Altus Ex Olympi Vertice

«ALTO EX OLYMPI VERTICE». - Hymn of the Roman Breviary for the Lauds of the feast of the dedication of a church. Of unknown author, from the 7th or 8th century; its metrical form was altered by the Urban

niana of 1626 (v. INNOGRAFIA). The poet continues to develop the concept expressed in the first stanza of the hymn for Matins of the same office: Christ is the foundation, the cornerstone of the two Churches, the triumphant and the militant; indeed, as the Word, He descended from heaven like a stone detached from the mountain and clothed human nature while remaining God (str. 1). The triumphant Church sings the praises of the Most Holy Trinity; the militant, gathered in material temples on earth, seeks to emulate that song, forming a single harmony with the heavenly beings (str. 2). For this it needs divine help, which it therefore invokes, so that the king of heaven may hear the prayers raised by the faithful in the temple, and infuse His grace into all until the day when everyone will be reunited in a single triumphant Church (str. 3-4). These last two stanzas appear to be a later addition, though very well attuned to the preceding ones; they imitate and summarize the magnificent concepts developed by Solomon at the consecration of the temple of Jerusalem (I Kings 8, 29-52).