Apostolic Tradition Hermeneia (Hermeneia: A Critical & Historical Commentary on the Bible)

263 Pages·2002·10.96 MB·English

by  Paul F. Bradshaw

Hermeneia
-A Critical
and Historical
Commentary
on the Bible
Old Testament Editorial Board
Frank Moore Cross, Harvard University, chairman
Klaus Baltzer, University of Munich
Paul D. Hanson, Harvard University
S. Dean McBride Jr., Union Theological Seminary in Virginia
Peter Machinist, Harvard University
Susan Niditch, Amherst College
Roland E. Murphy, 0. Carm., emeritus
New Testament Editorial Board
Helmut Koester, Harvard University, chairman
Harold W. Attridge, Yale University
Adela Yarbro Collins, Yale University
Eldon jay Epp, Case Western Reserve University
Hans:Josef Klauck, University of Chicago
James M. Robinson, Claremont Graduate University, emeritus
The Apostolic Tradition
A Commentary
by Paul F. Bradshaw, Maxwell E. Johnson,
and L. Edward Phillips
Edited by
Harold W. Attridge
Fortress
The Apostolic Tradition
A Commentary
Copyright © 2002 Augsburg Fortress
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in
critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be
reproduced in any manner without prior written
permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions,
Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN
55440.
Cover and interior design by Kenneth Hiebert
Typesetting and page composition by
The HK Scriptorium
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bradshaw, Paul F.
The apostolic tradition : a commentary/ by Paul Bradshaw,
Maxwell E. Johnson, and L. Edward Phillips; edited by
Harold W. Attridge.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8006-6046-3 (alk. paper)
1. Hippolytus, Antipope, ca. 170-235 or 6. Traditio apostolica.
2. Church polity. I. Johnson, Maxwell E., date-II. Attridge
Harold W. III. Phillips, L. Edward. IV. Title.
BRS65.H83 T7333 2002
270.1-dc21
2002016368
The paper used in this publication meets the mini
mum requirements of American National Standard
for Information Sciences-Permanence of paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A. AF 1-6046
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
The Authors
Paul F. Bradshaw was born in England in 1945. He L. Edward Phillips was born in Jackson, Tennessee, in
received his Ph.D. in Liturgy from the University of 1954. He received his M.Div. in 1979 from Candler
London in 1971, and in 1994 was awarded the degree of School of Theology, Emory University, and his Ph.D. in
Doctor of Divinity by the University of Oxford for his Liturgy in 1992 from the University of Notre Dame.
published works. In 1985 he came to teach at the From 1991 until 1997 he was head of the Department of
University of Notre Dame, where he has been Professor Religion and Philosophy at Union College in
of Liturgy since 1990. He has been president of the Barbourville, Kentucky. From 1997 he has been
North American Academy of Liturgy (1993-94) and of Associate Professor of Historical Theology at Garrett
Societas Liturgica (1993-95), and since 1987 he has Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.
been editor-in-chief of the journal Studia Liturgica. He He is the author or coauthor of several books and arti
has written widely on the subject of liturgy, and his cles on liturgy and church history, including The Ritual
major books include Daily Prayer in the Early Church Kiss in Early Christian Worship (JLS 36; Nottingham:
(London: SPCK, 1981; New York: Oxford Univ. Press, Grove, 1996). His current research interests include the
1982), Ordination Rites of the Ancient Churches of East and history of the relationship between Christian worship
West (New York: Pueblo, 1990), and The Search for the and money.
Origins of Christian Worship (London: SPCK; New York:
Oxford Univ. Press, 19 92). He is coeditor with Lawrence
Hoffman of a series of volumes of essays on Jewish and
Christian worship (Two Liturgical Traditions, published
by University of Notre Dame Press), as well as coeditor
of the revised edition of The Study of Liturgy (London:
SPCK; New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1992). He has
recently completed a revised and enlarged edition of his
Search for the Origins of Christian Worship and a new ver
sion of the Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship, previously
edited by J. G. Davies.
Maxwell E. Johnson was born in Benson, Minnesota, in
1952. He received his M.A. in Liturgy from Saint John's
University, Collegeville, Minnesota, and completed his
doctoral degree in Liturgy at the University of Notre
Dame in 1992 with a dissertation on the prayers of
Sarapion of Thmuis from the mid-fourth century. From
1993 to 1997 he was Assistant Professor of Liturgy at the
School of Theology, Saint John's University, Collegeville.
