preface – A Collection of Prayers

The Anaphora of St. Mark

This version is condensed from the Liturgy of St. Mark. The original contains much repetition, along with many petitions for people, the church, the government, good weather, bountiful harvest, and remembrance of the faithful departed. A version for modern use follows.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
And with your spirit.

Let us lift up our hearts.
We lift them up unto the Lord.

Let us give thanks unto the Lord.
It is meet and just so to do.

It is truly good and right that we should worship you, sing to you, and give thanks to you with unceasing praise, Living One, Lord God, Father almighty.

You made all things in heaven and on earth. You made mankind in your holy image and gave them the delights of Paradise. When our first parents fell, you raised them up again with your promise of a Savior, who is your holy Wisdom, your true Light, your only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. …

You are above all power and dominion, might and authority, and every name in this world and in the world to come. Before you stand countless ranks of angels and archangels, who serve you day and night, and see the glory of your presence, crying out with unceasing praise. We join our voices with them, crying aloud and declaring the majesty of your glory:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Truly heaven and earth are full of your glory in the appearing of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ. Give us your heavenly blessing by the indwelling of your Holy Spirit.

For the Lord Jesus Christ, 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 given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after the meal, he also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
Amen.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
We proclaim your death, O Lord, and we confess your resurrection. …

We present to you the gifts you have given us, and we pray that you would send your Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Spirit of truth, that he would strengthen us with his power and enlighten us with his gifts. Bless and hallow this bread and wine, that through Christ’s body and blood we may be strengthened in faith, healed, sanctified, and renewed in body soul, and spirit, that your name may be praised, our sins forgiven, and in this and all places, your holy name may be hallowed, with your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen. …

The mercies of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with you all.
And with your spirit.

Our Father…

The peace of the Lord be with you all.
And with your spirit.

Source: Shortened and condensed from https://www.trinityorthodox.ca/sites/default/files/Liturgy%20of%20St%20Mark.pdf

Arranged for modern use:

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is truly good and right that we should at all times and in all places give you thanks, O Lord, holy Father, almighty and everlasting God, through Jesus Christ our Lord…

The minister speaks the Proper Preface, concluding with:

Therefore, with all the saints on earth and hosts of heaven, we praise your holy name and join their glorious song:

Holy, holy, holy Lord,
God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Living One, Lord God, Father Almighty, you made all things in heaven and on earth. You made mankind in your holy image and gave them the delights of Paradise. When our first parents fell, you raised them up again with your promise of a Savior, who is your holy Wisdom, your true Light, your only-begotten Son, our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Send us your Holy Spirit, the Comforter and Spirit of truth, that he would strengthen us with his power and enlighten us with his gifts. Bless and hallow this this Holy Supper, that through Christ’s body and blood we may be strengthened in faith, healed, sanctified, and renewed in body soul, and spirit, that your name may be praised, our sins forgiven, and in this and all places, your holy name may be hallowed, with your Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Amen.

Our Father,…

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, …

The Anaphora of Addai and Mari

The Liturgy of Addai and Mari has been in continuous use in the Church of the East since at least the 7th century. Parts of it may be from as early as the fifth century. It is part of the Persian Rite, with roots in Nestorian Christianity. The version presented below includes the Words of Institution (Verba), but originally it did not, and so for many years it was questioned as a valid rite for use in the church. Parts of the eucharistic prayer are the basis of the Prayer of Thanksgiving in The Service: Setting Two in Christian Worship: Hymnal (2021).

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all, now and forever.
Amen.

Lift up your hearts.
To you, O God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, O glorious King!

We bring this offering to God, the Lord of all.[1]
It is good and right.

Peace be with us.

Silent prayer by the priest.

O Lord,
give us sincerity before you
that with your boldness
we may accomplish this living and holy service
with our consciences cleansed from all evil and bitterness,
and plant within us love and peace
and concord toward one another
and toward all people.

The priest then rises and prays aloud, stretching out his hands:

Worthy of praise from every mouth,
worthy of confession from every tongue,
worthy of worship and exaltation from every creature
is your adorable and glorious name,
O glorious Trinity,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You created the world and all who live in it by your mercy,
and you saved humanity by your compassion,
and you give great grace to mortals.

Your majesty, O Lord,
thousands upon thousands on high bow down and worship,
and ten thousand times ten thousand holy angels and hosts of heaven,
servants of fire and spirit,
praise your name
with holy cherubim and spiritual seraphim
offering worship to your majesty,
shouting and praising without ceasing,
crying out to one another and saying:

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of his praises,
and the nature of his being,
and the excellency of his glorious splendor.
Hosanna in the highest.
Hosanna to the Son of David.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.

Silent prayer by the priest.

Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of hosts.
Heaven and earth are full of his praises,
and the nature of his being,
and the excellency of his glorious splendor,
even as I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord.
Holy are you, God the Father of truth,
from whom all fatherhood in heaven and earth is named.
Holy are you, eternal Son,
by whom all things were made.
Holy are you, Holy Spirit,
by whom all things are sanctified.
I am doomed! I am ruined,
because I am a man with unclean lips,
and I dwell among a people with unclean lips,
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts!
How awe-inspiring is this place,
for this day I have seen the Lord
face to face.
This is nothing other than the house of God,
and this is the gate to heaven.
And now, O Lord, let your grace be on us
and purge our uncleanness
and sanctify our lips
and blend our weak voices
with the hallowing of the seraphim
and the halleluiahs of the angels.
Praise be to your mercies
for you have made creatures of dust
partakers with spiritual beings!

