From about the seventh Century, the Eucharistic Prayer (Great Thanksgiving) of the Eucharist remained relatively unchanged. For Anglicans, this “Roman Canon” was translated into English in 1548, reworked in 1552 (receiving communion moved to within the Eucharistic Prayer!), and then (after the break of the Commonwealth period) this insight was lost and the truncated part of the Eucharistic Prayer became the whole Eucharistic Prayer by the addition of a new, people’s “Amen.”
After Vatican II, this tradition of common prayer – everywhere you went within Roman Catholicism or within Anglicanism you prayed the same prayers – was abandoned. Roman Catholicism authorised three new Eucharistic Prayers (Eucharistic Prayer 1 was essentially the continuation of the Roman Canon); in NZ Anglicanism, a contemporary-language Eucharistic rite stood equally alongside the 1662 Book of Common Prayer rite. Other Anglican provinces were, similarly, producing their own revisions.
Roman Catholicism’s Eucharistic Prayer 2 drew on the Eucharistic Prayer found in The Apostolic Tradition attributed to Hippolytus of Rome. Interestingly, Hippolytus is regarded by Roman Catholicism as both an anti-pope and a saint (do your own research to untangle that). As with all Eucharistic Prayers authorised for NZ Anglicanism, The Apostolic Tradition‘s Eucharistic Prayer has the epiclesis (praying for the Holy Spirit to transform the elements) after the Institution Narrative (the story of the Last Supper). The Roman Catholic Eucharistic Prayer 2, as well as several other alterations, moves this Syrian-style structure so that the epiclesis is before the Institution Narrative.
The 1973 translation of this Roman Catholic Eucharistic Prayer is taken up by the Anglican Church of the Province of Southern Africa into their 1989 Prayer Book as their Third Eucharistic Prayer. In doing so, it becomes allowable to be used by NZ Anglicans because our agreed An alternative form for ordering the Eucharist allows the use of any Eucharistic Prayer authorised in the Anglican Communion.
Eucharistic Prayer in The Apostolic Tradition
The Lord be with you.
And with your spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We have them with the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord.
It is proper and just.
We give thanks to you God,
through your beloved son Jesus Christ,
whom you sent to us in former timesa
as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of your Will,
who is your inseparable Word,
through whom you made all,
and in whom you were well-pleased,
whom you sent from heaven into the womb of a virgin,
who, being conceived within her, was made flesh,
and appeared as your Son,
born of the Holy Spirit and the virgin.
It is he who, fulfilling your will
and acquiring for you a holy people,
extended his hands in suffering,
in order to liberate from sufferings
those who believe in you.
Who, when he was delivered to voluntary suffering,
in order to dissolve death,
and break the chains of the devil,
and tread down hell,
and bring the just to the light,
and set the limit,
and manifest the resurrection,
taking the bread, and giving thanks to you, said,
“Take, eat, for this is my body which is broken for you.” Likewise the chalice, saying,
This is my blood which is shed for you.
Whenever you do this, do this (in) memory of me.
Therefore, remembering his death and resurrection, we offer to you the bread and the chalice,
giving thanks to you, who has made us worthy
to stand before you and to serve as your priests.
And we pray that you would send your Holy Spirit to the oblation of your Holy Church.
In their gathering together,
give to all those who partake of your holy mysteries the fullness of the Holy Spirit,
toward the strengthening of the faith in truth,
that we may praise you and glorify you,
through your son Jesus Christ,
through whom to you be glory and honor, Father and Son,
with the Holy Spirit,
in your Holy Church,
now and throughout the ages of the ages. Amen.
Eucharistic Prayer 2 Roman Catholicism
Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Father, it is our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere
to give you thanks
through your beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
He is the Word through whom you made the universe,
the Savior you sent to redeem us.
By the power of the Holy Spirit
he took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary.
For our sake he opened his arms on the cross;
he put an end to death
and revealed the resurrection.
In this he fulfilled your will
and won for you a holy people.
And so we join the angels and the saints
in proclaiming your glory
as we sing (say):
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might,
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Lord, you are holy indeed, the fountain of all holiness.
Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy,
so that they may become for us
the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Before he was given up to death,
a death he freely accepted,
he took bread and gave you thanks.
He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:
Take this, all of you, and eat it.
This is my body
which will be given up for you.
When supper was ended, he took the cup.
Again he gave you thanks and praise,
gave the cup to his disciples, and said:
Take this, all of you, and drink from it,
this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all
so that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in memory of me.
Let us proclaim the mystery of faith.
Christ has died,
Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.
[or another acclamation]
In memory of his death and resurrection,
we offer you, Father,
this life-giving bread, this saving cup.
We thank you for counting us worthy
to stand in your presence and serve you.
May all of us who share
in the body and blood of Christ
be brought together in unity by the Holy Spirit.
Lord, remember your Church
throughout the world;
make us grow in love,
together with N. our Pope,
N. our bishop, and all the clergy.
Remember our brothers and sisters who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again;
bring them and all the departed into the light of your presence.
Have mercy on us all;
make us worthy to share eternal life
with Mary, the virgin Mother of God,
with the apostles,
and with all the saints
who have done your will throughout the ages.
May we praise you in union with them,
and give you glory
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Through him, with him, in him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
almighty Father,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
A beautiful translation of this prayer was proposed to be included in An Australian Prayer Book (1995), but unfortunately rejected by General Synod; and then subsequently made available by the Liturgical Commission. See https://anglican.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Great-Thanksgiving-based-on-Hippolytus-2009.pdf
Thanks, Chris! From memory, there was an attempt to use the Hipollytus Great Thanksgiving as a catholic-evangelical agreement in the NZ Prayer Book (I will check if that’s mentioned in my thesis). Again from memory, I think the “standard” Eucharistic Prayer here ended up fitting the bill, and the Hipollytus one seemed to have slipped away. Blessings.