Folia Theologica 17. (2006)
Uwe Michael Lang: Early Christian Latin as a Liturgical Language
142 U. M. LANG As for the intriguing question why the move towards a Latin liturgy in Rome occurred so late, various answers have been given, and there is something to be said for all of them. Theodor Klauser attributed this to the general conservatism of Romans and their tenacity in keeping religious traditions. This is certainly true for the Roman Church as well. According to Allan Bouley, the need for a carefully formulated orthodox language, especially during the Arian crisis of the fourth century, provided the leaven for creating an official Latin form of the prayers of the Mass. Bouley's thesis that it was the need for orthodox prayers that advanced the creation of Latin rites is certainly borne out by the efforts of St Ambrose to formulate the orthodox faith in liturgical hymns and prayers against the current Arianism of the barbarian tribes. Christine Mohrmann argues that the formation of liturgical Latin became possible only after the Peace of the Church, established by the Emperor Constantine. There was no longer such a strong need for Christian communities to define themselves in opposition to the surrounding pagan culture. Their new secure status gave the local churches in the West greater freedom to draw, at least for purposes of style, not for contents, on the religious heritage of Rome for the development of their liturgies. Peter Burke, a major contributor to the relatively new academic discipline of 'social history of language', has alerted us to the fact that 'the choice of one language over another is never a neutral or transparent one'.41 Hence, it is important to see transition from Greek to Latin in the Roman liturgy in its historical, social and cultural contexts. Of course, this can be done here only in a cursory fashion. Historians of antiquity have pointed out that the formation of a Latin liturgical language was part of a wide-ranging effort to Christianise Roman culture and civilisation. The pontificate of Damasus I was a milestone on the way towards a Christian Latinitas, and it is significant that the shift from Greek to Latin in of the Roman liturgy was completed during his reign. The importance of Damasus' own contribution is disputed by scholars; some credit him with the initiative to determine Latin as the liturgical language 41 LAFFERTY, ‘Translating Faith from Greek to Latin’, p. 24, referring to P. BURKE, The Art of Conversation, Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1993.
