Program / Course 21: Liturgical Theology / Lesson 2.1
What you will learn
- Name the main early sources for Christian worship and give approximate dates.
- Describe what the Didache, Pliny, Justin Martyr and the church orders say about gatherings, baptism and the Eucharist.
- Explain why scholars disagree about the dates and authors of some early texts.
- Compare how different traditions use these sources to support their own practice.
The big idea
The earliest detailed descriptions of Christian worship come from the late first to the third century. They show a gathering on the first day of the week with Scripture reading, a sermon, prayers, bread and wine, and a collection for those in need. They also show baptism with water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They do not show a single uniform service. Scholars debate the dates and origins of several of these texts, and the traditions read the evidence differently.
Key terms
- Didache
- A short early Christian handbook, also called the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. It gives rules for baptism, fasting, prayer, the Eucharist and church life. Its date is debated, but it is usually placed between the late first century and the early second.
- Pliny’s letter
- A letter written around the year 112 by Pliny, a Roman governor in Bithynia, to Emperor Trajan, describing Christians who sang a hymn to Christ and bound themselves by oath to a moral life.
- Justin Martyr
- A second-century Christian teacher who described baptism and the Sunday Eucharist in his First Apology, written around the year 155.
- Church order
- An early document that sets out how a church should be ordered and how its services should run.
- Apostolic Tradition
- A text traditionally credited to Hippolytus of Rome around 215. Many scholars now think it is a composite from several periods and places.
- President (Justin’s word)
- The person who leads the gathering and gives thanks over the bread and wine.
- Anaphora
- The great prayer of thanksgiving at the center of the Eucharist.
Background
The New Testament mentions worship but does not describe a full service. The next evidence comes from texts outside it. Because they are short and written for specific purposes, they have to be read carefully. A text may describe what the author thinks should happen and not what everyone did. Dates may be uncertain, and later editors may have changed the text.
Many scholars of liturgy now caution against assuming a single apostolic pattern that spread unchanged. Paul Bradshaw is among those who argue that early worship was more varied than older studies assumed. Others, including many Catholic and Orthodox writers, emphasize the strong common elements across the sources. Both views rely on the same texts.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: Pliny’s report
In his letter to Trajan, Pliny describes former Christians who said that they had met on a fixed day before dawn, sung a hymn to Christ as to a god, and bound themselves by an oath not to commit crimes such as theft or adultery. They later gathered again to share a meal of ordinary and harmless food. This is an outsider’s account, and it is valuable because it is not written by a believer. It shows regular gathering, singing to Christ and a moral commitment, around the year 112.
Step 2: The Didache
The Didache describes baptism in running water, or other water if necessary, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, with fasting beforehand (chapter 7). It tells believers to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays and to pray the Lord’s Prayer three times a day (chapter 8). It gives prayers of thanksgiving over the cup and the broken bread (chapters 9 and 10). It tells the community to gather on the Lord’s day, to confess their sins and to be reconciled with each other first, so that their sacrifice may be pure (chapter 14). Scholars debate where it was written, perhaps in Syria, and whether the Eucharist prayers in chapters 9 and 10 describe the full Supper or a meal with the Supper as part. The Didache is used by many traditions as a witness to early practice.
Step 3: Justin Martyr
Justin, writing to a pagan emperor, explains Christian worship in chapters 61 to 67 of his First Apology. Candidates are baptized in water in the name of God the Father, of our Savior Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit. After baptism the newly baptized join the gathered community, who pray, greet one another with a kiss, and bring bread and a cup of wine mixed with water to the one presiding. He gives thanks at length, the people say Amen, and the deacons distribute the bread and wine to those present and carry them to those absent. On the day called Sunday, Justin writes, all gather in one place. The memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits. The president then teaches and urges them to imitate what was read. They stand and pray, then receive the Eucharist. Those who are able give to a collection that is kept by the president for orphans, widows, the sick and the needy. Justin explains Sunday as the day of creation’s first light and of Christ’s resurrection.
Step 4: The church orders
The Apostolic Tradition, long attributed to Hippolytus, contains a eucharistic prayer, rites of baptism and ordination, and rules for catechumens. Its authorship and date are now debated, and scholars see layers from different times. The Didascalia Apostolorum, from third-century Syria, gives instructions for bishops and for the assembly. The Apostolic Constitutions, from the fourth century, rework earlier orders and give a full liturgy. The value of these documents is that they show how worship was imagined and regulated. Their weakness is that each may describe an ideal and not a common practice.
Step 5: What the sources share and where they differ
The sources agree on baptism with water in the triune name, a gathering on the Lord’s day, Scripture reading, a sermon, prayers, thanksgiving over bread and wine and care for the poor. They differ on details: the order of the cup and the bread in the Didache, the use of oil at baptism, the form of the thanksgiving prayer and the titles of ministers. Catholic and Orthodox writers point to the common core as evidence for a continuous tradition. Many Protestants see the early simplicity as evidence that later elaborate rites were additions. Each reading rests on the same texts. A person studying alone can read these texts directly and trace the pattern, which is one of the best forms of independent study in liturgy.
