About the Sacrament of Communion

Contents 1. The concept of the Sacrament of Communion. 2. Biblical texts about Holy Communion. 3. The teaching of the Church on the Sacrament of the Eucharist. I. The Ecumenical Councils teach this about the Sacrament of Communion: II. The Holy Fathers teach about the Eucharist as follows: 4. The Sacrament of Communion must be approached with great reverence. 5. Jesus Christ is present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as the perfect God-man, moreover, in every smallest particle of the Eucharistic Gifts. 6. In the person of the priest, the Sacrament of Communion is performed by Jesus Christ Himself. 7. Examples from the lives of saints, proving that in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the True Body of Christ is taught under the guise of bread and the True Blood of the Lord under the guise of wine. 8. Dogmatic and moral conclusions arising from the doctrine of the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. 9. Examples from the lives of saints, proving the idea that communion of the Holy Mysteries according to the rite of the Orthodox Church is necessary and saving, contrary to the assertion of some zealots of ancient piety. 10. The happiness of coming to Christ and worthy of communion of the Holy Body must be earned. 11. Fruits of the communion of St. Christ's Mysteries. 12. Miracles that took place during the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. 13. Encouragements for frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries. 14. Enlightenment of those who voluntarily avoid Holy Communion. 15. Examples of God’s punishment for unworthy communion of the Holy Mysteries or blasphemous treatment of them. 16. Examples of the healing power of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. 17. How to begin receiving the Holy Mysteries. 18. Teaching on the communion of the Holy Mysteries (Innocent of Kherson). 1. The concept of the Sacrament of Communion 1. This sacrament in the New Testament is called supper (1 Cor. 11:20), the Lord's table (1 Cor. 10:21), communion of the Flesh and Blood of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16) and the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42, 20:7). This name means a Sacrament in which a Christian, under the guise of bread and wine, partakes of the True Body and True Blood of his Savior for eternal life. This sacrament was established by the Lord Himself. How did Jesus Christ Himself, who directly established and even first perform it, teach about the Sacrament of Communion - the most important and, one might say, the focus of the sacrament of the Christian Church? As is known, He taught His clear and definite teaching about Him even before the establishment of the Eucharist, namely, when, on the occasion of the miraculous feeding of five thousand people with five loaves and two fish, He taught about Himself as the animal bread that came down from heaven, like manna. Here are the main thoughts spoken to the Jews on this occasion, in connection with which the doctrine of the Eucharistic bread was proposed: “do not do the waste that perishes, but the waste that abides in eternal life (try not for food that perishes, but for food that endures to eternal life), which the Son of man will give you: of this, for God the Father of the banners... Amen, amen, I say to you: it was not Moses who gave you bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For it is the bread of God that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world... I am the living bread that comes to Me, never to be hungry, and believe in Me, never to be thirsty... Amen, amen, I say to you: believe in Me, you will have eternal life. I am the living bread that came down from heaven, and whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give, which I eat, I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:27–51). From their consistent course it is not difficult to see that Jesus Christ, offering here the teaching that He alone is the true bread that came down from heaven, or the bread of God, since He alone can and does give life to the world, together with this had the direct intention of showing in what respect He can and has become the bread of life for the world. Expanding the last thought in more detail, He pointed out exactly two types in which He has to show Himself as the bread of life, denoting the first of them as follows: “I am the living bread that comes to Me, and you will never thirst” (John 6:35), and the last one, highlighting the following words: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven, If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever, the bread that I will give. My flesh is, I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51), which, as is not difficult to notice, clearly and accurately defined an important and significant difference between them. Thus, the bread of life in the first case is depicted by the Savior as bread that has already come down from heaven and was offered to everyone for spiritual food, if only there were those who hungered and thirsted for it; in the second case, it only promises to be offered to the believer. Moreover, in the first case, the bread of life offered by the Savior is not placed by Him in any way dependent on the tradition “for the belly of the world” of His Flesh, whereas, on the contrary, in the latter case it is placed in direct dependence on this. Finally, and most importantly, while the bread of the first kind, according to the image of Christ, was in its essence nothing other than His heavenly teaching, delivering light and life to those who receive it with faith, the bread of the last kind, that is, the bread that He had just promised to give, had to consist in His very Flesh, which He had to give “for the life of the world.” But is this exactly so, or in its own sense, did Christ Himself understand His promise about the last kind of bread of life as bread contained in His own and True Flesh, given “for the life of the world”? The answer to this is his further teaching about this, which is quite positive and decisive. Thus, according to the remark of St. John, when Christ spoke His promise that He would give bread, which would be His Flesh, which was given to Him “for the life of the world,” then “the Jews hid among themselves, saying: How can this One give us [His] Flesh to eat?” (John 6:52), that is, the very Flesh that they saw in front of them. But Christ, despite this bewilderment on the part of the Jews, not only did not renounce His promise to offer His Flesh as food, but, on the contrary, began to teach about this with even greater strength and firmness, thus continuing His speech: “Amen, amen, I say to you: unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, you do not drink His Blood, you do not have life in you. eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you will have an eternal life, and I will resurrect him on the last day. For My Flesh is truly meat, and My Blood is truly beer. whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, I abides in Me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live for the Father’s sake, and whoever eats Me will also live for My sake” (John 6:53–57). This entire speech, full of one another more powerful and expressive thoughts about the unconditional necessity for receiving eternal life of the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, puts beyond all doubt the fact that Christ, having promised in the future to give living bread consisting of His Flesh, at the same time promised to teach the believers His True Flesh and His True Blood, so that those who partake of them would be internally united with Himself and through this become partakers of eternal life. The very Sacrament of living, or Eucharistic, bread, as reported by the Evangelists Matthew and Mark, was thus established at the Last Supper after the celebration of the Old Testament Passover with the apostles by Jesus Christ: “And to those who ate, Jesus took the bread, and blessed, broke and gave to the disciples, and said: Take, eat: this is My body, and having received the cup, and given praise, He gave to them, saying: Drink of it, all of you: for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26–28; cf. Mark 14:22–24) or, according to the image of the apostle. Paul and St. Luke: “The Lord Jesus in the night was betrayed, receiving the bread and giving thanks, breaking it and saying: Take, eat, this is My Body, which is broken for you, do this in remembrance of Me: likewise the cup at supper, saying: this cup of the New Testament is in My Blood, do this, as often as you drink, in My remembrance" (1 Cor. 11:23–25; pp. Luke 22:19–20). From the quoted words of Scripture at the establishment of this Sacrament, the special importance and especially high significance of this Sacrament for a Christian is clearly visible. The main and essential thing in this Sacrament is that under the guise of bread and wine we are taught the True Body and True Blood of Christ. Christ says directly: “I will give the bread, I will give it my flesh for the life of the world... for My Flesh truly is meat, and My Blood truly is beer” (John 6:51,55). Why did the Lord establish this Sacrament? a) The immediate goal of establishing it is the remembrance of the Savior, especially His suffering and death on the cross. “Do this... in remembrance of Me,” said the Lord (1 Cor. 11:25). b) Together with this, it serves for us as the establishment and sign of the New Testament and our new union with God in Christ, of which the Old Testament serves only as a prototype. “This is My Blood of the New Testament,” says the Savior, “...this cup of the New Testament is in My Blood” (Matt. 26:28; 1 ​​Cor. 11:25; cf. Heb. 9). c) Further, its goal is the closest union with Christ and with each other. “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood, abides in Me and I in him” (John 6:56). “We are one body and we are many, for we all partake of one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17). d) In addition, it serves for us as a cleansing and propitiatory sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world, and together as a thanksgiving sacrifice for everything that we have from God: for the Lord, having received the bread, first gave praise and thanked God and then, teaching His Body, said: “This is My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins” and, teaching the cup, said: “This is My Blood of the New Testament, shed for you and for many for the remission of sins,” for we have nothing with which we could either worthily thank God for His mercies, or propitiate Him for our sins. e) Finally, it serves as a guarantee of immortality and eternal life for us. “Unless you have eaten the Flesh of the Son of Man, you have not drunk His Blood, you have not life within you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood will have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day... Your fathers ate manna in the wilderness and died: whoever eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:53–54, 58–59). It is clear that such a high Sacrament must require special conditions on our part; it requires complete concentration within oneself, strict self-examination of one’s conscience and complete readiness to accept it. The Apostle briefly expressed all this in the following words: “Let a man tempt himself, and so let him eat from the bread and drink from the cup: for he who eats and drinks unworthily, judges himself by eating and drinking, not discerning the Body of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:28-29) 1. Analysis of the opinions of Bespopovites about the Sacrament of Communion. The Sacrament of Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ is one of the most important means in the matter of salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ, commanding us to eat His Most Pure Body and drink His Honest Blood, clearly and decisively points out the need for this Sacrament to receive eternal life or eternal salvation: “I am the bread of life,” he said to the Jews, “which came down from heaven: if anyone eats of this bread, the bread will live forever, and the bread I will give, it is My Flesh” ( John 6:51). “Unless you have eaten the Flesh of the Son of Man, nor drunk His Blood, you have no life within you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood will have eternal life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6:53–54). The Sacrament of Communion is as necessary for salvation as baptism. If baptism regenerates a person, then communion nourishes him: once born, one cannot live without food and drink. This need for the Sacrament of Communion was recognized by all the fathers and teachers of the Church. In the words of Blessed Theophylact, “spiritual trash, the Lord’s Flesh... without communion, we will not partake of the eternal life” 2. In the “Book of Cyril” we read: “If someone does not anoint the mouth of his house with the Blood of the Son of God, his first-born soul cannot live in it” 3 . In the “Book of Faith” after the words of the Savior: “Amen, amen, I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you” (John 6:53) - it is said: “The answer of Christ’s words is terrible! Who will not be horrified by the above prohibition and will not listen to the voice of the Lord? Is it the one who wants to destroy the eternal belly” 4. Also: “Without communion of that true shrine it is impossible to be saved” 5 . Cyril of Alexandria says that “even though the Church of God and the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ are removed, God’s enemies are also demonic friends” 6 . Contrary to such clear teaching of the Word of God and the Patristic Scriptures about the necessity of the Sacrament of Communion, the priestless people claim that, due to need, one can do without this Sacrament, and to prove this they cite, firstly, historical examples, and secondly, evidence from old printed books. 