Sursum corda - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about an element of Christian worship.

The Sursum Corda (Latin for "Lift up your hearts") (Slavonic: Милост мира) is the opening dialogue to the Preface

Preface (liturgy)

In liturgical use the term Preface is applied to that portion of the Eucharistic Prayer that immediately precedes the Canon or central portion of the Eucharist...

of the Eucharistic Prayer

Anaphora (liturgy)

The Anaphora is the most solemn part of the Divine liturgy, Mass, or other Christian Communion rite where the offerings of bread and wine are consecrated as the body and blood of Christ. This is the usual name for this part of the Liturgy in Eastern Christianity, but it is more often called the...

or Anaphora

Anaphora (liturgy)

in the liturgies of the Christian Church, dating back to at least the third century and the Anaphora of the Apostolic Tradition. The dialogue is recorded in the earliest liturgies of the Christian Church, and is found in all ancient rites. The phrase "Sursum Corda" is generally translated as "lift up your hearts", but the Latin literally just says "Up hearts" and the Greek version Ἄνω σχῶμεν τὰς καρδίας means "Let us lift up our hearts."

Though the detail varies slightly from rite to rite, the structure of the dialogue is generally threefold, comprising (1) an exchange of formal greeting between priest and people, (2) an invitation to lift the heart to God, the people responding in agreement, and (3) an invitation to give thanks, the people answering that it is proper to do so. This third exchange indicates the people's assent to the priest continuing to offer the remainder of the Eucharistic Prayer on their behalf, and it is the necessity of such assent which accounts for the universality of the dialogue.

Latin Rite

The full text in Latin is:

Priest: Dominus vobiscum.
People: Et cum spiritu tuo.
Priest: Sursum corda.
People: Habemus ad Dominum.
Priest: Gratias agamus Domino Deo nostro.
People: Dignum et iustum est.

There are some minor deviations in English translations from the Latin. In contemporary English, the dialogue typically runs as follows. The words in square brackets are included in the Roman Catholic version but removed in most Anglican versions:

Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them [up] to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give [him] thanks and praise.

On 27 November 2011, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Third Edition of the Roman Missal will go into effect. This new translation is truer to the original Latin:

Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with your spirit.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up to the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right and just.

In traditional English translations, which are closer to the original Latin texts, the dialogue is translated as:

Priest: The Lord be with you.
People: And with thy spirit.
Priest: Lift up your hearts.
People: We lift them up unto the Lord.
Priest: Let us give thanks unto the Lord our God. (or Let us give thanks unto our Lord God.)
People: It is meet and right so to do. (or It is meet and just.)

Roman Catholic, Anglican

Anglicanism

Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...

, Lutheran

Lutheranism

Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

, United Methodist

United Methodist Church

The United Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination which is both mainline Protestant and evangelical. Founded in 1968 by the union of The Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church, the UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley...

, Presbyterian

Presbyterianism

Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

, and other denominations use the Sursum Corda in their Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

ic celebrations.
The Sursum Corda is also found in the Exultet

Exultet

The Exsultet or Easter Proclamation, in Latin Praeconium Paschale, is the hymn of praise sung, ideally by the deacon, before the paschal candle during the Easter Vigil in the Roman Rite of Mass. In the absence of a deacon, it may be sung by a priest, or by a cantor...

during the Easter Vigil

Easter Vigil

The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into...

, where the dialogue is led not by the chief celebrant, but by the deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

.

The Mozarabic Rite

Mozarabic Rite

The Mozarabic, Visigothic, or Hispanic Rite is a form of Catholic worship within the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, and in the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church . Its beginning dates to the 7th century, and is localized in the Iberian Peninsula...

has its own text of the sursum corda, slightly different from other Latin Rites:

Priest: Introibo ad altare Dei mei. (Psalm 42:4a)
People: Ad Deum qui letificat juventutem meam.
Priest: Aures ad Dominum.
People: Habemus ad Dominum.
Priest: Sursum corda.
People: Levemus ad Dominum.
Priest: Deo ac Domino nostro Jesu Christo filio Dei qui est in celis dignas gratias dignasque laudes referamus.
People: Dignum et justum est.

Byzantine

Church Slavonic:

Priest: Станем добре, станем со страхом, вонмем, святое возношение в мире приносите.
Choir: Милость мира, жертву хваления.
Priest: Благодать Господа нашего Иисуса Христа, и любы Бога и Отца, и причастие Святаго Духа, буди со всеми вами.
Choir: И со духом твоим.
Priest: Горе имеим сердца.
Choir: Имамы ко Господу.
Priest: Благодарим Господа.
Choir: Достойно и праведно есть...

English translation:

After the kiss of peace and the Creed:

Deacon: Let us stand well. Let us stand in awe. Let us be attentive, that we may present the holy offering in peace.
Choir: A Mercy of Peace, a sacrifice of praise.
Priest (blessing the people with his hand): The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
Choir: And with thy spirit.
Priest (raising his hands upward): Let us lift up our hearts.
Choir: We lift them up unto the Lord.
Priest (turning towards the Holy Table
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...

): Let us give thanks to the Lord.
Choir: It is proper and right.

This is the format used in the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic

Greek Byzantine Catholic Church

The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church is a sui iuris particular Church in full union with the Roman Catholic Church which uses the Byzantine liturgical rite in the Koine Greek and modern Greek languages...

Churches, for both the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...

and the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great.

Syriac Orthodox (Anaphora of St. James)

The celebrant, placing his left hand on the altar, turns toward the people and blesses them, saying: The love of God the Father +, the grace of the Only-begotten Son + and the fellowship and descent of the Holy Spirit + be with you all, my brethren, forever.
People: Amen. And with your spirit.
The celebrant, extending and elevating his hands, says aloud: Upward, where Christ sits on the right hand of God the Father, let our thoughts, minds and hearts be at this hour.
People: They are with the Lord God.
Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord in awe.
People: It is meet and right.

The various Anaphoras will have slight differences.

Coptic (Liturgy of St. Basil)

Priest (he places a napkin on his left hand, in his right hand he takes the napkin which was over the Lamb; he makes the sign of the cross
Sign of the cross
The Sign of the Cross , or crossing oneself, is a ritual hand motion made by members of many branches of Christianity, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of a trinitarian formula....

three times — the first time, the priest turns to the west, blessing the congregation, making the sign of the cross): The Lord be with you all.
Congregation: And with your spirit.
Priest (the second time, he turns toward east, blesses the deacons to his right, making the sign of the cross): Lift up your hearts.
Congregation: They are with the Lord.
Priest (the third time, he turns toward east, he blesses himself, making the sign of the cross): Let us give thanks to the Lord.
Congregation: Worthy and right.

Like the Syriac, the Coptic, especially the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...

, will have variations on the Sursum Corda, depending upon the particular Anaphora used.

Armenian Rite

Priest: The grace, the love and the divine sanctifying power of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Choir: Amen, and with Thy spirit.
Deacon: The doors, the doors. With all wisdom and good heed. Lift up your minds in reverence of God.
Choir: We lift them up unto Thee, O Lord Almighty.
Deacon: And give thanks unto God, the Lord, with the whole heart.
Choir: It is meet and right.

Church of the East (Quddasha of Mar Addai and Mari)