Historia i teologia aklamacji „Sanctus”

Abstract

The article deals with the issue of the acclamation Sanctus in the celebration of the Eucharist. The acclamation has deep roots in the Bible. It consists of the Biblical texts contained in the Book of Isaiah (6, 3), Book of Psalms (118, 25-26) and the Gospel according to St. Matthew (21, 9). The epiphonema is not included in the Eucharistic prayers of the primeval Church. For the first time it appears in the anaphore contained in Serapion’s Euchologion in Egypt. It was introduced in the Christian liturgy of the West by the Pope Sixtus III (432-440). In the Middle Ages its structure was more developed that it is now. Sanctus was sung before the words of consecration, and Benedictus followed the transubstantiation. At present it constitutes an integral part of the Eucharistic prayer. The acclamation in a special way expresses the unity of the liturgy of the pilgrimizing Church and of the liturgy of Heaven.