1) “Many of the holy martyrs and ascetics,” say the priestless people, “did not partake of the Body and Blood of Christ throughout their entire lives, yet they were saved and are glorified by the Church. Such, for example, are the venerables: Paul of Thebes, Peter of Athos, Mark of France, Theophan of Antioch, Mary of Egypt, Theoktista and other martyrs: Eupsychius, Esperus and Zoe, Coprius and Alexander, Cyricus and Julitta, Drosida, Glyceria, etc.” But, turning to the historical authenticity of the examples indicated, it should be noted that only regarding the martyr Alexander (his memory is July 9) and St. Martyrs Drosida (her memory is March 22), one can positively assert that they did not partake of the Holy Mysteries at all (and this last thought should be proven to the non-priests, because they never take communion). But St. The martyr Alexander was not even baptized, because after confessing himself as a Christian he was martyred on the same day: St. The martyr Drosida, daughter of King Trajan, lived only seven days after baptism and was not able to receive the Sacrament of Communion. Regarding Mary of Egypt, it is undoubtedly known that before her departure into the desert she received the Mysteries of Christ in the Baptist Church on the Jordan and before her death from St. Elder Zosima 7. Exactly the same with respect to Rev. Theoktists, we know that before her death she received communion of the Mysteries of Christ, brought to her, at her request, by a certain hunter 8 . As for most of the other examples of saints, although their lives do not directly speak of their communion, this silence not only does not give the right to conclude that they really did not receive communion, but shows the opposite. “It is a custom for the Divine Scripture,” says St. Joseph of Volotsky, “to write the lives and stories of saints. And consign the most necessary things to writing, passing by the unnecessary mother-in-law. There is nothing more necessary than Divine baptism and communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ; but in many of the lives of the apostles and martyrs and fathers it is not revealed about this. When did not all the baptisms take place, or did not all the apostles and martyrs and our venerable fathers receive communion? Yes, I have all been baptized and have all taken communion. But for this reason, the writer kept silent about this, knowing that there is no need to write about these things, even though all people know that it is not powerful for a Christian to be called a Christian unless he is baptized or partakes of the Holy Mysteries of Christ” 9 . Thus, the examples given by the Bespopovites from the lives of saints cannot be considered completely correct in historical terms, and hence the general idea of ​​the Bespopovites that many saints. martyrs and saints were saved without communion of the Holy Mysteries, turns out to be exaggerated. 2) The evidence given by the priestless people is of two kinds: some say that if it is impossible to receive communion sensually, you can limit yourself to the desire for communion and receive salvation, and the other speaks about spiritual communion and spiritual sacrifice. a) The Large Catechism says that without the Sacrament of Communion no one can be saved, unless he is able to use them, lusting after it 10, that is, when, despite all his desire, he is not able to partake of the Holy Mysteries. The Bespopovites say that they have a desire to partake of the Holy Mysteries, but they do not have the opportunity to do this, so their desire is charged to them for communion. But such a teaching is completely unfair. All true believers should actually partake of the Holy Mysteries, and not desire them only, because the Savior directly says: “Unless you have suffered the flesh of the Son of man, you have not drunk His Blood, you have not life in you” (John 6:53). “The union of the spiritual Church with Christ,” says St. Chrysostom, - not only out of love, but also the thing itself turns into His Flesh: behold, we partake of His Body in meat." 11 Whoever replaces the Holy Mysteries only with their desire, dares to liken his desire to the Flesh and Blood of the Son of God, but there is no similarity between them. The Sacrament of Communion was established by Jesus Christ Himself, and the desire comes from our heart. In the Sacrament of Communion, under the guise of bread and wine, the True Body and True Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are given for the sanctification of our souls and bodies, and our desire is the desire of sinful people, and itself requires sanctification. Then, cases of impossibility of communion of the Mysteries of Christ, despite all the desire to partake of them, are rare and exceptional and can only be due to extreme need. But necessary, prudent cases are not accepted into law; It is impossible to derive any general rule from them: “There is no law of the Church that is meager.” Moreover, the said testimony of the Larger Catechism, as well as others similar to it, speaks not about those persons who, like non-priests, never receive communion, but about those who in some particular case of their lives, for example, being in captivity among a non-Orthodox or pagan people, or before death, or during an illness that prevents them from receiving the Holy Mysteries, nausea, for example, do not have the opportunity to receive communion. These persons are members of the Church, believe in the necessity and salvific value of the Sacraments and fervently desire communion, so that if they had the opportunity to receive communion, they would certainly do so. For such persons, the zealous desire to partake of the Mysteries of Christ is, of course, counted as actual communion, just as Abraham’s faith was counted as righteousness (Rom. 4:3). All this cannot apply to non-priests, since they do not receive communion throughout their lives and also claim that one can be saved without communion of the Holy Mysteries. b) Of other types of evidence, the following is more remarkable. Blessed Theophylact in his “Blagovestnik” writes: “And you can not only eat and drink the Flesh and Blood of the Lady through secret communion, but also in a different way, for whoever eats the Flesh, when it passes through the body virginally” 12. How to understand these words? Do they mean that you can receive communion as you wish - either sacramentally, or in another way, for example spiritually, and that the latter kind of communion can replace the first? But if we understand the words of Blessed Theophylact in this way, then we will have to contradict the words of the Lord about the necessity of the Sacrament of Communion, given in a sensual form at the Last Supper, where He commanded to do this, that is, sensual communion, in His remembrance (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:25). Turning then to other words of Blessed Theophylact, in the same interpretation, we come to the full conviction that he did not at all think to say that the visible communion of the Body and Blood of Christ can be replaced by some kind of spiritual communion. Explaining the Savior’s words about animal bread, the poison of which does not die, he directly says that here we are talking about secret (i.e., mysterious, visible) communion, that this “secret communion is usually” and that it is only necessary, that “there is no other way to have a stomach,” and from here we know, he concludes, the majesty of the mystery of communion 13. Thus, the expression of Blessed Theophylact: “Eating and drinking the Flesh and Blood of the Lady” can be “in another way” does not mean actual, some incomprehensible, spiritual communion of the Body and Blood of the Lady, but moral communion with Christ, through the passage of a virtuous life, which communication has a close and necessary connection with the mysterious communion of the Flesh and Blood of Christ” 14. 2. Biblical texts about Holy Communion The first communion took place at the last Passover, which the Lord celebrated with His disciples: “the disciples did as Jesus commanded them, and prepared the Passover” (Matthew 26:19). “And while they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take, eat, this is My Body.” And he took the cup and, giving thanks, gave it to them and said, “Drink from it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28). “For I (says St. Paul) received from the Lord Himself what I also conveyed to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night on which he was betrayed took bread and, having given thanks, broke it and said: Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you: do this in remembrance of Me. He also took the cup after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:23–25). Holy Communion is the partaking of the Most Pure Blood and Body of Jesus Christ: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion of the Blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a communion of the Body of Christ?” (1 Cor. 10:16). “Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you; If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink” (John 6:53–55). Holy Communion must be performed in remembrance of His atoning death: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” “And he took the bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is given for you; Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). “And having given thanks, he broke it and said: Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you; Do this in My remembrance. He also took the cup after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink, in remembrance of Me” (1 Cor. 11:24-25). A strict examination of oneself is prescribed before communion: “let a man examine himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup” (1 Cor. 11:28). “Test yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; examine yourselves. Or do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you are what you ought to be” (2 Cor. 13:5). Holy Communion must be received with the determination to lead a new life: “Purge away therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you are unleavened, for our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor. 5:7). “You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; You cannot be partakers in the table of the Lord and in the table of demons” (1 Cor. 10:21). Spiritual grace flowing from communion: “he who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live through the Father, so he who eats Me will live through Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers ate manna and died: whoever eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:56-58). The primitive Church celebrated communion, “and they continued continually in the teaching of the apostles, in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread and in prayer” (Acts 2:42). “On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul, intending to set out on the next day, talked with them and continued speaking until midnight” (Acts 20:7). One who unworthily participates in communion: a) guilty against the Body and Blood of Christ: “Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily will be guilty against the Body and Blood of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:27); b) attracts the judgment of God: “That is why many of you are weak and sick, and many die. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. Having been judged, we are punished by the Lord, so as not to be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:30-32); c) eats and drinks condemnation for himself: “for whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself, not considering the body of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:29). Critical remark about the deviation of the Western Church from the Orthodox Church in the celebration of the Sacrament of Communion 1. The Roman Catholic Church differs in its teaching about the Sacrament of Holy Communion, firstly, in that it uses unleavened bread instead of leavened bread as the substance for the Sacrament of Communion. This custom began in the 7th century in Spain, but it became dominant in the Roman Church in the 11th century. Western Christians prove this innovation by saying that Jesus Christ established the Sacrament of Holy Communion on the first day of unleavened bread. This is not true. Jesus Christ established the Sacrament of Holy Communion, according to the testimony of the Evangelist John (John 13:1), before the Jewish holiday of Passover, therefore, before the use of unleavened bread, and therefore, before the first day of unleavened bread. If the evangelists Matthew (Matt. 26:17) and Mark (Mk. 14:12) say that the Last Supper took place on the first day of unleavened bread, then their words, based on the direct instructions of the Evangelist John, obviously must be understood in the meaning of the day closest to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which began the day after the Jewish holiday of Passover, precisely on the 15th of the month of Nisan. Consequently, the Last Supper, which took place on the 13th of this month, was at a time when the Jews were still eating leavened bread, which Christ the Savior used at the establishment of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. 2. The laity in the Roman Church receive communion only under one form - under the form of bread - the Body of Christ. This custom appeared in the West in the 13th century, and in the 15th century, by order of the Basel Council, it was recognized as mandatory for all Western Christians. The following reasons are presented to justify this custom in the Roman Church: a) they say that there is no direct command from the Lord Himself that all His followers must receive communion under both types. And the words of the Lord: “Unless you have eaten the Flesh of the Son of Man, you have not drunk His Blood, you have not life in you” (John 6:53) and then “drink everything of it” (Matthew 26:27) don’t they contain a direct indication that all Christians should partake of both types - bread and wine - the Body and Blood of Christ? b) They say: the laity, through carelessness, can shed the Blood of Christ. But clergy cannot shed through negligence; however, according to the teachings of the Roman Church, they are not deprived of communion with the Blood of Christ. c) They say: some of the laity have a natural aversion to wine and do not drink it. This reason concerns such rare exceptions, because of which it would be unjust to deprive all laity of the communion of the Blood of Christ. Is it possible to admit that a person cannot take even one drop of wine, and how can one talk about wine if we are talking about the Blood of Christ? d) Finally, they say: “Where the Body is, there is the Blood, and therefore those who partake of the Body of Christ partake of His Blood.” The conclusion is arbitrary, contradicting the direct command and example given by the Lord Himself, as well as the fact that such a conclusion has no place in the Roman Church in relation to the clergy. 3. In the Roman Church, infants are not at all allowed to receive the Holy Mysteries on the grounds that they cannot consciously prepare for it. In this case, it would be impossible to allow infants to receive Baptism. Is this in accordance with the words of the Lord, which have a direct bearing on both adults and infants: “If you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, you do not drink His Blood, you do not have life in you”? (John 6:53). 4. The transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts, according to the belief of the Roman Church, occurs when the priest pronounces the words: “Take, eat, this is My Body...”, and according to the teachings of the Orthodox Church, after the invocation of the Holy Spirit during the blessing of the Holy Gifts. The truth of the latter teaching is evidenced by the very order in which the Sacrament was performed. If we accept the teaching of the Roman Church, then in this case the actions performed after the utterance of the words of Christ: “Take, eat...”, namely the invocation of the Holy Spirit on the offered gifts, and blessing them with the utterance of the words: “And make this bread...” would be completely unnecessary. Lutherans not only eat unleavened bread following the example of the Roman Church, but also do not recognize transubstantiation itself in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. In their opinion, contrary to the clear words of the Savior: “This is My Body,... this is My Blood” (Matthew 26:26,28), bread and wine are only symbols or signs of the Body and Blood of Christ, and not His Most Pure Body and Blood. In addition, the grace-filled power of this Sacrament, in their opinion, is determined not by the very essence of the Sacrament, but by the faith of those who perform it and those who receive it. Both opinions, obviously, destroy the very essence of the Sacrament and do not agree with the very concept of the Sacrament and with the meaning of Divine power. 3. The teaching of the Church on the Sacrament of the Eucharist. I. The Ecumenical Councils teach this about the Sacrament of Communion: a) At the First Ecumenical Council, the fathers present confessed: “At the Divine table we should not simply see the bread and cup offered, but, elevating our minds, we should understand by faith that at the sacred table lies “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), sacrificed by the priests, and, truly accepting His Honorable Body and Blood, we should believe that this signs of our resurrection" 15. b) At the Third Ecumenical Council the message of St. Cyril of Alexandria to Nestorius, written from the entire local council of Alexandria, which, by the way, says: “Proclaiming the death in the Flesh of the Only Begotten Son of God, that is, Jesus Christ, and confessing His Resurrection and Ascension into heaven, we perform a bloodless sacrifice in the churches and, thus, proceed to the blessed mysteries and are sanctified, partaking of the Holy Body and Precious Blood of the Savior of us all, Christ, and accepting not as ordinary flesh - let it not be - and not as the flesh of a person sanctified and united with the Word in unity of dignity, but as truly the Life-Giving and Own Body of the Word Himself. For He (I. Christ), as God, being life by nature, when he became one with his own flesh, he made it life-giving. And therefore, although He tells us: “Amen, amen, I say to you: unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, you do not drink his blood” (John 6:53), however, we must honor it not as the flesh of a man who is like us in everything (how could the flesh of a man by nature be life-giving?), but truly as the own flesh of him who for our sake was made and called the Son of man” 16 . c) The Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, in denouncing the heretics, testified: “None of the trumpets of the Spirit, that is, the apostles and our illustrious fathers, called our bloodless sacrifice, performed in remembrance of the suffering of our God and His entire economy, the image of His Body, for they did not accept from the Lord to speak and proclaim in this way, but heard Him preaching: “Unless you take away the Flesh of the Son.” human, you do not drink His Blood, you do not have life in you” (John 6:53); also: “Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him” (John 6:56); and again: “Take, eat, this is My Body...” (Matthew 26:26), and did not say: “Take, eat the image of My Body.” So, it is clear that neither the Lord, nor the apostles, nor the fathers ever called the bloodless sacrifice offered by the priests an image, but the Body itself and the Blood itself. And although before the consecration was completed, some of the saints. It seemed pious to the fathers to call these things in place of images (ἀντἰτυπα), but after sanctification they are the Body and Blood of Christ, and so they are believed” 17. II. The Holy Fathers teach about the Eucharist like this: a) St. Ignatius the God-Bearer says: “They (Docetes) withdraw from the Eucharist and prayer, not confessing that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, which the Father raised in goodness” 18. b) St. Justin Martyr: “We accept this (Eucharist) not as simple bread and not as simple drink, but just as Jesus Christ our Savior, having become incarnate as the Word of God, had both Flesh and Blood for our salvation, in the same way (we are taught) this food, over which thanksgiving is said with the prayer of His Word, which, after being transmuted, nourishes our blood and flesh, is Flesh and Blood the same Jesus Christ incarnate" 19 . c) St. Irenaeus: “Just as earthly bread, through the invocation of God on it, is no longer ordinary bread, but the Eucharist, consisting of earthly and heavenly, so our bodies, partaking of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but have the hope of resurrection” 20. d) St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “The bread and wine of the Eucharist, before the holy invocation of the adored Trinity, were simple bread and wine; after the invocation is completed, the bread becomes the Body of Christ, and the wine becomes the Blood of Christ” 21. He says in another place: “When Christ Himself declared and said about bread: “This is My Body” (Matthew 26:26), after this who will dare not to believe? And when he himself assured and said about the cup: “This is My Blood” (Matthew 26:28), who then will doubt and say that this is not His Blood? In Cana of Galilee, he once turned water into wine (John 2:1-10), similar to blood, and is he unworthy of faith when he turns wine into Blood? If, having been called to a bodily marriage, He performed this glorious miracle, doesn’t it even more so, having given “the sons of marriage” (Matthew 9:15) His Body and Blood for their enjoyment, requires our confession? Why, with all confidence, let us accept this as the Body and Blood of Christ. For in the form of bread the Body is given to you, and in the form of wine the Blood is given to you, so that, having partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, you may become bodily and intimate with Him, for in this way we become Christ-bearers when His Body and Blood are communicated to our members. Thus, according to the words of Blessed Peter, we are “participants of the Divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4)... So, do not understand the bread and wine (in the Eucharist) to be simple, for they are the Body and Blood of Christ, according to the saying of the Master. For, although feeling presents this to you, let faith confirm you. Do not reason about things according to your taste, but from faith be known without a doubt that you have been made worthy of the Body and Blood of Christ” 22. e) Blessed Theophylact: “Remember that the bread that we eat in the Sacrament is not an image of the Body of the Lord, but is the very Flesh of the Lord... For bread with mysterious words, through a mysterious blessing and the influx of the Holy Spirit, is transformed into the Flesh of the Lord” 23. “Bread is not an image of the Body of the Lord, but is transformed into the very Body of Christ” 24. f) St. John of Damascus: “Can’t He (God the Word) make bread with His Body, and wine and water with His Blood? He said at the beginning: “let the earth sprout the former grass” (Gen. 1:11), and the earth, stirred up and strengthened by God’s command, even being watered by rain to this day, produces its vegetation. So here too God said: “This is My Body”; “This is My Blood” (Matthew 26:28); “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19); and by His omnipotent command this happens and will remain so until the time when it comes; for it is said: “until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26). And for this new work, through invocation, the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit becomes rain, for just as God created everything that He created through the action of the Holy Spirit, so now through the action of the Holy Spirit that which exceeds nature and which cannot be comprehended except by faith alone is accomplished. “How will this be,” says the Holy Virgin, “where I don’t know a husband?... The Holy Spirit will come upon You, and the power of the Most High will overshadow You” (Luke 1:34–35), Archangel Gabriel answers her. And now, if you ask: how is bread made by the Body of Christ, and water and wine by the Blood of Christ, I also answer you: the Holy Spirit descends and does what is beyond words and understanding. Bread and wine are used because