Prayer in Early Patristic Literature (II)

It is highly likely that the practice of prayer evolved from communal to private forms, and that no distinction was made as sharply as it is today. In this regard, a thought by Abba Evagrius is significant, according to whom ‘the monk is one who is both separated from others and yet in direct communion with all’1; thus, his prayer is both private and communal.

Generally speaking, in the early Church, the Third, Sixth and Ninth Hours were certainly recommended for the Christian’s daily prayer, regardless of the context. We find something similar in the Alexandrian Origen. Nowhere does he categorically separate communal prayer from private prayer, but merely observes how Christians gather for prayer, during which ‘the earthly church is united with the angels and the saints who have departed from this world’2).

Unlike Origen, Justin and Tertullian, the Coptic text of the Apostolic Tradition maintains, however, that there was a daily morning prayer at which Christians would gather before beginning their daily tasks. According to the author of the document, this prayer had a catechetical purpose and was attended jointly by both catechumens and those who had been baptised 3. This testimony is a clear indication that these prayer gatherings were not Eucharistic, for if they had been of this nature, catechumens would not have been admitted to them. After all, the Eucharist is the central sacrament of the Church. Elsewhere in the text I mentioned above, it is stated that when morning prayer is not of a catechetical nature—that is, when it has no didactic purpose—it is good for a Christian to pray at home in the morning 4. It is therefore clear that there are differences within the liturgical cycle itself, in the daily life of the Church. Saint Cyprian of Carthage testifies in his treatise On the Lord’s Prayer that immediately after the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism, the newly baptised person would recite the ‘Our Father’ aloud in the presence of those gathered 5. Of course, this prayer is used most frequently within the Sacrament of the Eucharist itself, during the Divine Liturgy, where it was likely established as early as the apostolic period, immediately after the Epiclesis and before the exclamation ‘Holy of Holies’, ‘One Holy, One Lord Jesus Christ’, after which Communion is administered. We have clear testimony of this from Saint Cyril of Jerusalem in his Catechetical Homilies 6.

In the fourth century, sources concerning the practice of prayer in the Church are more numerous and provide somewhat more information, although many aspects still remain unclear. It appears that as early as the previous century, with the formation of monastic communities, an increasingly clear distinction began to be made between the frequency and length of the prayers used by communities of ascetic Christians and those used in so-called urban worship or in church services.

It may be assumed that the ancient Christian hymn ‘Gentle Light’ (Φῶς ἱλαρόν) was sung whilst the candles were being lit in churches, during Saturday Vespers. This is the earliest known post-biblical hymn in the history of the Church, which, however, has its counterpart in the Jewish ritual of lighting the lamps in the Temple in Jerusalem. It is mentioned by Saint Gregory of Nyssa in The Life of Saint Macrina 7 and by Saint Basil the Great in his Letter to Amphilochius on the Holy Spirit 8, in which he links it to the glorification of the Holy Trinity. As this hymn was widely used during the triadological debates, it is impossible that these did not have an impact on its interpretation. In addition to this hymn, we have evidence that Christians used Psalms 63/64 and 140/141 during Vespers, the latter of which we saw above as being a pre-testamentarysource for the hours of prayer in early Christianity 9. Information from the same period also indicates that, during the evening service, the deacon would recite a prayer of thanksgiving to God and pray for a peaceful night for the faithful 10.

As regards the morning prayer, it is clear that Psalms 63/64, 51/52, 147/148–150/151 were used, as well as the hymn ‘Glory to God in the highest’ (Δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις Θεοῦ, Gloria in excelsis Deo)11. At one point during the evening service, sermons or homilies were also delivered by the priest, but this was not the main purpose of the prayer gathering. Later, both Saint John Chrysostom and Socrates Scholasticus provide such accounts stating that at Vespers, at the end of the 4th century, in Antioch, and in the fifth century, in Constantinople, there was a practice of delivering catechetical homilies whilst the evening lights were being lit in the churches 12.

1. Posture and gestures during prayer

As far as we know, prayer amongst the Jews of the New Testament era was performed whilst standing 13, but this does not appear to have always been the case, as in the New Testament the apostles and Christ Himself also practised kneeling whilst praying. The first place in the Gospel where the established Jewish posture is mentioned is the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee: ‘To those who thought they were righteous and looked down on others, He told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray: one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing there, prayed to himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, the unrighteous, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all I earn. But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying: ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner!’” (Luke 18:9–14).

Furthermore, the advice given by Jesus Christ to the apostles regarding forgiveness and mercy contains information about the customary posture for prayer among the Jews: “And whenever you stand praying, forgive whatever you have against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25). ‘And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street-corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward’ (Matthew 6:5).

At the same time, we see Christ Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane kneeling in fervent prayer just before He was arrested and accused: ‘And when He came to this place, He said to them: ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation!’ And He went a stone’s throw away from them and, kneeling down, prayed, saying: ‘Father, if You are willing, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done’” (Luke 22:40–42).

We find a similar theme in the prayer offered by Saint Paul the Apostle together with the elders of the churches in Ephesus and Tyre: “I have shown you everything; for by labouring in this way, you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for He said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’. And when he had said these things, [Paul] knelt down and prayed together with them all” (Acts of the Apostles XX, 35–36). “And finding the disciples, I stayed there for seven days. They told Paul, through the Spirit, not to go up to Jerusalem. And when the days were over, we set out, and as we were leaving, they all, together with the women and children, accompanied us as far as the city gates; and, kneeling on the beach, we prayed” (Acts of the Apostles 21:4–5); see also the archdeacon Stephen kneeling whilst being stoned to death (Acts of the Apostles 7:60).

The Holy Apostle Peter did the same when he performed the miracle for Christ’s disciple, Tabitha: “Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, which, when interpreted, means ‘Little Doe’. She was full of good deeds and acts of charity. And in those days she fell ill and died. And, having washed her, they laid her in the upper room. Now Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples, hearing that Peter was in Lydda, sent two men to him, begging him: ‘Do not delay in coming to us!’ And Peter, rising, went with them. When he arrived, they took him into the upper room, and all the widows gathered round him, weeping and showing him the tunics and garments that the Doe had made for them whilst she was with them. And Peter, having sent everyone out, knelt down and prayed; then, turning towards the body, he said, ‘Tabitha, get up!’ And she opened her eyes and, seeing Peter, sat up” (Acts of the Apostles 9:36–40).

This is recalled by Saint Paul the Apostle himself in his Epistle to the Ephesians: ‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name’ (Ephesians 3:14–15).

The latter passage from the New Testament is cited by Origen as an example of kneeling during daily prayer 14. Clement of Alexandria, in his treatise Stromata, testifies that Christians pray whilst standing, which is more in keeping with the older Jewish model, and do so ceaselessly throughout the day in all their activities 15. Tertullian, however, points out that there is a middle way between praying on one’s knees and praying standing up, and mentions this in connection with fasting 16. He says that for Christians, on the Lord’s Day (Sunday), when the Sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated, kneeling and fasting are suspended. The same, says Tertullian, applies to Pentecost, as he seems to understand the entire period of Great Lent from before Easter until the feast of Pentecost. Nevertheless, the African author states that kneeling is permitted during the daily morning prayer, even on days of fasting 17.

Saint Cyprian of Carthage refers to the episode in the Acts of the Apostles in which Saint Peter miraculously raises Tabitha from the dead and cites it as an example of kneeling in prayer in the Church 18. On the other hand, in other epistles he speaks of praying whilst standing, breathing deeply from the chest and with all one’s heart, with complete concentration 19. It seems that, influenced once again by the older Jewish tradition, another North African, the first Latin-speaking Christian historian, Lactantius, explains prayer whilst standing as the most correct form, using arguments that are more reminiscent of the ancient philosophical view of man – that his upright posture is a sign of the soul’s and mind’s orientation towards God 20. In ancient literature, the very etymology of the Greek word for ‘man’ – ἄνθρωπος – is explained as meaning ‘turned upwards, standing upright’.

