Anaphora (liturgy)

Anaphora (liturgy)

The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine Liturgy (or Mass), in which the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the usual name for this part of the Liturgy in Greek-speaking Eastern Christianity, but in other Christian traditions that have a comparable rite it is more often called the Eucharistic Prayer. When the Roman Rite had a single Eucharistic Prayer, it was called the Canon of the Mass.

"Anaphora" is a Greek word (ἀναφορά) meaning a "carrying back" (hence its meaning in rhetoric and linguistics) or a "carrying up", and so an "offering" (hence its use in reference to the offering of sacrifice to God). In the sacrificial language of the Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, προσφέρειν (prosphora) is used of the offerer bringing the victim to the altar, and ἀναφέρειν is used of the priest offering up the selected portion upon the altar (see, for instance, Leviticus 2:14, 2:16, 3:1, 3:5).

Read more about Anaphora (liturgy):  Elements of An Anaphora, Historical Anaphoras, The Anaphora or Eucharistic Prayer of The Roman Rite, The Anaphoras of The Antiochene Rites, The Anaphoras of The Alexandrian Rite, The Anaphoras of The East Syrian Rite