Anaphora of the Apostolic Tradition

The Anaphora of the Apostolic Tradition, also known as the Anaphora of Hippolytus, is an ancient Christian Anaphora (also known in the contemporary Latin Rite as a Eucharistic Prayer) which is found in chapter four of the Apostolic Tradition. It should not be confused with the Syriac Orthodox Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles, which is similar, and may be one of several liturgies derived from this Anaphora, yet is considerably longer and more ornate.

It was used extensively by Gregory Dix in his research for his book The Shape of the Liturgy published in 1945 and subsequently by theologians such as Dr. Charles (Ted) Hackett and Dr. Don Saliers among others in preparing reforms for the Book of Common Prayer and the United Methodist Liturgies found in the current United Methodist Hymnal. This anaphora is also the inspiration for the Eucharistic Prayer II of the Catholic Mass of Paul VI.

The dating of this anaphora is strictly related to the attribution of the Apostolic Tradition which includes it. In 1906 Eduard von der Goltz was the first to suggest that the anonymous manuscript discovered in the 19th century was the Apostolic Tradition historically attributed to Hippolytus of Rome, thus dating the anaphora to the mid 3rd century AD and using it in reconstructing the early worship in Rome. This understanding was subsequently accepted by the great majority of scholars of the 20th century, including Gregory Dix, and played a crucial role in the liturgical reforms of main mainstream Christian bodies.

In recent scholarship, it has been suggested that the attribution to Hippolytus and suggests that the Apostolic Tradition is a composite work modified over the centuries. According to this view, the anaphora probably attained its final form around the middle of the 4th century and is not related to Rome but to West Syria or even to Egypt. Some scholars also suggest that the Apostolic Tradition portrays a liturgy that was never celebrated. However, in Eastern Orthodox ecclesiology, the attribution to Hippolytus remains generally accepted.

...
Wikipedia