== Real Presence ==

Could somebody write a good article on exactly what the Real Presence is according to Orthodoxy? I find this article here unilluminating and the External link on the matter confusing. [[User:Willibald|Willibald]] 21:48, August 16, 2006 (CDT)

:I just bumped this to the top for more notice. [[User:Willibald|Willibald]] 23:48, August 23, 2006 (CDT)

::It may be confusing because it is a mystery.

::In a linked article Fr. [[Thomas Hopko]] it says: ''The mystery of the holy eucharist defies analysis and explanation in purely rational and logical terms. For the eucharist -- and Christ himself -- is indeed 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.'' So all that can be said of real presence, I think, is that it is the real presence of Christ, his true Body and Blood. Orthodox Christians feel that it is participating in His sacrifice, and communing with all others who also participate.

::I''t is called a mystery,'' writes Saint [[John Chrysostom]] of the Eucharist, ''because what we believe is not the same as what we see, but we see one thing and believe another ... When I hear the Body of Christ mentioned, I understand what is said in one sense, the unbeliever in another.''

::And [[Kallistos (Ware) of Diokleia|Bp. Kallistos (Ware) ]] says that this double character, at once outward and inward, is the distinctive feature of all the sacraments, like the Church, are both visible and invisible; in every sacrament there is the combination of an outward visible sign with an inward spiritual grace. At the Eucharist we receives what appears from the visible point of view to be bread and wine, but in reality we eat the Body and Blood of Christ.

::This probably should be explained on the [[Holy Mysteries]] page. [[User:Andrew|Andrew]] 08:42, August 25, 2006 (CDT)

:::Thanks for the reply!

:::"The Holy Eucharist defies analysis and explanation." Would it be wrong to say either (1) that the Real Presence resides in the elements after the Epiklesis; or (2) that the substance of the elements are literally changed into the physical, corporeal body and blood of Christ?

:::I hope this isn't too hair-splitting. It seems that the emphasis is in the act of the Eucharist, but not on the elements, yet I hope to be accurate in my mortal understanding. [[User:Willibald|Willibald]] 18:43, February 5, 2007 (PST)

I would say that #2 is definitely wrong, as it gives the impression that there is a chemical change into flesh meat and red and white corpuscles. Even the Roman Catholic Church, despite some popular but mistaken beliefs, does not teach that. Aquinas is explicit about this. Moreover, using the word 'substance' introduces an unnecessary distinction (between substance and accidents) and association (with Roman notions of transubstantiation using Aristotelian terminology). #1 makes me a little uneasy for a couple of reasons. First, saying that Christ 'resides in the elements' makes it sound like a localized presence, such that when the priest lifts the chalice he is lifting Christ (which Aquinas is right to reject). Second, while I understand saying 'after the Epiklesis' is affirming the Eastern Orthodox emphasis upon the epiklesis, this could be read as denying the Real Presence in a liturgy that does not use an ''epiklesis''. This is an untenable view since a consecratory epiklesis was never universal in the Church -- I am thinking here in particular of the Liturgy of Addai and Mari. --[[User:Fr Lev|Fr Lev]] 07:38, February 6, 2007 (PST)

:Thank you. This is very good. I also received an excellent reply by email with some general references and some terms to study. [[User:Willibald|Willibald]] 10:48, February 22, 2007 (PST)

"Could somebody write a good article on exactly what the Could somebody write a good article on exactly what the Real Presence is according to Orthodoxy?"
My understanding of the Real Presence according to Orthodoxy is as follows:
First af all Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect Man. As God is the second Person or hypostasis of trinitarian God, the Logos, that is God's Wisdom, Logic, Reason, Reasoning or Spirit of Son. As perfect Man He gets perfect human Soul and perfect human Body (Flesh and Blood). As every man's body contains (includes) his soul, Jesus Body contains (includes) His Logos and His human Soul. It follows that when somebody eats His Body (Flesh in this case) and Blood, eats (gets) His Logos too. Holy Gifts are, supernaturaly, Jesus Body and Blood, otherwise physically, are bread and wine. How somebody gets Logos in reality? I can only give an example: Somebody (man or woman) offers to another one, some true information values for a christian, in metaphorical or allegorical language, that is mysteriously. If the other one accepts it, he gets Logos. In this case Holy Spirit speaks through that man or woman and he(she) is, in this case, God's angel or true Priest. By this way somebody gets Logos, by Holy Spirit. When somebody do it in his every day life and then eats (gets) Holy Gifts declares, in front of the God and the Church, true. Otherwise he declares false and Jesus Body and Blood are transformed to (supernatural) fire. catechumen Aug. 27, 2010.

