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Anaphora (liturgy)

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The Anaphora , Eucharistic Prayer , or Great Thanksgiving is a portion of the Christian liturgy of the Eucharist in which, through a prayer of thanksgiving, the elements of bread and wine are consecrated . The prevalent historical Roman Rite form is called the " Canon of the Mass ".

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127-404: "Anaphora" is a Greek word ( ἀναφορά ) meaning a "carrying up", thus an "offering" (hence its use in reference to the offering of sacrifice to God). (This sense is distinct from the usage of "anaphora" in rhetoric and linguistics to mean a "carrying back".) In the sacrificial language of the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint , προσφέρειν (prospherein) is used of

254-543: A pitch accent . In Modern Greek, all vowels and consonants are short. Many vowels and diphthongs once pronounced distinctly are pronounced as /i/ ( iotacism ). Some of the stops and glides in diphthongs have become fricatives , and the pitch accent has changed to a stress accent . Many of the changes took place in the Koine Greek period. The writing system of Modern Greek, however, does not reflect all pronunciation changes. The examples below represent Attic Greek in

381-403: A chaburah usually took the form of a supper, held at regular intervals, often on the eve of sabbaths or holy days. Each member of the society contributed towards the provision of this common meal. The form of the supper was largely the same as the chief meal of the day in every pious Jewish household. Each kind of food was blessed when it was first brought to the table. At the end of the meal came

508-564: A command, found also in Paul, to his disciples, to "do this as my memorial" without specifying whether it should be performed annually, like the Passover , or more frequently. The text of the Lucan version is uncertain. A number of commentators conclude that the second half of 22:19 and all of 22:20 are later interpolations. In 1926 E.C. Ratcliff declared: "The textus receptus indeed includes

635-498: A full meal and the word "agape" (love-feast) is used. At some point these died out possibly as a result of increasing numbers and possibly due to abuses. Writing shortly after Justin, Tertullian describes "love feasts". Clement of Alexandria ( c.  150–211/216 ) distinguished so-called "Agape" meals of luxurious character from the agape (love) "which the food that comes from Christ shows that we ought to partake of". Accusations of gross indecency were sometimes made against

762-477: A lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period. They have the same general outline but differ in some of the detail. The only attested dialect from this period is Mycenaean Greek , but its relationship to the historical dialects and

889-419: A lesser degree. Pamphylian Greek , spoken in a small area on the southwestern coast of Anatolia and little preserved in inscriptions, may be either a fifth major dialect group, or it is Mycenaean Greek overlaid by Doric, with a non-Greek native influence. Regarding the speech of the ancient Macedonians diverse theories have been put forward, but the epigraphic activity and the archaeological discoveries in

1016-563: A morsel to each person at the table. Ratcliff wrote: "Though the kiddush accounts for the '[Johannine]' Last Supper, it affords no explanation on the origin of the eucharist ... the Last Supper and the Sabbath-Passover Kiddush was therefore no unusual occurrence. It represented consistent practice since Jesus had first formed the group. It is from this practice, rather than from any direct institution from Jesus, that

1143-505: A number of time-honored scholarly approaches, fundamental to which were, first, the "literally true" vs. "literary fictions" debate, and, second, the assumption that there was a unified line of development from the established Eucharist of later centuries back close to the time of the historical Jesus. Paul F. Bradshaw argues in Eucharistic Origins that it is not until after the 1st century and much later in some areas that

1270-550: A prefix /e-/, called the augment . This was probably originally a separate word, meaning something like "then", added because tenses in PIE had primarily aspectual meaning. The augment is added to the indicative of the aorist, imperfect, and pluperfect, but not to any of the other forms of the aorist (no other forms of the imperfect and pluperfect exist). The two kinds of augment in Greek are syllabic and quantitative. The syllabic augment

1397-608: A separate historical stage, though its earliest form closely resembles Attic Greek , and its latest form approaches Medieval Greek . There were several regional dialects of Ancient Greek; Attic Greek developed into Koine. Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language , divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic , Aeolic , Arcadocypriot , and Doric , many of them with several subdivisions. Some dialects are found in standardized literary forms in literature , while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms. Homeric Greek

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1524-630: A standard subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance . This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical periods of the language, which are the best-attested periods and considered most typical of Ancient Greek. From the Hellenistic period ( c.  300 BC ), Ancient Greek was followed by Koine Greek , which is regarded as

1651-461: A teaching 'from the Lord' and presumably warranted by the earliest 'pillars': in that sense, what he hands on is not his own, but derives from his highest authority, 'the Lord' (11:23)." Eugene LaVerdiere wrote: "That is how Paul introduced the tradition, presenting himself as a link in the chain of Eucharistic tradition. He received ( paralambano ) the tradition of Eucharist in the early 40s while in

1778-510: A vowel or /n s r/ ; final stops were lost, as in γάλα "milk", compared with γάλακτος "of milk" (genitive). Ancient Greek of the classical period also differed in both the inventory and distribution of original PIE phonemes due to numerous sound changes, notably the following: The pronunciation of Ancient Greek was very different from that of Modern Greek . Ancient Greek had long and short vowels ; many diphthongs ; double and single consonants; voiced, voiceless, and aspirated stops ; and

1905-570: Is a literary form of Archaic Greek (derived primarily from Ionic and Aeolic) used in the epic poems , the Iliad and the Odyssey , and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic and other Classical-era dialects. The origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of

2032-418: Is added to stems beginning with consonants, and simply prefixes e (stems beginning with r , however, add er ). The quantitative augment is added to stems beginning with vowels, and involves lengthening the vowel: Some verbs augment irregularly; the most common variation is e → ei . The irregularity can be explained diachronically by the loss of s between vowels, or that of the letter w , which affected

