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, Chapter One
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, THE DI VINE E UCHARIST AND THE "CHURCH OFGOD"

, 1. The connection of the Eucharist with the initial appearance of


! the term "church"
The ecclesiology of primitive Christianity was not abstract
and theoretical but rather practical.' As a result, not only is
there no definition of the Church in the sources, but there is
not even a theoretical d escription of her. Out of the eighty or
so passages in which the term ekklesia occurs in the New Tes-
tament, fifty-seven at least have in view the Church as an
assembly in a particular place. If we try to group these pas-
sages und er different headings, we have the following
picture:
(a) those referring to the "Church" (singular) of a particu-
lar city;'
(b) those referring to the "Churches" (plural) of an area
wider tha n a city, or without sp ecifying a locality;'
(c) those containing the term "Church" or "Church of
God" without specifying a locality;' and
(d) those containing the phrase "church in the household"
(kat' oikon ekklesia)5 .
Out of these passages, only those of the third group can
be connected with the Church in an abstract or theoretical
sense. For most of these, however, this is merely a first im-
pression. Passages such as 1 Cor. 15:9, Gal. 1:13 and Phil. 3:6,
where Paul says that he persecuted the "Church of God,"
have in mind specifically the Church of Jerusalem, where
there was a "great persecution" during which "Saul la id
waste the Church.'"

45
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46 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 47

I
In consequence, the term "Church" in these ancient texts passages in which the term "Church" is used according to
normally describes the Church as a concrete reality in space. the categories given above." Thus whereas the Apostle uses
This observation should serve as our basis for tackling the "Church" in the singular in all cases where he refers to the Church
question, introduced by modern scholarship,' of whether the of a particular city, in cases where he is referring to geographical
idea of the "universal" or of the "local" Church came first in areas wider than the city he uses the term in the plural. The only
primitive ecclesiology.' possible explanation for this curiou s phenomenon is that for
But the pOint of altogether special importance is that it Paul, the term "Church" did not simply mean Christians in
was not just any assembly, but strictly speaking, the eucha- a genera l and theoretical sense, without regard to their eu-
ristic assembly that was called ekklesia of "Church." This is charistic gathering at the time when the Epistle was read.
clearly shown by a careful examination of the information Thus Corinth, as the recipient of the epistle at the eucharistic
we can glean from the most ancient texts we have, namely assembly, is called a "Church" by the Apostle. Achaea, by
I
Paul's Epistles. There are also other early Christian texts contrast, is not called a "Church," since it is not in eucharis-
which concur with these, and those will be discussed later. tic assembly at the time when the epistle was received. This
The Epistles of the Apostle Paul (apart from the so-called occurs in the case of every region wider than a city. Hence
Pastoral Epistles, which are personal in character' and there- , Paul speaks only of "Churches" and not of a "Church" in the
fore do not concern us directly), which are addressed to the singular in such regions.
Christians in various regions under the term "Church," pre- This is the explanation for that characteristic feature of
suppose certain specific circumstances in which the recipients the Pauline vocabulary, namely that we never encounter in
would be appraised of their contents. it "the Church of Macedonia" or "the Church of Achaea" or
These circumstances appear to be none other than the as- "the Church of Judea ." The Christians of these wider areas
sembly of the Eucharist. As H . Leitzmann has observed,1O
, did not differ from those of a city in any other particular
the greetings at the end of these Epistles show that they were way that would allow u s to interpret this linguistic phenom-
intended to be read at the time of the Eu charist, and for this I enon in some other way. They, too, were full m embers of the
reason they would be an excellent guide in reconstructing , Church just like those of Corinth. But because in these earli-
certain parts of the ancient liturgy. II So when Paul writes, for est times to which Paul's epistles belong, the word "Church"
example, "To the Church of God which is at Corinth,"!' this m eant principally, the faithful united in their eucharistic as-

"Church" is first and foremost the actual assembly of the sembly. It was natural that for Paul and his readers the Church
Corinthians gathered to perform the Eucharist. From certain , should be not in Achaea or some other area wider than the
observa tions on points which do not yet seem to have come city, but in Corinth, i.e. in a specific city, because it was there
to the attention of scholars, we may note the following phe- that the assembly took place during which his epistles would
nomenon: while in referring to Corinth Paul uses the term be read.
"Church," when he is talking about Achaea he uses the term Su ch an identification of the Church with the eucharistic
"saints." In other words, while he could most naturally have assembly, can be attested more clearly from a careful analy-
said: "To the Church of God which is in Corinth and Achaea," sis of the content of the First Epistle to the Corinthians and
or simply "which is in Achaea" (given tha t this would be particularly Chapter 11. In this chapter, the Apostle Paul gives
understood to include Corinth)," he makes a distinction be- ,
I the Corinthians practical directions relating to their assem-
tween Corinth and Achaea, placing the "Church" in Corinth. I blies for worship. A careful examination of the terminology
\
This might perhaps be pure coincidence with no esp ecial sig- u sed by the Apostle at this p oint leads u s to the following
nificance, if it were not corroborated by almost all the , observations:
48 EUCHARIST, B ISHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 49

Althoug h, it is evident from the whole content of this chap- supper" (i.e. Divine Eucharist) and "Ihe Church" (ekklesia) or
ter that Paul is speaking here about the assembly to perform "the Church of God" mean the same thing.
the Divine Eucharist in Corinth, he nevertheless d escribes That the eucharistic assembly is identified with the very
this assembly as a "Church": "when you assemble as a Church I Church of God is also the conclusion that emerges from a
hear that there are divisions among you" (v. 18). Reading study of the term church in the household (kat' oikon ekklesia)
this phrase of the Apostle Paul's, the C hristians of Corinth contained in the passages belonging to group (d ) according
mig ht be expected to have asked, "What exactly does the to our classification. 16 The significance of the term church in
Apostle m ean when he talks about "coming together as a the household seems to be much greater than mig ht be su g-
Church"? Aren' t we a "Church" whenever we meet, and even gested by the number of passages in w hich it occurs. At a
w hen we do n' t come together in the sam e place?" This ques- time when the Church was gradu ally adopting a technical
tion, which seems so natural to twentieth-century Christians, terminology and did not yet have one fixed, no technical term
did not concern the C hristians of the Apostle Paul's time. could be universally applicable. I' Whereas, it seems that there
Indeed , from the passage it can be concluded quite na tura lly were many such terms in u se locally, either temporarily, or
that the term "Church " was not used in a theoretical sense for a long time until they became fully part of the world-
but to describe an actual meeting; and again not to d escribe wide vocabulary of Christianity.I' The term church in the
just any sort of m eeting, but the one that Paul had in mind household d id not survive in the vocabulary of the Church .
when he wrote the words quoted above - the assembly to The epistles of Paul seem to be the only sources in which it
perform the Divine Eucharist. Paul d oes not hesitate in the occurs. Two things, however, clearly demonstrate its impor-
slightest to call this assembly "the Church of God": to despise . tance. Firstly, this term has the appearance of a u sage alread y
the eucharistic assembly is to despise the very "Church of God" (v. established in the Pauline Churches at the time w hen Paul's
22). And going on to identify Eu charist and Church in a epistles were being written. The fact that he u ses the term
manner which is quite astonishing, he talks about the insti- without any variation and never goes on to explain it pre-
tution by Christ of the divine Supper, linking his reference supposes a familiarity w ith the term o n the part of those who
to the "Church of God " with the subject of the Eucharist by a were reading the epistles. This m eans that in the Pauline
simple explanatory "for," as if it were one and the same thing: Churches at least, this term had acquired currency as a tech-
"For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you" nical term. Aside from this, the importance of the term lies

(v. 23), namely the celebration of the Eucharist. This identifi- in its relationship with the term "Church" which finally pre-
cation of the eucharis tic assembly w ith the Church allows vailed. What sort of Church d oes the church in the household
Paul to use the expression "coming together in the same represent? Stud ents of history are u su ally familiar w ith the
place" (epi to auto) as a term having at once ecclesiological and , local Church and the Church "throughout the world." Does
eucharistic content. "When you come together in one place (epi to the church ill the household constitute a third type of Church
auto) it is not the Lord's supper that you eat" (v. 20), becau se, , for primitive Christianity? This question does n ot seem to
by the way you behave, "you d espise the Chu rch of God" (v. have been examined in d etail hitherto, so far as we know."
22). "So then, m y brethren, when you come together to eat, ,
One probable reason for this is the fact that the m eaning of
wait for one ano ther ... lest you come together to be con- the term is usually considered self-evident. But if we take
demned ... " (vv. 33-34). 15 Thus, in the thou ght of Paul and the ,
into account the Significance of this term for the history of
Churches which read his Epistles, the terms "coming together" the unity of the Church, determining its meaning throug h
,
or "coming together in the same place" (epi to auto), "the Lord's detailed stud y becomes a necessity.
,
50 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CH URCH Part One - Pres uppositions 51

Many of the scholars who have been indirectly concerned fused with the house; otherwise it leads to "despising the
with this subject seem to identify the church in the household Church of God."
with the "Christian family" in general, which is presented Another example of this firm distinction between tile no-
as a special unity within the Pauline local Churches." In this tions of house and Church is taken from 1 Timotily 3:4-5.
case, church is used in the widest sense of "Christianity" or This passage talks about the family of the "bishop." No other
"Christian community" (Gemeinde). Thus for example Michel, "household" or Gemeinde in Familien could be more Chris-
exploring the meaning of the terms oikos and oikia in the New tian. Nevertheless, Paul not only refrains from calling it a
Testament,21 collects all the passages referring to the "church "church," but clearly distinguishes it from the "Church of
in the household" together with those referring to Christian God": "A bishop must be above reproach ... he must manage
families and gives them all the common title of Gemeinde in his own household (oikos! well, keeping his children submis-
Familien. This approach is in agreement with the older un- sive and respectful in every way; for if a man does not know
derstanding of church in the household, according to which how to manage his own household, how can he care for God's
this term denoted the groups of Christians who gathered church?" These two examples from the Epistles of Paul are
around strong personalities such as Philemon or Priscilla and sufficient for us to conclude that the distinction between the
Aquila and in which, so it was believed, the Church organi- notions of Christian family (oikos, oikia, Gemeinde in Familien)
zation and above all the bishop had their origin." . and of church was so sharp in the mind of the primitive
T)lis inclusion of the "church in the household" among Church that identifying the notion of the "Church" with that
the passages which refer to the Christian family in general is of the "Christian family" would not have been possible.
also continued by later works," with the exception of the But in that case, what led these two different notions, of
distinguished J. Jeremias, who studiously avoids using the house and of church, to be joined together to form one term?
passages which refer to the" church in the household" along- The crucial factor is obviously the celebration of the Divine
side those referring to Christian families generally." Eucharist. All ecclesial activities could be performed outside
But is it correct methodology to examine all these pas- Christian houses. We know, for example, that preaching took
sages together? Does the church in the household belong with place also in the synagogues. 26 And worship itself could in
the passages which refer to the Christian family in general? principle be performed in Jewish buildings, as we see from
The answer is negative if we take into account the strict divi- Acts 2:46. But there was one activity of the Church which
sion 5t Paul makes between the house/ household (oikia) or never took place outside Christian homes: the celebration of
Christian family and Church. Referring to the celebration of the Eucharist." That this was due to strong convictions on
the Divine Eucharist in Corinth and the social distinctions the part of the Church and was not fortuitous is shown by
which were being made in the course of it, he asks the mem- Acts 2:46: "And day by day, attending the temple together
bers of the Church of Corinth: "Do you not have houses and breaking bread at home (kat' oikon), they partook of food
(oikiai) to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the Church of with glad and generous hearts .... " In this passage, the con-
God and humiliate those who have nothing?" " Yet it is trast should be noted: prayer could take place also in the
known that at the time the epistle was written and for a long Temple, but the 'breaking of bread," that is the Eucharist,"
while afterwards, the Eucharist was celebrated in Christians' took place in the Christians' homes. [28a see also Acts 20:7.]
houses. So while house and Church are linked by the Eucha- If we now take into account the identification of eucharistic
rist in practice, they constitute two different realities in the ,
assembly and local Church found in Paul,29 the meaning of
faith of the Church. The Church of God should not be con- the term in question becomes clear. The terms house and

52 E UCHARIST, B ISHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 53

church expressed two different realities: the former something heaven before the throne of God w ith the Church on earth
secular, and the latter a purely ecclesial reality. But w hen- worshipping before the Table of the Eucharist is such as to

ever the Eu charist was celebrated in the hou se of a Christian call to mind the connection between these two aspects of the
family, the Church of God was automa tically linked w ith that Church w hich only in Orthodoxy has been preserved in su ch
household. The connection of the Eucharist both with that house d epth.36 C hapters 4 and 5 of Revela tion, to w hich we shall
and with the Church of God gave rise to the church in the hOl/se- return later, m ake no sense w ithout the presupposition that
hold w hich took its name from the owner of the hou se.'" the eucharistic assembly incarnates on earth the very Church
Thus the phrase church in the household refers to the as- of God.
sembly of the faithful for the celebration of the Eucharist. 3l If From this is becomes clear that from the first appearance
this assembly was called a church, this was because the as- of the term ekklesia there w as a m ost p rofound connection,
sembly, epi to auto, for the celebration of the Eucharist w as even to the p oint of identity, between this term and the Eu-
also called a church (1 Cor. 11). In contrast with the other terms charist celebrated in each city. Each such Eucharist constituted
u sed for the Church, the term church in the household w as the the expression in space and time of the Church of God her-
most concrete expression of the Church, d enoting the assem- self.
bly of the faithful in a particular place in order to be united 2. The connection of the Eucharist with the original consciousness
in the body of Christ. In consequence, the church in the house- regarding the unity of the Church.
hold ':Vas not a third type of Church, different from the "local" The identification of the eucharis tic assembly w ith the
or the "universal," but the local Church herself or Church of C hurch of God herself in the use of the term chu rch would
God, breaking bread at the house of one of her members. make no sense if there did not exist in pa rallel a very pro-
So from an examination of the oldest texts of p rimitive fo und connection betw een the Divine Eucharis t and the
Christianity, the Epistles of Paul, it transpires tha t the eucha- primitive Church's consciousness regarding uni ty. This con-
ristic assembly was identified with the "Church of God" herself. If nection, w hich extends beyond the terminology used for the
we now examine those texts w hich are already seeing the Church into the early theology regarding the Church among
end of the Apostolic period, su ch as the Revelation of John, the first Christians, is brilliantly expressed by the "theolo-
we shall again have no difficulty in establishing the sam e gian of unity" par excellence," the Apostle Paul. Addressing
identification of the eucharistic assembly with the C hurch of the Corinthians, the Apostle w rites: "Judge for yourselves
God . Written characteristically "on the Lord's d ay,"32 which what I say. The cup of blessing w hich we bless, is it not a
is to say the day of the Eucharist par excellence," the Book of communion (koinon ia) in the blood of Christ? The bread
Revelation m oves w ithin the milieu and atmosphere of the w hich we break, is it not a communion in the bod y of Christ?
eucharistic assembly to such an extent that scholars study- Because there is one bread, we w ho are ma ny are one bod y,
ing it are faced w ith the problem of whether the Eu charist for we all partake of the one bread ."" In this highly signifi-
influenced this book or vice versa." However that may be, it cant passage, the dominant idea is tha t "the man y" form "one
should be considered that there is a t least a "mutual" influ- bod y" identified w ith the bread of the Eucharist. Since this
en ce b e tween the Book of Revela tion a nd eu ch a ris tic id ea was to have a decisive influence on the w hole fOllna-
worship" This book transports us from the Eucharist to the tion of the C hurch's unity, it is necessary to look at it in more
throne of God and from the Church on earth to the Church detail at this point w hile we are examining the presupposi-
in heaven in su ch a way that we think it is one and the sam e tions of this unity.
reality. Indeed , the mystical identification of the C hurch in

54 E UCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 55

The connection of the Divine Eucharist with the conscious- Jesus Thy servant."so This fact is of particular significance
ness tha t the "m any" are united through it and in it into one given that, as a rule, liturgical texts preserve very an cient
body, and not just any body but the "body of Christ"39 - thus traditions. If indeed this is coupled w ith the existence of the
forming not "one thing" in the neuter but "one" in the mas- Servant of God tradition also in other very ancient hymns of
culine," the "one Lord" Himself" - is d eeply rooted right in worship, su ch as we m ost li kely find included in Paul's
the historical foundations of the Divine Eucharist and the Epistle to the Philippians (2:6-11 ),51 the connection between
Church alike. A careful examination of the texts referring to the Divin e Eucharist and the Servant tradition should be
the Last Supper with which the origin of the Eucharist coin- considered something very ancient in the mind of the Church.
cides his torically" shows convincingly tha t d espite their In this way the "many" of the Servant tradition, the "many"
many differences on various points," they all agree on the of the Last Supper and the "many" of Paul's epistles meet
connection of the Supper with the "many" or "you" (pl.), and are identified with each other through the synthesis

"for" or "in the place of" (anti or peri) whom the One offers achieved by the systematic thought of the great Apostle \
Himself." This relationship of the "many" with the "One"" when he writes, "". one bread, we who are many are one
who offers Himself for them connects the historical founda- body, for we all partake of the one bread."
tions of the Eucharist with the Judaeo-Christian tradition of But the connection of the Eucharist with the primitive
the servant of God or servant of the Lord" which again is Church's sense of the unity of the "many" in the "One" goes
c0'!11ected with Jesus Christ's understanding of Himself" and back to the historical foundation of the Church also by way
goes back to the p eople of Israel's consciousness of unity'" of another fundamental tradition, that of the Lord as "Son of
In this way, the connection of the Eucharist with the con- Man." This is especially true of the Johannine Churches,

sciousness that the "many" are united to the point of identity w hich, w hile not unaware of the connection of the Eucharist
with the One who offers himself on their behalf is shown to with the Servant of God tradition," nevertheless preferred,
be as ancient as Christianity itself. at least on the evidence of the Fourth Gospel, to connect it
This connection of the Divine Eucharist with a sense of with the "Son of Man" tradition. This tradition, w hich also
the unity of the "many" in the "One," effected through the goes back to Jesus' understanding of Himself" and through
tradition of the "Servant of God ," is a lready firmly estab- it to the Judaeo-Christian foundations of the Church," has
lished in the consciousness and life of the primitive Church justly been regarded as the source of the idea of the Church. 55
by the first century as shown by the oldest surviving liturgi- For interwoven with this tradition, we find the paradoxical
cal texts after the Last Supper. Thus in the most ancient relationship of the unity of the many in the one which can be
liturgical prayer of the Roman Church, which certainly goes seen more generally in the Judaeo-Christian consciousness56
right back to apostolic times and is preserved in 1 Clement taken to the point of identity."
(96 A.D.), we repeatedly read the phrase "of Jesus Thy Ser- This unity of the many in the "Son of Man" is first clearly
vant," clearly in connection with the hymns of the Servant linked with the Divine Eucharist in the Gospel of John. In
of God in the Book of Isaiah." The same thing can be seen the sixth chapter of this Gospel, which obviously refers to
even more clearly in the eucharistic prayer of the Didache, the Eucharist," the dominant figure is that of the "Son of
also very ancient, where we read : "We thank Thee, holy Fa, Man." It is He who gives "the food w hich endures to eternal
ther, for Thy holy Name which Thou hast caused to make its life."" In contrast with the m anna w hich God gave to Israel
dwelling in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and through Moses, this food is the "true bread," which as that
immortality which Thou hast made known to u s through "which carne down from heaven"'" is none other than the
56 E UCHARIST, B ISHOP, C HURCH Part One - Presuppositions 57


"Son of Man."61 Clearly, then, it is as "Son of Man" that the ence of the Church. This is especially true of the descriptions
Lord appears in His relationship with the Eucharist in the of the Church as "body of Christ," " hou se" or "building"
Fourth Gospel. Hence, communion in the Eucharist is de- (oikodome), and "bride of Christ."
scribed there as eating not simply the fl esh of the Lord, but The characterization of the Church as the "body of Christ,"
the flesh of the "Son of Man": "unless you eat the flesh of the which has provoked much discussion among modern schol-
Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you."" ars," canno t be unders tood apa rt from the eu charis tic
In this cap acity, as "Son of Man," Jesus appears in the Fourth
experience of the Church," which was most likely the source
Gospel not only as identified with the bread of the Eu charist of the use of this term." Neither the parallels to this term
("I am the bread of life")," but also as the reality w hich is par fo und in Rabbinic sources," nor Gnosticism,'; nor other ideas
excellence inclusive of the "many": "he who eats m y flesh and from the Hellenistic milieu" could have lent this term to the
drinks m y blood abides in me, and I in him ."" This abiding primitive Church, given that its content in the New Testa-
in the "Son of Man," though participation in the Eucharist is ment is sui generis, characterized by its emphasis not on the
underlined in chapters 13-17 of the same Gospel, which move idea of the "body," but on the accompanying genitive "of
within the eucharistic presuppositions of the Last Supper and Christ." In other words, it is no t first and forem ost the body
are so profoundly connected with the unity of the Church 's of Christians, but the body of Christ." This takes on its full
The insistent appeal, "Abide in me, and I in you"66 should meaning only within the context of the Judaeo-Christian tra-
no t be understood without reference both to the eu charistic ditio n with which, as we have seen, the Divine Eu charist was

presuppositions of this text, and to the Lord's property of connected from the beginning.
taking up the new Israel and including it within Himself'7 It is within this same tradition that the other ecclesiological
For all these reasons, the eucharistic character of the Fourth images, too, take on their full m eaning. Thus the character-
Gospel, which is increasingly being recognized," makes it a izatio n of the Church as a "building"" or "house"" does not
first class historical source for studying the presuppositions imply som ething inanimate, but an organism living and grow-
on which the formation of the Church's unity in the Divine ing"" to "mature manhood,"" "to the m easure of the stature
Eucharist is based. Corning as an indispensable complement of the fullness" of Chris!."" This is no t unrelated to the Di-
to those sources which inform u s about the mind of the vine Eucharist." In the spirit of the unity of the "many" in
Pauline Churches, it proves that despite being expressed in the One, we can also have a right understanding of the de-
ways different from those we encounter in Paul's Epistles," scription of the Church as "bride of Christ," through which
the consciou sness was the same througho ut the primitive the faithful are understood as "members of Christ"" in a man-
Church : through the Divine Eucharist the " many" - the new, ner analogous to the union of husband and wife "into one
true Israel, those who make up the Church - become a unity flesh ."'"
to the point of identity with Christ. These ecclesiological images, of course, require special
All this d emonstrates how incomprehensible the whole study which lies outside the scope and nature of the present
ecclesiology of ancient Christianity becomes w itho ut refer- work. But the point releva nt to the ver y close connection of
ence to the Divine Eucharist particularly in anything to do the Divine Eucharist with the primitive Church's conscious-
with the notion of the Church's unity. The principal images ness of unity, is this: that all these images become meaningless
used to depict and describe the Church in the New Testa- outside the ontological unity of the "many" in Chris!. Deeply
ment'o are based on the relationship of the "many" with the rooted, as we have seen, in the historical foundations of Chris-
"One," exactly as this is dictated by the eucharistic experi- tianity, this unity found its fullest expressio n through the
58 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH


Divine Eucharist. The ancient Church was fully aware of this
when she declared, through the first theologian of her unity,
"we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the
one bread." Chapter Two

THE "PRESIDENT" OF THE E UC HARIST AS "BISHOP" OF THE


"CHURCH OF GOD"

1. The identification of eucharistic unihj1vith the canonical unity


of the Church.
The identification of the eucharistic assembly with the
"Church of God" led naturally to the coincidence of the struc-
ture of the Church with that of the Eucharis t. It is a
noteworthy fact that the Church was distinguished from the
world around her as a sui generis unity mainly by forming a
, eucharistic unity ' For precisely that reason, her organiza-
tion, as will be shown below, was not borrowed or copied
from the world around her, as historians have often con-
tended,as but arose naturally out of the eucharistic assembly
through which canonical unity is connected with the essence
of the Church."
The reconstruction of the image presented by the eucha-
ristic assembly in Apostolic times in all its particulars does
not concern us in the present work,'"
As regards to the relationship of the Church's canonical
unity with the Divine Eucharist, the existing sources allow
us to make the following observations.
Through her worship, and especially through the Eucha-
rist, the primitive Church lived under the influence of an
absolute theocracy. The whole of her worship is performed
on earth, but forms a type of the heavenly worship where
the throne of God dominates," In consequence, all authority
in the Church is concentrated in the person of Jesus Christ.
He is the one Lord, i.e, the only one who has power over all
things, being exalted on the right hand of God ' 2H ence also,
unity in one Lord'" is manifested first and foremost in wor-

59

60 E UCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 61

ship and especia lly in the Eucharist. As the one Lord, Christ Christ. This makes the Church a theocratic unity." But this
is also the one ruler, again recognized as such primarily in authority of Christ was not expressed except through the
the Eucharist." Precisely because of this position H e holds ministers of the Church; the law of which had a human as
in eucharistic worship, Christ concentrates in Himself all the well as a divine character. This was made possible mainly
forms of ministry that exist in the Church. He is par excel- because of the Divine Eucharist which identified heavenly
lence the minister," priest," Apostle," deacon," bishop," and worship with earthly and Christ with His Church in a man-
teacher,loo "in everything being preeminent."IOI ner that was mystical and real.
But here too, as has been remarked in another case/a) So thanks to the Eucharist and, therefore, chiefly in it, the
Christ is a great paradox in His relationship with the Church. various forms of ministry grew up in the primitive Church,
While He is worshipped in heaven, He is at the same time and these in turn gave rise to the various "orders" in the
present on earth and in the Eucharist,I03 thus transforming Church and produced her law as a strictly Christocentric re-
the heavenly state into an earthly and historical reality. Thus ality. All the ministries of Christ were reflected as historical
eucharistic worship on earth does not constitute a reality realities in the C hurch in a way that created order and, there-
parallel to that of heaven, but is the heavenly worship itself fore, "orders." In other words, while Christ was identified
(mystical identity). I'" In precisely the same way, the paradox with the whole Church which was His body, and, therefore,
of the relationship between Christ and the Church is also all the members of the Church were "sharers in Christ/ ' III
e)dended to the forms of ministry. The' fact that the minis- the powers or ministries of Christ were not expressed through
tries in the primitive Church were always understood in all these members, but through certain ones. Thus Christ was
humility as "ministries of service" (diakoniail 105 does not mean regarded as the "apostle," but this did not mean that in His
that they were devoid of authority.l06 In precisely the same Body all were apostles l12 C hrist was the "Teacher," but in
way as the heavenly worship was truly represented typo- the Church there were not "m any teachers."113 H e was the
logically in the Eucharist on earth so the authority of Christ deacon, but this property of His was expressed through a
was truly reflected in the ministers of the Church. The Church particular order which received a special charism for this.114
ministries, therefore, were not understood as existing in par- This held good for all the ministries of Christ which are mys-
allel with C hrist's authority,l07 but as expressing the very tically reflected in the Church. liS In the same way, the unity
authority of Christ. As the one Lord and ruler of the Church, of the Church came to be the unity of a body, but in diversity
Christ does not govern in parallel with an ecclesiastical ad- of charismata l16 which is equiva lent to a unity in law and hi-
minis tration on earth, but through it and in it. The ministries erarchy. '
that exist are antitypes and mys tical radiations of the very Thus, the Divine Eucharist through which C hrist was
authority of C hris t, the only minister par excellence. The rank united to the point of identity with the Church, making it
of Apostle, for example, was not understood in the primi- possible in this way for the charismata to be distributed , be-
tive Church as an authority existing in parallel with the came not only the source of ca nonical unity, but also the chief
authority of Christ, but as the very authority of Christ. 108 In a area in which it was expressed l17 As we know from the First
similar manner the bishop, as we shall see shortly,11l9 was Epistle to the Corinthians, the diversity of gifts was mani-
understood as occupying the "place of God" and as the "im- fested chiefly in the eucharistic assembly. But it was precisely
age of Christ." In this way, Christ remained the only minister there also that unity in ord er was manifested - the unity
and the only o ne holding authority in the Church. Ministers which Paul tries to reinforce still further by opposing the
had no authority except as images and representatives of individualism of the charismatics and making the charismata


62 EUCHARIST, BiSHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 63

subordinate to the unity of the Church which for Paul meant nent structure of the Church's unity? Again, the information
unity in orderY' The frequently attempted separation be- available to us is severely limited by the nature of the sources.
tween spiritual gifts and order,1I9 even to the point of an The actual situation in the Church of that period is known to
antithesis such that order is seen as the destroyer of the spirit us only from the Apostles, and this prevents us from seeing
in the primitive Church,l 20 finds no basis in the sources of what exactly happened in the Apostles' absence. So what we
primitive Christianity. The division between charismatics and discover is only the minimum of the historical reality. A fact
non-charismatics, introduced by Harnack, founders on the which should make us wary of arguments from silence.!"
fact that the permanent ministers too received the gift of the From Paul's description of the eucharistic assembly in
Holy Spirit and were therefore considered charismatics. l2I Corinth, we learn that the Eucharist involved all the mem-
The act of ordination by which the permanent ministers were bers of the Church,'28 but within it there were those who gave
"appointed" was nothing other than a laying on of hands to their consent and confirmation through the" Amen." 129 So in
convey a special charism,122 one which remained permanently the Eucharist there was, on the one hand, the order of offerers
with the person ordained.123 Nor is there any serious basis in or leaders, and on the other, the order of respondents through
the sources for the idea, again introduced by Harnack, that the" Amen." Who exactly these leaders and respondents
the so-called "charismatics" took precedence in the early were, l Corinthians does not tell us. About a generation later
Church over the permanent ministers. Looked at in the light in the Church of Corinth, we learn that there were two or-
of the entire section of the Epistle concerning the eucharistic ders clearly distinguished from one another, the clergy and
assemblies in Corinth, the passage in 1 Cor. 12:28 on which the laity, and that - significantly enough - the substance of
Harnack bases his thesis, is evidence that Paul did not have these two orders is based on the place each of them occupied
in mind a hierarchy such that the "charismatics" were placed in the Eucharist. l3O When, in about the middle of the second
above the permanent ministers. On the contrary, his whole century, the eucharistic assembly in Rome is described by
purpose is to subordinate the charismatics to the "order" of Justin (and judging from 1 Clement which links Corinth and
the Church,'24 and this is why he places the gift of tongues, Rome, it cannot have differed from the practice in Corinth),
so dear to the Corinthians, right at the end of the list of gifts. the"Amen" attested in 1 Corinthians is placed in the mouth
The fact that Paul is not interested in that kind of order of of the order of laity.l3l So insofar as we can throw light on the
precedence is further evident from several passages where situation in Corinth around 55 A.D. through what we know
he places the so-called "charismatics" after the permanent from somewhat later sources,'32 the distinction between those
ministers who are regarded as "administrators."'25 The primi- who led the Eucharist and those who responded with the
/
tive eucharistic assemblies, in consequence, knew no "Amen" sprang from the structure of the Eucharist to ap-
antithesis between spirit and order, charism and hierarchy, pear clearly a short time later (1 Clement) as the fundamental
because hierarchy and order without a spiritual charism were canonical division of the Church herself into clergy and la-
inconceivable at that time. 126 ity.
More particularly now on the question of the leaders of
2. The elevation the "president" of the Eucharist to "Bishop" of the the eucharistic assembly, the apostolic period is again ob-
Church. scured by the shadow of the Apostlesl 33 From what the book
What specific distinctions of "order" do we find, then, in of Acts tells us, we are obliged to accept that when the
the eucharistic assemblies of apostolic times? And how did Apostles were present at a eucharistic gathering, they led
they lead from the structure of the Eucharist to the perma- the Eucharist. l34 It seems that the same applied to the itiner-
64 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 65