The other two documents I cited above, which date from the late third and early fourth centuries – the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles and the Apostolic Tradition – speak precisely of this tradition of praying whilst standing, but do so in the context of communal prayer 21. This same tradition appears to have been the subject of controversy, so the First Ecumenical Council included it in the official canon:

‘Since there are some who kneel on Sundays and on the days of Pentecost – so that all may observe the same practice in every parish (diocese), it seemed fit to the Holy Synod that prayers should be offered to God whilst standing’ (Canon 20).

The anonymous document The Apostolic Tradition also states that Christians practised the washing of hands before prayer, both in the morning and at midday 22. This is a practice that originates from Judaism, where early in the morning, before prayer, upon waking from sleep, such washing has been practised since time immemorial 23. In early Christian literature, there is also criticism of this practice as being almost superstitious, precisely because it originates from Judaism. This is exactly what both Clement of Alexandria 24 and Tertullian 25 do. Both emphasise purity of mind in contrast to bodily purity.

Furthermore, from the earliest times we have evidence of the widespread use of the sign of the Holy Cross by Christians. According to Origen, all believers made this sign before any important act, before prayer and before reading the Holy Scriptures 26. We can observe something similar in the Apostolic Tradition 27, but there it is also mentioned that such a sign is made with a deep sigh and that it is practised before the midnight prayer, a point also made by Tertullian 28.

In contrast to the much more liberal atmosphere in the churches of Constantinople, from the mid-fourth century onwards, the early Christian community imposed rather conservative rules on women entering the church to pray. Unlike men, who are required to pray with their heads uncovered, women must have not only their hair covered, but also a significant part of their head. And Saint Paul the Apostle, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, speaks of such a custom, evidently inherited from Judaism: ‘But I want you to know that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of the woman, and God is the head of Christ. Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head. And any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head; for it is just as if she were shaven. For if a woman does not cover her head, she ought to have her hair cut off. But if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or to be shaven, let her cover her head. For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man’ (1 Corinthians 11:3–7).

Building on these words, Tertullian, in the final years of his life, when he was probably strongly committed to extreme rigorism 29, recommended that women not only cover their heads, but also wear a veil 30. This is not unusual, as Roman matronas – free women of means – would go out in public covered by a veil or partially covered by a veil, so this custom was by no means unfamiliar to Christians of that era. This applies, of course, also to entering a church and, by extension, to prayer. However, Tertullian observed that this custom was no longer widely accepted, which is why he urges its observance; and there is another important point, for which we have indirect evidence from iconography: he recommends that women should also cover their hands, even their palms, whilst praying, as a sign of humility 31. It is highly likely that hands and arms were viewed as objects of sexual provocation. This information is also confirmed by the Coptic text The Apostolic Tradition 32.

From the same African author we have information regarding the position of the hands during prayer, which can be readily confirmed by iconography. According to Tertullian, Christians pray with outstretched hands, like the outstretched hands of Christ on the cross 33. Clement of Alexandria, meanwhile, notes that as early as the late second or early third century, Christians were facing east during prayer. He also states that prayer can be ‘with the mind’, that is, silent 34. In this context, it is worth noting that many scholars of early Christianity also draw on information from Gnostic sources regarding the practice of prayer in that era; but, in our view, this cannot be accepted as a legitimate approach, since Gnosticism represents a tradition distinct from the biblical one, which has its own sources and lines of development running parallel to those of Christianity. However, this is not the case with Montanism. We can rightly regard the Montanist communities as Christian sects. Certainly, ecstatic prayers and various prophetic practices were carried out here which the official Church did not recognise, but which were inspired by certain episodes from the New Testament interpreted within paradigms characteristic of Montanism 35.

