О том, что православным христианам необходимо часто причащаться Божественного Тела и Крови нашего Господа

All Orthodox Christians are commanded to receive communion frequently, firstly, by the Sovereign Commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, secondly, by the Acts and Rules of the Holy Apostles and Holy Councils, as well as by the testimonies of the Divine Fathers, thirdly, by the very words, rite and sacramental rites of the Holy Liturgy, and fourthly, finally, by Holy Communion itself. 1. Our Lord Jesus Christ, before administering the Sacrament of Communion, said: “The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). That is, the food that I want to give you is My Flesh, which I want to give for the revitalization of the whole world. This means that Divine Communion for believers is a necessary component of spiritual and Christ-centered life. But since this spiritual life according to Christ should not be quenched and interrupted (as the Apostle says, do not quench the spirit (1 Thess. 5:19)), but must be constant and continuous, so that the living do not live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again (according to the same Apostle 1), that is, so that the living faithful no longer live a life of their own and carnal, but the life of Christ, who died and rose again for them, - It is therefore necessary that what constitutes it, that is, Divine Communion, be constant. And in another place the Lord says commandingly: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you” (John 6:53). From these words it becomes clear that Divine Communion is as necessary for Christians as holy Baptism is. For the same double command which He spoke concerning Baptism, He spoke also concerning Divine Communion. About holy Baptism He said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). And about Divine Communion in the same way: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). So, just as it is impossible for anyone to live a spiritual life and be saved without Baptism, so it is impossible for anyone to live without Divine Communion. However, since these two [Sacraments] have the difference that Baptism occurs once, and Divine Communion is performed constantly and daily, it is concluded that in Divine Communion there are two necessary things: firstly, it must be performed, and secondly, it must be performed constantly. Moreover, when the Lord gave this Sacrament to His disciples, He did not tell them in the form of advice: “Whoever wants, let him eat My Body, and whoever wants, let him drink My Blood,” as He said: “If anyone wants to come after Me” (Matthew 16:24) and “if you want to be perfect” (Matthew 19:21). But He declared imperatively: “Take, eat, this is My Body,” and “drink of it, all of you, this is My Blood” (see Matt. 26:26–28). That is, you must definitely eat My Body and you must definitely drink My Blood. And again he says: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). That is, I present this Sacrament to you, so that it is performed not once, or twice, or three times, but daily (as the divine Chrysostom explains) in remembrance of My suffering. My death and My whole economy of salvation. These words of the Lord clearly represent two necessary [moments] in Communion: one consists in the obligatory command that they contain, and the other in the duration indicated by the word “do,” which, of course, means that we are commanded not just to receive communion, but to receive communion without ceasing. So, everyone now sees that an Orthodox person is not allowed to violate this commandment, no matter what rank he may be, but he is charged with the duty and obligation to keep this without fail, to accept it as the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 2. The Divine Apostles, following this urgent commandment of our Lord, at the beginning of the sermon [of the Gospel], at the first opportunity, gathered with all the faithful in a secret place because of fear from the Jews (John 20:19), taught Christians, prayed, and, performing the Sacrament, they themselves and all those gathered received communion, as St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, where he says that the three thousand who believed in Christ on the day of Pentecost and were baptized were with the apostles to hear their teaching, to gain benefit from them, to pray with them and partake of the Most Pure Mysteries, in order to be sanctified and better established in the faith of Christ. “They continued continually,” he says, “in the teaching of the apostles, in fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayer” (Acts 2:42). And so that this necessary tradition of the Lord would be preserved by subsequent Christians and would not be forgotten over time, what the apostles did then they wrote in the 8th and 9th of their Rules, commanding with strict testing and with the punishment of excommunication, so that no one would be left without the sacrament of the Divine Mysteries when the Holy Liturgy is celebrated. “If a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or anyone from the sacred list does not receive communion when making an offering: let him present the