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The '''epiclesis''' is a prayer within the [[Eucharist]] that asks God, by the [[Holy Spirit]], to sanctify the gifts of bread and wine and, in many forms, to sanctify the people who receive them. In [[Anglicanism]], the epiclesis has been one of the principal places where eucharistic theology, liturgical revision, and ecumenical conversation meet. Its wording varies among Anglican prayer books, but it commonly expresses that Holy Communion is an act of divine gift rather than merely human remembrance. The epiclesis is especially significant in comparing the classical [[Book of Common Prayer]] tradition with later Anglican liturgies influenced by Eastern Christian and wider catholic patterns of eucharistic prayer.

== Place in the Eucharistic Prayer ==

In most Anglican rites, the epiclesis belongs to the eucharistic prayer, also called the prayer of consecration. It is normally associated with the [[Sursum Corda in Anglican Liturgy|Sursum Corda]], the [[Sanctus in Anglican Eucharistic Liturgy|Sanctus]], the institution narrative, the anamnesis, and the offering of praise and thanksgiving. The prayer may ask God to bless and sanctify the bread and wine, or it may ask that communicants may receive Christ's body and blood faithfully and be made one body in him.

The term itself is not usually printed as a heading in parish service books, but it is commonly used in liturgical study. Anglican liturgies differ in whether the invocation is placed before or after the words of institution. This variation reflects a broader Christian inheritance: Western medieval rites tended to emphasize the institution narrative, while Eastern eucharistic prayers gave a more prominent and explicit place to the invocation of the Spirit.

== Prayer Book Development ==

The 1549 [[Book of Common Prayer]] contained an explicit petition that God would bless and sanctify the gifts so that they might be to the faithful the body and blood of Christ. In later English revisions, especially from 1552 onward, the wording of the communion office was altered, and the invocation became less explicit in relation to the elements. The 1662 Book of Common Prayer, long normative for the [[Church of England]], retained a prayer of consecration centered on Christ's institution and command, but did not include the fuller epiclesis found in some other Anglican forms.

A more explicit epiclesis was preserved and developed in the Scottish Episcopal tradition. The Scottish communion office influenced the first American prayer book of 1789, whose eucharistic prayer included a clear invocation asking God to bless and sanctify the bread and wine by word and Holy Spirit. This became an important feature of American Anglican eucharistic theology and later shaped many modern Anglican revisions.

Twentieth-century liturgical renewal gave renewed attention to the epiclesis throughout the Anglican Communion. Prayer books and authorized liturgies in many provinces came to include eucharistic prayers with explicit invocations of the Holy Spirit, often directed both upon the gifts and upon the gathered Church. These forms sought to recover ancient patterns while remaining within the doctrinal boundaries of Anglican formularies.

== Theological Significance ==

The epiclesis does not stand alone as a complete account of Anglican eucharistic doctrine. Rather, it works together with thanksgiving, remembrance, institution, offering, and communion. Anglican theology has typically resisted reducing consecration to a single moment or formula. The whole eucharistic action is understood as the Church's obedient celebration of Christ's command, dependent upon the promise and work of God.

For some Anglicans, an explicit invocation over the gifts strengthens a realist understanding of Holy Communion: Christ gives himself truly to the faithful in the sacrament. For others, the epiclesis is valued chiefly because it connects eucharistic participation with the sanctifying work of the Spirit in the Church. In either case, it supports the Anglican conviction that sacramental worship is not only recollection of past events, but present participation in the grace of Christ.

The epiclesis has also been important in ecumenical dialogue. Its recovery in many Anglican rites has helped conversation with Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and other liturgical churches, while also showing the breadth of Anglican eucharistic practice. The variety of Anglican forms demonstrates a characteristic balance: continuity with the classical prayer book inheritance, openness to patristic and ecumenical sources, and concern that liturgical language serve the worship of the whole Church.

[[Category:Book of Common Prayer]]
[[Category:Liturgy]]
[[Category:Anglican theology]]

Epiclesis in Anglican Eucharistic Prayer - Revision history

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