Folia Theologica 17. (2006)

Uwe Michael Lang: Early Christian Latin as a Liturgical Language

EARLY CHRISTIAN LATIN AS A LITURGICAL LANGUAGE 143

of Rome, others argue that he merely completed a development that had been underway for a considerable time.42 Be that as it may, the formation of the Latin liturgy occurred at a time when the leading bishops in Italy, above all Damasus in Rome and Ambrose in Milan, were striving to Christianise the elite culture of their day, which still had strong pagan roots. In the city of Rome, there was a strong pagan presence, and especially the aristocracy continued to adhere to pagan customs, even if they had become nominal Christians.43 Rome was no longer the centre of political power, but its culture continued to have an hold on the thought-world of its elite; In fact the fourth century is now considered a period of literary renaissance, with a renewed interest in the 'classics' of Roman poetry and prose. There was even a revival of Latin in the Eastern half of the Empire. The Emperors of the fourth century certainly cultivated this Latinitas.44 With characteristic tenacity, Rome kept its ancient traditions.

The popes of the late fourth century, above all Damasus, made a conscious and comprehensive attempt to appropriate the symbols of Roman civilisation for the Christian faith in order to facilitate the

42 A decisive role in the introduction of the Latin liturgy is attributed to Pope Damasus by Klauser, ‘Der Übergang der römischen Kirche von der griechischen zur lateinischen Liturgiesprache’, and M. H. SHEPHERD, ‘The Liturgical Reform of Damasus I’, in P. GRANFIELD - J. A. JUNGMANN (ed.), Kyriakon: Festschrift Johannes Quasten 2 vols., Münster: Aschendorff, 1970, vol. II, pp. 847-863. For a different analysis with less emphasis on Damasus’ contribution, see B. BOTTE, ‘Histoire des prières de l’ordinaire de la messe’, in B. BOTTE - C. MOHRMANN (ed.), L'ordinaire de la messe (Études liturgiques, 2), Paris: Cerf, 1953, p. 17, and C. Pietri, ‘Damase évêque de Rome’, in Saecularia Damasiana: Atti del convegno internazionale per il XVI centenario della morte di Papa Damaso I (11-12-384-10/12-12-1984) (Studi di Antichità Cristiana, 39), Vatican: Pontificio Istituto di Archeológia Cristiana, 1986, p. 32.

43 On the difficulty of defining Christian identity in the late Roman Empire, see R. Marcus, The End of Ancient Christianity, Cambridge: University Press, 1990, pp. 19-83.

44 See LAFFERTY, ‘Translating Faith from Greek to Latin’, pp.26-28, with references to A. Cameron, ‘Latin Revival of the Fourth Century’, in W. TREADGOLD (ed.), Renaissances before the Renaissance: Cultural Revivals of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1984, pp. 42-58. C. W. HEDRICK, History and Silence: Purge and Rehabilitation of Memory in Late Antiquity, Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000.