj/wai, 301
a,ydfivr)ffis, loS
OTToffToXoy, 42
aKo(palveiv, 300
a.pf)afi(S>v, 108
apTos T^9 €vxapi(TTlas, I09
dpx<*77*^'"> 292
apxai, 292
apX'ePS'^^) 42, I40> 17O) 233, 290,
297, 309, 310
dpx<>'f (KKXTjcrias, I40
j8^;uo, 289
fiu/ihs, 79
yevoLTO, 52
'yovu/cA.ifoi'Tes, 279
ypa/x/J-ariKos, I08
SioKoi/os, 42, 141
5i5o(7fcoA.os, 42
Swojueis, 292
6k:A.€KtVj, 123
i^otMoK6yfiadai, Sz
i^ofio\6yr](TiSf 57i ^2, loS
i^opKi(TiJ.6s, 108
e|oi5(nai, 292
i^wOovfjLfUot, 279
eiriK\r)(Tis, I20
6Trt(rKoiros, 42, 70, 140, 141
cTTttrufa^wYTj, 45
eVflTjS Ka/J-irpd, 1 63
eiia77eXJ(rT7js, 42
tuXapfffTft*', 106, 119
ei'Xap'O'Tia, 30, I06, I08, III,
euxapto'Tia 67ri,\uxi'ioy, 191
eux^?', 119
€vxh 8»a (Ticon-Tjs, 224
k(p6Siou, 113
•^-yoi'V*''''^* 42
i
I dearpiKos, 108
1 epovoi, 292
' OpoVos, 307 ; 5o|>js, 168
. euffi'a, 112
1 evcTiaa-TTtpiov, 78, 79, 81
lepevs, 42, 140, 141, 233, 290,
305
lepovpyelf, 42
328
IXDEX OF GREEK WORDS.
KaTaacppayiffafifvot, 283
Kfpafffxa, 123
Krjpv^, 42
K\ripos, loS
K\i(Tis yovoToiv. 145
KOifA.rjTfjptoi', 108
KOff/uLOS, 265, 285, 293
KV^ipvilTT)S, 307, 308
KVVTjyOS, loS
KvpiaKT), 108, 157
KVpiaKT] Tj/ULfpa, 46
Kupje (\4ir)aov, 245
KVplOS, 25
KVpt6T7]Tes, 292
Aoi'Kos, 233
XeJTOnpyerf, 30, 171
XeiToupyi'o. 30, 197
AeiToi/pT-ds, 42
AevtTat, 233
Ad7os, 119, 120
\0VTp6v, 62
Aux*'""^s, loS
IJ.a6rjriveLV, 63
yiii)er<r0ai, 250, 283
ixvr)<ns, 305
/xvpov, 161
fj.v(rTi\piov, 250
j/fOTeAijs', 305
veo(J)coTi(rTOi, 287. 303
o'iKOvvfios, 42
OlCOftffT?/?, 108
uxAos, 309
iraiSi'a, 281
iratSta reo^oco, 63
iroAAioi', 108
7rapo5€i(Toy, 294
TTopa/cATjTos, 108
irapotKi'a, 286
7ra(r;^a, 108
jrfTaAof, 163
■jrotfi.rji', 42
irovr]p6s, 288
irpe(T$vT(pos, 42, 140, 311
irpofffTciis, 140
irpoTiyovfxfvos, 14O
I irpoiffrd/uievos, 42
lepoKaQf^^lxfi/os, 140
TTpofTfvxVf 205
I Trpoa-raTr}!, I JO
1 irpO(f T/TTj?, 42
<rtpa<piix, 292
(TKfvf] \(iTovpyiKc, 313
arpuTtai, 292
(ri/vaycoTTJ, 45, 223, 224
<T<ppayi^(iv, 22, 70, 250
(T(ppayis, 22, 61, lOI, 250
(Ta)(6fifvoi, 275, 283
T(\(tov, 62
rpdiTf^a, viiic ayia
vSojp fw^s, 61
I'M"''?, 33
viroStaKouos, 108
</)aiAoV7js, 47
(pafffK, 270
(pacrcra, 270
((>(\fxovvi, 266
(puTt^etP, 250, 280
<pu>Ti^6fi.(vot, 279> 283
(pwTKTfia, 62
(pwTifffxbs, 60, 61, 250, 2S0
XO-ptcTfia, 62
X«(peTj0e(n'a, 1 39
Xfipo6f(ria, 96, 161
Xfpovfiif^, 292
Xp-qaros, 160
Xplafxa, 21, 96
Xpifffx-a (vxo.piffrias, 161
XP^rris, 1 60
GENERAL INDEX.
GENERAL INDEX.
