Encountering the Divine Liturgy Part 26: The Liturgical Preparation for the Anaphora

"The Liturgical Preparation for the Anaphora" It includes the following key elements:

The Kiss of Peace / Mutual Declaration of Love and Unity: “Let us love one another…”

• The Trinitarian Confession: “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…”

• The Exclamation: “The doors! The doors! In wisdom let us attend.”

• The Recitation of the Nicene Creed (Symbol of Faith)

• The Waving of the Aer over the Gifts
  
  

This sequence forms the spiritual and doctrinal gateway to the Eucharistic Prayer (Anaphora), affirming unity of faith and purity of heart before entering the most sacred portion of the Divine Liturgy.

 Let us love one another that with one accord we may confess:

Choir: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, One in essence and Undivided.

And the priest makes three reverences, saying secretly:

I will love thee, O Lord, my might; the Lord is my foundation, my refuge, and my deliverer. thrice

And he kisses the holy Things, which remain covered, thus: first the top of the holy diskos, then thetop of the holy cup, and the edge of the holy table in front of him. If there are two or more priests, they all kiss the holy Things and each other on the shoulder. The celebrant says: Christ is in our midst. And the one he kisses answers: He is and shall be.

And then the deacons, if there are two or three, kiss their oraria where the cross is depicted, and each other, saying just what the priests have said. The deacon, if there is but one, similarly, makes reverences, standing in his place, kisses his orarion where the cross is depicted, and then exclaims:

The doors, the doors! In wisdom let us attend.

The priest Iifts the aer and holds it over the holy Gifts. If several priests are serving, then they lift the holy aer and hold it over the holy Gifts and wave it saying to themselves the Confession of the Faith, as do the people.

This moment in the Divine Liturgy—marked by the priest’s call, “Let us love one another, that with one accord we may confess”, and the congregation’s response, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, one in essence and undivided”—is rich in theological, spiritual, and liturgical meaning, drawing together deep biblical roots, Eucharistic preparation, Trinitarian confession, and ecclesial unity.

Love as Prerequisite for True Worship

The liturgical command to “love one another” is not merely a moralistic appeal; it is a precondition for authentic communion and confession. This echoes Christ’s own teaching: “If you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you… first be reconciled to your brother” (Matthew 5:23–24). In this moment of the Liturgy, the Church obeys Christ’s commandment to love as a foundation for confessing the true faith. For the Orthodox Church, right doctrine (orthodoxy) must be paired with right relationship (orthopraxy)—and both must be infused with love. It is no accident that the declaration of faith in the Holy Trinity directly follows this call to mutual love. It is only when we dwell in love that we can confess the God who is Love (1 John 4:8).

Trinitarian Faith and the Unity of the Church

The people’s response—“Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Trinity, one in essence and undivided”—is a liturgical confession of the Nicene faith, the very bedrock of Orthodox theology. This precise phrase is a summary of the Creed’s Trinitarian dogma, formulated to refute Arianism and other early heresies that sought to divide the divine persons or subordinate the Son or the Spirit. To love one another “in one accord” (ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ) is to embody the unity of the Church as an icon of the divine unity of the Trinity. As St. Cyril of Alexandria writes:

“The Church is one body united in Christ, and just as the three divine Persons are distinct yet consubstantial, so too the faithful, though many, are united in love and truth.”
(Commentary on John, Book 11)

This Trinitarian confession is not merely abstract theology—it is the heart of Eucharistic worship, for we are about to partake of the Body and Blood of the Son, offered to the Father, in the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The Priestly Act of Reverence and Kissing the Holy Things

The celebrant now makes three deep reverences and prays silently, quoting from Psalm 18 (LXX 17): “I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength; the Lord is my firm foundation, my refuge, and my deliverer.” This moment is profoundly personal and priestly—it is the celebrant’s inner dialogue of trust, strength, and adoration before the awesome Mystery he is about to celebrate. The three kisses—on the diskos, chalice, and holy altar—signify reverence and love for Christ Himself, who is mystically present in the Gifts even before their consecration, as they have already been offered and are set apart.

These gestures also recall the anointing and burial of Christ, with the diskos symbolizing the tomb, the chalice His blood, and the altar the very throne of God. As St. Nicholas Cabasilas explains:

“The Gifts are not yet consecrated, yet from the moment they are placed upon the altar and dedicated, they become sacred, and so the Church surrounds them with love and reverence.”
(The Life in Christ, Book 6)

The mutual exchange of peace between the clergy—“Christ is in our midst. He is and shall be!”—further enacts this liturgical love. It is a ritual embrace of peace, rooted in the peace of Christ Himself, which is to govern and unite the celebrants in one spirit and purpose.

The Deacon’s Exclamation: “The Doors! The Doors!”

The deacon’s cry—“The doors! The doors! In wisdom let us attend”—is a vestige of the early Church practice when the catechumens and unbaptized were dismissed before the Creed and Anaphora, and the doors of the church were physically closed. This exclamation signaled the beginning of the Mystical and Eucharistic core of the Liturgy, accessible only to the baptized faithful. Spiritually, it still serves as a call to interior attention, a guarding of the spiritual “doors” of the heart and mind, as the Church prepares to proclaim its Creed and encounter the Divine.

Lifting the Aer During the Creed

As the people begin chanting the Nicene Creed, the priest (or priests) lift the Aer (veil) over the Gifts and gently wave it. Theologically, this movement symbolizes the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, reminiscent of the Spirit hovering over the waters at creation (Genesis 1:2) and over the Theotokos at the Annunciation (Luke 1:35). It is a gesture of invocation and mystery, preparing the people for the descent of the Spirit in the coming Epiclesis.

In ancient practice, as St. Germanus of Constantinople describes:

“The movement of the veil over the Holy Gifts during the Creed signifies the invisible presence of the Holy Spirit, who overshadows and sanctifies the Church.”
(Ecclesiastical History and Mystical Contemplation, PG 98.385)

Conclusion: The Doorway to the Holy Mysteries

This section of the Divine Liturgy is a threshold moment—the Church now passes from the Liturgy of the Word to the Liturgy of the Faithful, where the Eucharistic sacrifice unfolds. The love between believers, the confession of the Trinity, the reverence of the celebrants, and the faithful’s recitation of the Creed all form the foundation upon which the Mystery of Christ will be made manifest. Love, unity, faith, and reverence—these are the pillars upon which the Liturgy stands and in which the Triune God reveals Himself to His Church.