The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

 

            One of the most polarizing topics in Christianity is the Real Presence of Jesus within the Eucharist. Our protestant brothers and sisters deny the real presence, merely taking it as a symbol of faith, and Roman Catholic brothers and sisters try to be so academic in their theological approach that most people don’t fully understand the teachings and their minds melt. The Orthodox Church however simply believes that because Christ said it, that it is true. But, because there must be a deeper understanding I will try and lay the entire teaching out in a simple format for everyone to understand.

            First, let us take the words of institution, more specifically the portion of the Anaphora that is recorded in the Bible. For us Orthodox Christians, this is not merely some symbolic representation of Jesus’s sacrifice at Golgotha, rather this is the very sacrifice of Jesus on Golgotha. The Divine Liturgy transcends time and space, from the moment the priest begins with “Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” to the dismissal, we are no longer on earth time but heavenly time. God is in all places at once, so we too enter this and are drawn back to Golgotha and Jesus’ sacrifice.  Matthew 26:26-28 is where we receive the words of Christ and the very moment that the Priest will echo. It says, “ While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  Notice that there was not a long dissertation about how that it was merely a symbol, and there is certainly no academical treatise to explain how Christ enters the bread and wine and it becomes his body and blood in full. Not just a portion of his body, or a portion of his blood, rather it is his entire body and entire blood. Again, some would argue that the disciples understood the nature of this and it did not need to be explained. I would agree. Let’s again look at another piece of scripture that fully explains this. John 6:51-58 says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus was not speaking metaphorically, rather he was speaking literally. The Jews of his time understood this. That is why they rejected him. They could not fully comprehend this teaching of eating his flesh. Many today also reject this teaching and try to rationalize it in their minds. They try everything in their power to try to reason with God and to make God in their image instead of accepting Christ at his word. For us as Orthodox Christians, we profess and proclaim that the very bread and wine that is used by the church therefore becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The last scripture I will leave you with is a writing from St. Paul himself, In 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 he writes, For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,  and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. St. Paul reiterates the words of Christ and also does not give a description, rather he takes Jesus at his word. Denying any of this is to deny Christ himself.

                If that is not enough for you, there are many saints who speak about the real presence of the Lord within the Eucharist. St. Ignatius of Antioch, one of the earliest Christian leaders is quoted as saying, "I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life.  I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire His blood, which is love incorruptible."  Another quote of his is also potent, "Heretics abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ." St Justin Martyr says, "Not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is both the Flesh and Blood of that incarnated Jesus."  All these quotes were set within the first 100 years of the Church. If it was merely a symbol or a sort of intellectual exercise, then these Christians who had been taught by the apostles and their immediate successors should have known better. But they clearly professed the very presence and the very nature of the Eucharist in their writings and their beliefs.

            I have presented a few quotes and a lot of scripture that verify the teachings of the church in this issue. While there are many more quotes, and dissertations that could be discussed within this blog, my goal is only to present a beginning stage and allow you to do your own research into this topic. I pray for all of you and ask you for your prayers.

 

Amen.

Father Noufrakis and Defying the Enemies of God

 

When we Orthodox think of the Hagia Sophia, we imagine a great cathedral, a beautiful divine liturgy, and masses beyond compare coming to the city of Constantinople to worship our Lord. However, for most of the world it pictures a museum, or for the world’s Islamic population a mosque.  We pray that one day the world gives the church back to us. We cried on July 24, 2020, when it was reverted to a mosque under the Turkish regime.  But there is hope.  St. Paisios, the Athonite Elder, prophesied that it would one day be returned to us.  And after hearing the story that I am going to relate to you, hope is even closer than we think.

                Father Eleftherios Noufrakis was a Cretan priest who dared to defy the Turkish regime and to enter the Hagia Sophia and to perform the Divine Liturgy for the first time in nearly 500 years! A military chaplain within the Greek Army, Father Noufrakis was stationed with the 2^ND Greek Division in route to Ukraine, when they stopped over in Constantinople. A group of six men, which included Father Noufrakis took it upon themselves to perform one of the most courageous and beautiful acts on January 19^th, 1919.

                Father Noufrakis and the other five men were able to enter the great cathedral with a little difficulty but entered all the same.  He uncovered the location of the holy doors, and where the altar would have been.  He placed a table in the middle, decorated it for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, and vested himself in the manner of performing the services. Major Liaromatis one of the men accompanying Father Noufrakis was the chanter for the service. Brigadier Frantzis another of the men, read the epistle. While there were many Turks who came to pray in the mosque during this time, Father Noufrakis was undisturbed during the duration of the entire liturgy. However, at the end of the service, the church filled with angry Turks and awe inspired Greeks was about to overflow with danger. However once again, the six men were allowed to exit the church unscathed as the Turks were not about to start a diplomatic incident with Greece. Though the Allied victors of WW1 condemned the protest by the priest, and publicly the Greek Prime Minister did as well, the Greek Prime Minister privately conveyed his congratulations and heartfelt admiration for the daring priest.

                Father Noufrakis is a wonderful example of the spirit we as Orthodox and Christians everywhere should have.  We are already victorious over the forces of evil, with the power of Christ.  We have nothing to fear for our repose is just a transition into the fullness of life with Christ.  The Hagia Sophia is a symbol of unification among all Orthodox of every jurisdiction and whether we squabble and fight over territories and lands, we all want the same thing. We want the world to see Jesus as he is meant to be seen. We know that in the face of the very enemies of Christ, the Islamic Turks, Father Noufrakis did not fear the repercussions, and neither should we when we defend the faith.

