Eucharystyczna obecność Chrystusa w rozumieniu liturgicznym Kościoła antiocheńskiego

Abstract

In the paper, the liturgy of the Syriac-Orthodox Church of the Patriarchate of Antiochia is discussed. It is traced back to the Apostolic Tradition of the Church of Jerusalem and is connected with Jacob the brother of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The profound ties between the Eucharistic liturgy and the Jewish Pesach is presented, and its understanding as a re-experience of old events is emphasized. The analysis of the key Aramaic/Syriac and Hebrew words proves that in the very point of the Last Supper Jesus Christ meant His real presence (not just symbol) in the Eucharist. The oldest documents of Christianity confirm this understanding in the early Church, especially that of the Aramaic backgroung. Moreover, the liturgical space and the variety of anaphoras in the Antiochan Church are the witnesses of the continuous teaching on the Eucharist kept here. Based on the St Ephrem the Syrian’s work, it is also illustrated how the ties with Biblical Judaism and the understanding of the real Eucharistic presence of Christ were always the typical characteristics of the Syriac-speaking Church, like it is today.