In the history of Christianity, the African Rite refers to a now defunct Catholic, Western liturgical rite, and is considered a development or possibly a local use of the primitive Roman Rite. It used the Latin language.
The African Rite may be considered in two different periods:
- The ante-Nicene period when Christians were persecuted and could not freely develop forms of public worship, and when the liturgical prayers and acts had not become fixed.
- The post-Nicene period when the simple, improvised forms of prayer gave way to more elaborate, set formularies, and the primitive liturgical actions evolved into grand and formal ceremonies.
Read more about African Rite: Background, Ante-Nicene Period, Post-Nicene Period
Famous quotes containing the words african and/or rite:
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—Victoria Gray, African American civil rights activist. As quoted in This Little Light of Mine, ch. 3, by Hay Mills (1993)
“Every ceremony or rite has a value if it is performed without alteration. A ceremony is a book in which a great deal is written. Anyone who understands can read it. One rite often contains more than a hundred books.”
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