In 1997 he returned to the University of Notre Dame as
Associate Professor and in 2002 became Professor of
Liturgy. His major publications include: The Rites of
Christian Initiation: Their Evolution and Interpretation
(Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical, 1999); The Prayers of
Sarapion of Thmuis: A Literary, Liturgical, and Theological
Analysis, Orientalia Christiana Analecta 249 (Rome:
Pontifical Oriental Institute Press, 1995 ); Liturgy in Early
Christian Egypt (JLS 33; Nottingham: Grove, 1995); and,
as editor and contributor, Living Water, Sealing Spirit:
Readings on Christian Initiation (Collegeville, Minn.:
Liturgical, 1995).
Contents Foreword to Hermeneia IX
The Apostolic Tradition Preface XI
Reference Codes Xlll
1. Abbreviations Xlll
2. Short Titles XIV
Editor's Note xvii
Introduction 1
1. Identification of the Document 1
2. Textual Witnesses 6
a. Greek Fragments 6
b. Translations 7
c. Versions in Other Church Orders 9
3. Reconstruction of the Text 11
4. A New Approach 13
5. Order of the Document 15
6. Principles Governing the Display of the Text
in This Edition 16
• Commentary 1.1-5 [Prologue] 20
2.1-5 Concerning Bishops 24
3.1-6 [Prayer for the Ordination of a Bishop] 30
4.1-13 [Eucharistic Prayer] 37
5.1-2 [Concerning the Offering of Oil] 49
6.1-4 [Concerning the Offering of Cheese and Olives] 52
7.1-5 Concerning Presbyters 55
8.1-12 Concerning Deacons 60
9.1-5 Concerning Confessors 67
10.1-5 Concerning Widows 71
11 Concerning a Reader 74
12 Concerning Virgins 76
13 Concerning a Subdeacon 78
14 Concerning the Gift of Healing 80
15.1-8 Concerning Newcomers to the Faith 82
16.1-17 Concerning Crafts and Professions 87
17.1-2 Concerning the Time of Hearing the Word
after the Examination of Crafts and Professions 96
18.1-5 Concerning the Prayer of Those Who Hear the Word 99
19.1-2 Concerning the Imposition of Hands on Catechumens 102
20.1-10 Concerning Those Who Are to Receive Baptism 104
21.1-40 Concerning the Tradition of Holy Baptism 112
22.1-3 [Concerning Communion] 136
23.1-4 Concerning Fasting 138
24/25 [Original Placement of 29B, C] 141
26.1-2 Concerning the Hour of Eating 142
27.1-2 That It Is Not Proper for Catechumens to Eat
with the Faithful 144
28.1-6 That It Is Proper to Eat judiciously and Moderately 146
29A That It Is Proper to Eat with Thanksgiving 152
vii
29B.1-4 Concerning Gifts for the Sick 154
29C.1-16 Concerning the Bringing in of the Lamps
at the Supper of the Congregation 156
29D [Doublet of 28.4b-6] 161
30A.1-2 Concerning the Supper of the Widows 162
30B [Prologue] (Ethiopic) 164
31.1-5 Concerning the Fruit That It Is Proper
to Bring to the Bishop 165
32.1-3 The Blessing of Fruits 169
33.1-4 That It Is Not Proper for Anyone to Taste
Anything in the Pascha before the Hour
When It Is Proper to Eat 172
34 That It Is Proper for the Deacons to Assist
the Bishop 176
35.1-2 Concerning the Hour When It Is Proper to Pray 178
36 That It Is Proper to Receive the Eucharist Early
at the Time It Will Be Offered, before They
Taste Anything 180
37 That It Is Proper to Watch over the Eucharist Diligently 182
38A.1-2 That It Is Not Proper to Spill Anything from the Cup 184
38B.1-6 [Concerning the Sign of the Cross] 186
39.1-2 [Concerning Deacons and Presbyters] 188
40.1-2 Concerning the Places of Burial 191
41.1-18 Concerning the Hour When It Is Proper to Pray 194
Excursus: Parallels to the Hours of Daily Prayer
~)
in the Second and Third Centuries 213
42.1-4 [Concerning the Sign of the Cross] 216
43.1-4 [Conclusion] 221
Bibliography
1. Editions, Translations, and Reconstructions 225
2. Secondary Literature 226
Indices 231
viii
Foreword
The name Hermeneia, Greek EpfJ.:rrvEicx, has been chosen as the title of the com
mentary series to which this volume belongs. The word Hermeneia has a rich back
ground in the history of biblical interpretation as a term used in the ancient
Greek-speaking world for the detailed, systematic exposition of a scriptural work.