ant "prophets," judging from what we are told by the charismatics such as the prophets, and b) by the Bishop, sur-
DidacheDs But, whenever the Apostles were absent, which rounded by the presbyters and deacons.
was most of the time, leadership of the Eucharist naturally Texts such as the Acts of the Apostles, 1 Clement and the
belonged to the permanent ministers. Here, again, there is Didache point in the former direction. In Acts (20:11), we read
an impenetrable historical problem, because the information that Paul celebrated the Divine Eucharist in Troas on the oc-
we have is sporadic. When the Twelve disappeared from the casion when the youth Eutychus accidentally fell from the
historical scene in a highly obscure manner, we find leader- third floor room where the Christians had gathered to "break
ship of the Church of Jerusalem in the hands of James and bread." Again, 1 Clement talks about a "ministry of the
the presbyters. ' 36 These presbyters may have existed in the apostles."'45 What was the nature of this ministry in which
Church of Jerusalem before James took over its leadership.137 the Apostles were succeeded by the presbyters of Corinth
Appearing there in parallel are the "deacons,"'38 an institu- who had been dismissed? Even though the term "ministers"
tion not unrelated to the common tables, with which the is used by Clement in a variety of ways,l46 as used here of the
Eucharist too was connected at that time. 139 Thus, the Church Apostles it has the specific meaning of offering the Gifts of
of Jerusalem was headed by the triad: James - the presbyters the Eucharist. The ministry of the Apostles which had been
- those who serve (diakonounies), I40 which probably replaced given to the dismissed presbyters was the offering of the Gifts;
the scheme: the Twelve (or the Apostles) - the presbyters - this is why it was considered "no small sin" to dismiss them
those who serve. This may have formed the model also for from it.147 It follows that the Apostles had the right among
the organization of the other Churches which received Chris- other things to offer the Divine Eucharist whenever they were
tianity from the mother Church of Jerusalem 1 41 As we can at any Church. It is possible, indeed, that each Church had a
know, today, thanks to the research of Professor G. special place at the table of the Divine Eucharist which would
Konidaris,' 42 this triad was the first linguistic form under be used by the Apostle whenever he visited; and that later,
which the Bishop appeared in history as a specific and com- once the apostolic generation was gone, this became not sim-
plete rank, initially known only by the personal name of the ply the exclusive locus of the Bishop, but also the most vital
office-holder and implicit within the collective term "the pres- symbol of his succession from the Apostles. 148 This probabil-
byters" whenever there was no reason to single him out. It ity stands, whether we accept the theory first put forward
follows that the office of Bishop exists even in the apostolic by C.H. Turner,!" according to which apostolic succession
period, overshadowed by the institution of the Apostles' 43 was understood in the early Church as meaning that the
and linked with the presbyters and deacons, either (more Bishop of a local Church traced his succession back, not to
rarely) through the scriptural expression "Bishops and dea- the Apostles in general, but specifically to the apostle and
cons,"l" or (more commonly) through the everyday the apostolic foundation of the local Church over which he
expression "the presbyters." presided - or whether we accept the opposite view upheld
That the Bishop, surrounded by the presbyters and dea- by A. Ehrhardt and other historians,!so according to which
cons, was from the beginning the leader of the Eucharist is the succession was seen as a succession from all the Apostles.
shown by the existing texts even though they do not pro- In either case, it does not alter the fact which interests us
vide us with clear evidence as to who exactly offered the here, that apostolic succession as an historical fact stemmed
Divine Eucharist. A careful examination of the sources leads from the Divine Eucharist, in the offering of which the Bish-
to the conclusion that the Divine Eucharist could be offered ops succeeded the Apostles. This becomes clear from
principally and par excellence a) by the Apostles or other studying 1 Clement where the meaning of succession from


66 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Part One - Presuppositions 67

the Apostles revolves exclusively around the ministry of "of- precisely because in the eucharistic assembly he occupied
fering the Gifts." A similar conclusion is to be drawn from that place, w hich the Apocalypse d escribes as "the throne of
studying the Didache. In this text, the Divine Eucharis t ap- God and of the Lamb" in the heavenly assembly, the image
pears as a ministry of the prophets too,l51 w!tich permits the of which the Apocalypse takes from the celebration of the
conclusion that charismatics generally were able to offer the Divine Eucharist in the Church .I" The very title of "Bishop "
Divine Eucharist when they were visiting a local Church . (episkopos) is u sed by Ignatius most p robably because, in keep-
Despite t!tis, however, two historical facts s hould be taken ing with !tis whole theology, the episkopos par excellence is God ,
into consideration before drawing m ore general conclusions. Whose p lace in the eucharistic assembly was now occupied
Firstly, it should be borne in mind that m any local Churches by the Bishop w ho presided over it. l55 Everything in the vi-
were not fo unded directly by the Apostles, but by mission- sion of the Apocalyp se revolves around the altar which is
aries w ho came from other Churches. As to the meaning of before the throne of God. Before it stands the multitude of
apostolic su ccession, this fact does not change things because the saved , and around the throne in a circle the twenty-four
by tracing his su ccession back to the apostolic foundations presbyters. The metaphor is plainly taken from the eucha-
of !tis Church, the Bishop would ultimately go back to the ristic assembly at w!tich the Bishop sat on !tis throne before
apostle of the Mother Church from w hich !tis own Church the altar w ith the presbyters in a circle around !timl" and the
had received Christianity. But as regards the unity of the lo- people in front of 1tim.157 T!tis was from the beginning the
cal C hurch and its rela tion to the p e rson offering the place the Bishop occupied as the one w ho offered the Divine
Eucharist, this fact is of particular importa nce as we shall Eucharis t, and for this reason the Church saw him as the
see. A second his torical fact which s hould be taken into con- image and type of God or of Christ. 158 The basis for this vivid
sideration here is that even in those Churches w !tich had been consciousness in the Church lay in the understanding of the
founded by one of the Apostles not all the charismatics were Di v ine Eu charis t as the Bod y o f C hris t in b o th the
connected permanently with the local Church. Furthermore, Christological and the ecclesiological sense.l59 In the Divine
w hich is more important, that at an early d ate the Ap ostles Eucharist, the Church w as m anifested in sp ace and time as
and charismatics started to disappear and be replaced in all the body of Christ, and also as a canonical unity. In this way
their minis tries by the p ermanent p asto rs of the local the unity of the Divine Eucharist beca me the font of the
C hurch .l52 In view of these facts, the Apostles and other Church's unity in the body of Christ, and also of her unity
charism atics cannot be regarded as figures connected p er- "in the Bishop."I60 How the unity of the Catholic Church was
manently with the offering of the Divine Eucharist in the local established and took shape on the basis of t!tis reality w ill be
Church and, therefore, capable of expressing her unity. This the subject of our enquiry in the chapter s w hich follow.
was the task and character of the p ermanent ministers of the q50
local Church and in particular the Bishop .
The task of the Bishop was from the beginning princi- To summarize the conclusions of the first part of t!tis study,
p ally liturgical cons is ting in the offering of the Divine we observe that the Divine Eucharist was from the begin-
Eucharist. T!tis is attested in very early texts. If we combine ning identified w ith the Church of God . Through this link
the information Ignatius gives us abou t the Bishop w ith the w ith the consciousness that in Christ the "man y" are united
image of the eu charis tic assembly tha t the author of the in the O ne, the Eucharist appeared as the !tighest expression
Apocalyp se has in mind (late first century), we see that the of the Church as body of Christ. Thus, in the earliest histori-
Bishop is described as "presiding in the place of God ,"153 cal d ocuments, Paul's Epistles, the eu charistic assembly is
68 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Notes to Part One 69

unreservedly identified with the Church of God which is in the consciousness recognition of which led the early Church to
a given city. Identification of the eucharis tic assembly with ecclesiological formulations of a purely theoretical character.
2 Rom. 16:1; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; Col. 4:1 6; 1 Thes. 1:1;Acts 8:1
the "Church of God " led automatically to the coinciden ce o f
eu charistic unity with the basic canonical unity of the C hurch. and 11:22.
3 Gal. 1:2 and 22; 1 Thes. 2:14; 2 Cor. 8:1; 1 Cor. 16:19; Acts 15:41
The division of those taking part in the Eucharis t into those
and 16:5; Rom . 16:16; 1 Cor. 11 :16 and 14:33-34.
who led and those who responded with the" Amen " ap- 'Mt. 16:18 and 18:17; Acts 5: 11; 8:3; 9:31; 12:1; 12:5; 11 :26; 14:23;
peared already in the first century (1 Corinthians a nd 1 14:27; 15:3; 15:4; 15:22; 18:22; 20:17; 20:28; 1 Cor. 6:4; 10:32; 11 :18;
Clement) as a clear and now permane nt canonical divis ion 11 :22; 12:28; 14:4; 14:1 2; 14:19; 14:23; 14:28; 14:35; 15:9; Gal. 1:13 and
of the members of the Church into clergy and lai ty. At the Phil. 3:6.
same period the " president" of the eu charistic assembly, as 5 Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philem. 2.

occupying the "throne of God" in the aitar, was elevated in 6 Acts 8:1-3. The same is tru e of most of the passages in cat-

the consciousness of the Church to the one who was seated egory (c). An exception could be made only for the passages Mt.
"in the place of God." In this way, the unity of the Church in 16:18; Acts 9:31; 20:28 (?); 1 Cor. 10:32 (?); and 12:28 (?) which are
also the only ones which ma y not have in view the Church as a
the Eucharis t a utomatically became a lso a unity in the
concrete local reality.
"Bishop.n
, 7 It should be stressed that the problem as it is posed tod ay
These general presuppositions of the first three genera- does not stem from the texts but is artificial given that the anti-
tions or so of C hristianity formed th e bas is for the further thetical scheme "localism vs. universalism" was alien to the mind
formation of the unity of the Church in the Divine Eucharist of th e primitive Church (see above, p . 21 ).
and the Bis hop. 8 The view that the "universal" Church precedes the "local" is
held by (among others) P. Bratsiotis, " The Apostle Pa ul and the
NOTES TO P ART O NE Unity ofthe Church" (in Greek), in f.E.TIt.S. (years 1957-58), 1959,
p. 154; R. Bultrnann, "The Transformation of the Idea of the Church
, The distinction between theoretical and practical ecdesiology in the History of Early Christianity," in Calladiall Journal of Theology
is intended here to underline the fact that the first theology con- 1 (1955),73-81; and A. Medebielle in Dictiollllaire de la Bible, Suppl.
ceming the Church did not develop as speculation about the idea Il, 1934, 660 and 668. The opposite view is taken by J. Y. Campbell,
or the concept of the Church, but initially appeared as an experi- "The Origin and Meaning of the Christian Use of the Word Ekklesia,"
ence of a reality; a state, in which Christians were continuously in Journal of Theological Studies 49 (1948), 130 f. and 138; K. Schmidt,
living. The conscious recognition of this sta te and the subseque nt "Ekklesia" in T. W.N.T. , lll, 503; and L. Cerfaux, La Theologie de
expression of the consciousness w hich had been created consti- rEglise... For a full bibliog raphy, see K. Stendahl, "Kirche .. ," col.
tuted the first theology of the Church, ex pressed through images 1303 f.
9 G. Konidaris, Oil the Supposed Differellce, p. 29.
which d escribed but did not define the reality which the Chris-
W Messe WId Herreumahl, 1926, p . 237.
tians lived . Thus, the theoretical theology of the Church did not
11 This reconstruction is attempted by Lietzmann (Ibid.)
precede the historical events and institutions of the Church's life.
On the contrary, the events and experiences of the Church, con- " 2Cor.1:l.
sciously recognized by her, led gradually to theoretical th eological On the boundaries of Achaea at this time see G. Konidaris,
13

formulations. This has particular Significance from the point of view Church History of Greece, i, 1954-60, pp. 44-47.
of method ology, especially for this stud y, which examines the unity 14 See above, notes 2 and 3.
of the Church, starting not from the theoretical teaching on unity " Cf. verse 29, where "coming together unto jud gem ent" is
m the sources, but from those events, institutions and experiences, clearly connected with being a communicant of the Eucharist.
16 See above, note 5.
70 E UCHARIST, B ISHOP, CHURCH Notes to Part One 71