- Who wrote this text, for whom, and when?
- Does it describe practice or recommend practice?
- Is its date secure, or debated?
- Which elements agree with other early sources?
- Which elements appear only here?
- How does my own tradition use this text, and how might another tradition use it?
Examples
An outsider’s view
Pliny, not a Christian, says that believers sang a hymn to Christ as to a god. Because he had no reason to flatter them, his report is strong evidence that worship of Christ was part of the practice by the early second century.
Didache on reconciliation
Chapter 14 asks believers in a quarrel to be reconciled before the gathering, so that the sacrifice will not be defiled. Christians of many traditions have drawn on this link between worship and relationships, and it echoes Matthew 5:23-24.
Justin on Sunday
Justin tells the emperor that Christians gather on Sunday to read, hear a sermon, pray, give thanks over bread and wine and collect gifts for the poor. He describes what outsiders could understand, and not a secret rite.
Different perspectives
Catholic
The early sources show the main structure of the Mass already in place: word, then Eucharist, with a presiding minister, deacons and a thanksgiving prayer. Catholic writers read this as continuity with the developed liturgy, while accepting that details varied.
Orthodox
The sources show a living tradition handed on from the apostles. Orthodox writers note the central place of the Eucharist, the bishop and the whole assembly, and they read later developments as growth of that same life.
Protestant
The early sources show a simple pattern of Scripture, preaching, prayer and the Supper. Many Protestants read this as support for returning to a plain form of worship. Others, including Lutherans and Anglicans, argue that the pattern also supports keeping ordered liturgy.
Scholarly
Historians stress that the evidence is thin and regional. Many would say there is no single original liturgy, and that dates and sources for the church orders are uncertain. They urge caution in claiming that a particular practice is apostolic.
Why it matters
These texts are the earliest evidence outside the Bible for how Christians worshiped. They allow a student to compare what each tradition claims about its origins with what the sources actually say. They also train the habit that the whole course depends on: dating a source, noting its purpose and saying what it does and does not show.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: The Didache was written by the twelve apostles.
Correction: Its title says so, but scholars attribute it to an unknown author or group, probably late in the first century or early in the second. Its date and place are debated.
Misunderstanding: The Apostolic Tradition was certainly written by Hippolytus around 215.
Correction: That was the standard view in the twentieth century, but many scholars now think it is a composite from different times and places, so it should be cited with caution.
Misunderstanding: The early church had one uniform service everywhere.
Correction: The sources show common elements but varied practice in prayers, order and ministry.
Misunderstanding: Early Christians worshiped in secret in catacombs.
Correction: Christians usually met in homes and, later, other buildings. The catacombs were burial places, though they were sometimes used for memorial gatherings. Justin explains Christian worship to a pagan audience, which shows that it was not wholly hidden.
Knowledge check
What does Pliny’s letter tell us about Christian worship?
Writing around 112 as an outsider, Pliny reports that Christians met on a fixed day, sang a hymn to Christ as to a god and bound themselves by an oath to avoid crimes, and later shared a meal of ordinary food. It is early evidence that worship of Christ was already part of the regular gathering.
What does Justin Martyr say happens at the Sunday gathering?
Scripture is read, the president teaches, the people stand to pray, bread and wine mixed with water are brought, the president gives thanks and the people say Amen. The elements are distributed by deacons and a collection is taken for those in need.
Why are scholars cautious about the Apostolic Tradition?
Its attribution to Hippolytus and its date near 215 are now debated. Many scholars see it as made up of material from different periods and places, so it may not represent one church at one time.
Why should these texts be read as both description and prescription?
Some, like Justin’s account, describe practice for outsiders. Others, such as the Didache and church orders, tell communities what to do, and they may not report what everyone actually did. A careful reader asks of each text what its purpose was.
Think it through
- What surprises you most about the early descriptions, and what looks familiar?
- How should a tradition use evidence that is thin or debated?
- Does the presence of a practice in the second century make it apostolic?
- What could a person studying alone learn from reading these texts directly?
Independent assignment
A source note on one early text
In your own notebook, write 400 to 600 words on either the Didache chapters 7 to 10 and 14, or Justin’s First Apology chapters 65 to 67. State who wrote it, the date range scholars give, its purpose, what it says about worship and what it does not say. Add two questions that a Catholic, an Orthodox and a Protestant reader might each ask of it. Do not send this to anyone.
Further study
- Justin Martyr, The First Apology Read chapters 61 to 67.
- J. B. Lightfoot, ed., The Apostolic Fathers Look for the Didache and the letters of Ignatius in the collection.
- Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Ephesians Notice his stress on the bishop and the Eucharist.
- Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity Read the early chapters for context.
- Acts 20:7 The first day of the week and the breaking of bread.
- 1 Corinthians 16:2 The first day and a collection.
- Matthew 5:23 Reconciliation before the offering.