2. Communal prayer

One of the most remarkable examples of early Christian prayer, dating from the second half of the second century, is the prayer uttered by Saint Polycarp of Smyrna, who was condemned to death by burning at the stake. Here is what is written in the Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, chapter XIV:

‘Thus, they did not nail him to the stake, but bound him. And he, with his hands bound behind his back, like a chosen ram from the great flock, prepared to be offered as a burnt offering pleasing to God, looking up to heaven, said: ‘Lord, God, Almighty, Father of Your beloved and blessed Son, Jesus Christ, through Whom I have come to know You, the God of the angels, of the powers, of all creation and of the entire race of the righteous, who live before Your face. I bless You that You have deemed me worthy of this day and this hour, that I may partake with the host of martyrs of the cup of Your Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life of soul and body, in the incorruptibility of the Holy Spirit. May I be received before You today among them, as a rich and pleasing sacrifice, just as You have prepared me, revealed this to me and brought it to fulfilment, O God, Who art unchanging and true! For this and for all things, I praise You, I bless You and I glorify You through the eternal and heavenly High Priest Jesus Christ, Your beloved Son, through Whom, together with Him and the Holy Spirit, glory is due to You now and for ever and ever. Amen.”

Here, however, we see prayer in an extreme situation, which, on the one hand, has a particular character, but, on the other hand, bears witness before the pagans to the heroism of the Christians and their indifference in the face of death. The very word by which we translate ‘martyrdom’ means ‘testimony’ (μαρτύριον) in Greek, that is, the profession of faith in the True God at the cost of torture and even the loss of this temporary life in exchange for blessed eternal life. Undoubtedly, Christian martyrdom texts are inspired by the Books of the Maccabees in the Old Testament, an expression of the same religious impulse and the same intransigence.

However, when we speak of communal or public prayer, matters seem to be somewhat different. Here, the Church seems to have established certain rules very early on regarding who, how and before whom the members of Christ’s Church might pray. In the Didache, the second part of the text—which is a guide to ministry for bishops—we find a very clear recommendation regarding prayer:

‘Let not your fasting be like that of the hypocrites, who fast on Mondays and Thursdays; but you are to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. Do not pray like the Pharisees, but as the Lord commanded in His Gospel. Pray thus: ‘Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the power and the glory for ever. Amen’

And as for the Eucharist, this is how you are to celebrate the Eucharist: First, concerning the chalice: ‘To You, our Father, for the holy wine of David, Your servant, which You have made known to us through Jesus, Your Son, to You be glory for ever!’ And for the breaking of the bread: ‘We give thanks to You, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You have made known to us through Jesus, Your Son. To You be glory for ever!’ ‘Just as this broken bread was scattered over the mountains and, having been gathered together, became one, so may Your Church be gathered from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever.’ “Let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist except those who have been baptised in the name of the Lord. For concerning this, the Lord said: ‘Do not give what is holy to the dogs’”36

In this text, the exhortation to avoid praying ‘like the hypocrites’ appears to be focused on tensions with the Jewish community. Of course, here the author is following the Gospel according to Matthew (VI, 5–13). This exhortation to avoid synagogues and Jewish traditions can also be found in the writings of St John Chrysostom, who was well acquainted with Jewish tradition and who spent his early years in Antioch, where many Christians attended both synagogues and the church (37).

Catechumens are another category of believers for whom there are special requirements. According to Saint Justin the Martyr and Philosopher, as part of their preparation for Baptism, they were required to practise fervent prayer 38, whilst those who had already been baptised were called upon to join the communal prayer of the Church immediately 39. There was also a division of the faithful during prayer, based on gender. The document Didascalia Apostolorum states that young women should sit separately, whilst women, if there is room, should sit behind them, and those who are married with children, the elderly and widows should sit in groups 40. It is highly likely that this separation between men and women was the result of the traditionally conservative, patriarchal social environment of the late Mediterranean ancient world. However, there is a pragmatic explanation for this. Early Christian worship took place in small churches, probably under severe space constraints; furthermore, the fraternal kiss practised by all those taking part in worship was an additional incentive for the segregation of the sexes within the church. Saint Justin the Martyr and Philosopher, in his First Apology, mentions the ‘kiss of peace’ at the conclusion of the prayers during the post-baptismal Eucharist 41. Origen, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans 42, and the author of the Apostolic Tradition 43, mention the kiss following communal prayers, this being restricted to the baptised; that is to say, catechumens did not take part in it. Given that the fraternal kiss was performed with the lips, this could have caused complications for people of different sexes and, consequently, clearly entailed segregation within the church. Tertullian himself touches upon this in passing in his work To My Wife 44.

