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The Holy Qurbana
By Anish Varghese
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The Holy Qurbana
By Anish Varghese
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Introduction The
Holy Qurbana or the Holy Eucharist is the central act of Christian
worship, practised by all denominations of Christians. Though varying in
form, from the very austere to the very elaborate, the Eucharist has as
its essential elements, the breaking of the Bread and sharing of the
Blood (in some protestant churches, unfermented grape juice) among the
worshippers in commemoration of the actions of Jesus Christ on the eve
of His death. The
Holy Qurbana is the offering of the whole church- visible and invisible.
The church teaches that the main celebrant of the Eucharist is Lord
Jesus Christ himself, because His offering of His life still continues
to be our saving grace. In the Eucharist He stands at the same time as
the Son of Man and the Head of the Church. He is the one who offers and
blesses the Qurbana. It
is indeed paradoxical to note that the ritual of the Holy Eucharist is
the one that unites the Church in Jesus Christ, but it is also the one
that divides denominations on the basis of its varied theology. Eucharist
is derived from the Greek word ‘Eucharista’
‘meaning ‘ thanksgiving’ or ‘gratitude’ and which was
used by the early Christians for the Hebrew word ‘Berakhah’ which
means ‘a blessing’. When Christians adopted the word from Greek into
other languages, the meaning was narrowed to the specific designation of
the ritual of the Bread and Wine. History
Of The Eucharist The
Holy Eucharist is a ritual attributed to Jesus Christ. It is portrayed
as a Jewish Passover ‘Seder’ meal in which Jesus re-interprets the
symbolism of the traditional celebration. (1 Cor. 11: 23-26, Mk. 14:
22-25, Mt. 26: 26-29, Lk. 22: 14-20) The
Passover commemorates the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery
in Egypt, which was the first step in their becoming a people in
covenant with God. It
is clear that Jesus refers to his death and is interpreting the
significance of that death in terms of the symbolism of the Exodus story
and the Passover ritual. He invites the disciples to repeat the actions
frequently and thus enter into his death and the outcome of that death.
By placing His death in the context of the Passover, Jesus interprets it
as a liberation bringing His followers into communion as one people in
covenant with God (1 Cor. 11: 17-34). In
the earliest Christian times, the Eucharist was celebrated rather
spontaneously as part of an ordinary meal for which the local followers
of Jesus were gathered in His name in a private home. By
the second century, it is clear that there were strong efforts to
regulate it under the authority and supervision of the local church
leaders known as bishops By
the fourth century, Eucharist was celebrated with great pomp and
ceremony in public buildings, and the meal was no longer in evidence. At
that time, solemn processions emphasized the role of a clergy arrayed in
special vestments. The form of prayer included several readings from the
Bible, prayers, chants, a homily and the great prayer of thanksgiving,
in the course of which the words and actions of Jesus at His farewell
supper were recited, followed by the distribution of the consecrated
Bread and Wine to the participants. Theology
Of The Eucharist The
Eucharist in any denomination commemorates the saving Death and
Resurrection of Jesus, and to mediate communion with God and community
among worshippers. Beyond
this basic concept, the theology of the Eucharist varies very widely
among the Christian denominations and has been the cause of bitter
dispute between them. Both
Orthodox and Roman Catholic Christians understand the presence of Christ
very strongly and concretely, taking seriously the words of the
institution. General
Structure Of The Eastern Eucharist The
Eucharist has three parts: (a)
The Preparatory Service. (b)
The Public Service. (c)
The Post-Communion Service The
public celebration further has two parts- ‘the ministry of the word’
and ‘the ministry of the sacrament’. The
Ministry Of The Word (a)
Opening
of the Sanctuary (b)
Opening
prayer (c)
Trisagion (d)
Reading
of the New Testament (e)
The
Gospel (f)
Prayers
of Absolution (g)
Dedication The
Ministry Of The Sacrament
(a)
The Kiss of Peace (b)
The remembrance of Christ’s institution of the Holy Qurbana. (c)
The invocation of the Holy Spirit. (d)
The intercession (e)
The fraction and co-mixing (f)
The chanting of the Lord’s Prayer (g)
The Communion (h)
The Thanksgiving. Conclusion The
Holy Qurbana is the offering of the whole church- visible and invisible.
The church teaches that the main celebrant of the Eucharist is Lord
Jesus Christ himself, because His offering of His life still continues
to be our saving grace. In the Eucharist He stands at the same time as
the Son of Man and the Head of the Church. He is the one who offers and
blesses the Qurbana. It
is indeed paradoxical to note that the ritual of the Holy Eucharist is
the one that unites the Church in Jesus Christ, but it is also the one
that divides denominations on the basis of its varied theology.
Excerpts from “ A Devotional Study of the Holy Qurbana”. This paper was researched and prepared by Jacob Anish Varghese and presented at the Department of Inter- Religious Studies, St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.
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