The Tripartite Structure Of Prayer And The Trinitarian Formulary

Jewish table prayer, thought by some historians of liturgy to be the antecedent of the early Christian eucharistic prayer, evidences a threefold pattern of praise, remembrance, and petition. In a general way this sequence corresponds to the formula "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" in Christian worship. Thus, liturgical practice may have helped to shape classical Christian Trinitarianism. In recent years, more and more attention has been given to three issues that bear upon the understanding of the classic eucharistic prayers. First, there has been a developing concern to discover the possible relationships, both of continuity and change, between Jewish worship practices and prayers and the worship and prayers of early Christianity. Second, there has been a growing interest in the way in which prayers are structured. Thus, it has been observed by many scholars, both Jewish and Christian, that traditional prayers usually embody a pattern or sequence of themes and emphases. Third, through…