What is an anaphora, and what does it consist of?

In Christianity, there are many concepts that a simple person is very difficult to disassemble. So, trying to figure out what an anaphora is, many people confuse it with the word "anathema" similar in pronunciation. But these are completely different words, which differ in the root and in meaning. So, what is an anaphora? What are its features?

What is an anaphora?

This term denotes a special kind of prayer, which is also called "Eucharistic." From the Ancient Greek "anaphora" is translated as "offering." In fact, this is part of the liturgy of Christians, which occupies the main place in the action. It is one of the oldest and is the most important among the other prayers. During anaphora, the transubstantiation or presentation of wine and bread in the Blood and Body of Christ is performed.

The main parts of anaphora

To understand what an anaphora is, it is possible only if one understands its general features. Why common? Because she has a variety of Christian liturgical rites. But at the same time in all of them it is possible to identify common parts.

The first part is an introductory dialogue, which consists of exclamations of the priest, as well as from the people's answers. The second part - prefaciation, that is, the introduction - is the initial prayer, which in itself contains thanksgiving to God and thanksgiving. As a rule, it is an appeal to the Father-God and usually precedes the Sanctus through the recollection of the ministry of the saints and the angelic ministry. Sanctus is the third part, which is the hymn "Holy, holy ...". "Sutivation and Anamnesis" - the fourth part of anaphora - is the recollection of the Last Supper, in which the secrecy words of Christ and the memories of the economy of salvation are uttered. The fifth part - the epiclesis - is the invocation of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit or another prayer that contains a petition that the gifts be sanctified. Intercession is the next stage of anaphora. In it prayers-petitions for all the deceased and living are pronounced, the Church and for the whole world. In this case, the Mother of God and all the saints are remembered in her.

Types of anaphora in Christian and other divine services

Doxology is the final part of the glorification. That's what Anaphora is, and what it consists of. Different Anaphora may contain a different order of these parts. So, if we arbitrarily designate prefacies with the letter P, Sanctus - S, anamnesis - A, epiclease - E, and intercession - J, then different anaphores can be conditionally divided into the following formulas:

• Alexandrian or Coptic - PJSAE.
• Armenian - PSAEJ.
• Chaldean (East-Syrian) - PSAJE.
• The Roman anaphor can be distinguished in two variants - PSEJAJ and PSEJAEJ. The first contains two intercession, and in the second - also the second, involved epiclesis. However, to give a better definition can anaphor forum.

A bit of history

The earliest anaphores are attributed to the second or third century, although there is a suggestion that it was already used as the first Christians in worship. At first her words were not fixed, but in due course the best of the anaphoras were selected. In the Latin liturgy, besides the traditional Roman anaphora, the second from the tradition of Hippolytus of Rome, the West-Syrian and anaphor of St. Basil the Great, were formed. Western anaphores have great variability, which directly depends on the festival, the day of the week and other factors. Because the anaphoric definition has only general features.