THE ANAPHORA - II

All East. Copt-Cyr has here a prayer called ἐπίκλησις - epiklesis of great length, asking for pardon and describing the work of the Holy Ghost. 

to look propitiously upon these gifts lying before thee

Ap-Const and Rome agree closely here, but Rome goes on differently, while Ap-Const proceeds to the Epiclesis.

The Roman Supra quae reads thus:

Upon which vouchsafe to look with a propitious and gracious countenance, and to accept them, as thou wast pleased to accept the gifts of thy righteous servant Abel, and the sacrifice of our father Abraham, and that which Melchizedech thy high-priest offered unto thee, a holy sacrifice, a spotless victim.

We have seen Isaac (372-8) referrs to this, in Quaestiones (p. 52). 

and send down

East generally with Ap-Tr (not in Test-D). The word in Ap-Const, Chrys, Deir-B, is κατάπεμψον, and Jas has it in a repetition of the Invocation that occurs a little later; in Cyril of Jerusalem, Jas, and Mk, ἐξαπόοστειλον - exaposteilon. Some put it, 'may there come down', so Nest, Bas, Alex-Bas, Copt-Bas. 'May there rest upon', Syr-Chrys. Mk and Copt-Cyr add 'from thy holy height, from thy dwelling prepared, from thine infinite bosom' (+ 'from the throne of the kingdom of thy glory', Copt-Cyr). Angl has nothing corresponding. 

thy Holy Spirit

Simply Ap-Tr, Ap-Const, Nest, Chrys, Copt-Bas, Deir-B.

There is a description of the work of the Holy Spirit in Jas, Syr-Jac; another dealing with His nature in Mk, Copt-Cyr; 'coeternal and consubstantial'. Arm. Copt-Greg says 'the grace of the Holy Spirit'; Sarap,' thy holy Word' meaning God the Son, and later says, 'for we have invoked thee, the uncreated, through the only-begotten in the Holy Spirit'; Eth adds 'and power'; Test-D has only 'that they may be filled with the Holy Ghost'. 

upon us

So Jas, Syr-Jac, Copt, Byz, Arm, Alex-Bas. 'Look upon us', Mk; not in Ap-Const, Eth, Nest. Angl, 'Vouchsafe to bless and sanctify both us and'. and upon these gifts Cyril of Jerusalem, Syrr, Byz, Arm, Alex-Bas, Copt add 'lying before thee'; so Ap-Const earlier. Copt-Bas 'here present'; ' + upon this bread and this cup', Mk, Copt-Cyr, Eth; 'to sanctify and change these gifts set before thee', Copt-Greg;' this offering of thy servants', Nest;' the oblation of thy holy Church', Ap-Tr; τὰ κτίσματα ταῦτα - ta ktismata tauta, Deir-B; 'on this sacrifice, the witness of the sufferings of the Lord', Ap-Const; 'these thy gifts of bread and wine', Angl. Bas adds 'Bless and sanctify them', similarly Syr-Chrys. Copt-Bas, 'and purify them and make them manifest as a sanctification of thy saints'; Mk, 'sanctify and complete them'. 

that he may make this bread the body

There is a great variety of language at this point. The usual word. in the East is ποίῃ - poie or ποιήσῃ - poiese; so Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Chrysostom, Deir-B; ἀποφήνῃ - apophene, Ap-Const. Some speak in addition of 'changing' the elements, so Chrys, Copt-Greg-Cyr, and Cyril of Jerusalem, ' whatsoever the Holy Spirit touches is sanctified and changed'. Bas, 'show them to be', so St. Basil [De Sp. sanct. 66.]. Sarap, 'body of the Word'. Rome, 'that it may become for us (nobis fiat) the body and blood of thy most dearly beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ'. Eth, 'may he make it the body and blood'. Angi, 'that they may be unto us,' &c. 

and this cup the blood of thy Christ,

Various adjectives and phrases qualify this. Chrys, 'that which is in this cup'; Copt, 'blood of the New Covenant', so Deir-B; Nest, ' bless it and hallow it that it may be to us for the pardon of offences,' &c. Sarap, ' that the cup may become the blood of the truth'. 

that they that partake thereof may obtain forgiveness of sins and eternal life.

So Jas, Syr-Jac, Copt-Greg. All have some statement of the benefits gained by the Sacrament, but they differ greatly. Ap-Tr, 'that, joining them together thou wouldst grant it to all thy holy ones that partake for fulfilment with the Holy Spirit and for the confirmation of the faith in truth, that we may praise and glorify thee through thy Son, Jesus Christ', followed by Eth. Test-D puts this after the intercession. Eth adds, 'blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord,' &c. 

There are two portions of the Roman Mass that must be placed here, as they at least have affinities with the Invocation.

Supplices te rogamus:

We most humbly beseech thee, Almighty God,
to command that these things be carried
by the hands of thy holy angel to thine altar on high
before the sight of thy divine majesty,
that so many as are partakers at the altar of the sacred body and blood of thy Son,
may be filled with all heavenly benediction and grace,
through, &c.

This, following the Supra quae, is in the place of the Epiclesis. It resembles a passage in the Egyptian rites in the Intercession, preceding the Sanctus, and also a number of passages in Offertory prayers in the East. These are collected in Appendix D.  In De Sacr the first part of this precedes the central part of the Supra quae; the order is more natural and probably original. It has 'angels' instead of 'angel'. 

Portion of the Quam oblationem has been given above under the Oblation, but the latter part looks like an Invocation ; for convenience' sake the whole is printed here.

Quam oblationem.

Which oblation do thou, O God,
vouchsafe in all things to make blessed,
consecrated, approved, reasonable, and acceptable,
that it may become for us the body and blood
of thy most dearly beloved son our Lord Jesus Christ.

This immediately precedes the Institution.

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the Blessing of Oils, etc.

In Ap-Tr there follows the blessing of oils, and a similar blessing of cheese and milk. Other objects seem sometimes to have been blessed here, but oil used in the unction of the sick was commonly consecrated during Mass. In the Roman Pontifical the blessing of oil comes at the end of the Canon on Good Friday, before 'Per quern haec omnia'. There is no resemblance in the prayer used to that of Ap-Tr except the phrase 'unde unxisti sacerdotes reges prophetas et martyres' (Ap-Tr, 'unde unxisti reges sacerdotes et prophetas'). Test-D also has a blessing of oils, but in different words from Ap-Tr.

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the Great Intercession

The duty of interceding during the celebration of the Eucharist for all members of the Church, and also for the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the world, would impress itself quite naturally upon the Church from the beginning. We find it mentioned in Justin Martyr: 'The brethren are gathered together in order to say common prayers for ourselves, for him that has been enlightened, and for all others everywhere.' [Apol. l. Ixv.] With him it precedes the Anaphora, and must therefore be identified with the Prayers of the Faithful. Cyril of Jerusalem speaks of it as following the Invocation, mentioning the peace of the Church, the stability of the world, kings, soldiers and allies, the sick, the καταπονούμενοι, all needing help, the departed saints - patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs - and finally the holy fathers and bishops and others who have fallen asleep. There is no intercession in Ap-Tr. Test-D has the earliest known; it prays only for Christians. Sarap is similar. Justin and Tertullian, however, both assert that Christians were accustomed to pray for the Emperor. ' We are all in the habit of praying always for all emperors, that they may have a long life, a stable rule, a safe home, strong armies, a faithful senate, a righteous people, and a quiet world.' The probability is that such prayers were not inserted into the Anaphora until the Emperors were Christian, and the Church felt she was guiding the world. 

Test-D has the Intercession before those phrases that are, in Ap-Tr, expanded into an Invocation. Ap-Const, Syrr, Byz, Arm have it after the Invocation; Egypt between Sursum corda and Sanctus (but Sarap, Copt-Bas after). Nest between the Sanctus and the Invocation; it is very slight, for the main Intercession is at the Diptychs before the Sursum corda. The petitions in the Anaphora were evidently inserted at a late date, about the tenth or eleventh century. 