Aaron, 3, 70, 90, 221, 233, 270,
274, 296
Abel, 2, 186, 270, 274
Abcrcius, xi, 122, 123, I46
Ablution (Agape), 136
Ablutions (Eucharistic, baptis-
mal), 226
Abraham, 2, 193, 238, 264, 270,
274. 295
Absolution, 24, 56, 85
Acolytes, 139
Acts of Apollonius, xi, 112
Callistratus, 125
Eugetiia, xi, 115
Frucluosus, etc., xi, 103, 144
■ Paul and Thecla, xi, 61, 69,
100, 109, 125, 145, 149
the Scillitan Martyrs, xi,
174. 175
Thomas, xi, 88, 107, 109,
112, 129
Xanthippe, Polyxena, and
Rebecca, xi, 58, 69, 100
Adaus and Maris, Liturgy oj,
29, 172, 195
Advetit, 230
.-Jions, 264, 291, 292, 296
Affusion, 14, 70
African Churcli, 57, 66, 80, 116
Africanus, Julius, xii
Agape, 31 : see Love feast
Agonothetes, 161
Alba (Alb), 24I, 251
Alexander, 24
Alexandria, 81, 127, 206
Alexandrian Liturgies, 17, 29
Almsgiving, 46, 54, 85
Alpha and Otnega, 150
Altar, 19, 78-82, 229
Altare, 79
Ambo, 82, 289
Ambrose, St., 74
Ambrosian Divine Office, 203 ;
Liturgy, 27, 165
Amen (Eucharistic), 121, 231
Anatolius, 153
Andre'ues, Bishop, 58
Angel (a ministerial title), 42
Angel (a title of Christ), 291
Angels, 266, 292, 296, 297
Anglican Liturgy, 17, 27, 259,
297, 310. 3S0
Anglo-Saxon Liturgy, 310
Anicetiis, Bishop of Rome, 104,
III, 127
Anna, 270, 312
Anointing: see Unction
Antioch, 196, 286, 301
Anthems, 195
Antiphonal chanting, 75
Antiphojtary of Bangor, 246,
256-259
Antistes, 140
Antoninus Pius, xii, 51, 177
332
GENERAL INDEX.
ApoUinaris, xii
Apolloniiis : see Acis of Apolloiiius
Apostle, 42
Apostles, 300
Apostolic Canons, xii, 59, 104, 131,
233
Constitutions, xii, 12, 58,
62, 64, 72, 96, loi, 102, 129,
133, 139. 141. 146, 156, 159.
161, 163, 169, 181, 193, 195,
227, 233, 255-319
Aquarii, 122
Aquilinus, 1 75
Ara, 79, 80
Arhith, 204
Area, \2,(i
Archangels, 266, 292, 296
Aristidcs, xii, 103, 177, 249
Aries, Synod of, 95
Armenian Divine Ojfce, 245
Liturgy, 17, 29, 225
Arnobiiis, xii, 77, 130, 148
Ascetics, 304
Ashes, 83
Aspersion, 14
Athanasins, St., 96
At/ienagoras, xii, 178
Audientes, 279 ; see Hearers
Aiiguritis, xi
Augustine, St., 122
Aurelius, 178
Authorities, 266, 292
Avircius, 122 ; see Abcrcius
Baal, 252
Baptism, in Holy Scripture, 9-16 ;
in Early Church, 58-74 ; Jewish
use of, 219, 220 ; of St. John
Baptist, 10 ; fasting at, 72 ;
formula of, 11 ; kiss at, 132;
of infants, 62-65, 220 ; by im-
mersion or aftusion, 14, 69 ;
milk and honey at, 67 ; minister
of, 73 ; profession of faith at,
i5j 65 ; sign of the cross at.
68 ; sponsors at, 66 ; times for,
72 ; titles of, 61 ; unction at,
68, 70, 71, 87-90, 98, 160, 161
Barak, 270
Barnabas: see Epistle of Barnabas
Basil, St., of Ccesarea, 107, 125,
191, 198, 199; Coptic Liturgy
of, 29; Greek Liturgy of, 27,
30, 168, 197, 246 ; Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
Basilides, (i) 73, (ii) 81
Bcde, 80
Beleth, 162
Bells, 220
Bema, 208, 289
Benediction, 16, 17, 129 j fornmhie
of, 192, 306, 310
Benedictioial of St, EthehuoUi, 310
Benedictions before and after Les^
sons, 221
Benedictus, 243
Bible: see Scripture
BickeWs theory, 218
Bishops, 300, 302 ; titles of, 42,
140 ; prayer at the consecration
of, 193
Book of Common Prayer, iii-v :
see Anglican Liturgy
Dim ma, 310
Lis more, 225
Mulling, 310
Bowing, at name of Jesus, 224 ;
to the altar, 225
Breaking of Bread, 30, 109
Brightman, F. E,, xii, xiii, 199
Byzantine Ritual, 232
Cain, 2
Callistratiis : see Acts of Caltis-
tratus
Candidates for baptism, 279, 283
Canons of Hippolytus, xiii, 62, 65, ■
67, 72, 81, 88, 100, 104, 105,
108, 116, 127, 131, 132, 133,
136, 139, 140, 141, 148, 154,
GENERAL INDEX.
