Wednesday, April 24, 2019

The Understanding of "Remembrance" in Some Early Christian Liturgical Texts


While reading Prayers of the Eucharist: Early and Reformed (trans. R.C.D. Jasper and G.J. Cuming; Glasgow: Wm Collins Sons & Co., 1975), it struck me as interesting that some early Christian liturgical texts understood τοῦτο ποιεῖτε εἰς τὴν ἐμὴν ἀνάμνησιν (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24-25), not as “do this in memory of me” but “do this as my memorial” (cf. Joachim Jeremias’ discussion of αναμνησις in The Eucharistic Words of Jesus and Fritz Chenderlin, “Do This as My Memorial”: The Semantic and Conceptual Background of Αναμνησις in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25):

He took bread and gave thanks to you, saying, ‘Take, eat; this is my body, which shall be broken for you.’ Likewise also the cup, saying, ‘This is my blood, which is shed for you; when you do this, you make my remembrance.’ (Hippolytus, The Apostolic Tradition 4:9-10 [p. 22])

For our Lord and Saviour and King of all, Jesus Christ, in the night when he was betrayed and willingly underwent death, took bread in his holy and undefiled (and) blessed hands, looked up to heaven to you, the Father of all, blessed, gave thanks over it, sanctified, broke (and) gave it to his disciples (and) apostles, saying, ‘Take and eat of this, all of you; this is my body, which is given for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Do this for my remembrance.’

Likewise, after supper, he took a cup, blessed, sanctified, (and) gave it to them, saying, ‘Take this and drink of it, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the forgiveness of their sins. Do this for my remembrance. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim my death (and) confess my resurrection.’ (The British Museum Tablet, 54036 [p. 39])

For (our Lord Jesus) Christ himself, (in the night when) he handed (himself) over . . . his disciple (and) apostles, saying, ‘Take . . . form it; this (is) my body, which is given for you for the forgiveness of sins.’ Likewise, after supper he took the cup, blessed, drank, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Take, drink; this is my blood, which is shed for you for forgiveness of sins. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim my death, you make my remembrance.’ (The Deir Balyzeh Papyrus Oxford, MS Gr. Lit. d 2-4 P [p. 40; ellipsis in original])

God the Lord and eternal redeemer, who, the day before he suffered, took bread, gave thanks, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, ‘Take and eat; this is my body, which shall be betrayed for you. As often as you eat it, do this for my remembrance.’ Amen. Likewise the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood, which shall be shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. As often as you drink it, do this for my remembrance.’ Amen. (The Mozarabic Liturgy [pp. 96-97])