In Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Old Catholic, United Methodist, and Lutheran churches, the epiclesis (also sometimes spelled epiklesis, since it is a transliterated Greek word) is that part of the prayer of consecration of the Eucharistic elements (bread and wine) by which the priest invokes the Holy Spirit.^[1] Some Eastern Orthodox theologians hold that the epiclesis is essential to the Eucharist, since the entire mystery is based on the action of the Holy Spirit. ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only the first three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus — and reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. ... The Holy Apostolic Catholic Ancient Assyrian Church of the East under His Holiness Mar Dinkha IV is a Christian church that traces its origins to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, said to be founded by Saint Thomas the Apostle as well as Saint Mari and Addai as evidenced in the... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The term Anglican (from Medieval Latin ecclesia anglicana, meaning the English Church) is used to describe the people, institutions and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the established Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican Churches (a loosely affiliated group of... The Old Catholic Church is a community of Christian churches. ... The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination, and the second-largest Protestant one, in the United States. ... The Lutheran movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity by the original definition. ... Transliteration is the practice of transcribing a word or text written in one writing system into another writing system. ... Mary Magdalene in prayer. ... To consecrate an inanimate object is to dedicate it in a ritual to a special purpose, usually religious. ... For the death metal band from Sweden, see Eucharist (band) The Eucharist (or Communion or The Lords Supper etc. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

A similar invocation of the Holy Spirit by a priest in some other sacraments, such as matrimony, is also called an epiclesis. The Eastern Orthodox Church holds that such an epiclesis is necessary for the validity of a marriage; the Roman Catholic Church holds that it is not, since the bride and groom are the ministers of that sacrament.

In its pure form, the ancient anaphora of the Divine Liturgy of Addai and Mari does include an epiclesis. It does not use the Words of Institution, although they appear directly and indirectly in other parts of the rite. The Divine Liturgy of Addai and Mari belongs to the Chaldean liturgical family. ... The words of institution are the words of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament used in some forms of Christian liturgy to consecrate the Eucharist. ...

In the Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom for example, the priest says... John Chrysostom (347 - 407) was a notable Christian bishop and preacher from the 4th and 5th centuries in Syria and Constantinople. ...

"We offer to Thee this reasonable and unbloody sacrifice;

and we beg Thee, we ask Thee, we pray Thee that Thou,

sending forth Thy Holy Spirit on us and on these present gifts"

(the Deacon says: "Bless, Lord, the holy bread")

"make this bread the Precious Body of Thy Christ"

(Deacon: "Amen. Bless, Lord, the holy chalice"):

"and that which is in this chalice, the Precious Blood of Thy Christ"

(Deacon: "Amen. Bless, Lord, both"),

"changing by Thy Holy Spirit"

(Deacon: "Amen, Amen, Amen.")

It is sometimes said that, in the Roman Rite of Mass, the prayer Quam oblationem of the Roman Canon represents an epiclesis: Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... For other uses of Mass, see Mass (disambiguation). ... Before the 1970 revision of the Roman Missal, the Mass had, in the Roman Rite, only one Anaphora or Eucharistic Prayer, which was referred to as the Canon of the Mass, and which, in the present text of the Roman Missal, is called Eucharistic Prayer I or the Roman Canon. ...

Bless and approve our offering;

make it acceptable to you,

an offering in spirit and in truth.

Let it become for us

the body and blood of Jesus Christ,

your only Son, our Lord.

However, at least one Eastern Orthodox liturgical commentator, Nicholas Cabasilas, was of the opinion that the prayer Supplices te rogamus, placed, like the explicit epikleses in the Eastern Rites, after the anamnesis and oblation, is functionally equivalent: Anamnesis (Greek: αναμνησις = recollection, reminiscence) is a term used in medicine, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and religion. ... Oblation, an offering (Late Lat. ...

Almighty God, we pray

that your angel may take this sacrifice

to your altar in heaven,

then, as we receive from this altar

the sacred body and blood of your Son,

let us be filled with every grace and blessing.

It is notable that the Roman Canon mentions the Holy Spirit explicitly only once, in the final doxology: "Through Him [Christ], with Him, in Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honour is Yours, Almighty Father, forever and ever."

The Roman Rite, as celebrated from about the thirteenth century to 1969, also contained an offertory prayer that invoked God as Sanctifier, and thus perhaps implicitly the Holy Spirit, as follows: Latin Rite, in the singular and accompanied, in English, by the definite article, refers to the sui juris particular Church of the Roman Catholic Church that developed in the area of western Europe and northern Africa where Latin was for many centuries the language of education and culture. ... Offertory (from the ecclesiastical Latin offertorium, French offertoire, a place to which offerings were brought), the alms of a congregation collected in church, or at any religious service. ...

"Come, Thou Sanctifier, almighty and eternal God,

and bless + this sacrifice prepared for the glory of Thy holy Name."

Some Orthodox commentators, however, object to the Tridentine liturgy on the grounds that its epiklesis is too weak. When groups of Traditionalist Catholics have joined a canonical Orthodox jurisdiction with permission to celebrate the Tridentine Liturgy, they have been required to interpolate the epiklesis from the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom into the Tridentine Mass in order to correct this perceived defect. A Tridentine Mass being celebrated in Bohermeen, Ireland in the 1950s. ... A 1950s Low Mass in Bohermeen, Ireland in the presence of a bishop and several priests and with the altar arranged for Eucharistic devotions to follow A traditionalist Catholic is a Roman Catholic who believes that there should be a restoration of the liturgical forms, public and private devotions, and...

No such difficulties arise with the additional Eucharistic Prayers introduced into the Roman Rite in its post-1969 form. Each of them has a pre-consecration and a post-consecration epiclesis. In the Eastern Christian liturgy, the anaphora is that part of the Liturgy having to do specifically with the consecration and offering of the Eucharist, as opposed to scripture readings, etc. ... This article is about the post-Vatican-II changes to the Mass; for an explanation of the current structure of the Mass, see Mass (Catholic Church). ...

Pre-consecration epiclesis:

II: Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy,

so that they may become for us

the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

III: And so, Father, we bring you these gifts.

We ask you to make them holy by the power of your Spirit,

that they may become the body and blood

of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,

at whose command we celebrate this eucharist.

IV: Father, may this Holy Spirit sanctify these offerings.

Let them become the body and blood of Jesus Christ our Lord

as we celebrate the great mystery

which he left us as an everlasting covenant.

Post-consecration epiclesis:

II: May all of us who share in the body and blood of Christ

be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.

III: Look with favour on your Church's offering,

and see the Victim whose death has reconciled us to yourself.

Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood,

may be filled with his Holy Spirit,

and become one body, one spirit in Christ.

IV: Lord, look upon this sacrifice which you have given to your Church;

and by your Holy Spirit, gather all who share this one bread and one cup

into the one body of Christ, a living sacrifice of praise.

Anglican and Lutheran Eucharistic prayers and newer Old Catholic anaphoras, tend to follow the perceived Eastern practice of treating the Words of Institution as a warrant for the action, with the Epiclesis following the anamnesis/oblation. For example, after the Words of Institution, the epiclesis in Eucharistic Prayer B in the American Book of Common Prayer (which is found in the Canadian Alternative Service Book and several other Anglican liturgies) reads: For the novel by Joan Didion, see A Book of Common Prayer. ...

"And we offer our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to you, O Lord of All,

presenting to you, from your creation, this bread and this wine.

We pray you, gracious God, to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts

that they may be + the Sacrament of the Body of Christ and his Blood of the new Covenant.

Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice, that we may be acceptable through him,

being + sanctified by the Holy Spirit."

After the Words of Institution in the Lutheran Book of Worship, for example, the epiclesis in Eucharistic Prayer III reads: Lutheran Book of Worship is a hymnal and prayer book used by several Lutheran denominations in North America. ...

"And we implore you

mercifully to accept our praise and thanksgiving

and, with your Word and Holy Spirit,

to bless us, your servants,

and these your own gifts of bread and wine;

that we and all who share in the + body and blood of your Son

may be filled with Heavenly peace and joy

and, receiving the forgiveness of sin,

may be + sanctified in soul and body,

and have our portion with all your saints."

Lutheran and Anglican divines have also argued that in earlier liturgies of theirs in which an Epiclesis and unity with the one sacrifice of Christ may not have seemed explicit, it was stated as the point of the consecration in other parts of the rite, notably in required exhortations.

The epiclesis of the United Methodist liturgy draws from both the Anglican tradition and the liturgical renewal movement of the 20th century that focused upon liturgies of the ancient church. The epiclesis is as follows: The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination, and the second-largest Protestant one, in the United States. ...

"Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,

and on these gifts of bread and wine.

Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,

that we may be for the world the body of Christ,

redeemed by his blood..."

References

1. ^ Epiklesis. Catholic Encyclopedia. Retrieved on 2007-02-18.