==Christian Eucharist = Jewish Passover? ==

I have some difficulty with parts of this article, especially the "Background" section. First is the claim that the Last Supper was a Passover meal. While this seems to be the acount given by the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John is quite clear that it is not a Passover meal, as Jesus is on the Cross while the lambs are being slain for the Passover meal. Moreover, even the Synoptic accounts say that the bread was leavened (artos), as opposed to the unleavened bread required for Passover.
Second, I would eliminate the idea that the Passover meal was transformed by Christ -- not only because I don't think it was a Passover meal, but also because the Jewish people still celebrate the Passover meal.
Third, the anaphoras of the first several centuries do not emply Passover language, and therefore to link Eucharist so closely to Passover is to imply that Christians didn't understand the Eucharist for the first several centuries. -- Fr Lev

:Hi Fr.Lev -
:I think this would be a good discussion to have in more depth, if other folks want to chime in. I'm not convinced that whether the Jewish people still celebrate it or not has any bearing on the question. I think the connection throughout is really clear -- there is a very strong typological association of Passover and the flight from Egypt, with the Passion of Christ and the redemption of the Church (through blood and water). It is very explicit that this is what the Eucharist is about, too. No doubt, more historical nuance would certainly be appropriate.

:Regarding early sources, have you read Melito of Sardis's ''On Pascha''? There is a very clear association there. {{User:FrJohn/sig}}

Fr Lev, Just putting this out:
*"Where will You have us prepare for You to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the city to a certain one, and say to him, 'The Teacher says. My time is at hand; I will keep the Passover at your house with My disciples." And the disciples did as Jesus, had directed them, and they prepared the Passover. When it was evening. He sat at table with the twelve disciples.... Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." And He took a cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.... And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives (Matt. 26:17-20; 26-28, 30).

Now I guess that this does not say that this was the Passover meal, done the proper way, on the proper day, but since Jesus himself was to become the "New Passover " on the proper day, slain at the proper time, this may have been a "make do" type of Old Passover meal.[[User:Andrew|Andrew]]

Re Melitos of Sardis, I know he is late second century but I referred explicitly to the anaphoras themselves, i.e., how the Church actually prayed, and not an individual's comments upon them.

Re St Matthew's Gospel, I already acknowledged that the Synoptics present it as a Passover meal, while at the same time indicating the use of leavened bread. I think, as many scholars do, that St John's chronology is the accurate one.

The Jews still celebrate the Passover meal, as commanded in Torah. Christians do not celebrate the Passover meal; we celebrate the Eucharist. They aren't the same thing, nor did our Lord transform the Passover meal into the Eucharist. While Passover was certainly "in the air" at the time of our Lord's Passion, the Eucharist isn't modeled on Passover. To state the obvious, the Christian analogue of Passover is Pascha, which, after all, is Greek for "Passover." -- Fr Lev

: Just to add my two cents' worth: Everything Fr. Lev is saying here is what I've been taught recently at seminary. While the Synoptics do give the Last Supper as a Passover seder, John's Gospel (which the Church privileges over the others) has it happen before the Passover.

: John's account makes more liturgical sense, as well, because in his telling, the Pharisees take care of their business with Christ ''before'' the year's biggest liturgical celebration ("because that Sabbath was a high day"). (They would have been ritually unclean had they done it during the feast.) Christ dies right when the Passover lambs are being slaughtered in preparation for the feast, thus signifying that He is the new Passover lamb. {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 17:18, January 26, 2006 (CST)

====Christian Eucharist IS Pascha IS the Jewish Passover - one view ====
It is a happy coincidence that in Greek ''pascha'' (Passover) is related to ''paschw'' (to suffer). I think you guys are missing the major connection here between Passover/Pascha and the Eucharist. The whole thing is a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Christ. In Western Liturgy (Western rite?) - the priest says "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast." The anaphoras of the East are no different in this emphasis. The historical problem of the two chronologies is solved if the Gospels are read typologically. Eucharist IS Pascha IS Passover. {{User:FrJohn/sig}}

