Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Cyril of Jerusalem Developed his Mystic Interests from a Liturgy Associated with 'Clement'

The most ancient liturgy that has come down to us, is contained in the eighth book of the apostolical constitutions, and is distinguished by the ancients as the liturgy of St. Clement: it appears to have been committed to writing about the commencement of the fourth century, and may be judged, from nearly the whole of its contents, to belong to the third : only the mention of the hyjiodiaconi would seem to indicate the fourth century. Distinguished by the length of the prayers, which in the later liturgies are short, it coincides almost entirely with the liturgy of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, ss he taught it in his Mystagogic Catacheses. [Doellinger's History of the Church translated into English in the Religious Cabinet p. 296]

Yes to be certain the Clement in question is now 'Clement of Rome' but was it always like this? Couldn't it be that the 'naked with naked' formula originally derived from association with Clement of Alexandria and only later became fixed to the wholly mythical 'Clement of Rome.'


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