Consecration of Holy Myron. A Study of the Byzantine Prayer (Barb.gr.336) for a Roman Liturgical Theology. (The)

This work presents a “Roman” liturgical theology of the ancient Byzantine rite for the consecration of Holy Myron (Sacred Chrism) in order to provide an ampler theology of physical consecration in general and the sacrament of Confirmation in particular. Chapter One introduces and argues for the use of the liturgical source: the Barberini Euchologion (Vatican Barb. gr. 336), an eighth-century Greek Byzantine prayer book. Chapter Two reports on the scholars who have studied, at least in passing, this Euchologion’s ritual for the consecration of holy myron. It also shows how their studies, while sufficient for their purposes, still left a window open for a more focused study of the structure and content of the ritual and prayer of consecration (which is accomplished in chapters three and four). Chapter Three offers a thorough, comparative study of the structure of the ritual and prayer for the consecration of myron. It shows how the consecratory prayer does not follow the typical anamnetic-epicletic euchological pattern, but, rather, that it is its own Epicletic Section of an anaphoral prayer, meant to imitate the Epicletic Section of the Eucharistic Anaphora. Chapter Four performs a theological commentary on the consecration prayer, delving into the scriptural and patristic sources therein, in order to offer the theological synthesis. The Conclusion presents that synthesis, i.e., that the Byzantine vision of holy myron demonstrates a highly efficacious understanding of myron to consecrate what it touches, myron’s profound connection with the Eucharist, and its role in the sacraments of Christian Initiation.