Abstract
Conceptualising ritual is integral to the formation of the necessary framework for understanding religion as a phenomenon in antiquity, especially in terms of its role in publicly legitimising the foundational religious myths or narratives of a faith community in its particular historical context. In this way, participation in ritual historically served the distinct purpose of distinguishing a faith community and binding the members of that community together. In the context of late antiquity in particular, ritual played a vital role in terms of religious identity formation.
The historian of religion Jan Bremmer has pointed out how communal participation in ritual brings a community towards a strengthened association with the myths foundational to their very religious identity, thereby unifying that community around a distinctive theological narrative. In light thereof, this article amplifies the socio-religious significance of daily prayer rituals for the earliest Christian community in the Roman province of North Africa during the second and third centuries. The relevant patristic sources from this particular historical and geographical context highlight this Christian community’s unique emphasis on daily prayer rituals as a vital means of distinguishing their identity in the context of a religiously diverse North Africa in which the Christian church had to position itself in a society where not only Judaism and Roman polytheism, but also various indigenous mystic religions were practiced. In contradistinction, no surviving sources from the earliest Christian communities in Antioch or Palestine place any such importance on daily prayer rituals in particular, while Roman North Africa’s unique ritual-liturgical traditions also differed radically from the characteristically Platonic form of Christianity found in Alexandria in Egypt.
The writings of both Tertullian (155–220) and Cyprian (210–258) point to a fivefold daily prayer cursus established in North Africa, rooted in Biblical narratives. This included morning and evening prayers based on the Old Testament tradition of daily sacrifice rituals conducted at the temple, in combination with a threefold cursus rooted in various New Testament narratives. While these daily prayer rituals developed side by side with the existing Jewish prayer rituals in North Africa at the time, the narratives underlying the rituals of the Christian community were uniquely characterised by their Trinitarian character as well as their emphasis on the redemptive work of Christ. One of the distinguishing aspects of this redemptive emphasis in daily prayer rituals was a decisively eschatological focus. By means of participation in these rituals the believer became an active participant in these theological and eschatological narratives, thereby establishing not only a unique connection to all believers in the past, present and future, but also a unique bond with the God being worshipped in the ritual.
Regarding the morning prayers it was common for the earliest Christians in North Africa to interpret the redemptive work of Christ within a paradigm of darkness being transformed into light. The cycle of day and night came to be understood as symbolic of this cosmic redemption, with daybreak in particular pointing to the resurrection and new life. By means of daily participation in these prayer rituals the believer’s identity as integrally part of both a historically rooted and an eschatologically orientated faith community was ratified and strengthened. The gospel narratives underlying these rituals, such as the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:13) and Jesus’ admonition of his disciples to stay awake and pray in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:40–41) were understood as lending a distinct eschatological dimension to the call to pray continually.
The Christocentric and Trinitarian narratives inherent to the daily prayer rituals of the pre-Nicene Christian community in North Africa – a community consisting of members from both Jewish and non-Jewish backgrounds – not only distinguished this community from Graeco-Roman and Jewish religions by virtue of the theological content and purpose of said rituals, but also emphasised the socio-religious uniqueness of this community in that particular historical context. These rituals therefore need to be understood as a very practical means by which Christians distinguished themselves as a unique faith community within the socio-religious landscape of the time. The community thereby positioned themselves as inheritors of the historical redemptive work of God in Christ as well as a community awaiting the full eschatological glory of Christ’s victory in future.
Amplifying their own uniqueness as a faith community was especially important to the early Christian community in North Africa in terms of establishing its own legitimacy in the eyes of the Graeco-Roman culture by claiming for itself the position and respectability of ancient Israel while denying this to the Jews. Both Tertullian and Cyprian emphasise Jesus’ status as Messiah in their writings on prayer, which formed the basis of their eschatological orientation towards an eternal, spiritual Jerusalem in contradistinction to the physical city in Palestine regarded by Judaism as a liturgical centre.
In sanctioning the rituals and by providing participation in them with meaning, Christocentric theological narratives served as confirmation of religious devotion and orthodoxy in contradistinction to other faith communities with practices which were to be rejected as idolatry. As such these rituals served as socio-religious markers distinguishing the Christian community. Daily prayer rituals therefore not only strengthened the bonds within the community itself, but also served to exclude outsiders. In other words, by means of participation in these rituals, members of the ancient Christian community in North Africa were to be constantly reminded of their unique position and status in order to engage in society in a manner that showcased their distinct devotion to true religion. At the same time, the eschatological expansion of this community remained a chief focus throughout, allowing these rituals to transcend the tragedy of religious conflict, as the eventual reconciliation with and inclusion of all outsiders remained an important aim throughout. Therefore, what made this particular form of religious identity formation associated with the daily prayer rituals of the pre-Nicene church in North Africa so exceptional was that this ritual process of identity formation was always accompanied by the universal invitation to all outsiders to become part of the community. It was not only the pre-Nicene Christian community as such, but also the devotion of the members of that community to its ever-increasing concretisation in North Africa which was sanctioned and ratified by its daily prayer rituals.
Keywords: Cyprian; narrative; North Africa; patrology; prayer rituals; Tertullian