The North African Liturgy

It is thought that North Africa was the birthplace of Latin Christianity. Because of Muslim expansion, however, the church did not survive in North Africa beyond the eighth century. Since no actual texts of the ancient North African liturgy are extant, the outline of the rite can only be reconstructed from other sources. It is certain that North Africa, the cradle of Latin Christianity, was likewise the first place to use Latin in the liturgy. Without discouraging the ancient practice of improvisation, councils and synods (e. g. , Hippo [393], canon 25) provided guidelines for formulating liturgical prayers and insisted that prayers composed elsewhere be approved by the teachers (fratres instructiores). The composition of prayers by heretics prompted a later synod to direct that "preces, prefationes, commendationes and impositiones manuum" be composed under supervision of the hierarchy and used by all (Carthage [407], canon 10). African collections of libelli missarum and even sacr…