: Perhaps there is a misunderstanding here. I think the point is that the Eucharist (and the Last Supper which began it) is '''not a seder''', because Pascha ''replaces'' Passover. Thus, to say that the Eucharist is not a Passover meal is simply to say that it is not merely a perpetuation of the Jewish feast. The Passover and its seder have been fulfilled and transformed into Pascha and the Eucharist. The Christian practice is not simply a disguised Jewish one. {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 05:42, January 27, 2006 (CST)

====Eucharist = Agape, too? (The evangelical view) ====

::Hmm... I think the picture is more complex than this. I'm appealing to Melito here, and the early Christian "love feasts." Not only that, but I should remind everyone that the phrase, perhaps inserted in '72 (I don't know), "Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast" comes from 1 Cor. 5. I honestly don't see how someone could deny that as a Eucharistic reference, especially as 1 Cor 10 looms right around the corner. I wouldn't say "disguised", or even necessarily "replaces" but I do like "fulfills". I'm not sure what is at stake in this point for you both? I'm probably oversensitive, but I can't help but feel a certain anti-semitism here - by which I mean, not that you don't like Jews, but that you are too quickly discounting the truly Jewish character of the early Church and its liturgical life. {{User:FrJohn/sig}}

:P.S. With regard to the comment above, "I know he is late second century but I referred explicitly to the anaphoras themselves, i.e., how the Church actually prayed, and not an individual's comments upon them' - it should be recognized that Melito wasn't just proferring his own opinions, but was in fact regarding larger - "Quatrodeciman" - Christian practice.

::P.P.S. To Dcn. Andrew - I don't think the Church privileges The Gospel of John over the others because it discounts the historicity of the other Gospels - I'm suprised you'd say that! I don't think it's a statement endorsing one chronology as much as an understanding that The Gospel of John has a "loftier" theological character in that it deals first and foremost with Christ's divinity. For this reason, John the Evangelist is sometimes represented as an Eagle. The Church was careful to hold the accounts of the four gospels -- with their variations intact -- in order to present the fullness of the message, and not to artificially synthesize it in any way.

::: Well, I'd be surprised if I said that, as well! :) My reference to the "privileging" of John's Gospel is simply that our Holy Week is laid out the way it is. That is, its commemorations are based on John's chronology and not on that of the Synoptics. {{User:ASDamick/sig}} 12:05, January 28, 2006 (CST)

====The Orthodox view====
I am not trying to drive a wedge between Pascha and the Eucharist. They are not unrelated. However, I would stand by my claim that the article is misleading on this point. The Last Supper was unlikely to have been a Passover meal. The eucharistic texts of the early Church make it clear that they did not derive from seder texts and that Passover imagery wasn't used. Thus to claim, as this article does, that the Eucharist is simly the seder "transformed" and that the themes of the seder are therefore the themes of the Eucharist is misleading, at best. By idnetifying a minor theme as a major, even exclusive one, it distorts the actual history and practice of the Church's Eucharist. I think there is more to be found in the Jewish Day of Atonement than in the Passover for understanding our Lord's death and resurrection, as well as the mystery of the Eucharist. My point here is related to the one I made regarding the symbolism of the Little Entrance, and what Fr John had to say on that discussion page about [[NPOV]].
BTW, I don't believe that the use of the "Christ our Passover" at the fraction of the 1979 Episcopal ''Book of Common Prayer'' represents ancient pratice; it certainly isn't known from the first several centuries that I am talking about. -- Fr Lev

Eucharist

2010-08-27T12:23:22Z

Catechumen:

[[Image:Covered Vessels 2.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]'''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 Church|Orthodox Christians]] believe that the Real Presence of God (not merely a sign) is present after the [[consecration]] of the Gifts. Roman Catholics and some protestants also hold this view.

{{spirituality}}

== Background ==
The Eucharist is the center of life in the Orthodox Church because the Church is primarily a eucharistic community. The Eucharist is the completion of all of the Church's other sacraments and the source and the goal of all of the Church's doctrines and institutions.

The majority of scholars of the Last Supper do not believe that it was a Passover meal, a position consistent with the account given by the [[Gospel of John|Gospel of Saint John]]. A minority believe that it was a seder or Passover meal, a position consistent with the [[Synoptic gospels]]. However, as Enrico Mazza has argued, the minority view "remains a theological interpretation. The historical fact is that the Last Supper was not a Passover celebration and, consequently, that its liturgy was not that of the Jewish Passover" (''The Celebration of the Eucharist: The Origin of the Rite and the Development of Its Interpretation'' [Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1999] pp. 25-26).

