When I was first exploring Orthodoxy, I was a really hesitant about receiving the "bread and wine" because I have Celiac Disease. Celiac is not an allergy or an intolerance; it is an autoimmune illness and consuming gluten can cause severe damage to the body. My priest did not push it, but reassured me that it was no longer "bread and wine," but the Body and Blood of Christ and that it cannot make anyone sick. I was eventual baptized and took a huge leap of faith with my first communion. I experienced ZERO negative reaction to the sacramental offering. I react bad to EVERYTHING I put into my mouth... EXCEPT the Holy Mysteries. I have been Orthodox now for 20 years. There are 4 other parishioners at my parish who have also been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and none of us have EVER experienced any negative effect from partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. And none of us can eat the blessed Prosphora or Antidoron - which have not been consecrated - without getting sick. This experience of both myself and others like me has done more to strengthen my Faith in Christ and His Church than anything I have read or learned intellectually. There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever in my mind that we are receiving Christ Himself when we approach the Chalice. It is an unbelievable tragedy that a hierarch of the Church does not understand this Truth!
That's amazing, thank you so much for sharing this. It helps my faith a lot too! No diseases can be transmitted either, which took a leap of faith for some converts from a science-based upbringing. Rather it brings health when we are sick
In recent memory there were priests, priests many people still remember, who ministered to leper colonies, and who communed with the sick…yet never got sick themself. There are gluten-free brothers and sisters I know, who never get sick from antidoron. Such doubts remind one of the dreadful prophecy of Saint Kosmas,
“Hear my brethren Christians. Time will come when will not be this harmony, which is present, between the people and clergy. When a priest will go to a layperson’s home, as he will leave, they (the laypeople) will cense with incense. If he will sit on a bed, after his departure they will shake (clean) it. If the people encounter a priest on their way, they will come back and will not continue their way.”
Latin Catholic here, who must admit to a certain jealousy of the Orthodox Church’s traditional treatment of the Holy Eucharist. We’ve had gluten-free alternative ‘hosts’ for some time, stopped serving the Lord’s Precious Blood during the COVID period (though we’ve long had trouble with serving in both kinds), and will hear a priest say he can’t consume too much of the leftover Precious Blood so he doesn’t “get drunk.”
Still a couple years since entering the the Church I’m often confused listening and watching people behave, which suggests true belief more than words. Of course the Latin Church in the U.S. has admitted to a large majority of faithful who don’t believe in the Lord’s Real Presence at all…I don’t know enough to argue the point, but I wouldn’t be shocked at a strong correlation between our ‘relaxing’ of traditional standards and the faithful’s loss of conviction that the Holy Eucharist is what the Lord says It is.
Nice to see some believers agree in the comments. Wanted to add here because I could not comment on the article itself, that the story about dear Blessed Ilii of Optina was so good🥰. I really felt closer to him after reading it and that is so important to me since I live isolated from many other Orthodox believers. I really think those kind of stories have the ability to reach people on "both
sides of the aisle." He really was a humble person from a peasant background but yet he was an influence on the whole Russian Orthodox Church. His loss is immeasurable😢 but it's consolation I don't think the number of Optina Elders is finished yet (even though I personally have lost count.) Does anyone know any living ones?
During a time of great suffering in the Byzantine Empire, a holy monk was deeply troubled by the rise of a cruel and tyrannical emperor. This new ruler had murdered the previous emperor and his family, oppressed the Orthodox faithful, and governed with brutality.
Distressed, the monk prayed fervently to Christ, asking:
“Lord, why have You allowed such an evil man to rule over us?”
In response, Christ appeared to the monk and answered:
“Because I could not find anyone worse.”
I really feel like the Greek bishops. Within the US are here because we are sinful. We have not repented of our sins so God has not given us holy bishops like he has in Greece and in Russia. We are under the show because we refuse to repent. May Christ allow us all to repent and forgive us our sins and we may be given great bishops in the future. Don't forget to pray for all of the hierarchy. Including his Eminence archbishop of goarch he was given to us for a reason. We could have had somebody 10 times worse. So Glory to God for that.
Incense is ok but Eucharist is not ok caught me off guard. Splitting functionality from sacramentality is like splitting body from soul or God from man, it reduces the mystery to explainability and destroys the tension that is meant to save us.
"Bread and Wine in the hands of God are revealed to be what they truly are, the body and blood of Christ." - Fr Alexander Schmemman
"We are arguing about yeast in bread." - Patriarch Athenagoras about the Latin Schism.
God revels what He wants to be the Eucharist, just as He reveals us to be what we truly are. Let God reveal what He desires through the Church.
To pretend there's not a real categorical difference between incense and the Eucharist is a bizarre take. Incense has a functional use: to obscure the altar, to cleanse the air, as a representation of prayers and as an offering to God from the faithful. The type and contents of incense change seasonally and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If your priest burns Athonite incense instead of his usual frankincense, no one gets any more upset than when he changes vestments - precisely because his vestments aren't the source of eternal life. The Eucharist on the other hand is sacramental - grace or life giving. It is the medicine of immortality.
Not partaking of the Eucharist leads to eternal death; not burning incense on the other hand...
