Anathema, Maranatha
Archimandrite Nikifor’s Biblical Encyclopedia
(1 Cor. 16:22) — a Syriac exclamation, meaning: “let him be accursed until the coming of the Lord.” With these words the Jews began the severe sentence of utter excommunication, and by the force of these words the guilty one was not only cut off from among them but was, so far as possible, doomed to final destruction. The apostle’s use of this dreadful curse indicates how seriously he regarded the grave sin of not loving the Lord Jesus.