And while they were eating, Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying:
take, eat: this is My Body.

And taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said:
drink of it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Testament,

poured out for many for the remission of sins.

Gospel of Matthew

When evening came, He lay down with the twelve disciples; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I say to you, that one of you will betray Me.” They were greatly saddened, and began to say to Him, each one of them: Is it not I, Lord? He answered and said: He who dipped his hand into the dish with Me, this one will betray Me; However, the Son of Man comes, as it is written about Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed: it would have been better for this man not to have been born. At this, Judas, who betrayed him, said: Isn’t it me, Rabbi? Jesus says to him: You said.

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, taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them and said: drink from it, all of you, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I tell you that from now on I will not drink of this fruit of the vine until the day when I drink new wine with you in the kingdom of My Father.

And having sung, they went to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them: You will all be offended because of Me this night, for it is written: I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered; After My resurrection I will go before you to Galilee. Peter answered and said to Him, “Even if everyone is offended because of You, I will never be offended.” Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” Peter said to Him: Even though I had to die with You, I will not deny You. All the disciples said the same thing.

Then Jesus comes to a place called Gethsemane and says to the disciples: sit here while I go and pray there. And, taking Peter and both sons of Zebedee with him, he began to grieve and yearn. Then Jesus said to them: My soul is sorrowful unto death; abide here and watch with Me. And going away a little, he fell on his face, prayed and said: My Father! if possible, let this cup pass from Me: however, not as I will, but as You will.

Matt. 26, 21-3

Interpretation of the Holy Evangelist Matthew

As many now say: I would like to see the face of Christ, the image, the clothing! Behold, you see Him, you touch Him, you taste Him. You want to see His clothes, but He gives Himself to you and not only see, but also touch, taste, and take in. So, no one should approach with disdain, no one with cowardice, but all with fiery love, all with a warm heart and cheerfulness. If the Jews ate the lamb in haste, standing with boots on their feet and rods in their hands, then you should watch much more. They were preparing to go to Palestine, but you are preparing to go to heaven. Therefore, one must always be awake; no small punishment awaits those who partake unworthily. Think how indignant you are at the traitor and at those who crucified Christ. So, beware that you too do not become guilty against the body and blood of Christ. They put to death the all-holy body; and you accept him with an unclean soul after such great benefits. In fact, He was not content with merely becoming a man, being strangled and killed; but He still communicates Himself to us, and not only by faith, but also by deed itself makes us His body. How pure must one be who enjoys a bloodless sacrifice? How much purer than the rays of the sun should be - a hand crushing the flesh of Christ, a mouth filled with spiritual fire, a tongue stained with terrible blood! Think what an honor you have been awarded, what a meal you are enjoying! At the sight of what the Angels tremble, and what they 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. 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, but Himself feeds us with His own blood, and through this unites us with Himself. Consider that He was born from your nature. But you will say: this does not apply to everyone. On the contrary, to everyone. If He came to our nature, then it is obvious that He came to everyone; and if to all, then to each individual. Why, you say, did not everyone benefit from this? This does not depend on the One who was pleased to do this for everyone, but on those who were not willing. He unites with every believer through the mysteries, and He Himself nourishes those whom He gave birth to, and does not entrust it to anyone else; and by this he again assures you that He has taken on your flesh. So, having been awarded such love and honor, let us not indulge in carelessness. Do you not see with what readiness babies take their nipples, with what desire they press their lips to them? With the same disposition we must approach this meal and the sucking of the spiritual cup - or better said, we must attract to ourselves with even greater desire, like infants, the grace of the Spirit; and we should have only one sorrow - the fact that we do not partake of this food. The actions of this sacrament are not performed by human power. The One who performed them then, at that supper, still performs them now. We take the place of ministers, and Christ himself sanctifies and transforms the gifts. Let there not be a single Judas here, not a single lover of money. If anyone is not a disciple of Christ, then let him leave; the meal does not admit those who are not such. This is the same meal that Christ offered, and nothing less. It cannot be said that this is done by Christ, and this by man; Christ himself does both. This place is the same upper room where He was with the disciples; From there they went out to the Mount of Olives. Let us also go out to where the hands of the poor are stretched out; this very place is the Mount of Olives; But the multitude of the poor are the olive trees planted in the house of God, dripping with oil, which will be useful to us there, which the five virgins had, and which, not taking, the other five perished. Having taken this oil, let us go in so that we can go out with burning lamps to meet the Bridegroom. Having taken this oil, let's leave here. Not a single inhumane, not a single cruel and unmerciful person, in a word - not a single unclean one, should approach here.

). In the New Testament, the Lord Himself is the “true Vine,” and God the Father is the vinedresser, but all the people who abide with Christ are branches of this Vine ().
The cup is a symbol of unity and a symbol of salvation.
Bread and wine taken together corresponds to the Slavic “flesh and blood” and means the psychophysical nature of man...

In ancient times, it was believed that when a person invites friends and they have a meal with prayer, the Divine is invisibly present there. Sacrifice and meal always merged. And so Christ established the table of the New Testament, He concluded the New Union of Heaven and earth through His death, which was indicated by this meal. And He said: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” This is not just remembrance and remembrance, but this is the eternally repeating Last Supper. She is always with us.

When we raise the cup and bread on the throne in the Church, it means that Christ comes again and the night of the Last Supper begins again. He connects us with each other and connects us with Himself. The sacrament of the meal is the sacrament of unity with God and people among themselves. This is what “flesh and blood” means.

prot. Alexander Men

Why did Christ choose a meal, eating food together, as a form of closest unity with his followers? (After all, the Liturgy is a joint meal, only extremely simplified).

This is a big topic - the theology of the Eucharist, on which there are excellent works by Archimandrite. , oo. , Al. Schmemann and others. Now I ask you to take a break from our Americanized “way of eating,” often in a hurry, and pay attention to next fact. Christianity appears in the East, so it is important for us to take into account the Eastern view of the meal: any meal, especially a shared one, is sacred. Christ, as the head of the community, blessed the bread and wine at every joint meal (like any head of the family). The same thing happens at the Last Supper, but now Christ breaks the bread - and calls it his Body, and the wine in the cup - his Blood. At the same time, he himself partakes of this Eucharistic bread (this is not a piece of flesh separate from Him!). And when a person eats, then, figuratively speaking, he turns this bread into his body. When people eat and drink together at a Eucharistic meeting, they become relatives in flesh and blood.

"Lanchana Miracle"

It was the 8th century from the Nativity of Christ. The Sacrament of the Eucharist was celebrated in the Church of San Legontius in the ancient Italian city of Lanciano. But in the heart of one of the priests who served the Liturgy that day, doubt suddenly arose whether the Body and Blood of the Lord, hidden under the guise of bread and wine, were true. The chronicles did not bring to us the name of this hieromonk, but the doubt that arose in his soul became the cause of the Eucharistic miracle, which is revered to this day.

The priest drove away doubts, but they insistently returned again and again. “Why should I believe that bread ceases to be bread and wine becomes Blood? Who will prove this? Moreover, outwardly they do not change in any way and have never changed. Probably these are just symbols, just a memory of the Last Supper: "

On the night when He was betrayed, He took bread: He blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: “Take, taste: this is My body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins.” Likewise the cup, saying: “Drink from it, all of you: this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.”

The priest pronounced the holy words of the Eucharistic canon with fear, but doubts continued to torment him. Yes, He, the sacrificial lamb, could by His Divine power turn wine into blood, and bread into Flesh. He, who came by the will of the Heavenly Father, could do everything. But He left a long time ago, leaving this sinful world and giving it His holy words and His blessing as consolation: And, perhaps, His Flesh and Blood? But is this possible? Didn’t the true Sacrament of Communion go with Him to the heavenly world? Hasn't the Holy Eucharist become just a ritual - and nothing more? The priest tried in vain to restore peace and faith in his soul. Meanwhile, transubstantiation took place. With the words of prayer, he broke the Eucharistic Bread, and then a small cry of amazement sounded. Under the fingers of the hieromonk, the broken Bread suddenly turned into something else - he did not immediately understand what exactly. And there was no longer wine in the cup - there was a thick scarlet Liquid that looked like blood. The stunned priest looked at the object in his hands: it was a thin slice of Flesh, resembling muscle tissue human body. The monks surrounded the priest, amazed by the miracle, unable to contain their amazement. And he confessed to them his doubts, which were resolved in such a miraculous way. Having finished the holy liturgy, he silently fell to his knees and plunged into long prayer. What did he pray for then? Thank you for the sign given from above? Did you ask for forgiveness for your lack of faith? We will never know. But one thing is truly known: since then, in the city of Lanciano, for twelve centuries, the miraculous Blood and Flesh, which materialized during the Eucharist in the Church of San Legontius (now San Francesco), have been preserved. The news of the miracle quickly spread around the nearby cities and regions, and lines of pilgrims reached Lanciano.