The orthodox Church uses leavened bread for, according to Gospel of John, Last Supper and Passion, took place during the evening, night and day time of Passover Day, therefore leavened bread was eaten in Last Supper. According to synoptic Gospels, last Supper, Lord's trial and crucifixion took place during next day, the first Day of Unleavened Bread feast, but according to Lev 23:7, any work on that Day was forbidden. Clear, synoptic Gospels are in error on the day of Last Supper and Passion.
==For the remission of sins and unto life everlasting==
Before the reception of Holy Communion the following prayer is generally recited by all. It is each person's act of personal commitment to Christ, their promise of 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 [[I Timothy|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 Iscariot|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 [[Preparation for Holy Communion|prepared]] members of the Church through the [[sacrament]]s 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."'''
#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.
#'''We offer to Thee'''. The Eucharist is offered to [[God]] the [[Trinity]] — not just to the [[God the Father|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.
#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 is currently being celebrated. Only the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts uses gifts sanctified at the previous Divine Liturgy.

{{liturgy}}
==Eucharistic Liturgies==
In the Orthodox Church four [[Divine Liturgy |Eucharistic Liturgies]] are commonly used.

===Liturgy of St. James===
The Liturgy of St. James is served only in certain places, usually on the [[feast day]] of St. [[Apostle James the Just|James]] the "Brother of the Lord" ([[October 23]]), first [[Bishop]] of [[Church of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]]. It is the oldest and longest of the liturgies. It varies greatly from the other liturgies celebrated by the [[Church]] today in that it is celebrated outside the sanctuary at an [[altar]] that faces the congregation.

The rubrics require that this liturgy is celebrated by a [[bishop]] and twelve [[priest]]s. In the absence of a [[bishop]], thirteen [[priest]]s may celebrate the service. The faithful receive [[Holy Communion]] as the [[clergy]] do, receiving the Body in their mouth and then drinking from the [[chalice]].

===Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great===
The Divine Liturgy of St. [[Basil the Great]] is used on the Sundays of [[Great Lent]], [[Holy Week|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 until 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 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 [[Vespers|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 feast days 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 is often attributed to St. [[Gregory the Great]], Bishop of [[Church of Rome|Rome]] in the sixth century.

==Other Divine Liturgies==
There are several Divine liturgies that are used in some Orthodox churches frequently and in others rarely.

===Divine Liturgy of St. Mark===
The service is the original, traditional liturgy of the Church of Alexandria, used by the great hierarchs of Christ Athanasios, Cyril, Makarios, Dionysios and others. Manuscript texts of this liturgy date back to the fourth century, but more ancient fragments exist. Although the order of the service has developed over the course of many centuries, we are assured that the author of this liturgy is indeed the Apostle Mark. The most recent text (dating to 1585 during the time of the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria Meletios Pigas) was approved and published by St. Nektarios of Aegina. This liturgy is served once a year in the Greek and Russian Churches.

===Divine Liturgy of St. Tikhon===
: ''Main article: [[Liturgy of St. Tikhon of Moscow]]''

Used by the Western-rite Orthodox of the Antiochian church.

===Divine Liturgy of Peter the Apostle===
This liturgy is also known as the [[Sarum Rite]]; it is used by the Antiochian and ROCOR Western-rite churches.

===Divine Liturgy according to St. Germanus of Paris===
The [[Divine Liturgy according to St Germanus of Paris]] is a restoration of the Gallican liturgy as celebrated in Paris in the sixth century. It is authorized for use by some parishes of the [[Church of Romania]] in France.

==See also==
*[[Prosphora]].
*[[Preparation for Holy Communion]].
*[[Blood in the Bible]].

==Published works==
* Laverdiere, Eugene. ''The Eucharist in the New Testament and in the Early Church''. (ISBN 0814661521)
* [[John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon|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==
*[http://www.bringyou.to/apologetics/num31.htm Orthodoxy and Transubstantiation]
*[http://goarch.org/en/ourfaith/articles/article7077.asp The Holy Eucharist] by Rev. Thomas Fitzgerald from the [[Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America]] website
*[http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=53 The Orthodox Faith] Fr. [[Thomas Hopko]], Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Seminary, Crestwood, NY.
*[http://www.schmemann.org/byhim/theologyandeucharist.html Theology and Eucharist] by Protopresbyter [[Alexander Schmemann]]
*[http://www.newmartyr.org.uk/branch.html Broken but Never Divided: Some Thoughts on "closed" Communion]

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