The Eucharistic Prayer · §2 · Epiphanius of Salamis

Christ's two natures attested, then the bread taken and given

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The prayer continues its thanksgiving, now describing how Christ, one Lord in deity and humanity, attested both natures before his voluntary death, and then took bread and gave it to his holy disciples.

He is Lord in deity and in humanity, confirming the divine and human natures without confusion and without division, by divine signs and by human sufferings. When he was about to come to his voluntary, renowned, and life-giving death for us, he took bread in his holy and undefiled hands, presented it to you, God and Father, gave thanks, blessed it, sanctified it, and gave it to his disciples, to his holy ones.

Greek

Κύριος θεότητι καὶ ἀνθρωπότητι, ἀφύρτως καὶ ἀδιαιρέτως τὴν θείαν καὶ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην πιστούμενος φύσιν τοῖς θεοσημείοις καὶ τοῖς πάθεσι τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις, μέλλων ἔρχεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸν ἑκούσιον καὶ ἀοίδιμον καὶ ζωοποιὸν τὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν θάνατον, λαβὼν ἄρτον ἐπὶ τῶν ἁγίων αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀχράντων χειρῶν καὶ ἀναδείξας σοι τῷ Θεῷ καὶ Πατρί, εὐχαριστήσας, εὐλογήσας, ἁγιάσας ἔδωκε τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ τοῖς ἁγίοις

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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 (Greek)

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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