333
155, i6i, 163, 165, 181, 192-
194, 227, 240, 275
Capa, 241
Cardinals' scarlet robes, 251
Carpos (Carpis), 92
Carthage, second Coimcil of, 117,
118
third Council of, 94
CassiaUf 225
Casula, 242
Catacombs, 137, 14 1, 149, 152-
153. 232
Catechumens, 276, 277, 279, 280,
281, 290, 305, 309, 3I4» 316
Cclerina, 147
Celerinus, 147
Celestinus, 175
Celsus, 164
Celtic Liturgy, 151, 225, 310
Chalice (Cup), 18, 125, 137, 290,
304
Chasuble, 240, 242
Cherubim., 266, 291, 292, 296
Children, 284, 289, 290, 304, 308
Choir, seq.
Choral service, in the Jewish
temple, 6 ; in Christian wor-
ship, 74, 75
Chrism, 90, 98, 160, 161 : see
Unction
Christian religion, a description
of, 77
Christiani perfecti, 89
Christmas Day, 156, 229
Chrysostom, St., 27, 47, 199
, Greek Liturgy of, 27, 172
, John, I. Syriac Liturgy
c;/, 28
, John, IL, Syriac Liturgy
of 28
Church furniture, 17, 75^82
Cingulum, 242
Circumcision, 65, 220
Cittinus, 175
Clement, St., of Alexandria, xiij,
62, 64, 68, 75, 79. 80, 90, 96,
102, III, 113, 136, I38> 145.
154, 158, 181, 182
Clement, St., Bishop of Rome, 196,
286 ; First Epistle of, xiii, 83,
140, 141, 143, 167-172, 233
, Second Epistle of, xiii, 151,
, Syriac Liturgy of, 28
Clementine LLomilies, xiii, 72, III,
140
Liturgy, xiii, 17, 27, 61,
109, 121, 131, 141, 168-171,
195-197. 199. 219, 260, 265,
275-306
Recognitions, xiii, 72
Clodia, 115
Cock-crow, 154
Codex Alexandrinus, 195, 256-259
Colours, sequence of, 221
Columba, St., 225
Commodianus, xiii, 83
Com/nodus, 178, 252
Communion, 30 ; of newly bap-
tized, 89; in both kinds, 117 :
see Eucharist
Compelentes, 276, 279, 283, 314,
316
Compline, 236
Cofifession, 3-7, S2-87
Confessors, 156, 300
Confirmation, 19, 20, 21, 87-98,
161, 222
Consecration, of baptismal water,
73. 273 ; of baptismal oil, 273 ;
of a bishop, 274 ; of churches,
228-229 ; of water and oil, 314
Consignare, 70
Conslantine the Great, 76, 78, 240
Conybeare, F. C, xi, 125
Cope, 241
Coptic ritual, 225 ; Liturgy, 294
Cornelius (l), li
(2), Bishop of Rome, 69, 1 1 8,
121, 139
Cosmos, 265, 285, 293
334
GENERAL INDEX.
Councils, anfe-A^kene, xiii
Creed, baptismal, i6, 23, 272 ;
forms of, 177-181
Crispus, II
Cross : see Sz^u of tJie Cross
Crowns, 138 ; Jewish, 235
Clip ; see Chalice
Cyprian, St., of Carthage, xiv, 57,
63, 64, 66, 69-71, 73, 77, 80,
82, 83, 91-93, 95, 99, 100, 107,
112-I14, 117, 118, 120, 123-5,
126, 128, 132, 140-142, 144,
147, 150, 151, 156, 179
Cyril, St., Coptic Liturgy of, 29,
172
, Syriac Liturgy of, 28
Dalmatic, 25 1
Daniel, 270
David, 5, 7, 270, 271
Day of Atonement, 238
Deacon, prayer at the ordination
of a, 194, 312
Deacon^ s Bidding Prayer, 286
Deacons, 141, 279, 281-283, 285,
289, 290, 300, 302-304, 306-
309
Deaconesses, 234, 304, 312
Deborah, 270, 312
Dedication, Feast of the, 229
of churches, 228
Deprecatio, 150
Diaconus, 141
DidacliS, The, xiv, 12, 70, I02,
106, 109, 115, 135, 141, 157,
\T2.-\, 261, 262, 276, 277
Dinoc rates, 148
Diognetus: see Epistle to Diognetus
Dionysius of Alexandria, xiv, 81,
127
St. Barsalibi, Syriac Litttrgy
of, 29
of Corinth, xiv, 158
Pseudo-Arcopagifa, xiv, 131,
133. 292
Dionysius, Pseudo • Areopagita,
Syriac Liturgy of, 28
Dioscorus, St., of Alexandria,
Syriac IJturgy of, 28
of Cardou, Syriac Liturgy of,
29
Diptychs, 172, 175
Discipline, system of, 82-85
Divine Office, 154-155 : see Ani'
brosian, Anglican, Armenian,
Lrish, Mozarahic, Roman
Divorce, 137
Dominicum, 77
Dofninions, 266, 291, 292, 296
Domus Dei, 77
Donata, 175
Doorkeepers, 139, 234, 308, 312 :
see Ostiarii
Dormitio, 150
Durandus, 230, 240
Easter Day, 1 56
Easter Even, 104, 105, 156, 157,
159
Eastern Church, 230: see Divint
Office, IJturgy
Eastward position, 145-146, 226,
307
Ebionites, xiii, 122
Eden, 294
Egnatius, 147
Egypt, 295, 297
Egyptian Church Order, xiv, 109,
128, 139, 193
Egyptian monks, 225
Eighteen Benedictions, The, 210-
214, 243
Elagabalus, 252
Eleazar, 274
Eleusinian mysteries, 248-249
Elias, 270, 271, 31S
Elisceus, 270
Elvira, Council of, 166
Ember seasons, 229
Encratites, xi, xvi
GENERAL INDEX.