God knows human weakness, which turns away many things with displeasure when they are not confirmed by ordinary use. So, God, by His usual condescension, through the ordinary by nature, accomplishes the supernatural... Since people usually eat bread, drink water and wine, God united His Divinity with these substances and made them His Body and Blood, so that through the ordinary and natural we would participate in the supernatural.” And further: “Bread and wine are not images of the Body and Blood of Christ - let it not be! - but the most deified Body of the Lord, for the Lord Himself said: “This is My Body,” and not an image of the body; “This is My Blood,” and not an image of blood... If some called bread and wine substitutes (images) of the Body and Blood of the Lord, as, for example, God-bearing Basil in the Liturgy, then they called this offering not after consecration, but before consecration” 25. In another place he says this: “The very bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of God. If you ask how this happens, then it is enough for you to hear that this is accomplished by the Holy Spirit, just as the Lord, from the Holy Mother of God, made Himself and in Himself the Flesh by the Holy Spirit. And we know nothing more: we only know that the Word of God is true, effective and omnipotent, but the image (of transformation) is unsearchable. At the same time, it can also be said that just as bread through eating, and wine and water through drinking, are naturally transformed into the body and blood of the eater and drinker and become not another body, different from his previous body, so the showbread, wine and water through the invocation and influx of the Holy Spirit are supernaturally transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, and constitute not two bodies, but one and the same thing” 26. g) “We believe that in the Sacrament of the Eucharist our Lord Jesus Christ is present, not symbolically, not figuratively, not by an excess of grace, as in the other Sacraments, not by influx alone, as some fathers said about Baptism, and not through the penetration of bread, so that the Divinity of the Word enters essentially into the bread offered for the Eucharist, as Luther’s followers rather inexplicably and unworthily explain, but truly and truly, so that in the consecration of bread and wine, the bread is broken, transubstantiated, transformed, transformed into the very True Body of the Lord, which was born in Bethlehem from the Ever-Virgin, baptized in the Jordan, suffered, buried, resurrected, ascended, sits at the right hand of God the Father, has to appear on the clouds of heaven; and the wine is transformed and transubstantiated into the very True Blood of the Lord, which during His suffering on the cross was poured out for the life of the world. We also believe that after the consecration of bread and wine, what remains is not the bread and wine itself, but the very Body and Blood of the Lord under the appearance and image of bread and wine 27 . 4. The Sacrament of Communion must be approached with great reverence. St. John Chrysostom, saying that in the Sacrament of Communion a Christian partakes of the very Body of Christ, urges us to approach it with great reverence and fiery love. “How many people now say: I would like to see the face of Christ, the image, the clothes, the boots! So you see Him (in the Eucharist) and touch Him, taste Him. You want to see His clothes, but He allows you not only to see Himself, but also to touch, and taste, and take in. So, no one should approach with disdain, no one with cowardice, but all with fiery love, all with ardent zeal and cheerfulness... Therefore, one must always be vigilant, for no small punishment is due to those who partake unworthily. Think how much you are indignant at the traitor and at those who crucified Christ. So, beware lest you too become guilty against the Body and Blood of Christ. They put to death the All-Holy Body; and you accept it with an unclean soul after great deeds. For it was displeased for Him that He became a man, was strangled and killed; but He still communicates Himself to us and not only by faith, but also by the very deed makes us His Body: how pure must be the one who enjoys this sacrifice! How purer than all the rays of the sun must be the hand that crushes this Flesh, the mouth filled with spiritual fire, the tongue stained with the terrible Blood! Think what an honor you have received! What a meal you are enjoying! What the Angels look at with trepidation and do not dare to look at without fear because of the radiance emanating from here, with this we are nourished, with this we communicate and become one body and one flesh with Christ. “Who will proclaim the mighty powers of the Lord? Will all His praises be heard?” (Ps. 105:2). What kind of shepherd feeds the sheep with his own members? But what am I saying, shepherd. There are often mothers who give their newborn babies to other nurses; but Christ did not tolerate this: He feeds us with His own Blood, and through this unites us with Himself 28 . 5. Jesus Christ is present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist as the perfect God-man, moreover, in every smallest particle of the Eucharistic Gifts “We believe that in each part, down to the smallest particle of bread and wine, there is not any separate part of the Body and Blood of the Lord, but the Body of Christ is always whole and in all parts one and the Lord Christ is present in His essence, that is, with soul and Divinity, or perfect God and perfect man. Therefore, although at the same time there are many sacred rites in the universe, there are not many bodies of Christ, but one and the same Christ is truly and truly present, one His Body and one Blood in all the individual churches of the faithful. And this is not because the Body of the Lord, which is in heaven, descends on the altars, but because the showbread, prepared separately in all churches and, after consecration, transmuted and transubstantiated, is made one and the same with the Body which is in heaven. For the Lord always has one Body, and not many in many places: therefore, this Sacrament, according to the general opinion, is the most wonderful, comprehended by faith alone, and not by the speculations of human wisdom, by which this holy and divinely appointed sacrifice for us rejects vanity and insane sophistication regarding Divine things” 29 . 6. In the person of the priest, the Sacrament of Communion is performed by Jesus Christ Himself Celebrating the Eucharist and offering a bloodless sacrifice to God, the priest in his own person represents the Greatest Bishop Jesus Christ, the Son of God, officiating and sacrificing to God the Father, out of duty to His eternal holiness, bread and wine, transformed on the church altar into the very Body and Blood of Christ; therefore the priest confesses: For you art the one who offers and the one offered, and the one who receives and the one who is distributed, O Christ our God! (Prayer of the Cherubic Song: “No one is worthy of those who are bound...”). “And now Christ is present,” St. Chrysostom speaks, “decorate this meal.” He who decorated it at the supper also decorates this one now. For it is not man who created the Body and Blood of Christ that is set to be, but Christ Himself, who was crucified for us. Filling the image of the only Christ, the priest stands and brings a prayer, saying: this is My Body. The grace and power of God is all that is active” (St. Chrysostom in a conversation about the betrayal of Judas). And again: “This offering, even if it was brought by a priest, even by Paul, even by Peter, is the very same thing that Christ gave to the disciples, and which the priests now make: nothing less than this, like that. For it is not men who sanctify this, but Himself, the One who sanctified it. Whatever the verbs that Christ proclaimed are the same as those that the priest now says: “So is the offering” 30. “The Lord even until now creates and sanctifies and blesses this Most True and Holy Body,” says St. Cyprian in the sermon on the Lord's Supper 31. 7. Examples from the lives of saints, proving that in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, the True Body of Christ is taught under the guise of bread and the True Blood of the Lord under the guise of wine. I. The life of St. Gregory the Dvoeslov, Pope of Rome, tells about a significant miracle that took place in the Most Pure Mysteries through the prayer of this saint. One noble Roman woman brought prosphora to celebrate the Sacrament of Communion; The Liturgy on this day was performed by Saint Gregory himself. When the time came to serve people Holy Communion, that woman also began to partake of the Holy Mysteries. And at the words of the saint: “The Life-Giving Body of our Lord Jesus Christ is taught,” the woman in question grinned. Seeing her laugh, the saint held back his hand and asked the woman: “Why did you laugh?” - “It’s amazing to me, Vladyka, that you call that bread the Body of Christ, which I baked with my own hands.” Saint Gregory, seeing her unbelief, prayed to God, and immediately the appearance of the bread was transformed into the appearance of the truest human body. Not only that woman saw this miracle, but also all the others who were in the church glorified Christ God and were confirmed in the faith regarding the Most Pure Mysteries, that under the guise of bread the True Body of Christ is taught and under the guise of wine - the True Blood of the Lord. The saint prayed again, and the appearance of a human body was transformed into the appearance of bread. With fear and faith, the woman undoubtedly accepted the bread as the Body of Christ, and also the wine as the Blood of Christ 32 . II. One elder who lived in a monastery was a great ascetic, but he was simple in his faith and because of his simplicity he sinned. He said: “The bread that we receive is not essentially the Body of Christ, but only a substitute.” Despite all his convictions, the elder answered: “If I am not convinced by the very act, I cannot be completely convinced.” The holy ascetics told him: “Let us pray to God this week about this Sacrament, and God will reveal it to us.” The elder happily agreed to this proposal and prayed to God like this: “Lord! You know that I do not believe not out of malice, but, so as not to be mistaken, out of ignorance; open to me, Lord Jesus!” Other elders and ascetics also prayed this way. God heard them. After a week had passed, they came to church on Sunday - and their eyes were opened. When the bread was placed on the holy throne, it was represented in the form of a baby; when the priest stretched out his hand on the day of breaking bread, the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven with a knife, killed the child, and poured his blood into a cup; when the priest crushed the bread into small pieces, then the Angel cut off small pieces from the baby; when they began to receive the Sacrament, the elder alone was given flesh and blood. Seeing this, he was horrified and exclaimed: “I believe, Lord, that this bread is Your Body and this cup is Your Blood!” And immediately the Flesh in his hand became bread, as happens in the Sacrament, and he partook, thanking God. After this, the elders say to him: “God knows that man by nature cannot eat raw flesh, and therefore he gives His Body under the guise of bread and His Blood under the guise of wine to those who receive it with faith.” The holy ascetics thanked God for not allowing the perplexed elder to ruin his labors, and everyone joyfully returned to their cells 33 . III. One day the reverend came. Nifont and his disciple went to the church (in Constantinople) for the usual prayer, where the bishop had already begun the Divine service. And so they opened the door to the Rev. Niphon's spiritual eyes, and he saw fire descending from heaven and covering the altar and the bishop; During the singing of the Trisagion, four Angels appeared and sang with the singers. And while reading the Apostle I saw St. ap. Paul, who stood behind the reader and watched him. During the Gospel, the words, like lamps, ascended to heaven, and during the transfer of the Holy Gifts, the church vault opened, the heavens opened up and, with an extraordinary fragrance, Angels descended singing: “Glory to Christ God!” and they carried the beautiful Youth and, placing him on the paten, they themselves surrounded the Throne. When the time came for the consecration of the Gifts and the performance of the Sacrament, one of the brightest Angels came and, taking a knife, slain the Youth and poured out the Holy Blood into the chalice; then, having laid the Youth on the paten, he himself stood again with the others in reverence. Then, during communion, the blessed one saw that some of those communing had faces as bright as the sun, while others were dark and