The role of the epiclesis in transubstantiation

w pkt 1333 i 1357 oraz w Ogólne wprowadzenie do Mszału rzymskiego w pkt 79 c: to szczególne wezwanie, w którym Kościół błaga o zesłanie mocy Świętego, aby [...]”. and blood of Jesus Christ […]. In the institution narrative, the power of the words and the action of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit, make sacramentally present under the species of bread and wine Christ’s body and blood, […].” In numbers 1333 and 1357 and also in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal in article 79 c: “The epiclesis, in which, by means of particular invocations, the Church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the gifts offered by human hands be consecrated, that is, become Christ’s Body and Blood [...].”


Introduction
The teaching of the Catholic Church is characterized by great stability, although sometimes changes do occur. As found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, growth is expected in the understanding of the faith 1 that has manifested itself throughout its two-thousand-year history, and this article points to one such topic where this can be seen.
The author of the article offers dogmatic theologians his interpretation of how the Catholic Church has modified its current doctrine by the fact that the conversion of the bread and wine in the Eucharist in the Latin rite is not only caused by the words of conversion, as taught for centuries, but also by the epiclesis. This view was expressed by several dogmatic and liturgical theologians even before the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Until then, however, it was only their private opinion. According to the author, after the publication of the magisterial document, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the private opinion of some theologians probably became the official teaching of the Catholic Church on this topic. Nevertheless, this doctrine is not widely known among dogmatic theologians, bishops, priests, deacons, and religious teachers even 30 years after the publishing the catechism and 20 years after the third edition of the Roman Missal.
The aim of the article is to provoke discussion among experts in this field, which would indicate whether or not dogmatic theologians agree with the author or have a modified view of his opinion. The discussion should then appear in the textbooks on dogmatic theology as a contemporary Catholic doctrine about the role of the epiclesis in the conversion.
The author first analyses several statements of the Church Fathers and theologians in the Christian East and West regarding the importance of the epiclesis in the conversion. This is followed by a synthesis of the different views of both groups on the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Finally, the author uses the comparative method to confirm his view by reference to the texts of the catechism in paragraphs 1105, 1333, 1353, 1357, and

The epiclesis as part of the form of the Eucharist
The epiclesis is primarily focused on the sacramental presence of Christ in the Holy Spirit, as it is to come to the communion of people through the sacramental Christ 2 . Although there is no explicit mention of the Holy Spirit in the Roman Canon, there are analogous prayers that point to the idea of the offering of sacrifices 3 . Discussion takes place as to whether the prayers before and after the consecration in this ancient canon are those of epiclesis 4 .
The oldest epiclesis as a plea and call for cult epiphany can be found in Didache 10:6 5 . In Antiochene Eucharistic prayers, the epiclesis forms the only consecration and communal prayer which is situated only after the recitation of the institution 6 .

Constitutive elements of transubstantiation
In the Catholic Church, since the time of scholasticism about the words necessary for celebrating the Eucharist, the belief developed that the words with which Christ gave his body and blood to the apostles at the farewell supper are a form of Eucharist sacrificial sacrament 7 . The Church confirmed this thesis in a number of statements 8 and the words of today's consecration represent a synthesis that 2 Cf. J. Dolista, Perichoréze iniciačních svátostí, "Teologické texty" 7 (1996)  arose from the earlier cult and theological elaboration of the New Testament texts. More than a thousand years were required for it to take on a form that has been established for centuries and seemed unchangeable. Consecration words have changed in different ways during the liturgical reform, but they can never be omitted 9 . Pope Paul VI, for pastoral reasons and for the sake of easier concelebration, ordered that in each of the new Mass canons, the words of the Lord be one and the same 10 . It, therefore, follows that, from a doctrinal point of view, it is possible for them to be different.

