Epiclesis

References

Sources

1. 1.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 736)

   EPICLESIS, the invoking of the name of God upon a person or thing. Although in the baptismal liturgy the Holy Trinity is invoked upon the baptized person, and in the rites of confirmation and ordination the invocation is of the Holy Spirit, this article is limited to the liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. In the liturgy, the priest petitions the Father to send in the first epiclesis the Logos and in the second epiclesis the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine to make them the Body and Blood of Christ. However, in the Coptic liturgies it is also extended to invoke the Holy Spirit upon the people an

2. 2.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 736)

   The three usual Coptic divine liturgies—Saint Basil, Saint Gregory, and Saint Mark—contain explicitly a double epiclesis before and after the words of institution. The first epiclesis is inaudibly prayed by the priest and is petitioned to the Holy Logos, being the spotless Lamb, as a request for His presence on the altar and is in concurrence with the Old Testament paschal figure:

3. 3.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 737)

   O Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, the Co-Partner, the Logos of the undefiled Father, the Consubstantial with the Holy Spirit; Thou art the life-giving bread that came down from heaven; Thou hast made of Thyself a spotless lamb for the life of the world. We beseech and implore Thy goodness, Thou lover of mankind [pointing with his finger to the bread], to reveal Thy divine visage unto this bread [and pointing to the chalice] and this chalice; [and pointing to the Altar he says] both of them are placed on the priestly table which is Thine. [He then crosses the bread and wine thrice, saying] Bless

4. 4.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 737)

   The second epiclesis comes right after the words of institution, when the officiating priest petitions for the invocation of the Holy Spirit not only on the bread and wine but also on the congregation:

5. 5.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 307)

   In the three eucharistic Divine Liturgies used by the Coptic Orthodox Church (Saint Mark's, or the so-called Cyrillian; Saint Basil's; and Saint Gregory's), the anamnesis comes before the words of consecration, and in most of them is also summed up after the consecration and immediately before the EPICLESIS.

6. 6.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 539)

   Kneeling down, the priest says inaudibly the following prayer: "We pray Thee, O Lord our God, we Thy sinful and unworthy servants. We worship Thee by the pleasure of Thy goodness, that Thy Holy Spirit may descend upon us and upon these offerings placed here, to purify them, transubstantiate them, and manifest them holy unto Thy saints."

7. 7.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 539)

   Here the deacon exclaims, "Let us attend. Amen," and all raise their heads. The priest crosses the oblation in the paten thrice and says, "And may He make this bread His Holy Body," to which each member of the congregation says, "I believe," and the priest stretches out his hands and bows his head to the Lord, saying, "Our Lord, our God, and our Savior, Jesus Christ, to be given for the remission of sins and unto eternal life for all who partake thereof," and the people say, "Amen." Signing the chalice three times, the priest continues, "And this cup, also, the Precious Blood of His New Testam

8. 8.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 316)

   In the EPICLESIS, Christ is asked to change the gifts "with His own voice" as well as to send His Holy Spirit to hallow and change them.

9. 9.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 3 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 736)

   The Coptic Orthodox church, being of the Oriental Orthodox family, believes that the eucharistic liturgy is one inseparable unity and that the full consecration is a process that requires all the elements of the Divine Liturgy: the ANAMNESIS, the words of consecration, and the epiclesis. The Roman Catholic church believes the words of institution are the only requirement despite the fact that reference to the epiclesis of the Holy Spirit, or rather the Logos, has been traced in its early canons of the mass.

10. 10.The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 5 — Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 539)

    While some theologians believe that the actual consecration of the oblations is effected through the recitation of the very words of Jesus Christ in the institution narrative, others are of opinion that only at the descent of the Holy Spirit can such consecration take place. But rather than attributing the process of the consecration to the Son separate from the Holy Spirit, it would be more appropriate to interpret the act of the consecration of the oblations as the combined sanctification by the Holy Trinity.