Then
Jesus said unto them,
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. As
the living Father hath
sent me, and I
live by the Father:
so he that eateth
me, even he shall
live by me. This
is that bread which
came down from heaven:
not as your fathers
did eat manna, and
are dead: he that
eateth of this bread
shall live for ever.
John
6:53-58
(KJV)
This is the third article
of the series devoted to answering Protestants from the point of view
of an Orthodox Christian. I hope we will be able to draw a quick
sketch of a very complex Orthodox doctrine – the reality of the
Eucharist and the theological implications it has for faith and
practice. Without looking at this very important point, it is
virtually impossible to get through to the point of the unity of the
visible Church we've been talking about for so long already.
An Overview of Protestant Opinions on the Eucharist
Most Protestant
denominations (except the Salvation Army and the Quakers) have
special services during which bread and wine are used. They do so
because it was prescribed in the Bible. However, the explanations of
this ritual differ among Protestant scholars. While Lutherans believe
that Christ's Flesh and Blood are mystically united with the bread
and wine (which is called 'consubstantiation' by some, although Dr.
Martin Luther did not use the term himself), the Reformed and
Presbyterians believe that Christ is only present spiritually during
the Eucharist (Jean Calvin used the word 'symbol' to explain it in
his Institutesi),
the vast majority of Protestants (including Baptists, Pentecostals,
some Methodist and Anglican scholars) refer to the Eucharist as the
Lord's Supper or Holy Communion and deny any form of physical or
spiritual presence of Christ in the bread and wine. Rather, the
Lord's supper is a remembrance of Christ's suffering and a reminder
of his power to overcome sin and death. This view has its roots in
the teaching of a Swiss reformer Ulrich Zwingli, who wrote in the
eighteenth of his The Sixty-seven Articles
of Zwingli (1522),
“XVIII. That Christ,
having sacrificed himself
once, is to eternity
a certain and valid
sacrifice for the sins
of all faithful, wherefrom
it follows that the
mass is not a
sacrifice, but is a
remembrance of the
sacrifice and assurance of
the salvation which Christ
has given us.”
Therefore,
basically,
there
are
two
distinct
teachings
on
what
the
Eucharist
is
about
and
what
it
should
mean
for
the
faithful.
One
is
called
Receptionism,
i.e.,
the
Calvinist
teaching
that
the
bread
and
wine
do
not
change
their
substance
but
if
one
receives
them
with
true
faith
(oh,
if
only
one
could
be
sure
to
have
that
true
faith!),
they
unite
him
with
Christ
in
a
metaphysical
sense.
The
other
is
called
Memorialism,
i.e.,
the
Zwinglian
teaching
that
the
bread
and
wine
are
just
bread
and
wine,
and
they
serve
as
a
reminder
of
the
sacrifice
of
Jesus
Christ.
What
these
two
views
have
in
common
is
that
they
treat
the
Eucharist
as
a
mere
symbol.
What
is
a
'symbol'?
How
does
one
define
it?
Basically,
a
symbol
is
something
that
stands
for
something
else
but
is
distinct
from
it.
The
relationship
between
a
symbol
and
the
real-world
thing
it
denotes
is
an
arbitrary
one.
There
is
not
a
natural
relationship
between
a
word
and
the
object
it
refers
to,
nor
is
there
a
causal
relationship
between
the
inherent
properties
of
the
object
and
the
nature
of
the
symbol
used
to
denote
itii.
Thus,
if
we
look
on
the
essence
of
Zwinglian
understanding,
there
is
really
nothing
special
in
the
bread
and
wine,
as
their
sole
purpose
is
to
serve
as
a
reminder
of
the
crucifixion
of
Jesus,
and
these
substances
may
be
freely
substituted
by
other
substances
like
potato
chips
and
tea.
Calvinist
view
is
a
bit
different:
the
bread
and
wine
imitate
the
actual
Flesh
and
Blood
of
Christ,
and
thus
only
these
substances
must
be
used
during
the
communion
service;
nevertheless,
the
power
of
this
ritual
to
transform
lives
and
to
unite
individuals
to
Christ
depends
on
their
personal
attitudes
and
the
quality
of
their
faith.
Therefore,
both
Calvinist
and
Zwinglian
theology
imply
that
the
Eucharist
does
not
have
power
of
grace
in
itself
– the
former
believe
that
the
results
of
partaking
of
the
bread
and
wine
depend
on
one's
personal
attitude
and
faith,
while
the
latter
rule
out
the
possible
transfer
of
grace
onto
an
individual
as
a
result
of
his
or
her
participation
in
the
remembrance
service
altogether.
Whereas
both
schools
of
theology
claim
to
base
their
opinions
on
one
and
the
same
Bible,
they
are
obviously
different,
and
this
brings
us
to
question
the
validity
of
Sola
Scriptura
principle
again
(which
we
did
in
our
previous
article).
The Orthodox View on the Reality of the Eucharist
It
is
not
for
no
reason
that
the
Last
Supper
and
the
words
and
actions
of
Christ
accompanying it
are
found
in
each
of
the
Four
Gospels.
The
Acts
of
the
Holy
Apostles
pay
special
attention
to
the
fact
that
the
disciples
of
Christ
“continuing
daily
with
one
accord
in
the
temple,
and
breaking
bread
from
house
to
house,
did
eat
their
meat
with
gladness
and
singleness
of
heart,
praising
God,
and
having
favour
with
all
the
people.