gloomy, like those of the Ethiopians. The upcoming Angels watched how someone approached, and crowned those receiving communion worthily, but turned away from the unworthy and abhorred them. At the end of this service, he saw the Youth again whole in the hands of angels and ascended to heaven. The monk himself told this to his disciple, who committed it to writing for the benefit of others 34 . IV. One Mohammedan, a resident of Arabia, who was in a Christian church, saw that during the Liturgy the priest had stabbed the Baby, poured his Blood into a cup, and crushed his Body on a platter. Then the Christians present here ate the Body of the Child and drank the Blood. The unfaithful Saracen thought this deed was cruel, so he began to revile the priest greatly. But when the priest humbly explained the mystery to the unbeliever, the Mohammedan, struck by the greatness of this mystery, became a follower of the Gospel and a martyr for Christ 35. You, reader, may ask: why does God hide from us the appearance of the Body and Blood in the mystery of Holy Communion? The God-bearing Fathers of the Church answer this as follows (as we already know from the above legend): “Human nature turns away from eating raw meat and cannot drink blood without disgust. Therefore, in the mystery of communion, God covers the Body with the appearance of bread, and the Blood with the appearance of wine.”36 Suppose, you say, this is true, but is it not possible for us now, for confirmation, to see in the mystery of communion, instead of bread, the Body of the Lord, and instead of wine, the Blood of Christ? Oh, without a doubt it is possible! But we must judge what we want. God allows such a vision mostly for non-believers, but for us, who believe in the undoubted holiness of the mystery of communion, the desire for such a vision is unnecessary and sinful. The rules of the Church command that “if one of the priests celebrating the liturgy was presented with bread in the form of a body, and wine in the form of blood, then such a priest should not partake, but should submit in humility of spirit before the omnipresent God, blame himself for lack of faith and ask the Lord to show him the Sacrament of Communion in the ordinary form in which it is taught to true believing Christians.” 8. Dogmatic and moral conclusions arising from the doctrine of the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ Since in the Sacrament of the Eucharist bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, then: a) After the consecration of bread and wine, what remains is no longer bread and wine, but the very True Body and the True Blood of the Lord under the guise of bread and wine 37 . b) In every fragmented even the slightest particle of consecrated bread and wine there is the Body of Christ whole and indivisible. This faith of the Church is expressed in the rite of the Liturgy, when it is said: “The Lamb of God is fragmented and divided, fragmented and undivided, always eaten, never consumed, but sanctifying those who partake.” c) Although the Sacrament is performed in numerous places in the world, but, as the Eastern patriarchs explain, “there are not many bodies of Christ, but one and the same Christ is truly and truly present, one His Body and one Blood in all the individual Churches of the faithful. The Lord always has one Body, and not many in many places, therefore this Sacrament, according to the general opinion, is the most wonderful, comprehended by faith alone, and not by the speculations of human wisdom" 38 . d) From the time of consecration, the Holy Gifts remain the True Body and True Blood of the Lord, whether believers accept them or not, and therefore the consecrated Gifts, preserved both for the celebration of the Presanctified Liturgy during Pentecost and for the communion of the sick, are the True Body and True Blood of Jesus Christ. e) The Holy Mysteries should be given Divine worship; this worship relates directly to the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ Himself, who is present in them 39 . Let us cite here the remarkable instruction of St., due to its excellent comparisons and irresistible power of persuasiveness. Dmitry of Rostov about the transubstantiation of the Holy Mysteries. 1. “If anyone expresses doubt and unbelief regarding the Divine sacrament - like the bread at the table, it is transformed into the Body, and the wine into the Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and becomes the True Body and Blood in sacred service! Him, then every Orthodox Christian should ask him this way: can God make greater than man and above his understanding? And when he says: maybe, tell him: why can’t He give us his flesh for food? “By the Word of the Lord the heavens were established” (Ps. 33:6): with the same Word of God He changes bread and wine into His Body and Blood.” 2. “And if you are surprised at how the same Christ is both at the table and in heaven, then be amazed at how the same sun, which illuminates and warms us here, at the same time shines in heaven and on earth, in the east and in the west, and in all the countries of the world. So Christ - at the same time both in heaven and on earth - in the Most Pure Mysteries as one Almighty and All-Powerful, and in heaven truly by nature, and on earth by the power of the Divine, performs great and glorious deeds, incomprehensibly and inexpressibly above the human mind.” 3. “And again, if you are surprised at how one Christ is presented equally whole to the faithful in many parts, no less in one part and no greater in another, be amazed at how one and the same voice is in my mouth and in your ears?” 4. “And if you are surprised how the body is not crushed in the fragmentation of the Mysteries, when the Lamb is fragmented, and how in every part there is a whole and perfect Christ, marvel at this, how it is that when the mirror is fragmented into small parts, then the human image in it is not fragmented, but in every part appears whole, as in a complete mirror.” 5. “If you are amazed at how Christ, often consumed, is not diminished, but remains intact forever, be amazed at how, having lit other candles with one candle, you do not thereby diminish the brightness of the first candle.” 6. “And if you ask how Christ, having entered into the interior of our nature, is not defiled and is not contained, then I will also ask: the sun, passing over unclean places, is it defiled through this or not? I know that the wise and faithful will not dare to say: yes! Much less is Christ, the Light of all purity, desecrated, and He who is, whom neither hell, nor tomb seals, nor the doors at the entrance to the disciples, closed and firmly enclosed, could not contain.” 7. “And if you are surprised how in such a small part of the Mysteries the whole Christ is complete and complete, then marvel at this, how such great cities are contained and embraced by such a small grain of your pupil. But having learned this, do not experience the untestable Mystery, but with undoubted faith and heartfelt love give thanks to the Terrible, Strong and Almighty King and God Almighty, both in deeds and in mind, for His inscrutable gifts.” 8. “And again in the discussion of the Body of the Lord - rightly believe with the Church about the terrible Mysteries. Although you see visible bread and wine with your bodily eyes, believe firmly, without a doubt, that their essence, by the influx and action of the Holy Spirit and the power of the almighty Word of God, is changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, so that nothing else remains here, but only the very True Body and Blood of the Lord under the forms of wheat, leavened, newly baked soft bread and wine pressed from grapes. bunches, i.e. berries" 40 . 9. Examples from the lives of saints, proving the idea that communion of the Holy Mysteries according to the rite of the Orthodox Church is necessary and saving, contrary to the assertion of some zealots of ancient piety The Sacrament of Holy Communion is one of the most important means in the matter of salvation. “Through him,” as St. Chrysostom - we become one Body with Christ; we unite with Him, like the body with the head; His blood is the deliverance of our souls: with the same the soul is washed, with it it is adorned, with it it is inflamed” 41. “This sacrament is called communion,” says St. John of Damascus - because through it we become partakers of the Divinity of Jesus; through him we communicate with Christ” 42. “Like ordinary bread, which we eat daily, there is the life of the body,” says St. Cyprian of Carthage, - so this supernatural is the life of the soul.” “This meal is the strength of our salvation, the strength of mind, the basis of hope, the hope of salvation, light, life!” - exclaims St. John Chrysostom 43. This is what, in fact, our deep confidence in the high significance of St. is based on. Eucharist. But at the same time, our thoughts with heart disease turn to those numerous Christians who, calling themselves zealots of the ancient Traditions, are deprived of the mysterious pleasure in the Divine meal. How can one not grieve for such things?! How not to regret their extremely dangerous self-delusion: for they imagine being saved, moving away from the source of salvation. Poor! They forget that only “the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Consequently, without tasting the Body and His Blood, they do not partake of His suffering on the cross and His death, which cleanses us from our sins. “Amen, amen, I say to you,” says the Lord, “if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man, you do not drink His blood, you do not have life in you” (John 6:53). What do the zealots of ancient piety cite in their justification? Not daring to deny the high significance of the Sacrament of Holy Communion, the so-called Old Believers usually reassure themselves with the fact that many saints were saved without partaking of the Holy Mysteries. Such, they say, are Paul of Thebes, Mary of Egypt, Theoktista and others 44. But, firstly, it would be too impudent on our part to equate ourselves with the great ascetics of piety; secondly, it is unfair to claim that the named saints did not partake of the Holy Mysteries throughout their lives. Although their lives do not directly mention their communion, this silence in no way gives the right to conclude that they really did not receive communion. Ancient narrators about the lives of saints had in mind to arouse in readers jealousy for especially high feats. What was ordinary in the lives of the saints, fulfilled by all Orthodox, obviously there was no need to talk about. Here, with pious attention, let us dwell on some examples from the lives of the saints, in order to clearly see how the great saints of God, despite the fact that their deeds were truly lofty, were always zealous for the communion of the Holy Mysteries. Let us talk, first of all, about those saints whom the so-called Old Believers place in the category of those who allegedly never received the Holy Order. Eucharist. This is what the biography tells us about the Monk Theoktista. 1. One hunter went with his fellow craftsmen to the deserted island of Paros, in the Aegean Sea, to catch animals. On the way he fell behind them. And so, wandering through the desert, he accidentally came across a church in the Name of the Most Holy Theotokos, which had fallen into disrepair over time, and entering it, he devoted himself to fervent prayer. While praying, he noticed a small hole on the ground, in which, in addition to water, there were also grains of one plant, the so-called sunflower (iliotropion). Assuming from these signs that one of the saints lived in the dilapidated church, he left, firmly deciding to visit here again on his way back. A few days later, when they had already caught enough game of all kinds, the hunters gathered home, and they were from the seaside mountain of Euboea. The aforementioned hunter also went with them, but on the way he again fell behind them and still entered the church to pray to the Most Holy Theotokos; At the same time, he hoped to see the saint who lived in this church and ate sunflower seeds soaked in water. But during prayer he saw St. on the right side. the meal was like a kind of blade of grass, shaken by the wind, which was hidden from prying eyes by a dense network of cobwebs. Wondering what it was, the hunter approached and was about to break the web, but suddenly he heard a weak voice: “Stop and don’t come close, for I am a woman and without clothes!” Struck by the vision, the hunter did not know what to do. Finally, gathering his courage, he decided to ask: “Who are you and how do you live in this desert?” And again I heard a voice from the nets: “I beg you, throw me clothes and cover my nakedness, and then whatever the Lord commands me, I will tell you.” The hunter, having taken off his outer clothing, laid it on the floor, and he himself left the church and, after waiting a little while the woman dressed in his clothes, he entered again and saw her in the very place where she had been before. It was Rev. Theoktista. The hunter's surprise now knew no bounds. Falling with tears at the feet of the saint, he asked her to pray for him and bless him. She, after a short prayer, turned to him with the following words: “May God have mercy on you, child. But tell me, what made you come here?” Then, saying that, probably, for the sake of her unworthy, the Lord inspired him to visit her, the monk confessed to the hunter her whole past life and in conclusion added: “But I ask you one thing: if next year you come here to hunt, and I know that you will certainly come - God so pleases, take with you in a clean vessel a part of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ and bring them to me; for since I settled in this desert, I have never had the opportunity to partake of this Gift. Now go in peace to your comrades and don’t tell anyone about me.” The hunter, having promised to fulfill the saint’s wishes exactly, hurried to his comrades and went with them to their homeland. A year has passed since the meeting just described. Hunters again gathered on the deserted island of Paros to catch animals. The aforementioned pious trapper also joined them. But, getting ready to set off, he asked the presbyter for part of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ and, putting it in a small reliquary, took it with him. When the hunting ship landed on the shore, the hunter in question first of all went to the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where St. Theoktista. Seeing the blessed one, he fell to the ground and bowed to her. But she, approaching him, said with tears: “Don’t do this, for you bear Divine Gifts.” And then, taking the hunter by the hem of his clothing, she lifted him from the ground. He handed her the reliquary with the Divine Mysteries, and she, having first bowed to the ground, accepted it and, having partaken of the Life-giving Body of Christ, said with tenderness: “Now do you let go of your servant, Master, as my eyes have seen your salvation (Luke 2:29-30) and as the remission of sins in your hands, now I will go where Your goodness commands.” Having said this, she gave praise and thanks to God, who had vouchsafed her to partake of the Holy Mysteries, and, blessing the hunter, released him in peace. But what happened next? When a few days later the hunter again came to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, St. Theoktista was no longer alive: she was numbered among the celestials. Thus, the communion of the Holy Mysteries was the communion of a dying person, a parting word for the outcome of the soul. Having quickly dug up the grave, the hunter placed the relics of the saint in it, and he hurried to his comrades 45 . What is instructive for us in this story, first of all, is that Rev. Theoktista, despite her great exploits, did not consider the communion of the Holy Mysteries unnecessary; on the contrary, she, as we see, begs the trapper to bring her a part of the Body of Christ, placing herself in great deprivation that for a long time she did not have the opportunity to partake of this Gift. The need for communion with the Holy Mysteries for the saint increased especially because, as can be concluded from the narrative just proposed, the end of her life was already approaching. But what about Providence? Does it remain indifferent in this matter? Oh, far from it! Providence sends just such a person who could be a worthy bearer of the Most Holy Mystery. It is not for nothing that the biography writer notes that the trapper was a pious man. Thus, God Himself makes sure that people, at least in the last minutes of life, are not left without guidance from the Life-giving Mysteries of Christ. How guilty then are those who willfully avoid the Divine Table, boldly declaring that good deeds alone are enough for salvation?... Let us not, reader, be like that! Let us incline our ears to the words of our mother the Church, who daily through the mouth of her servants invites us to partake of the Immortal Source. And now let us turn to other stories that show how great ascetics of piety were always zealous for the communion of the Holy Mysteries. Let's talk about Mary of Egypt, who with her great exploits won for herself an unfading crown of glory. 2. A year before her death, Elder Zosima came to the desert where the Venerable Mary of Egypt lived. Having met the great ascetic of piety, he fell at her feet, asking in the name of Christ, for whose sake she devoted herself to the hermit’s feat, to tell him her life. The venerable woman, fulfilling the elder’s wishes, told him everything down to the smallest secret. Finally, in conclusion, saying goodbye to the elder, she asked him to come next year, if it pleases God, on Holy Thursday with the Life-giving Mysteries, and to grant her to be a partaker of them as a guarantee of eternal life, and conjured him not to cross the Jordan, but to wait for her near the village. “I will come,” said the righteous woman, “and partake of the Holy Mysteries, for I have not partaken since I was partake in the Church of John the Baptist before I entered into the feat of living in the desert. Do not deny my request, St. Father, come to grant me the Great Mystery at that hour when our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, before His death on the cross, made His disciples partakers of the Divine and Last Supper.” Having said this, the monk said goodbye to the elder and retired into the desert. A year has passed, the Great Pentecost, days of fasting and prayer have arrived. Elder Zosima remembered the saint’s request and, it seemed, could not wait for Holy Week, so great was his desire to see the saint. Finally, the week of the Passion of Christ arrived, and on Thursday, after the Liturgy, the elder, taking the Gifts, left the monastery. Having reached the river, he sat down on its bank and waited for the arrival of the saint. Already the old man, tormented by spiritual anguish, thought that due to his unworthiness she did not want to come to him, or she was already here and, not finding him, left; one thought more sadly worried the elder than the other. Suddenly he saw the monk walking towards him across the waters. The elder, frightened by this vision, wanted to bow to her, but she said: “St. Father, what are you doing? You are a presbyter with the Divine Mysteries.” Approaching him, she demanded a blessing, and at the request of the saint, he blessed her and read the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. At the end of her prayers, she accepted the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ and, raising her hands to heaven, exclaimed with tears of joy, as Simeon once did in the Temple of Jerusalem with the Divine Child in his arms: “Now you let your servant go, O Master, according to your word in peace” (Luke 2:29). Having said goodbye to the elder, she asked him to come to the place where they had a meeting and conversation for the first time. “And there,” said the monk, “you will see me, if it pleases my Creator.” Another year passed, and the elder again went to the place of their first meeting, but did not find the saint alive. Approaching her body, he washed her feet with tears, then began to read funeral prayers, and suddenly the thought of whether the saint wanted the burial confused him, and he was perplexed. Suddenly he saw the words inscribed on the ground: “Zosima, in this place bury the body of the unworthy Mary and, having buried the body, pray for her, who reposed on the first day of April, on the very night on which she was honored to receive from you the saving Gifts of the Body and Blood of Christ.” Aren’t they marvelous, aren’t they wonderful the deeds of the Almighty, who cares for us, His unworthy servants! The all-generous Lord vouchsafed the saint to die on the day on which she, having partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, became a partaker of eternal life... Having glorified God and His great blessings shown to those who do His will, Elder Zosima buried the body of the saint and, returning to the monastery where he had stayed, told there about everything that the Lord had brought him to see 46 . 3. The holy martyrs, imprisoned for confessing the Orthodox faith, tried with all their might to be worthy of Holy Communion, so as to most sincerely unite with the Lord in these Divine sacraments and enter into the afterlife with a guarantee of eternal blessings (John 6:53–58). “The Venerable Martyr Lucian the Presbyter, after many different torments, was bound, thrown into prison and here he lay on sharp stones for 40 days... The Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord came; St. Lucian strongly desired to partake of the Holy Mysteries, as did the Christians who were with him in prison. He began to fervently pray to the Lord about this, and the Lord heard His prayer. Some of the Christians, secretly from the guards, brought bread and wine to the martyrs in prison. Presbyter Lucian said to those prisoners with him: “Stand near me and be the Church.” When the Christian prisoners stood around St. Lucian, he told them: “Let us perform the Liturgy and partake of the Divine Mysteries.” “Where, father, shall we put the bread?” - his disciples asked him - “there is no table” (throne) here. He, tied up, lying face up on sharp stones, answered: “Put it on my forehead - and there will be a living Throne to the Living God.” So, in prison, on the martyr’s forehead, the Divine Liturgy was performed with all the prayers that belonged to it, ceremoniously and reverently, and everyone was partakers of the Holy Mysteries” 47 . Thus, examples from the lives of saints show that the saints, retiring into the desert for the sake of deeds of piety, were not at all as indifferent to the need for communion as the alleged Old Believers want to imagine. And despite their great exploits, they did not think that they could replace it with their faith and good deeds. Despite all the difficulties, the hermits did not deprive themselves of the Divine meal; on the contrary, they found in it true pleasure and strengthening for spiritual exploits. With no less zeal they sought communion of the Holy Mysteries and St. martyrs. They looked at it as a necessary accessory for a Christian. “How can a Christian exist without the Liturgy?” - says the holy martyr Felix; therefore, they carried spare Gifts with them and received communion with them before suffering and death. “At the beginning of the third century,” says Baronius, “in the dwelling of St. m. Dominica, the hegemon found a clay censer, and a candle, and a reliquary, in it was St. Victim" 48. Prisoners in prison, they received Holy Communion through the faithful, who were sometimes exposed to the greatest dangers from the pagans, and if it was impossible to receive the Holy Gifts, the prisoners - if there were priests among them - sometimes performed the Liturgy themselves and received communion 49 . 