Centuries have passed - and the wonderful Gifts have become the object of attention of scientists. Since 1574, various experiments and observations have been carried out on the Holy Sacrament, and since the early 1970s they began to be carried out at an experimental level. But the data obtained by some scientists did not satisfy others. Professor of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Siena Odoardo Linoldi, a leading expert in the field of anatomy, pathological histology, chemistry and clinical microscopy, conducted research with his colleagues in November 1970 and March 1971 and came to the following conclusions. The Holy Sacrament, kept in Lanciano since the 8th century, represents authentic human Flesh and Blood. The flesh is a fragment muscle tissue heart, contains in cross-section the myocardium, endocardium and vagus nerve. It is possible that the fragment of flesh also contains the left ventricle - this conclusion is made possible by the significant thickness of the myocardium located in the tissues of the Flesh. Both Flesh and Blood belong to the same blood group: AB. This also includes the Blood found on the Shroud of Turin. Blood contains proteins and minerals in normal percentages for human blood. Scientists especially emphasized: what is most surprising is that Flesh and Blood have been preserved for twelve centuries under the influence of physical, atmospheric and biological agents without artificial protection or the use of special preservatives. In addition, the Blood, being brought into a liquid state, remains suitable for transfusion, having all the properties of fresh blood. Ruggero Bertelli, professor normal anatomy man at the University of Siena, conducted research in parallel with Odoardo Linoli and obtained the same results. In repeated experiments carried out in 1981 using more advanced equipment and taking into account new scientific advances in the field of anatomy and pathology, these results were again confirmed:

According to the testimony of contemporaries of the miracle, the materialized Blood later coagulated into five balls different shapes, then hardened. Interestingly, each of these balls, taken separately, weighs the same as all five together. This contradicts the elementary laws of physics, but this is a fact that scientists still cannot explain. Placed in an antique bowl made of a single piece of rock crystal, the miraculous blood has been visible to the eyes of pilgrims and travelers visiting Lanciano for twelve centuries.

“Is it surprising that the Lord offers you His Body and Blood for food and drink?

Whoever gave you the flesh of the animals He created for food, He finally gave Himself for food and nourishment. Who fed you with your mother's breasts, He finally began to feed you with His Flesh and Blood, so that, just as you sucked into yourself with your mother's milk known properties mother, her spirit, so with the Body and Blood of Christ the Savior would have absorbed His spirit and life.

Or, just as before in infancy you fed on your mother and lived on her, her milk, so now, having grown up and become a sinful person, you feed on the Blood of your Life-Giver, so that through this you would be alive and grow spiritually into a man of God, a saint; in short: so that, just as then you were the son of your mother, so now you would be a child of God, raised, nourished by His Flesh and Blood, and moreover by His Spirit - the Flesh and Blood of His spirit are the essence and life - and become the heir of the Kingdom of Heaven, for which you and created for which you also live.”

Why did the Savior say: “...This is My Body... This is My Blood...”? In what sense is Body and Blood? Symbolically? In the sense that the Blood is a symbol of the establishment of the New Testament, and the broken bread is a symbol of the suffering Body of the God-Man, broken by the tormentors?

Not only that. If this were so, the Church would never say that we partake of the True, Authentic Body and Blood. We, as Baptists, would testify only to the remembrance of Christ and His Sacrifice, but not to true unity with Christ.

This means that the Eucharist is something more. This means that the Savior in His Sacrament contained a greater meaning than the one we have reached. This is discussed in this conversation.

Any meal is human nutrition; thanks to eating food, a person lives. Having created the world and planted plants (wheat - bread, grapes - wine), God gives them as food to man (). Food is life. “But the meaning, essence, joy of this life is not in food, but in God, in communion with Him” (Protoprev.). And so man fell away from God, from true life, and through man food also fell away from God, that is, the entire created world. After the Fall, Food does not help a person ascend to God: food leads to death, to decay. Where is the food that will return a person to God? Where is the food that will satisfy you forever, after which your stomach will not be empty after a while? This is Jesus Christ: “Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life; He who comes to Me will never hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.”

Many times in the Old Testament God gave food to people who were starving to death. This is manna and quails, miraculously given by God to the people after escaping from Egyptian captivity, during the people’s wanderings in the desert. All this is for a time, there is no need to cleave to all this... This only prefigures the true food and true drink that will appear in the coming messianic, eschatological times.

And these times are coming. Types and hopes are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. He is the “bread of life,” first by His word proclaiming eternal life for those who believe in Him (a), and then by His Flesh and Blood, given for food and drink (John 6:51b–58).

The Savior pronounces his words about the Eucharist after the miraculous feeding of the people in the desert (), thereby contrasting the Bread of Heaven with physical, corruptible bread ().

Interpreters note that, by mentioning the Exodus (from Egyptian captivity), Christ puts His actions in line with these events, sacred to every Israeli. On the one hand, He seems to proclaim a new Exodus (transition to a new life, to new reality), on the other hand, He hints at the Messianic feast, at the meal expected by the Jews, which, according to the teachings of the prophets, will come when the Lord descends to earth.

And further, explaining what these true food and drink actually are, Christ says that this is His Body and His Blood - He Himself. It does not symbolize bread and wine: it is a likeness, an image of My Body and Blood. He communicates the Eucharistic bread and wine new meaning: “This is My Body...”

Christ died and rose again. His death leads to true Life, which has no end ( words). The risen Christ now sits eternally at the right hand of God the Father, “having acquired for us eternal redemption” (), “being always alive to intercede for us” ().

Here is the key to understanding the nature of the Christian Eucharist. The Eucharist is amazing fact: this is the link connecting our ordinary world, subject to the laws of decay and Death, with the ever-living High Priest located in the Mystery Holy Trinity. The Eucharist is a bridge thrown between the ordinary, created world (the substance of bread and wine) and the Divine world - the glorified flesh of the Risen Christ. It is important to remember that we do not partake of the Body of Christ in His earthly existence, but that Body of the God-Man who took upon Himself the image of a slave, which carried Divinity secretly, as something that only occasionally manifested itself for a moment (for example, at the moment of the Transfiguration). We commune not of the dead Body that lay in the Tomb, but of the new, transformed, resurrected, glorified Body! We partake of the Body and Blood, which have passed into a new - glorified - category of being. We partake of the spirit-bearing Body of Christ, “not dematerialized, but completely animated by the energies of the Spirit” (Olivier Clément).

It is even more correct to say that we partake of the Body that has passed on its way to Heaven, to deification. This same Body lay in a manger, and the Magi worshiped it; this Body was pierced by a spear, died and was laid in the Tomb. And this same Body was resurrected and ascended to the Father. We partake of Him.

To commune with Christ means to connect to Divine life, the only true eternal life, not to take communion - to be in the dimension of a fallen, transient, decaying world. “If you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you” (). And “he who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (v. 56).

“What is this means [leading to eternal life]? Nothing other than this glorious Body, which has shown itself to be stronger than death, and has become for us the source of life. Just as a small amount of leaven is mixed with the whole dough, so the Body raised by God to immortality, entering our body, changes it and completely transforms it into Its own Essence” (St.).

It was indicated above that the Savior timed the celebration of the Supper to coincide with the Easter dinner. The meaning of the Easter meal is the exodus from captivity to freedom. But this transition, the Old Testament Easter, is only an image, a shadow of the coming Messianic Easter - the transition to a new life with God.

The Savior, with His procession to Golgotha, to death, makes the true Easter - the transition to life (gained through the Resurrection), to a new glorified existence. And Christ introduces all believers to this Easter, to a new way of existence. The Body and Blood bestowed by Him in the Eucharist is not an image, not a symbol of a new reality, they are the very reality of the eschatological world in which Christ lives. The Eucharist allows a person, completely immersed in our physical world, to partake of another, heavenly reality, to enter into living contact, unity with the glorified resurrected Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Body now located in the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. When the disciples, who heard the Savior’s sermon about the communion of His Body and Blood, were embarrassed by what they heard, Jesus, “knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling... said to them: ... What if you see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?” (). There... He is there, but also here, under the guise of wine and bread.

What happens in the Mystery of the Eucharist when a person takes into himself the True Body and True Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who suffered for us, died, rose again and became glorified?

Modern ascetic archimandrite, student of Ven. , writes that through union in love with the Divine Hypostasis (Personality) of the Only Begotten Son, we become like Him, gain the opportunity to realize our imagery and likeness to Him and “are adopted by the Heavenly Father for endless ages.”

On the cross, at the last moment, Christ exclaimed: “It is finished.” The depths of the Lord’s thoughts are unknown to us, but we know that then a great shift took place in all cosmic existence. This “It is Finished” refers to the eternal Council in the depths of the Holy Trinity, which is partly spoken of in the Revelation given to us. For us, what we expect in hope from God has not yet been fully accomplished. We continue to see in alarm “the present heavens and earth as being contained by the creative word of God, as being preserved for the day of the Last Judgment and the destruction of wicked men...” (Arch.