Most probably, even the term "church" h ad not yet prevailed


17 names of their owners (5. Clementia etc.). On these churches, e1.
everywhere as a technical term when Paul's Epistles were being J.A . Jungmann, The Early Liturgy to the Time of Gregory the Great,
written. 1959, p.13.
Thus, for ins tance, the te rms "Chris tian ity." "Catho lic
18 31 This view is expressed, but wi th no reasons given, by L.
,
Church," "Bishop," etc., which first appea red in purely local us- Cerfau x, La Theologie de l'Eglise, p . 145 and P. Trembelas, "Worship
age in Antioch and soon became technical terms for the entire in Apostolic Times in Theologia 31 (]960), 183.
Church. Cf. G. Konidaris, On the Supposed Difference, p. 45f. J2 Rev. 1:10.
19 It is worth noting that one does not find an examination of " ct. D. Moraitis, The Liturgy of the Presanctified (i n Greek), 1955,
"church in th e household " eithe r in H . Strack-Po Bille rbeck, p. 12 f.
KOlllmentar zum N. T., III, 1926, nor in the entry "ekklesia" in Kittel, " See P. Bratsiotis, The Revela tion of the Apostle Joll/! (in Greek),
T.WNT. 1950.
20 E.g. "th e household of Stephanas" (1 Cor. 1:16 and 16:15), of " !bid. p. 51.
Crispus the ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8), of Lydia in Thya teira " See P. Bratsiotis, "L' Apocalypse de Saint Jean dans Ie Culte de
(Acts 16:15), of Narcissus and Aristobulos in Rome (Rom. 16:10-11). l'Il glise Grecqu e Orthodoxe," in ReVile d'Histoire and de Philosophie
etc. religieuse, 42 (]962), 116-1 21.
'I T. WN. T. , V, p. 132 f. 37 V. Ioa nnidis, "The Unity of the Church ... " (in Greek), p . 172.
12 See e.g. K. Hase, Kirchengeschichte, I, 1885, p. 210. ct. also JS 1 Cor. 10:15-17. ct. P. Neuenzeit, Das Herrenmahl. Stlldien zll r
Winderstein, Der Episcopal, p . 38 el infra. Paulinischen Ellcharistieauffassllng, 1958; K. Rahner, "Kirche und
". E.g. E.A. Judge, The Social Pattern of Christian Groups in Ihe Sakra m e nt," in Geist und Leben 28 (] 955) , 434 f. a nd R.
Firsl Century, 1960, pp. 30-39. Schnackenburg, Die Kirche im "Neuen Testament, 1961, p. 41 f.
,. Je remias, J., Hat die liltesle Christenheil die Kindertaufe geub!? , " 1 Cor. 10:16, taken together w ith 12:27 and Eph . 1:23; 4:12-16;
1938 (1 942' ), a nd more recently Die Kindertaufe in der ersten vier 5:30; Col. 1:18-24.
Jahrhlmderten , 1958. 40 Gal. 3:28. Cf. 2 Cor. 11 :2.
" I Cor. 11:22. 41 Eph. 4:5.

26 Acts 9:29; 13:14,45; 14:1; 17:1-2, 10, 17; 18:19; 19:8. 42 See M. Siotis, Divine Eucharist (in Greek), p. 50 f.
l7 In Acts 5:42 we find Temple and house linked : "And every 43 Histo rical and literary differences of a liturgical character be-

d ay in the temple and at home they did n ot cease teaching and tween these texts do not concern us here. On these see Lietzmann's
preaching Jesus as the Christ." But this linkage refers to preaching. work Messe etc. See also J. Betts, op. cit. p. 4 f. and especially D.
It should b e n oted that nowhere do w e find such a linkage in con- Moria tis, History of Christian Worship. Ancient Times (First to Fo urth
nection with the Eucharist; the exclusive place for which was the Century) (in Greek), 1964, p . 56 f.
Christian home. .. See Mk 14:24; Mt. 26:28; Lk 22:20 and 1 Cor. 11 :24.
28 That this refers to the Eucharist is agreed by most modern 45 ct. also H . Fries, "Die Eucharistie und die Einheit der Kirche,"

scholars. See e.g. A. Arnold, Der Ursprung des christlichen Abendmahl in Pro Mundi Vita. Festschrift zu m eucharistischen Weltkongress, 1960,
in Lichts der nellsten liturgiegeschichtlichen Forschung, 1932, p p. 43-47; p. 165f.
W. Goosens, W., Les origines de l'E ucharistie, 1931, pp. 170-174 andJ. 46 On this connection see J. Betz, "Eucharistie," in L.T.K., III,
Gewiess, D ie urapos tolische H ei/sve rkundig ung nach der 1959, col. 11 43.
Apostelgeschichte, 1939, 99.152-157. 47 The ide ntity of the Serva nt o f God is clearly applied by the

29 See above, p. 461. Lord to Himseli in Lk. 22:37 (= Is. 53:12), as also in all the passages
30 E.g. "the Church in your [Philemon's] household" (Philem . concerning the sufferings of Jesus, while the correspondence be-
1:2) or "the C hurch in their [Priscilla and Aquila's] household" tween the story of the Servant and the account of the Lord 's Passion
(Rom. 16:5). The houses from the first four centuries found in Rom e is amazing (Mt. 27:38 or Mk 15:27 or Lk. 23:32 f., 39 = Is. 53:9). The
by arch aeologists, wh ich had been turned into churches, bore the view of this passage by modern exegetes as a va ticinia ex eventu
72 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Notes to Part One 73

(e.g. R. Bultmann, Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition , 1951, p. 154 51 On the phrase "taking the form of a servant" as an allu sion to
and Theologie des N. T., I, 1953, p. 30), runs into insuperable difficul- the tradition concerning the Servant of God, see E. Lohmeyer,
ties, on w hich see O. Cullmann, Die Christologie des N.T. , 1957, p . Gottesknecht I1nd Davidsohn , 1945, p. 3 f. The same idea is also im -
63f. More generally on the significa nce, only recently recognized, plied in Rom. 5:19 through the prominence given to the relationship
of the figure of the Servant in the Gospels, see W Zimmerli - J. of the "one" with the "many": "by one mail's obedience many w ill
Jeremias, "?AI?," in T.WN.T. , V, 636 f.; H .W Wolff, Jesajia 53 im be made righteous." This is a clear reference to Is. 53:11 w here the
Urchristentum , 1950' ; and O. Cullmann, "ji'sus, serviteur de Dieu," Servant is presented as the one through w hom "many" are justi-
in Dieu vivan t 16 (1950), 17 I. fied.
48 The people of Israel appeared from th e beginning as a strong ;, When the Lord is likened to the "lamb, w ho takes away the
unity in the formation of w hich strong religious and ethnic figures sin of the world" in Jn 1:29 and 36 (d. also 19:36), this is a reference
such as Moses and David had been a con tributory factor. See V. to the Servant w ho, in Is. 53:7, is likened to a "sheep." The sa me
Vellas, Personalities of the O.T. (in Greek), I, 1957', pp. 58, 66, 70, 80f. characterization is also prevalent in the Book of Revelation which
121 etc. This unity was considered so profound and strong as to is now clearly linked with the Eucharist by the fact that Christ who
make the people of God one entity in it, relationship with its God. is offered is likened to a "lamb."
H ence, the repeated description of Israel in the OT through im- 53 The use of this title to denote the person of Jesus is so fre-

ages of living organisms such as the vine (Is. 5:1 f., H os. 10: 1-2, Jer. quent in the Gospels (the term appears 69 times), occurring
12:10, Ezek. 15:6), the cedar (Ezek. 17:22), the olive tree (Jer. 11:16), exclusively in the mou th of the Lord Himself, that many scholars
and indeed the son (Ex. 4:22-23, H os. 11:1, Is. 49:14 etc.) and wife of consider this attribute "Son of Man" to be the most authentic ex-
God (Jer. 31 :32, Masoretic text). It was w ithin the context of this pression of Jesus' understanding of Himself. (See e.g. J. Hering, Le
sense of orga nic unity that there arose the tradi ti on of the Servant royaume de Dieu et sa venue, 1952', p. 11 f. and S. Mowinckel, He that
o f Yahweh of which we get a clear picture in the Book of Isaiah, Cometh, 1956, p. 445 f. The rejection of the Christo logical sense of ,
40-55. The discussion of how this figure is to be interpreted be- the term on literary grounds originated with H . Lietzmann, in his
longs to others (see. V. Vellas, op. cit. p. 295 f.; P. Bratsiotis, The youthful work Der Menschensohn. Ein Beitrag zur neutestamentIichen
Prophet Isaiah (in Greek) 1956, p. 8 and N. Bratsiotis, The Position of Theologie, 1896, the reason being that the Aramaic term barnasha
the Individual in the O.T. (in Greek), !. Introduction, 1962). But re- means simply "man" (Menschenkind ); this view was later aban-
ga rdl ess of whether the individ ualis ti c or th e "collec tivist" doned by Lietzmann himself, but found a s upp orter in J.
interpretation of this paradoxical figure is correct, the re lationship Welthausen (Skizzen und Vorarbeiten, VI, 1899, p. 187; d. also P. Feine,
to the point of identity between the Servant and the "many" whose Theologie des N.T., 1934, pp. 57-70. Tod ay, so m e re ject the
sins he takes upon himself is a clear characteristic of this figure. C hristological sense of the term on the basis of textual criticism in
This is recognized today not only by Protestant theology but by those passages which refer to Jesus' activity on earth, "Son of Man"
Roman Catholic theology as well, as shown by J. de Fraine's work being thus seen as a property of Christ's future coming (see e.g. R.
Adam et son Lignnge: Etudes sur In "Personalil/i Corporative" dans la Bultmann, Geschichte... , 1958, pp. 124, 128, 163, 171 etc.; H.E. Todt,
Bible, 1959. This interpretation does not necessarily vitiate the in- Der Mel/schensohn in der synoptischell Oberlieferung, 1959, pp. 197-201
dividual charac teristics of the Servant, which are beyond doubt, and J. H ering, op. cit. p. 142). Some scholars are also dubious about
as V. Vellas proves (op. cit. p. 295 1.). the passages referring to the future coming of the "Son of Man."
49 1 Clem . 59:2-4. So P. Vie lhaue r, "Go ttesreich und Menschensohn in d e r
50 Didache 10:2. Ct. also 9:2: "We thank Thee, our Father, for the Verkundigung Jesu s', in Festschrift fiir G. Dehn , 1957, p. 51 f.; H.H.
holy vine of David thy servant (pais) , w hich Thou hast made known Conzelmann, in Zeitschrijt jlir Theologie urld Kirche, 54 (1957) 277 I.
to us through Jesus Thy servant." On the identification of both of and P. Winter in Theolog. Liternturzeitung 85 (1960), 745 I. H owever,
these passages as Eucharis tic texts see J.P. Audet, La Didach<!. In- the objections of these liberal commentators conflict w ith the idea
struction des Apotres, 1948, p. 407. Cf. also D. Moraitis, History of of a "hidden Messiah," who has an awareness of his identity as
Christian Worship (in Greek), p . 88. "Son of Man" but does not reveal it fully before his future coming
74 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Notes to Part Ol1e 75

(see E. Sjoberg, Der verborgene Menschensohn in den Evangelien , 1955, between the "Son of Man" and the idea of the identity of Christ
p. 120 f. Cf. E. Schweitzer, "Der Menschensohn," in Zeitschrift flir w ith the Church is the curious interchange between "I" and "we"
die net/test. Wissenschaft 50 (1959) 185-209). Besides, the Lord's iden- inJn 3:11-13: "Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know,
tification of the "Son of Man" who w ill come in glory "on the clouds and bear w itness to what we have seen; but you d o not receive our
of heaven" w ith the humiliated Jesus on earth is clear in such pas- testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe,
sages as Mk 8:31; 10:45; Mt. 8:20 etc. On this identification see also how ca n you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has as-
A. Papageorgakopoulos, The Son of Man (in Greek), 1957, p.65 f. cended into heaven but he w ho descended from heaven, the Son of
54 The tradition probably goes back to the Book of Daniel (7:13 Man. " It should be noted that he re again the "Son of Man" is men-
f.). Cf. J. Coppens, "Le Fils d 'Homme Danielique
, et les Relectu res tioned. Cf. chara cteristically 1 In 1:1 f.
de Dan. 7, 13 dans les Apocryphes et les Ecrits du N.T.," in Eph- 65 Through their climax in C hrist's prayer for uni ty "that they

emerides Theologicae Lovanienses, 37 (1961) 37. may all be one" Gn 17).