In the West the history is obscure. Gall had the Diptychs before the Sursum corda. In some manuscripts of Gel, as in other Sacramentaries, there is no Commemoration of the Departed (Memento etiam). In one Sacramentary (Gerbert's Triplex) it follows Memento Domine. A Rheinau MS. of Gel has a commemoration, also beginning Memento etiam, after the Commemoration of the Living. Gall-Vet has before the Canon a Collectio post nomina, of which the latter part is the ending of Memento etiam. De Sacr says: ' The earlier parts of the service are said by the priest, praises are offered to God, prayer is asked for the people, for kings, and for others; when it comes to the consecration of the venerable sacrament, he uses no longer his own language but that of Christ.' Probst and Fortescue think that these items refer to different parts of the Canon. If they are right, the Intercessions followed the Sanctus and preceded the Institution; but there is no prayer for kings in the Roman Canon, while there is one in the Good Friday prayers, which are a survival of the Prayers of the Faithful. In De Sacr the Institution is preceded by a similar passage to the Quam oblationem, but it begins 'Hanc oblationem', which suggests that there was no Hanc igitur oblationem just before, as in the Roman Canon. De Sacr therefore probably had the Intercession in the same place as Gall. I have also taken the view in the Introduction that Innocent's letter to Gubbio implies the same position both for the north of Italy and for Rome at that date. 

It will only be possible to give the principal subjects included in the several liturgies, and mention some of the most interesting variants.

1. Remember, O Lord,
thy Holy Catholic Apostolic Church
from one end of the earth to the other,
which thou hast purchased with thy precious blood,
and give it peace.

Bas, which adds a petition for the permanence of the Church building (οἶκος - oikos). The peace is the dominating thought in Egypt, Nest, Byz, Arm; Ap-Const has ' to guard it unmoved and unbuffeted'; Jas, 'give it the gifts of thy Holy Spirit'; Rome (Te igitur), 'quam pacificare, custodire, adunare, et regere digneris'. This is not the most natural request (for the Church), and implies a date when persecutions were still possible. The Roman words are attributed by Agobard (d. 840) to Pope Pelagius (555-6i) [De comparatione regiminis eccl. et politici, ii.], but they are quoted by Vigilius, his predecessor. [De comparatione regiminis eccl. et politici, ii.] 

ἀπὸ περάτων ἕως περάτων - apo peraton heos peraton, Ap-Const, Mk, Copt, Bas; κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην - kata pasan ten oikoumenen, Jas, Syr-Jac, Nest, Bas (in part); ὑπὲρ τῆς οἰκουμένην - hyper tes oikoumenes, Chrys; τῶν λαῶν καὶ ... ποιμνίων, Mk; ' Bless all the people and ... all the lands', Copt; 'toto orbe terrarum', Rome.

ἣν περιεποιήσω τῷ τιμίῳ αἵματι - Hen periepoieso toi timioi haimati, Ap-Const, Bas, Copt-Bas, Eth. 

2. Remember, O Lord,
our most pious and Christian King
and the pious and Christian Queen,
their whole palace and army.

Here also much prominence is given to peace in Ap-Const, Jas, Syr-Jac, Mk, Copt, Nest. Ap-Const refers to l Tim.ii.2, and Chrys, Bas, Copt, Jas quote it. A prayer that all barbarians delighting in war should be subdued is in Bas, Jas.

3. Remember, Lord,
our holy fathers in the Church,
the bishops who in all the world
rightly divide the word of truth.

Ap-Const, Jas, Syr-Jac, Chrys, Arm. There is a prayer for the long life of the Patriarch in Syr-Jac, Mk, Copt. 'Una cum famulo tuo Papa nostro N. et antistite nostro N. et omnibus orthodoxis, atque catholicae fidei cultoribus', Rome.

4. Remember, O Lord,
me also thy humble, sinful, and unworthy servant,
and blot out my sins as a loving God,
and be present to us as we worship thy holy name.

The officiating priest is included in Ap-Const, Syrr, Mk, Copt, not Eth, Chrys, Arm, Rom. The deacon is also mentioned in Jas.

5. Remember, O Lord,
the presbytery, the diaconate in Christ,
and all the sacred order,
and let none of us who surround thine holy altar come to shame.

Not in Jas, Rome.

6. Remember and make worthy, O Lord,
all those who offer these oblations this day at thy holy altar,
and those on behalf of whom each one has offered,
or whom he has in mind,
and those who are duly read out to thee.

In some form this is in Syrr, Copt, Eth, Bas, Arm. This is the Roman Memento Domine, which, following the Te igitur, with it forms the beginning of the Canon:

Remember, O Lord,
thy servants and handmaids N. & N.
and all who assist,
whose faith is known to thee and devotion assured,
for whom we offer to thee, or who offer to thee,
this sacrifice of praise for themselves or all theirs,
for the redemption of their souls,
for the hope of salvation and safety,
and pay their vows to thee,
the living and true God.

'Pro quibus tibi offerimus' is absent from Amalarius's Canon [Eclogue ie officio missae: P.L. cv. 1330.], and its use was objected to by Bemold of Constance.[Micrologus, P.L, cli. 985.]

7. Remember, O Lord,
all thy people,
and pour upon them the riches of thy mercy,
giving to all what they need for salvation.

With little resemblance in wording this is in Syrr, Egypt, Bas.

8. Remember, O Lord,
the sick and suffering,
those in imprisonment and slavery,
all exiles and travellers,
those who are burdened with toils and griefs,
and all sinners.

Chiefly in Jas, Syrr, Byz, Egypt.

9. Remember, O Lord,
the holy and royal city of Christ our God,
and this our city, and every city and land,
and those who dwell in them,
their peace and safety.

Ap-Const, Jas, Syr-Jac, Mk.

10. Remember, O Lord,
favourable winds, peaceful rainfall, good dews,
abundance of fruits,
and crown the year with thy goodness.

Jas, Syr, Mk.

11. The Commemoration of the Saints.

In Jas and Mk this begins with the Angelic Salutation to our Lady. There is great variety both in the names mentioned and in the forms used. 

The Diptychs of the Departed have already been discussed, so far as concerns their character and position: we have now to consider their history and contents. 

The commemoration of the departed in the liturgy cannot with certainty be traced back beyond the middle of the second century, but St. Cyprian refers to it more than once, e.g. 'The bishops who preceded us made the pious and salutary provision of decreeing that a brother at his death should not appoint any cleric an executor or guardian, and if he did so the sacrifice should not be celebrated for his repose ... nor should he be named in any prayer of the Church ('deprecatio aliqua nomine ejus in Ecclesia frequentetur)' [Ep. i. 1.]. Later on St. Augustine distinguishes between the departed: 'So we do not commemorate the martyrs in the same way as the others that rest in peace, by praying for them too; but instead we ask that they should pray for us, that we may follow in their steps.' [Serm. Ixxxiv. in Johann.] 

In the East the earliest notice we have is contained in letters between Atticus of Constantinople and Cyril of Alexandria. After the condemnation of St. Chrysostom in 404 and his death in 407, his name was not placed on the Diptychs till popular indignation forced the hands of the Patriarchs 'of Antioch and Constantinople. The latter wrote to explain to Cyril, the bitter enemy of Chrysostom, excusing his action on the ground that not only bishops, but also lay people, were mentioned in the Diptychs: ' for there is a great difference between the case of the living and the dead, just as the books commemorating these two classes are separate and distinct.' Cyril's reply shows, however, that in the Diptychs of the Departed the bishops were kept apart from the clergy and laity. Later on the latter disappeared from the lists of the living, but among the departed they retained their place. [Connolly, Liturg. Homilies of Narsai, 102.] 

In Rome the lists soon became stereotyped. The living were restricted to the unnamed worshippers 'qui tibi offerunt', and for all theirs - 'suisque omnibus' as in the Memento. It is to this commemoration of the living that is added, in the Communicantes, the list of the Saints whose merits and prayers are pleaded as a ground for asking the help of God, 'quorum meritis precibusque concedas ut in omnibus protectionis tuae muniamur auxilio'. This is duplicated in the Nobis quoque, which now follows the remembrance of the departed, but obviously does not belong to it, and asks for 'some part and fellowship with the Saints'. 

The two lists are quite different. Leaving out the Apostles, the first has our Lady, five martyr bishops of Rome (Linus, Cletus, Clement, Sixtus, and Cornelius), and Cyprian, who is closely connected with Cornelius, the Roman deacon Laurence, and five Roman Saints (Chrysogonus, John and Paul, Cosmas and Damian). The second list begins with St. John, though the Apostles have just been mentioned; it may mean John the Baptist, who does not otherwise appear. Then St. Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, Ignatius, and a Pope not in the other list, Alexander I; a Roman priest and an exorcist who were martyred together, Marcellinus and Peter, and seven women martyrs, three Roman (Felicitas, Agnes, and Cecilia), one African (Perpetua), and two Sicilian (Agatha and Lucy), and one to whom a Roman Church was dedicated, St. Anastasia. The second list is obviously the later. 

In the East the distinction between the departed Saints and those who have not been canonized is not so clearly made, but there generally is a distinction.

We offer moreover unto thee
this our reasonable service
for those who have departed this life in the faith,
for our Fathers, the Patriarchs, Apostles, &c. ...
and for every righteous soul made perfect in the faith,
especially, &c. ... for the sake of whose prayers,
O God, vouchsafe to look upon us, &c. 

The Roman Communicantes is as follows:

Being in communion with,
and venerating the memory of,
first the glorious Mary ...
and of all thy Saints,
by whose good deeds and prayers do thou grant
that in all things we may be guarded by the help of thy protection,
through, &c. 

Nobis quoque reads thus:

To us also, thy sinful servants,
hoping in the multitude of thy mercies,
vouchsafe to grant some lot and fellowship with the holy apostles and martyrs,
with John, &c. ... and all thy saints,
into whose company we pray thee of thy mercy to admit us,
not weighing our merits, but pardoning our offences. 

The last sentences of Hanc igitur are of the same tenor. The Communicantes is variable, inserting for the great festivals a commemoration of the mystery of the day, after the word 'Communicantes'. 

12. And remember all those who have fallen asleep
in hope of the resurrection to eternal life,
and give them rest where the light of thy countenance shines upon them. 

The Roman form. Memento etiam, is:

Remember also, O Lord,
thy servants and handmaids N & N
who have gone before us with the sign of faith
and sleep in the sleep of peace.
To these, O Lord,
and to all that rest in Christ,
we pray thee grant a place of refreshment, light, and peace,
through, &c.

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the Blessing

Here there is a Blessing in the Eastern rites. In Byz, towards the end, the priest signs the body with the blood.

The mercies of our great God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ
shall be with you all.

R.      And with thy Spirit. 

Bas, Chrys, Arm, and Syr-Jac. It is preceded in Syrr by 'Peace to all' and response, and Egypt have this alone. Here also is the Fraction in Syr-Jac; while the priest breaks and signs the bread, the deacon recites a litany, declaring the mystery of the separation of the Lord's soul and body at death, and their reunion at the resurrection, and then says a prayer offering the sacrifice for his own sins. There is a similar prayer in Egypt, called 'the Prayer of the Fraction', during the recitation of which the people say the Lord's Prayer. Sarap has a rubric, 'after the prayer comes the Fraction, and in the Fraction a prayer';

that which then follows is to the same purpose, a preparation for communion. There is a similar blessing after the Inclination in some rites, which may be the same, though Syr-Jac has both. The following is the form of Jas:

And the grace and mercy of the holy, consubstantial,
uncreated, and worshipful Trinity shall be with you all.

R. And with thy spirit.

Jas, Syr-Jac, Nest. There is also a Benediction before communion in Amb, Gall, Moz; it is mentioned by Augustine [Ep. cxlix. 2; clxxix. 4; clxxv. 5.]. Pope Zacharias wrote to St. Boniface disapproving of such blessings: 'For they do not do this in accordance with apostolic tradition, but out of vainglory.' [Duchesne, Chr. Worship, 102.] The form for priests was: 'Peace, faith, love, and fellowship (communicatio) of the body and blood of the Lord be with you all.' This is, however, related to the Roman Pax Domini; it was the Bishop's blessing, which formed so prominent a feature in the Gall and Moz rites (see p. 310). It consisted of several sentences with the response, 'Amen', and varied with the Mass. Amb still has the priest's blessing in an intermediate form, 'Peace and fellowship', &c.

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