For us, this world is still moving toward the end of history, the Antichrist is coming, the Judgment and incineration of Satan and sin are ahead, when “death and hell are cast into the lake of fire” (). For us this is ahead, but the Divine Liturgy, the Eucharist, introducing us to blessed eternity, the Kingdom of Heaven, already contains all these events, as if they had passed. That is why during the Liturgy, praying, the priest on behalf of the believers utters mysterious but beautiful words: “Remembering this saving commandment, and all that was for us: the cross, the tomb, the three-day Resurrection, the ascension to heaven, the sitting on the right hand, the second and glorious restoration coming..."

What can we really remember that we know about? Cross? - yes. The tomb, the three-day Resurrection, the Savior’s ascension to Heaven, sitting at the right hand of the Father? - this happened before the eyes of those whom we trust; we can say that in the experience of faith we are witnesses to this. But can we say that we commemorate the past “second and glorious coming” of Christ? The liturgy, which connects our present world with eternity, with the Kingdom of Heaven, says that it is possible to say so.

Liturgy destroys our time. It would be more accurate to say that she transforms him. Just as the resurrected nature of Christ is transformed and spiritualized, so our time in the Eucharist becomes different.

At the moment of the Eucharist, we are partakers of the Last Supper, at which the Sacrament was established, we are interlocutors with the apostles (“Your Last Supper is this day (i.e. today), accept me as a partaker”) and at the same time we are witnesses of the Kingdom of Heaven that came after the Second Coming of Christ. Liturgy allows us to partake of a different, already unearthly, order of things, to become partakers of the Divine flow of time and Divine life. “To him who overcomes I will give to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His Throne” ().

So this happened. The Eucharist is the contemplation of God, communion with God, entering into communion with God - through unity with Christ, His Body and Blood.

And one more aspect of Eucharistic theology needs to be mentioned. “Just as this broken bread, once scattered along the slopes, was gathered to form one, so Thy Church is gathered in Thy Kingdom from all ends of the earth,” writes the author of the Didache in the second century after the Nativity of Christ.

“When the Lord called bread, consisting of many grains gathered together, His Body, He thereby indicated the unity of our people. When He called the wine, squeezed from many bunches and grapes and forming a single drink, His Blood, He indicated that our flock consists of many sheep gathered together,” writes the African bishop St. .

And another century later: “Men, women, children, deeply divided in relation to tribe, nationality, language, social status, occupation, learning, dignity, condition ... - all of them were transformed by the Church in the Spirit. All of them in equally The Church communicates the Divine form. Everyone receives a single nature, incapable of division, a nature that allows one to no longer take into account the numerous and deep differences between people” (St.).

So, the Eucharist in some mysterious way unites people. It unites in such a way that everyone gets their place in the Church, everyone fulfills their ministry. And if we think about what the unity of people found in the Church can be compared to, what comes to mind is... - a body, an ordinary body, in which each of the members is precious, each in its place... Both Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition unanimously testify that through Through the Eucharist we are united in Christ into one body, and this body is the Body of Christ. “Through the Eucharist the community is integrated into the Body of Christ” (), through the Liturgy we all become one through Christ and in Christ.

And this theological statement is not a product of later centuries, it is the very original statement of the ancient Church. Ap. Paul, who insisted that he was passing on to his disciples what he had received “from the Lord Himself” (), constantly returns to the theme that the Church is the Body of Christ. And we believers make up this Body.

The definition of the Church as the Body of Christ is also important in that it gives an idea of ​​the nature of the internal life of the Church. Just like an ordinary body with its growth, nutrition, metabolism, the same thing happens with the Church as the Body of Christ: just as an ordinary body grows and increases, so the Body of Christ is created (), creates a return (). Just as in the body each member has its own special purpose, serving the whole, so the Body of the Church is composed and united by the action of each member to the extent (). As a remarkable thinker of the early twentieth century, a professor at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, wrote:
“All Christians are united in the Lord and are united in Him to the point of inseparability... In this sense, they do not form an external union, but constitute a single whole, where in the different positions of the individual members the common functioning element of the grace of Christ is revealed.” The Church is a unity that exceeds everything familiar to our experience. This unity is not simply based on family, clan, social ties; this unity is supernatural; unity of a living organism. That's why ap. Paul used the metaphor so often: Christ lives in you, Christ lives in me (cf. ;). As noted by Fr. , “once “grafted into the Church,” believers are not something external to it. They are in a true sense assimilated into the Body of Christ, becoming its members.” This unity and affinity of Christ with believers is so close and real that the suffering of Christ must be the suffering of the Church, and the suffering of the Church and its members (even the smallest) is the suffering of Christ... “Abide in Me, and I in you” () - the motto of this New Testament reality, given to us by the immeasurable love of God.

We are repeatedly convinced that both the joys and sorrows of the Church and Christ are the same. “You have heard,” the Apostle Paul addresses the Christians of Galia, “that I cruelly persecuted the Church of God and devastated it” (). And the Savior, appearing to Paul, did not ask him: “Why are you persecuting My followers or My disciples?..” Christ asked: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me...” Listen! Why are you persecuting Me, Me Myself? The Savior identifies Himself with Christians. The persecution of His disciples is the persecution of Christ Himself. This is even more clear and concise in the Gospel of Matthew, when the Savior says to the apostles: “He who receives you receives Me...” (). In the same Gospel another wonderful example is given in which the Lord Himself identifies Himself with believers (members of the Body-Church):
“When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory, and all nations will be gathered before Him; and will separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those who right side His: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you accepted Me; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him: Lord! when did we see you hungry and feed you? or to the thirsty and gave them something to drink? when did we see you as a stranger and accept you? or naked and clothed? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? And the King will answer them, “Truly I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me.” Then He will also say to those on the left side: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry, and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and they did not accept Me; I was naked, and they did not clothe Me; sick and in prison, and they did not visit Me. Then they too will answer Him: Lord! When did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not serve You? Then he will answer them, “Truly I say to you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.” And these will go into eternal torment, but the righteous into eternal life” ().

So, the New Testament testifies that the Church is not just a community of people, gathered by the power of the Holy Spirit, strengthened and life-giving by the grace of the Sacraments. The Church is the fusion of people into a single organism - the Body of Christ; the place in which believers find this unity is the Eucharist. In Him, in Christ, we not only enter into communion with God, are included in the Divine life, but also unite with each other.

Maundy Thursday. Before us appears a furnished upper room, where the Lord and his disciples are at the Supper. There is very little time left before humiliation, insults, beatings, and calvary suffering. The Lord gathers the apostles in order not only to once again strengthen their spirit, but also to reveal the meaning of his sacrificial act. “Take, eat: this is My Body, which is broken for you, for the remission of sins,” says the Lord, pointing to the bread that is at the Table. “Drink of it, all of you: this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins,” He says, pointing to the cup.

The Mystery of the Supper of Maundy Thursday is also revealed to us. During the Liturgy, we all hear these words addressed to us by the Lord. Every believer in Christ is invited by God and the Savior himself to taste His Body and Blood.

At the Divine service, the Body and Blood of the Lord is taught to believers from a church vessel called a chalice. This vessel is especially kept in the altar. Only clergy have access to it. But, unfortunately, when there is a decline in faith in people and a decline in piety, such things fall into the hands of ungodly people. There have been more than enough such facts in our history. And our city is no exception.

In 1923, in the city of Vyazemsky, the Bolsheviks closed the temple. The temple building is being transferred to a cultural center. Some of the church items go to the new owners. Later in 1972, Gennady Borisovich Golosov, who at that time worked in the city of Vyazemsky and was an acquaintance of the director of the cultural center, saw a strange object on the table in the club, which the director used as an ashtray. When asked where it came from? - he was told that it was from old temple things. Gennady Borisovich asked to give him this item. Arriving home and cleaning it, he saw that it was a church bowl. Upper part was made of silver, and the lower one was made of copper. The mark of the master who minted it was even visible on the bowl. Gennady Borisovich decided to save the find and left for Khabarovsk.

Time passed, and he learned that in the city of Vyazemsky there was an active community and a temple on a historical site. And as he himself said, he did not want to keep such a thing at home, because it should not be at home, but in the temple.

This wonderful event took place in our church on May 2, 2013. Holy Week on Maundy Thursday after Divine Liturgy.

You never cease to be amazed at how wonderfully the Lord connects us. Events two thousand years ago, the past century, a guard service at which one remembers last supper of the current post, all this speaks of the unity of our Involvement in our Savior in a special providence known only to Him.

All that remains is to say, Glory to our God forever. Amen.