reason, and if he is blessed, let him be excused. If he does not imagine, let him be excommunicated from the communion of the Church, as if he had caused harm to the people, and brought suspicion upon the one who made the offering, as if he had done it incorrectly” 2 . That is, if someone does not take communion when the Holy Liturgy is being celebrated, let him say the reason why he did not take communion, and if it is respectful, let him be forgiven, but if he does not say this, then he should be excommunicated. And in the 9th rule they say: “All the faithful who enter the church and listen to the scriptures, but do not remain in prayer and Holy Communion to the end, as they cause disorder in the church, should be excommunicated from the communion of the Church” 3 . That is, all those believers who come to church and listen to the Scriptures, but do not stay in prayer and do not partake of Holy Communion, must be excommunicated from the Church, because they are causing disorder in the church. Explaining this rule, Balsamon says: “The definition of this rule is very severe, for it excommunicates those who come to church and those who do not stay to the end and those who do not receive communion.” And other canons similarly command that everyone be ready and worthy of Communion. The Council of Antioch, following the holy apostles, firstly confirms their above rule, and then adds: “All who enter the church and listen to the sacred scriptures, but due to some deviation from order do not participate in prayer with the people or turn away from the Communion of the holy Eucharist, may they be excommunicated from the Church until they confess, show the fruits of repentance and ask for forgiveness, and thus be able to receive it" 4. That is, all those who enter the church and listen to the sacred scriptures, but do not pray with the rest of the people or refuse Divine Communion, must be excommunicated until they confess and show the fruits of repentance, and ask for forgiveness, after which they can be forgiven. So, you see, my brothers, that all Christians are subject to mandatory excommunication and must receive communion often, and that they are obliged to do this at every Liturgy, so as not to be excommunicated by both the holy apostles and the holy Council? 3. If we take a close look at the Divine and Holy Liturgy, we will see that from beginning to end it all has a goal and points to the Communion of the assembled Christian believers, for this is revealed by the prayers that the priest reads secretly, and the exclamations, and all the words and sacred rites, and the rites that take place at it. In the prayer, which is called the prayer of the faithful, it is written: “Grant to them (that is, the faithful), who always serve You with fear and love, to partake of Your Holy Mysteries innocently and without condemnation.” In the prayer that follows the performance of the Mysteries 5, it is written: “As if one were to receive communion for the sobriety of the soul, for the remission of sins.” That is, so that these Holy Gifts serve the faithful who receive communion for the cleansing of the soul and the forgiveness of sins. The prayer that is before Communion says: “And grant us, by Thy sovereign hand, Thy most pure Body and honorable Blood, and to all of us.” That is, deign us, Lord, to give us with Your strong hand Your Holy Body and venerable Blood and through us pass it on to all Your people. We also see this in the exclamations when the priest calls out, as if from the Face of the Lord, to the people: “Take, eat, this is My Body” and “drink of it, all of you, this is My Blood.” And when, holding in his hands the holy Chalice with the life-giving Body and Blood, he comes out of the gate and shows it to the people, then he invites them to Divine Communion and loudly calls out: “Come with the fear of God, faith and love 6.” That is, approach with the fear of God, faith and love to partake of the Divine Mysteries. After Communion, the priest and people thank God for this great grace with which they have been awarded. The people thank: “May our lips be filled with Thy praise, O Lord, for Thou hast vouchsafed us to partake of Thy Holy, Divine, immortal and life-giving Mysteries,” which means: “O Lord, may our lips be filled with praise to Thee, for Thou hast vouchsafed us to partake of Thy Holy and immortal Mysteries.” And the priest says: “Forgive us, having received the Divine, Holy, Most Pure and Life-giving Mysteries, we worthily thank the Lord,” which means: “Brothers, since with a clear conscience we have all received Holy and Life-giving Mysteries, let us thank the Lord together.” But the Cherubic hymn, which the people sing, if anyone thinks about it, is a preparation for Communion, because it says: “All of us, mysteriously depicting the many-eyed cherubim and singing the thrice-holy hymn to the Life-giving Trinity, let us cleanse our minds from all the cares and troubles of this world, for we have to accept into our souls and partake of the King of all things, Whom we surround invisible ranks of heavenly angels." The Lord’s Prayer, proclaimed after the recitation of the Sacraments, means the same thing, for in it Christians