Scholarly Reflections
Mazza, Enrico. "Chapter Five: Primitive Anaphoras: From the Didache to the Mystical Eucharist." The Celebration of the Eucharist: The Origin of the Rite and the Development of Its Interpretation. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press/Pueblo, 1999, 35-37.
Having established a form of the Last Supper based on the festive meal, Mazza attempts to move through history, tracing the development of the eucharist through what we know of the anaphoras. He first visits Apostolic Constitutions book VII (Mazza 1999, 35). In this work he finds clear parallels to Didache 9-10, but with the actual meal eliminated (Mazza 1999, 36). The prayers remain indicative of the same ritual. His conclusion is that by 380, the date of Apostolic Constitutions, the move of the elements of the rite had arrived in their current position. The importance of the various prayers has also gone through a shift, with the prayer at the end becoming less important and that at the beginning increasing in importance (Mazza 1999, 37). Both prayers have retained a tripartite structure, each with a different purpose.