The Memorial Acclamation is an acclamation sung or recited by the people after the institution narrative of the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

.Don S. Armentrout, Robert Boak Slocum (editors), ''An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church'' (Church House Publishing 2005
), p. 328 They were common in ancient eastern

liturgies Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a community, communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, ...

and have more recently been introduced into

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

liturgies. The acclamation references the memorial aspect of the Eucharist, taught by Jesus at the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

: "Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me" (). It is additionally linked with the pattern of the anamnesis, which is "that of the Lord's death, resurrection and ascension", along with the

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is the Christianity, Christian and Islam, Islamic belief that Jesus, Jesus Christ will return to Earth after his Ascension of Jesus, ascension to Heaven (Christianity), Heav ...

Liturgy of St James

The Liturgy of St James is the principal liturgy of the

Syriac Orthodox Church The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian denomination, denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The ch ...

Syriac Catholic Church The Syriac Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' (self-governing) particular church that is in full communion with the Holy See and with the entirety of the Catholic Church. Originating in the Levant, it uses the West Syriac ...

, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church,

Maronite Church The Maronite Church (; ) is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The head of the Maronit ...

, and Malankara Orthodox Church. It is also occasionally used in the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and

Melkite Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

and other

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also known as the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of ...

Byzantine Rite The Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite or the Rite of Constantinople, is a liturgical rite that is identified with the wide range of cultural, devotional, and canonical practices that developed in the Eastern Christianity, Eastern Chri ...

. In the Syriac form of this liturgy, after the Words of Institution, to which the people respond with "Amen" after the formula for the blessing of the bread and again after the formula for the blessing of the chalice, the priest celebrant says: "Do in remembrance of Me when you partake of this sacrament, commemorating My death and My resurrection until I come." The people then respond with the acclamation: "Your death, our Lord, we commemorate, Your resurrection we confess and Your second coming we wait for. May Your mercy be upon us all." In the Byzantine form of the Liturgy of St James, the priest celebrant says: "This do in remembrance of me; for as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show forth the Lord's death, and confess His resurrection, till He comes." The people respond: "We show forth Thy death, O Lord, and confess Thy resurrection."

Alexandrian Rite

The

Alexandrian Rite The Alexandrian rites are a collection of ritual families and uses of Christian liturgy employed by three Oriental Orthodox churches (the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and the Ethiopian Orthod ...

is the liturgical rite of the

Coptic Orthodox Church The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

. The Memorial Acclamation is present within the conclusion of the Institution Narrative of all three liturgies of the rite, which are the Liturgy of St. Cyril, the Liturgy of St. Basil, and the Liturgy of St. Gregory. The memorial acclamation is made up of a short prayer by the priest followed by a congregational response. These two parts are commonly referred to as the Anamnesis to distinguish them from the

Epiclesis The epiclesis (also spelled epiklesis; from , ) refers to the invocation of one or several gods. In ancient Greek religion, the epiclesis was the epithet used as the surname given to a deity in religious contexts. The term was borrowed into the Ch ...

and the other segments of the Institution Narrative. As with many Alexandrian prayers the priest prays in Coptic while the congregation responds in Greek.

Roman Rite

The Memorial Acclamation was introduced into the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite () is the most common ritual family for performing the ecclesiastical services of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. The Roman Rite governs Rite (Christianity) ...

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in 1969 as part of the revision of the

Roman Missal The Roman Missal () is the book which contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Roman Rite, the most common liturgy and Mass of the Catholic Church. There have been several editions. History Before the Council of Trent (1570) ...

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. Previously the only acclamations by the people in the eucharistic prayer were the

Sanctus The ''Sanctus'' (, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' (, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition and parts of it are sometimes called "Benedictus". ''Tersanctus'' (Latin: "Thr ...

and the Amen to the final doxology.

The three acclamations

The three acclamations given in the Roman Missal are, in the official English translation, as follows: The initial edition of the

in English, which in part was a more dynamic rather than literal translation of the original, had instead the following four acclamations: * Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. * Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory. * When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory. * Lord, by your cross and resurrection, you have set us free. You are the Saviour of the world.