2159-843: Is almost completely invariable. On the contrary the Western Church had for centuries only one anaphora, the Roman Canon, but it has variable parts according to the liturgical year, mainly the Preface. In other Latin rites, as in the Mozarabic Rite or the Gallican rite also the post-sanctus and the prayer after the Institution narrative till the doxology are completely variable. Many ancient texts of anaphorae have survived, and even if no more in use, they are useful to trace

2286-524: Is an artisan, he must work for his living. If, however, he has no trade, use your judgment in taking steps for him to live with you as a Christian without being idle." Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 says: "If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat." In Crossan's view, "both stipulations must presume a communal share-meal or they make no sense." In a 2002 analysis in the Biblical Theology Bulletin, Michael J. Cahill surveyed

2413-555: Is believed to have taken bread and given it to his disciples, telling them to eat of it, because it was his body, and to have taken a cup and given it to his disciples, telling them to drink of it because it was the cup of the covenant in his blood. The earliest extant written account of a Christian eucharistia (Greek for 'thanksgiving') is that in the First Epistle to the Corinthians (around AD 55), in which Paul

2540-666: Is called 'East Greek'. Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian Greek had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, as exemplified in the poems of the Boeotian poet Pindar who wrote in Doric with a small Aeolic admixture. Thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to

2667-448: Is considered by some linguists to have been closely related to Greek . Among Indo-European branches with living descendants, Greek is often argued to have the closest genetic ties with Armenian (see also Graeco-Armenian ) and Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ). Ancient Greek differs from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and other Indo-European languages in certain ways. In phonotactics , ancient Greek words could end only in

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2794-456: Is done with the words of 1 Corinthians 11: "For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, 'This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;' and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, 'This is My blood;' and gave it to them alone." No full liturgies are known before

2921-548: Is introduced with the Opening Dialogue between priest and choir/congregation: While the above response is sung, the priest begins to pray the first part of the anaphora quietly, although in some places this is said aloud. This section, corresponding to the Preface in the Roman Rite, gives thanks to God for the mysteries of creation, redemption, and sanctification. It is followed by the choir and congregation singing

3048-418: Is not recognized as such. He carries a message: deliverance for Israel for Gideon and birth of Samson for Manoach and his wife. Each time, those who are visited prepare a sacrifice at the request of the mysterious host: kid and unleavened bread for Gideon; kid and vegetable offering for Manoach. In both cases, it is the sacrifice that reveals the identity of the host: These two events have parallel scenes in

3175-556: Is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek ( c.  1400–1200 BC ), Dark Ages ( c.  1200–800 BC ), the Archaic or Epic period ( c.  800–500 BC ), and the Classical period ( c.  500–300 BC ). Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers . It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been

3302-552: Is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup unto union with His blood. There is one altar, as there is one bishop, together with the presbytery and deacons, my fellow-servants; that whatsoever you do, you may do according unto God" (Letter to the Philadelphians, 4). The dating of the Didache is contentious, dates from the middle of the first century to the early second century have been suggested, but it may well be from

3429-509: Is organized as such: Epiclesis I—Institution Narrative—Anamnesis—Epiclesis II. This structure stands out for having two epicleses surrounding the institution narrative , which different from other traditions. Some scholars have argued that the numerous epicleses in the Alexandrian type traditions favors an understanding of consecration as a process, rather than a single moment of consecration. Scholars find structural similarities in between

3556-610: Is pure, and that God's name is glorified among nations." Malachi prophesied the celebration of the Lord's Supper, all over the world, as a sacrificial meal, in place of the vegetable offerings and thanksgiving sacrifices that were offered in the Temple. In the New Testament there are four accounts of the institution of the Eucharist, the earliest by St Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians which links it back to

3683-487: Is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins." The priest always says these words aloud, and the congregation and choir respond: "Amen." The priest continues with the Anamnesis in that it references Jesus' command, at least implicitly, to "do this in memory of me" and states that the gifts of bread and wine are offered to God in memory of Jesus' life, death, resurrection , and second coming . It culminates with

3810-737: Is still valid, with some significant variations typical of each rite, for the Catholic Church , Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Church , while it was modified, both in the pattern and in the underlying theology, during the Protestant Reformation . Beginning with the Oxford Movement of the 1840s and after the Liturgical Reform Movement of the 1950s, a systematic examination of historic anaphoras began and this in turn has caused

3937-585: Is the prayer said between the Institution narrative and the doxology in place of the Intercessions which are placed before the Sursum Corda. In the Gallican Rite the Preface is named Contestatio or Immolatio and the Institution narrative is named Secreta or Mysterium The Ambrosian Rite during the centuries has lost its ancient variety, even if it maintains a richness of choices for

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4064-479: The Apostolic Tradition . In his debate with gnostics who favored an immaterial religion, the former affirms: "Whenever, then, the mixed cup and the bread that has been made receive the word of God, the Eucharist becomes the body of Christ, and by it the substance of our flesh is nourished and sustained". The Apostolic Tradition poses a number of critical problems including the question as to whether

4191-671: The Alexandrian Rite is the Liturgy of Saint Cyril the Great , which is a revision of the first Alexandrian Liturgy composed by Saint Mark . The Ethiopian Orthodox Church makes use of no less than 14 official anaphoras. Some Ethiopian monasteries use additional Anaphoras as a local practice. The Coptic Church has since started to use West Syriac Anaphoras such as the Egyptian Liturgy of St. Basil (most often used) and

4318-833: The Anaphora of Barcellona (and its related Louvain Coptic Papyrus), the Prayer into the Euchologion of Serapion , the Deir Balyzeh Papyrus , the Strasbourg papyrus and the ancient Anaphora of Saint Mark in Greek, which developed in the Coptic Liturgy of Saint Cyril. The Egyptian Anaphoras (known as Alexandrian type Anaphoras) seem to have a distinctive structure in the post sanctus section, which