And
the
Lord
added
to
the
church
daily
such
as
should
be
saved.”
The Eucharist has always been the centre of Christian worship.
"I
am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of
this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is
My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world"
(John 6:51). The Jews evidently understood the words of Christ
literally and began to ask each other, "How can this
man give us His flesh to eat?"
(John 6:52).
The
Lord did not tell the Jews that they had misunderstood Him but with
greater force and clarity reassured them: "Verily I
say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My
blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For
My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My
flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him"
(John 6:53-56).
His
disciples also had difficulty accepting the words of Christ literally
and said to each other: "This is a hard saying, who
can understand it" (John
6:60). The Saviour, so as to convince them of the possibility of such
miraculous eating, indicated another miracle that would happen during
His Ascension into Heaven, "Does this offend you? What
then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It
is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words
that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life"
(John 6:61-63).iii
The
Orthodox perception of the Eucharist is based on the doctrine that
Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect man, that He suffered bodily
(i.e., His flesh suffered for real, contrary to Gnostic statements
that it was Simon of Cyrene or a ghost who suffered on the cross),
that He rose from the dead and ascended onto the heaven in His body.
He now allows the believers to partake of His resurrected and
miraculously changed Flesh and Blood, which are concealed in bread
and wine. However, the Orthodox do not believe that each time there
is a communion service, Christ is sacrificed again. Crucifixion and
resurrection were events that happened at a definite moment of time,
but every time we take communion, we embrace this mystery and are
united with Christ in a very real sense. The Orthodox Church teaches
that Christ is the Head of the Church, and the Church is His Body.
Thus, the communion in the Flesh and Blood of Christ is
what the Church is all about. It is through that communion that we as
Christians receive a kind of vital and life-saving 'blood
transfusion' and thus become blood brothers and sisters of Christ. If
you come to think of it, the original Greek meaning of the word
'Eucharist' (= Thanksgiving)
really makes sense, doesn't it? It becomes even more glorious if we
realise that the Body that we partake of is the resurrected and the
ascended Body of our Lord. Drinking from this life-giving fountain,
we are able to trample down death by the death of Jesus and receive
eternal life. It is not accidental that Easter hymns and prayers are
used during the celebration of the Eucharist in the Orthodox Church.
The Eucharist, according to the Orthodox teaching, is thus a
breakthrough from the bonds of this earthly life into the heavenly
world, and the means of theosis (“divinisation”); it is way more
real than everything else.
Nevertheless,
the Orthodox Church does not dare speak of what precisely happens
during the Eucharistiv,
which is yet another example of difference in approaches between the
rational West and the wise East, which accepts all things that God
decided to hide from us mortals with open heart and simple faith.
There
is another extremely important aspect of Holy Communion that has to
be emphasised here. Not only do we become united with
Christ and receive His boundless grace in the Eucharist, but we are
also united in Christ
to one anotherv.
That is why the Orthodox teaching on the Eucharist is so closely
intertwined with teaching on the Church. The Church, according to the
Orthodox, is united into one Body of Christ thanks to the Eucharist.
Therefore, only those who partake of the same Flesh and Blood are
true members of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. If a
finger is cut off one's hand and does not have constant blood supply,
it dies out. Similarly, when an individual or a community is cut off
the Blood of Christ abiding in the Church, they gradually lose the
divine strength and go astray... However, we will be focusing on the
Orthodox understanding of the Church in our next article, which is
going to be the final one in this series, I suppose.
iSee
Institutes
of
the
Christian
religion.
By
John
Calvin,
Jean
Calvin,
Book
IV,
chapter
17,
10,
"The rule which
the pious ought always
to observe is, whenever
they see the symbols
instituted by the Lord,
to think and feel
surely persuaded that the
truth of the thing
signified is also present.
For why does the
Lord put the symbol
of his body into
your hands, but just
to assure you that
you truly partake of
him? If this is
true let us feel
as much assured that
the visible sign is
given us in seal
of an invisible gift
as that his body
itself is given to
us."
iiSee
Course in General Linguistics
(Cours de linguistique
générale) by
Ferdinand
de
Saussure
for
a
more
detailed
explanation.
ivHere
is what Saint John of Damascus says in his Exposition of
the Orthodox Faith, Book IV,
chapter 17, “The body which
is born of the
holy Virgin is in
truth a body united
with divinity, not that
the body which was
received into the heavens
descends, but that the
bread itself and the
wine are changed into
the Lord's body and
blood. Now, if
you inquire
how this
happens, it
is enough
for you to
learn that
it was
through the
Holy Spirit,
just as God took
on Himself the flesh
that subsisted in Him
and was born of
the holy Mother of
God through the Spirit...
so the bread of
the altar and the
wine (and water) are
mysteriously changed by
the invocation and
presence of the Holy
Spirit into the body
and blood of Jesus
Christ, and are not
two but one and
the same. Wherefore to
those who partake worthily
with faith, it is
for the remission of
sins and life everlasting
and for the safe-guarding
of soul and body;
but to those who
partake unworthily without
faith, it is for
chastisement and punishment,
just as also the
death of the Lord
becomes to those who
believe life and
incorruption for the
enjoyment of eternal
blessedness while to those
who do not believe
and to the murderers
of the Lord, it
means everlasting chastisement
and punishment.”
vWhich
is also the reason why no Eucharistic service in the Orthodox Church
may be served sine populo (in
contrast
with
the
Roman
Catholic
Church).
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