55 Earlier by F. Kattenbusch, "Der Quellort der Kirchenid ee," in '" In 15:4-16.
Harnack-Festgabe, 1921, p. 143. See also more recently Y. Congar, 67 The Lord's description of Himself as the true vine in w hich

The Mystery of Ihe Church, 1960, p. 85 f. the diSciples are called to remain, comes precisely at the moment
56 This gave rise to the theory of "corporate personality," th e w hen He appeals to them, "Abide in me" Gn 15:1-5), cannot be
chief exponents of which were J. Pedersen, Israel: Its Life and Cul- seen as unrelated to the idea of Israel as the "vine" (see a bove). For
ture, 1926; H . Wheeler Robinson, The Hebrew Conception of Corpora te John, the Church, as comprising those w ho are "of the truth," is
Personality (Werden und Wesen des A.T. Wissenschaft), 1936, p . 49 the true Israel (d. e.H . Dodd, The Interpretalian of the Fa urlh Gospel,
f. anel A.R. Jolmson, The One and the Many in the Israelite Conception 1953, p. 246) w ith w hich the "Son of Man" is identified . This is
of God, 1942. An extension of this theory to the whole of the Bible indicated, for example, by the way John transfers the passage from
has been attempted more recently by both Protestant theologians Gen. 28:12 into his Gospel Gn 1:51) by replacing the word "Jacob"
(e.g. O. Culimann, Christus und die Zeit, p . 99 f.) and Roman Catho- with the phrase "the Son of Man" (d. e.H. Dodd, ibid.)
lics (e.g. de Fraine, op. cil.). On the O.T. , d. also N. Bratsiotis, op. 68 See S. Agouridis, "Time and Eternity," lac. cit. , 1lI, 1958, p. 114

cit., p. 22 f. and 150.


57 Su ch appea rs to be the relationship between the "Son of Man" In The fact that the Pauline Churches had different ways of ex-

and the "people of the saints" in Daniel 7:13-27. In the N.T., this pressing their consciousness regarding the Divine Eucharist from
sa me relationship is clearly presented in the depiction of the Judge- those familiar to the Johannine Churches is indicated also by the
ment (Mt. 25:31 -46) w here the "Son of Man" identifies Himself different terminology they used to d eSignate the Eucharist. Thus,
completely w ith the group of " the least of these m y brethren" (vv. for the Pauline Churches, the favored term is the "bod y," whereas,
40 and 45). Cf, w ith certain reservations, the interpretation of T.w. for the Joha nnine Church es, it is the "flesh" of Jesus Christ; per-
Manson, Ihe Teaching of Jesus, 1955, p. 265. haps on acco unt of John's battle aga inst Docetism, as was the case
58 See M. Siotis, Divine Eu charist (in Greek), p . 33 f. Cf. H . Fries, with Ignatius. See G.H .e. MacGregor, " The Eucharist in the Fourth
lac. cit., p . 170 f. Gospel," in New Testament Studies 9 (1963), 117. For both of these
59 In 6:27. terms see J. Jeremias, Die Abendmahlswarle Jesu, 1949', p. 103 f. In
60 In 6:51. the end the Pauline term "body of Christ" to denote the Eucharist
61 The principal characteriza tion of the "Son of Man" in the prevailed in the Church as is shown by the ancient phrase "The
Fourth Gospel is as "he who d escended from heaven." See In 3:13, Body of Christ" which accompanied the giving of Holy Commun-
w here the phrase "h e w ho d escended from heaven" is followed ion, and to which the communica nt answered "Amen" (see
by the explanatory phrase " the Son of Ma n." Hippolytus, Apast. Trad. , ed . Dix, p . 41; Aposl. Consl. VllI:13:15; and
62 In 6:53. Eusebius, fccl. Hist. VI:43:19).
63 In 6:48. 7U For a detailed analysis of these images see P. Minea r, Images of
M In 6:56. One indication of the connection in the Fourth Gospel the Church in the New Testament, 1960. Cf. also E. Mersch, Le corps
76 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Notes to Part One 77

mystique du Christ, I, p. 143 f. Kirche, p. 170 f. But w hether the word is given an active meaning
"S ee 'mter aI'/Os E . S
C h '
Wltzer, "??MA'"
.. In TWNT
I . . d ern
. . .; elUS (= the Church as complem ent of Christ), as favored by ancient ex-
"Die Kirche als Leib Christi in den Paulinischen Antilegomena," egetes including St John Chrysostom, or a passive meaning (= the
in Theolog. Literaturzeitung, (1961) 241-256.; D. Michel, Das Zeugnis Church is fulfilled through Christ), as favored by modern com-
des N.T. von der Gemeinde, 1941, p. 44 f.; J.AT Robinson, The Body, mentators, it still makes no sense without the idea of an ontological
1952; E. Best, One Body in Christ, 1955; R.P. Shedd, Man in Commu- interdependency between Christ and the Church.
nity, 1958, p. 161 f. ; R. Bultmann, "The Transformation of the Idea 83 Eph. 4:13. Cf. 1:23.

olthe Church ... ," in Canadian Journal af Theology, 1 (1955) 73-81; K. 84 This is clear at least in Hebrews 12:22-24 and 13:10, where the

Barth, Kirchliche Dagmatik, IV / 1,1963, p. 741.; P. Minear, op. cit.; J. allusion is certainly to the Eucharist as shown by the verb "to eat."
Schneider, Die Einheit der Kirche nach N.T., 1936, p. 60 f. For RC Cf. D. Stone, A History of the Doctrine of the Holy Eucharist, 1,1959, p.
views see inter alios T. 50iron, Die Kirche als der Leib Christi nach der 15, and perhaps also the relevant passages of 1 Peter.
Lehre des hi. Paulus, 1951, p. 9-32; H. Dieckmann Die Verfassung der "' 1 Cor. 6:15, 12:12, 12:27; Eph. 4:25, 5:30 etc.
Urkirche, dargestellt auf Grund de r Paulusbriefe und der 86 Eph. 5:29 f. Cf. also the whole of Paul's argumen t in 1 Cor.

Apostelgeschichte, 1923, p. 107 f.; F. Mussner, Christus, das All und die 6:15 f.
Kirche, 1955; L. Cerfaux, La Theologie ... , p. 150f; and J. Hamer, L' E.glise 87 Unity per se was not a characteristic exclusive to the Church.

est une communion, 1962, p. 50 f. For an Orthodox view in very gen- In the Roman Empire, the formation of "associations" was such a
eral terms, see V. Ioannidis, "The Unity," lac. cit. p. 178 f. widespread practice that there were special laws governing the
n Cf. c.T. C raig, The One Church in the Light of the N.T., 1951, p. affairs of the various organizations w hich were known by the term
21: "The identification of the Church with the Body of Christ can- collegia (see Tacitus, Annals 14.17; Pliny, Ad Traj. 34.97; Minucius
not be understood apart from the Eucharistic word 'This is my Felix, Octavius 8-9 and Origen, Against Celsus 1.1. C f. J.P. Waltzing,
I
bod y'." Cf. H. Schlier, Die Zeit der Kirche. Exegetische Aufsatze und Etude Historique sur les Corporations Professionels des Romains, I, pp. I
Vortrage, 1962 3, p. 246 f. and R. Schnackenburg, op. cit., p. 158 f. '11 3-129 and Th. Mommsen, Le droit penal romain, II, pp. 274-8). The
73 For details, see A.D.J. Rawlinson, "Corpus Christ," in love and mutual support which prevailed among the members of
Mysterium Christi (ed. G.A. Bell and A. Deissmann), 1930, p . 225 f. these collegia was extraordinary and was organized through a com-
" See L. Strack - P. Billerbeck, Komlnentar, III, p. 446 f. mon fund to which each would contribute m onthly (stips menstrua);
73 See e.g. R. Bultmann, "Th e Transformation ... ," ibid ., pp. 73-81. thus, the members would address each other as "brethren" (fratres ,
76 See e.g. V. Ioannidis, "The Unity," loco cit. p. 179, where the sodales, socii). Cf. EX. Kraus, "Fratemitas," in Realencyclopaedie der
source of the term is regarded as being the story told by the Ro- christl. Altertumer, I, 1880, p. 540). Apart from the pagans, the Jews
man Menenius Agrippa who was trying to emphasize to the who lived w ithin the Roman Empire came together in special com-
rebellious Roman plebeians that the citizens of a state are like the munities under their own ethnarch (d. E. Schurer, Geschichte des
m embers of a body. judischen Volkes, 1914, pp. 14,17). The brotherly love between them
77 This is in response primarily to the view set out in the preced- was strong, and was manifest especially in groups such as the
ing note. Essenes whose life was organized on principles of comm on prop-
" 1 Cor. 3:9; 14:5,12; 2 Cor. 12:19; Eph. 2:21, 4:12, 4:16. erty (d. L. Philippidis, History, p. 480 f.) To characterize the Church's
7'! 1 Tim. 3:15; Heb. 3:6; 1 Pet. 2:5. tmity as simply a "communion of love," therefore, does not satisfy
80 The notion of "building" (oikodomi!) here is n ot static. The the historian who sees the Church as a sui generis unity.
Church is "being built up," i.e. she "increases." Cf. 1 Cor. 14:4; 1 88 E.g. E. Hatch, The Organization of the Early Christian Churches,

Thes. 5: 11 ; 1 Pet. 2:5 in combination with 1 Cor. 3:6-7; Eph. 2:21, 1888, p. 26 f. and L. Duchesne, Histoire Ancienne de l'Eglise, I, 1906,
4:15-16; Col. 1:10,2:19; 1 Pet. 2:2. pp 381-87.
" 2 Cor. 11:2 and Eph. 4:13. 89 The connection of the Eucharist with the essence of the Church

82 The interpretation of the term pleroma presents difficulties for (see above, In troduction) should be especially stressed because it
w hich see E Mussner, op. cit. p. 46 f. Cf. also H. Schlier, Die Zeit der is precisely on this point that R. Sohm goes astray in his attempt to
78 E UCHARlSf, BISHOP, C HURCH Notes to Part One 79

connect the origin of Canon Law with the Eucharist., . the initial period ) in the organiza tion of the Church .... "
90 On this see H . Chira t, L' Assemblee Ch,,!tienne Ii r Age Apostohque \H Heb. 3:14. Thus, from the viewpoint of p articipa tion in the

(ser. Lex O ra nd i No. 10), 1949, passim and esp . p . 188 f. body of Christ, the C hurch, there is comp lete equality of her m em-
91 This is clear in the book of the Apocalypse (see above p . 51); bers irrespective of w hat order they belon g to. This is expressed
but also in Hebrew s, where w orship dominates, the "altar" of the par excellence in the Divine Eucharist in which from the beginning
Eucharist (see above p. 64, n . 83) is linked w ith "Mou n t Z ion and all orders of the Church had to participate. Ct. G . Dix, The Shape of
the city of the living God , the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innu- the Liturgy p . 195 f. and L Kotsonis, The Plnce of the LaihJ in Church
merable an gels, and to the festal gathering and assembly of the Organization (in Greek), 1956, p . 32 I.
firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of 112 "Are all Apostles?," asks Paul (1 Cor. 12:29) .

all ... " (1 2:22 f.). 113 'They shall a ll be taught by God ," ind eed (jn 6:45); bu t not

92 Heb. 12:2, CoL 3:1, Eph . 1:2 a nd esp . Phil. 2:6-11 , w here we all are teach ers (1 Cor. 12:29 a nd jas 3:1) .
m ost likely h ave a hym n used in the worship of the primitive 114 Acts 6:1-6.

