Lactantius and Creation of the Roman Canon for Imperial Liturgy (full paper) (original) (raw)

Who is the "scholasticus" responsible for the Roman Canon? Answer: Lactanctius. The study principally concentrates on reconstructing the Roman Canon to approximately AD 325. The reconstruction takes advantage of traditional sources and witnesses to the primitive Roman Canon but adds additional witnesses extracted from the so-called Gelasianium Vetus in order to fill in the chiastic structure of the Eucharistic Prayer. Furthermore, to justify each section of the chiastic structure of the reconstructed Roman Canon, the author provides a detailed analysis of Latin vocabulary and Roman institutions explaining exhaustively the author’s choices of texts. The utility of Roman law is necessary to grasp the formulae and theological points in both the reconstructed and extant versions of the Roman Canon. The study also provides solid arguments for attributing the redaction of the Roman Canon, as used in Rome in the fourth century, to the ecclesiastical writer Lactantius. This hypothesis is strengthened by textual comparisons drawn between the reconstructed Roman Canon and Lactantius’s style and vocabulary in his works. The study uncovers the contributions of Roman-pagan authors of classical antiquity and Roman jurists to explain peculiar features of the Roman Canon’s vocabulary and phraseology. Finally, an appendix suggests edits to the Roman Canon made by Pope Damasus of Rome in the late-fourth century.