Priest: (in a low voice) Together with these blessed powers, merciful Master, we also proclaim and say: You are holy and most holy, You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit. You are holy and most holy, and sublime is Your glory. You so loved Your world that You gave Your only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. He came and fulfilled the divine plan for us. On the night when He was betrayed, or rather when he gave Himself up for the life of the world, He took bread in His holy, pure, and blameless hands, gave thanks, blessed, sanctified, broke, and gave it to His holy disciples and apostles saying

(aloud) take, eat, this is my Body, which is broken for you for the forgiveness of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest: (in a low voice) Likewise, after supper, He took the cup, saying

(aloud) Drink of it all of you; this is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the
forgiveness of sins.

People: Amen.

Priest: (in a low voice) Remembering, therefore, this command of the Savior, and all that came to pass for our sake, the cross, the tomb, the resurrection on the third day, the ascension into heaven, the enthronement at the right hand of the Father, and the second, glorious coming,

(aloud) we offer to You Your own [gifts] from Your own [gifts] in [fulfilment of] all and for all.



This section of the Anaphora prayer reminds us how the Holy Eucharist was instituted. Indeed, the first Eucharist was offered by Christ Himself at the Last Supper. The oldest written account of these words of institution can be found in St. Paul`s First Letter to the Corinthians. Similar accounts are given by the holy evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke. The Holy Anaphora combines these accounts into a powerful, precise theological statement: the bread – after giving thanks, blessing, sanctifying and breaking – becomes the very Body of Christ, which is broken for us for the forgiveness of sins. Similarly, the wine becomes the very Blood of Christ, which is shed for us for the forgiveness of sins. It is also the sign of a New Covenant (or New Testament) which supersedes the Old Covenant of the Jewish Law, given by God to Moses. God no longer acts as a severe teacher, but as a loving Father. He is willing to sacrifice His only begotten Son (as opposed to his created children – the human race) in order to lift the burden of sin that weighs upon Creation, and thus upon every single one of us. In turn, His Son Jesus Christ, after emptying himself of His majestic glory as the eternal Son of God and accepting to be born as a mere child, now willingly accepts the Cross for the life of the world. Indeed, a world curbed by sin inevitably ends in death, but through His sacrifice Christ removes the sin of the world and tramples down death.

All we need to do in order to partake of eternal life is to remember Christ`s sacrifice, believe in its significance, and obey Christ`s command to partake in His Body and Blood. This is what we do in every Divine Liturgy.

The gifts that we bring – the bread and the wine – are not really ours, but rather gifts from God. This is why we say “Your own of Your own.” This offering is done is fulfillment of all that Christ has done for us, and on behalf of all, but we can only benefit from it if we receive the Body and Blood of Christ faithfully.

Amen – So be it!