Holy Qurbana

Holy Qurbana or Holy Qurbono (ܩܘܪܒܢܐ ܩܕܝܫܐ qûrbānâ qadîšâ in East Syriac, pronounced qurbono qadisho in West Syriac), the "Holy Offering" or "Holy Sacrifice", refers to the Eucharist as celebrated according to the East Syrian and the 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.

History

The East Syriac word Qurbana and the West Syriac word Qurbono are derived from the Aramaic term Qurbana (ܩܘܪܒܢܐ). 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".