The Origins of the Anaphoral Benedictus

Abstract

This paper presents evidence for the Benedictus following the Sanctus having been introduced first in Jerusalem in the Liturgy of St James. The structure and variety of the Benedictus are examined, along with theories of Jewish and Antiochene origin in relation to the Apostolic Constitutions. A fifth-century Jerusalem homily provides the first evidence for the Matthean form, subsequently contained in all versions of the Liturgy of St James and which becomes normative for nearly all eucharistic traditions. The conclusion distinguishes between the origins of the idea of the anaphoral Benedictus and the origins of its form. The idea of a 'blessed be' acclamation after the Sanctus may well lie in Jewish traditions, but the origins of its form lie in the Palm Sunday acclamation of fourth-century Jerusalem.