Christian practice reveals a third type of Hebrew influence, the
liturgical, which brought about the use of the psalms in public worship,
together with other elements familiar in the synagogue. At the close of a
service of this kind, made up of prayers, readings, psalms and preaching,
the eucharist was celebrated. Early writings, for example, the _Apologia_
of Justin Martyr, 100?-165,[19] the _Didache_[20] and the _Apostolic
Constitutions_,[21] testify to a somewhat fixed type of worship, which,
varying in details, seems to foreshadow the liturgical models of the
fourth century.
Briefly stated, the _Didache_, or _Teaching of the Twelve Apostles_, is a
second century treatise, the second part of which includes a ritual of
baptism, fasting and the eucharist.[22] A series of eucharistic prayers
is here recorded, beginning, {Eucharistoumen soi, pater hemon},
We thank Thee, our Father,
offered at stages of the communion ritual where we approach the heart of
Christian worship.[23] At this point, hymn and prayer origins merge. Many
Christians of our own day, perhaps the majority, regard the true hymn as
a prayer offered in direct address to God. Throughout the history of
Christian hymns the two forms of worship have overlapped or been
identical. Hymn and prayer were also associated in ancient cults, and the
chorus of a Greek drama offers an illustration of the superb proportions
which this act of worship may assume. Charles Stanley Phillips, who has
recently translated anew the eucharistic prayer of the _Didache_, thinks
of it as not a true hymn, but a source and model of hymnody.[24]
Improvised eucharistic prayer was interrupted by congregational refrains
which provided another opportunity for the evolution of hymns. As a
matter of fact, in all ages, expressions of thanksgiving, attending the
celebration of the eucharist, have inspired many of the finest hymns of
the faith.
The _Apostolic Constitutions_ is a manual in eight books, of
ecclesiastical discipline, doctrine and worship, including the
_Didache_.[25] Dating from the fourth or fifth century, more probably the
fourth, it represents the practice of an earlier period well within the
scope of this study and, in the opinion of Brightman, was compiled in
Antioch or its neighborhood.[26] Since Greek was the prevailing language
in the Christian world of that day, it became the liturgical language of
early Christianity for the first three centuries. Even in Rome and other
large cities of Italy, Greek was used. In Italy, with these exceptions
and in the western provinces, Latin was employed, finally superseding
Greek as the official language of the Western Church.[27]
The following hymns appear in the seventh book of the Apostolic
Constitutions:
A morning hymn, {Doxa en hypsistois theo}, _Gloria in excelsis_,