4445-749: The Anaphora of the Apostolic Tradition , the Liturgy of the seventh book of the Apostolic Constitutions and the Liturgy of the eighth book of the Apostolic Constitutions . The main currently used anaphoras belonging to this family are the following, divided by rite: The Byzantine Rite uses three anaphoras, which are the core part of the Divine Liturgies which take the same name: The anaphora

4572-607: The Book of Worship . The "notion of a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving", dating back to Irenaeus , is emphasized in the United Methodist Church's "anamnesis and offering: 'And so in remembrance of these your mighty acts in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves as a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ's offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith: Christ has died...'" The Methodist Rite, as with

4699-705: The East Syriac Rites the Epiclesis is just before the final doxology and in Addai and Mari the Institution narrative is missing; the Intercessions can be found after the Preface in the Alexandrian Rite and even before the Sursum Corda in the Mozarabic Rite . An Epiclesis can be found before the Institution narrative in the Alexandrian Rite, and this place of the Epiclesis is the standard in

4826-668: The First Apology and the Dialogue with Trypho of Justin Martyr writing around 150 AD, K.W. Noakes deduces the following liturgical structure was in use at that time: This corresponds in general outline to the structure of the rite as used today and is the earliest known example. The theology is as follows: the bread and wine are transformed into the Flesh and Blood of Jesus; they are the pure sacrifice spoken of by Malachi (1:11) and

4953-759: The Greek region of Macedonia during the last decades has brought to light documents, among which the first texts written in Macedonian , such as the Pella curse tablet , as Hatzopoulos and other scholars note. Based on the conclusions drawn by several studies and findings such as Pella curse tablet , Emilio Crespo and other scholars suggest that ancient Macedonian was a Northwest Doric dialect , which shares isoglosses with its neighboring Thessalian dialects spoken in northeastern Thessaly . Some have also suggested an Aeolic Greek classification. The Lesbian dialect

5080-544: The Last Supper and three in the Synoptic Gospels in the context of that same meal. Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.[']" Matthew likely follows

5207-627: The Liturgy of Saint Basil is the final development of this anaphoric family. In the East the more ancient text is probably the ancient form of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari , followed by the East Syriac Rite Churches. The third Anaphora (Anaphora of Nestorius) is also in use. Another important source is the anaphora described in the Mystagogical Cathecheses of Theodore of Mopsuestia . In Egypt we have

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5334-695: The Mass of Paul VI , multiple choices of Eucharistic Prayer were allowed, although the authorization of new Eucharistic Prayers is reserved to the Holy See . All the new Eucharistic Prayers follow the Antiochene structure with the noticeable difference that the Epiclesis is placed, in accordance with the Roman tradition, before the Words of Institution and not after. The first approved Eucharistic Prayers are four: In

5461-824: The Roman Canon and in the Latin rites . The anaphoras are addressed by the Church to the Father , even if in antiquity there were cases of Eucharistic prayers addressed to Christ , as the anaphora of Gregory Nazianzen or partially the Third Anaphora of St. Peter ( Sharar ). Also, the Ethiopian Orthodox Täwaḥədo Church unusually has an Anaphora of the Virgin Mary . Most parts of the anaphora, as

5588-670: The Syro-Antiochene Rite (or West Syriac Rite ) are numerous and the main are: The Antiochene Maronite Church is one of the richest in the number of anaphorae contained in its Liturgy, most of them belong to the tradition of the Antiochene rites. There are at least seventy-two Maronite Anaphorae. The Armenian Rite , used mainly by the Armenian Apostolic Church , uses currently the Anaphora of St. Athanasius . The only anaphora still in use within

5715-501: The present , future , and imperfect are imperfective in aspect; the aorist , present perfect , pluperfect and future perfect are perfective in aspect. Most tenses display all four moods and three voices, although there is no future subjunctive or imperative. Also, there is no imperfect subjunctive, optative or imperative. The infinitives and participles correspond to the finite combinations of tense, aspect, and voice. The indicative of past tenses adds (conceptually, at least)

5842-452: The εὐχαριστία (Thanksgiving or Eucharist). According to the overwhelming consensus among scholars, the section beginning at 10.1 is a reworking of the Birkat hamazon , the prayer that ends the Jewish ritual meal. There is also one possible pagan reference to an early morning celebration from about the year 112 in a letter of the younger Pliny to the emperor Trajan . Evidence from a slightly later period comes from Irenaeus and from

5969-445: The 1st-century Eucharist practices with three Second Temple Jewish meal practices: the kiddush blessing with wine, and the chaburah fellowship and the Passover Seder meal. The Johannine Supper, Ratcliff has suggested, was the Jewish ordinance known as Kiddush , the details of which involved the leader of the mixed-sex ceremony taking a cup of wine, sanctifying it by reciting a thanksgiving blessing, and passing it around. There

6096-408: The 3rd century. The earliest extant texts of an anaphora (the central part of the Eucharistic liturgy, known also as the Eucharistic Prayer) include the Anaphora of Addai and Mari , the Anaphora of the Apostolic Tradition and the Egyptian form of the Liturgy of Saint Basil . The earliest text that is similar to the Roman Canon is that quoted in De Sacramentis of Ambrose (see History of

6223-1031: The 5th century BC. Ancient pronunciation cannot be reconstructed with certainty, but Greek from the period is well documented, and there is little disagreement among linguists as to the general nature of the sounds that the letters represent. /oː/ raised to [uː] , probably by the 4th century BC. Greek, like all of the older Indo-European languages , is highly inflected. It is highly archaic in its preservation of Proto-Indo-European forms. In ancient Greek, nouns (including proper nouns) have five cases ( nominative , genitive , dative , accusative , and vocative ), three genders ( masculine , feminine , and neuter ), and three numbers (singular, dual , and plural ). Verbs have four moods ( indicative , imperative , subjunctive , and optative ) and three voices (active, middle, and passive ), as well as three persons (first, second, and third) and various other forms. Verbs are conjugated through seven combinations of tenses and aspect (generally simply called "tenses"):