10. The happiness of coming to Christ and worthy of communion of the Holy Body must be earned. Here is the most recent and completely reliable story about how a person who had rejected for a long time and suddenly sought Christ at the hour of death was rejected by Christ, or at least was not awarded communion with Christ. One evening, in one of the capitals, they invite the most educated and high-ranking pastor to the house to give communion to the sick. Upon arrival at the house, when the shepherd asked where the sick man was, the owner who met him, apparently completely healthy, answered: “It’s me!” The spiritual father was surprised and with a gentle admonition said that he should not call a priest to the house with Communion, but go to church himself, talk, confess and then receive communion, since, apparently, he is not that sick. The patient, about fifty years old, says respectfully: “You are right, but I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It seems to me that I need to hurry, I shouldn’t delay.” The surprised confessor began confession. But while reading prayers, before confession, the confessor, who was standing on his feet, interrupts the spiritual father: “Oh, can’t we hurry up, I’m afraid to be late.” At confession, the confessor learns that he has not fasted for more than 30 years, and has not gone to church, even laughed and mocked the Communion and the communicants. Tears streamed down the pale face of the penitent. “I haven’t cried for a long time,” came from the confessor’s lips. The excited confessor, having read the prayer of permission, began to receive the Holy Gifts. The participant asks permission to sit down, feeling tired. The confessor began to read the prayer: “I believe, Lord, and I confess...” The patient quietly repeats. Hearing that the patient’s voice is weakening, the confessor speeds up the reading of the prayer involuntarily, unconsciously and approaches the patient with the Holy Gifts. While the confessor was taking these four or five steps, he heard a light sigh and approached... And he was already dead. He lived to see the prayer of permission, to repentance, but did not live to receive Communion, which he had mocked for so long. 11. The fruits of communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. According to the teaching of the Church, the Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ grants to those who receive them worthily the confirmation (i.e. strengthening) of the joints with bones, together with the healing of various ailments; health, strength, preservation, salvation and sanctification of soul and body; alienation, i.e., driving away sorrows; joy and fun; remission of sins; mortification of passions; enlightenment and purification of the defiled soul; preservation from every deed and word that is stifled; keeping away from every devilish act; wall and help and objection (removal) of the resistant, i.e. evil spirits; driving away all dreams and evil deeds and actions of the devil mentally in the world; consumption and complete destruction of evil thoughts and enterprises and night dreams, dark and crafty spirits; correction of life and affirmation in the holiness of life; keeping the commandments; increase in virtue and excellence; enlightenment of the senses; the world of spiritual forces; faith is not shameful; fulfillment of wisdom, enlightenment of the heart; boldness and love for God; communication (alms) of the Holy Spirit; increase in Divine grace; the indwelling of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit into our souls; belly affirmation; the betrothal of the future life and kingdom, the path to the eternal life; the eternal and immortal belly, a favorable answer at the terrible judgment seat of Christ; communication of heavenly blessings 51 . 12. Miracles that took place during the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ 1. In the biography of St. Basil the Great writes: “A certain godly presbyter, named Anastasius, when he was performing the Divine service, during the consecration of the Terrible Mysteries, the Most Holy Spirit descended in the form of fire and surrounded Anastasius; More than one saint saw this. Vasily, but also others who were worthy of this vision” 52. 2. The historian Sozomen narrates: “When St. Chrysostom performed the liturgy and distributed the Holy Mysteries to the believers; a certain woman, infected with the Macedonian heresy, began to do this. And as soon as she accepted Divine Communion with unbelief, instantly a part (of the Body of Christ) turned into stone in her mouth. The woman, horrified by this wonderful miracle, told what happened to her in front of all the people, showing the stone itself, and from unbelief she turned to orthodoxy” 53. 3. During Mina, Patriarch of Constantinople, one of the Jewish youths joined the Christian youths and received Holy Communion with them, but, returning to the house, he told his father everything that had happened. His father was inflamed with anger and immediately grabbed his son and threw him into the furnace in which glass was melted (for his father was a master of glass casting). The mother, not knowing anything about what happened to her son, searched for him for a long time and could not find him. On the third day, crying and sobbing, she came to her husband, a glassmaker, and suddenly from the middle of the red-hot furnace she heard the voice of her son. Frightened and delighted at the same time, the mother hastily approached the smelting furnace and saw her son among the burning coals. Taking it out of the fire, she asked how it didn’t burn in the oven. He answered: some wife in light clothes often came to him, giving him water to extinguish the burning coal; and when he wanted to eat, she gave him food. This miraculous incident spread throughout the city. Emperor Justin himself (who at that time reigned in the Greek Empire) found out about this and ordered his son and mother to be baptized, and ordered his father, who did not want to be baptized, to be thrown into a hot furnace. This miracle was known to the whole world. The following church historians write about him: Evagrius in the book. Chapter 4 XXIV; Eusebius in the book. 4th 1 Ch. XXXVI; Nikifor in the book. Chapter 17 XXV. 4. Connected with sincere repentance for sins and unashamed faith in the Savior, communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ delivers us from eternal death here on earth, reconciling the sinner with the offended justice of God. One Palestinian leader named Givimer, having taken office, wanted first of all to venerate the Holy Sepulcher. Approaching the church, he saw a ram coming at him and trying to hit him with its horns. The commander was frightened by the vision and wanted to go back, but the guardian of the Holy Cross named Azarius, who was standing here, noticing his indecision, asked him: “Why don’t you go, sir?” He replied: “Why did you let this terrible ram come here?” Azarius calmed him down and said: “Go, there is nothing here.” But when the military leader wanted to go to church, the same vision presented itself to him again, while others did not notice anything and entered freely. Then the guardian of the Holy Cross said to Givimer: “Sir, you have something in your soul for which you are not allowed to bow to the Holy Cross.” The tomb of our Savior? Bring repentance to the Lord: He is philanthropic and abundant in mercy.” The boss answered with tears: “Exactly, I am guilty before God of many and important sins.” With these words, falling to the ground, he cried for a long time and confessed his sins to the Lord. Then, when he got up, he wanted to enter the church again, but the terrible ram blocked his entrance again. Then the keeper of the Holy Cross said to him: “Apparently, there is some other obstacle.” The boss answered thoughtfully: “Is it because I’m not Orthodox.” And after that he joined the Orthodox Church, and then, when the keeper of the Holy Cross introduced him to the Holy Mysteries, the chief freely entered the cave of the Holy Sepulcher, and the previous vision disappeared before him 54 . 5. It happened that from the communion of the Holy Mysteries, sick people recovered, whom no medicine could improve. Gregory the Theologian says that his sister, being sick and not receiving any benefit from the medicine, received the Holy Mysteries with special faith and became healthy. 6. Whoever partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ, evil spirits cannot cause any harm to him. One of the church books mentions that one saint asked evil spirits what they fear most about Christians. “What you eat, that is, Holy Communion. Oh, if Christians honestly observed what they eat in the sacrament, they would be impregnable to our wiles.” This is the power of the Holy Mysteries! 55. 13. Encouragements for frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries. A Christian is obligated to frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries by the command of Jesus Christ Himself to celebrate the Eucharist in His remembrance, which in a truly grateful heart should be renewed as often as possible, this is encouraged by the example of leading Christians (Acts 2:42) and the instructions of St. Fathers of the Church. St. Basil the Great writes: “It is good and beneficial to commune and receive the Holy Body and Blood every day. Christ clearly says: “Eat My Flesh and drink My Blood, you will have eternal life” (John 6:54)... For who doubts that to continually be a partaker of life is nothing other than to live diversified? However, we receive communion four times every week: on the Lord’s Day, on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and also on other days, if there is a commemoration of a saint.”56 14. Enlightenment of those who voluntarily avoid Holy Communion. Let those who willfully withdraw from Holy Communion be horrified, because through this very thing they serve the enemy of our salvation, the devil. “Mnozi,” says St. John Chrysostom, - I see that they do not often take communion: this is the work of the devil. He is disgusted that the Body of Christ is not often received. And behold, even if he does not receive communion often, he will give the devil much power over himself, and the devil will take control of him and lead him to all evil.” The “Helmsman’s Book” tells that when one ascetic asked the evil spirits what they feared most, the evil spirits answered him: “What you eat, that is, the sacrament. If Christians honestly observed what they eat in the sacrament, then they would be impregnable to our intrigues" 57 . Remember this, Christian, and approach the Divine meal as often as possible, realizing your unworthiness, and place your trust in God’s mercy. “God is not your enemy, but a doctor; He wants to heal you, not to destroy you, teaches St. Dimitry Rostovsky. - Why then do His Divine cups run away? It is better for you to accept spiritual medicine and be healed, rather than run away from the medicine into great illnesses of sinful power and perish” 58. 15. Examples of God’s punishment for unworthy communion of the Holy Mysteries or blasphemous treatment of them “He who eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment unto himself, without discerning the Body of the Lord” (1 Cor. 11:29). 1. St. ap. Paul narrates that in the Corinthian Church many of the unworthy communicants were subjected to serious illnesses and death itself for their guilt (1 Cor. 11:30). 2. In the Church of Carthage, according to the testimony of St. Cyprian, one unworthy communicant suddenly became mute after communion, and another’s tongue was torn in two (from the book about the fallen). 3. During the time of St. Chrysostom, according to him, unworthy communicants were sometimes, apparently, subjected to torment from evil spirits 59. 4. St. Cyprian says that when one woman, who had fallen from the faith for fear of torment, during persecution, wanted, as was her custom, to open the ark in which the Gifts were kept in order to partake of them, then fire came out of the ark, so that the apostate did not even dare to touch them (from the book about the fallen). 5. It is told about another unworthy communicant that when he secretly approached the Holy Chalice with others and was about to taste the Body of the Lord, ashes appeared in his hands (from the same place). 6. When the venerable martyr Evdokia was captured by the soldiers and brought to trial, then, taking off her clothes, the soldiers noticed that a particle of the Most Pure and Life-Giving Body of Christ had fallen to the ground, which the martyr Evdokia took with her when leaving her monastery. The servants, having picked up the fallen part of the Divine Body of Christ and not knowing what it was, brought it to the ruler. As soon as he extended his hand and wanted to take the shrine brought to him, immediately a particle of the Body of Christ turned into fire, and a great flame was formed from it, which burned the hegemon’s servants, and his left shoulder was damaged by the flame 60 . “Although eat, O man, the Master’s Body, approach with fear, lest you become singed: for there is fire” (Prayer before communion). 7. Rev. Euthymius the Great († 473) had the gift of recognizing by a person’s outward appearance the inner movements of his spirit and thoughts - good and evil, and when the brothers partook of the Divine Mysteries, he knew who was communing with which soul, some who were approaching worthily, he saw enlightened from communion, and others, because they dared to approach unworthily, darkened and their faces seemed to be dead. Therefore, he did not cease to instruct everyone with the words of the Apostle: “Watch yourselves, brothers, it is dangerous when you want to partake, “let each of you tempt himself and thus eat from the bread and from the cup and drink: for he who eats and drinks unworthily, judges himself to eat and drink” (1 Cor. 11: 28-29), for this holy thing is prepared for the saints, and not for the profane, and when you have clear conscience, “come to him and be enlightened, and your faces will not be ashamed” (Ps. 33:6)” 61. 16. Examples of the healing power of the Holy Mysteries of Christ 1. Mother of St. Gregory of Nazianzus, being in serious illness, as soon as she received Divine Communion from the hands of her son, she was immediately healed 62. 