Although I already referenced the Hymn to the Mother of God that appears in the Anaphora of St. John’s Liturgy, it was only introduced in the seventh century by St. Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. This was after the Council of Ephesus that declared her the Mother of God. You will recall that St. John had edited and shortened the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great sometime before this. It is and has been an integral part of the Liturgy since the seventh century.

We remember the Mother of God as we do all those who have gone before us and then we remember the hierarchy of our Church and those who we desire to pray for or who have asked us to pray for them.

I love the way that the Anaphora ends. The priest intones this prayer:

And grant that we, with ONE VOICE and ONE HEART, may glorify and praise Your most honored and sub-lime name, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever.

All present declare their agreement with this statement by saying AMEN. This truly urges us to be united in mind and heart. Although we may not often think about this, but our worship as a community is a way that we support one another in growing in the likeness of Jesus Christ, Our God Incarnate.

After this the priest prays:

And may the mercies of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ be with all.

To this priestly prayer those present respond: And with your spirit. I wonder whether anyone has thought about what this means? It truly doesn’t simply mean “and also with you.” We must remember that the priest, who is simply a stand-in for Jesus Christ our is our high-priest, is also just a stand-in for a bishop. So there is much more in this response than meets the eye. The response is an acknowledgement by the congregation of the grace and presence of Christ, who is present and operative in the spirit or soul of the celebrant. It is through the priesthood that Christ’s Spirit is bestowed on us. So in the first instance, this response is an acknowledgement of the grace which Christ is bestowing on us through the priesthood. Second, the congregation expresses its wish that God’s Spirit also be bestowed on the priest since when he prays that God’s Spirit be with all present, he does not include himself. So in love, the congregation asks God to also bless the celebrant. Each of us plays an important role in the Liturgy.