The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus
Let the bishop be
ordained after he has been chosen by all the people. When he has been named and
shall please all, let him, with the presbytery and such bishops as may be
present, assemble with the people on a Sunday. While all give their consent,
the bishops shall lay their hands upon him, and the presbytery shall stand by
in silence. All indeed shall keep silent, praying in their heart for the
descent of the Spirit. Then one of the bishops who are present shall, at the
request of all, lay his hand on him who is ordained bishop, and shall pray as
follows, saying:
God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who dwellest on
high yet hast respect to the lowly, who knowest all things before they come to
pass. Thou hast appointed the borders of thy church by the word of thy grace, predestinating
from the beginning the righteous race of Abraham. And making them princes and
priests, and leaving not thy sanctuary without a ministry, thou hast from the
beginning of the world been well pleased to be glorified among those whom thou
hast chosen. Pour forth now that power, which is thine, of thy royal Spirit,
which [And Ethiopic. The Greek has “through thy beloved Son Jesus Christ thou
gavest to thy holy apostles”.]thou gavest to thy beloved Servant [So the Greek,
not the Latin] Jesus Christ, which he bestowed on his holy apostles, who
established the church in every place, the church which thou hast sanctified
unto unceasing glory and praise of thy name. Thou who knowest the hearts of
all, [Latin and Ethiopic (MSS), “Father, who knowest the heart”; perhaps
better] grant to this thy servant, whom thou hast chosen to be bishop, [to feed
thy holy flock] [Not in the Epitome but in the Latin, Ethiopic, Constitutions,
Testament and Canons] and to serve as thy high priest without blame,
ministering night and day, to propitiate thy countenance without ceasing and to
offer thee the gifts of thy holy church. And by the Spirit of high-priesthood
to have authority to remit sins according to thy commandment, to assign the
lots according to thy precept, to loose every bond according to the authority
which thou gavest to thy apostles, and to please thee in meekness and purity of
heart, offering to thee an odour of sweet savour. Through thy Servant Jesus
Christ our Lord, through whom be to thee glory, might, honour, with [the] Holy
Spirit in [the] holy church, both now and always and world without end. Amen.
(Burton Scott Easton, The
Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus)
The Antiochian Pontifical
O God, Thou hast
created everything by Thy power and established the universe by the will of
Thine only Son. Thou hast freely given us the grasp of truth and made known to
us Thy holy and excellent love. Thou hast given Thy beloved and only-begotten Son,
the Word, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, as pastor and physician of our souls.
By His Precious Blood Thou hast founded Thy Church and ordained in it all grades
pertaining to the priesthood. Thou hast given guidance that we may please Thee
in that the knowledge of the name of Thine Anointed has increased and spread in
the whole world. Send on this Thy servant Thy Holy and Spiritual Breath so that
he may tend and oversee the flock entrusted to him, namely—to anoint priests,
to ordain deacons, to dedicate altars and churches, to bless houses, to make appointments,
to heal, to judge, to save, to deliver, to loose and bind, to invest and
divest, as well as to excommunicate. Grant him all the power of Thy saints—the same
power Thou gavest to the Apostles of Thine only begotten Son—that he may become
a glorious high priest with the honor of Moses, the dignity of the
venerable Jacob, in the throne of the Patriarchs. Let Thy people and the flock
of Thine inheritance be well established through this Thy servant. Give him
wisdom and prudence and let him understand thy will, O Lord so that he can
discern sinful things, know the sublimes of justice and judgement. Grant him
this power to solve difficult problems and all bonds of iniquity. (Pontifical
of the Antiochian Syrians, Part II [Sharfe, Lebanon: 1952], pp. 204-5 as
cited in Rama P. Coomaraswamy, The Problems with the Other Sacraments Apart
from the New Mass [San Rafael, Calif.: Reviviscimus, 2010], 109-10)
