The Divine Liturgy: The Bread of Life
KNOWN BY MANY NAMES throughout Christian history — the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Mystery, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion — this is the heart and soul of the Christian sacramental life. It is here that we partake of bread and wine beyond all mere earthly food, the Body and Blood of Christ our Lord, the Food which is for salvation. It is here that the Body of Christ, the Church, truly finds its oneness, becoming one even as our Lord and the Father are one (cf. John 17:20-21). So central is this Mystery to the life of the Church that in the early centuries of Christian history only baptized believers in good standing were permitted to be present at its celebration.
It is no mere symbolic act which is celebrated in the Holy Mystery, but a real presence of and participation in the actual substance of our Lord. This is a Mystery far beyond human understanding, something which must be experienced to be accepted — but which, paradoxically, can only be experienced by those who accept it. It is one of the supreme ironies of history that the very "fundamentalists" who most adamantly insist upon the literal acceptance of every word of Scripture suddenly wax figurative when confronted with the teaching of our Lord on this matter.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him" (John 6:53-56). Lest we suppose that in some way we misunderstand, let us be aware that "from that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him" (John 6:66) — they understood how radical and terrifying was the reality of which Jesus spoke! To leave no doubt as to His intent, on the eve of His Passion Jesus "took bread and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: do this in remembrance of Me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you" (Luke 22:19ff). It is apparent that the infant Church at once understood that this was to be a frequently repeated action, for St. Paul writes: "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord’s death till He come" (1 Cor. 11:26).
This Mystery is no "mere remembrance." The history of the western schisms from the Orthodox faith has seen two opposing errors (and numerous shades in between), both equally alien to the Scripture and the universal Tradition of the Church from the time of the Apostles. At the one extreme this profound Mystery is reduced to a technical "transubstantiation" effected by the proper person over the proper matter. This mentality has often shown itself in the effort to determine how little could be done (of the full Liturgy) and still have it "work." At the opposite extreme is the heretical teaching that nothing really occurs at all — that the event is a mere commemoration — although so it becomes for those who so teach and thus set themselves apart from the one Church. Equally alien to the Apostolic teaching is the doctrine that Christ becomes present in this act only in the mind of the believer and that in no way do bread and wine become His Body and Blood.
It is obvious that not just any bread and wine constitute the Body and Blood of Christ. There were certainly some ambiguities and even difficulties in the life of the early Church concerning the form and manner of the celebration of this Mystery (cf. 1 Cor 11:17-34), but it was not too long before there was general agreement as to the form in which the celebration was to take place and the manner of participation of the members of the Body. For the bread and wine brought to the celebration truly to become the Body and Blood, it was necessary that they be offered, that thanks be given for them— and for this thanksgiving to be quite specifically for That which this ordinary bread and wine was about to become. In our earliest documents concerning the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, the partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ is in every case preceded by a prayer of thanksgiving in which are present: the offering of the gifts of bread and wine; the specific mention of Jesus’ institution of this Mystery at the Last Supper; a recitation of the acts of His life by which salvation came to us; an invocation of the Holy Spirit upon the Gifts and the assembled Body, for their transformation; and prayers of intercession for those present, those absent for due cause, the saints, and all the departed. This prayer is followed by the "Our Father."
In both ancient and modern practice, this prayer is preceded by the physical preparation of the bread and the chalice, by the singing of hymns, reading from Holy Scripture, and the proclamation of the Gospel. In Orthodox Tradition, the preparation of the Gifts is recognized as so important as to warrant a distinct service of its own, in which commemorations are made in detail concerning our Lord’s Nativity, life, and sacrifice on Calvary; further, of all the saints, the hierarchs of the Church, and of the living and those who have died in the faith (for all are alive in Christ) for whom prayers are requested.
Just as it was soon apparent to the early Church that this Mystery was not to be celebrated in just any way, so also was it seen that not just anyone was to preside over it. This function was reserved to the lineal descendants by ordination of the Apostles; that is, by bishops and those ordained by them for this service — the presbyters/priests (the words are identical in their early Christian context).
Neither was participation in the Holy Mysteries permitted without preparation. To this day, Orthodox practice allows participation in the Mysteries only to those who are baptized and chrismated Orthodox Christians; are in unity of faith with the Apostolic Tradition, as expressed in Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, and the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils of the Church, and the Symbol of Faith (the Creed); have prepared themselves for such participation as the Church provides; and are not canonically restrained from participation on account of some unabsolved grave sin or other impediment. The Church is concerned that her children not fall into receiving the Body and Blood of the Lord unworthily (1 Cor. 11:27). In this Mystery we are called upon to become one with Him and one another — truly to be united in the one Body of Christ.
-Bishop Alexander (Mileant) ROCOR
