The interpretation of the epiclesis of the byzantine liturgy in Jacques Goar’s Euchologion of 1647

This publication offers an annotated translation of Jacques Goar’s notes on the epiclesis from his Euchologion (1647). The translation is accompanied by an introduction that places Goar’s text within the historical and polemical context of Greco-Latin controversies on the moment of consecration, particularly the epiclesis debate at the Council of Florence (1439). Goar’s interpretation, rooted in the outcomes of the Florentine discussions, provides insights of historical and philological significance, alongside his theological reflections on the authorship and semantics of Byzantine liturgical anaphoras. The publication also explores the largely overlooked tradition of translating Goar’s notes into Slavonic and Russian, which had a profound impact on the liturgical and theological thought of the Russian Church. In the 17th century, Evfimiy Chudovskiy prepared the first Church Slavonic translation of selected notes, including commentary on the epiclesis, enriched with his own marginalia to address Moscow’s polemics on the moment of consecration. In the 18th century, Archbishop Veniamin (Krasnopevkov-Rumovsky) developed a new translation, which became a key source for his seminal work Novaya Skrizhal’ (New Tablet). In the 1860s, Archpriest Leonid Petrov produced an incomplete Russian translation of the Euchologion. These translations remain an underexplored area and warrant further scholarly attention.