Theological glossary · FaithLogic

Anamnesis (remembrance)

The 'remembrance' Christ commands at the Supper — in biblical usage, not merely mental recall but a making-present of a past saving act.

Greek anamnesis, from ana-mimnesko, 'to call to mind'; the word Jesus uses in Luke 22:19 and Paul in 1 Cor 11:24–25.

Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25; the background is the Passover haggadah, in which each generation 'remembers' as though it came out of Egypt.

The Passover sense — participatory, not bare recollection — is why even memorialist accounts speak of 'proclaiming' the Lord's death.

How much 'presence' anamnesis carries is exactly what the traditions dispute.

Higher-church traditions read it as sacrificial and participatory; memorialists as remembrance and confession.

Open in the glossary for related terms and the doctrines this concept appears in.