The priest rises and says aloud:

Bless, O my Lord. Bless, O my Lord. Bless, O my Lord. My brothers, pray for me.

The priest continues:

With these heavenly hosts we give you thanks, O my Lord,
even though we your servants are weak and frail and miserable,
for you have given us great grace by taking on our human flesh
that you might enliven it by your divinity,
and have exalted our low estate,
restored our fall,
raised our mortality,
forgiven our trespasses,
justified our sinfulness,
and enlightened our knowledge.
Lord our God,
you have condemned our enemies
and have granted victory to the weakness of our frail nature
in the overflowing mercies of your grace.

[Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “Take, eat. This is my + body, which is broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after the meal, he also took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new testament in my + blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”]

For all your help and grace toward us, let us give you praise and honor and confession and worship, now and forever.
Amen.

Pray in your minds. Peace be with us.

__________

Source: Liturgies Eastern and Western edited by F. E. Brightman, Oxford, Clearendon Press, 1896. The Persian Rite, and The Liturgy of the Nestorians, p. 283-286.

This version, prepared for www.acollectionofprayers.com, was freely modified for contemporary language, and to highlight the poetic nature of the content.

References:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgy_of_Addai_and_Mari

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestorianism

Note:

In the early church, it was the custom for members of the church to present bread and wine as gifts to be used for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, which is the “offering” or “setting before” (offerimus) mentioned here. Later (especially in the Council of Trent), the Lord’s Supper was wrongly viewed as a re-sacrificing of Christ’s body and blood. (See Hebrews 7:27 and 9:26).

The Anaphora of Hippolytus

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The Anaphora of Hippolytus is from the Apostolic Constitutions, and is the basis for many eucharistic prayers, including Eucharistic Prayer II of the present Roman Rite, Eucharistic Prayer IV in Lutheran Book of Worship (Minister’s Desk Edition), and the Prayer of Thanksgiving in The Service: Setting One in Christian Worship: Hymnal (2021).

The Lord be with you.
And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord.
It is right and just.

We give thanks to you God,
through your beloved son Jesus Christ,
whom you sent to us in former times
as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of your will.
He is your inseparable Word,
through whom you made all,
and in whom you were well-pleased.
You sent him from heaven into the womb of a virgin,
who, being conceived within her, was made flesh,
and appeared as your Son,
born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin.
It is he who, fulfilling your will
and acquiring for you a holy people,
extended his hands in suffering,
in order to liberate from sufferings
those who believe in you.

Who, when he was delivered to voluntary suffering,
in order to dissolve death,
and break the chains of the devil,
and tread down hell,
and bring the just to the light,
and set the limit,
and manifest the resurrection,
taking the bread, and giving thanks to you, said,

“Take, eat, for this is my body which is broken for you.”

Likewise he took the cup, saying,

“This is my blood which is shed for you.
Whenever you do this, do this in memory of me.”

Therefore, remembering his death and resurrection,
we set before you the bread and the cup,[1]
giving thanks to you, for you have made us worthy
to stand before you and to serve you.

And we pray that you would send your Holy Spirit
on the offering of your Holy Church.
In their gathering together,
give to all those who partake of your holy mysteries the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
toward the strengthening of the faith in truth,
that we may praise you and glorify you,
through your son Jesus Christ,
through whom to you be glory and honor,
Father and Son,
with the Holy Spirit,
in your Holy Church,
now and always.
Amen.

Source: The Anaphora of Hippolytus, third century

Note:

In the early church, it was the custom for members of the church to present bread and wine as gifts to be used for the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, which is the “offering” or “setting before” (offerimus) mentioned here. Later (especially in the Council of Trent), the Lord’s Supper was wrongly viewed as a re-sacrificing of Christ’s body and blood. (See Hebrews 7:27 and 9:26).

Original in Latin:

Dominus vobiscum.
Et cum spiritu tuo.

Sursum corda.
Habemus ad Dominum.

Gratias agamus Domino.
Dignum et iustum est.

Et sic iam prosequatur. Gratias tibi referimus, Deus per dilectum puerum tuum Jesum Christum, quem in ultimis temporibus misisti nobis salvatorem et redemptorem et angelum voluntatis tuae. Qui est Verbum tuum inseparabile, per quem omnia fecisti et bene placitum tibi fuit. Misisti de calo in matricem Virginis, quique in utero habitus incarnatus est et Filius tibi ostensus est ex Spiritu Sancto et Virgine natus. Qui voluntatem tuam complens et populum sanctum tibi adquirens extendit manus cum pateretur, ut a passione liberaret eos qui in te crediderunt. Qui cumque traderetur voluntariae passioni ut mortem solvat et vincula diaboli dirumpat et infernum calcet et iustos inluminet et terninum figat et resurrectionem manifestet, accipiens panem gratias tibi agens dixit: Accipite, manducate: hoc est corpus meum, quod pro vobis confringetur. Similiter et calicem dicens: Hic est sanguis mcus qui pro vobis effunditur. Quando hoc facitis, meam commemorationem facitis. Memores igitur mortis et resurrectionis eius offerimus tibi panem et calicem gratias tibi agentes quia nos dignos habuisti adstare coram te et tibi ministrare. Et petimus ut mittas Spiritum tecum Sanctum in oblationem sancta Ecclesiae. In unum congregans des omnibus qui percipiunt sanctis in repletionem Spiritus Sancti ad confirmationem fidei in veritate, ut te landemus et glorificemus per puerum tuum Jesum Christum, per quem tibi gloria et honor Patri et Filio cum Sancto Spiritu in sancta Ecclesia tua et nunc et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.