Anaphora of Mary (Ethiopian)

In Brief

The Anaphora of Mary is the Ethiopian Church's Marian eucharistic prayer: after the Apostles, "the most popular of all".¹ It is appointed for the feasts of St Mary; the seventeenth-century manuscript notes add Gabriel and Dacesius to her days.² In shape it is Alexandrian in Ge'ez dress, one of the four Ge'ez anaphoras with a proper preface of its own.³ Its distinction is the address: the anaphora's prayers are addressed to Christ, as Jungmann noted in discussing "the prayers to Christ in the Ethiopian Anaphora of Mary".⁴ Tradition ascribes it to Heryacos (Cyriacus) of Behnesa; scholarship treats the ascription as pseudonymous and dates the composition to the fifteenth century.²⁵ It is, with the Apostles, one of the two most-used anaphoras of the Ethiopian missal.⁶

The Shape of the Liturgy

Part by Part

Authorship & Date

The books ascribe the anaphora to "Abba Cyriacos, Bishop of the city of Behnesa", Heryacos in the Ethiopian spelling.² The ascription is a tradition, and it is kept distinct from authorship here. What scholarship can say: the anaphora is a fifteenth-century composition, and its authorship is contested.⁵ Getatchew Haile proposed an alternative hypothesis, sometimes summarized under the name Silondis; it remains a hypothesis, not an established attribution.⁹ The Ge'ez text was edited with a German translation by Euringer.⁸ The andemta commentary tradition, studied by Böll, carried the anaphora's interpretation in the schools.¹⁰ The entry's position: a fifteenth-century Ethiopian composition under a traditional episcopal ascription.

Witnesses & Editions

The anaphora reached print with the first Ge'ez New Testament: the Rome 1548 Testamentum Novum (ff. 170 sq.).⁷ Harden's 1928 edition translates it from British Museum manuscripts, with the traditional account of its author.² Euringer's 1937 edition gives the Ge'ez text with a German translation.⁸ The modern English versions are Daoud and Marsie Hazen's and Yesehaq's, the latter calling it "the most popular of all".¹¹¹ Macomber counts it "popular" and, like the other non-Apostles anaphoras, "of Ethiopian authorship".⁶ The entry header renders the standard transliteration Qəddase Maryam; no Ge'ez script incipit was verified from a printed edition, and the parts outline uses English descriptors throughout.

Theology & Spirit

The address governs the theology: the prayer is said to Christ, while Mary is commemorated and honored within it.⁴ The preface is the anaphora's own, one of four proper prefaces in the Ge'ez corpus, the rest being borrowed.³ The institution follows the common Ge'ez form: most Ge'ez anaphoras read "This bread is my body; this cup is my blood".³ The 1945 Catholic missal's redaction, which normalized the institution words across the corpus on the model of the Apostles, left Mary's text among the exceptions.³ The epiclesis invokes the Holy Spirit upon the gifts, and the intercessions follow.² The anaphora is thus a Christ-addressed prayer shaped by Marian devotion: the Church's love for the Mother carried inside a eucharistic prayer to the Son.

Relations

The Anaphora of the Apostles is the norm to Mary's exception: the ordinary prayer for which Mary's stands in on her feasts, in the calendar of substitution the old manuscript notes preserve.²⁶ The two are the missal's most-used pair.¹ The other festal anaphoras (Our Lord, John Son of Thunder, the 318) are its companions in that calendar, each with its appointed days.²

• Ethiopian Anaphora of the ApostlessiblingThe two most-used anaphoras of the Ethiopian missal; Mary's stands in for the Apostles on her feasts^2,6

Disputed Questions

Who wrote the Anaphora of Mary? The traditional answer, Heryacos of Behnesa, is reported by Harden with the traditional account; Tsegaye's answer is a fifteenth-century anonymous composition; Getatchew Haile's is a hypothesis.²⁵⁹ The entry does not choose: it reports the tradition, the dating, and the hypothesis, each with its source. The spelling of the traditional author's name follows the source cited: Heryacos (Yesehaq, Daoud), Cyriacus/Cyriacos (Harden).