It is hoped that the series, like its name, will carry forward this old and venerable
tradition. A second, entirely practical reason for selecting the name lies in the
desire to avoid a long descriptive title and its inevitable acronym, or worse, an
unpronounceable abbreviation.
The series is designed to be a critical and historical commentary to the Bible
without arbitrary limits in size or scope. It will utilize the full range of philological
and historical tools, including textual criticism (often slighted in modern commen
taries), the methods of the history of tradition (including genre and prosodic
analysis), and the history of religion.
Hermeneia is designed for the serious student of the Bible. It will make full use
of ancient Semitic and classical languages; at the same time, English translations
of all comparative materials-Greek, Latin, Canaanite, or Akkadian-will be sup
plied alongside the citation of the source in its original language. Insofar as pos
sible, the aim is to provide the student or scholar with full critical discussion of
each problem of interpretation and with the primary data upon which the discus
sion is based.
Hermeneia is designed to be international and interconfessional in the selection
of authors; its editorial boards were formed with this end in view. Occasionally the
series will offer translations of distinguished commentaries which originally
appeared in languages other than English. Published volumes of the series will be
revised continually, and eventually, new commentaries will replace older works in
order to preserve the currency of the series. Commentaries are also being
assigned for important literary works in the categories of apocryphal and pseud
epigraphical works relating to the Old and New Testaments, including some of
Essene or Gnostic authorship.
The editors of Hermeneia impose no systematic-theological perspective upon the
series (directly, or indirectly by selection of authors). It is expected that authors
will struggle to lay bare the ancient meaning of a biblical work or peric ope. In this
way the text's human relevance should become transparent, as is always the case in
competent historical discourse. However, the series eschews for itself homiletical
translation of the Bible.
The editors are heavily indebted to Fortress Press for its energy and courage in
taking up an expensive, long-term project, the rewards of which will accrue chiefly
to the field of biblical scholarship.
The editor responsible for this volume is Harold Attridge of Yale University.
Frank Moore Cross Helmut Koester
For the Old Testament For the New Testament
Editorial Board Editorial Board
ix
F
Preface
The anonyrnou.s early church order that became known as the Apostolic Tradition
and conventionally attributed to Hippolytus of Rome has generated enormous
scholarly discussion since its discovery in the nineteenth century. Surprisingly,
however, there has never before been a comprehensive commentary on it such as
there is for other patristic works. We have here attempted to remedy this defect,
and at the same time we have offered the first full synoptic presentation in English
of the various witnesses to its text. We have also taken the opportunity to develop
our argument that it is neither the work of Hippolytus nor of any other individual.
Instead, we believe that it is a composite document made up of a number of layers
and strands of diverse provenance and compiled over a period of time, and there
fore not representing the practice of any one Christian community. In spite of this
conclusion, however, for the sake of convenience we have chosen to continue to
refer to it by the familiar designation "Apostolic Tradition."
We are grateful to all who have given us assistance in various ways in this pro
ject, and above all to those who helped with the work of translation from lan
guages in which we cannot claim competence: Carol Bebawi for the Arabic version
and Professor James Vanderkam of the University of Notre Dame for the Ethiopic.
Thanks are also due to the Appalachian College Association and the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation Trust for providing the funding for the preparation of the
translation of the Coptic, to the University of Kentucky and the Divinity School
at Duke University for providing library resources for that work, to Elizabeth
Agnew for preparing the indices,_;md to George Kalantzis for assistance with
proofreading.
We very much regret that access to the translation and commentary by Alistair
Stewart-Sykes, Hippolytus: On the Apostolic Tradition (Crestwood, N.Y.: St. Vladimir's
Seminary Press, 2001), with its interesting hypothesis on the origin of the work,
came too late to permit its consideration within this volume.
xi