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Parole de l’Orient 45 (2019) 309-324
THE ANAPHORA OF THE APOSTLES ADDAI AND MARI AND
ITS CHRISTOLOGICAL CHARACTER
BY
Mateusz POTOCZNY
University of Opole - Poland
INTRODUCTION
In the 20th century the East-Syrian Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and
Mari was rediscovered and widely elaborated by western scholars and theo-
logians. The main fruits of this discovery can be found in the Guidelines for
Admission to the Eucharist between the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian
Church of the East published in October 26th, 2001. One of the most promi-
nent scholars, Robert Taft SJ , used to call this document the most
important ecclesiastical document since Vaticanum II
1
. Ten years after the
issue of Gudelines the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome organized the
Congress dedicated to the Anaphora of Addai and Mari
2
.
Even if the preparation of both the Gudelines and the Congress was fol-
lowed by many studies, it seems justified to go back again and again to the
Anaphora which is very often called of the
out the deep and genuine theology contained in it.
In this paper we want to pay attention to the Christological aspects of
the Anaphora. To achieve this goal, we will start with a short presentation of
the historical development of the text and only afterwards we will try to
identify the main Christological components of the Anaphora of Addai and
Mari. The analysis will be based on the oldest known texts of the anaphora
published by William F. Macomber
3
, with some additions taken from the
) See Bibliography and abbreviations.
1
) TAFT, Messa, p. 129.
2
) The acts of the Congress were published in GIRAUDO, The Anaphoral Genesis. It is
worth to mention some prominent speakers active during the Congress: Cesare Giraudo, Di-
etmar W. Winkler, Sebastian P. Brock, Massimo Pampaloni, Paul Pallath, Bryan D. Spinks,
Robert F. Taft, Enrico Mazza, Mar Awa Royel.
3
) William F. MACOMBER, The Oldest Known Text of the Anaphora of the Apostles
310 MATEUSZ POTOCZNY
Missale Chaldeorum
4
made by Cesare Giraudo
5
.
1. THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Among historians of the liturgy none would disagree that the Anaphora
of the Apostles Addai and Mari is the oldest eucharistic prayer used continu-
ously from the early Christian era
6
. As in the case of the other ancient
anaphoras it is impossible to point precisely to the very moment of its redac-
tion. Even if the oldest manuscripts date back to the middle Ages, we can
state in all probability that this most important and most popular eucharistic
prayer of the Church of the East was composed in the first half of the 3rd cen-
tury, and most probably the author used an oral tradition transmitted from
the apostolic era
7
.
In our times the prayer the Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and Mari is
divided into four parts called (syr. a prayer of inclining said by the
priest with bowed head and in a low voice
8
), which in turn are preceded by a
petition called , and an invocation orate fratres with a diaconal re-
sponse. The other parts of the anaphora reveal Christianized elements of the
Jewish blessings said during the festival meals. We find here praises for cre-
ation, thanksgivings for salvation and different invocations followed by a
doxology
9
. Some scholars claim that such a character of the prayer appears
as a result of a Jewish practice, i.e. the Last Supper, and this influenced the
prayer of the ancient Christians. To show the connection between the
Anaphora and the Jewish rites Anthony Gelston evokes the examples of the
birkat ha-mazon and points to its connection with the Syro-oriental eucharis-
tic prayers
10
.
But beyond the shadow of a doubt the main characteristic of the Anaph-
ora of the Apostles Addai and Mari is the lack of the narratio institutionis
the prayer does not quote directly the words spoken by Jesus during the Last
Addai and Mari, in OCP 32 (1966), pp. 335-371.
4
) Missale Chaldaeorum, (Mosul, 1901), pp. 27-36.
5
) The English translation used in this study mainly comes from: GELSTON, Addai
and Mari, pp. 48-55, with some changes made by myself (what will be marked by * in the
proper place).
6
) Cf. GIRAUDO, L’anafora, p. 209.
7
) YOUSIF, Addai e Mari, p. 10.
8
) Jessie PAYNE SMITH, A Compendious Syriac Dictionary, (Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1903), p. 62.