6350-406: The Acts of the Apostles make it clear that early Christianity believed that this institution included a mandate to continue the celebration as an anticipation in this life of the joys of the banquet that was to come in the Kingdom of God. The term " Agape " or "Love-feast" appears in the Jude 12: "These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they boldly carouse together, looking after themselves". In

6477-412: The Anaphora of St. Gregory the Theologian. The most important and currently used anaphorae (Qudashe) of the Edessan Rite (Babylonian Rite or East Syriac Rite) are the following: Ancient Greek Ancient Greek ( Ἑλληνῐκή , Hellēnikḗ ; [hellɛːnikɛ́ː] ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It

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6604-412: The Apostle relates "eating the bread and drinking the cup of the Lord" in the celebration of a "Supper of the Lord" to the Last Supper of Jesus some 25 years earlier. Paul considers that in celebrating the rite they were fulfilling a mandate to do so. The Acts of the Apostles presents the early Christians as meeting for "the breaking of bread" as some sort of ceremony. Writing around the middle of

6731-429: The Apostle responded to abuses at a meal that the Corinthian Christians had at their meetings and that he did not deem worthy to be called "a Supper of the Lord" ( κυριακὸν δεῖπνον , instead of τὸ κυριακὸν δεῖπνον , and so, in this context, "the Lord's supper" means "a supper of the Lord" rather than "the supper of the Lord"). He appeals to them to celebrate it worthily, since otherwise they would be answerable for

6858-436: The Apostolic Tradition , called also the anaphora of Hippolytus, the Liturgy of the seventh book of the Apostolic Constitutions and the Liturgy of the eighth book of the Apostolic Constitutions that developed in the famous Byzantine Anaphora now part of the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom , through the lost Greek version of the Anaphora of the Twelve Apostles (of which we have a later Syrian version). The more ancient text of

6985-440: The Archaic period of ancient Greek (see Homeric Greek for more details): Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκε, πολλὰς δ' ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Ἄϊδι προΐαψεν ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν οἰωνοῖσί τε πᾶσι· Διὸς δ' ἐτελείετο βουλή· ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε Ἀτρεΐδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς. The beginning of Apology by Plato exemplifies Attic Greek from

7112-402: The Basilean family of anaphoras was found in 1960 in a Sahidic Coptic version, possibly a text written by St. Basil himself, and recent scholars believes that this text, united with the anaphora described in The Catechisms of St. Cyril of Jerusalem , has been the base for the Anaphora of St. James included in the Liturgy of St James . The present Byzantine text of the Anaphora included in

7239-406: The Byzantine Rite the anaphora, whether that of St. John Chrysostom or St. Basil, ends with the following doxology sung by the priest: "And grant us with one mouth and one heart to glorify and hymn thine all-honorable and magnificent name, of the Father, and of the Son, and of Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages." The congregation and choir respond: "Amen." The anaphoras currently used by

7366-421: The Church, its bishops and other clergy, the leaders of nations, the faithful departed, and the Church as a whole, as well as commemorations of the Saints, especially the Blessed Virgin Mary, John the Baptist, the saint being commemorated that day, and "Forefathers, Fathers, Patriarchs, Prophets, Apostles, Preachers, Evangelists, Martyrs, Confessors, Ascetics, and for every righteous spirit in faith made perfect." In

7493-433: The Classical period of ancient Greek. (The second line is the IPA , the third is transliterated into the Latin alphabet using a modern version of the Erasmian scheme .) Ὅτι [hóti Hóti μὲν men mèn ὑμεῖς, hyːmêːs hūmeîs,   History of the Eucharist Some Christian denominations place the origin of the Eucharist in the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples , at which he

7620-589: The Didache, from the Jerusalem tradition, does not mention Passover, or Last Supper, or Death of Jesus/blood/body, and the sequence is meal + thanksgiving ritual. For Crossan, it is dispositive that even late in the first century C.E., at least some (southern?) Syrian Christians could celebrate a Eucharist of bread and wine with absolutely no hint of Passover meal, Last Supper or passion symbolism built into its origins or development. I cannot believe that they knew about those elements and studiously avoided them. I can only presume that they were not there for everyone from

7747-416: The Eucharist and the Last Supper became placed in a relation of dependence: many Eucharists did not relate to the Paschal mystery and/or the Last Supper. On the other hand, in the middle of the 1st century Paul the Apostle explicitly placed the celebration of the Lord's Supper in relation to what Jesus did on the night he was handed over, in giving his disciples bread with the words "This is my body" and, after

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7874-418: The Eucharist, involving a cup and broken bread, and in chapter 10 another prayer for use "after you are filled". Scholars disagree on whether these texts concern a Eucharist in the proper sense. Between 150 and 155 AD, Justin Martyr describes the liturgy of his day in chapters 65 and 66 of his First Apology . The liturgy describes thanksgivings before the Anaphora. The consecration of the Eucharistic species

8001-405: The Eucharist, though it took generations and centuries of guidance from the Holy Spirit for the Eucharist to reach its current form. "What Jesus did at the Last Supper is obviously at least the generative moment of the institution of the Eucharist." However, he states that it was not the Eucharist as is known today. "The Eucharist that Christians now celebrate is what the Church, under the guidance of

