  A systematic procedure for performing holographic renormalization, which
makes use of the Hamilton-Jacobi method, is proposed and applied to a bulk
theory of gravity interacting with a scalar field and a U(1) gauge field in the
Stueckelberg formalism. We describe how the power divergences are obtained as
solutions of a set of "descent equations" stemming from the radial Hamiltonian
constraint of the theory. In addition, we isolate the logarithmic divergences,
which are closely related to anomalies. The method allows to determine also the
exact one-point functions of the dual field theory. Using the other Hamiltonian
constraints of the bulk theory, we derive the Ward identities for
diffeomorphisms and gauge invariance. In particular, we demonstrate the
breaking of U(1)_R current conservation, recovering the holographic chiral
anomaly recently discussed in hep-th/0112119 and hep-th/0202056.

High Energy Physics - Theory