The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is an Episcopal parish in the Diocese of Pennsylvania that is centered on the worship of God, the ministry of all baptized persons, and the call to be agents of Christ’s love in the world.
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Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
8000 St. Martin’s Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215.247.7466

The Reverend Robert L. Tate, Rector

Eucharistic Prayers

While perhaps it may seem to you that the choice of the eucharistic prayer known as the Great Thanksgiving is randomly selected, there actually is deliberate thought in the selection. The current Book of Common Prayer provides six versions of the Great Thanksgiving: two in Rite One (BCP p 333 and 340) and four in Rite Two (BCP p 361, 367, 369, and 372) as well as two forms in the Order for Celebrating the Holy Eucharist (neither of which is authorized for use in the contexts of Rite One or Rite Two and hence not intended for use at the principal Sunday service). The additional authorized texts, Enriching Our Worship, provide three versions of the Great Thanksgiving. So, why is a particular eucharistic prayer chosen?

Before addressing their differences, there are a number of common elements shared by all the versions of the Great Thanksgiving that are worth mentioning. Their ancestor is the blessing said over the bread and wine at Jewish formal meals at which there was a blessing of God followed by expressions of thanksgiving: God is blessed as creator, sustainer, and redeemer; the mighty acts of God are recalled; and prayers are offered for the people of Israel. The early Jewish Christians continued to use the familiar prayers, including the oldest common fixed element: the bidding to stand (‘Lift up your hearts’).

For the first several centuries of the Church’s life, the eucharistic texts were not fixed; prayers and fragments from the second and third centuries indicate a variety of forms. The Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus (c. 215) contains a prayer that had the greatest and most lasting influence on later eucharistic prayers. In it we can recognize a familiar pattern: an opening dialogue, followed by a thanksgiving for creation, the incarnation, and our redemption, the recital of the institution narrative and anamnesis (remembering Christ’s death, resurrection, and second coming), offering of bread and wine, the epiclesis (invocation of the Holy Spirit), and concluding thanksgiving. This basic pattern has been followed ever since.

Eucharistic Prayer I, from Rite One, is the prayer adopted in the first American Prayer Book in 1789. Though focused on Christ’s suffering and death, it also commemorates his resurrection and ascension. The other five prayers expand this nucleus to include specific remembrance of creation, of the incarnation of Christ, and of his second coming.

Eucharistic Prayer A is the Rite Two equivalent of Prayer II in Rite One, which itself is a shorter, adapted version of Prayer I. It recalls the fall and the human condition. As such, it is most appropriate for Lent and some of the ‘green’ Sundays of the year.

Eucharistic Prayer B gives thanks for God’s goodness in the calling of Israel and for the message of the prophets. It places special emphasis on Christ’s incarnation, using phraseology drawn from one of the oldest surviving eucharistic prayers. This emphasis on the prophets and the incarnation makes it especially appropriate for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter, as well as some ‘green’ Sundays.

Eucharistic Prayer C is distinctive in many ways; characteristic of some Eastern prayers, it contains much congregational response. More than any of the other prayers, Prayer C has special emphasis on the creation and reference to the fall with a penitential petition. The recital of salvation history with God’s continuing effort to draw us back to God, the oblation reminding us of our baptism (‘we who have been redeemed by him, and made a new people by water and the Spirit…’), and the petition for right dispositions as we approach the Lord’s table make the use of this prayer particularly appropriate during Lent as well has some of the ‘green’ Sundays.

In many ways, Eucharistic Prayer D is the most complete, encompassing the themes of all the other prayers. Adapted from the ancient Liturgy of Saint Basil, versions of this prayer are used in the Greek and Slavic Orthodox Churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, and the United Methodist Church, among others; hence, in its main substance, it is authorized among more Christians than any other eucharistic prayer. Its historic and ecumenical significance, the completeness of its themes, and special reference to the work of the Holy Spirit make this prayer appropriate for major feast days and baptism.

The editor tells me I’ve gone on way too long: background on the Supplemental Texts will have to wait for another occasion.

-Cathy Cowling
Director of Christian Formation