ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST: EAST AND WEST

The Eucharist is Christ’s gift to His followers to sustain them as they journey to their eternal home. It is the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission. As a sacrament, it is a visible sign of Christ’s abiding presence, body, blood, soul and divinity in our midst under the appearance of bread and wine. But what does this mean? The chapter on Theosis delves into this mystery. How can Christians of the East and West receive the Lord worthily? What must we bring to the altar? The Eucharist is unifying because, when we receive the Lord, we enter more deeply into our relationship with Him as His brothers and sisters. Yet, though recognizing the legitimacy of each other’s celebrations, there is still division between the two Churches. Both have a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the “all holy one.” It is she who brought forth Jesus. She is the Theotokos, the mother of God, the mother of Him who is present in the Eucharist. She is also the mother of all the faithful in the order of grace. How the Churches of the East and the West, who claim the same holy mother, prepare for, gather, and consume their heavenly bread is explored in these pages. The biblical background and history of the Eucharist in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches and a comparison of current practices will be found here as well, along with chapters on our Jewish and Greek heritage. Also reviewed are some of the doctrinal and organizational differences that inhibit a return to intercommunion, the ultimate goal of both Churches in their desire to fulfill the Lord’s prayer “that all may be one.”

About the Author: Baptized and confirmed in the Orthodox Church, Andrew J. Gerakas, D. Min., has been a deacon in the Roman Catholic Church for some 25 years. It has been his lifelong dream and daily prayer before the Blessed Sacrament that the Churches of East and West will soon “break bread” together again at the same table of the Lord. His book, The Rosary and Devotion to Mary, now in its second printing, was published by St. Paul’s Books & Media in 1988.