The Last Supper, Christ's disciples and us

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday - day great secret and great revelation. Jesus speaks very openly about wine and bread - “This is My blood, this is My flesh” - but the mystery of transformation cannot be fully comprehended. Even the apostles sitting with Him do not fully understand Him. It is also the day of the last conversation, the last questions, arguments... the last touches before death.

Washing the feet

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from the supper and took off His outerwear and, taking a towel, girded himself. Then he poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel with which he was girded.

The apostles do not yet know that, washing their feet, the Lord last time touches most of them before dying. John will still fall to His chest, there will still be a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane, but the rest will now only touch the risen Lord. If Thomas knew that next time he would touch the hands of the already risen Christ...

Washing feet confuses the disciples, who are accustomed to the fact that it is the work of a slave. And with this embarrassment they betray their human lack of freedom, their subordination to conventions: how... does a teacher... serve as a slave? By his action, Jesus sets an example for them not only of brotherly service, but also of utmost freedom. No act can lower Him either in His own eyes or in the eyes of the apostles; nothing sinless is low for Him; on the contrary, even slavish service performed by His hands becomes sublime and sanctified.

The washing of feet before the meal at which the Eucharist will be celebrated is like a prototype of the sacrament of confession. When we repent of sins, the Lord does not listen to us distantly, does not give forgiveness from above, but He Himself washes us, not embarrassed by any dirt. He washes us so that we can come to His supper clean and “have a part with Him.” But, as in the sacrament of confession, if the sin is hidden, then the forgiveness pronounced by the priest will not cleanse us. The Lord washes the feet of Judas too... But, unlike the others, Iscariot will not sit at the table clean.

“This is My Body, this is My Blood of the New Testament...”

The formation of the Eucharist is the heart of the Last Supper. Handing the cup of wine to the disciples and breaking the bread, Jesus gives them all of Himself, without a trace, as long as they can contain it. He makes the New Testament in his own blood.

If the contract Old Testament was signed by the human blood of circumcision, then the New Testament was written and signed by the blood of Christ. The commandments given to Moses were dictated from above and carved in stone. The commandments of Christ are written by His blood, which flowed from the cross.

All the gospel words about love and forgiveness, all the calls to come and repent, all the promises are written by His purest blood, which He voluntarily sheds. Because the New Testament cannot be written with anything else: the gap between man and God is too great, except death and Resurrection, nothing can fill it. Every word of the Gospel is redeemed by the blood of which Christ speaks at the Last Supper: This cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you.

Last conversation

At the Last Supper, Jesus speaks to his disciples very openly. There is so much in this conversation: consolation in advance, promises, and a call to unite as closely as possible among ourselves and with Him. He understands what a terrible blow tomorrow will be for them. And He spares no words to encourage them ahead of time, to give them support for those hours that they will have to spend in utter horror.

He knows how orphaned they will feel - and He promises: I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you. He knows that in Friday’s despair they will need to rely on something - and he tells them ahead of time what will happen, so that later, remembering this conversation, they understand that everything was revealed to Him in advance. He even warns that they will deny Him, that the disciples will scatter - then they will remember these words, remember that, even knowing in advance about their denials and cowardice, He still told them about His love and that they are His.

This conversation is very much about love and joy. “I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” Yes, He speaks of suffering and persecution that await Him and the apostles, but He promises that all sorrow will be transformed into joy. Pain, suffering, deprivation - all this is temporary, all this is from the prince of this world. But those who have endured, who have not fallen away, will be rewarded with joy that will never end.

This joy will be redeemed by His death, but Jesus will not tell His disciples about His dying mental anguish - He will begin to pray about this only in the Garden of Gethsemane, only there will he sparingly defend himself in front of the three closest ones: “My soul grieves unto death.” The apostles need to survive Friday without being disappointed, without completely falling away, without renouncing, and then persecution and execution await them - and Christ speaks to them about the coming joy.

High Priestly Prayer

According to the Gospel story, earlier, when Jesus wanted to talk with the Father, He moved away from the disciples for this. The appeals of the Son to the Father have always remained a secret of mysteries. But at the Last Supper, this veil is also torn off - Jesus turns to God in prayer in front of the disciples in order to dispel their last doubts, so that they are completely convinced that the Father and the Son are one. And those who are with the Son are with the Father. “Everything that is Mine is Yours, and everything that is Yours is Mine.”

The disciples had already partaken of the Body and Blood at the Last Supper, and Jesus had already said: I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. Now they can be witnesses of this prayer. They can stand before the Father because the blood of His Son is in them.

And Christ openly prays for the apostles, asking the Father for them, uniting them with the Father - the apostles and all who believe in Him according to their word. From now on and forever, everyone who believes in Christ becomes the one for whom He fervently prays to the Father in His filial prayer at the end of the Last Supper.

Priest Georgy Chistyakov talks about the connection between the Last Supper and the celebration of the Jewish Passover. We, the people with whom the New Covenant was concluded, are the heirs of those with whom the Old Covenant was concluded. This article is worth reading to get a sense of this continuity.
Read

To help those who pray: the service of Holy Week

The lecture will help you understand what happens in the church in the last week before Easter, how the Church prepares us for this holiday, unfolding events before us last days life of the Savior.

Holy Week is a special time in the life of the Church. Each day is unique: it has its own theme, its own chants and specially selected readings from the Old and New Testaments.

The Charter of the Church, as we know it now, took shape over a thousand years, and it is not easy to understand it on your own. We need someone who can tell us what is most important in each day, what to pay attention to, what to think about, what to prepare ourselves for.

Ilya Aleksandrovich Krasovitsky, a regent with many years of experience, a teacher of liturgics from St. Tikhon’s University, talks about this. The lecture will be useful both for those who are just getting acquainted with Orthodox worship and for those who have been in the Church for a long time.

COMMUNION OF THE HOLY MYSTERIES OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

“Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you will not receive life. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood lives in Me and I in him” (John 6:53,56). With these words, the Lord pointed out the absolute necessity for all Christians to participate in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, which was established by the Lord at the Last Supper.
“Jesus took the bread and said a prayer of blessing over it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take, eat, this is My Body. Taking the cup and saying a prayer of thanksgiving, He gave it to them, saying: drink all of you from it, this is Mine Blood, the Blood of the New Testament (Covenant), which is shed for so many people for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:26-28).
In the Eucharist we are mysteriously united with Christ, for in every particle of the broken lamb the whole Christ is contained. The sacrament of the Eucharist exceeds the capabilities of our mind. Communion cleanses the soul from sins, ignites the love of Christ in us, lifts the heart to God, engenders virtues in it, and restrains attacks on us dark force, gives strength against temptations, revives the soul and body, heals them, gives them strength, strengthens virtues.
The Prayer of the Eucharist says:
...so that when we take communion
The Holy Mysteries brought cleansing of souls and forgiveness of sins,
fellowship of the Holy Spirit, fullness of the kingdomsand HeavenlyO,
Confidence before You is not condemnation or punishment. e...
(liturgy of St. John Chrysostom)
Father Valentin Sventsitsky writes: “The Eucharist is the basis of that real unity that is expected in the general resurrection, for both in the transubstantiation of the Gifts and in our Communion is the guarantee of our salvation and resurrection, not only spiritual, but also bodily.”
Elder Parthenius of Kiev once, in a reverent feeling of fiery love for the Lord, repeated the prayer for a long time: “Lord Jesus, live in me and let me live in You,” and heard a quiet, sweet voice: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I'm in it."
St. John of Kronstadt teaches about the importance of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in the fight against strong temptations: “If you feel the weight of the struggle and see that you cannot cope with evil alone, run to your spiritual father and ask him to impart to you the Holy Mysteries. This is a great and all-powerful weapon in struggle."
Repentance alone is not enough to preserve the purity of our hearts and strengthen our spirit in piety and virtues. The Lord said: “When the unclean spirit leaves a person, he walks through waterless places, seeking rest, and, not finding it, says: I will return to my house from where I came. And when he comes, he finds it swept and tidied up. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more evil than themselves enter and live there. And the last thing for that person is worse than the first" (Luke 11:24-26).
So, if repentance cleanses us from the defilement of our soul, then the communion of the Body and Blood of the Lord will fill us with grace and block the return into our soul of the evil spirit expelled by repentance.
As Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes: “It is a great thing to receive the Holy Mysteries and great are the fruits from this: the renewal of our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the blissful mood of the spirit. And no matter how great this matter is, it requires so careful preparation from us. And therefore you want from the Holy To receive the grace of God through Communion, try your best to correct your heart.”
An indispensable condition for partaking of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is forgiveness of all those who have offended you. In a state of anger or hostility towards someone, you should under no circumstances take communion.
When preparing for Communion, we must take into account the following instructions of St. John of Kronstadt: “Some put all their well-being and service before God in reading all the prescribed prayers, not paying attention to the readiness of the heart for God - to their internal correction, for example, many read the rule for communion in this way. Meanwhile, here, first of all, we need to look for the correction and readiness of the heart to receive the Holy Mysteries. If your heart has become right in your womb, by the grace of God, if it is ready to meet the Bridegroom, then thank God, although you did not have time to read all the prayers “The Kingdom of God is not in words, but. in power" (1 Cor. 4:20). It is good to obey the mother of the Church in everything, but with prudence, and, if possible, “he who is able to accommodate” - a long prayer - “let him accommodate.” But “not everyone can accommodate this word” ( Matthew 19:11); if prolonged prayer is incompatible with ardor of spirit, it is better to make a short but fervent prayer. Let us remember that one word of the tax collector, spoken from a warm heart, justified him not at the multitude of words, but at the disposition of the heart. . The main thing is the living faith of the heart and the warmth of repentance for sins."

