The Great Offering

I have learnt a new title for the Eucharist: “The Great Offering”.

This title occurs on page 859 of The Episcopal Church’s Book of Common Prayer Catechism:

Q. By what other names is this service [The Holy Eucharist] known?
A. The Holy Eucharist is called the Lord’s Supper, and Holy Communion; it is also known as the Divine Liturgy, the Mass, and the Great Offering.

The Holy Eucharist Catechism page 859

All the others I have heard of. I only discovered “the Great Offering” because of a tweet and its responses. Offering connects with sacrifice, doesn’t it? And this question and answer directly follows:

Q. Why is the Eucharist called a sacrifice?
A. Because the Eucharist, the Church’s sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, is the way by which the sacrifice of Christ is made present, and in which he unites us to his one offering of himself.

But I cannot find any other reference. There’s nothing helpful in Hatchett’s Commentary on the American Prayer Book that I can find. Who else calls it “the Great Offering”? Do many people actually use this term? What is its origin, its history?

This post can be understood to follow the following series:

• Lord’s supper
• Holy communion
• Breaking of the bread
• Divine Liturgy
• Eucharist
• Mass
  .

Similar Posts:

• Sacrifice Part 1
• Sacrifice Part 3
• Sacrifice Part 4
• Accept This Sacrifice
• Clarifying NZ Eucharist history