Theme
The Anaphora is the lifting up of ourselves and the Gifts to God. In it we participate in the whole economy of salvation.
Outline
- Opening Prayers
- Words of Institution
- Epiclesis
Scripture References[1]
Isaiah 6
Isaiah 43.11
Jonah 2.10 (2.9)
Matthew 21.9
John 3.16
1 Corinthians 11.23–26
Hebrews 2.3–4
Glossary
Anaphora: something offered up to God.
Epiclesis: the prayer invoking the Holy Spirit to descend upon the faithful and the Gifts.
Quote
“Let us lift up our hearts”—let us be heavenly-minded not earthly-minded. The faithful give their consent, and say that their hearts where our treasure is—there where Christ is, who sits on the right hand of the Father. “We have lifted them up to the Lord.”
— St Nicholas Cabasilas A Commentary on the Divine Liturgy
Extended Edition E-mail
Scriptures References[2]
Psalm 36.39 (37.39) NETS
But deliverance of the righteous is from the Lord,
and he is their protector in a time of affliction.
Isaiah 6.1–8 NETS (modified)
And it happened in the year that King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and raised up, and the house was full of his glory. And seraphim stood around him; each one had six wings, and with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And they cried out one to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Sabaoth; the whole earth is full of his glory.”
And the lintel was raised at the voice with which they cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “O wretched that I am! I am stunned; for being a man and having unclean lips, I live among a people having unclean lips, and I have seen the King, the Lord Sabaoth, with my eyes!”
Then one of the seraphim was sent to me, and he had in his hand a live coal that he had taken from the altar with the tongs. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips, and it will take away your lawlessness and purify your sins.” Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom should I send, and who will go to this people?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Isaiah 43.10–14 NETS
Be my witnesses;
I too am a witness, says the Lord God,
and the servant whom I have chosen
so that you may know and believe
and understand that I am.
Before me there was no other god,
nor shall there be any after me.
I am God,
and besides me there is none who saves.
I declared and saved; I reproached,
and there was no stranger among you.
You are my witnesses;
I too am a witness, says the Lord God.
Even from the beginning
there is also no one who rescues from my hands;
I will do it, and who will turn it back?
Thus says the Lord God,
the one who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel:
For your sake I will send to Babylon
and stir up all who are fleeing,
and the Chaldeans will be bound in ships.
Jonah 2.10 (2.9) NETS
But I with a voice of praise and acknowledgment
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay
to the Lord for my deliverance. [Or ‘salvation belongs to the Lord’]
Matthew 21.9 ESV
And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
John 3.16–17 ESV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
1 Corinthians 11.23–26 ESV
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
1 Corinthians 12.27 ESV
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
Hebrews 1.1–2 ESV
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
Hebrews 2.3–4 ESV
How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
Another Quote
In the grace of the Divine Liturgy, things to come are things done, because Christ is ‘above space and time and the particularity of events.’ In the Liturgy we experience the mystery of Christ, who came and is coming and now is (John 4.23).
—Priestmonk Gregarios quoting St Clement of Alexandra
From the Q&A
The Theotokos as Queen of Heaven
Psalm 44 (45) NETS
Regarding completion. Over those that will be changed. Pertaining to the sons of Korah. Regarding understanding. An Ode. Over the beloved.
My heart erupted with a goodly theme;
it is I that address my works to the king;
my tongue is a pen of a swift scribe.
Youthful in beauty you are, beyond the sons of men;
grace was poured on your lips;
therefore God blessed you forever.
Gird your sword on your thigh, O powerful one,
in your bloom and beauty,
and draw, and prosper, and become king
for the sake of truth and meekness and righteousness,
and your right hand will guide you marvelously.
Your arrows are sharp, O powerful one,
—peoples shall fall under you—
in the heart of the king’s enemies.
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
A rod of equity is the rod of your rule;
you loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.
Therefore God, your God, anointed you
with oil of rejoicing beyond your partners.
Myrrh and myrrh oil and cassia waft from your clothes,
from ivory bastions, with which they made you glad;
Daughters of kings are in your honor;
the queen stood at your right in gold-woven clothing,
decked out in many colors.
Hear, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear,
and forget your people and the house of your father,
because the king desired your beauty,
because he is your lord.
And daughters of Tyre will do obeisance to him with gifts;
your face the rich of the people will entreat.
Of a king’s daughter—all her glory is within,
decked out with golden tassels, in many colors.
Virgins behind her will be brought to the king;
her companions will be brought to you.
They will be brought with gladness and rejoicing;
they will be led into a king’s shrine.
In the place of your fathers your sons were born;
you will appoint them rulers in all the earth.
I will remember your name in every generation and generation;
therefore the peoples will acknowledge you forever,
even forever and ever.
Christ giving Mary to the Beloved Disciple.
John 19.25–27 ESV
[S]tanding by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.
We may therefore make bold to say that the Gospels are the first fruits of all the Scriptures, but that of the Gospels that of John is the first fruits. No one can apprehend the meaning of it except he have lain on Jesus' breast and received from Jesus Mary to be his mother also. Such an one must he become who is to be another John, and to have shown to him, like John, by Jesus Himself Jesus as He is. For if Mary, as those declare who with sound mind extol her, had no other son but Jesus, and yet Jesus says to His mother, “Woman, behold your son,” [John 19:26] and not “Behold you have this son also,” then He virtually said to her, “Lo, this is Jesus, whom you bore.” Is it not the case that every one who is perfect lives himself no longer, [Galatians 2:20] but Christ lives in him; and if Christ lives in him, then it is said of him to Mary, “Behold your son Christ.”
—Origen Commentary on the Gospel of John 1.23 (1.6)
As brought to my attention by Fr John Behr in several of his works, but the one with the most discussion on the quote is John the Theologian and his Paschal Gospel.
On Universalism
A great resource on this is the recent Lord of Spirits episode. “[What in Tarnation]{.underline}?”
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References from the Greek Bible; differing Hebrew Bible references are noted in parentheses. ↩
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Bible Versions:
ESV: English Standard Bible (a revision of the Revised Standard Version)
OSB/SAAS: Orthodox Study Bible/St Athanasius Academy Septuagint
LES: Lexham English Septuagint (a diplomatic translation of the Vatican Codex)
LEB: Lexham English Bible (From Hebrew OT, and Greek NT)
NET: New English Translation (with extensive translation notes) (not related to the NETS)
NETS: New English Translation of the Septuagint (an academic translation of the Septuagint , in these quotes proper names have been standardized) ↩