Your secret supperdays Oh, Son of God, accept me as a partaker.

According to teaching Orthodox Church, the only true celebrant of the Eucharist is Christ Himself: He is invisibly present in the temple and acts through the priest.
The Eucharist is the Last Supper itself, renewed daily by Christ and continuously, from that Easter night, when Christ reclined at the table with His disciples, continues in the Church. "Thy secret supper today (today), Son of God, accept me as a partaker,” we say as we begin Communion. Not only the Last Supper, but also the Calvary sacrifice of Christ is renewed at every Liturgy: “The King of kings and Lord of lords comes to sacrifice and be given as food to the faithful” (from Liturgy of Holy Saturday).
Union with Christ in the Eucharist is not symbolic and figurative, but true, real and complete. Just as Christ permeates bread and wine with Himself, filling them with His Divinity, so He enters into man, filling his flesh and soul with His life-giving presence and Divine energy. In the Eucharist we become, in the words of the Holy Fathers, “co-corporeal” with Christ, Who enters into us as into the womb of the Virgin Mary. The Venerable Simeon the New Theologian writes that Christ, uniting with us, makes all members of our body divine: “You are our relatives according to the flesh, and we (Your relatives) according to Your Divinity... You abide with us now and forever, and You make each one a dwelling and dwell in all... each of us individually is with You, Savior, all with All, and You are with each individually, One with one... And thus each of us becomes a member of the Body of Christ ... and together we become gods, co-abiding with God."
Christ said: “Unless you 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 b" (John 6:53-54). Therefore, the Holy Fathers advised Christians never to shy away from the Eucharist and to receive communion as often as possible. "Try to gather more often for the Eucharist and praise to God a," says Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer ( "gather for the Eucharist and" means to receive communion, since in the time of St. Ignatius, everyone present received communion at the Eucharist). Reverend Neil(IV century) says: “Abstain from everything corruptible and partake of the divine Supper every day, for in this way the Body of Christ is ours.” m".
The practice of rare communion, only on major holidays or fasts, or even once a year, arose as the spirit of Eucharistic piety weakened in the Church, when some began to avoid communion out of a sense of their own unworthiness (as if, by receiving communion rarely, they became more worthy), and for others, communion has become a formality - a “religious duty” that must be fulfilled.
The question of how often it is necessary to receive communion was widely discussed in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, when preparations were underway for the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was recommended to return to the early Christian practice of receiving communion on every Sunday. It was emphasized that a person is never worthy of this great sacrament, because all people are sinners, but the Eucharist is given so that, by communing and uniting with Christ, we become purer and more worthy of God. Saint John Cassian the Roman spoke about this in the 5th century: “We should not avoid receiving the Lord’s communion because we recognize ourselves as sinners. But even more and more we must hasten to it for the healing of the soul and the purification of the spirit, however, with such humility of spirit and faith that, considering ourselves unworthy of receiving such grace, we desired more healing for our n."
If in the first three centuries after Christ, weekly or even daily communion was the norm of Christian life, then this, obviously, was a consequence of the intensity of spiritual burning that was observed in the Church during the era of persecution. The weakening of the Eucharistic consciousness is directly related to the general decline in the level of spiritual life in subsequent centuries. It is quite natural that where persecution was renewed, where Christians found themselves in conditions where belonging to the Church meant readiness for martyrdom, and lived under the threat of death, the Eucharist again became the focus of Christian life. This was the case in Soviet Russia after the revolution, and this was the case among thousands of Christians of the Russian Diaspora who found themselves deprived of their homeland.
Stressing that no one can be worthy n communion, the Holy Fathers, however, constantly reminded that everyone approaching the sacrament must be goto to a meeting with Christ. First of all, readiness for communion is determined by the fulfillment of the Commandments, purity of conscience, absence of enmity against neighbors or resentment towards anyone, peace towards all people: ".. If you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first make peace with your brother, and then come and offer your gift th" (Matthew 5:23-24). Preparation for communion is the very life of a Christian in unity with Christ in the fulfillment of His Teachings and should not be limited to reading a certain number of prayers and abstaining from certain types of food.
All instructions regarding preparation for the Eucharist are aimed at ensuring that the person approaching the sacrament realizes his sinfulness and begins with a feeling of deep repentance. In the prayer before communion, the priest, and along with him all the people, repeating the words of the holy Apostle Paul, each calls himself “the chief of sinners”: “I believe, Lord, and confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the living God, who came into the world to save sinners, from whom I am the first h". Only the consciousness of his complete unworthiness makes a person worthy to approach the Eucharist.
Contrition from the consciousness of one's own sinfulness, however, does not prevent a Christian from perceiving the Eucharist as a holiday and joy. By its nature, the Eucharist is a solemn Thanksgiving, the main mood of which is praise to God. This is the mystery of the Eucharist: one must approach it with repentance and at the same time with joy - with repentance from the consciousness of one’s unworthiness and joy from the fact that the Lord in the Eucharist cleanses, sanctifies and deifies man, makes him worthy m regardless of unworthiness. In the Eucharist, not only bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ, but the communicant himself is transformed from the old man into the new, freed from the burden of sins and enlightened by Divine light. Adapted from Bishop Hilarion's book "The Sacrament of Faith."

HOLY COMMUNION - THE BASIS OF SPIRITUAL LIFE

He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him m. (John 6:56).

The Divine Eucharist is the center of all church life and the basis of the spiritual life of every Orthodox person. The Eucharist, by its patristic name, is "The Sacrament of the Sacraments" church Holy Communion always reminds us of our dedication to God in the sacrament of baptism, reveals to us the faith of the Church... All Church Sacraments are connected with the Eucharist. It is the Eucharist that communicates reality to them. Bishop Vasily (Krivoshein) († 1985), says that “The Sacrament of the Eucharist, too (like baptism) is the sacrament of the death and life of Christ and at the same time the proclamation of His saving work and the expectation of His Second Coming: "As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes. t" (1 Cor. 11:26). Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ is the source and guarantee of our resurrection, as the Lord Himself testifies to this: “Unless you 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... He who eats this bread will live forever j" (John 6:53-54, 58). That is why Saint Ignatius of Antioch calls the Body and Blood of Christ the medicine of immortality, the antidote so as not to die (see Eph. 20:2).
Like the New Testament Easter meal, the Divine Liturgy each time reveals Christ's Pascha to the faithful and reminds us of the Second Glorious Coming of Christ. "We proclaim Your death, O Lord, We confess Your Resurrection m!" - all participants in the Divine Liturgy in the Ancient Church exclaimed after the deacons.
Happy holiday to everyone church holidays is Easter of Christ. ...In the Catechetical Word for Easter, Saint John Chrysostom ...calls for Holy Communion with these words: "Those who have fasted and those who have not fasted, rejoice today! The meal is complete, enjoy it all! The well-fed calf, let none go hungry, everyone enjoy the feast of faith y!"
The duty of every Christian is to partake of the Holy Sacraments as often as possible, ... to be faithful to the commandments of Christ: Take and eat, this is My Body, broken for you... For example, Saints Basil and John Chrysostom ... expressed concern that zeal for the Eucharist was being lost among Christians. Saint Basil the Great wrote...: “It is good and beneficial to commune and receive the Holy Body and Blood of Christ every day, because Christ Himself clearly says: “Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has Eternal Life” (John 6:54). We commune four times every week: on the Lord's Day, on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, also on other days, if there is a commemoration of a saint"This is evidence of the Eucharistic practice of ascetics and monks. But the Sunday Eucharist, as the church canons say, was intended for everyone.
The practice of extremely rare communion for the majority of Orthodox Christians in the pre-revolutionary period in Rus' is known. The great preacher of the Eucharist, the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, greatly regretted this. In one of his sermons he said: “There are people who, only out of need and necessity, begin to receive the Holy Mysteries once a year. This is also not good, because they are already fulfilling their Christian duty as if under pressure, out of necessity... And if the Lord is the True Bread, then we must desire this Bread not only once a year, but, if possible, every month,every week, even every day. Why is this so? Because this is our daily bread for us, for our soul, and since we need our daily bread every day, we also need heavenly food - the Body and Blood of Christ - every day. Therefore, in the Lord’s Prayer we pray: give us this day our daily bread."
We find the most ardent calls for Communion in creations righteous John Kronstadt, who is most often depicted on icons with the Eucharistic cup. In the 20th century, which was terrible due to persecution, the Eucharistic revival became the key to the preservation of Orthodoxy itself in Russia. It is during times of persecution that the Eucharist, as the sacrament of the suffering and Resurrection of Christ, becomes more than ever a desired Holy meal for an Orthodox person. Who does not know examples of how the Communion of Saints was valued? Mysteries of Christ in prisons, camps and exiles?!
At the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, an amazing prayer is offered for the unity of Christians: “But unite us all, who partake of the One Bread and the Cup, to each other, into the One Holy Spirit of communion e..." Such a supreme unity of people on earth is possible only through the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist, by its liturgical nature, testifies to general, and not just personal salvation, and to the love of Christians for each other. The call to Communion is at the same time a call to love one another to a friend. "With the fear of God, faith and love he will begin e!"
Apostolic canons 8 and 9, as well as other church institutions corresponding to them in the teaching of the Church on the Eucharist (canons 66 and 80 of the Council of Trullo, 2 of Antioch and 11 of Serdicia) clearly show that the Church of Christ always calls upon all his children to constantly participate in the saving Eucharist - the New Testament Easter Meal. These rules state that clergy who do not receive communion at the Liturgy "are becoming the cause of harm to the people from God (Ap. 8th), that the faithful who do not receive communion at the Liturgy - "they are doing outrageous things e" (Ap. 9th), that those who do not partake "evading order a" church and must confess this (Antioch. 2nd), that non-participation in the three liturgies "on three Sundays for three weeks b" threatens removal from church communion (6 Ecumenical Council, 80s).
...To make your Christian life real life in Christ, the church obliges each of us to be faithful to our Baptism and every Resurrection to all approach Holy Communion together - the source of life in the Spirit and the guarantee of eternal salvation.
(According to an article by Archpriest Boris Pivovarov).