''Mysterium fidei''

As a lead to the Memorial Acclamation, the priest says or sings: " The mystery of faith". This introductory phrase, ''mysterium fidei'' in the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

original, was previously translated loosely into English as "Let us proclaim the mystery of faith", and in some places was sung or spoken by the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

instead of the priest in spite of the clear instruction in the Missal itself and in the apostolic constitution ''Missale Romanum'' with which Pope Paul VI promulgated the revision of the Roman Missal.Peter J. Elliott, ''Liturgical Question Box'' (Ignatius Press 1998
), pp. 95-96 The English translation was corrected in 2011 and now reads simply: "The mystery of faith".

''Mysterium fidei'' in the Tridentine Mass

Before the 1969 revision of the Roman Missal, the phrase ''mysterium fidei'' was included in the formula of consecration of the wine spoken inaudibly by the priest, appearing as follows (here accompanied by an unofficial English translation): :::''Text (in Latin)'' :Simili modo postquam cenatum est, :accipiens et hunc praeclarum calicem :in sanctas ac venerabiles manus suas: :item tibi gratias agens, benedixit, :deditque discipulis suis, dicens: :Accipite, et bibite ex eo omnes. :Hic est enim calix sanguinis mei, :novi et aeterni testamenti: :mysterium fidei: :qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur :in remissionem peccatorum. :Haec quotiescumque feceritis, :in mei memoriam facietis. ::''Unofficial English translation'' :In like manner, after He had supped, :taking also into His holy and venerable hands :this goodly chalice, :again giving thanks to Thee, He blessed it, :and gave it to His disciples, saying: :Take and drink ye all of this: :For this is the chalice of My blood, :of the new and eternal testament: :the mystery of faith: :which will be shed for you and for many :unto the remission of sins. :As often as ye shall do these things, :ye shall do them in remembrance of me. Some

traditionalist Catholic Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). ...

s have criticised the removal of the phrase ''mysterium fidei'' from the words of consecration.

Meaning of the phrase ''mysterium fidei'' in context

The phrase ''mysterium fidei'' was added to the words of consecration at some time before the 6th century, perhaps by

Pope Leo I Pope Leo I () ( 391 – 10 November 461), also known as Leo the Great (; ), was Bishop of Rome from 29 September 440 until his death on 10 November 461. He is the first of the three Popes listed in the ''Annuario Pontificio'' with the title "the ...

(440-461) and perhaps, in reaction to the denial by

Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in ; ) is an endangered former major world religion currently only practiced in China around Cao'an,R. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''. SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 found ...

of the goodness of material things, as an expression of the Catholic Church's belief that salvation comes through Christ's material blood and through participation in the sacrament, which makes use of a material element. The memorial acclamations that follow suggest that "the mystery of faith" refers, in its new context, to "the entire mystery of salvation through Christ's death, resurrection and ascension, which is made present in the celebration of the Eucharist". An alternative memorial acclamation permitted in Ireland, "My Lord and my God", was disapproved of by Pope Paul VI for seemingly concentrating on the

real presence of Christ in the Eucharist The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, sometimes shortened Real Presence'','' is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist, not merely symbolically or metaphorically, but in a true, real and substantial way. T ...

rather than on Eucharistic sacrifice as a whole, but even this may be interpreted in the same sense, since it is a repetition of what in refers to Christ as risen and as still bearing the marks of his suffering.Edward McNamara, "The Mystery of Faith" in ''ZENIT News Agency, 7 October 2014
/ref>

Lutheran Rite

Lutherans have the Memorial Acclamation:Order of Worship
from ''Lutherans Online''. Retrieved 2010-16-01.

Anglican Rite

In its 1979 version of the ''Book of Common Prayer'', the

Episcopal Church (United States) The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

has in Prayer B the acclamation: In three of its Rite 2 eucharistic prayers, the acclamation is made by celebrant and people together. The ''

Book of Alternative Services The ''Book of Alternative Services'' (''BAS'') is the contemporary, inclusive-language liturgical book used in place of the 1962 ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) in most parishes of the Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canad ...

'' of the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2016, the Anglican Church of ...

has a Memorial Acclamation, as have some United Methodist churches.

References

{{Lutheran Divine Service Eucharist