SECTION VIII. LITURGY OF AFRICA. I Now enter on the consideration of the rites used by the churches of Africa, the civil diocese of which comprised the provinces of Africa Proconsularis, Byzacium, Numidia, Tripolis, and the two Mauritanias. These churches, once conspicuous in the Christian world, adorned with the piety and learning of illustrious Fathers, and ruled by nearly five hundred bishops, have long ceased to exist. Weakened by unhappy schisms, they were unable to bear up against the tide of Mahommedan infidelity, which in the seventh and eighth centuries threatened to overwhelm the world. No monument of the African liturgy remains: we must be content, therefore, to seek for its relics amongst the writings of those Fathers who lived in Africa. In perusing many works relating to the primitive liturgy and offices of the Roman church, it has appeared to me, that the most valuable allusions to Roman customs are almost always found in the writings of African Fathers; and it is remarkable that they profess in those places to describe the rites of their own churches, and not those of the Roman. I have thence been inclined to conjecture that the African rites were generally the same as the Roman; and in fact there is no sort of difficulty in supposing that Christianity and religious rites came from Rome to Africa. The geographical position of Africa, separated by deserts from Egypt and the East, renders it more probable that Christianity should have come from the apostolical church of Rome than from any other quarter. Spain and Gaul were probably not converted to Christianity before Africa, therefore it is not likely that they sent missionaries to that country. The Roman liturgy differed from those of Antioch, Cæsarea, Constantinople, Alexandria, and all the East, and from those of Gaul and Spain in the West, in directing the kiss of peace to be given after the consecration was finished. The only liturgy now remaining which agrees in this respect with the Roman, is that of Milan, which was evidently derived originally from it. The ancient African also agreed with the Roman from the earliest period, in placing the kiss of peace after consecration, as we learn from Tertullian and Augustine. This b b"Habita oratione cum fratribus, subtrahunt osculum pacis quod est signaculum orationis.-Quale sacrificium est a quo sine pace receditur." Lib. de Orat. c. xiv. p. 134, 135. ed. Rigalt. Paris, 1664. с "Ecce ubi est peracta sanctificatio dicimus orationem similarity in so remarkable a point, renders it highly probable that we may find further signs of conformity between these two liturgies; and if it should appear that all the accounts we have of the African liturgy, harmonize with the opinion that it was originally the same as the Roman, we may fairly conclude that such an opinion is correct. Augustine says, that about his time the custom of singing anthems from the Book of Psalms before the liturgy began at Carthage. We find that Colestine bishop of Rome, about the same time, adopted a similar rule at Rome. The reading of Scripture then commenced. Augustine sometimes speaks of the first lesson being taken from the Prophets, and followed by the Epistle. In other places he refers to the Epistle as the first lesson. In like manner we find that at certain seasons the Epistle was preceded by a lesson from the Prophets, in the Roman church". After the Prophet (when it was read), and the Epistle, came a Psalm', which corresponds with the Roman Gradual, and to which there is no other exact parallel in any of the eastern or western rites. d" Hilarius quidam-nescio unde adversus Dei ministros, ut fieri assolet irritatus, morem qui tunc esse apud Carthaginem cœperat, ut hymni ad altare dicerentur de psalmorum libro, sive ante oblationem, sive cum distribueretur populo quod fuisset oblatum, maledica reprehensione ubicumque poterat lacerabat." August. Retractat. lib. ii. c. 11. e See note ", section vi. p. 122. f" In omnibus lectionibus quas recitatas audivimus si animadvertit caritas vestra, primam lectionem Isaiæ prophetæ deinde adscendit apostolica lectio," &c. Serm. xlv. p. 218. tom. v. g"Primam lectionem audivimus Apostoli-deinde cantavimus psalmum-post hæc Evangelica lectio." Serm. clxxvi. p. 839, tom. v. h Vide Lectionar. vel Comitem Pamel. Liturg. tom. ii. p. 1, &c. i See note in this page. After the Psalm, the Gospel was read, and the bishop preached. Then the catechumens were dismissed', and the oblations of the faithful were received". Cyprian and Augustine speak of the beginning of the preface, Sursum corda, "Lift up your hearts ";" to which the latter adds the form, "Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro°;" and both speak of the thanksgiving or preface, which is also referred to by Tertullian'. The singing of the hymn Tersanctus is alluded to by Tertulliano. All these things perfectly agree with the ancient Roman liturgy. Optatus speaks of a verbal oblation made for the church, which very nearly agrees with that of the Roman church'. Tertullian says that they c. 13, p. 839, tom. x. 0 Aug. de Don. Persev. c. cit. P Cypr. de Orat. Dom. ut supra. Aug. de Don. Persev. c. cit. Tertullian. lib. i. adv. Marcionem, c. xxiii. p. 377. "Super alienum panem alii Deo gratiarum actionibus fungitur." q "Cur illa angelorum circumstantia non cessant dicere, Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus. Proinde igitur et nos angelorum, si meminerimus, candidati jam hinc cœlestem illam in Deum vocem, et officium futuræ claritatis ediscimus." Tertull. de Orat. c. iii. p. 130. sacrificed or offered for the emperor', which is also consistent with the Roman liturgy. Cyprian speaks of the commemoration of the living. Augustine seems to refer to prayers and an oblation before consecration"; and Optatus and Fulgentius speak of an invocation of the Holy Spirit to perform the sanctification of the elements". This is almost the only point in which any material difference can be pointed out between the Roman and the African liturgies. The former never contained such an in Parmen. lib. ii. p. 45. Paris, 1679. Compare Gregor. Sacr. a Menard. p. 2. S 46 Itaque et sacrificamus pro salute imperatoris sed Deo nostro et ipsius: sed quomodo præcepit Deus, prece pura." Tertull. ad Scapulam, p. 69, c. 2. Compare Greg. Sacr. p. 2. t "Ad communionem admittuntur, et offertur nomen eorum." Cypr. Epist. xvi. p. 37. et Epist. lxii. p. 147. Compare Greg. Sacr. Menard. p. 2. Martene, de Antiq. Eccl. Rit. lib.i. c. 4, art. 8, p. 400, &c. poσεUX; proceeding thus"si usitatius, ut dixi, in Scripturis votum appellatur εὐχή, excepto nomine generali orationis, ea proprie intelligenda oratio quam facimus ad votum, id est pòc eux. Voventur πρὸς εὐχήν. autem omnia quæ offeruntur Deo, maxime sancti altaris oblatio-ideo in hujus sanctificationis præparatione existimo Apostolum jussisse proprie fieri Tроσενxàs, id est, orationes,— hoc est enim ad votum quod usitatius in Scripturis nuncupatur εὐχή.” Aug. Epist. cxlix. p. 509, tom. ii. Compare Greg. Sacr. Menard. p. 2. "Quid est enim tam sacrilegum, quam altaria Dei (in quibus et vos aliquando obtulistis) frangere, radere, removere? In quibus vota populi et membra Christi portata sunt: quo Deus omnipotens invocatus sit, quo postulatus descendit Spiritus Sanctus," &c. Optat. cont. Parmen. lib. vi. p. 111. See also Fulgent. lib. ii. qu. 2, ad Monimum, and contra Fabian. Excerpta a Sirmondo, p. 36. 39. |