The Sacrament of Holy Communion

Lecture XI: The Sacrament of The Eucharist

In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, believers eat Lord Jesus Christ’s Holy Body and drink His precious Blood under the physical appearance of bread and wine. This Sacrament is called the Sacrament of all Sacraments and the crown of the Sacraments. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, no Sacrament is to be administered on the same day after the person has partaken from Holy Communion.

Our Lord instituted this Sacrament on Covenant Thursday, just a few hours before His arrest and trial. After He had washed the feet of the disciples as a sign of their repentance and preparation, “He took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body.’ Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying Drink from it all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins’” (Mt 26:26-28)

St. Paul said, “The Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Cor 11:23-26)

The offering of Melchizedek bread and wine was a symbol of this Holy Sacrament, “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High” (Gen 14:18). Therefore, it was said about our Lord, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4; Heb 5:6).

The Passover lamb that the children of Israel offered on the night of their exodus from Egypt, and which they used to offer every year thereafter was a symbol of this Sacrament “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrified for us” (1 Cor 5:7).

The manna that the children of Israel ate in the wilderness of Sinai for forty years was a symbol of the Sacrament of Eucharist. Our Lord said, “This is the bread which came down from heaven not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever” (Jn 6:58) “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever and the bread that I shall give is My flesh” (Jn 6:51)

Lecture XII: The Question of The Real Presence

Our Lord spoke about this Sacrament openly to the Jews but they “quarreled among themselves saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’” (Jn 6:52). Moreover, many of the disciples protested saying, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” (Jn 6:60). When Lord Jesus explicitly emphasized His real presence in the Sacrament, it was written, “many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (Jn 6:66)

The question of the real presence is of considerable importance in relation to the differences, which have emerged within Christianity since the time of the so-called Reformation. A particularly important witness to the early Christian understanding of this Sacrament is provided by the Catechetical lectures of St. Cyril of Jerusalem. It is clear that St. Cyril regarded the bread and wine as becoming the real body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Jesus Christ, by his own will, once changed water into wine at Cana of Galilee. So why should we not believe that he can change wine into blood? We should therefore have full assurance that we are sharing in the body and blood of Christ. For in the type of bread, his body is given to you, and in the type of wine, his blood is given to you, so that by partaking of the body and blood of Christ you may become of one body and one blood with Him.” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

“And now you ask how the bread becomes the body of Christ, and the wine and the water become the blood of Christ. I shall tell you. The Holy Spirit comes upon them, and achieves things which surpass every word and thought Let it be enough for you to understand that this takes place by the Holy Spirit” (St. John of Damascus).

1. Transubstantiation: This term, associated with the Roman Catholic Church, is the change of the substance of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Lord Jesus Christ occurring in the Eucharist while all that is accessible to the senses remain as before.

"Substance" here means what something is in itself. A hat's shape is not the hat itself, nor is its color the hat, nor is its size, nor its softness to the touch nor anything else about it perceptible to the senses. The hat itself (the "substance") has the shape, the color, the size, the softness and the other appearances, but is distinct from them. While the appearances, which are referred to by the philosophical term accidents, are perceptible to the senses, the substance is not. Oriental and Eastern Orthodox Christians agree that the bread and wine truly and actually become the body and blood of Christ. They have in general refrained from philosophical speculation, and usually rely on the status of the doctrine as a Mystery, something known by divine revelation that could not have been arrived at by reason without revelation. Accordingly, they prefer not to elaborate upon the details and remain firmly within Holy Tradition. However, they do speak clearly of a change or metousiosis of the bread and wine.

2. Consubstantiation: This view, especially associated with Martin Luther, attempts to describe the nature of the Eucharist in concrete metaphysical terms. It holds that the fundamental substance of the body and blood of the Lord are present alongside the substance of the bread and wine, which remain present.

3. Memorialism or Real Absence: This understanding of the nature of the Eucharist is especially associated with Zwingli. The Eucharist is nothing but a memorial of the suffering of the Lord, and not a sacrifice. The bread and wine are mere symbols of the Body and Blood.

