Absense of Expected Evidence
There are no references to
censing in Christian worship where they are to be most expected: descriptions
of the liturgy and commentaries on Scripture passages that mention incense. The
earliest descriptions are Pliny the Younger’s Letter 10.96, Justin
Martyr’s 1 Apology 61, 65-67, the Didache (chs. 8–10), and the Apostolic
Traditior’ of Hippolytus. The only physical substances in the first three
works are bread, wine and baptismal water, but it may be argued that Pliny and
Justin could be expected to have omitted incense even if it had been used
because of the special purposes for which their two works were written. As an
investigating magistrate, Pliny was interested only in whether Christians were
engaged in subversive activities or planning public disorders. He was not
concerned with the fine points of rituals that did not inflict injury or
disturb the peace. Silence on the subject can also be expected from Justin
because he was giving a brief overview of Christian worship as part of assuring
his readers in the higher echelons of government that his co-religionists did
not occupy their time together in illegal or seditious activities.
On the other hand, at least
allusions to incense are to be expected in the detailed instructions for
Christian worship such as the Didache and the Apostolic Tradition,
yet it is absent from both works. Indeed, in the Apostolic Tradition
Hippolytus delved into such minutiae as exorcism by breathing prior to baptism,
(Hippolytus, TA 20.8) liturgical use of oil, (TA 5; 21.6-8, 10,
19; 22.2) water at the Eucharist, (TA 23.3, 7) milk and honey accompanying
the bread and wine at Communion, (TA 23.2) blessing of designated
species of fruit, (TA 2 8.1-6) offerings of specific kinds of flowers, (TA
28.7) and blessing of cheese and olives. (TA 6) Omission of incense
in such an exhaustive treatment of tangible materials in church is inexplicable
if it had actually been employed. (David W. T. Brattson, “Incense
in Ante-Nicene Christianity,” Churchman 117, no. 3 [2003]: 227-28)
