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A Communion
Prayer by
St Philoxenus
of Mabbug
To be said upon reception of
the Holy Eucharist
Translated by Aelred Cod*
Edited by Andrew Youssef
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III reverently meditating
as he consumes the Divine Body of Christ.
NB: This private Syrian Orthodox communion prayer composed by St Philoxenus dates to the 5th-6th centuries; a time when it was common for the Eucharist to be received by the hand. I edited the prayer only insofar as doing so served the purpose of adapting the prayer to the current communion policy--as it stands in all Oriental Orthodox churches--of receiving the Eucharist directly into the mouth. Whilst it is strongly recommended that the entirety of the following prayer be printed on a small piece of paper to be folded and slipped into one's pocket/wallet/handbag so as to be conveniently taken out and read as the Holy Body and Blood are being consumed, a shorter redaction of the prayer (which Cody, translator and original publisher of the prayer, discovered in a 9th-10th century Syrian Orthodox manuscript) which is more practically capable of being committed to memory has been provided also.
I carry You, Living God, Who is incarnate in the bread, and I embrace You with my lips, Lord of the worlds Whom no world has contained. You have circumscribed Yourself in a fiery coal delivered by fleshly fingers–You Lord, Who with Your fingers measured out the dust of the earth. See, I hold You, although there is nothing that contains You; a bodily mouth embraces You, Lord of natures Whom a fleshly womb embraced. Within a womb You became a circumscribed body, and now within a mouth You are received by me as a small morsel.
As You have made me worthy to approach You and receive You–and see, my lips embrace You confidently–make me worthy, Lord, to eat You in a holy manner and to taste the food of Your Body as a taste of Your life. Instead of the stomach, the body’s member, may the womb of my intellect and the lips of my mind receive You. May You be conceived in me as You were in the womb of the Virgin. There You appeared as an infant, and Your hidden self was revealed to the world as corporeal fruit; may You also appear in me here and be revealed from me in fruits that are spiritual works and just labors pleasing to Your will.
And by Your food may my desires be killed; and by the drinking of Your cup may my passions be quenched. And instead of the members of my body, may my thoughts receive strength from the nourishment of Your Body. Like the manifest members of my body, may my hidden thoughts be engaged in exercise and in running and in works according to Your living commands and Your spiritual laws. From the food of Your Body and the drinking of Your Blood may I wax strong inwardly, and excel outwardly, and run diligently, and to attain to the full stature of an interior human being. May I become a perfect man, mature in the intelligence residing in all my spiritual members, my head being crowned with the crown of perfection of all of my behavior. May I be a royal diadem in Your Hands, as You promised me, O hidden God whose manifestness I embrace in the perfection of Your Body.
Shorter Redaction:
I carry You, Living God Who is incarnate in the bread, and I embrace You with my lips, Lord of the worlds whom no world has contained....Make me worthy to eat You in a holy manner....By Your food may my desires be killed, and by the drinking of Your cup may my passions be quenched....And [together] with my body, may my thoughts receive vital strength from the nourishment of Your Holy Body. And to You, Christ God, be glory and thanksgiving and worship, forever.
"An Instruction of Philoxenus of Mabbug on Gestures and Prayer When One Receives Communion in the Hand, with a History of the Manner of Receiving the Eucharistie Bread in the West Syrian Church" in Rule of Prayer, Rule of Faith: Essays in Honor of Aidan Kavanagh, O.S.B., ed. Nathan Mitchell and John Baldovin (Collegeville, MN), 59-60.
May the prayers of St Philoxenus of Mabbug be with us all, and glory be to the Incarnate God, forever. Amen.
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