When I was first exploring Orthodoxy, I was a really hesitant about receiving the "bread and wine" because I have Celiac Disease. Celiac is not an allergy or an intolerance; it is an autoimmune illness and consuming gluten can cause severe damage to the body. My priest did not push it, but reassured me that it was no longer "bread and wine," but the Body and Blood of Christ and that it cannot make anyone sick. I was eventual baptized and took a huge leap of faith with my first communion. I experienced ZERO negative reaction to the sacramental offering. I react bad to EVERYTHING I put into my mouth... EXCEPT the Holy Mysteries. I have been Orthodox now for 20 years. There are 4 other parishioners at my parish who have also been diagnosed with Celiac Disease and none of us have EVER experienced any negative effect from partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ. And none of us can eat the blessed Prosphora or Antidoron - which have not been consecrated - without getting sick. This experience of both myself and others like me has done more to strengthen my Faith in Christ and His Church than anything I have read or learned intellectually. There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever in my mind that we are receiving Christ Himself when we approach the Chalice. It is an unbelievable tragedy that a hierarch of the Church does not understand this Truth!
Glory to God!
Sounds like you have a wonderful priest.
That's amazing, thank you so much for sharing this. It helps my faith a lot too! No diseases can be transmitted either, which took a leap of faith for some converts from a science-based upbringing. Rather it brings health when we are sick
In recent memory there were priests, priests many people still remember, who ministered to leper colonies, and who communed with the sick…yet never got sick themself. There are gluten-free brothers and sisters I know, who never get sick from antidoron. Such doubts remind one of the dreadful prophecy of Saint Kosmas,
“Hear my brethren Christians. Time will come when will not be this harmony, which is present, between the people and clergy. When a priest will go to a layperson’s home, as he will leave, they (the laypeople) will cense with incense. If he will sit on a bed, after his departure they will shake (clean) it. If the people encounter a priest on their way, they will come back and will not continue their way.”
Lord have mercy....
Latin Catholic here, who must admit to a certain jealousy of the Orthodox Church’s traditional treatment of the Holy Eucharist. We’ve had gluten-free alternative ‘hosts’ for some time, stopped serving the Lord’s Precious Blood during the COVID period (though we’ve long had trouble with serving in both kinds), and will hear a priest say he can’t consume too much of the leftover Precious Blood so he doesn’t “get drunk.”
Still a couple years since entering the the Church I’m often confused listening and watching people behave, which suggests true belief more than words. Of course the Latin Church in the U.S. has admitted to a large majority of faithful who don’t believe in the Lord’s Real Presence at all…I don’t know enough to argue the point, but I wouldn’t be shocked at a strong correlation between our ‘relaxing’ of traditional standards and the faithful’s loss of conviction that the Holy Eucharist is what the Lord says It is.
Nice to see some believers agree in the comments. Wanted to add here because I could not comment on the article itself, that the story about dear Blessed Ilii of Optina was so good🥰. I really felt closer to him after reading it and that is so important to me since I live isolated from many other Orthodox believers. I really think those kind of stories have the ability to reach people on "both
sides of the aisle." He really was a humble person from a peasant background but yet he was an influence on the whole Russian Orthodox Church. His loss is immeasurable😢 but it's consolation I don't think the number of Optina Elders is finished yet (even though I personally have lost count.) Does anyone know any living ones?
The elders of old prophecied that after the Soviet Union fell, Optina and its great startsi would rise again. Fr. Ilia is proof they were right.
Thanks for sharing.
During a time of great suffering in the Byzantine Empire, a holy monk was deeply troubled by the rise of a cruel and tyrannical emperor. This new ruler had murdered the previous emperor and his family, oppressed the Orthodox faithful, and governed with brutality.
Distressed, the monk prayed fervently to Christ, asking:
“Lord, why have You allowed such an evil man to rule over us?”
In response, Christ appeared to the monk and answered:
“Because I could not find anyone worse.”
I really feel like the Greek bishops. Within the US are here because we are sinful. We have not repented of our sins so God has not given us holy bishops like he has in Greece and in Russia. We are under the show because we refuse to repent. May Christ allow us all to repent and forgive us our sins and we may be given great bishops in the future. Don't forget to pray for all of the hierarchy. Including his Eminence archbishop of goarch he was given to us for a reason. We could have had somebody 10 times worse. So Glory to God for that.
Well said!
Incense is ok but Eucharist is not ok caught me off guard. Splitting functionality from sacramentality is like splitting body from soul or God from man, it reduces the mystery to explainability and destroys the tension that is meant to save us.
"Bread and Wine in the hands of God are revealed to be what they truly are, the body and blood of Christ." - Fr Alexander Schmemman
"We are arguing about yeast in bread." - Patriarch Athenagoras about the Latin Schism.
God revels what He wants to be the Eucharist, just as He reveals us to be what we truly are. Let God reveal what He desires through the Church.
To pretend there's not a real categorical difference between incense and the Eucharist is a bizarre take. Incense has a functional use: to obscure the altar, to cleanse the air, as a representation of prayers and as an offering to God from the faithful. The type and contents of incense change seasonally and from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. If your priest burns Athonite incense instead of his usual frankincense, no one gets any more upset than when he changes vestments - precisely because his vestments aren't the source of eternal life. The Eucharist on the other hand is sacramental - grace or life giving. It is the medicine of immortality.
Not partaking of the Eucharist leads to eternal death; not burning incense on the other hand...
These aren't simply conceptual distinctions.
If a hierarch doesn’t believe, is he a believer? And isn’t belief a prerequisite to becoming and remaining clergy?