33:
Jinefguinens, 276, 281, 301, 314,
316
Enlightenmeftt, 60
Enoch, 271, 274, 295, 318
Enos, 271, 274, 295
Ephodion, 113 1
Epiklesis : see Invocation
Epiphany, 73, 156
Episcopacy, 140
Epistatcs, 161
Epistle of Barnabas, xiii, 157
Epistle to Diognetus, xiv
Epitaphs, 122, 146, 149-154
Esdras, 270, 313
Esther, 271
Etham, 296
Ethiopic Apostolic Constitutions, 29
Ethiopic Lilzirgy, 29, 172
Ettcharist, The Holy, 25-33, 52,
58, 59, 105-129; consecration
of, 118-122; fast before, 127;
frequency of celebration of, 31,
115-I17; in both kinds, 32,
1 17, 1 18 ; in private houses, 43 ;
mixed chalice at, 1 22-1 25 ;
mode of reception, 127 ; re-
ception by infants, 128, 129;
reservation of, 125-127 ; time
of celebration, 113-115; titles
of, 109-113
Eucharist of Christ, 1 12
Eucharistia {^h\oi.pi(rTlai), 106, 191,
315
Ezicharistic thanksgivings, 261
Eugenia : see Acts of Eugenia
Eulogius, xi
Eunuchs, 287
Eusebius, 77, 78, I44
Evangelist, 42
Evodius,' St., Bishop of Antioch,
286
Excotninujii cation, 23 : see Absolu-
tion
Exoinologcsis, 57, S>2
Exorcism, loi ; bread of, 148
Exorcists, 139
Extempore prayer, 106, 107, 142
Exterjii, 279
Ezekias, 270
Fabian, 139
Falconilla, 149 ,
/7?/j't' /;^zr, 91
Fan, 290
Fasting, 126; before baptism, 72 ;
before the Eucharist, 127;
before ordination, 41 ; before
the Paschal Supper, 232 ; on
Wednesday and Friday, lOl-
105 ; on Easter Even, 104 ; at
four seasons, 229, 230
Fasts, Jeivish, 229
Feast of the Lord, 113
Felix, 175
Firmilian, St., 56, 93, 94, 121,
140, 223
Firstfruits, 287 ; Jewish formula
of otTering, 4 ; Christian prayers
at reception of, 193, 317
Fish (emblem), 123
Font, 82, 89
Friday, 102, 103, 104, 116, 157,
230
Fructuosus, St. : see Acts ofFn/c-
tuosus, etc.
Furniture : see Cliurcli
Gaius, II
Gallican Liturgy, 27, 49, 151, 165,
169, 172, 292
Gallicinitim, 154
Gallienus, 76
Gardner, Dr. P., 31, 249
Gentara, 202
Generosa, 175
Genuflectentes, 279
Germanus, St. Parisiensis, 22S,
240, 310
Gideon, 270
Glass cups, 137
336
GENERAL INDEX.
Gloria in Excehis, 195, 244, 245,
256-259 ; Anglican version of,
259
Gloria Pairi, 192, 259, 307
Gnostic, 158
Gnosticism, xi, 96, 292
Good Friday, 104, 128, 132, 156,
260
Good Shepherd, the, 125
Gospel of St. Peter, xvi, 157
Gospel, procession of the, 227
, standing at the, 226
for Tenth Sunday after
Trinity, 246
Gratiarum actio, 112
Greek Ektene, 246
language, liturgical use of,
loS, 164, 231
Litttrgy and Ritual, 98, 220,
235 : see Liturgy
. Gregory, St. [Catholicus), Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
Gregory, St. (Thauinaturgus), xv, •
179, 180
Gregory, St. (Theologus), Coptic
Liturgy of, 30
, Greek Liturgy of, 30
JIaggadak, 231
Hallel, 33, 216, 217
Liallelujah, 216, 23 1
Hatch, Dr. E., 247-250
Hearers, 279, 290
Heathen zvorship, as the source of
Christian ritual, 247-253
Hebre-M language, use of, 52, 230,
231
Hegesippus, xv, 144
Hel, 231
Hennas, Shepherd of, xv, 5i, 102,
138, 140, I43» 223
Hierapolis, xii, 122, 123
Hieropolis, xi, 28, 123
High priest, 42, 233
Hilaris, 149
Hippolytus, xiv, xv, 1 79 : see
Canons of Hippolytus
Holy Com/nunion : see Eucharist
Holy Doctors, Syriac Liturgy of
the, 29
Holy Orders : see Orders, Ordi-
nation
Holy Saturday : see Easter Even
Holy Scripture : see Scripture
Holy Table: see Table
Honey, 67, 68, 89
Horjis of the altar, 229
Hosamia, 174, 231, 262, 304
Hosts, 291, 292, 296
Hot water : see Water, Warm
Huldah, 312
Hyntemeus (l), 24
Hymenccus (2), Bishop of Jeru-
salem, 180
Hymns, 33-35, i8i, 183, 191 :
see Tersanctus, Tiisagion
Hyssop, 229
Ignatius, St., of Antioch, xv, 75,
78, 79, 83, 109, no, 134, 137,
157, 223 ; Acts of the Martyr-
dom of, XV, 143 ; Syriac Litur-
gies of, 28, 29
Ignatius the Patriarch, Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
Ignatius, pseudo-, xii, 199
niumination, 60-62, 250
Immersion, 13,69; trine, 70, 88, iSl
Imponere manum, 57, 70
Imposition of hands, in absolu-
tion, 24, 56-58 ; baptism, 88 ;
benediction, 16, 129; confir-
mation, 19, 20, 87-98, 129,
192 ; exorcism, loi ; ordina-
tion, 129, 139; Jewish origin
of, 220, 231, 232
Incense, 129- 131
Infants, Commttnion of, 128
Institution, ivords of, 25-27, I2I,
299
GENERAL INDEX.