Go Deeper

Harden's counting is worth keeping beside Fritsch's. In 1928 Harden found "the total number seems to be sixteen", with no British Museum manuscript containing more than fourteen, and fourteen in the manuscript behind Mercer's edition of the modern rite; a Paris manuscript added two more, James the Lord's brother and a second Cyril.² Fritsch, for the 1945 Catholic missal, reports seventeen in the missal, twenty known, fifteen in use.³ The Orthodox Ethiopian missal has fourteen.³ The Anaphora of Mary is constant through every count: the Marian prayer no missal omits.

Recommended reading

• Harden, J. M., The Anaphoras of the Ethiopic Liturgy, London: SPCK, 1928.The English translation with the traditional account. Read online
• Euringer, Sebastian, “Das Netzer Anaphorenfragment und die äthiopische Marienanaphora”, Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie 61, 1937, 86-107.The Ge'ez text with German translation.
• Tsegaye, Fanos Workalemahu, “Per Christum and Ad Christum: A Historical-Theological Analysis of Ethiopic Anaphoras”, PhD thesis, University of St Andrews, 2023.The dating and authorship discussion. Read online

Sources

1. Primary textYesehaq, Abba (M. A. Yesehaq), The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, Addis Ababa, 1983.Verified 2026-09-20 · Seen (FT): 'The most popular of all' — the full English texts of the Anaphora of the Apostles and the Anaphora of Mary
2. Primary textHarden, J. M., The Anaphoras of the Ethiopic Liturgy, London: SPCK, 1928, 8–12; 8; 7–8. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · archive.org full text read, introduction pp. 1-14, with the page heads: 'The total number seems to be sixteen'; no British Museum manuscript 'contains more than fourteen' (p. 7); the other anaphoras stand 'as substitutes for the normal Anaphora of the Apostles', by the marginal notes of a seventeenth-century manuscript (p. 8); Maundy Thursday the day 'on which day alone the Eucharist is celebrated in the Ethiopic Church with unleavened bread' (p. 10); 'it can hardly be said with truth that the subordinate Anaphoras were used but seldom' (p. 12); the first printing, Rome 1548, of the pro-anaphora and three anaphoras (pp. 12-13). The introduction uses an older name for the Church, which this Index does not use
3. ScholarshipFritsch, Emmanuel, CSSp, “The Anaphoras of the Ethiopian Church: A Challenging Orthodoxy”, paper for the congress La genesi anaforica del racconto istituzionale alla luce dell'anafora di Addai e Mari (Pontifical Oriental Institute and Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, 25-26 October 2011), 2011. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · PDF read in full (a two-page summary and the author's bio-bibliographical profile). Profile: 'Secretary of the Ethiopian Catholic Bishops' Liturgy Committee' since its creation in 2003, and of the 'mixed Ethio-Eritrean Bishops' Liturgy Committee'. Summary: 'there are today 20 anaphoras known: 15 of which are actually in use, 14 printed in the missal of the Orthodox Church and 17 in the missal published by the Vatican in 1945 after revision'; 'the restored Missal of the Vatican (1945) removed the mention of the "bread", while leaving the "cup" in a number of occasions. However, there is no real basis for the doubts raised'; in the Anaphora of the Lord the 1945 Missal 'rectified matters according to the Institution Narrative of the Anaphora of the Apostles'; into St James of Sarug it 'interpolated the Institution Narrative of the Anaphora of the Apostles' (p. 1); 'the Ge'ez-Catholic Church' and its effort 'to recover its authentic Missal'; the narratives 'should be preserved in the Catholic books as in the Orthodox ones'; 'The Roman Holy See having acknowledged the validity of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, there is ample freedom to discuss related issues' (p. 2). Also p. 1: 'Doubts have been raised at various levels as to the validity of this formulation or as to how proper or prudent this was'; p. 2: a sixteenth-century correction of the Lord's cup-words shows 'the need to state that the transformation of the wine into the blood of Jesus Christ is "really" done', and the Scholastic tradition 'is in fact unable to satisfactorily account for the mystery re-presented in the Church or, a fortiori, presume to juge of the validity of the Eucharist celebrated by another particular Church'