ask God and the Father to give them their daily bread, which is mainly Holy Communion. And the very names of the Liturgy - “Communion” (Κοινονια) and “Assembly” (Συνάντηση), as it is primarily called, encourage in a certain sense the necessity of frequent Communion. After all, “Communion” and “Assembly” mean that through the Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, all the faithful gather, communicate and unite with Christ, and become one body and one spirit with Him. So, on the basis of this entire sacred rite of the Divine Liturgy, I ask you, my brothers, tell me with the fear of God and listening to the conscience in your soul, is it not obvious that those Christians who come to the Liturgy are obliged to receive communion often? Don’t they have a duty to do this so that the Liturgy can be revealed as communion, assembly and meal, and so that they do not turn out to be criminals of what they believe and what they profess? And if they do not receive communion, as they themselves admit, then I’m afraid, I’m afraid, are they turning out to be criminals? And therefore I do not know whether they have a true rite and whether it is appropriate that they are invited by the priest, and other words and sacred rites and the rules that happen at the Liturgy? Because everyone, as one, retreats, and there is not a single Christian who would fulfill them and obey the invitation of the priest or, to put it better, God, but [everyone] leaves the Shrine with nothing, without accepting it and without coming up to receive communion. Therefore, the divine Chrysostom, following the sacred Rules of the holy Apostles and holy Councils, which we spoke about before, especially reflecting on all these sacred rites of the Divine Liturgy and seeing that their goal is the Communion of the faithful, makes the judgment that those who come to the Liturgy and do not receive communion are unworthy of even entering the church. He says: “I see that many partake of the Body [and Blood] of Christ simply as it happens, driven more by custom and a legalistic attitude than by rational reasoning. For when the time of the Holy Pentecost comes, everyone, no matter what he may be, that is, worthy or unworthy, will partake of the Mysteries. Everyone does the same when the day of Epiphany comes, even if it is not time for him to receive communion. But neither Epiphany nor Pentecost makes people worthy of Communion, but sincerity and purity of soul make them worthy. With this purity of soul you can receive communion every time [when you are present at the Liturgy], and without it never receive communion, for, says [Paul], every time you do this, you proclaim the death of the Lord, that is, you commit a remembrance of your own salvation and the good deed that has been done to you. Think how much care those who ate from the sacrifices of the old law used. Because what didn’t they do! What didn't you use? They were constantly being cleaned. But you, having the intention of partaking of that Sacrifice before which the angels tremble, limit your purification to periods of time. And how will you appear at the judgment seat of Christ if you dare to receive communion with unclean hands and lips? I see that there is a big mess going on in this matter. For at other times you do not receive communion, although you are often pure, but when Easter comes, even if you have done some evil, you dare and receive communion. O bad custom! O evil prejudice! It is in vain that the Liturgy is celebrated every day, in vain we stand at the altar - no one comes up to receive communion. I say this not so that you receive communion just like that and as it happens, but so that you make yourself worthy. O man! Are you unworthy of Communion? Then you are not worthy to hear the prayers of the Liturgy. You hear the deacon standing and crying: “Those who are in repentance, keep asking God to forgive you.” Those who do not receive communion are still in the rank of penitents. So what are you worth? If you are in the rank of penitents, then you cannot receive communion, because the one who does not receive communion is among the penitents. Why does [the deacon] cry: “Depart, you who cannot pray to God,” and you stand there insolently? If you are not one of the repentant, but one of those who have the opportunity to receive communion, how come you do not take care to receive communion? Or do you not consider Communion a great gift and neglect it? Think about it, please! Here is the royal meal, angels serve at this meal, the Tsar Himself is present here, and you stand like an onlooker. The garments of your soul are unclean, and this does not bother you? But [maybe] they are clean? Then sit down and eat from her. At every Liturgy, Christ comes to see those who are sitting at the table, talking to everyone and now saying to everyone in his conscience: “Friends, how do you stand here [in the Church], not having wedding clothes?” Didn't He ask, "Why did you sit down to eat?" But even before he sat down, he tells him that he is not worthy to even enter here. After all, He said not “why did you lie down?”, but “how did you enter?” (See Matthew 22:2–14). Christ proclaims the same thing now