Generally speaking, there are three reasons why we believe in the real presence of Lord Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist:

I) Biblical Reasons

II) Logical Reasons

III) Historical Reasons

1. Whenever our Lord Jesus Christ would speak symbolically and yet the Jews would understand His blessed words literally, St. John would point their mistake out:

a) “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ So the Jews answered and said to Him, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body.” (Jn 2:19-21)

b) “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.” (Jn 7:37-39)

c) “Then they said to Him, ‘Who are you?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Just as I have been saying to you from the beginning...’ They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.” (Jn 8:25-27)

Lord Jesus Christ said, “The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51) but “The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?’” (Jn 6:52)

Now, if Lord Jesus Christ was speaking symbolically and the Jews misunderstood Him why didn't St. John point their mistake out as he did previously? The fact that St. John didn't do that means that Lord Jesus Christ was indeed speaking literally.

The reply of the Lord reinforces the fact that His words were literal, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you... For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed” (Jn 6:53,55)

2. When Lord Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (Jn 6:53-56), many of His disciples took Him literally and said, “This is a hard saying: who can understand it?”

Now our Lord Jesus Christ was fully aware that many of His disciples understood His words literally and were offended. St. John said, “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (Jn 6:66)

Obviously, if Lord Jesus Christ had only meant that they would eat His flesh and drink His blood figuratively or symbolically, He would have said so before they walked away for it is written that “He explained all things to His disciples” (Mk 4:34). But the Lord did not explain and let them go. Therefore, He meant His words literally and of course not visually or cannibalistically but miraculously and Sacramentaly.

Some people become confused by what Lord Jesus Christ said after the disciples complained. He said, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life” (Jn 6:63). Rather, Lord Jesus Christ is not talking about His Flesh, but about their flesh. He is telling the unbelieving disciples that they cannot grasp or come to His blessed teaching on the Eucharist by their senses or their flesh which profits nothing for this purpose, only through faith or Spirit.

3. St. Paul said that our Lord said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you” (1 Cor 11:24). But we all know that the Body of our Lord was never broken, “when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs... these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, No one of His bones shall be broken” (Jn 19:33,36)

The fact that the Lord said that this is His Body which is broken affirms that it is not a symbol but rather the true body because if the bread were a mere symbol, then it should not be broken for the body on the cross was never broken.

4. Whenever the term eating flesh occurs symbolically in Holy Scripture, it refers to slander, hate and back stabbing:

a) “When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell.” (Ps 27:2)

b) “You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, and the flesh from their bones; Who also eat the flesh of My people” (Mic 3:2-3)

c) “If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another.” (Gal 5:15)

If we interpret the Lord’s words about eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood symbolically, we fall in the worst interpretation.

5. St. Paul said, “He who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Cor 11:29). To discern means to perceive or recognize clearly. This verse clearly proves the transformation of the bread to the real body of the Lord and whoever takes communion without this faith eats and drinks judgment to himself.

6. The words of the Lord about this Sacrament are straightforward and clear.

7. St. Paul said, “I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Cor 10:15-16). How can we possibly have communion with the Body and Blood of Lord Jesus Christ if the bread and wine were mere symbols?

1. The words of Lord Jesus Christ about this Sacrament constitute a testimony, “This is My Body, This is My Blood” also the Lord testified that His Body is food indeed and His Blood is drink indeed. A testimony must be literal without figurative or symbolic language.

2. The words of Lord Jesus Christ about this Sacrament constitute a covenant, “This cup is the new covenant” (Lk 22:20) “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life” (Jn 6:54). The words of a covenant must be literal.

3. Symbols and analogies must have a kind of resemblance to what they symbolize. The bread, which is broken, cannot be a symbol of the intact body of our Lord. Notice that because the Passover lamb was a symbol of the Lord, no bone was broken from it (Ex 12:46)

4. The saving spiritual blessings that are associated with this Sacrament cannot be attributed to eating mere bread unless this bread is truly transformed into the true body of the Savior.

5. The severe punishment that reaches death cannot be associated with eating mere bread and drinking mere wine unless they are truly transformed to the Body and Blood of Lord Jesus Christ.

6. It is written about the cup that it is for the remission of sins. The only way this can be true is for the mixture in this cup to be transformed to the real blood of the Savior for “without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Heb 9:22)

1. All apostolic Churches universally agree about the real presence of the Lord in the Sacrament of the Eucharist in spite of their disagreements on many other issues.

2. All Eastern and Western Church Fathers have agreed, without exception, that the words of the Lord about this Holy Sacrament are to be understood literally.

3. Martin Luther himself could not dare to deny the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist although his view was still heretical and it wasn’t until later that Zwingli came up with the heresy of real absence which most of the Protestants believe today.