Furthermore, Tertullian 45 and the author of the Apostolic Tradition 46 recommend that prayers within the family should be said together by both spouses. Naturally, this is a practice recommended on the basis of the logic that the family is a small church within the larger Church, as a family of Christians whose head is Christ. However, this view has its limitations. Origen, with his characteristic ascetic austerity, believes, for example, that the family bedroom is not a suitable place for prayer 47.

As for those who have been excommunicated and schismatics, the Apostolic Teaching 48 and Saint Cyprian of Carthage 49 recommend that they be excluded from communal prayer. They are not officially considered members of the Church and have no place in its prayers. The very prayer of the Sacrament of Penance, which is read by the priest over the penitent, presupposes that the penitent must be reunited with the Church, which, logically, places him outside it prior to the act of penance.

3. Conclusions

The profound meaning of Christian prayer is revealed most fully in the Desert Fathers. Although we do not have a systematic treatment of the subject of prayer, it has been a subject of reflection since the earliest days of Christianity. What can be observed from the very beginnings of Christianity is that prayer was conceived as an expression of the longing for union with God in a ceaseless ascetic endeavour leading to salvation, that is, immersion in the divine life of salvation and deification. In this regard, of particular significance is the advice of Saint Paul the Apostle in his First Epistle to the Thessalonians concerning unceasing prayer to God. Prayer in the early Church is a natural continuation of the practice of prayer within the Jewish religious community. The models of prayer found in the Old Testament, both in the Book of Psalms and in the Book of the Prophet Daniel, remained as themes for interpretation and as a model for the apostles of Christ and for the early Christian writers of the New Testament period. In this sense, communal prayer and worship were undoubtedly influenced by the practices of the First-century Temple in Jerusalem. The earliest known Christian hymns bear a certain direct influence from the practices of the Jewish Temple. Praying three times a day, combined with the midnight prayer, remains a stable model for ordinary Christians, and an increasingly elaborate form of worship begins to take shape, in which prayer occupies an ever-broader and more important place. We can see this both in the writings attributed to the Apostles (although written later) and in the works of Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian and Saint Cyprian.

At the same time, private prayers for every occasion, also based on Old Testament models, evolved and took on a new interpretation within the context of Christian teaching. Thus, we see a number of examples in New Testament texts, such as the Epistles of Saint Paul the Apostle, the Acts of the Apostles and, of course, the Gospels, which have remained as models of prayer practice, postures, gestures and behaviour for Christians in the second, third and later centuries. Nor are the restrictions on communal prayers and the various regulations concerning public worship, which arose for purely practical reasons within the Church during the period under study, without significance. Thus, we see that modern prayer, although practised in a very different world, has retained the basic practical dimensions of early Christian prayer. Nevertheless, within the liturgy we see the expansion, musical embellishment and immense enrichment of prayer through musical forms, particularly in the Orthodox liturgy. It remains to this day a valuable source of spirituality not only for Orthodox Christians, but also for those of other denominations.

In this text, sources from the Holy Fathers and other authors of late antiquity will be cited according to their title and identification number in Clavis Patrum Graecorum, vols. I–V = CPG; Clavis Patrum Latinorum = CPL, Bibliotheca Hagiographica Graeca = BHG, or by the Latin names generally accepted in scholarship.

• 1

  On Prayer, 124.

• 2

  On Prayer, 31.

• 3

  Traditio apostolica, 18. Here we should note that the Lord’s Prayer (Πάτερ ἡμῶν), for example, is mentioned by Saint Ambrose of Milan as part of mystagogical catechesis, that is, the introduction to the sacraments of the Church, in his treatise On theSacraments (De sacramentis, 5.4, CPL 154), written around the 90s of the 4th century.

• 4

  Traditio apostolica, 41.