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY MYSTERIES?

"the more often the better" -

answers Saint John Chrysostom.
Holy Righteous Fr. John of Kronstadt pointed to the forgotten The apostolic rule is to excommunicate those who have not received Holy Communion for three weeks. Archbishop Arseny (Chudovskoy) writes: “Continuous Communion should be the ideal of all Christians. But the enemy of the human race... immediately understood what power the Lord had given us in the Holy Mysteries. And he began the work of rejecting Christians from Holy Communion. From the history of Christianity we know “that at first Christians received communion daily, then 4 times a week, then on Sundays and holidays, and then during all fasts, that is, 4 times a year, finally, barely once a year, and now even less often.” “A Christian must always be ready for death and for Communion,” said one of the spirit-bearing fathers. So, it is up to us to frequently participate in the Last Supper of Christ and to receive at it the great grace of the Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ.
One of the elder’s spiritual daughters, Father Alexy Mechev, once told him: “Sometimes you yearn in your soul to unite with the Lord through Communion, but the thought that you received communion recently holds you back. This means the Lord touches the heart,” the elder answered her, “so that’s all.” these cold reasonings are neither necessary nor appropriate... I give you communion often, I proceed from the purpose of introducing you to the Lord, so that you feel how good it is to be with Christ.”
One of the wise shepherds of the twentieth century, Fr. Valentin Sventsitsky writes: “Without frequent communion, spiritual life in the world is impossible. After all, your body dries up and becomes powerless when you do not give it food. And the soul demands its heavenly food. Otherwise, it will dry out and become weak. Without communion, the spiritual fire in You will die out. It will be filled with worldly rubbish. To free ourselves from this rubbish we need a fire that burns the thorns of our sins. Spiritual life is not abstract theology, but real and most undoubted life in Christ. But how can it begin if you do not accept the fullness of the Spirit of Christ in this terrible and great sacrament? How can you live in Him without accepting the Flesh and Blood of Christ? And here, as in repentance, the enemy will not leave you without attacks. And here he will plot all sorts of intrigues for you. He will erect many external and internal barriers. Either you will have no time, then you will feel unwell, or you will want to put it off for a while, “to better prepare.” Don't listen. Go. Confess. Take communion. You don’t know when the Lord will call you.”
Let not the soul be embarrassed by the fact that, despite all its repentance, it is still unworthy of Communion. This is what the elder Fr. Alexy Mechev: "Take Communion more often and do not say that you are unworthy. If you talk like that, you will never receive communion, because you will never be worthy. Do you think that there is at least one person on Earth worthy of receiving the Holy Mysteries? No one is worthy of this, and if we do receive communion, it is only by the special mercy of God. We are not created for Communion, but Communion is for us. It is we, sinners, unworthy, weak, who more than anyone else need this saving source."
And here is what the famous Moscow pastor Fr. said about frequent communion of the Holy Mysteries. Valentin Amfitheatrov: “...You need to be ready every day for Communion, as if you were ready for death... Those who receive communion often are my friends. Ancient Christians took communion every day. We must approach the Holy Chalice and think that we are unworthy and cry out with humility: everything is here, in You, Lord - mother, father, husband - everything is You, Lord, and joy and consolation.”
The famous elder of the Pskov-Pechersk Monastery, schema-abbot Savva (1898-1980), wrote in his book “On the Divine Liturgy”: “The most pleasant confirmation of how much our Lord Jesus Christ Himself desires for us to begin the Lord’s Table is his appeal to to the apostles: “I greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before My suffering" (Luke 22.15). ... He ardently desired the Passover of the New Testament - that Passover in which He sacrifices Himself. Offers Himself as food. The words of Jesus Christ can be expressed this way: the desire for love and mercy "I really wanted to eat with you this Easter y," because all of My love for you is imprinted in it, and all of your true life and bliss. If the Lord, out of His ineffable love, so ardently desires it not for His own sake, but for our sake, then how ardently we should desire it, out of love and gratitude to Him, and for our own good and bliss!
Christ said: "Take it, eat it... "(Mark 14:22). He offered us His Body not for a one-time or infrequent and occasional use, as medicine, but for constant and everlasting nourishment: eat, and do not taste. But if the Body of Christ were offered to us only as healing, then even then we should ask permission to receive communion as often as possible, since we are weak in soul and body, and spiritual weaknesses are especially evident in us. The Lord gave us the Holy Mysteries as our daily bread, according to His word: “his own bread.” I will give, my flesh is" (John 6:51). From this it is clear that Christ not only allowed, but also commanded l so that we often begin to eat His meal. We do not leave ourselves for a long time without ordinary bread, knowing that otherwise our strength will weaken and bodily life will cease. How can we not be afraid to leave ourselves for a long time without the bread of heaven, the divine, without the bread of life?
Those who rarely approach the Holy Chalice usually say in their own defense: “We are unworthy, we are not ready.” And whoever is not ready, let him not be lazy and get ready. Not a single person is worthy of communion with the all-holy Lord, because God alone is sinless, but we are given the right to believe, repent, correct, be forgiven and trust in the grace of the Savior of sinners and the Discoverer of the lost.
Whoever carelessly leaves himself unworthy of communion with Christ on earth will remain unworthy of communion with Him in Heaven. Is it wise to remove yourself from the Source of life, power, light and grace? He is reasonable who, to the best of his ability, correcting his unworthiness, resorts to Jesus Christ in His Most Pure Mysteries, otherwise the humble consciousness of his unworthiness can turn into coldness towards faith and the work of his salvation." Adapted from the book: EXPLANATIONS ON THE SACRAMENTS OF CONFESSION AND HOLY COMMUNION priest Dimitry Galkin.

From the instructions of St. Innocent, the Illuminator of America:

CUP OF LIFE, IMMORTALITY, LOVE AND SACREDITY.