to all of us, who stand brazenly and shamelessly, because everyone who does not partake of the Mysteries stands shamelessly and brazenly. For this reason, [the deacons] remove first those who are in sin. For when the Master must enter the meal, those slaves who have done wrong should not be there, but they must run away from his presence. This, of course, happens here too, when the Liturgy is celebrated and the Lamb, the Lamb of the Lord, is sacrificed. When you hear: “Let us all pray together,” when you see the gates of the altar opening, then consider that the sky is opening and the angels are descending. And just as there should not be a single unbaptized person here, so there should not be a single one [although baptized, but] unclean and filthy. Please tell me, if someone were invited to a meal, went there, washed his hands, sat down and prepared for the meal, and then did not eat, would he not offend the one who invited him? Wouldn't it be better if he didn't come at all? So you too: you came to the meal, sang chants with the others, confessed that you are worthy (since you did not leave with the unworthy), how can you [after all this] remain [at the Liturgy] and not partake of this meal? But you say, "I'm not worthy." Then you are not worthy to participate in prayers, because the Holy Spirit descends not only on the presented [Holy Gifts], but also on these hymns. Have you not seen how the servants of their masters first wash the refectory, clean the house and then offer the dishes? This is done with us through prayers, through the cry of the deacon: we wash the church like a sponge, so that the Mysteries are offered in a clean church and no stain, no blemish is found in it. Unclean eyes are not worthy to see this spectacle, defiled ears are not worthy to hear [these chants]. For this is what the law commands: even if an animal wanted to approach Mount Sinai, it had to be stoned. So they were unworthy to be even at the foot of the mountain, although later they approached and saw the place where God was. You had to get closer and see after. And when [God] was present, it was necessary to withdraw.” So you, Christian, if you are not worthy at the end of the Liturgy to approach and see God, run away with the catechumens, for [Chrysostom continues] “you have nothing greater than them. After all, this is not the same thing: never receive Communion [being unbaptized] and [after Baptism], having been worthy of Communion, turn out to be a sinner and unworthy of Communion. I would like to tell you even more and more terrible, but in order not to overload your mind, this is enough. For those who do not come to understanding with this will not be able to come to understand with more. So, so that our words do not serve to condemn you even more, we ask you not that you should not come, but that you make yourself worthy of both presence [at the Liturgy] and Communion. Tell me, please, if a certain king commanded: “Whoever commits such and such evil, let him not come near my table,” then for the sake of this honor, wouldn’t you want to make every possible effort to protect yourself from evil? [When the priest invites us to come up to receive communion, then] the Lord calls us to ascend to heaven, to the table of the great and wonderful King, but we refuse, and hesitate, and are not in a hurry, and do not strive for this. And then what hope of salvation remains for us? We cannot say that illness or nature hinders us, but only our negligence makes us unworthy.” 7 Do you hear, my brother, what this great teacher of the Church says? That those who, having no obstacle, are not ready to receive communion, are unworthy to come to the Liturgy? But what is your answer? That, since things are like this, I will not go to the Liturgy at all. No, my brother, no. And you are not allowed to do this, because then you are subject to excommunication, as the Holy and Ecumenical Fifth Council defines, saying: “If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or anyone ranked among the clergy, or a layman, does not have any urgent need or obstacle, by which he would be permanently removed from his church, but, while staying in the city, on three Sundays for three week does not come to the church meeting: then the cleric will be expelled from the clergy, and the layman will be removed from communion” 8. That is, someone who is in the city and does not go to church for three Sundays [in a row], if he is a clergyman, he should be defrocked, and if he is a layman, he should be excommunicated. The same is determined by the Sardikian Holy Local Council in its 11th Rule 9. So, you are subject to the punishment of excommunication, beloved, if you do not do both, that is, you do not go to the Liturgy and do not prepare, as much as you can, to receive communion, if you have no obstacles. You cannot break one or the other. For if you do not violate all this, then you preserve [in integrity] all the sacred rites of the Divine Liturgy, as we said before, and do not transgress the order that the Church received from Our Lord Himself, from the apostles, from the Councils, and also from the saints. And the order is this: the Holy Bread must be shared at