2. To the Venerable Martyr Epictetus, a presbyter, one noble nobleman brought his daughter, a fifteen-year-old girl who had been in paralysis for three years, and asked him to heal the sick woman. St. Epictetus prayed to God, anointed the relaxed young woman with consecrated oil, and she immediately stood up healthy. At this, the monk said to the dignitary: “If you want there to be no illness in your home, then every Sunday, partake of the Divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ with a pure heart at your home.”63 3. Through the Holy Mysteries, the Lord gives speech to the dumb. St. Andrew, Archbishop of Crete, was mute in infancy until he was seven years old, but after receiving the Holy Mysteries with his parents, he began to speak: such is the power in the Holy Mysteries 64 . 4. Through the Holy Mysteries, the Lord gave sight to the blind. St. John the Faster, Archbishop of Constantinograd, placed a part of the Body of Christ on the eyes of one blind man and said: “He who healed a blind man from birth, let him also heal you,” and he received his sight. Such is the wonderful power of the Holy Mysteries of Christ! 65. 5. One of the most famous writers in Russian society suffered from a serious illness. “The doctor came,” he writes, “quite early, felt the pulse, looked at the tongue and didn’t say a word. I asked him why the red spots that first appeared all over my skin turned purple, and then turned black. “Yes, your tongue has already turned completely black,” he answered.” It seems that this sentence would be enough; On his way out, he stopped at the door and said out loud to my servant and to one of the engineering officers what had happened here: “Don’t torture him in vain, don’t give him any more medicine; I don’t think he’ll live even a day.” A prayer service was served for the health of the patient. Then he was awarded Holy Communion on the day of the erection of the Cross. “After this was accomplished, strength suddenly began to come to me so quickly without the help of medications, even supportive medications, which I had not wanted to hear about for a long time, that my brother, no longer finding his presence necessary for me, two days later, on the 16th (September), set off...” “A miracle happened over me, like a miracle!.. When I hung over the grave and did not fall into it, it was the same will without which a hair would not fall from a human head. How many have managed to be separated by one narrow line from eternity and turn sharply back from it?.. I can say that I have tasted death...” 66. 17. How to begin receiving the Holy Mysteries (From the works of St. John Chrysostom) “It’s time to begin the Terrible Meal. Let us all approach with proper wisdom and attention, and let no one be Judas, let no one be evil, let no one hide poison in himself, carrying one thing on his lips and another in his mind. Christ is coming; Whoever established that meal is the same who now arranges this one. For it is not man who transforms what is offered into the Body and Blood of Christ, but Christ Himself, crucified for us. The priest stands wearing His image and pronounces the words; but the power and grace of God acts: “This is My Body” (Matthew 26:26), He said. So, let no one be treacherous, let no one harbor malice, let no one have poison in his soul, so as not to partake of condemnation. And then, after accepting what was offered, the devil entered into Judas, despising not the Body of the Lord, but despising Judas for his shamelessness, so that you would know that those who unworthily partake of the Divine Mysteries are especially attacked and often possessed by the devil, just as he was then in Judas. For honors benefit those who are worthy, but those who use them unworthily are subject to greater punishment. I say this not to frighten, but to warn... If you have anything against the enemy, then leave your anger; heal the wound, stop the hostility, so that you can benefit from this meal, for you are about to begin the Terrible and Holy Sacrifice. Be ashamed of Him who is offered: the slain Christ is presented. Why was He slain and for what? In order to pacify the heavenly and earthly, in order to make you a friend of the Angels, in order to reconcile you with the God of all, in order to make you a friend from an enemy and adversary. He gave His life for those who hated Him, and you remain at enmity against a servant like you? How can you begin to eat the Meal of Peace? He didn’t even refuse to die for you, and you don’t want to reserve your anger at a slave like you? How can this be worthy of forgiveness? He offended me, you say, and took a lot from me. What then? The damage is only in money; he has not yet wounded you as much as Judas did Christ; however, Christ gave His very Blood, which was shed, for the salvation of those who shed it. What can you say like this? If you do not forgive the enemy, then you do not harm him, but yourself; You can often harm him in this life, and you make yourself unrequited in the future. For God turns away nothing more than a vindictive person, an arrogant heart and an irritable soul. Listen to what he says: “If you bring your gift to the altar, remember it.” Stand before the altar, “because your brother has something for you, leave your gift before the altar, and go first to humble yourself with your brother, and then come and bring your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24). What are you saying: will I forgive? Yes, he says; This sacrifice was also made for peace with your brother. Therefore, if this sacrifice was made for peace between you and your brother, and you do not make peace, then you are participating in this sacrifice in vain, this matter becomes useless for you. Do in advance what this sacrifice was made for; then you will receive communion with benefit. For this reason the Son of God descended to reconcile our race with the Lord; and not only for this purpose did He come, but also in order to make us who do this partakers of His Name. “Blessed,” He says, “are peacemakers, for these will be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). What the Only Begotten Son of God did, do the same according to your human strength, becoming the author of peace both for yourself and for others. Therefore, He calls you, the peacemaker, the son of God; therefore, during the establishment of this sacrifice, He did not mention any other commandment, except for reconciliation with one’s brother, expressing what is most important... So, knowing this, let us cease all anger and, having cleared our conscience, with all humility and meekness let us approach the table of Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, is all glory, honor, power, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen." 67. 18. Teaching on Communion of the Holy Mysteries (Innocent of Kherson) Where did the apostles go because of the Last Supper? They went with their Teacher and their Lord to Gethsemane, there to watch and pray, suffer and hope. Where did Judas go? He went alone to the enemies of Jesus, for the servants, to take and betray to them his Teacher and Lord. From the same Divine meal - what two different fruits!... From the same place - what two opposite paths!.. Where did the path of the apostles lead? First to the upper room of Gethsemane, and then to heaven... And the way of Judah? He first led him to the palace of Caiaphas, then he led the unfortunate man for a moment to the church, but then he soon led him to the destructive tree, and from there to hell!.. So different was the fate of the first communicants of the Body and Blood of Christ! Why such a terrible difference? From good and bad will. Good will brought the apostles to heaven, evil will brought Judas down to hell. And Peter fell, but rose up; the same would have happened to Judas if he had repented and created fruits worthy of repentance. Is anyone now following the path of the apostles? He goes who, having partaken of the Body and Blood of Christ, considers himself through this to be inextricably and forever united with Christ, and therefore follows Him wherever He leads, to Tabor or to Gethsemane; who, belonging to his Savior with his whole being, tries to be like Him in everything: to think as He thought, to speak as He spoke, to try to live and die as He lived and ended his earthly life! Doesn't anyone still follow the path of Judas? There comes one who accepts the Body and Blood of the Lord in the Eucharist, accepts them without proper faith (like simple bread and wine) and therefore considers himself to owe nothing to his Savior; who in the church shows some respect for the shrine and, when they talk about sins and betrayal of the law, is ready, like Judas, to ask: “Isn’t it me, Lord?” (Matthew 26:25), and behind the church he clearly worships the world and its idols; shamelessly sells faith and law, shame and conscience. This is now the way of the apostles and the way of Judas. There are both paths before you: and you must choose one. “Whatever is not with Me is on Me” (Matthew 12:30), said the Lord Himself. So who are you with? with whom, not here and now, in the church; and where temptation will meet you: where, perhaps, it will be necessary to accept honor and unrighteous riches or go to the cross for righteousness?... But you have already chosen what you should: each of you said: “I will not give you the kiss of Judas!” Look, don’t give this hellish kiss. Otherwise, it will have no time to burn your lips and hearts with hellish fire. Each of you promised to confess the Lord, like the prudent thief: look, confess! There will be no shortage of cases for this, for the world is still the same as it was before: it lies all in evil and attracts everyone to evil. Stand courageously against this evil both in yourself and in others. Don't go back to the way things were. The prudent thief, if he had been able to come down from the cross alive, would, without a doubt, devote the rest of his life to the Lord and would have become the most zealous of His disciples. Let us also devote the rest of our lives to Him, the All-Good One, so that at the hour of death we hear from Him: “Today you will be with Me in paradise!” (Luke 23:43). Amen. (from the sermon of Innocent of Kherson). Comp. Based on the “Experience of a Biblical Dictionary of Proper Names” by Rev. P. Solyarsky, vol. IV, p. 701–703 and “The Experience of Orthodox Dogmatic Theology” by Bishop Sylvester, vol. IV, p. 419–423. Blagov. on John, count. 23, 104 and on rev. l. 34 on vol., see also l. 297 and on rev. (“Book of Faith”, l. 50 on page 51) (“Book of Faith”, l. 248 vol.; sn. Chrysostom l. 96) Sermon II on monastic life, p. 494–495, Kazan, 1857 Moral 46 on the Gospel of John "Blagovest." From John. zach. 24 Ivanovsky. Sn. book “Guide to exposing the Russian schism” by K. Plotnikov, 2nd ed., p. 291–298. Gelas. Cyzicen. Comment. in Acta Concil. Nic. With. XXXI, Diatyp. 5. Concil. Ephes. r. II, Act. 1 (p. 121 ap. Binim). (Sn. Cyril of Alexandria, Orr. T. V, r. 11, r. 72, Lutet. 1638. Concil. Nic. II, Act. VI, Lect. Epiphan. Diac. (Sn. “Orthodox-Dogmatic Theology” by Macarius, 1852, vol. IV, pp. 199–201). Apolog. 1, n. 61, in “Chron. Thu.”, 1825, XVII, 99. “Pouch. secrecy", 1, item 7, p. 440 according to Russian translation. (“Instruction on the mysteries.”, IV, paragraph 1, 2, 3–6, pp. 434–456) (“An exact exposition of the Orthodox faith”, book IV, chapter 13, pp. 250, 251, 252, 255). (“An exact exposition of the Orthodox faith,” book IV, chapter XIII, p. 252). (“Message of the Eastern Patriarchs”, part 17). on Matt. conversation LХХХП, paragraphs 4 and 5, in volume III, p. 421. (“Messages of the Eastern Patriarchs”, part 17). Chrysostom in conversation 2, on 2 epistle to Timothy. n. Op. “Historical. dogma and sacraments, explanation of the Liturgy" Iv. Dmitrevsky, ed. 1884, p. 238. (“Venerable Tale of the Sublime Saint and Blessed Father,” pp. 57, 65). Prologue, December 25; "Teaching on the Most Pure Mysteries." (“Epistle on the Orthodox Faith”, ch. 17). (“Orthodox Confession”, part 1, answer 56, 107). (“Creations of St. Dim.”, part V, p. 115). (“Commentary on the Gospel of John”, moral. 46). (“Exposition of the Orthodox Faith,” Chapter XIII). Baronius, Chronicle, 293, l. 180. This information was gleaned from op. prof. N. I. Ivanovsky “On the Sacrament of Holy Communion according to the teachings of the Old Believers without priestly consent,” M., 1875. extracted from the book. “Conversations and Teachings” of Nikanor, Archbishop of Kherson and Odessa, vol. IV, p. 195–196. see “Following to and after Communion.” Chetyi-Minea, January 1, Life of St. Basil the Great. Histor. Sozom., book. 8, ch. 5. (“The Spiritual Meadow” by I. Mosch, Chapter XLVIII). (“The Helmstress, Part II, Ch. 68”). from the works of St. Basil the Great, part 6, p. 219. (“The Helmsman’s Book,” ch. 68). Creations of St. Demetrius of Rostov, part 2, ed. 1818 Word for 5 weeks. St. Pentecost. (“First week of Lent”, Kiev, p. 259). see in the word of St. Gregory for the burial of his father. (“Russian Archive”, 1892, November. Notes of Philip Philipovich Vigel, pp. 192–195). Extract in abbreviated form from the 1st conversation about the betrayal of Judas, p. 91–95. You might be interested in: