Worship of St. Hippolytus

On Thursday we will be continuing the JP2 Group‘s study of worship in the Early Church by reading another extract from the Early Church. This text comes from the writing of Hippolytus of Rome (c AD 170 – 235) entitled “Apostolic Tradition” and was probably written in about AD 215.

Bishop: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Bishop: Lift up your hearts.

All: We lift them up to the Lord.

Bishop: Let us give thanks to the Lord.

All: It is proper and right.

Bishop: We give you thanks, O God, through your beloved Child Jesus Christ, whom you have sent to us in these last days as Saviour, Redeemer, and Messenger of your counsel. He is your Word, inseparable from you, through whom you created all things and in whom you are well pleased.

From heaven you sent Him into the womb of the Virgin, and, once conceived within her, He was made flesh, and was shown to be your Son, born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin. Fulfilling your will and winning for you a holy people, He stretched out his hands as he suffered, that by his death he might free those who believed in you.

When He was betrayed to his willing death, so that He might abolish death, break the bonds of the devil, trample hell under foot, give light to the righteous, set a term of sentence, and manifest his resurrection, He took bread and, giving thanks to you, said: “Take, eat: This is my body, which is broken for you.”

In the same way, the cup, saying: “This is my blood, which is shed for you. When you do this, do so in memory of me.”

And so, keeping in mind His death and resurrection, we offer you the bread and the cup, giving thanks because you have counted us worthy to stand before you and serve you.

We pray that you would send your Holy Spirit upon the offerings of your holy Church. Gathering them together, grant that all your saints who partake may be filled with the Holy Spirit, that their faith may be confirmed in turth, that we may praise you and give you glory, through your Child Jesus Christ, through whom be glory and honour, with the Holy Spirit in the holy Church, now and for ever. Amen