537
Instniniental music, 75
Intercession, the Great, 300
Interrogations at baptism, 15, 65,
181
Invocation, baptismal, 73 ; eu-
charistic, 119-121, 198, 278, 299
Ircnaa, \<p
IreihTiis, St., ol Lyons, xv, 15, 63,
66, 74, 80, III, 112, 120, 122,
142, 15S, 159, 178
Ire>ie, 232
Irish Liturgy or Ritual, 13, 49,
165, 221, 225, 245, 256, 310
Isaac, 238, 270, 295
Isidore, .St. (of Seville), 97
Isis, 252
Israel, meaning of the word, 26S,
306
Jacob, 238, 270, 295
Jael, 270
James, St., Greek Liturgy of, 27,
169, 197
, Syriac Liturgy of, [i] 27,
172, 219, [ii] 27
James, St., the Less, 144, 163, 286
James, St. {Baradatus), Syriac
Liturgv of, 28
James, St. {of Botnaii), Syriac
Liticrgy of, 28
James, St. {of Edessi), Syriac
Liturgy of, 28
Januaria, I75
Januarius, 179
Jehoshaphat, 270
Jephthah, 270 ; his daughler, 187
Jerome, St., 97, 233
Jerusalem, church of, 286, 301
Jessopp, Z?r., IS, 36
Jesus (Joshua), 270, 271, 296, 307
Jewish, origin of, or influence on
Christian Liturgy and Ritual,
200-247
Job, 274, 295
John, St., the Divine, 163 ; prac-
tice of, claimed to be followed
by Asiatic Churches, 1 1 1
John, St., Basorensis, Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
John, St., Evangelist, Syriac
Liturgy of, 28
John, St., the Patriarch, Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
Joining of hands, 138
Jonas, 270
Jordan, 296
Joseph, 187, 295
Josias, 270
Jubaianus, 92
Judas Iscariot, 309
Judas Maccabceus, 228, 237, 271
Judith, 187, 271
Julius, St., Syriac Liturgy of, 28
Justin Martyr, xv, 51, 59,61,62,
65, 72, 74, 98, 106, no, 114,
115, 119, 122, 125, 131, 134.
138, 140, 142, 158, 164
Kadish, the, 214, 244, 246
Kalcmeros, 150
Kcdusha, the, 215, 245
Kerialh Shema : see Shema
Kiss of Peace, in Holy Scripture,
36, 37; in early Church, 131-
133 ; at baptism, 61, 89, 132 ;
at Eucharist, 52, 61, 131, 132,
289, 309 ; at marriage, 133 ; at
ordination, 133
Kneelers, 279
Kneeling, 143
Kohathites, 313
Kyrie eleyson^ 245
Lactantius, xv, 105, 131
Laetantius, 175
Laity, 301, 307 ; priesthood of,
42, 74, 301, 310
Laodicea, Council of, 79, 224
I^auds, 204, 236
Laurent ius, 147
Z
338
GENERAL INDEX.
Lavabo, 164, 165, 226, 231, 290
Laying on of hands : see Imposi-
tion of hands
leah, 238
Lebar Brecc, 221
Lections, 278, 307
Lent, 104, 156, 230
Leofric Missal, 247, 310
Leonian Sacranicntary, 140
Levita, 141
Lcvites, 233, 234
Leviiical : see Mosaic
Lightfool,Bp.,y.\, 168, 171
Litany, Eucharistic, 286
Liturgy, use of term in Holy
Scripture, 30 ; when first com-
mitted to writing, 105-109 : see
SS. Adu-Hs and Maiis, Ambro
Stan, Anglican, Anglo-Saxott.
Armeizian, Ethiopic, St. Basil,
Celtic, St. Chrysostom, St. Cle
ment, Clementine, St. Cyril,
Galilean, Irish, St. Javies, St.