every Liturgy, and those faithful who have no obstacles must come to receive communion. As Simeon of Thessalonica says, “The Divine Liturgy is a service whose purpose is the sacred rite of the Most Holy Body of Christ and Blood and so that they are given in Communion to all the faithful. And, as such, its purpose is only Communion.” St. Nicholas Kavasila, Bishop of Dyrrachium, writes: “The work of the holy service of the Sacred Mysteries is the transmutation of the Divine Gifts into the Divine Body and Blood. Its purpose is for the faithful to be sanctified by them” 10. Wise Job, about whom St. testifies. Photius in his “Library”, in the book “On the Sacraments,” says this: “The entire sacred service is understood in the Communion of Holy Things, since its goal, purpose, and work is the Communion of life-giving and terrible Mysteries and Holy Things.” Gabriel of Philadelphia in his book “On the Sacraments” says that the Divine Liturgy is celebrated for three reasons. Firstly, for the glory and praise of our God and Savior and in remembrance of His Death and Resurrection, as He Himself said: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Secondly, for the sake of the repose and sanctification of the souls of departed pious Orthodox Christians. And thirdly, for the sake of the living. So, when the Divine Liturgy is celebrated in glory and in praise and in remembrance of the Death and Resurrection of our Lord, in faith our departed brothers receive from God repose and sanctification, as far as possible. The living faithful, who do not partake of the Divine Mysteries at the Liturgy, wonder how they can become sanctified. Saint Cabasilas says that they are not sanctified. And listen to him again: “If souls are prepared and ready to receive Communion, and the Lord who sanctifies and accomplishes [everything] always wants to sanctify and loves to give Himself to everyone, then what can prevent Communion? Of course, nothing. But someone will ask: “If one of the living, having in his soul the blessings that have been spoken about, does not begin the Mysteries, will he not nevertheless receive sanctification [from the ongoing Liturgy]?” [To this question we answer that] not everyone can receive this, but only those who cannot come bodily, as happens with the souls of the dead. If someone can, but does not begin, the Meal in order to be worthy of sanctification from it, it is completely impossible for such a person to receive sanctification - not only because he did not begin, but because he did not begin, being able to do so” 11. That is, being able to go, he neglected and was careless, and therefore did not go. According to this, not only what we have said so far obliges every Christian, who has no obstacle, to constantly receive communion, but also Divine Communion and Communion in itself, if we think about it, attracts everyone to enjoy it constantly, for it is simply an integral part of the life of the soul. Let's see now what this means. Scholastic theologians call an integral part that object without which it is impossible for what happens to exist. For example, breathing is an integral part of human life, because without it it is impossible for a person to survive. Nutrition for bodily composition is also necessary. And just as frequent breathing is necessary for life, and nutrition is necessary to constitute the physical nature, so frequent Communion is necessary for the life of the soul and for the composition of its essence. Or, to put it better, much and incomparably more necessary. And let us now call Basil the Great, the foundation of the righteous dogmas of the Church, as a witness, so that he can tell us: “The Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ is necessary for eternal life” 12. And also: “One who has been reborn through Baptism must subsequently be nourished by the Communion of the Divine Mysteries. For it is necessary for us to continue to feed on the food of eternal life, which the Son of the living God gave us.” 13 And, having been asked by a certain woman named Caesarea Patricia, he answers in one of his letters: “It is good and beneficial to partake every day and partake of the Holy Body and Blood of Christ, since [the Lord] Himself clearly says: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life.” Who doubts that to continually partake of life is nothing other than to live diversified?” 14. That is, to live with all your mental and physical strength and feelings. Monk Job the Confessor says: “If we talk about the Shrine of Communion, then it is good, and just, and natural for a righteous and decent Christian to often sanctify himself and resort to this Shrine, and thirst for it more than we want to breathe. Therefore, everyone has permission to receive communion constantly, so that, if possible, the worthy are not prevented from receiving communion even every day.” Gennady, Patriarch of Constantinople, very wisely expounds how necessary Holy Communion is for a Christian, saying: “And now the Sacrament makes its participants prosper in life according to Christ. What the physically visible part of the sacrament does [that is, bread and wine for the body], it does the same thing