Eucharist

Eucharist comes from the Greek, meaning giving thanks. Other names for the Eucharist include: the Holy Gifts, Communion, and the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christians believe that the Real Presence of God (not merely a sign) is present after the consecration of the Gifts.

Background

The eucharist is the center of life in the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church is a eucharistic community. It is the completion of all of the Church's other sacraments. It is the source and the goal of all of the Church's doctrines and institutions.

At the end of his life Christ, the Jewish Messiah, ate the Passover meal with his disciples. Originally a ritual supper in commemoration of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, the Passover meal was transformed by Christ into an act done in remembrance of him, of his life, death and resurrection as the new and eternal Passover Lamb who frees men from the slavery of evil, ignorance and death and transfers them into the everlasting life of the Kingdom of God.

For the remission of sins and unto life everlasting

Before the reception of Holy Communion generally, the following prayer is recited by all. It is each person's act of personal commitment to Christ, with faith in him and the Sacred Mysteries of his Church.

I believe, O Lord, and I confess that Thou art truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, who camest into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the first (see 1 Tim 1:15).

I believe also that this is truly Thine own most pure Body, and that this is truly Thine own most precious Blood. Therefore I pray Thee: Have mercy upon me and forgive me my transgressions, committed in word and deed, whether consciously or unconsciously.

And make me worthy to partake without condemnation of Thy most pure Mysteries, for the remission of sins and unto life everlasting.

Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant. For I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies, neither like Judas will I give Thee a kiss; but like the thief will I confess Thee: "Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom."

May the communion of Thy Holy Mysteries be neither to my judgment, nor to my condemnation, 0 Lord, but to the healing of soul and body.

The faithful receive Holy Communion on a spoon. They are given both the consecrated bread (NIKA), and the sanctified wine. The communion of the faithful is always from the gifts offered and sanctified at the given Divine Liturgy. All who are prepared members of the Church through the sacraments of baptism and chrismation, including small children and infants, may partake of Holy Communion.

Eucharist as a sacrifice

The Orthodox Church believes the Eucharist to be a sacrifice. As is heard in the Liturgy, "Thine of Thine own we offer to Thee, in all and for all."

1. We offer Thine of Thine own. At the Eucharist, the sacrifice offered is Christ himself, and it is Christ himself who in the Church performs the act of offering: he is both priest and victim.
2. We offer to Thee. The Eucharist is offered to God the Trinity — not just to the Father but also to the Holy Spirit and to Christ himself. So, what is the sacrifice of the Eucharist? By whom is it offered? and to whom is it offered? In each case the answer is Christ.
3. We offer for all: according to Orthodox theology, the Eucharist is a propitiatory sacrifice, offered on behalf of both the living and the dead.

The Church teaches that the sacrifice is not a mere figure or symbol but a true sacrifice. It is not the bread that is sacrificed, but the very Body of Christ. And, the Lamb of God was sacrificed only once, for all time. The sacrifice at the Eucharist consists, not in the real and bloody immolation of the Lamb, but in the transformation of the bread into the sacrificed Lamb.

All the events of Christ's sacrifice, the Incarnation, the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and the Ascension are not repeated in the Eucharist, but they are made present.

Real, symbolic, or mystical

The Eucharist is both symbolic and mystical. Also, the eucharist in the Orthodox Church is understood to be the genuine Body and Blood of Christ, precisely because bread and wine are the mysteries and symbols of God's true and genuine presence and his manifestation to us in Christ.

The mystery of the holy eucharist defies analysis and explanation in purely rational and logical terms. For the eucharist, as Christ himself, is a mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven which, as Jesus has told us, is "not of this world." The eucharist, because it belongs to God's Kingdom, is truly free from the earth-born "logic" of fallen humanity.

From John of Damascus: "If you enquire how this happens, it is enough for you to learn that it is through the Holy Spirit ... we know nothing more than this, that the word of God is true, active, and omnipotent, but in its manner of operation unsearchable".

Reserved Sacrament

The Eucharist is normally reserved in a tabernacle on the altar table, although there is no strict rule as to the place of reservation. There are no services of public devotion before the reserved sacrament, nor is there any equivalent to the Roman Catholic functions of Exposition and Benediction. The priest blesses the people with the sacrament during the course of the Liturgy, but never outside it.

The faithful at the liturgy are never given communion from the reserved gifts, they are kept exclusively for those unable to be attend liturgy for good reasons, usually sickness or infirmity. Holy Communion is always from the gifts, the bread and wine, actually offered at the eucharistic liturgy which they are celebrating. Only with the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts uses gifts sanctified at the previous Divine Liturgy.

Eucharistic Liturgies

In the Orthodox Church four Eucharistic Liturgies are used.

Liturgy of St. James

The Liturgy of St. James, is served only in certain places, on the feast day of St. James the "Brother of the Lord" (October 23), first Bishop of Jerusalem. It is the oldest, and longest of the liturgies.

Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great

The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, used on the Sundays of Great Lent, Holy Thursday, the Eves of Pascha, Christmas, and Theophany, and the Feast of St.Basil the Great (January 1). St. Basil shortened and standardized all the variations of liturgies that developed from the time of St. James till the acceptance of Christianity by the Roman Empire.

Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom

The most common is the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the liturgy used on all Sundays except those which fall during the Great Lent, and all holy days on which a Eucharistic liturgy is served except for the eves of Pascha, Christmas and Theophany, Holy Thursday, and the feast day of St. Basil the Great.

Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

Main article: Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts

The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is a vesperal service during which elements that were previously consecrated are distributed to the faithful. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is appointed for use on Wednesdays and Fridays during Great Lent (and certain feastdays when they fall on a weekday during Great Lent) because the full celebration of the Eucharistic liturgy is generally prohibited on the weekdays of Great Lent. This service received its present form from St. Gregory the Great, Bishop of Rome in the sixth century.

See also

• Prosphora
• Preparation for Holy Communion

Published works

• Laverdiere, Eugene. The Eucharist in the New Testament and in the Early Church. (ISBN 0814661521)
• Zizioulas, John D. Eucharist, Bishop, Church: The Unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop During the First Three Centuries. (ISBN 1885652518)

External links

• Orthodoxy and Transubstantiation
• The Holy Eucharist by Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website
• The Orthodox Faith Fr. Thomas Hopko, Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY.