St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Feb 2024)
The Lord’s Prayer
Abstract
Christians throughout the world recite the Lord’s Prayer in their personal devotions and in liturgical settings. Its universality and authority stem from its origin in the very words of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Thus, Cyprian of Carthage (210–258) could write: ‘For what can be a more spiritual prayer than that which was given to us by Christ, by whom also the Holy Spirit was given to us?’ (2004: 66). Early Christians established other versions that became standardized in communal prayer. Translations from Greek into Latin, Syriac, and other languages made the prayer more accessible, but they also separated the prayer from its full scriptural, linguistic, and cultural contexts, thereby often clouding some of the significant nuances in the original Matthean and Lukan versions. In turn, a rich theological and devotional commentary tradition – sermons, dedicated commentaries, scriptural commentaries, etc. – emerged that sought to unpack the prayer’s mysteries, refute misinterpretations, and suggest applications for daily life. The prayer contributed to Christian reflections on Christology, Trinitarian theology, ethics, ecclesiology, and sacramental theology – especially on the Eucharist and baptism – while also influencing such cultural expressions as music and art. The prayer and its accompanying traditions offer a summary of major themes in Christian theology and spirituality.