The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is food on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven e. But is it possible in the distant and the hard way go without food? The Body and Blood of Jesus Christ is visible shrine I, betrayed to us and left to us by Jesus Christ Himself for our sanctification. But who would not want to be a participant in such a Shrine and be sanctified? So, do not be lazy in approaching the cup of life, immortality, love and holiness; but approach with the fear of God and faith. But whoever does not want and is careless about this does not love Jesus Christ, and he will not receive the Holy Spirit and, therefore, he will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

That Orthodox Christians need to frequently partake of the Divine Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ
Venerable Nicodemus the Holy Mountain, Saint Macarius of Corinth
http://www.wco.ru/biblio/books/nikodim_sv1/Main.htm

All Orthodox Christians are commanded to receive frequent communion, 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 rites of the Holy Liturgy, and fourthly, finally, by Holy Communion itself.
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. 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 life according to Christ. But since this spiritual life according to Christ should not be extinguished and interrupted (as the Apostle says, do not quench the spirit), but must. to be constant and continuous, so that the living would not live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again (according to the same Apostle), that is, so that the living faithful would no longer live a life of their own and carnal, but the life of Christ, Who died and rose again for them, - of necessity, therefore, it is required that what constitutes it, that is, Divine Communion, be constant.
And in another place the Lord says commandingly: "Truly, truly, I say to you, ifAnd If you do not eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. and." From these words it becomes clear that Divine Communion for Christians is as necessary as necessary and holy baptism. 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. e." 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 will not have life in you. and." So, just as without Baptism it is impossible for anyone to live a spiritual life and be saved, 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, from here the conclusion is drawn 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 conveyed 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 follow Me " and "if you want to be perfect". But He declared commandingly: "Take, eat, this is My Body oh," and "Drink from it, everyone, this is the Blood of Mo I." That is, you must definitely eat My Body and you must definitely drink My Blood. And again he says: "Do this in My remembrance e." 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 entire economy of salvation.
These words of the Lord clearly represent two necessary [moments] in Communion: one consists in the obligatory command which they contain, and the other in the duration indicated by the word "creates e", which, of course, means that we are commanded not just to receive communion, but to receive communion continually. 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 it is imperative to accept this as the Master’s commandments and regulations.
The Divine Apostles, following this urgent commandment of our Lord, at the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel, at the first opportunity, gathered with all the faithful in secret place out of fear from the Jews, they 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 benefit from them, to pray with them and to partake of the Most Pure Mysteries, in order to be sanctified and It is better to be confirmed in the faith of Christ. “They continued constantly,” he says, “in the teaching of the apostles, in fellowship and the breaking of bread and in prayers.” 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 communion of the Divine Mysteries, when the Holy Liturgy is celebrated. “If a bishop, or presbyter, or 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 present it, let him be excommunicated from the communion of the Church, as if he had become caused harm to the people, and brought suspicion upon the one who made the offering, as if he had done it incorrectly.” 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.” 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 hear scriptures, but due to some deviation from the order, those who do not participate in prayer with the people or who turn away from 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." That is, all those 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 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?
And just as a baby, when he is born, cries and asks with great desire for food and milk, and when he does not eat, has no appetite, then this is a sign that he is sick and is in danger of dying, so we must have a spiritual desire to eat Holy Communion food, so that we may 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, like children, cling to their mother’s shirt, to the grace of the Spirit. And let us have only one sorrow - not to partake of this Food.”

About the fact that frequent Communion of the Holy Mysteries is beneficial and saving

