Holy Qurbana

Holy Qurbana or Qurbana Qadisha (ܩܘܪܒܢܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ qûrbānâ qadîšâ, pronounced qurbono qadisho in West Syriac; Hindi: क़ुरबान-ए-मुक़द्दस Qurban-e-Muqaddas), the "Holy Offering" or "Holy Sacrifice", refers to the Eucharist as celebrated according to the East Syrian and West Syrian traditions of Syriac Christianity. The main Anaphora of the East Syrian tradition is the Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari, while that of the West Syrian tradition is the Liturgy of Saint James. Both are extremely old, going back at least to the third century, and are the oldest extant liturgies continually in use.

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History

The Syriac word Qurbana (also spelled as Kurbana) as cognate with the Hebrew word Korban (קרבן). When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, and sacrifices were offered, "Korban" was a technical Hebrew term for some of the offerings that were brought there. It comes from a Hebrew root, "karav", meaning "to draw close or 'near'". A required Korban was offered morning and evening daily and on holidays (at certain times, additional 'korbanot' were offered), in addition to which individuals could bring an optional personal Korban.

The Holy Qurbana is referred to as "complete" worship, since it is performed for the benefit of all members of the Church. The other sacraments are celebrated for individual members. Thus the Holy Qurbana is believed to be the sacrament that completes all the others. Hence it is called the "sacrament of perfection" or the "queen of sacraments".

East and West Syriac traditions

The East Syriac, or Chaldean, Rite was associated with the historical Church of the East, centered in the Persian capital of Seleucia-Ctesiphon. Today the Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari is used in the Ancient Church of the East, Assyrian Church of the East, the Chaldean Church, and the Syro-Malabar Church of Kerala, India.

The West Syrian rite was associated with the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, also known as the Monophysite or Jacobite Church. Today the Liturgy of Saint James is used in the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Maronite Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, and many churches of the Malankara tradition in India, including the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malabar, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, and the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.

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