Abstract

This article relates the theory of cultural memory, with special reference to the work of Jan and Aleida Assmann, to the sacramental rituals. In particular, it emphasizes the entanglement of sacred texts with rites that make the transmission of cultural memory especially effective. By analysing the institutions of the Passover in Exodus 12 and the Eucharist in the New Testament, especially in 1 Corinthians 11 and Luke 22, the article demonstrates several common linguistic features as prerequisites for actualizing performance. The narrative settings of the institutions in Exodus and in the Passion of Jesus show that both the Passover and the Eucharist convey the memory of cultural trauma and its resilient transformation. Both rituals have accompanied Judaism and Christianity as migratory companions through history.

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