mysteriously and invisibly in the soul. For the Body of Christ nourishes and constitutes our soul, just as bread does for the body. Just as we are reborn when we accept Baptism and receive a grace-filled existence instead of a sinful existence, so when we feed on the Sacrament of Communion, we receive abiding in grace and prosper. Just as the natural heat of the body removes its inherent moisture if the body does not receive help from food (and therefore the composition of the body is well preserved by food and drink and the moisture that the body has lost from the heat is replenished, and otherwise human life cannot be preserved even for a short time), so the heat of anger, eating the soul from the inside, dries up reverence and would destroy it completely if the soul did not perceive this spiritual food, which resists the pernicious the power of evil and renews and grows in us the spiritual gifts of God. The Body of Christ, on the one hand, nourishing us, according to its bodily nature, on the other hand, according to its purity, purifying and sanctifying, being united with the Divine nature, abundantly supplies us with spiritual nutrition, and we, thus eating well with this food, again acquire spiritual health and purity, which we were then deprived of in paradise by eating the forbidden tree. It was necessary for us, who had lost those first purity and health by eating bodily food, to acquire them again with bodily food. And like should be healed with like, and the opposite with the opposite. After all, both of these foods are bodily - both the one that spoiled us in the beginning, and the one that preserves health and spiritual life now. However, God forbade us that food, but now He permits and serves this food. This is what the evil demon gave us; this same food makes the Son of God not only an advisor, but also a servant. That food was obtained by stealing, but this one we are clearly invited to. In that one the poison of crime was hidden, but this one hides in itself a treasure of countless blessings” 15. So, my brothers, since it is necessary for Christians who do not have obstacles to receive frequent Communion, as has been proven on the basis of the evidence that we have cited so far, then it is a great necessity for us to receive Communion often, so that we may have life within ourselves, which is Jesus Christ, and so that we do not die a spiritual death. After all, those who do not often feed on this spiritual food, of course, die, although it seems that they live bodily. However, they are spiritually dead, because they have withdrawn from the spiritual and true life that Holy Communion provides. And just as a baby, when it is born, cries and asks with great desire for food and milk, and when it does not eat, has no appetite, then this is a sign that it is sick and is in danger of dying, so we must have the desire to eat Holy Communion, spiritual food, so that we can be revived. Otherwise, we are in danger of dying mentally. Therefore, the divine Chrysostom says: “So, let us not be negligent, having been awarded such love and honor. Don’t you see children, with what eagerness they strive for their mother’s breast, with what zeal their lips grab the breast? With the same zeal, may we come to this Table, to this spiritual breast, perhaps even more willingly. Let us grasp, like children on their mother’s shirt, the grace of the Spirit. And let us have only one sorrow – not to partake of this Food” 16. See “Christ died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again” (2 Cor. 5:15). – Approx. lane 8th Rule of the Holy Apostles. 9th Rule of the Holy Apostles. That is, after the transfer of the Holy Gifts. – Approx. lane So in the Greek rite of the Liturgy. – Approx. lane Discourses on the Epistle to the Ephesians. Conversation 3. See: Works of our holy father John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople, in Russian translation. T.11. Book 1. St. Petersburg, 1905, pp. 29–32. – Here and below, all patristic quotations are given in our translation. Rev. Nicodemus gives these quotes first in the original, and then gives his translation-interpretation. In our translation, we are guided by how St. Nicodemus understands the text of the Holy Father. At the same time, remember that in the previous time our fathers determined: if anyone who is a layman, while staying in the city, does not come to the congregation on three Sundays during three weeks, he will be removed from church communion. Interpretation of the Liturgy, chapter 1. In his interpretation, Nicodemus adds: “But, being able to go, he neglected and was careless, and therefore did not go.” Moral rules, 21, 1. See: Works like the saints of our father Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of ​​Cappadocia. Part 3. M., 1993, p. 391. On Baptism, word 3. PG 31, 1573. Epistle 93, 1. See: Rules of the Orthodox Church with interpretations of Nicodemus, Bishop of Dolmatia-Istria. T.2. Holy Trinity Sergeev Lavra, 1996, p.612. Conversation about the Mystical Body of Christ. Discourse 82 on the Gospel of Matthew. See: St. John Chrysostom. Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew. M., 1993, p.827. You might be interested in: