Epiclesis and the Consecration

[Alexander_Roman]

You are welcome, my son.

May the Lord be with you.

+Alexios

 

[Fuerza]

There was once an epiklesis of the Logos. Also an epiklesis of the Trinity.

I read that the Roman Liturgy had an epiklesis following the words of institution until being revised by Gregory the Great. Also that Augustine and Ambrose were to a great extent responsible for changing emphasis from the epiklesis to the words of institution. Also that epiklesis was a pagan practice in ancient times. (The new Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia of religious knowledge, p. 153)

Cyril of Jerusalem wrote: “Before the invocation of the adorable Trinity, the bread and wine of the Eucharist are merely bread and wine; but after it, they are the body and blood of Christ.” (Catecheses mystagogicae 1, 7.)

It should be pointed out that the EF does contain at least one implicit epiclesis, where during the offertory the priest says ,“Come, Thou Sanctifier, almighty and eternal God, and bless this sacrifice prepared for the glory of Thy holy Name”. Here, Sanctifier likely means Holy Spirit. It is also said that the prayers “supplices te rogamus” and “quam oblationem” are the functional equivalents of an epiclesis. All forms of the OF contain more overt epicleses.

 

[Alexander_Roman]

There was once an epiklesis of the Logos. Also an epiklesis of the Trinity.

I read that the Roman Liturgy had an epiklesis following the words of institution until being revised by Gregory the Great. Also that Augustine and Ambrose were to a great extent responsible for changing emphasis from the epiklesis to the words of institution. Also that epiklesis was a pagan practice in ancient times. (The new Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia of religious knowledge, p. 153)

Cyril of Jerusalem wrote: “Before the invocation of the adorable Trinity, the bread and wine of the Eucharist are merely bread and wine; but after it, they are the body and blood of Christ.” (Catecheses mystagogicae 1, 7.)

In fact, the practice of placing a piece of (baked/toasted) bread into a chalice of wine before raising it was invented by Alexander the Great.

This is still called “raising a toast.”

Alex