 

Amen  

The Spiritual Successors of the Faith

 

    We are the spiritual successors of the faith dear brothers and sisters. Each one of us having been baptized into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Orthodox Church have been given the same charisma, the same gift as those who have came before us. We as Christians have been called to Theosis, the divinization of the soul, and the call to become holy. Those who have been purified of their sin, those who have rejected the world and lived their lives in accordance with Holy Tradition and the Church, are regarded by the Church as saints, regardless if they have been glorified or not. Most of the world reflects on those the church has glorified, those like St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Sergius, St. Tikhon, St. Catherine and others. But the truth is, we have all been called to become saints. 

    Most of us however would rather sit on the sidelines than be in the starting lineup. How often do we think about the fact that as Christians we are called to become friends of God, through our piety, through our love, through our prayers? All of these have been given to us through the lives of the saints that have gone before. It is not rocket science, we are not trying to discover some new secret about God that has only been revealed to us. We have the lives of the Christian witnesses throughout all ages to give us the exact playbook that takes us from the bench to the starting lineup. Most of us however, don't use it. We don't want that kind of responsibility. We sit in our churches, going through the motions of the divine services especially the liturgy and we think about what is coming next. What other things we need to accomplish that day, or what our job requires of us. However those things will pass away. Our eternal soul? It lasts for eternity. When we practice the ascetism that God requires of us, and remember ascetism for each of us is different, because each of us is unique, we grow and become more like him. I remember in an earlier blog post that I stated that Jesus didn't come to make us good people. He came to unite us to himself. If we truly believe that, if we truly want to experience the Christian experience, then we must do everything in our power to shun the wiles of the devil and the world. We must proclaim "Death to the World" because it is not of this world that we belong. But alas, so many today reject that! I myself have been caught up in the things and passions of this world many times, and I am no master of the faith. I too fall and make mistakes. Often times these posts are preaching to me, as much as I am sharing it with you. Our very souls depend on the sustenance that the Church offers for our salvation. We need the life giving cross to be our weapon against the demons. We need the intercessions of the saints to overcome our passions. We need the blessings of the priest, the prayers of the faithful, we need all of this and much more. Fasting, praying, all of this combined together unites our souls with the One, Holy Triune God. It is not merely motions, but the inner heart that needs to be united with the motions. I feel as if I'm repeating myself over and over, but it really is that simple. No need for fancy wand waving or silly incantations, just simple humility. 

    Do we wish to be sanctified in both body and spirit? Then we must partake of the Eucharist! We must pray! We must make prostrations! We must continue our fight against the things of this world. Only then, will be true successors of the faith! 

The Divine Liturgy.

​Blessed is the kingdom of the Father, Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages.

With those words the Priest begins the Divine Liturgy. No other act within the church is more important than the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is the participation of the Christian in the worship of the divine, that is the Triune God. Without the Divine Liturgy one cannot call himself Orthodox. The Divine Liturgy is the joining of the church on earth with those in heaven. In the Orthodox Church we don’t believe that our loved ones are in some far off place where they are away from us and can’t hear us or see us. Rather those who have fallen asleep in the Lord, are still an active part of the church, and now though their earthly bodies have returned to the dust of the earth, their spirit now sits at the footstool of God, interceding on our behalf, and participating in the liturgy of Heaven. Not only that but the Divine Liturgy transcends time and space. Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey stuff yea yea I know.  At that moment we are no longer on earth, but also at the throne of God. Also we are within all of the church history. We are participating in the continuous worship of the church and the continuous sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist. No Jesus is not being sacrificed again, but we enter into Golgotha, we enter into the Last Supper. We witness along with the Apostles the breaking of the body of Christ and the pouring out of his blood. The Divine Liturgy allows us to have the blessings of Heaven upon earth and the blessings of the divine. That’s why it’s called the Divine Liturgy after all. The Divine Liturgy incorporates the litanies and scriptures of the Church and has been discharged by the priests of Orthodoxy for two thousand years. Within the space of two hours, those who attend the Divine Liturgy will hear the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. That doesn’t mean that every single verse is read, rather the scripture that is prayed covers the entire collections of books that make up holy scripture. From the moment the Liturgy begins the gospel is proclaimed, whether that be in the form of St. Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. The Psalms are sung, the Epistles of Paul, sometimes Peter or James or John are read. The very essence of the liturgy is the holy scriptures which have been handed down to us through Holy Tradition. We proclaim the faith, through the Nicene  Creed, also called the Symbol of Faith, given to us by the church fathers at the First Council of Constantinople sometimes called the Second Ecumenical Council. We pray the prayer our Lord gave to us, the Our Father. We partake in the divine body and blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself declared in John, that those who eat of his flesh and drink of his blood will have everlasting life and that he will dwell in them. For us as Orthodox Christians we see this, as did the church fathers, that it is literal. That the bread and wine that appear on the Holy Altar is indeed the same body and blood that was poured out for us on Great and Holy Friday. That is why it is the most important part of the Liturgy. It is the moment when Christ enters our bodies and resides in us. It is not merely symbolic or merely a metaphor, for Orthodox Christians, it is the epitome of faith. The Divine Liturgy encompasses all of this and so much more. In these few moments that we have in earthly time, we glimpse eternity and that is the most amazing thing one could ever witness. 

May God have mercy on us all. 

Amen.