9
) YOUSIF, Addai e Mari, p. 10.
10
) GELSTON, Addai and Mari, pp. 6-7. Cf. Bawai SORO, The Church of the East.
Apostolic and Orthodox, (Adiabene Publications, San Jose, 2007), p. 137.
THE ANAPHORA OF ADDAI AND MARI AND ITS CHRISTOLOGICAL CHARACTER 311
Supper. Even if the Syriac tradition knows other similar cases, for the west-
ern faithful it must be shocking, seeing that precisely the narratio institu-
tionis for centuries was considered as the proper moment of the transubstan-
tiation of the gifts of bread and wine. As we know very well, it was this phe-
nomenon which created the main controversy regarding the anaphora, espe-
cially among western prelates. In one of his writings Robert Taft recalls a di-
-,
referring to the Anaphora of Addai and Mari,
n-
not be - but that does not solve the problem
11
. A similar question is raised by
Peter , who remembers that many Catholics, based on the
arguments of St. Thomas Aquinas, were convinced that the only real form of
the Eucharist are the words spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper
12
. In oth-
er words we can hazard a guess that] given such an understanding the Chris-
tological quality of any eucharistic prayer would be guaranteed only by the
exact words, which working as an embolism, are an essential part of this eu-
chological composition.
Therefore, it is not surprising that in the course of history many reform-
ers tried to come up with some recipes for healing the in their opinion
invalid anaphora. Of course, the healing process had to make out of the
ancient Anaphora of Addai and Mari a prayer which meets the requirements
of Catholic orthodoxy. In this field special efforts were made by western
missionaries who very often forcibly incorporated the narratio institutionis
into the Anaphora of Addai and Mari. In the Catholic Chaldean missals
(from 1797) and in the Malabar (from 1774) the words of Jesus were added
to the text of the anaphora, among the preparatory prayers for the breaking of
the bread. The Anglican missionaries put those words at the end of the post-
Sanctus
13
.
Obviously, many scholars tried to answer the question why in some ori-
ental anaphoras the essential words are lacking. Some of them suggested that
this is a result and a proof of Nestorian (hence: heretical) provenance
14
. The
supporters of this theory maintain that the anaphora was shaped by the patri-
arch Ishoyahb III ( 659) who certainly was convinced that, given the value
11
) Cf. TAFT, Messa, p. 128.
12
) Cf. Peter A. K, Doing and Speaking in the Person of Christ: Eucharis-
tic Form in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, , 4,2 (2006),
p. 314.
13
) GIRAUDO, L’anafora, p. 209.
14
) Cf. TAFT, Messa, pp. 135-136.
312 MATEUSZ POTOCZNY
of the epiclesis and of the work of the Spirit, the Words of Institution are in-
essential
15
. In the literature we meet also some hypotheses arising out of the
following assumption: because according to the ecclesiastical intuition the
eucharistic consecration comes through the recitation of the Words of Insti-
tution, it is very likely that also the Anaphora of Addai and Mari must have
once had those words in its structure; they disappeared only by ignorance or
negligence (Gherardini, Santogrossi, Lang)
16
. Some others, in turn, claimed
that the lack of the narratio institutionis is not a proof of the absence of the
words of Jesus in the anaphora probably they were learned by heart and
spoken during the celebration, but they were not written because of the great
respect towards their holiness
17
.
Even if such theories were common among the scholars until the first
half of the 20th century, they are impossible to verify. On the one hand we
cannot entirely exclude them, but on the other no one can prove the theories.
Today the common statement is that if the narratio institutionis was present
in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari there would be a trace of it. Another
weakness of this hypothesis is its apriorism, which assumes that every eu-
charistic prayer should include the Words of Institution
18
.
Making a theological evaluation of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari we
should remember that the oldest eucharistic prayers had primarily a character
of benediction, thanksgiving and petition. The subject of this benediction and
thanksgiving was constituted by the salvific events which God accomplished
for His people. Within this framework, the other forms gradually took shape.
including epiclesis, anamnesis and the remembrance of the Last Supper to-
. Of course, we do not say that
those elements were added from outside: as noted by Cesare Giraudo, the
Words of Institution are in the DNA of every anaphora, even if in the begin-
ning they may not be clearly articulated. This means that the Words belong
to the internal structural form of the eucharistic prayer
19
. Scholarly accusa-
tions that the Anaphora of Addai and Mari is defective because of the lack of
the narratio institutionis are mistaken. A similar error would be to accuse the
15
) Cf. RUSSO, Validity, pp. 57-58.
16
) Ibid., p. 61.
17
) NADOLSKI, Liturgika, vol. 4, Eucharystia
2011), p. 44.
18
) TAFT, Messa, pp. 135-136.
19
) Cesare GIRAUDO,
di Addai e Mari: tra storia delle forme e liturgia comparata, in IDEM (ed.), The Anaphoral
Genesis, p. 451.
THE ANAPHORA OF ADDAI AND MARI AND ITS CHRISTOLOGICAL CHARACTER 313
esteemed and ancient Roman Canon of lacking a clear epiclesis
20
. The ab-
sence of the Words of Institution results from the antiquity and Semitic
origin of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari; likewise the lack of a clear epi-
clesis in the Roman Canon results from the fact that its redaction took place
before the pneumatological controversies in the 4th century. It would be ab-
surd to maintain that during the celebration of the Eucharist the Holy Spirit
is not operative, simply because He is not mentioned directly. The same ap-
plies to the Words of Institution
21
.
Concluding this section it seems useful to refer once again to the Vati-
can document mentioned at the beginning of this paper. The Anaphora of the
Apostles Addai and Mari has been described as follows:
[...] the Anaphora of Addai and Mari is one of the most ancient Anapho-
ras, dating back to the time of the very early Church; it was composed and
used with the clear intention of celebrating the Eucharist in full continuity
with the Last Supper and according to the intention of the Church; its va-
lidity was never officially contested, neither in the Christian East nor in
the Christian West.
[...] the Catholic Church recognizes the Assyrian Church of the East as a
true particular Church, built upon orthodox faith and apostolic succession.
The Assyrian Church of the East has also preserved full Eucharistic faith
in the presence of our Lord under the species of bread and wine and in the
sacrificial character of the Eucharist. In the Assyrian Church of the East,
though not in full communion with the Catholic Church, are thus to be
nts, and above all, by apostolic succession, the priest-
.
[...] the words of Eucharistic Institution are indeed present in the Anapho-
ra of Addai and Mari, not in a coherent narrative way and ad litteram, but
rather in a dispersed euchological way, that is, integrated in successive
prayers of thanksgiving, praise and intercession
22
.
20
) The text in the editio typica says as follows:
rationábilem, acceptabilémque fácere
digéris:ut nobis Corpus et Sanguis fiat dilectíssimi Fílii tui, Dómini nostri Iesu Christi
Missale Romaum ex decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticanii instauratum
auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum Ioannis Pauli PP. II cura recognitum. Iuxta typicam
tertiam, (MTF, Downers Grove, 2007), p. 499. It is interesting that some modern translations
add Holy Spirit, probably to make clear that He is the acting agent of the epiclesis; see, for
example, the Polish one:
naszego Pana
Jezusa ChrystusaMszał Rzymski dla diecezji polskich
21
) Por. RUSSO, Validity, p. 61.
22
) Guidelines, n. 3.
314 MATEUSZ POTOCZNY
2. CHRISTOLOGY IN THE ANAPHORA OF ADDAI AND MARI
Because the liturgy is the very first locus theologicus and according to
the ancient axiom lex orandi – lex credendi – lex vivendi it is united with the
dogmas of this faith, therefore everything that is essential in the faith should
be found in the euchology.
Regarding the Church of the East, for centuries this community was
wrongly termed even today we can meet this term also in
some serious scientific studies (sic!). The term itself suggests that the deposit
of faith transmitted within this community is marked by heresy and should
be viewed with a dose of mistrust or even combated. For centuries, one of
the main accusations against the Assyrian theology was the statement on the
dualism of persons in Jesus Christ: the divine and human. But The Common
Christological Declaration between the Catholic Church and the Assyrian
Church of the East
23
i-
arc that the main problem of the contro-
versy lay on the linguistic level, while none appears to exist on the level of
essence. The key to understanding this question is the term (kyanā) in Je-
sus Christ. In one of his commentaries
writes:
The Assyrians maintain that every kyanā () needs a qnōmā (
) for
existence; therefore the Assyrian theology speaks of two qnōmē in Christ.
This understanding led to the incorrect conviction that the Assyrians, rec-
ognizing two kyanē and two qnōmē in Christ, believe in two separate per-
sons (parsōpē). From the Assyrian point of view every kyanā (nature)
must have a real being, i.e. qnōmā. Therefore, in the West the conviction
arose that this Christology speaks of two persons (qnōmē) in Christ
24
. In
the Christological field qnōmā should be understood as an individual-
kyanā or-
der of kyanā, and not as an autonomous subject
25
.
23
) JOINT COMMITTEE FOR THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
AND THE ASSYRIAN CHURCH OF THE EAST, The Common Christological Declaration signed by
Pope John Paul II and the Catholicos Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, Khanania
Mar Dinkha IV [1994]. For Syriac text: http://www.atour.com/media/files/religion/coe/
Common-Christological-Declaration-Roman-Catholic-Church-and-Church-of-the-East-
COE.pdf (02.01.2018); English translation:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrst
uni_doc_11111994_assyrian-church_en.html (02.01.2018).
24
) Cf. Bawai SORO, « La Déclaration christologique commune du 11 novembre 1994:
son contenu véritable et sa portée », in Istina 40 (1995), p. 165.
25
) Cf. POTOCZNY SADOWSKI, Deklaracje, pp. 297-316.
THE ANAPHORA OF ADDAI AND MARI AND ITS CHRISTOLOGICAL CHARACTER 315
Now we see that dogmatically the question seems very clear, but it is
worthwhile to confront the theory with practice, as expressed in the faith in-
cluded in a specific euchological text, namely in the subject of this paper, i.e.
[in] the Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and Mari.
Christology present in any eucharistic prayer is not only limited to ref-
erences to the events of the Upper Room and their anamnetic manifestation.
In fact, Christology has to show forth Jesus Christ, in whom God the Father
meets His creation, and through this meeting people have an entrance to sal-
vation
26
. One of the most prominent liturgists of the Church of the East used
to say that the liturgical action as a whole is a contemplation of Jesus
Christ
27
. The Christological content of each eucharistic prayer, thanks to the
anamnesis and epiclesis, contains in itself the whole history of salvation and
all the salvific events of Jesus Christ. Those events reached their climax in
the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. We should remember that the
eucharistic prayers were composed precisely for dogmatic and not liturgical
unity
28
.
The first Christological feature of the Anaphora of the Apostles Addai
and Mari can already be seen in its introductory part, which precedes the
Sanctus encompasses, so to
speak, the whole history of salvation: it touches both the creation of the Uni-
verse and the Salvation of people. Even if the thanksgiving prayer is directed
men in his mercy
e-
riological message.
The next Christological text, this time very rich and deep, we encounter
just after the introductory words of the Post-Sanctus. Although this prayer is
directed to God the Father, hence it could smack of the ancient language of
Monarchianism, in reality this text can easily become a basis for a separate
Christological treatise.
And with these heavenly hosts we give thee thanks, o my Lord,
we also thy unworthy, frail, and miserable servants,
because thou hast dealt very graciously with us in a way which cannot be
26
) Gerhard L. MÜLLER, Dogmatyka katolicka, (WAM, Kraków, 2015), p. 283.
27
) Petros YOUSIF, East Syrian Liturgy as an Expression of Christology, in Alfred
STIRNEMANN, Gerhard WILFLINGER, Syriac Dialogue. Second Non-Official Consultation on
Dialogue within the Syriac Tradition, (Pro Oriente, Vienna, 1996), p. 174.
28
) Baby VARGHESE, East Syrian Liturgy as an Expression of Christology, in Alfred
STIRNEMANN, Gerhard WILFLINGER, Syriac Dialogue. Second Non-Official Consultation on
Dialogue within the Syriac Tradition, (Pro Oriente, Vienna, 1996), p. 153.
316 MATEUSZ POTOCZNY
repaid,
in that thou didst assume (*put on) our humanity ()
that thou mightest restore us to life by thy divinity ( ),
and didst exalt our low estate ( ),
and raise up our fallen state ( ),
and resurrect our mortality ( ),
and forgive our sins (
),
and acquit our sinfulness ( ),
and enlighten our understanding ( ),
and, our Lord and God, overcome our adversaries
(),
and give victory to the unworthiness of our frail nature
( )
in the overflowing mercies of thy grace.
Some authors see in this narration a Christianised version, provided
with a deep Christological meaning, of the second Jewish Birkat ha-mazon,
where we read as follows:
We thank You, Lord, our God, for having given as a heritage to our an-
cestors a precious, good and spacious land; for having brought us out,
Lord our God, from the land of Egypt, and redeemed us from the house of
slaves; for Your covenant which You have sealed in our flesh; for Your
Torah which You have taught us; for Your statutes which You have made
known to us; for the life, favor, and kindness which You have graciously
bestowed upon us; and for the food we eat with which You constantly
nourish and sustain us every day, at all times, and at every hour
29
.
The initial thanksgiving of the Post-Sanctus in the Anaphora of Addai
and Mari concerns some specific benefits which God has provided for His
people. The mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God is the basis of this
narration. The prayer clearly specifies the motive for Incarnation: in the
abasement of the Divine Logos the point is that fallen human nature could be
raised again. To achieve this Jesus Christ put on this human nature. We en-
counter here the Syriac word [lbešt],
notes that St. Ephrem and the other Syriac writers use this term as a means of
linking all the different points in the course of salvation history, starting with
the creation narrative, then applying it in turn to Jesus Christ, to the individ-
ual Christian and to the saints on the Day of Judgment. This imagery of put-
29
) After Joel B. WOLOWELSKY, Women at the Seder. A Passover Haggadah. לש הדגה
חספ, (KTAV Publishing House, Urim, 2005), p. 65.
THE ANAPHORA OF ADDAI AND MARI AND ITS CHRISTOLOGICAL CHARACTER 317
ting on and taking off clothing, taken from the everyday life, served early
Syriac writers as a very effective means for showing how the different stages
in the history of salvation are interconnected, and how each individual Chris-
tian is directly involved in this history
30
.
The concept of putting on the body like clothing is present already in
Demonstratio XXI we read as fol-
( ) from the Vir-
31
would compare the clothing () of Your human nature to Your robe?
Who would compare the clothing () of Your divine nature to Your
body? They were both clothing for You, Lord: the robe and the body, and the
De Fide 19,2)
32
; a-
ture of the Existent Which is not entirely visible? Whoever was written to
have seen It did not see Him, unless [he saw] a form [in] which He had
veiled ( De Fide 33,13)
33
see Him, He took clothing (De
Fide 36,2)
34
; ) and raised Him up in
De Fide 50,5)
35
.
Putting on human nature opened the gates to the other elements of the
Divine economy, listed in the Anaphora, such as: raising up the miserable
and fallen people, the resurrection of our mortality, the forgiveness of debts
and the justification of sins.
Another remarkably Christological character can be found in the re-
membrance of the departed, present among the intercessory invocations. The
following words have particular importance:
30
) Sebastian P. BROCK, Spirituality in the Syriac Tradition, (SEERI, Kottayam, 2005),
pp. 39-40.
31
) Aphrahates, Demonstratio, 21:9. 20, in Patrologia Syriaca, vol. 1, (IFT, Parisiis,
1894), p. 953. For English translation, see Kuriakose VALAVANOLICKAL, Aphrahat. Demon-
strations, vol. 2, (SEERI, Kottayam, 2005), p. 209.
32
) BECK, Ephraem. De Fide, s. 72. For English translation, see RUSSEL, Ephraem. On
Faith, p. 61.
33
) BECK, Ephraem. De Fide, s. 111. For English translation, see RUSSEL, Ephraem. On
Faith, p. 107.
34
) BECK, Ephraem. De Fide, s. 118; English translation see RUSSEL, Ephraem. On
Faith, p. 114.
35
) BECK, Ephraem. De Fide, s. 157. English translation see RUSSEL, Ephraem. On
Faith, p. 158. SADOWSKI,
O Bogu w Trójcy Jedynym (Sinai ar. 154), in
Teologia i człowiek 38,2 (2017), pp. 188-189.
318 MATEUSZ POTOCZNY
[...] make a good and gracious remembrance ( ),
for all the upright and just fathers (
) who were pleasing before
thee,
in the commemoration () of the body and blood of thy Christ,
which we offer to thee ( ) upon the pure and holy altar,
as thou hast taught us ().
At a glance this text does not contain any interesting Christological
character; but this is only an impression. It is enough to go deeper into the
terminology used in this section to discover that this is not only a regular
memento. The keywords used in this prayer are: memory () and remem-
brance (). Both words point to the fact that that in this moment the
Anaphora emphasizes more a real manifestation, rather than just a memento
for the departed. Cesare Giraudo notes that this intercession is a request to
God, not for anybody in general, but precisely it concerns the upright and
just fathers, who had the privilege of offering the same sacrifice as the gath-
ered community makes in the very moment of the eucharistic celebration,
ruction ()
cannot be understood only as the transmission of knowledge. It is about
an instruction which provokes a habit and becomes the very channel linking
different historic events, starting from the Last Supper, through every cele-
bration enacted in history, until the prayer of the community which gathers
today, to accomplish exactly the same service as the upright and just fathers
did
36
.
In the following verses the Anaphora evokes once more the Mystery of
the Incarnation. This time Jesus is shown as a real Pantokrator, who teaches
His people:
[...] and thou didst send our Lord Jesus Christ ( ),
thy Son and thy Beloved;
and he, our Lord and our God ( ),
taught us in his lifegiving Gospel.
Another very important Christological text in the Anaphora we are dis-
cussing is incorporated in its part called anamnesis and as proposed by
Cesare Giraudo quasi-narratio institutionis:
And we also, o my Lord, thy unworthy, frail, and miserable servants,
who are gathered () and stand () before thee (*in this hour) (
),
36
) Por. GIRAUDO, In unum Corpus, pp. 356-357.
THE ANAPHORA OF ADDAI AND MARI AND ITS CHRISTOLOGICAL CHARACTER 319
and have received by tradition ( ) the example /(*figure) (),
which is from thee,
rejoicing and glorifying,
and exalting and commemorating () and celebrating ()
this great and awesome ( ) mystery ()
of the passion () and death () and resurrection ()
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This passage became the key for the theological dialogue and the redac-
tion of the Guidelines quoted above. In an anamnetic way the different ele-
ments present in this section make of the celebration the same liturgical ac-
tion, which was continuously ,
the Christology of this section is contained in some Syriac expressions. The
( )l-
ar knows that the meaning of the word is much wider than the popular
understanding of tradition. concerns the reality which is dynamic,
marked by course and continuity, succession, origins and the stream of gen-
erations
37
. Thus in this exact moment of celebration the community gathered
in the Church remembers, celebrates and makes present the Mystery of Jesus
Christ: in a sacramental way they fulfill the memory of His passion, death
and resurrection.
Another important term in this section is , which can be translated
as an example, figure, pattern, similarity. Giraudo emphasizes that in this
word the sacramental signs of the bread and wine are included therefore
this word would be in fact the very remembrance of the Last Supper. The
figure received in the stream of tradition is nothing else than the sacramental
Body and Blood of the Lord. Thanks to this, the narratio institutionis is here
present in an embryonic state
38
.