Church (ct. above, p. 56). L Karavidopoulos, The Christological Hymn 115 The sam e should be said of Christ's priesthood . He is the

in Phi/' 2:6-11 (in G reek), 1963. Priest (see n . 96 a bove) just as H e is the Apostle or the Teach er; and
OJ Eph. 4:5. the m embers of His Church, as constituting His body which is of-
94 Rev. 1:5. fered by the priests in the Eucharist, form a "priesthood " (it should
95 Heb . 8:2. be n oted that both 1 Pet. 2:5-9 and Rev. 5:10, w here a royal priest-
% Heb. 5:6; 8:4; 10:21; 2:17. hood is m entioned, occur within Eucharistic texts). But as not all
'" ljeb. 3:l. partake of His a postolic or other properties, so not all are able to
98 Rom. 15:8; Lk 22:77; ct. PhiL 2:7; M t 12:18; Acts 3:13, 4:27. partake of His priestly prop erty. A general priesthood would ha ve
99 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4; Heb. 13:20. been as comprehensi ble to primitive Christianity as a general apos-
100 Mt 23:8; Jn 13:13. tali'ci ty or d iaconate etc.
101 CoL 1 :18. 110 Ct. j. Coison, op. cit. p .49 f.: " If all the faithful are m embers of

102 See above, p . 53 f., on the relation of the O ne to th e "Ma ny" the sam e Bod y in Jesu s Christ, not all of these m emb ers are identi-
united in Him. cal and n ot all h ave the sa m e fun cti on . The g ra ce of God is
103 Ct. the phrase in the Liturgy of St Joh n Chrysostom , "Who multiform, a nd the gifts of the Spirit variou s."
a rt enthroned on hig h w ith the Father, and invisibly present here 117 It is by no m eans accidental that althou gh the Church sepa-

with u s." rated from the Eucharist many sacraments w hich were once
104 This is es!,ecially evident in the Apocalyp se and in H ebrews, connected with it she never did this with the ordina tion of priests.
118
and also in Ignatius on w hom see be low. 1 Cor. 14:40.
10; G. Konidaris, On the Supposed Difference, p. 34 I. 119 This distinction was introduced by Harnack, Die Lehre der

1116 Cf. EM. Braun, Neues Licht auf die Kirche, p. 179. zwolf AposteL (Texte und Untersuchun gen, II, 1884, p p. 145-149),
107 As is the opinion of e.g. 8.0. Beicke, Glaube und Leben der perhaps u nder the influence of E. Hatch's work I7le Organization of
Urgemeinde, 1957, p. 25 I. the Early Chu rch ... , as O. Linton thinks, op . cit. p . 36 f. (ct. also E.
1118 Between the Apostle (lit. "sent one") and Christ the sender Foerster, R. Sohms Kritik des Kirchen rechtes, 1942, p . 51 f.). It was
there exists a m ystical relation ship . Christ Himself is working in subsequently establish ed in historiograph y by Lie tz mann a nd
and throu gh the Apostle: "H e wh o hears you h ears m e, and he
/ Heussi through their church histories.
wh o rejects you rejects m e" (Lk 10: 16. Ct. 1 Thes. 4:8). 120 See e.g. J. Klein, Grundlegung und Grellzen des Knnonisches

11\9 See p. 65ft. Rechtes, 1947, p. 10 f.


110 Cf. K. Moura tid is, Diversification, Secularization and Recent III See 1 Tim. 3:2, 5:17; 2 Tim. 2:2; Tit. 1:9; Heb. 13:7; Jas. 5:14 etc.

Developments in the Law of the Roman Catholic Church (in Greek), m O n the subject of ordina tion as the laying on of hands to
1961, p . 36: "The divine factor d ominates d uring this period (i.e. con vey a particular blessing see j. Behm, Die Handauflegung in
80 E UCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH Notes to Part One 81

Urchristentu," nach Venvendung, Herkunft und Bedeutung, 1911 ; j . ministrative functions superior to the bishops).
Coppens, L'lmposition des Mains et les Rites Connexes dans Ie N.T., 127 Many of the Protestant historians base their views on the
1925; M. Kaiser, Die Einheit der Kirchengewalt nach den Zeugnis des polity of th e primitive Church exclu sively on such arg uments from
N.T. und der Apostolischen Vater, 1956, p . 104 f. Cf. also M . Siotis, s ilen ce. So fo r exa mpl e, E. Schwe i zer, Gemeinde und
"Die klassische Wld die christliche Cheirotonie in ihrem Verhii ltnis/' Gemeindenordnung illl Neuen Testament, 1959, Sb; Sm and e lsewhere
in Theologia 20 (1 949), 21 (1950) and 22 (1951 ). Esp ecially fo r insta l- 12S Clearly all participated through hymns, speaking in tongues
lation in a specific minis try, ordination was commonplace in etc.
apostolic times. So, for example, in Acts 13:1-3 (d espite the d oubts 129
1 Cor. 14:16.
of j. Brosch, Charismen und Amter in der Urkirche, 1951 , p. 163 a nd 130 1 Clem ent 40:3-41:4 "For his own proper services are assigned
M. Kaiser, o p. cit. p . 38), A cts 6:6 and 14:23 (Cf M. Kaiser, o p . cit. p. to the high priest, and their own proper place is prescibed to the

94). Likewise in 1 Tim. 4:14 and 2 Tim . 1:6. The term "appoint" (Ti. priests, an d their own proper ministrations devolve on the Levites.
1:5) must also include or presuppose an act of ordination even The laym an is bo und by the la ws that pertain to laymen. Let every
though it has a special meaning (see. G. Konida ris, On the Supposed one of you, brethren, be well-pleasing to God in his own order,
Difference, p. 31. living in a ll good conscience, not going beyond the rule o f th e min-
123 Cf. H . Schlie r, in Glaube und Geschichte, Festschrift fUr F. istry prescribed to him ... "
Gogarten, 1948, p. 44 f. and G. Ko nidaris, op. cit. p. 31 131 justin, 1 Apol. 6S. Cf. P. Rouget, Amen. Acclamation dll peuple
'" See 1 Cor. 14:16 and 23 f. in combination with 14:40. sacerdotal, 1947.
125 Thus in Romans 12:6 deacons are placed before teachers, and 132 In this case, this is not an arbitrary procedure from the view-
in Ephesians 4:11, pastors corne before teachers, etc. Besides, the point of historical method if on~ takes into account that the Roman
view that the charismatics formed a special order and organiza- Church was distinguished for its strict conservatism in the early
tion in th e primitive Church ca nnot be support ed from 1 centuries. Thus, o n the basis of 1 Clementwhich forms a link be-
Corinthians 12:28 on w hich Harnack and subsequent historiogra- tween th e Corinth we know from St Paul and the Rome known to
phy tried to base it. A simple comparison of the list of charisma tics Justin, we are justified in believing that the situa tion, rega rd ing
contained in this passage with the similar list in Romans 12:6-9 the Eucharistic assembly, did not change substantially during the
and the expla nations Paul gives in 1 Corin thians 14:6 is sufficient period of time covered by these tex ts
to d emonstrate that in 1 Corinthians 12:28, Paul is not in any way 133 G. Konidaris, On the Supposed Difference, p. 70 (note): "The
referrin g to the ad ministration of the Church in Corinth. Nothing presidents! presbyters! bishops w ho took the place of the Apostles
could justify Harnack's supposition that the "prophets" a nd "teach- probably did not dare to emphasize the sa m e name m ore strongly.
ers" in 1 Corinthians 12:28 constitute special "orders" of ministers They lived under the shadow of the n ame of the Apostles an d of
in the local Church more than the obviously groundless supposi- their authority."
tion that "he who contributes in liberality" and "he who d oes acts 134 See Acts 20:7-12, where Paul presides at the assembly the
of mercy with cheerfulness," who are numbered w ith the proph- purpose of w hich was to "break bread ."
ets and teachers in Romans 12:6-9, also formed specia l "ord ers" in 135 Didache 10:7: "A llow the prophe ts to give thanks as long as
the Church ! they wish ." It is probable that Acts 13:2, "W hile they [i.e. the pro ph-
126 The separation of administration from the charism of priest- ets a nd teachers] were worshipping [/eitourgollnton} the Lord," a lso
hood in su ch a way that a distin ction is created b e tw een implies a liturgical function for these charismatics, as J. Colson
"administrative" and "spiritual" spheres of competence is a prod- thinks, op. cit. p . 31.
u ct of Western sch olastic theology. This separation was accepted 136 Acts 21:18.
and enshrined by the Roman Catholic C hurch which can, thus, 137 This conclusion may be d educed from the fact that the pres-
entrust higher administrative responsibilities to church me mbers byters alread y appea r with the Apostles a t the Apostolic Council
of lower clerical rank (cardinals, for instance, may be deacons or (Acts 1S:2, 4, 6, 22, "Apostles a nd presbyters." The o rigin of the
even laymen, w ithout this preventing them from carrying out ad- presb yters is a n obscure historical proble m . On this see the theo-
82 E UCHARlST, B ISHOP, CHU RCH Notes to Pa rt One 83

