Abstract

The Lord’s Prayer, a cornerstone of Christian liturgy, is a treasured and enduringly beautiful yet fragile text dense with information. Frequently recited mechanically or subconsciously, its deeper messages can be obscured by rote repetition. This interdisciplinary study explores the information structure of the Lord’s Prayer using Jan Firbas’s theory of Functional Sentence Perspective (FSP). It examines how the placement of communicative dynamism within the prayer’s sentences influences its perceived meaning. In the context of a church environment, the rhythm, intonation, and chanting effect of the Lord’s Prayer play significant roles. When recited in a group, individuals often synchronize their speech to the collective rhythm and intonation, which can enhance the communal and meditative aspects of the prayer. However, this group chanting effect can also influence the perceived emphasis on certain words and phrases, further shaping the prayer’s information structure. Additionally, I present experimental findings on how contemporary individuals interpret the information structure of this traditional and iconic text.