It should be noted that the lack of the Words of Institution expressed
explicite does not mean that the Church of the East disregards them. In the
liturgical intuition the power of the words of Jesus, said once in the Upper
Room, lasts unceasingly from that moment. In each eucharistic celebration,
i-
tution are reactivated. We see then, that the narratio institutionis always
has consecratory power, even if the words are not said directly, because it is
not the priest-celebrant who gives them the spiritual power, but Jesus Christ
37
) PAYNE SMITH, Dictionary, s. 189.
38
) GIRAUDO, In unum Corpus, s. 357-358.
320 MATEUSZ POTOCZNY
did it once and forever
39
. Moreover we should remember that narratio insti-
tutionis is not an isolated consecratory form: according to the teaching of the
Church Fathers and the contemporary teaching of Magisterium Ecclesiae the
whole eucharistic prayer has the consecratory character
40
.
The next Christological moment in the Anaphora of the Apostles Addai
and Mari is without any doubt the epiclesis. In this petition the celebrant asks
that the Holy Spirit come, rest, [], bless and sanctify the offering. It is
the Holy Spirit who, resting on the holy gifts, is a guarantee of the actualisa-
tion of the Mysteries of Jesus Christ. His presence makes the offering
forgiveness of shortcomings [
Also, the epicletic doxology refers to the salvific Mystery of Christ. The
a sign of freedom,
availability and unconditional confidence) gives thanks for the redemption made
[ ]
41
CONCLUSIONS
The Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and Mari is one of the ancient eu-
charistic prayers known to us, and at the same time it is the only prayer
which is incessantly used by one of the true Apostolic Churches, i.e. the
Church of the East. This phenomenon makes the Anaphora a unique and ex-
ceptional gem of the liturgical treasure of the whole Christian community.
Of course this prayer does not exhaust the richness of the East Syriac eucha-
ristic euchology. From the time of the reform made by the patriarch
Ishoyahb III the Churches belonging to the East-Syriac tradition use also
two other eucharistic prayers: the Anaphora of Nestorius (the feast of the
Greek Fathers, the last day of the Niniveh Fast, the feast of John the Baptist,
Epiphany and Maundy Thursday) and the Anaphora of Theodore of
Mopsuestia (from the first Sunday of Advent until Palm Sunday)
42
. Nonethe-
39
) Cf. TAFT, Messa, s. 154-158.
40
) Ibid., pp. 150-153. It should be noted that even though the Catholic Church recog-
nized the validity of the celebration with the Anaphora of Addai and Mari without a direct
narratio institutionis
faithful are participating in an Assyrian celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Assyrian minis-
ter is warmly invited to insert the words of the Institution in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari,
Guidelines, n. 4.3.
41
) Cf. GIRAUDO, In unum Corpus, pp. 359-360.
42
) RUCKI, Michael ABDALLA,
pierwszych wieków, in Liturgia Sacra 23,1 (2017), p. 89.
THE ANAPHORA OF ADDAI AND MARI AND ITS CHRISTOLOGICAL CHARACTER 321
less the Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and Mari contains all the theologi-
cal insights of the Syro-Oriental tradition.
The ancient text of the Anaphora contains many interesting theological
intuitions. Because the oldest redaction of the text is earlier than the majority
of theological controversies, the theology contained is not always as devel-
oped as would be required by the later point of view. Nevertheless, analysing
the Christology of the Anaphora of the Apostles Addai and Mari we have to
say that it is par excellence Catholic, and comprehensively embraces the
salvific work of Jesus Christ. A deep reflection on the Anaphora and its in-
terpretation facilitates our understanding of the common documents of the
Catholic Church and the Church of the East, which bring to an end centuries-
old disputes and misunderstanding
43
.
We should always remember that the face of Jesus Christ depicted by
the words of the eucharistic prayers has various shades. But it is always the
same face of the same Christ. Therefore continuous study of the liturgical
texts is always topical and has an ecumenical goal: better knowledge of one
another will deepen our understanding of the so-called diversitas reconcil-
iata, which God willing will lead Christians to full communion.
43
) Cf. POTOCZNY SADOWSKI, Deklaracje, p. 311.
322 MATEUSZ POTOCZNY
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