When a Christian receives communion, who can comprehend what gifts and gifts are given to him from Divine Communion? Gregory the Theologian says: “The Most Sacred Body of Christ, when well received, is a weapon for those at war, a return for those moving away from God, strengthens the weak, cheers the healthy, cures illnesses, preserves health, thanks to it we are more easily corrected, in labor and sorrow we become more patient , in love - more ardent, in knowledge - more refined, in obedience - more ready, to the actions of grace - more receptive. And for those who receive communion poorly, the consequences are the opposite, because they are not sealed with the honest Blood of our Lord. writes: “Let us be diligent, brothers, in fasting, prayer, church meetings, handicrafts, communion with the holy fathers, obedience to the truth, listening to the Divine Scriptures, so that our minds do not dry out, but most of all, let us try to make ourselves worthy of Communion of the Divine and Most Pure Mysteries, so that our soul was cleansed from the emerging thoughts of unbelief and impurity, and so that the Lord who dwells in us would deliver us from the evil one.” Saint Theodore the Studite wonderfully describes the benefits that everyone receives from frequent Communion: “Tears and tenderness have great power, but first of all and most of all - the Communion of the Holy Things, in relation to which, seeing you, I don’t know why, carelessly, I am very surprised. If it is Sunday, you still begin the Sacrament, but if the Liturgical the meeting will take place on another day - no one receives communion. Although in the monastery anyone who wishes could receive communion every day. Now the Liturgy is celebrated less often, but by saying this, I do not mean that you simply want to receive communion. so and how it will happen, for it is written: “Let a man examine himself, and in this way let him eat of this bread and drink of this cup. For whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself" (1 Cor. 11:28-29), - without distinguishing where the Body and Blood of the Lord are. It is not for this that I speak, but so that with the desire for Communion as much as possible we purified ourselves and made ourselves worthy of this gift, for the communion of life is the Bread that is set forth from heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever: “The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for life. peace." And again: "He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him" (John 6:56).
Do you see the incomprehensible gift? He not only died for us, but also offered Himself to us as food. What could be a greater sign of strong love? What could be more saving for the soul? In addition, no one refuses to eat ordinary food and drink every day, and if they don’t eat, they are extremely upset. As for not ordinary bread, but the Bread of Life, and not ordinary drink, but the Cup of Immortality, we treat them as unimportant and not absolutely necessary. What could be more crazy and reckless? However, no matter how things have been so far, for the future, I ask you, let us be careful, knowing the power of the gift, and, as far as possible, purified, let us partake of the Holy Things. And if it happens that we are busy with some kind of work, as soon as the bell rings, let us leave the work and go to receive Holy Communion with great eagerness. And this (as I think, or rather, as it really is) will help us a lot, since preparation for Communion will keep us pure. If we are indifferent to Communion, then how will we avoid being worked by passions? May Communion be our guide to eternal life. So, if we do as the divine fathers command us and take communion often, then not only will we have Divine grace as an assistant and collaborator in this short life, but the angels of God and the Lord of the angels himself will help us, and in addition, let us throw our demonic opponents far away from us, as the divine Chrysostom says: “Like lions breathing fire, so we depart from this [Holy Meal], becoming terrible for the devil, having in us both our Head Christ and the love that He showed us This Blood makes the royal image of our soul shine, gives birth to inexpressible beauty, does not allow the nobility in the soul to fade, constantly watering it and nourishing it. This Blood, worthily received, drives demons away from us, and attracts angels, along with the Lord of angels. they run away when they see the Sovereign Blood, and the angels gather. It is the salvation of our souls, the soul rejoices in it, it warms us, it makes our soul purer than gold. Those who partake of this Blood stand together with the angels and those on high. forces, being dressed in the same royal clothes as theirs, and having spiritual weapons. But I have not yet said about the greatest thing: those who partake are dressed in the King Himself." Do you see how many wonderful gifts you receive if you partake often, do you see how with frequent Communion the mind is enlightened, the mind brightens, all the powers of the soul are purified? And if you want to mortify and carnal passions, take communion often and you will enjoy it. Cyril of Alexandria assures us of this: “Whoever believes in blessed Communion is delivered not only from death, but also from the diseases that are in us. For Christ coming into us lulls the raging law of the flesh in our members and revives reverence for God, and mortifies passions.” . Thus, without frequent Communion we cannot free ourselves from passions and ascend to the heights of dispassion. If we want to escape from the dark and haunting sin, and want to inherit the land of heart and promise, then we must, like the Israelites who had Joshua as their leader, have our Lord Jesus Christ through frequent Communion to overcome the countless passions of the flesh, and deceitful thoughts, so that we may settle in the city of Jerusalem, which means the holy world. According to the word of our Lord: “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you” (John 14:27). That is: “My disciples, I give you My sacred and holy world, not like the worldly world, which often has evil as its goal.” By staying in this sacred world, we will be worthy to receive the betrothal of the Spirit in our hearts, just as the apostles, remaining in Jerusalem at the command of the Lord, received the perfection and grace of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost. After all, peace is a gift that includes all other divine gifts, and the Lord lives in peace, for, as the prophet Elijah says, God was not in a great and strong wind, not in an earthquake, not in fire, but in a quiet and peaceful wind - the Lord was there (See 1 Kings 19:11-12).
However, no one can acquire peace without having other virtues, and virtue is not acquired without fulfilling the commandments, and the commandment, in turn, cannot be fulfilled perfectly without love, and love is not renewed without Divine Communion. So, without Divine Communion we work in vain. But then works and virtues are beneficial when they are performed according to the will of God. The will of God is that we do as our Lord commands us, Who tells us: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life” (John 6:54). This is not just a commandment, but the head of all commandments, for it is the perfecting force and an integral part of the other commandments.
So, if you want to kindle love for Christ in your heart, and with it acquire all the other virtues, approach Holy Communion often - and then you will enjoy what you desire. After all, it is impossible for anyone not to love Christ and not to be loved by Christ if he continually partakes of His Holy Body and Blood. This happens naturally. And listen to how it happens. Some people wonder why parents love their children. Similarly, why children also love their parents. We answer: no one has ever hated himself or his body. Since children have their bodies from the bodies of their parents and especially because they are nourished by their mother’s blood both in the womb and after birth (after all, milk, naturally, is nothing more than blood that has become white), then I say that for them (children) the natural law is to love their parents, just as it is for parents to love their children. After all, children are conceived from their parents’ own bodies. Thus, those who often partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord will naturally ignite within themselves a desire and love for Him - on the one hand, because this life-giving and life-giving Body and Blood so warms those who partake (even the most worthless and hard-hearted) in love. how much more constantly they receive communion; and on the other hand, because the knowledge of love for God is not something alien to us, but is naturally infused into our hearts as soon as we are born in the flesh and reborn in the spirit in holy Baptism. At the slightest opportunity, these natural sparks instantly kindle into a flame, as the Divine Basil says: “Simultaneously with the appearance of the animal (that is, man), a certain seminal logos is implanted in us, which naturally gives birth in us the ability to love [God]. This power is cultivated by careful fulfilling the commandments of God nourishes the knowledge of [God] and leads to perfection the grace of God. You should know that there is only one feat of love, but it fulfills and includes all the other commandments.”
So, this natural strength - to love God - is strengthened, nurtured and perfected by frequent Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord. Therefore, Saint Cyprian writes that the martyrs, when they went to suffer, first of all partook of the Most Pure Mysteries and, strengthened by Holy Communion, were so aflame with the love of God that they ran into the field like sheep to the slaughter, and instead of the Body and Blood of Christ, of which they they took communion, shed their own blood and submitted their bodies to various torments. What other good thing would you, a Christian, want to receive and would not receive from Holy Communion? Do you want to celebrate every day? Do you want to celebrate Easter whenever you wish, and rejoice in indescribable joy in this sad life? Continually resort to the Sacrament and receive communion with due preparation, and then you will enjoy what you desire. After all, the true Easter and the true holiday of the soul is Christ, Who is sacrificed in the Sacrament, as the Apostle says, and after him the divine Chrysostom: “The Fourth Day happens once a year, Easter - three times a week, and sometimes four, more precisely, as many times as we want, for Easter is not a fast, but an Offering and a Sacrifice that occurs at every meeting. And that this is true, hear from Paul, who says: “Our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed for us (( 1 Corinthians 5:7)". So whenever you approach clear conscience[to the Sacrament], you celebrate Easter. Not when you fast, but when you partake of this Sacrifice. After all, the catechumen never celebrates Easter, although he fasts every year, because he does not receive communion. And on the contrary: “He who does not fast, when he receives Communion, if he approaches [the Sacrament] with a clear conscience, and celebrates Easter - be it today, be it tomorrow, be it on any day. For preparation is assessed not by observation of the times, but by a clear conscience yu". That is best preparation to Communion does not consist in counting eight, or fifteen, or forty days and then receiving communion, but in clearing the conscience. So, those who, although they fast before Easter, do not receive communion on Easter, such people do not celebrate Easter, as this divine Father says. Those who are not prepared to partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord on every holiday cannot truly celebrate Sundays and other holidays of the year, because these people do not have within themselves the reason and reason for the holiday, which is the Sweetest Jesus Christ, and do not have that spiritual joy that is born from Divine Communion. Those who believe that Easter and holidays consist of rich meals, many candles, fragrant incense, and silver and gold jewelry with which they decorate the church are seduced. For God does not require this of us, since it is not primary and not the main thing, as He says through the prophet Moses: “What does the Lord your God require of you? This is only that you fear the Lord your God, walk in all His ways, and love Him, and serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and keep the commandments the Lord [thy God] and His decree o" (Deut. 10:12-13). Of course, our word now is not about judging whether those gifts that we bring to the church out of reverence are good or not. They are good, but with them we must first of all bring and obedience to the holy commandments of our Lord and to prefer this obedience to all other offerings, as the prophet and king David says: “A sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; You will not despise a contrite and humble heart. God" (Ps. 50:19). The Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Hebrews says the same thing in a different way: "You did not desire sacrifices and offerings, but you prepared a body for Me" (Heb. 10:5), which means: "Lord ! You do not want me to bring you all other sacrifices and offerings, You only want me to approach the Divine Mysteries and partake of the All-Holy Body of Your Son, which You have prepared on the Holy Throne, for such is Your will." Therefore, desiring that you showed that he was ready for obedience, the Apostle says: “Behold, I come to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is in my heart” (Heb. 10:9; Ps. 39:8-9). Your will with all readiness and fulfill Your law with all my heart. Therefore, if we want to be saved, we must fulfill with joy and love, like sons, the will of God and His commandments, and not with fear, like a servant. For fear preserves fulfillment. the old commandments, and love - the gospel. In other words, those under the law fulfilled the commandments and decrees of the law out of fear, so as not to be punished and subjected to torment, but we Christians, since we are no longer under the law, must fulfill the commandments of the Gospel not out of fear. but out of love, like sons, they must do the will of God.
The will of God and the Father, by His good pleasure from the very beginning, was to form a Body for His Only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Apostle said, that is, for His Son to become incarnate and shed His Blood for the salvation of the world. And so that we all, Christians, may continually partake of His Body and His Blood, so that through frequent Communion in this life we ​​may be preserved from the snares and tricks of the devil, and when the exodus of our soul is completed and it flies up like a dove in freedom and joy to heaven , the air spirits did not hinder her at all. And this is confirmed by the divine Chrysostom, saying: “And another told me about a certain vision, which he was awarded himself, and did not learn from someone. If those who are to be taken from here turn out to partake of the Sacraments with a clear conscience, then when they they die, they are carried and raised from here to heaven by angels, thanks to Communion.” Therefore, you, since you do not know when death comes - either today, or tomorrow, or at this hour - must always be a partaker of the Most Pure Mysteries and be ready. And if it is God’s will that you still live in this life, then you will spend your life with the grace of Holy Communion, full of joy, full of peace, full of love and accompanied by all other virtues. And if it is God’s will for you to die, then, thanks to Holy Communion, you will freely bypass the demonic ordeals that are in the air, and with indescribable joy you will settle in eternal abodes. After all, since you are always united with the Sweetest Jesus Christ, the omnipotent King, then here you will live a blissful life, and when you die, the demons will run away from you like lightning, and the angels will open the heavenly entrance for you and will solemnly accompany you to the very Throne of the Blessed Trinity .
O the greatness that Christians enjoy from frequent Communion both in this life and in the future!
Do you, Christian, want to cleanse yourself from those smallest sins that you, as a person, commit either with your eyes or with your ears? Then approach the Sacrament with fear and a contrite heart - and you will be cleansed and forgiven. Saint Anastasius of Antioch confirms this: “If we commit some small, human and forgivable offenses, being concealed either by the tongue, or by hearing, or by the eyes, or by vanity, or by sadness, or by anger, or something similar, then, reproaching ourselves and confessing to God, let us receive communion in this way of the Holy Mysteries, believing that Communion is celebrated for the purification of all this o" - however, not from heavy or evil and unclean sins that we have committed.
Many other saints testify to this. Saint Clement says: “Having partaken of the Honest Body and Honest Blood of Christ, let us give thanks to Him who has made us worthy to partake of His Holy Mysteries, and let us ask that they may not be for our judgment, but for salvation and the remission of sins.” Basil the Great says: “And grant us to partake without condemnation of these Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries for the remission of sins.” And the divine Chrysostom says: “It is as if one has received communion for the sobriety of the soul, for the remission of sins.” That is, so that these Mysteries serve those receiving communion to cleanse the soul and forgive sins. Although both confession and the performance of penance can provide forgiveness of sins, Divine Communion is necessary for liberation from sins.
Do you hear, Christian, how many gifts you receive from frequent Communion? And your smallest excusable sins are forgiven, and your wounds are healed, and you become completely healthy. m. What else could be more blessed than to always prepare and receive communion, and, thanks to the preparation and help of Divine Communion, to always be free from sins, than for you, the earthly one, to be pure on earth, as the angels are pure in heaven? And what other happiness could be greater than this?
And yet I will tell you even more. If you approach the Mysteries often and worthily partake of this incorruptible, this glorified Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and become a fellow bodyman and treasurer of Christ, life-giving force and the action of this Most Holy Body and Blood in the resurrection of the righteous will revive your own body, and it will rise incorruptible, as the divine Apostle writes in the Epistle to the Philippians, glorified with the Body of Christ, “Who will transform our lowly body so that it will be like His glorious body” (Phil. 3:21).
All this glory and gifts, these great and supernatural benefits, which we have talked about so far, are received by every Christian when with a clear conscience he partakes of the Divine Mysteries of our Sweetest Jesus Christ - and others, even greater, which we, for the sake of brevity, leave .
Finally, when a Christian receives communion, then, reflecting on what terrible and heavenly Mysteries he has partaken of, he pays attention to himself so as not to dishonor grace, fears his thoughts, collects and preserves them, lays the foundation for a more strict and virtuous life and moves away, as far as possible, from all evil. When he again thinks that in a few days he will have to receive communion, he redoubles his attention, applies readiness to readiness, abstinence to abstinence, vigil to vigil, labor to labor, and strives as far as possible. After all, he seems to be constrained on two sides: firstly, by the fact that he has just received communion, and secondly, by the fact that he will soon receive communion again.