← §3 Read continuously The Eucharistic Prayer · §4 · Epiphanius of Salamis
Prayer that the bread and cup become saving body and blood
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The anaphora concludes with a petition that the consecrated bread and cup may become Christ's body and blood for the salvation and participation of the faithful.
May this bread be changed and become the body of Christ—a divine body, a body that brings salvation to souls and bodies. And may what has been mixed in this cup into one reality become the blood of Christ, the blood of the new covenant, blood that brings salvation to us. Grant this so that we may wholly share in your mysteries in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Greek «Ἵνα ὁ
ἄρτος οὗτος μετατραπεὶς γένηται σῶμα Χριστοῦ, σῶμα θεῖον, σῶμα σωτήριον ψυχῶν
καὶ σωμάτων, καὶ τὸ ἐν τῷ ποτηρίῳ τούτῳ κερασθὲν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ αἷμα Χριστοῦ, αἷμα
καινῆς διαθήκης, αἷμα σωτήριόν ἐστιν ἡμῖν, εἰς τὸ μετέχειν ἡμᾶς ὅλους τῶν ἁγίων σου
μυστηρίων ἐν καινότητι τοῦ πνεύματος καὶ οὐχὶ παλαιότητι τοῦ γράμματος».
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About this text A 4th-century bishop's thanksgiving prayer over bread and wine, showing how early Christians worshipped.
This prayer is attributed to Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310/320–403), bishop of Salamis in Cyprus for nearly forty years and a well-known defender of orthodox teaching. It is a eucharistic prayer, or anaphora, giving thanks to God the Father and recalling the institution of the Lord's Supper. It was written for use in the liturgy, to be prayed over the bread and cup.
The prayer opens with thanksgiving for the sending of the eternal Son, the divine Word, who became fully human without ceasing to be God. It then recounts how Christ, before his voluntary death, took bread, gave thanks, blessed it, and gave it to his disciples as his body, and likewise the cup as his blood of the new covenant for the forgiveness of sins. The reader will meet God the Father, Christ, and the disciples, and will hear Christ's own words quoted directly.
A reader should know that the prayer asks for the bread and cup to be changed into the body and blood of Christ, saving for souls and bodies. The cup is described as mixed from two substances, the fruit of the vine and water, a common ancient liturgical practice. The prayer also speaks of sharing in the holy mysteries in newness of spirit, a phrase that echoes Paul's contrast between the newness of the spirit and the oldness of the letter in Romans 7:6.
Printed text used
Translated from PG 41 – 43 This work has passed our source check. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.
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