abstract
| - The Words of Institution are those used, inserted into a narrative of the Last Supper, in Christian Eucharistic liturgies to recall those used by Jesus on that occasion. Eucharistic scholars sometimes refer to them simply as the verba (Latin for "words"). Almost all existing ancient Christian Churches explicitly include Words of Institution in their Mass or Divine Liturgy, and consider them necessary for the validity of the sacrament. The Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari does not explicitly contain Words of Institution. This Anaphora is used by the Assyrian Church of the East and (often in adapted form) by the Chaldean Catholic Church and others of the same tradition. The Roman Catholic Church has explicitly recognized its validity, saying that "the words of Eucharistic Institution are indeed present in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, not in a coherent narrative way and ad litteram, but rather in a dispersed euchological way, that is, integrated in successive prayers of thanksgiving, praise and intercession." No formula of Words of Institution is claimed to be an exact reproduction of words that Jesus used, presumably in the Aramaic language, at his Last Supper. The formulas generally combine words from the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke and the Pauline account in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25. They may even insert other words, such as the phrase "Mysterium fidei" which for many centuries was found within the Roman Rite Words of Institution, until removed in 1970.
- The Words of Institution were said at the Consecretion.
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