Post-apostolic period in the West
In the post-apostolic era, they have celebrated the Eucharist in connection with Jesus' words of thanksgiving, as a great thanksgiving prayer, the wording of which has long been freely formulated 11 . The name by which the act began to be called Eucharist, or thanksgiving, developed from this thankful prayer because it objectified the celebration of the name of Jesus and the gratitude for him. The oldest Eucharistic prayer that has been preserved for us is found in Traditio apostolica by Hippolytus 12 in which God's redemptive work in creation and redemption is praised, and then it proceeds to describe the institution 13 . This description is never completely missing in the Eucharistic prayers 14 . They introduce the Last Supper as the making present of God's redemptive act. The epiclesis, the invocation of the Holy Spirit, is also witnessed soon and, it seems that St. Irenaeus ascribed the consecration power to it 15 .
The epiclesis in Traditio apostolica is not a request to the Holy Spirit, but a request to the Father to sanctify these gifts with his Spirit and make holy and unite those who will receive them with the same Spirit. It is an explicit request for the arrival of the Spirit here 16 .
Although the words of institution were never missing during the celebration of the Eucharist, they were specifically underlined in a unified whole of thanksgiving and epiclesis for the first time by St. Ambrose in the fourth century. Until the twelfth century, we are more likely to encounter the view that only the words of the Lord make present his redemptive death on Golgotha, but only within the whole prayer of canon as its organic part. At that time, the words of the Lord were increasingly emphasized in the canon and were considered to be the only essential words. The rest of the canon was slowly understood as the framework of what the words of the Lord accomplished. The belief that the consecration formula itself should be seen in the words of the Lord prevailed in the thirteenth century.

Post-apostolic period in the East
The development of this belief was different in the Eastern Churches where, from the fourth century, the epiclesis was understood as an essential part of the Eucharist 17 . Furthermore, the Apostolic Constitutions speak of epiclesis 18 .
The Church Fathers identified the words eucharistein -thank and epikalein -as invoking the name of God on a person or thing with the Eucharist being a great prayer of thanksgiving. An examination of the works of the representatives of the Tradition which were written before the Council of Ephesus shows that the entire liturgy causes the conversion of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. It was not just the words of institution which said: "This is 15 19 . St. Cyril of Jerusalem in the Mystagogic Catecheses states that God is asked to send the Holy Spirit upon the gifts presented to make the bread into the body of Christ and the wine into the blood of Christ 20 .
The fourth Mystagogic Catechese of St. Cyril of Jerusalem is dedicated to the theology of the Eucharist. The most important term for the description and the most important moment in the celebration of the Eucharist is the epiclesis -the invocation of the Holy Spirit. Cyril is one of the first Church Fathers to make it clear that after the epiclesis, the bread and wine are actually the body of Christ 21 .
Here, he writes about the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity, which includes a third divine person involved in the consecration of the bread and the wine. In other statements, however, he writes only about the Holy Spirit 22 .
The conversion of the bread and wine occurs during the invocation of the Holy Spirit, or epiclesis 23 .
The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. Similarly, after the descent of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine received the anointing of grace and immortality 24 . This paved the way for the emergence of special epiclesis in the early Christian liturgies, especially in Syria and Anatolia 25 .
After the Council of Constantinople I came the development of the epiclesis to the Holy Spirit with a request for his descent to convert holy gifts and make holy Christians 26 .
In the middle of the tenth century, Presbyter Kosmas taught about the Eucharist in his speech, Contra recentem heresim Bogomili, that the consecration words of the Lord as well as the epiclesis were required for its conferment 27 .
During the Rite of Ordination, the Presbyter received the "power" to celebrate the Eucharist, but the power and authority come from the Holy Spirit 28 .
The Eucharist cannot be celebrated without the Holy Spirit. Only through the activity of the Holy Spirit is bread and wine consecrated. Evdokimov writes that the epiclesis calls on the Holy Spirit to give the power that can only come from God to the quoted words of Christ through the mouths of the priests. The epiclesis gives the words of Christ the whole reality of a miracle 29 .
In the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, after the words of institution: "This is my body" and "This is the cup of my blood", the people sang: "We praise you, […]." During this chanting, the priest asks the Heavenly Father for the Holy Spirit to descend upon the Church and the sacrificial gifts, and for the Father to convert the bread into the body of Christ and the wine into the blood of Christ with his Holy Spirit. This is the epiclesis 30 .
Today, the most common view in Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Churches is that the words of conversion and invocation of the Holy Spirit form an indivisible whole and both are necessary for a valid celebration of the Eucharist 31 . The Eastern Churches recognize that the epiclesis and the words of Christ are used to convert the bread into the body of Jesus Christ and the wine into his blood 32 . In a discussion between the Orthodox and the Catholics about the moment of conversion, the Orthodox defended this belief which, according to them, is original Tradition 33 . Based on this view, the words of conversion carry out the mystery of the Eucharist initially and as if in an early stage, and the invocation of the Holy Spirit completes them 34 . 27