Mark, Mozarabic, Roman
Lord's Day, the, 157-159, 262
see Sunday
Lord's Prayer, the, 215, 245, 276
Lord's Supper, the, 30
Love-feast (Agape), in Holy
Scripture, 37, 38 ; in early
Church, no, 133-137, 174,232
Loii) Sunday, 156
Loyalty, of early Christians, 170
luciferians, 97
Macarius, 240
Maccabees, Third Book of, 206
Magnificat, 243
Magnus, 179
Manum imponere, 57, 70; see
Inipwsition of ha?ids
JManasses, 270
Manipitlus (Maniple), 24?
Manoah, 270
Maranatha, 174, 262
Marcionite inscription, 223
Marcus, 120
Mark, St., Greek Liturgy of, 29,
168, 169, 172, 175, 19s
Mark, St., Syriac Littirgy of 28
Marriage, in Holy Scripture,
38, 39; in early Church, 115,
137-139; of the clergy, 139;
Jewish, 235 ; kiss at, 133 ;
mixed, 99, 126
Martyrs, 155, 156, 276, 300, 302
Marutas, St., Syriac Liturgy of,
28
Mary (the B.V.M.), 123, 156,
205, 269
Matronata Matroiia, 153
Mattathias, 270
Matthew, St., The Shepherd,
Syriac Liturgy of, 28
Maundy Thursday, 49, 156, 165,
226
Melchisedech, in, 274
Melitine legion, 144
Melito of Sard is, xv, 15S
Mensa, 81
Methodius of Tyre, xv, 1S2-191
Michael, St. [of Antioch), Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
Midnight, celebration, 114; hour
of prayer, 33, 154, 236
Milanese: see Ambrosian
Milk, 13
Milk and honey, at baptism, 67,
68, 89
Mine hah, 204
Minister (title), 42 ; of baptism,
73
Minucius Felix, xv, 76, 79, 99,
142, 249
Miriam, 228, 312
Mischna (Mishnah), 202, 231
Missalc Goth2cum, 169
Mithras {Mithra), 53, 251, 252
Mitre, 163, 251, 252
GENERAL INDEX.
339
Mixed chalice, 32, 33, 52, 53,
122-125, 231, 299; symbolism
of, 124
Mixed marriages, ()(), 126
Moel Caicli, 27
Monday, 230
Mordccai, 271 j
Mosaic benediction, 3, 3 10
il/i;j,?j, 3, 70, 90, 99, 221, 270,
271, 274
Moses, St., Bar-Cephas, Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
Mozarabic Breviary, 172, 203, 259
Mozarabic Liturgy or Ritual, 27,
49, 165
Musaph, 204
Music, Jewish origin of Christian,
228 : see Choral Sen-ice
Nartzalus, 175
Neemias, 270
JVe/nesianus, 92
Xestorius, Liturgy of, 29
Nicodemits, 9
Nineuites, 285
.Visi/ns, 123
N^octurns : see Midnight
Noc (Noah), 2, 270, 295
None, 154, 236
Novation, 69, 122, 139, 179
Numa Pompilius, 251
A' line Dimittis, 244, 259
Oblation, the Great, 299, 310
Offerings, weekly, 39, 44
0/7, 86, 88-90, 273, 314 ; of exor-
cism, 88 ; of unction or thanks-
giving, 88 ; a thanksgiving for
the holy, 262
Old Testament, Ritual in the, 1-9
Onesiphorus, 109, 237
Opt at us, 77
Orarium, 242
Orders, Holy, 232-235; Jewish
origin of, 234: see Ordination
Ordination, 133 ; in Holy Scrip-
ture, 39-42 ; in the early
Church, 139-141 ; of a deacon,
312; of a deaconess, 312; of
a presbyter, 311 ; of a reader,
313 ; of a sub-deacon, 313
Origen, xvi, 64, 65, 74, 77, 81-S5,
87, 95. 96, 98, ICO, loi, 102,
104, III, 118, 121, 125, 127,
129, 13'. 132, 140. 141, 143-
145, 147, 148, 152, 154, 157,
160, 162-165, 175-177
Oman, 270
Orphans, 234, 287
Osculuni : see Kiss of Peace
Ostiarii: see Doorkeepers
Outsiders, 279
j Paganism, loans from, 247-251
! Palmoni, 266
I Papias, xvi, 122
j Paraclete, 272, 281, 316
Paradise, 294
Paschal Supper, 216, 217, 231,
i 232, 245
; Passion of [St. Pcrpetua, xvi, 13 1,
148, 149
I Pastor, 42
j Paul, St., 1 1, 33 : see Acts of Paul
I aiul Thecla
Paul of Samosata, 180
j Pax : see Kiss of Peace
I Pedilaviutu : see Wasliing of
feet
I Penitential system, 57, 82-85
I Pe7iitents, 276, 283, 309, 314, 316
Pentecost (Pentecostes, or Quin-
I quagesima), 73, 1 16, 156, 230
i Perpetua, St. : see Passion of .St.
\ Perpetua
j Peialou, 163
I Peter, St. : see Gospel of St.
I Peter
I Peter, St. (i), Syriac Liturgy of, 27
' Peter, St. (2), .Syriac liturgy of, 28
340
GENERAL INDEX.
