Christian Funeral Rites in the Apostolic Constitutions Book VI 26-30

Abstract

The Apostolic Constitutions (AC) is a prominent church historical document which contemporary scholars have generally agreed was written in Syria (probably in Antioch) in the late fourth century. The author of this paper first examines the funeral rites and the arguments around them described in the AC, that is, Book VI 26: Heresies vs. orthodoxy, Book 27: A pneumatological argument, and Book 30: Liturgy of the Eucharist in the funeral. Second, since the liturgy of the Eucharist is highly emphasized in the funeral rites in the AC, and is called the antitypos (άντίτυπος, representation or figure), a term interpolated by the compiler of the AC, the author of this paper examines its theological significance by comparing the AC with other ancient Christian works which were also produced in Syria and Asia Minor (i.e. the Didache, Epistles of St. Ignatius of Antioch and the Martyrdom of Polycarp). The author points out that the interpolation of the antitypos language by the AC’s compiler is historical evidence of the change in the Eucharist theology within the Syrian Christian communities between the Didache and the Apostolic Constitutions.