Between Anamnesis and Praise: The Origin of Oblation in Syro-Byzantine Anaphoras

Abstract

In the Byzantine anaphoras of Basil and John Chrysostom, at the transition from the anamnesis to the epiclesis, one finds a formula of offering the eucharistic gifts. This formula is absent from the anaphoras of the Antiochian tradition, from which the two Byzantine anaphoras derive. This article clarifies that the formula is neither an offertory formula nor a sacrificial formula, as some authors have attempted to sustain. Its origins are to be found in the custom of dedicating objects, buildings, and boats. Every gift is a restitution to God of what has already been given by him, including the offering of the bread and wine for the Eucharist. This formula of offering the eucharistic gifts was imposed simultaneously upon the two Byzantine anaphoras sometime before the end of the fifth century.