Magisterial documents on the significance of the epiclesis in the conferment of the Eucharist
It was St. Ambrose who, in the Christian West in the fourth century, for the first time in celebrating the Eucharist, specifically emphasized the words of institution which were never missing in a unified whole of thanksgiving and epiclesis 35 . In the last century, Y. Congar adopted the position that, from the point of view of the doctrine of faith, the Eucharistic prayer forms one unified whole from which no element can be chosen, whether the institution of the Eucharist or the epiclesis 36 . He pointed to several testimonies from the Western Tradition, according to which the belief of the Latin West that the words of institution caused consecration was still associated with another belief that the Holy Spirit was also involved 37 .
The idea that the epiclesis also participates in the conversion of the bread and wine was explicitly proclaimed by some Catholic theologians before the promulgation of this doctrine in the magisterial documents 38 .
The doctrinal shift towards the teaching of the Eastern Churches manifested itself in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the title before number 1104 39 and in that number 40 which also applies to number 1116 41 . Other numbers explicitly describe the effect of epiclesis, such as: "[...] the bread and wine [...] by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood" 42 .
Here, the question arises as to why the wording does not sound the other way around, since there is epiclesis first, then come the words of institution in the Latin rite and in some liturgies in Egypt 43 . The same question is asked by some 35 Cf. ibidem, no. 1104. 41 Cf. ibidem, no. 1116 theologians of the Eastern Churches in which the epiclesis is almost always considered an institution 44 .
It does not matter in number 1353 that Jesus Christ is mentioned first and only then the Holy Spirit because it is not about the order of the acts, as in number 1333, but about the enumeration of the divine persons participating in the conferment of the Eucharist.
As This doctrine was already mentioned by the contemporary Roman Catholic theologian in the introduction to this article that the Holy Spirit, at the request of the Church through a priest, descends upon the gifts presented to become the body and blood of Christ. Thus, the epiclesis focuses primarily on Christ's sacramental presence in the Holy Spirit 46 .
K. Richter also writes about this, stating that even in the field of liturgical theology, one can sometimes say something gratifying. This includes the decision of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of 2001 when the Eastern Chaldean Church, in union with Rome, was allowed to establish a Eucharistic communion with the ancient Assyrian Church of the East. At the same time, an essential part of the Assyrian liturgy was also validated as its Eucharistic prayer containing no words of institution was considered as the words of consecration. The reasoning says that this prayer, despite the lack of a verba testamenti, expresses the belief that the Christ made present is seen under the species of bread and wine. 47 Rome, thus, confirms what has long been evident in the liturgy -that these interpretive words are not a consecration formula and cannot be understood as the only point of prayer in which conversion takes place. They are -as they say in the new liturgical order 48 -one of "the main elements of which the Eucharistic Prayer consists" 49 .
It is necessary to add to his words that, not only in the field of the liturgical but also in that of dogmatic theology, these expressions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Roman Missal and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith confirm this teaching. What was obvious in the liturgy long ago had to be confirmed by the Magisterial documents, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Roman Missal, and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith because, until then, it was only a theological opinion. On the other hand, it is also an example of the fact that many well-argued theses are eventually incorporated into the content of the Catholic doctrine. However, some authors suggest that the aspect of 'doctrinal change' in the Church's teaching on transubstantiation should not be overemphasized in this topic. Rather, it is necessary to speak of a certain addition to the Christological dimension of the Eucharist with a pneumatological one.

Conclusion
Emphasizing the importance of the epiclesis in transubstantiation raises awareness of the significance of the Holy Spirit, which makes the following words of Leo XIII from the encyclical letter Divinum illud munus less and less current: 50 "Perchance there are still to be found among them, even nowadays, some, who if asked, as were those of old by St. Paul the Apostle, whether they have received the Holy Spirit, might answer in like manner: 'We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit'" 51 . From a practical point of view, this doctrine could also be reflected in the fact that the words of the epiclesis could also be written in larger Eucharist are present in it, «not in a coherent narrative and ad litteram manner, but in the form of euchology and scattered»". 48