8128-399: The Eucharistic prayer itself is both a thanksgiving for creation and redemption and an anamnesis (Greek for 'memorial') of the passion (and possibly the incarnation). Information from the intervening period is scant. Both the author of 1 Clement (about 96 AD) and Ignatius of Antioch (about 108 AD) are concerned that due order be maintained; "Give heed to keep one Eucharist. For there

8255-495: The Gospels. Jesus presumably taught at the table, as was customary. This emphasis on table fellowship is reflected in the large number of eating scenes in early Christian art. In the Jerusalem tradition, of James and Peter, the meal is of higher importance than blood and body since the Didache fails to mention them. Both traditions reflect the pitfalls of a shared meal among social unequals, namely freeloading . The Didache says in 12:3–4, "If (a traveler) wants to settle with you and

8382-436: The Holy Spirit of the risen Jesus, and over the course of generations and centuries, learned to do as it celebrated table fellowship with its risen Lord." On the other hand, Bruce Chilton suggests that six different ways of celebrating what Christians came to call the Eucharist can be found in the New Testament, and can locate each of these in its own specific socio-religio-political setting. This would seem to make irrelevant

8509-581: The Lord" and had "passed on" about Jesus' actions and directives at his Last Supper. The ambiguities some find in that wording has generated reams of books, articles and opinions about the Origins of Eucharist. In his 1994 book, A Feast of Meanings: Eucharistic Theologies from Jesus through Johannine Circles , Bruce Chilton wrote that Paul "indeed 'received from the Lord' (1 Corinthians 11:23), through Cephas (Galatians 1:18), what he 'handed over' (1 Corinthians 11:23) to his hearers.   [...] He reminds his hearers of what he already had taught as authoritative,

8636-558: The New Testament: the same day that the empty tomb of Jesus is discovered, two disciples "were going to a village called Emmaus ". A mysterious traveler joins them and questions them about the cause of their dejection. After listening to them, the traveller explains the events from the scriptures, then "when he had sat down with them to meat, he took the bread and blessed; and breaking it he gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight". These prefigurations and their realization shed light on

8763-399: The Oblation in which the bread and wine is lifted up while the priest exclaims: "Thine own of thine own we offer unto thee on behalf of all and for all." While the people sing a hymn of thanksgiving and supplication, the priest prays the epiclesis. God the Father is invoked to send down the Holy Spirit in order to, according to the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom , "...make this bread

8890-425: The Old Testament, the prophet Malachi exposes God's plans concerning the sacrifices which were offered to him in the temple of Jerusalem and as for the offerings which offered to him in the future: "Oh that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, saith Jehovah of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from

9017-401: The Preface and its first Eucharistic Prayer is slightly different form the Roman one mainly in the Words of Institution. Recently two typical additional ancient Eucharistic Prayers have been restored, to be used mainly on Easter and Holy Thursday . The United Methodist Church has twenty-two Eucharistic Prayers that are modeled on the pattern of the Antiochene pattern; these are contained in

9144-514: The Preface, the Institution narrative, the Epiclesis, are always reserved to the celebrant, a bishop or a priest, while the faithfuls usually sung the Sanctus and some acclamations, which can be more or less frequent and length according to the specific rite. Sometime, particularly in the past, in both East and West the main celebrant said a part of his prayers inaudibly or covered by the choir. The Eastern Rites know many anaphoras, but each of them

9271-797: The Presbyterian liturgy, places the Memorial Acclamation "after the anamnesis and offering". In both the Methodist Church of Great Britain and the United Methodist Church, the "post-Sanctus transitioned almost immediately to the Institution Narrative ". In addition, the "offering was our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and ourselves," reflecting the theology of Thomas Cranmer and Methodism's Anglican heritage in general. This important liturgical family includes many well studied historical anaphoras, as

9398-508: The Roman Canon ). The gap of some twenty years between the date of the Last Supper and the writing of 1 Corinthians, and the even longer period before the Gospels were written, have led to doubts as to their historical reliability and the suggestion that they reflect the concerns and situation of the early Christians at the time of writing rather than reporting objectively events which occurred decades before. They therefore try to decide where

9525-724: The Roman and Egyptian anaphoral traditions: for instance the Barcelona Papyrus, as well as Deir Balyzeh Papyrus, include an epiclesis before the Words of Institution as in the Roman Canon . The earliest text similar to the Roman Canon is the quoted in De Sacramentis of Ambrose which include prayers close to the Canon's prayers such as Quam Oblationem , Qui pridie , Unde et Memores , Supra quae - Suplices te . The Roman Canon 's prayers Communicantes , Hanc igitur , and

9652-622: The Sabbath, and even if there was a Passover kiddush, it would have taken place immediately before the seder, not the day before. The chaburah (also 'haburah', pl 'chaburoth') is not the name of a rite, rather it was the name of a group of male friends who met at regular intervals (weekly for Dix) for conversation and a formal meal appurtenant to that meeting. Nothing is said about them in the Bible but scholars have been able to discover some things about them from other sources. The corporate meeting of

9779-733: The Sanctus because the Preface in the Latin rites is variable and follows the liturgical year. Between the Council of Trent and the reform of the Catholic liturgy , undertaken in 1969 (see Mass of Paul VI ), the only anaphora used in the Roman Rite was the Roman Canon (or Canon of the Mass ). For the history of the "Roman Canon" see also the articles Canon of the Mass , Pre-Tridentine Mass and Tridentine Mass . With introduction in 1969 of

9906-533: The Sanctus. After the Sanctus follows a recapitulation of salvation history, especially the Incarnation , and leads into the words of Jesus over the bread and wine at the Mystical Supper, as Eastern Christians often refer to the Last Supper : "Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you, for the forgiveness of sins ." and "Drink ye all of this; this is my blood of the New Testament , which

