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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Hippolytus of Rome & Eucharistic Prayer II

Fr. David Friel · August 17, 2014

HIS PAST WEDNESDAY, the Church throughout the world celebrated the memorial of Saints Pontian & Hippolytus, two of the great Roman martyrs of the third century. That Hippolytus was an anti-pope who was reconciled with the Church before his torture and martyrdom makes him a man of significant historical intrigue.

Again this year, I read with annoyance the brief biographical description offered about the saint in the Ordo: “Hippolytus, † 235/236; disputed author of Apostolic Tradition; Roman priest and stern rigorist; opposed Sabellianism and milder penitential discipline of Pope St. Callistus (14 Oct. [† 222]); first anti-pope (217-235); exiled to Sardinia with Pontian; source of Eucharistic Prayer II.” Here we have a case of half-truth and dated scholarship.

As was discussed during the question & answer session after a plenary lecture at this year’s Sacred Music Colloquium, the theory that Prex Eucharistica II is derived from the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus of Rome is dubious. Even less certain is the claim that this anaphora possesses the most ancient roots of all the canons.

The true authorship of the Apostolic Tradition is murky, and, at this point, to claim that the text is of Western origin is scholarly untenable. For those interested in the detailed exposition, I highly recommend an article by Matthieu Smyth (The Anaphora of the So-Called Apostolic Tradition and the Roman Eucharistic Prayer, Usus antiquior, Vol. 1 No. 1, January, 2010, 5–25). Therein the author clearly demonstrates how the structure and content of EPII betray the text’s Eastern sources. The Apostolic Tradition, by which EPII is “distantly inspired” (i.e., on which it is loosely based), is therefore not to be considered representative of early Christian liturgical tradition in Rome.

How did this Eastern anaphora from West Syria come to be in the Roman Missal of 1970? Answered simply, the Consilium formed after Vatican II set out to compile a canon that would be inspired by the text. The chief backer of this project was Dom Bernard Botte. Smyth explains:

The purpose was to enrich the patrimony of eucharistic prayers of the Church of Rome; that which was done was based on the belief of the Romanitas and of the supposed antiquity of this document, which Botte had defended with so much ardour. What a paradox for a document that in reality never had a relationship with the city and which in many respects was less ancient than the Roman Canon, the authentic eucharistic prayer proper to the Church of Rome!

The merits of including a canon of Eastern origin in the Missal celebrated throughout the West are good matter for debate. Yet the greater concern, I believe, is that this canon—the “Second Eucharistic Prayer”—has been repeatedly championed as the canon that links worshipers most closely with the liturgies of ancient Rome. This tired claim, at last, has been shown to be erroneous.

Smyth elaborates:

Those who would be more tempted to deplore the abrupt introduction in a hierarchical manner of a eucharistic prayer foreign to the Latin tradition in the midst of Western euchology would be able to console themselves by considering that the Prex eucharistica II is in reality an original composition, painted in bright colours, the creative fruit of experts of the Consilium who took the anaphora of the Diataxeis as their point of departure. Its features, stamped by their West Syrian structure and by their archaisms, are henceforth almost unrecognisable, but faithfully reflect the concerns of a small group of liturgists in the middle of the twentieth century.

The subject of the Canon of the Mass brings up a range of issues, which have been discussed on these pages before. For example, the canons saw a major change recently when Pope Francis directed that the name of St. Joseph be mentioned in every Eucharistic Prayer.

Also, there is the surprising answer to the question: does EPII really save time?

So, how did I celebrate the memorial of Saints Pontian & Hippolytus? The same way I do every year: with the Roman Canon.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Consilium of Pope Paul VI, History of the Roman Canon, Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [From “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]

— Sevilla Cathedral: Chapter Resolution (13 December 1564)

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