The Holy Anaphora

Deacon: Let us stand aright; let us stand with fear; let us attend, that we may offer the Holy Anaphora in peace. Choir: A mercy of peace, a sacrifice of praise.

Let us stand in fear

With the Holy Anaphora, which now begins, we reach the most sacred moment of the Divine Liturgy. That is why the deacon calls on us to pay attention to how we stand, both in soul and body: Let us stand aright; let us stand with fear. In St John Chrysostom’s time, this exclamation took a slight different form: ‘Stand up; let us stand aright.’

St. John interprets the meaning of this exhortation as follows: We should ‘elevate our base and earth-bound thoughts and rid ourselves of the spiritual paralysis induced by the cares of this life, so that we can present our souls upstanding before God … Think in whose presence you are, and with whom you will call upon God – with the Cherubim … So no one should take part in these sacred and mystical hymns indolently … On the contrary, one should expel all things earthly from one’s mind and transport oneself totally to heaven, and then offer the all-holy hymn to the God of glory and majesty as if standing before the very throne of glory flying with the Seraphim. That is why the deacon exhorts us to stand aright at this moment … In other words, to stand with fear and trembling, with a sober and watchful heart.

The Divine Liturgy is called an anaphora, meaning an ‘offering up’ in Greek, because we ourselves and our precious Gifts are offerd up – raised up to God. And we must ‘stand with reverence and fear a the terrible moment of the Holy Anaphora, for with whatever disposition of soul and whatever thoughts each person has at that time as he stands before God, he is raised up to the Lord with the same disposition.

The precious Gifts are not simply offered on the earthly Altar, but are raised up to the Altar above the heavens. We are called to be raised up to the realm o the undisturbable peace, and our translation to the realm must take place in peace. ‘Great peace and quiet is needed’ at this moment and place. When the Holy Anaphora is offered on the Altar above the heavens, angelic powers stand round about in fear and trembling. They cover their faces in reverence and sing in praise of the triple Sun of the Godhead.

A mercy of peace, a sacrifice of praise

To the celebrant’s exhortation to offer the Holy Anaphora in peace, the faithful reply: “We offer it in peace and love towards the Lord and our brother. We offer a mercy of peace. We offer mercy, that is, love, which is the fruit of peace.’ Indeed, ‘when no passion disturbs the soul, nothing prevents it being filled with mercy.

God tells us through the Prophet Hosea that the offering of our love to Him and to our brethren is preferable to a sacrifice that is offered without love: I desire mercy and not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). Furthermore, ‘all of the commandments of the Old Testament concerning sacrifices and whole burnt offerings are contained in the commandment of mercy and love. In consequence, it is not possible to offer the sacrifice of glorifying God before we have offered the sacrifice of our love. The sacrifice offered with love is a sacrifice well pleasing to God. It is a sacrifice that glorifies and hymns His own love: a sacrifice of praise.

The sons of the Kingdom, whose hallmark is peace, offer a mercy of peace and a sacrifice of praise. ‘Mercy towards everyone who is suffering misfortune and needs help. But a mercy of peace. When we love the peace that is extended towards all, when we have demolished all enmity and conflict with everyone, then we offer the true sacrifice of praise.’

This is the sacrifice that God asks of us: Sacrifice to God, a sacrifice of praise (Psalms 49:14). ‘In other words, a sacrifice of thanksgiving, of sacred hymns and of deeds that glorify God … You should live in such a way that your Lord is glorified. This is also what Christ taught when He said: Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:16) … So let your life be such that the Master is glorified, and then you will have offered the sacrifice in its entirety.’

The faithful Christian knows what sort of sacrifice is well pleasing to God, and addresses His love in these words: ‘ I will glorify You from my heart, from the altar of my soul. And for Your sake I will offer the sacrifice of praise, which is preferable to a myriad of whole burnt offerings. I will celebrate it for You, the perfect God.’

In the Divine Liturgy, we offer the supreme sacrifice of praise. Through Christ, the faithful offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is the fruit of lips that confess His name (Hebrews 13:15). At the Holy Anaphora, the faithful offer ‘prayers, hymns, thanksgiving. These are the “fruit of the lips” … And “confessing His name” means that we give Him thanks for everything, and especially for what He has suffered for us.’

The Lord loves this sacrifice of praise because therein lies the road to man’s salvation: A sacrifice of praise honors me, and there is the way whereby I will him my salvation (Psalms 49:23). ‘Communion in the Body and Blood of the Master is rightly called “God’s salvation” … because it was given for redemption from sins.’ At the Divine Liturgy, we offer God a sacrifice of praise, and God offers us His salvation, which is Christ (cf Luke 2:30).

Priest: 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. Choir: And with your spirit.

A trinitarian gift

At the Divine Liturgy we become partakers of the gifts of the Holy Trinity: from the source, which is the love of God the Father, through the way and door, which is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the communion of the Holy Spirit comes upon the assembly of the Church and upon each believer individually.

This prayer ‘offer us the good things of the Holy Trinity … grace from the Son, love from the Father, communion from the Holy Spirit. The Son’s providence for us is grace, because He offered Himself as our Savior without our contributing anything, and indeed when we were debtors. Because the Father has been reconciled with mankind through the Passion of His Son and shown love to those who were hostile to Him, His offering to us is called love. And finally, because He who is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) should share His good things with His reconciled enemies, the Holy Spirit accomplishes this by descending upon the Apostles. That is why the Holy Spirit’s goodness towards men is called communion.

The Divine Liturgy is the communion of human beings in the grace of the trinitarian God. The life which is offered to man, and bring him alive, is a gift from the Holy Trinity: ‘Our life is given by God, through Christ, in the Holy Spirit.’ In general, every divine blessing that comes upon man is a gift of the Holy Trinity. For ‘whatever is of the Holy Trinity is indivisible. Where there is the communion of the Holy Spirit, it is found also to be that of the Son. And where there is the grace of the Son, there is also that of the Father and the Holy Spirit.’ So, ‘there is one gift and one authority of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’

The people’s response (and with thy spirit) to the blessing given by the celebrant signifies that the faithful participate actively in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy. In relation to this St. John Chrysostom says: ‘The celebrant does not touch the Gifts which lie before him until he has invoked the grace of the Lord upon you, and you have replied, And with thy spirit. With this response, you remind yourselves … that the Gifts offered are not the work of man; rather, it is the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is present and hovers over all, that prepares this mystical Sacrifice.’

Priest: Let our hearts be on high. Choir: We have with the Lord.