Canons of Hippolytus
4th-century Christian text
The Canons of Hippolytus is a Christian text composed of 38 decrees ("canons") of the genre of the Church Orders. The work has been dated to between 336 and 340 A.D., though a slightly later date is sometimes proposed.
Egypt is regarded as the place of origin. The author is unknown, though the work presents its author as "Hippolytus, the high bishop of Rome, according to the instructions of the Apostles".
It contains instructions in regard to the choice and ordination of Christian ministers; regulations as to widows and virgins; conditions required of pagan converts; preparation for and administration of baptism, rules for the celebration of the Eucharist, for fasting, daily prayers, charity suppers, memorial meals, first-fruits, etc.
Manuscript Tradition
The Canons of Hippolytus exist only in an Arabic version, itself made from a Coptic version of the original Greek.
Attention was called to the book by Vansleb and Ludolf towards the end of the 17th century, but it was only in 1870 that it was edited by Daniel Bonifacius von Haneberg, who added a Latin translation, and so made it generally accessible. In 1891 Hans Achelis reproduced this translation in a revised form, embodying it in a synopsis of allied documents. He suspected much interpolation and derangement of order, and consequently rearranged its contents with a free hand. In 1900 a German translation was made by H. Riedel, based on fresh manuscripts.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q5033407. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1870, 1891 and 1900.
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This entry incorporates text from “Canons of Hippolytus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.