Abiding in Lord Jesus Christ: “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (Jn 6:56). Consequently we bear the fruits of the spirit, “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5)

Obtaining Eternal Life: “Whoever 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” (Jn 6:54,58)

Growth and maintenance of our spiritual life: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you... For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed... he who feeds on Me will live because of Me” (Jn 6:53,55,57)

Salvation and remission of sins: “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mt 26:28)

Unification of believers: “For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Cor 10:17)

St. Paul said, “Whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep die. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.” (1 Cor 11:27-31)

Orthodox Faith: The person who approaches the Eucharist must be an Orthodox Christian having no doubt concerning the bread and wine being the true body and precious blood of Lord Jesus Christ.

Repentance and Confession: The person must be practicing the Sacrament of Repentance and Confession on regular basis as St. Paul said, “let a man examine himself” (1 Cor 11:28)

Reconciliation With Others: Lord Jesus Christ said, “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come offer your gift” (Mt 5:23-24)

True Worthiness is Feeling Unworthy: St. Paul, the meek and humble apostle said, “I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this” (1 Cor 4:4)

Obeying The Church Rules: concerning food abstinence before communion, physical cleanliness, and early attendance of the liturgy.

The Orthodox Church believes and confesses that the Eucharist is a sacrifice and an offering to God in addition to being a Sacrament.

The words of Lord Jesus Christ Himself speak of His blood being shed and His body being broken or given. Undoubtedly, the terms broken body and shed blood refer to a sacrifice.

The presence of an altar in the Church confirms that the Eucharist is a sacrifice. St. Paul said, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat” (Heb 13:10). Isaiah the Prophet said, “In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt” (Is 19:19).

Malachi the Prophet prophesied about the New Testament offering saying, “I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, nor will accept an offering from your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to its going down, My name shall be great among the nations” (Mal 1:10-11). This pure offering is the Eucharistic offering that Christians offer on their altars.

St. Paul said, “Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?... You cannot drink the cup the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and the table of demons” (1 Cor 10:18-21). This proves that the Eucharist that is offered on the Christian altar is indeed a sacrifice.

The Cross: The Holy Body and Precious Blood were offered visibly.

The Eucharist: The Holy Body and Precious Blood are offered sacramentally as bread and wine.

The Cross: Offered by Lord Jesus Christ as the Chief High Priest.

The Eucharist: Offered by the New Testament Priests according to the order of Melchizedek.

The Cross: The lamb Lord Jesus Christ was slain, His blood was shed, and He died.

The Eucharist: No shedding of blood and no death. Hence it is called bloodless sacrifice.

The Cross: Offered once on Good Friday.

The Eucharist: Offered several times from its institution till the second coming of the Lord.

Q1: Why don't we allow Protestants to take communion in our Churches?

A1: The Didache or the teaching of the 12 apostles states “Let no one eat or drink of your Eucharist but those baptized in the name of the Lord; to this, too the saying of the Lord is applicable, Do not give what is holy to the dogs” (Mt 7:6). St Paul forbade the Jews from taking communion in an unworthy manner. How can the Church allow a protestant, who denies the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, to take communion?

Q: What are the differences with the Roman Catholic Church concerning the Eucharist?

A: There are no differences concerning the belief that the Eucharist is the true Body and Blood of Lord Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, there are some differences concerning the administration of the Sacrament.

a) They consecrate unleavened bread wafers even though the very word artos, which is used in the Greek text of the gospel in the narration on the institution of the Sacrament, signifies precisely leavened, fermented, risen bread.

b) They forbid infants and small children from taking communion. Lord Jesus Christ said about the children, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:14).

c) They allow people to partake of the Holy Body without partaking of the Holy Blood. Lord Jesus Christ administered both His Body and His Blood to His disciples and He said about the cup “Drink from it, all of you” (Mt 26:27). He also said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life” (Jn 6:53-54).

d) Their practice of separate little wafers for the laity contradicts the unity expressed by “For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread.” (1 Cor 10:17)

Q6: St. Paul said, “Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:7). Is the apostle talking about consecrating unleavened bread in the Eucharist?

A6: Leaven is a symbol of sin and evil, and St. Paul says in the verse that follows, “Let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:8). St. Paul is not talking about the Eucharist but about the sinner that he mentioned in the beginning of this chapter. Since leaven symbolizes sin and our Lord indeed carried our sins, it is more fitting to consecrate leavened bread in the Eucharist.

This lecture is adapted from ‘The Sacraments of The Church’ by Archdeacon Habib Guirgess.