4. ScholarshipJungmann, Josef A.; trans. A. Peeler, The Place of Christ in Liturgical Prayer, Staten Island, NY / London: Alba House / Geoffrey Chapman, 1965, first published as Die Stellung Christi im liturgischen Gebet (Münster: Aschendorff, 1925; 2nd ed. 1962), 52. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · archive.org full text read: imprint page (German editions 1925, 1962); p. 43, 'twenty anaphora formularies', most indigenous ones having 'appeared in Abyssinia only after the turn of the millennium'; p. 52, of the prayers to Christ in the Ethiopian Anaphora of Mary, 'there is as yet no sort of heretical avowal to be found', yet the Christology of the non-Chalcedonians, the view 'that makes the humanity of our Lord vanish in his divinity offers the most obvious explanation'. Jungmann uses an older name for these Churches, which this Index does not use
5. ScholarshipTsegaye, Fanos Workalemahu, “Per Christum and Ad Christum: A Historical-Theological Analysis of Ethiopic Anaphoras”, PhD thesis, University of St Andrews, 2023. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · the full thesis (192 pp.) read, cited by its printed page numbers. Abstract (p. ii): the earliest form, 'as attested in the text of Anaphora of the Apostles found in the "Axumite Collection"', prays to the Father through the Son, the ad Christum appearing only in later versions; prayer to Christ results 'from multiple political, social, and theological factors'; Jungmann's reading of it as a sign of a heretical Christology 'is inaccurate'. p. 9: Hammerschmidt's survey of 'the twenty Ethiopic anaphoras'. p. 88: the Solomonic dynasty came to power in 1270. p. 92: 'The official Ethiopic Liturgy consists of fourteen anaphoras, although scholars have identified around twenty'; 'some of them are of ancient origin, mid-fourth and sixth centuries. In contrast, others are late medieval compilations (thirteenth to fifteenth centuries)'. p. 154: the Anaphora of Mary dated to the fifteenth century; Getatchew Haile's attribution to an Ethiopian author, 'Silondis'
6. ReferenceMacomber, William F., “Ethiopian Liturgy”, The Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. Aziz S. Atiya (New York: Macmillan, 1991), 1991, 987b-990b. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia text read in full: knowledge of the history is 'severely limited by an almost complete absence of documents antedating the fifteenth century'; the Ethiopian Church 'has in its printed missal no less than fourteen, only one of which, the Anaphora of Saint BASIL THE GREAT, is found with the Copts', six more in manuscripts; 'The Ethiopian Catholics, on the contrary, have adopted three of them in their missal, the anaphoras of Saints Mary, Mark, and James'; the Anaphora of the Apostles is 'the anaphora most frequently used in Ethiopia'; that it was the original anaphora 'seems rather dubious'; the prefatory dialogue's second and third exchanges in the opposite order; the Apostles, the Lord, Basil, Mark and James are translations, and 'All the others seem to be of Ethiopian authorship', Mary's included, which Getatchew Haile's study (1983) lets him ascribe 'with probability' to Abba Samuel of Wali; the chant and the Deggwa attributed to St Yared, 'supposed to have lived at the time of King Gabra Masqal in the seventh century'
7. Primary textBrightman, F. E., Liturgies Eastern and Western, vol. 1: Eastern Liturgies, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896. LinkVerified 2026-09-12 · archive.org full text; pp. lxxxiii, lxxxv, lxxxviii–lxxxix checked; order locators spot-checked 13 Sep 2026 (pp. 362, 377–378, 393, 394; glossary s.v. Zeon, Cancelli, Ektene). Checked 19 Sep 2026 for the Ge'ez entry: Preface p. xiii, the Ethiopic translations are the Rev. C. J. Ball's ('the Rev. C. J. Ball for the Ethiopic (including the collation of the British Museum manuscripts)'); p. lxiii, the Egyptian rite; pp. lxxii-lxxiii, the Rome printing of 1548 ('Testamentum novum.. Missale') and the Lord's anaphora there; pp. 194-244, the Ethiopic Liturgy of the Apostles from BM Or. 545 (1670-75); p. 232, 'THIS bread… IS MY BODY' (a rubric between) and 'DRINK… THIS CUP'
8. ScholarshipEuringer, Sebastian, “Das Netzer Anaphorenfragment und die äthiopische Marienanaphora”, Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie 61, 1937, 86-107.Verified 2026-09-20 · Catalogued: the Alexandrian canon records it as the edition of the Ge'ez text with German translation of the Anaphora of Mary; the article itself was not opened
9. ScholarshipHaile, Getatchew, “Ethiopic Literature”, African Zion: The Sacred Art of Ethiopia, ed. Marilyn Heldman, 50-55, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983.Verified 2026-09-20 · Catalogued: the Alexandrian canon records Getatchew Haile's hypothesis on the Anaphora of Mary's authorship; the chapter itself was not opened
10. ScholarshipBöll, Verena, Die 'andəmta'-Kommentare zur äthiopischen Liturgie: Das Corpus der liturgischen Kommentare, Aethiopistische Forschungen 49, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1998.Verified 2026-09-20 · Catalogued: the Alexandrian canon records it as the study of the andəmta commentary tradition on the Ethiopian liturgy; the book itself was not opened
11. Primary textDaoud, Marcos (trans.), rev. Blatta Marsie Hazen; introduction by Archbishop Yesehaq, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, Cairo: The Egyptian Book Press, 1959, reprint: Kingston, Jamaica, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, June 1991, re-edited 22 March 2006, 185 pp.. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · the 2006 reprint read and cited by its own page numbers and its paragraph numbers (chapter : paragraph; anaphora letter : paragraph). Foreword (p. 2): the Ethiopian authorities say 'they received their liturgy of fourteen Anaphoras from the Church of Egypt'; St Basil's 'is identical with the Ethiopian Church Anaphora, but the other two are entirely different'. Archbishop Yesehaq's introduction, 'an extract of my Book' (pp. 3-10): 'less change has taken place in the Ethiopian Liturgy than in any other Christian tradition, East or West' (p. 3); Makeda, Solomon and the Ark, Frumentius, the 'Nine Syrian Monks' (pp. 3-4); Yared 'born A. D. 505, in Aksum' (p. 4); 'The Ethiopian Church has fourteen Anaphoras' and 'by A.D. 1950, the fourteen Anaphoras together with the preparatory service were published (in both Geez and Amharic)' (p. 5); 'qedasi' is literally 'hallowing' or 'sanctifying'; the Anaphora of the Apostles 'written by the Apostles themselves'; Mary's anaphora handed 'to Yared of Axsum who later put it together with the other thirteen Anaphoras'; 'no major change or reform' (p. 6); 'at least two priests and three deacons', and 'In 1959 permission was given for one priest and one deacon' (p. 7); five readings; the kiss of peace now 'a simple bow in every direction'; Dioscorus's anaphora on the Nativity, Epiphany, Fasika, Ascension, Pentecost and the Trinity (p. 8); Communion order and the Synod's attempt of January 1979 to replace 'the dried raisin wine' (p. 9 and n. 9); shoes removed, 'women stand to the right, and men to the left', the three parts of the church, Communion 'at least three times a year' (p. 10). The ordo (chs II-IV, pp. 12-42) and the Anaphora of the Apostles (anaphora A, pp. 43-57) read in full. Also: p. 3, 'less change has taken place in the Ethiopian Liturgy than in any other Christian tradition, East or West'; p. 23, III:49, the Prayer of Oblation, 'change this (pointing) bread to become Thy pure body'; p. 24, III:62, the Absolution names 'the Patriarchs St. Severus, St. Dioscorus'; p. 46, A:49, 'May He make them the body and blood of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ'; p. 49, A:98, 'This (pointing) is the true holy body'