Peter, St., of Alexandria, xvi, 103,
142
Pliaraoh, 269
Philaster, or Philastrius, 230
Philomeliiun, xvi
Philoxemis, St., of Bagdad, Syriac
Liturgy of, 29
PItiloxenus, St., of Hieropolis,
Syriac Liturgy of, 28
JViiloxefius, St., of Mahugc, Syriac
Liturgy of, 28
Phi I ices, 274
Pilate, 269, 298 (and in the Creeds)
Pliny, Governor of Bithynia, xvi,
51, 75, 113, 115, 134
Pluvialc, 242
Poderis, 163
Polycarp, St., xvi, 104, 127, 155;
martyrdom of, xvi, 62
Poly crates, xvi, 141
Polyxena, xi, 59, 69
Pontifex, 140
Po7itifical of Egbert, 229
Pontifical of Robert of yumieges,
229, 240
Powers, 266, 29 1; 292, 296
PrtepositJis, 140
Pnesul, 140
Prayer, 141-155 ; attitude at, 141 ;
for the dead, 146-151, 156,
237-239. 303. 318 ; to the dead,
152-154; hours of, 154, 235,
236 ; a general, 262-272 ; a
post-baptismal, 273 ; secret or
silent prayer, 224, 277, 280,
290 ; at presentation of first-
fruits, 317 ; for the evening,
314; for the morning, 3165
of humble access, 303
l''rcachcr, 42
Preface (Eucharistic), 245, 291
Presbyter, 42, 141, 300, 302, 304,
307 ; prayer at the ordination
of, 194, 311
President, 42
Prex, 82, 119
Priest, 42, 140, 305
Priesthood of the Laity : see Laity
Prime, 236
Priniitiva, 1 50
Priticeps Sacerdotuin, 140
Principalities, 291, 292, 296
Probst, F., 107
Probus, 58
Proclus, 197
Profession of faith, at baptism,
15. 65, 181
Prophet, 42, 1 74
Proseuche, 205
Psalms, in the Temple services,
203 ; in the synagogue, 204
Psalms cxlviii.-cl., 204
Pulpit (fulpitum), 82
Puritans, 252
Quadragesima : see Lejit
Quinquagesima (l) Paschalis, 1 1 6,
142 : see Pentecost es
Quinquagesitna (2), 230
Pabanus Maurus, 240
Rachel, 238
Rationale, 163, 240
Readers, 139, 234, 287, 301,
304, 313
Rebecca, [i] xi, 59, [ii] 238
Renunciations at baptism, 65, 88,
272
Reservation of the Eucharist, 53,
114, 125, 126
Responsorial chanting, 75, 307
Ring, 138, 235
Rogatianus, 70 '
Rogation Days, 230
Roman Divine Office, 203
Roman Liturgy or Ritual, 27, 32,
69, 98, 171, 196, 260
Rome, 78, 123, 134, 286, 301
Rucha, 231
Ruler, 42
GENERAL INDEX.
341
Sabbath, a High, 230: see Satur-
day
Sacerdos, 140, 141
Sackcloth, 83
Sacra?Hcnt, 113
Sacramentariiim Gallicanuiii, 172
Sacramentatium Gelasiamini, 229
Sacramcntaniim Lconianuin, 140
Sacravientum, meaning of term,
Sacrifice (as a title), 112, 113
Sacristy, 304
Sahidic Ecclesiastical Cations, xvi
Saints' days, 155" '57
Sai/ison, 270
Samuel, 270, 271, 274
Saiicta Sanctis, 303
Sancimti, 121
Sanctum Domini, 126
Sandals, 224, 225
Sarah, 238
Saturday, 137, 157
.Saw/, 1 1 : see /\za/
Sca7i7ilan, 225
Scillitan Martyrs : see /^<^A- <y //^t?
Scillitan Martyrs
Scripture, 155
^Va/, 21, 22, 68, 123 ; of Christ,
58, 61, 69; of faith, 62; of
baptism, 62 ; of the bath, 62 ;
of the Lord, 62
Secret : see Prayer
Secunda, 175
Secundinus, 92
Sedatus, 82
Senior, 14I
Seraphim, 266, 29 1, 292, 296
Sermon, 279, 308
.S>///, 274, 295
Scverns ofAntioch, Syriac Liturgy
of, 28
^t'jr^j, separation of, 227, 289, 307
^^JT/-, 154, 236
Shacharith, 204
Shcma, 204, 209, 210
Shemonah Esrah, 210
Shepherd of Hermas : see Plermas
Shoes, removal of, 224
Sibylline Oracles, the, xvi
Sign of the cross, 21, 68, 70> S^>
89, 91, 98-101, 290
A'Azj, 33
Silent prayer : see Prayer
Simon, 11
Singers, 234, 287, 301, 304
Singing, mode of, 22S
^•/(vw^, /r. ^:, 218
Smyrna, xvi
6'^r;-ato, 75, 137
Sodom, 295, 297
Solomon, 6, 7, 228, 270
^0;/^ ^ Moses ( I ), 203
(2), 203
Spanish rite : see Mozarabic
Speratus, 175
Sponsors, 66, 67
Stephen, St., protomartyr, 312
Stephen I., Bishop of Rome, 57,
93-95
Stephafias, 1 1
Steiuaj-d, 42
Stokes Whitley, 66, 220, 222
Stola, 242
Stone altars, 81, 82
Slowe Missal, 310
Sub-deacons, 139, 300, 304, 313
Summus sacerdos : see Sacerdos
Sunday in Scripture, 45, 46 ; in
early Church, 157-159 ; 53. 1 15.
