Durham E-Theses Sursum Corda: ritual and meaning of the liturgical command in the rst ve centuries of the Church FOSTER, JASON,DARRELL How to cite: FOSTER, JASON,DARRELL (2014) Sursum Corda: ritual and meaning of the liturgical command in the rst ve centuries of the Church, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10707/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Material Abstract Jason Darrell Foster Sursum Corda: ritual and meaning of the liturgical command in the first five centuries of the Church This dissertation explores the ritual and meaning of the Sursum Corda in the first five centuries of the Church. The original text and structure was forceful and abrupt - reminding those gathered of their heavenly position in Christ via their baptisms. When the priest shouted the command, those assembled assumed the orans position of prayer in the same manner as they did the first time they prayed the ‘Our Father’ after being baptized. In turn, the Sursum Corda brought spiritual and social order to often troubled Eucharistic assemblies. Certain third through fifth century Fathers employed various meanings of the command as they related it to the rites of entrance into the Church. When the initiated had their ‘hearts on high’ it resulted in the ability to ward off the attacks of the devil (evidenced by earthly concerns, attitudes, actions and perceptions) and, therefore, properly perceive the liturgical service as well as the Eucharistic gifts as the Body and Blood of Christ. In the sixth to eight centuries, the Great Entrance, coupled with its accompanying hymns the ‘Cherubikon’ and ‘Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence’ that contained exhortations to ‘lay aside all earthly cares’ (previously connected to the Sursum Corda), replaced the original meaning of the command as the gathered understood the entrance to be that of the Consecrated Gifts. This liturgical evolution resulted in the Sursum Corda transitioning textually and thematically to the exhortation ‘Let us lift up our hearts’ whereby the assembled ascended to the New Jersualem. When the heart made this journey it united with God in the Eucharist: the end result being a realized eschatology. Thus, the Sursum Corda evolved from a command to remember or realize one’s heavenly identity in Christ via baptism to that of a spiritual ascent to the heavenly city of God in the Divine Liturgy. Sursum Corda: ritual and meaning of the liturgical command in the first five centuries of the Church A dissertation presented by Jason Darrell Foster in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to The Department of Theology and Religion Durham University Durham, England 2013 Table of Contents Abbreviations ........................................................................................... vii Statement of Copyright ........................................................................... viii Acknowledgments ..................................................................................... ix Dedication .................................................................................................. x Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 1. Method of Study ...................................................................... 3 2. Review of Contemporary Scholarship ..................................... 4 a. F.J. Dölger – Stand to Prayer and Raise Your Soul to Heaven .................................................................... 4 b. E. Ferguson – Stand to Pray ......................................... 6 c. R.. Taft – Warning Off the Unworthy .......................... 9 d. W. Bates – Rehearsal for the Parousia ....................... 14 e. E. Lash – Hearts on High! .......................................... 18 Section 1 - Ritual Considertions of the Sursum Corda…………………..21 Chapter 1 - Ritual Text: Sursum Corda: ‘Hearts on High’ and ‘Minds on High’ ............................................................... 21 1. Introduction 22……………………………………………….21 2. The Sursum Corda in the Apostolic Tradition ....................... 22 a. Authorship and Origin ............................................... 22 b. Sursum Corda as Part of the Accepted Ορθόδοξος Formula ...................................................................... 25 c. Questions Regarding the Tripartite Structure of the Introductory Dialogue ................................................ 28 d. The Sursum Corda in the Apostolic Tradition 4 and 25 ......................................................................... 31 e. The Correct English Translation of the Sursum Corda ........................................................... 35 3. The Relation of ‘Minds on High’ to the Anaphora of Addai and Mari ..................................................................... 39 a. Origin and Text of the Anaphora ............................... 39 b. A Comparison of the Terms Heart and Mind ............ 42 c. The Relationship between ‘Minds on high’ and the Sanctus ................................................................. 44 4. Conclusion ............................................................................. 50 Chapter 2 – Ritual Setting – Socio Context of the Sursum corda............ 53 1. Introduction ............................................................................ 52 2. The Spirtual Battle Ground of the Heart ................................ 52 3. Social Concerns at the New Testament Eucharist ................. 53 a. Failure to Pay Attention at the Eucharist ................... 55 b. Social Injustice at the Eucharistic Table .................... 56 c. False Teachers within the Assembly .......................... 58 4. Social Problesm at the Eucharist in the Third to Fifth Centuries ...................................................................... 59 a. Hippolytus – Worldly Occupations in the Apostolic Tradition .................................................... 60 b. Cyprian – Moral Issues Among the Laity and the Clergy .................................................................. 61 c. Increasing Social Concerns in the Church during the Fourth Century ........................................................... 62 5. Commodianus – Sursum Corda as a Means to Correct Earthly Behavior ....................................................... 66 6. Anastasius of Sinai – Ongoing Social/Spiritual Problems and the Sursum Corda ........................................................... 67 7. Conclusion ............................................................................. 69 Chapter 3 – Ritual Posture – Sursum Corda and the Orans .................... 70 1. Introduction ............................................................................ 70 2. The Orans in the Ancient World ............................................ 71 a. Ancient Greeks ........................................................... 72 b. Ancient Romans ......................................................... 74 c. Old Testament Jews ................................................... 77 d. Lamentations 3:40-41 and the New Testament Orans 79 8. Primary Third-Century Considerations of the Orans ............ 81 a. The Apostolic Tradition and the Catacomb of San Callisto ........................................................... 81 b. Cyprian – Standing to Pray and the Sursum Corda ... 86 5. Patristic Commentary on the Orans ....................................... 87 6. The Ritual Path to the Orans ................................................. 91 a. Standing up, Again ..................................................... 94 b. Facing East – A Heavenly Identity ........................... 95 c. Assuming the Orans and Lifting up the Soul ............ 96 7. Conclusion ............................................................................. 98 8. Summary of Section 1 .......................................................... 100 Section 2: Meaning of the Liturgical Command………………………..102 Chapter 4 – Cyprian: Sursum Corda, the Devil and the Poor ................ 102 1. Introduction .......................................................................... 102 2. The Lord’s Prayer in Third Century North Africa ............... 102 3. Baptism and turning from Earthly Things ........................... 103 4. The Ongoing Struggle with the Devil .................................. 105 5. Church Struggles and Moral Laxity in the North African Church .......................................................... 106 6. Cyprian’s Catechism On the Lord’s Prayer ........................ 108 a. Preparing to the Heart to Stand before God in Prayer ........................................................... 108 b. Contrasting Earthly and Heavenly Things ..............