Publisher's Synopsis
Alexandria was among the first and most significant centres of Christian dissemination. By the early 4th century, the city had evolved into a crucial hub for Christian culture, hosting a variety of liturgical traditions often in competition with each other. The recent discovery of an Ethiopian manuscript containing an ancient translation of the Liturgy of St. Mark now allows us, through comparison with other known sources, to reconstruct the form of this anaphora around the mid 4th century. The simplicity and elegance of this nearly forgotten liturgy take us back to a period of fervent theological debates and liturgical creativity.
One distinctive aspect of this work is its rigorous philological approach, aiming to explain the ecdotical choices and align them with the historical context in which the reconstructed anaphora is situated. However, the essay remains accessible to non-specialists, presenting the texts in translation for a broader audience.