10033-571: The account found in the Gospel of Mark . Luke's version differs at so many points from the Markan that some scholars believe it stems from another source. John, which does not include an "Institution Narrative", includes an account of a supper on the night Jesus was betrayed, including a foot washing scene. Chapters 13–17 of the Gospel of John attribute to Jesus a series of teachings and prayers at his Last Supper, but does not mention any meal rituals. On

10160-719: The account of the Last Supper in Luke chapter 22, the wine that is consumed at the passover meal is shown to not be literally blood, but represents the blood that Jesus will shed by his death on the cross. It was a deliberate act of tying the Passover story from the Book of Exodus to the Crucifixion , and the shed blood of the passover lamb being painted on the lintels of the Hebrews' doors, to Jesus "...the Lamb of God, who takes away

10287-502: The ancient Mishnah Pesahim instructions on celebrating the Passover meal, suggest Jewish influence (see 1 Corinthians 5:7; 10:16; 11:23). Both sequences underline the primary importance of the Shared Meal to historical 1st century Christian ritual. Crossan maintains that table fellowship was central to Jesus' ministry in that was infamous for violating codes of honor to eat freely with outsiders, termed "sinners and tax collectors" in

10414-550: The aorist. Following Homer 's practice, the augment is sometimes not made in poetry , especially epic poetry. The augment sometimes substitutes for reduplication; see below. Almost all forms of the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect reduplicate the initial syllable of the verb stem. (A few irregular forms of perfect do not reduplicate, whereas a handful of irregular aorists reduplicate.) The three types of reduplication are: Irregular duplication can be understood diachronically. For example, lambanō (root lab ) has

10541-419: The augment when it was word-initial. In verbs with a preposition as a prefix, the augment is placed not at the start of the word, but between the preposition and the original verb. For example, προσ(-)βάλλω (I attack) goes to προσ έ βαλoν in the aorist. However compound verbs consisting of a prefix that is not a preposition retain the augment at the start of the word: αὐτο(-)μολῶ goes to ηὐ τομόλησα in

10668-471: The beginning, that is, from solemn formal and final institution by Jesus himself. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, in the context of correcting the habits of the Corinthians serves to reestablish "the Pre-Pauline tradition, ritual of bread/body + meal + ritual of cup/blood." Hellenized Jew Paul references a Greek weekly Lord's Supper, which is not an annual Jewish Passover meal, and does not have

10795-424: The blood of lambs. The Passover Seder involves four cups of wine . Whether the Last Supper was a Passover Meal (as the chronology of the Synoptic Gospels would suggest) or not (as St John ), it is clear that the Eucharist was instituted at Passover time, and Christian writers from Saint Paul ( 1 Corinthians 5:7 ) onwards have stressed that the death of Christ was the fulfilment of the sacrifice foreshadowed by

10922-778: The body and blood of the Lord, and elsewhere in the same letter, writes: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons." Paul had first evangelized the inhabitants of Corinth, in Greece, in 51/52 AD. Paul's nascent congregation there was made up of pagan, not Jewish, converts (1 Corinthians 12:2). All first-generation Christians were necessarily converts, either pagan or Jewish. They had written him regarding numerous matters of concern (1 Corinthians 7:1). Criticizing what he had heard of their meetings, at which they had communal meals, one paragraph in Paul's response reminded them about what he asserted he had "received from

11049-438: The center of Greek scholarship, this division of people and language is quite similar to the results of modern archaeological-linguistic investigation. One standard formulation for the dialects is: West vs. non-West Greek is the strongest-marked and earliest division, with non-West in subsets of Ionic-Attic (or Attic-Ionic) and Aeolic vs. Arcadocypriot, or Aeolic and Arcado-Cypriot vs. Ionic-Attic. Often non-West

11176-603: The command, but the passage in which it occurs is an interpolation of the Pauline account; and whatever view be taken of the Lucan text, the command is no part of the original". However, C.P.M. Jones, writing in 1978, comments "Many scholars   [...] have returned to the support of the longer text", and the same position was taken by the majority of editors of the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament. The attribution to Jesus of

11303-572: The community at Antioch. He handed it on ( paradidomi ) to the Corinthians in the year 51 when first proclaiming the gospel to them. Like Paul, the Corinthians also were to become a link in the chain of Eucharistic tradition, handing on to others what Paul handed on to them. Several years later, circa 54, Paul reminded them of this in 1 Corinthians." There are three references in Acts to "the breaking of bread" by early Christians at Jerusalem and by St Paul on his visit to Troas . The letters of Paul and

11430-563: The dialect of Sparta ), and Northern Peloponnesus Doric (including Corinthian ). All the groups were represented by colonies beyond Greece proper as well, and these colonies generally developed local characteristics, often under the influence of settlers or neighbors speaking different Greek dialects. After the conquests of Alexander the Great in the late 4th century BC, a new international dialect known as Koine or Common Greek developed, largely based on Attic Greek , but with influence from other dialects. This dialect slowly replaced most of

11557-508: The difficulties presented by the more direct Markan form (246). It would appear to be obvious that the difficulties would have been greater in a Jewish environment. Davies' conclusion is apt: "When such divergent conclusons [sic] have been based upon the same evidence any dogmatism would be foolish" (246). On the other hand, I have earlier argued that previous suggestions supporting the non-Jewish source have been vitiated by vague generalities or by association with inappropriate pagan rituals. In

11684-510: The distinct components of the later rite originated by examining possible cultural elements, both Jewish and Hellenic, which already existed in the period under study. The underlying debate is over the relative contributions of Paul and Jesus and the possible intervention of other factors. One key consideration in this is the problem of the Jewish prohibition of drinking blood. Professor Robert J. Daly, S.J., argues that Jesus did indeed institute