ri6, 137, 142, 145, 262
Surplice, 252
Sursum corda, 107, 108, 290
Susannah, 188
Synagogue, use of the term in
Scripture, 45 ; in early Chris-
tian literature, 223, 224 ; date
of, 206 ; use of, 206, 207 ;
furniture in, 208 ; hours of
service in, 208
342
GENERAL INDEX.
Table, or Holy Table, 19, 81, 82
Talmud, 202, 204
Tatjan, xvi
1 ail, 100
Taylor, Bishop Jeremy, 58
Teacher, 42
Temple Services, 202-204 J fre-
quented by Apostles, 43
Tercc, 154, 236
Teaching tf the Twelve Apostles ;
see Didache
Tcrsanctus : see Triumphal Ilyjiin
Tertitllian, xvi, 48, 54, 55, 61, 65,
66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74,
77, 80, 82, 83, 85, 90, 98,
99, 102, 104, 105, I12-116,
121, 125, 126, 128, 130, 131,
133. i35> 137, 138, 140-142,
144-147, 154, 159, 161, 164,
179, 227, 250, 251
Thanksgiving, Eucharistic, 304,
305
Thebaid, The, 137
IVtecla : see Acts of Paul and
Thecla
Theodore the Interpreter, Lituj'gy
of, 29
Theodotiis, 96, 223
Theophilns, of Antioch, xvi, 160,
223
Ihibaris, loi
Thomas, St. : see Acts of Thomas
Thomas, St. (of Heraclea), Syriac
Liturgy of, 28
Thorah, 204
Three Children, The, 270
Thrones, 266, 291, 292, 296
J hubunce, 92
Thubiirhim, 82
Thursday , 230
Tiara Sacerdotalis, 163
Timothea, 150
Tithe, offering of (Jewish), 4
Tosiphtha, 202
Traditio symbol i, 16
Trajan, 51, 75, 113, 115, 134
Trent, Council of, 151
Trifina, 149
Trisagion, 260
Triumphal Hymn, or Tersanctiis,
171, 195, 215, 245, 260, 266,
297
Tivelve Apostles, Syriac Liturgy
of the, 28
Uncovering heads in prayer, 44
Unction, in Scripture, 20, 46, 86,
90 ; in early Churcli, 159-162 ;
at baptism, 68, 70, 71, 87-90,
98, 160, 161 ; at confirmation,
87, 98, 160, 161 ; of the sick,
161, 162 ; Jewish origin of, 90,
22Q
Unleavened Itread, 32
Valcntinians, 96, 223
Veiling of women, 44, 227 ; at
marriage, 138
Vespers, 154, 236
Vessels, of glass, 137 : of wood,
162
Vestia, 175
Vestments, 239-242, 290, 307 ; in
Scripture, 47 ; in early Church,
\(i'Z-\(i\ ; heathen origin of,
251, 252 ; Jewish origin of, 240 ;
lay origin of, 241
Veturius, 175
Viaticum, 113
Victor, Bishop of Rome, 1 1 1 , 1 26,
158, 163
Vigilia nocturutz : see Midnight
Vincentins, loi
Virgins, 234, 287, 301, 304, 305,
309 ; Song, 182-19 1
Vitellianns (Marius), 150
Vitringa's theory, 217, 218
Vulgar tongue, use of, 164
Viilgatc, 32, 79, 236
GENERAL INDEX.
343
IValafrid Strabo, 162 [ 227, 310; not to baptize, 74;
/Frtj7?z«_^'-, of hands, 164, 165, 226, 1 not to preach, 227; not to
231, 290; of feet, 48, 49, 165, I speak hi church, 44
166, 176, 177, 226 ]Vooden altars. Si, 82 ; vessels,
//'rt/iv-, baptismal, 13; consccia- 162
lion of, 82, 314 ; eucharistic, j
122-125; warm, 231, 232; for , Xanthippe: ^&<i Acts of Xanthippe
sprinkling, 229 ! Xystarches, 161
ll'edncsday, 101-104, 116, 157,
230
Xystns, St., Syriac Liturgy of,
27
Xystus JI., Bishop of Rome, Si,
127, 140
White dj-ess, at marriage, 138, 235
]Viiit Sunday : see Pentecost
U'idozcs, 139, 234, 260, 2S7, 301,
304. 309
Winchester. Troper, 231
Wine, red, 231 |
Women, allowed to enter the Zerubbabel, 22S, 270
sanctuary, Si; to be veiled, ! Zosimus, Narrative of , \v[, 105
Young, Bishop, 241, 246
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