Thanksgiving, Creation, and the Fall

The Anaphora, then, causes us to lift up our hearts in thanksgiving. This is not simply something that the priest does while we look on, but includes our memorial prayers and our thanks, in harmony with the obedience of the Son to the Father: “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb 13:15). In distinction from the Roman (Catholic) practice, our priests cannot celebrate the Liturgy solo, but serve as representatives of the people of God, who say “Amen!” and also enter into the offering of thanksgiving. This should be clear from the term that we give to our action, the “Eucharist” (literally, the “giving thanks”).