11811-403: The drinking of blood could have arisen in a Jewish setting. In fact, this difficulty has been turned into an argument for authenticity. For example, Jeremiah [sic] quotes Dalman: "Exactly that which seems scandalous will be historical" (170–71). W. D. Davies draws attention to the fact that Dalman also argued that the Pauline version of the institution arose in a gentile environment to eliminate

11938-458: The eucharist derives its origin. The practice was too firmly established for the group to abandon it, when its Master had been taken away; the primitive apostolic eucharist is no other than the continuation of Jesus's chaburah meal. This is the 'breaking of bread' of Acts ii. 42." Joachim Jeremias disputed the view that the Last Supper was kiddush, because the Kiddush was always associated with

12065-491: The form that these meals sometimes took. Clement of Alexandria also mentions abuses ( Stromata III,29) and the editor comments: "The early disappearance of the Christian agapæ may probably be attributed to the terrible abuse of the word here referred to, by the licentious Carpocratians ". Augustine of Hippo also objected to the continuance in his native North Africa of the custom of such meals, in which some indulged to

12192-558: The grace after meals – the Blessing or Benediction as it was called. This long prayer was said by the host or father of the family in the name of all who had eaten the meal. On important occasions, and at a chaburah supper, it was recited over a special cup of wine known quite naturally as "the cup of blessing." At the end of the Thanksgiving prayer this cup was sipped by the leader and then by each of those present. The chaburah supper

12319-561: The historical Dorians . The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, who regarded themselves as descendants of the population displaced by or contending with the Dorians. The Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people – Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians (including Athenians), each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Allowing for their oversight of Arcadian, an obscure mountain dialect, and Cypriot, far from

12446-476: The historical circumstances of the times imply that the overall groups already existed in some form. Scholars assume that major Ancient Greek period dialect groups developed not later than 1120 BC, at the time of the Dorian invasions —and that their first appearances as precise alphabetic writing began in the 8th century BC. The invasion would not be "Dorian" unless the invaders had some cultural relationship to

12573-462: The history of the anaphorae, and in general the history of the Eucharist during the centuries. Most of these texts became parts of anaphorae still in use. The earlier liturgical texts related to the celebration of the Eucharist are the chapters 9 and 10 of the Didache , even though there is no consensus among scholars if these texts are meant to be a Eucharist or not. We have next the Anaphora of

12700-465: The liturgies were ever used. However, the editors of The Study of Liturgy conclude that "it is clearly safe   [...] to use the document as evidence for early third-century Rome". It contain what must be considered a complete prayer of consecration including a version of the Institution narrative. It is clear from the New Testament evidence that some primitive Christian ceremonies involved

12827-560: The notion of drinking blood could have a Jewish origin and those who insist that this is a later development to be located in the Hellenistic world. What both sides share is an inability to proffer a rationally convincing argument that can provide a historical explanation for the presence of this particular component of the Eucharistic rite. Those who hold for the literal institution by Jesus have not been able to explain plausibly how

12954-631: The offerer's bringing the victim to the altar, and ἀναφέρειν (anapherein) is used of the priest's offering up the selected portion upon the altar (see, for instance, Leviticus 2:14 , 2:16 , 3:1 , 3:5 ). To describe the structure of the Anaphoras as it became standardized from the 4th century, we can look at the structure of the anaphoras in the Antiochene family of liturgies ( West Syriac Rite and Byzantine Rite ) which display an order and logic that finds no equal elsewhere. This structure

13081-508: The older dialects, although the Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language , which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek . By about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosed into Medieval Greek . Phrygian is an extinct Indo-European language of West and Central Anatolia , which

13208-527: The other hand, John 6, in particular verses such as 55–56 ("For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him"), is widely interpreted as an allusion to the Eucharist. Peculiarities in phrasing as compared to the Synoptics are thought to reflect the liturgical tradition of the Johannine community . A passage found in Luke records

13335-403: The participants giving thanks ("Eucharistia"), rather the purpose is to proclaim Jesus' death until he comes again, in the manner of Hellenic societies formed "to hold meals in remembrance of those who had died and to drink a cup in honor of some god." Some authors would consider Paul to be the "Founder" of the Eucharist in a pagan context appealing to the Jewish prohibition against drinking blood,

13462-487: The perfect stem eilēpha (not * lelēpha ) because it was originally slambanō , with perfect seslēpha , becoming eilēpha through compensatory lengthening. Reduplication is also visible in the present tense stems of certain verbs. These stems add a syllable consisting of the root's initial consonant followed by i . A nasal stop appears after the reduplication in some verbs. The earliest extant examples of ancient Greek writing ( c.  1450 BC ) are in

13589-400: The pervasive history of Greek memorial dining societies, and Paul's own hellenistic background." Paul, however, explicitly stated that he was rehearsing a Christian tradition, something that he himself had "received" and had already "handed on" to the Corinthians. Paul's references in this letter to unleavened bread, Christ as the "paschal lamb," and mention of the "cup of blessing," similar to

13716-597: The point of drunkenness, and he distinguished them from proper celebration of the Eucharist: "Let us take the body of Christ in communion with those with whom we are forbidden to eat even the bread which sustains our bodies." He reports that even before the time of his stay in Milan, the custom had already been forbidden there. Canons 27 and 28 of the Council of Laodicea (364) restricted the abuses. The Didache gives in chapter 9 prayers for use in celebrating what it calls

13843-470: The post-consecration Memento etiam and Nobis quoque were added in the 5th century, and it achieved practically its present form when modified by Gregory the Great (590-604) (see History of the Roman Canon ). When referring to the Western Christian uses, the term "Eucharistic Prayer" is more used than "anaphora" , and sometime it refers only to the portion of the anaphora starting after

13970-430: The precious Body of thy Christ... And that which is in this cup the precious Blood of thy Christ... Changing them by thy Holy Spirit." This is the most solemn point of the anaphora, as it is from that point on the bread and wine are considered to be the literal body and blood of Christ and not from the Words of Institution as in some other traditions. The rest of the anaphora consists of a lengthy set of intercessions for

