Dear John,

First of all before I start I want to point out that there is nothing to worry about, The Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari is completely valid.  I'm not sure that I would agree with your lecturer about downplaying the words of consecration.

Now, about the words of consecration and the change of bread to wine to Body and Blood...

Actually before I get to that I need to correct some vocabulary.  You said that at the words of consecration that the bread and wine cease to become symbols.  This is incorrect... they never were symbols.  REAL bread and REAL wine stop existing as bread and wine and become the REAL Body of Blood of Christ.  There is no symbolism involved whatsoever involving the four substances. (bread, wine, Body and Blood)

Okay.  Now again, you said that at the moment of consecration (This is my body) that the bread becomes the Body of Christ.  This is partially correct.  It would be correct to state that this is true in the LATIN or Western Rite or Liturgy.

When I was in school several years ago I was shocked to discover that in most Eastern celebrations, the consecration of the bread and wine takes place PRIOR to the epiclesis, meaning that at the consecration, the bread and wine are NOT YET changed into the body and blood.  This change takes place at the epiclesis, which in the Eastern rites of course is the "high point" of the Mass since that is the point at which the bread and wine are changed.

We of course have the epiclesis in the West as well.. it is know as the "Invocation" or calling down of the Holy Spirit.  It takes place in the West shortly before the consecration, at the words "And so Father, we bring you these gifts. We ask you to make them holy by the power of your Spirit, that they may become the body and blood or your son, our Lord Jesus Christ,"  Traditional parishes will ring the altar bells at this point.  (quote taken from Eucharistic Prayer III)

I just mentioned all of that to emphasize the difference between the Eastern rites and the West about the exact moment of the change of the bread and wine.  In the West, the change occurs when the bread and wine are consecrated, in most Churches of the East, the bread and wine are consecrated first, and THEN the change is completed at the invocation of the Holy Spirit.  As your lecturer said, some of these churches believe that the change begins taking place earlier, particularly at the Liturgy of the Preparation.  BUT, the change is completed at the epiclesis, not the consecration.

BUT, since you and I both live in Western rite dioceses, your lecturer was completely WRONG to state that the change does not occur at the moment of consecration, at least during celebration of the Latin Rite. (which of course is translated into English).  During our Mass, the words "This is my Body" and "This is the cup of my Blood" are the most important words of our Liturgy.  It is despicable to play around with these words or downplay their importance.

Now, moving on to the Eastern Assyrian Church.. First of all, as you said, it has been verified as valid.  There is no question about that at all, here is the link:

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20011025_chiesa-caldea-assira_en.html

Section 3 is the relevant section.

In summary, the difference between that particular rite and the prayers we are familiar with is that we are accustomed to a NARRATIVE form of the consecration, meaning the language we use tells a story  "The day before He suffered..." etc.

Whereas the words of institution are present in the Assyrian rite in a "dispersed euchological way", as the Church says, rather than a coherent narrative.

Hope this helps and let me know if I can clarify anything,

Mr. Slavek