Anaphora (liturgy)

The Eucharistic Prayer is the great prayer of praise and thanksgiving in the Christian Eucharist. It is addressed to God the Father. This name is common in German since C. Anton Baumstark; other names are the Canon of the Mass (Latin: Canon Missae ) or anaphora. The Eucharistic Prayer is next to the communion at the heart of the Eucharistic liturgy. Eucharistic prayers there in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Old Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches. In a broader sense are as high prayer the main or central sacrament prayers of all the parties referred to, such as praise and invocation of God through the waters of baptism, prayer of blessing the bride and groom at the wedding ceremony, prayer of consecration in Konsekrationshandlungen.

Structure of the Eucharistic Prayer

The Eucharistic Prayer consists of

  • Request of the superintendent to common gratitude and willingness Declaration of celebrants ( " opening dialogue " )
  • History: the memory of the saving acts of God in Christ, culminating in the so-called words of consecration, opening out in view of the return of Christ (see also the mystery of faith )
  • Epiclesis: calling down of the Holy Spirit on the Eucharist and on the assembled community that is united with Christ in Communion
  • Doxology: Worship at the beginning (Preface and Sanctus ) and final doxology
  • Memento: memorial prayers for the Church and the whole world, for the living and deceased
  • Amen as agreement ( " signature ") of the celebrants.

These elements can appear multiple times and in different orders, but none may be completely absent.

Roman Catholic Church

The oldest writing traditional Eucharistic Prayer, partly included in the Eucharistic Prayer II of the present Roman Missal, comes from Hippolytus of Rome attributed to " Apostolic Tradition " (3rd century, originally Greek). The oldest Latin Prayer texts can be found in the 4th century, such as Ambrose of Milan, the present form ( Eucharistic Prayer I of the present Missal ) in the 6th century by Pope Gregory I.. Pending the liturgical reform of Vatican II was the second Roman prayer, the Canon Romanus, for centuries by the priest, with certain exceptions (eg slawic rite ), in Latin and mostly prayed quietly, since then, because the main prayer of the church fair, again as originally entirely loud and mostly in the local language.

The Pope Paul VI. edited Roman Missal provides four high prayers to choose from (see Gotteslob No. 360 and 367-369 ). In addition, there are other papal approved Prayers that were recorded in later editions of the Roman Missal. The arisen after the liturgical reform proposal to leave the Episcopal Conferences of various countries, the creation of additional Prayers, was instituted by Pope Paul VI. rejected. But individual special forms for regionally restricted use were approved by the Holy See certainly so for wedding fairs in Canada. The isolated recommended partial or complete return to the " canon silence " that is silent prayer, contradicts existing liturgical law ( basic order of the Romans. Missal No. 30, 32). This refers not to the size extraordinaria ( Usus antiquior ) of the Roman Rite, for the Pope Benedict XVI. Summorum Pontificum with a special law adopted them.

The sequence of the individual parts of the Roman Catholic Eucharistic Prayer are:

  • Opening dialogue
  • Preface
  • Sanctus
  • Wandlungsepiklese
  • Institution narrative
  • Acclamation
  • Case history
  • Kommunionepiklese
  • Intercessions ( prayers )
  • Doxology

The Eucharistic Prayer is the celebrant - sung or spoken in orante-pose - or of the celebrant. The Preface and the Sanctus should always be sung whenever possible. Some parts of the Eucharistic prayer carries the main celebrant before, each other, the concelebrants, the preface will always be made by the principal celebrant.

Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches

In the Orthodox and the Oriental Orthodox churches are Eucharistic liturgies with various Prayers, such as St. Basil's anaphora, from the 4th and 5th centuries in use. The Prayer in the liturgy of the Eastern Church also has the above basic structure, with the difference that it has no split epiclesis, but only an epiclesis after the anamnesis and often more detailed and more varied than that of the Catholic West. The East Syrian Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and Mari is delivered without appointment report. A certain moment or a single formula for the conversion of the shares is not defined, the Eucharistic Prayer is considered as an indivisible whole, which causes the mystery of the transformation of the bread and wine. However, the epiclesis, asking for the cooperation of the Holy Spirit is considered as indispensable.

Old Catholic Church

In the Old Catholic Church, the Eucharistic Prayer is consistently Eucharist prayer (Latin: prex eucharistica ) called and emphasizes its inner unity. Therefore, it is konsekratorische force as a whole - awarded what comes, for example, reflected in the fact that the altar service makes a squat until after the Amen part of the community - through the work of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Catholic Church in Germany are 23 Eucharistic prayers in use, the corresponding in structure to both the Roman Alexandrian type and the Antiochene type. The Hippolytus of Rome attributed Eucharistic prayer from the " Apostolic Tradition " can be found as Eucharistic Prayer I in a quite literal transmission, while the Roman Eucharistic Prayer ( Canon Romanus ) was taken in a freer translation. Most other texts are of modern origin, and come from both the private ( Eucharistic Prayer of the Union of Utrecht ) and other traditions (eg Lima Liturgy ). In the five Eucharistic prayers of the Christian Catholic Church of Switzerland, the unseparated epiclesis on the bread and wine and the community is always followed by a history.

Anglican Church

In the Anglican Church different Prayers are in use. In Common Worship (see Book of Common Prayer ), there are Prayers, which have both a split and a uniform epiclesis. It is striking that God is directly asked at any point to send his Spirit upon the gifts or is that asking for their sanctification and the sanctification of the church. Instead, can be found in almost all Eucharistic prayers, the formulation that the bread and wine "for us" the body and blood of Christ are ( "may be to us "). This corresponds to the Eucharistic understanding of the Protestant evangelical wing (Low Church) of the Anglican Church, which faces an objective conversion thoughts negative. In the Anglo - Catholic wing ( High Church ) is also the Canon Romanus in use, either in the form of the Roman Rite or the Sarum Rite, the vortridentinischen measuring Ordo of the church of Salisbury.

Lutheran Church

In the Lutheran Church the Prayer had been reduced to the words of Jesus at the Last Supper in the footsteps of Martin Luther. The theological reason was the emphasis on the idea of ​​sacrifice in the ancient Roman measuring canon. Since the beginning of the 20th century, however, there are efforts to regain the Eucharistic Prayer in its unfolded form for the Lutheran Communion liturgy. Since the agendas work in 1956 a possible sequence is in the church service:

  • Preface
  • Sanctus ( Holy, Holy, Holy)
  • Epiclesis ( petition to the Holy Spirit)
  • Words of Institution
  • Anamnesis (medical memory)
  • Acclamation ( mystery of faith. Thy death, O Lord, we proclaim ... )
  • Lord's prayer
  • Pax ( greeting of peace )
  • Agnus Dei ( Christ, Thou Lamb of God)
  • Communion ( distribution )

In Lutheran congregations of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church ( SELK ) this so-called Lord's Supper Form B is in use.

Orthodoxy Anamnesis (Christianity) Alexandrian Rite West Syrian Rite
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