14097-625: The reform of many Eucharistic prayers within mainline Protestant denominations. The structure of the standardized 4th century Antiochene anaphora, which is placed after the offertory and the Creed and comes before the Lord's Prayer , the Elevation and the Communion rites , can be summarized as follows: This structure can have variations in liturgical families different from the Antiochene one: in

14224-579: The rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the Gentiles, saith Jehovah of hosts." According to Irenaeus , God, "by these words, he shows in the plainest manner that the former people [the Jews] shall cease to make offering to God, but that in every place sacrifices shall be offered to God, one that

14351-568: The sacrificial nature of the Last Supper: on one hand, the Eucharist shows the paradoxical nature of this breaking of the bread which attests to a presence while keeping it invisible to the eyes of the two disciples; on the other hand, the sacrifice makes it possible to recognize the one who has manifested himself: it is at the moment when Jesus gives thanks, breaks the bread and gives it to the disciples of Emmaus that they recognize him. In

14478-407: The same period as 1 Clement and Ignatius. It states that the unbaptized left the assembly before the Eucharist proper began "Let none eat or drink of your Eucharist but such as have been baptized into the name of the Lord, for of a truth the Lord hath said concerning this, Give not that which is holy unto dogs." A composite of several documents, it includes ritual prayers and a mention of what it calls

14605-400: The second century, Justin Martyr gives the oldest descriptions of something that can be recognised as the rite that is in use today, according to K.W. Noakes. Earlier sources, such as the Didache , 1 Clement and Ignatius of Antioch provide glimpses of what Christians were doing in their Eucharists. Later sources, Tertullian and the Apostolic Tradition , offer some details from around

14732-406: The sin of the world!" and his sacrifice at the time of passover. 'And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me .” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."' (Luke 22:19-20) Scholars have associated Jesus' Last Supper and

14859-408: The state of scholarly literature from some seventy cited sources, dating from the 1950s to the present, on the question of the likelihood of a Jewish Jesus proposing the drinking of blood in the Eucharist. After examining the various theories that have been suggested, he concludes: The survey of opinion, old and new, reveals wide disagreement with a fundamental divide between those who can accept that

14986-489: The supper, giving them the cup with a similar declaration about his blood. John Dominic Crossan suggests that there are two traditions "as old as we can trace them" of the eucharist, that of Paul, reflecting the Antioch Church's tradition, and that of the Didache , the first document to give explicit instruction regarding prayers to be said at a celebration that it called the Eucharist. The cup/bread liturgy of

15113-517: The syllabic script Linear B . Beginning in the 8th century BC, however, the Greek alphabet became standard, albeit with some variation among dialects. Early texts are written in boustrophedon style, but left-to-right became standard during the classic period. Modern editions of ancient Greek texts are usually written with accents and breathing marks , interword spacing , modern punctuation , and sometimes mixed case , but these were all introduced later. The beginning of Homer 's Iliad exemplifies

15240-432: The three hundred years after Jesus' crucifixion, Christian practices and beliefs regarding the Eucharist took definitive shape as central to Christian worship. At first, they spread through word of mouth, but within a generation Christians had begun writing about Jesus and about Christian practice, the Eucharist included. The theology of the Eucharist and its role as a sacrament developed during this period. Basing himself on

15367-413: The undisputed early "Lord's Supper" or "Eucharist" and have asked if the Eucharist had its origins in a pagan context, where dinners to memorialize the dead were common. The supper at Emmaus (Luke 24:28–35) is reminiscent of the Book of Judges : the vocation of Gideon and the prophecy made to Manoach and to the barren woman of the birth of Samson . In both cases, the angel of the Lord appears and

15494-457: The words "This do in memory of Me" is therefore possible, but not certain. Jeremias says "Do this in remembrance of me" would better be translated "That God may remember me", but Richardson objects that the "presence of one particular meaning must not be taken to exclude other shades of meaning, nuances and overtones". The New Testament recounts a number of practices of religious table fellowship that would later be considered Eucharistic. Paul

15621-427: The year 200. Even before the Church "went public" after the conversion of Constantine the Great in the second decade of the fourth century, it was clear that the Eucharist was a central part of Christian life and worship. Scholars seeking to understand Christian practice debate whether Jesus meant to institute a ritual at his Last Supper; whether the Last Supper was an actual historical event in any way related to

15748-636: The years after the reform of Pope Paul VI other Eucharistic Prayers were authorized: A typical characteristic of the Latin rites different from the Roman Rite is the great variability of portions of the Roman Canon which change according to the liturgical year and the Mass. The Mozarabic Rite has as variable texts the Illatio (i.e. the Preface), the Post-Sanctus and the Post-Pridie , that

15875-480: Was Aeolic. For example, fragments of the works of the poet Sappho from the island of Lesbos are in Aeolian. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, or to an island. Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric (including Cretan Doric ), Southern Peloponnesus Doric (including Laconian ,

16002-419: Was a similar blessing and breaking of bread. Kiddush is the "Jewish benediction and prayer recited over a cup of wine immediately before the meal on the eve of the sabbath or of a festival. After reciting the kiddush the master of the house sips from the cup, and then passes it to his wife and to the others at the table; then all wash their hands, and the master of the house blesses the bread, cuts it, and passes

16129-474: Was concluded by the singing of a psalm, after which the meeting broke up. Jeremias also disputed that the Last Supper was a chaburah meal, interposing the objection that the chaburah was a "duty" meal, held appurtenant to a formal occasion such as a 'bris' or a betrothal. Passover commemorates God's saving of his chosen people, the Israelites, who, according to Exodus 12:1–29 , were spared death through

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