• 5

  On the Lord’s Prayer, 9.

• 6

  See Mystagogiae 1–5: 5,7 (CPG 3622).

• 7

  Vita s. Macrinae, GNO, 395 (CPG 3166).

• 8

  On the Holy Spirit, 73 (CPG 2839).

• 9

  See Constitutiones apostolorum, 2.59 (CPG 1730).

• 10

  Ibid., 8.35–37.

• 11

  Ibid., 8.47.

• 12

  See John Chrysostom, Homilies 1–67 on Genesis, 4.3 (CPG 4409); Socrates, Ecclesiastical History, 5.22 (CPG 6028).

• 13

  Sidur Vrata Molitvî (Șirei Tifil), pp. XXVI and following.

• 14

  On Prayer, 31.2.3.

• 15

  See Idem, Stromata, 7.

• 16

  On the corona, 3 (CPL 21).

• 17

  See De oratione, 23.

• 18

  On Works and Almsgiving, 6 (CPL 47).

• 19

  See De dominica oratione, 23; 31; De ecclesiae unitate, 13 (CPL 41); Ad Quirinum (Testimoniorum libri III), 1.22 (CPL 39).

• 20

  Divinae institutiones, 21 (CPL 85).

• 21

  Didascalia Apostolorum, 2.57 (CPG 1738); Traditio Apostolica, 18.

• 22

  Traditio apostolica, 41.14.

• 23

  See the Jewish document in Greek from the 3rd–2nd centuries BC: Epistola ad Aristeam, 304–306. For further information on this document, see V. Tcherikover, ‘The Ideology of the Letter of Aristeas’, Harvard Theological Review 51 (1958), pp. 59–85.

• 24

  Stromata, 4.22.

• 25

  De oratione, 13; Ad uxorem, 2.5 (CPL 12).

• 26

  Excerpt from the Chain: A selection from Ezekiel, 9 (CPG 1442).

• 27

  Traditio apostolica, 41.14–42.2. It is clear from this document that this sign was made at baptism and was subsequently made by those who had been baptised as a sign of their membership of the Church.

• 28

  Ad uxorem, 2.5.

• 29

  See Archimandrite Pavel Stefanov, ‘Tertullian and Monasticism’, https://www.pravoslavie.bg (21 April 2022).

• 30

  On Prayer, 22; On the Veiling of Virgins, 17 (CPL 27); On the Worship of Women, 2.7 (CPL 11).

• 31

  On the Protection of Virgins, 17.

• 32

  Traditio apostolica, 18 May.

• 33

  On Prayer, 14.

• 34

  Stromata, 7.7.

• 35

  See Archimandrite Pavel Stefanov, Lirata na Paraklita. The History and Teachings of Monasticism, Veliko Tarnovo: Faber, 2012, pp. 34–45.

• 36

  The Didache, 8–9. Translated into Bulgarian by Simeon of Varna and Preslav, op. cit., pp. 161–163.

• 37

  See Adversus Iudaeos, Orations 1–8: 1.1 (CPG 4327).

• 38

  Apologia, 61. Ibid. in Traditio apostolica, 18. The same document states that catechumens also kept their distance during communal meals (27).

• 39

  Ibid., 65. Ibid. in Traditio apostolica, 21.24.

• 40

  Didascalia Apostolorum, 12; a similar, though briefer, commandment is found in the Traditio Apostolica, 18.2.

• 41

  Apologia, 65. Cf. John Meyendorff, Vavedenie v Svyatooteceskoe Bogoslovie. Trans. L. Volohonskoi, New York: R.B.R., 1982, pp. 46–47.

• 42

  In the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, Chapter 15, verses 10 and 13 (CPG 1457).

• 43

  Traditio apostoloca, 18.3.

• 44

  Ad uxorem, 2.4.

• 45

  Ibid., 2.6.

• 46

  Traditio apostolica, 41.13.

• 47

  On Prayer, 31.4.

• 48

  Didascalia Apostolorum, 15.

• 49

  De ecclesiae unitate, 12.