ries of G. Dix, "Ministry in the Early Church," in The Apostolic Min- '51Didache 10:7.
istnj (ed. Kirk), 1946, p .233 f.; A.M. Farrer, ibid. p. 143 f.; Bornkamm, m This transfer of powers is attested by 1 Clement and the
in T. W.N.T., VI, p. 655 f. and W. Michaelis, Das Altestenamt, 1953, Didache.
pp. 35-39. The most probable view seems to be that of G. Dix, ac- 15' Ignatius, Magn. 6: 1.
cording to w hich presbyters go back to the Jewish tradition. '54 Rev. 4-5. In linking the Apocalypse wi th the Divine Eucha-
' 38 Acts 6:211; Phil. 1:1 and 1 Tim. 3:1. Their origin, in contrast to rist here, we are not m aking arbitary use of an apocalyptic text as
the presbyters and contrary to the view of G. Dix ("Ministry," p. an historica l Source. The Apocalypse was no t w ritte n w ithout rela-
232 f.) shou ld be sought in the Churches of Gentile origin, accord- tion to the Church life of its d ay and particula rly the Divine
ing to von Campenhausen, Kirchliches Amt und geist/iche Vol/lllacht, Eucharist. There is a w idespread tendency in modern scholarship
1953, p. 84.
to regard even the hymns of the Apocalypse (Rev. 4:11, 5:9-14 and
139 On th e close connection of the deacons with the Eucharist, 17 f.) as hymns fro m the Divine Eucharist. See e.g. F.J. Doelger, Sol
see G. Dix, op. cit. p. 245 f. It is noteworthy that a similar close Sa lutis. Gebel und Gesang im Christ/ichen Altertum. Rucksicht auf die
relation existed between deacons and bishops probably d eriving Ostung im Gebel und , Liturgie, 1925, p . 127 and C. Ruch, "La Messe
from the original position of the former as assistants to the Apostles d'apr"s la sainte Ecriture," in D.T. C., X, 858.
(see Acts 19:22, 13:5; Rom. 16:21; 2 Cor. 8:23 and Phil. 2:25), and the 15; Cf. W. Telfer, The Office of a Bishop, 1962, p. 93.
capacity of the latter as successors to the Apostles particularly in 15. For the term "presbyter" in the Apocalypse as meaning not
the Divine Eucharist. See below. angels but men, see P. Bratsiotis, The Apocalypse (in Greek), p . 11 9 f.
'40 G. Konidaris, op . cit. p . 26. an d esp. p. 122. The fact that the reference here is not to human
14' ibid. p. 42 f. beings in general or the faithful in their entirety, but to a particular
14' In his work On the Supposed Difference, etc. order, is shown by the clear distinction made between the "pres-
,,, M. Kaiser (op. cit. p. 174) is righ t in stressing that the absence byters" and the "saints" (= all members of the Church regardless
of the Bishop from the NT is connected with the presence and pres- of o rd er) in Rev. 5:8. There is thus no reason to reject the interpreta-
tige of the Apostles there. We should make clear, however, that tion accordi ng to w hich this passage has to d o w ith the institution
this absence relates only to the title of bishop and not to the insti- of presby ters and in particular their place in the Eucharistic as-
tution per se (d . G. Konidaris, op. cit. p. 13). The presence of the sembly, espeCially given that, as Professor P. Bratsio tis observes
Apostles meant that the Bishop became invisible in the sources, (ibid. p. 122), "this heavenly liturgy [in the Apocalypse] is a type
but not in practice. of th e ea rthly liturgy according to the O rthodox understanding."
144 Cf. G. Konidaris, On the Regional and Chronological Limits to Ignatius" phrase "the Bishop with the presby terium" (Smyrn. 8:1
the use of the term "Bishops and Deacons," 1960. and Eph. 20:2) most likely also takes its origin from the celebration
145 I Clem. 44:1-3. of the Divine Eucharist which Ignatius had in mind . This hypoth-
146 Elsewhere he speaks of Enoch and Noa h as "ministering" esis is supported by the fact that this phrase appears immediately
(9:2-4); and similarly of the an gels (34:5) and of the O.T. prophets after a reference to the Eucharist and as part of Ignatius' mo re gen-
as ministers of God's grace (8:1 ). eral effort to u nd erline its unity.
' 47 I Clem . 44:4. 157 This arrangement of the Eucharist is likewise presupposed
'48 Cf. G. Kon idaris, "Apostolic Succession " (in Greek), in by tex ts such as Justin's First Apology, 65 and 67; H ip polytus, Apost.
Threskevtiki kai Ethiki Enkyklopaedia, IV, 1964, col. 111 6. Trad. (Dix, 6 and 40f.) etc.
149 "Apostolic Succession: A. The original conception. B. The '58 The Johannine understanding of the Divine Eucharist was
problem of non-catholic orders," in Essays on the Early History of precisely theocentric: "My Father gives you the tru e bread from
the Church and the Ministry, H .B. Swete (ed.), 1918, p p. 93-214. heaven" Un 6:32). The Bishop who occupied the throne in the Al-
'so See A. Ehrhardt, The Apostolic Succession in the First Two Cen- tar was therefore seen as the living icon of God or of Christ (Ignatius,
turies of the Church, 1953 and F Dvom ik, The Idea of Apostolicity in Tral. 3:1 and Magn. 3:1). Anyone w ho does not obey the "visible"
Byzantium and the Legend of Saint Andrew, 1958, p. 39 f. bishop "seeks to mock the one w ho is invisible," i.e. God (Magn.
84 EUCHARIST, BISHOP, CHURCH

3:2). Cf. likewise the connection between the "unity of God" and
"unity in the episeope" which Ignati us makes in Polye. 8:3. The con-
ception that the Bishop is an "icon of Christ" was long preserved
(see Ps-Clement, Hom. 3:62 - Syria, fourth century).
159 See above, lntroduction.
"'" Ignatius, Magn . 6: "Be united with the Bishop." It is worthy
of particular note that Ignatius "does not hesitate to characterize
union with Christ as union with the Bishop" (K. Bonis, "St Ignatius
the Godbearer and His Views on the Church" (in Greek), in
Orthodoxos Skepsis 1 (1958),39. ,

PART II

FORMATION

Unity in the Divine Eucharist and the Bishop, and the


Formation of the "Catholic Church"
CAPITOLUL Ul

Liturghia

1. Introducere

Dac bisericile ortodoxe sunt att de pline de lumin, de cldur,


de intimitate, aceasta se datorete faptului c fiecare punct de pe ziduri
este nsufleit i nfieaz cerul, l pune pe om n legtur cu predece-
sorii si: cu ngerii, profetii, apostolii, martirii i sfinii; omul este cu
adevrat n vizit la Dumnezeu n cer. Prin icoan, cultul liturgic, sluj-
bele care iau parte n mod firesc la amnuntele vieii zilnice, Biblia
devine uimitor de vie, iar cerul este cu totul aproape, intim, aproape
palpabil. Este un fel de "teomaterialism", o viziune a naturii n
Dumnezeu care face orice lucru transparent, prin care intuim prezenta
nevzutului. O mai ndelungat intimitate cu aceste prezente creeaz
aspiratia nepotolit spre puritate i absolut; lumnrile aprinse spun
ardoarea credintei, iar vietile sfintilor cntate n cntrile liturgice i
prezentate n icoane ne nva c chemrile dumnezeieti din sfintele
Evanghelii pot fi nfptuite i se adreseaz tuturor.
n continuitatea organic a planurilor liturgice, norul de tmie
continu micarea braelor ridicate ale preotului care "adun" 93 elanul
ecumenic al sufletelor spre comuniune. Tot astfel binecuvntarea cu
crucea n cele patru puncte cardinale ale universului apleac toat
lumea material sub lucrarea sfintitoare a harului. n vecerniile orto-
doxe, binecuvntarea untdelemnului, a vinului i a grului sfinete prin-
cipiul rodniciei pmntului i-1 nva pe om c pmntul pe care-I
muncete este sfnt; c roadele pe care le culege din adncul lui nu
sunt numai agregate chimice, ci un dar viu care particip la misterul
euharistic, c nsi rodnicia pmntului este n legtur direct nu
numai cu ngrmintele i anotimpurile, dar i cu spiritualitatea omului.
Atunci cnd rupe pinea, omul spune rugciunea binecuvntrii:
mncatul este totdeauna o amintire a misterului euharistic. n contact cu
spiritul, materia devine supl i maleabil: dintr-o mas inert i grea iese
o frumusete dltuit prin semne i palpitnd de via. Omul este chemat
s scoat din lucruri cea mai minunat dintre rugciuni: Biserica. "lat,
intr mpratul slavei, iat, jertfa de tain care se aduce. Cu credin i cu
dragoste, s ne apropiem1 noi,cei care participm la viaa venic".
93. Termen liturgic: rugciune de mijlocire care adun nzuintele credincioilor.
260 ORTODOXIA

2. Rugciunea liturgic, tip de rugciune

Cuvntul liturghie nseamn lucrarea poporului: Aettoupyia =


f pyov tou 1-aou. Dac rugciunea individual este stimulat de tre-
buinele momentului, rugciunea liturgic izvorte totdeauna din totali-
tatea adevrului, ea depete orice particularism sau exuberan senti-
mental i formeaz contiina universal. Plin de emotie sntoas i
de via afectiv puternic i curat, ea filtreaz orice inspiratie subiec-
tiv i impune forma sa desvrit, perfectionat de-a lungul secolelor
de vietuire n harul dumnezeiesc.
Liturghia nva adevrata legtur dintre persoan i comunitate,
dintre mdular i trup: "Iubete pe aproapele tu ca pe tine insuti". n
slujbele liturgice, cuvintele acestea au valoarea tririi, ne ajut s ne
lepdm de noi nine i s facem din rugciunea omenirii ntregi pro
pria noastr rugciune. Lng soarta noastr, noi aezm soarta tutu-
ror oamenilor. Cntrile liturgice, ca nite valuri puternice, duc pe cre-
dincios dincolo de el nsui i de cercul su iamllial, inspre adunarea de
fat, apoi spre cei ce nu sunt de fa, spre cei ce sunt pe cale departe
i n primejdii pe uscat, pe ap i in vzduh, spre cei ce se ostenesc i
sufer si spre cei ce sunt bolnavi pe moarte. Apoi rugciunea cuprinde
pe cei ce conduc oraul i tara, neamurile i popoarele, n fine,ntrea-
ga omenire; ea cere ca pmntul s dea roade bogate i pacea cos-
mic. Rugciunea se sfrete cu cererea ecumenic pentru o pace
universal i cu unirea tuturor.
Omul, rcorit i reinnoit n aceast comuniune prin dinamismul
iubirii, regsete adevrul su propriu i esenta adevrat a lucrurilor.
Singurtatea este nvins, chiar i natura, scufundat n ateptarea
liberrii sale nflorete in liturghia cosmic: "Arborii, ierburile, psrile,
pmntul, marea, aerul, lumina, toate mi spuneau c exist numai
pentru om, c mrturisesc iubirea de oameni a lui Dumnezeu, totul se
ruga, totul cnta mrirea lui Dumnezeu"94.
Astfel, liturghia face s triasc adevrul evanghelic c mntuirea
unui singur suflet, fcnd abstractie de ceilalti, este cu adevrat imposi-
bil. Pronumele liturgic, "eu", nu exist la singular. Un preot este oprit
s svreasc singur liturghia, trebuie s fie de fat cel putin a doua
persoan, i n aceasta s fie de fa lumea ntreag. Astfel, rugciunea
liturgic se constituie n canon, msur a oricrei rugciuni. Printii
spuneau "rugciune" fr s mai adauge altceva, ntelegnd prin
aceasta liturghia euharistic.
94. Recits d'un Pelerin, "Les cahiers du Rhlme", 1948, p. 48.
RUGCIUNEA BISERICU 261
Colegiul preotesc i credincioii formeaz un singur trup liturgic, n
care fiecare i ndeplinete lucrarea sa proprie. Aceast unitate ome-
neasc ne explic de ce ortodoxia nu a ngduit folosirea, n Biseric, a
instrumentelor muzicale, a sunetelor fr cuvinte, tocmai pentru c ea
socotete c glasul omenesc nwnai el singur poate s mbrace vredni-
cia de a rspunde Cuvntului lui Dumnezeu, iar "corul" care cnt
ntr-un singur suflet este cea mai potrivit expresie a Trupului, unit cu
corul ngerilor.

3. Materia liturgic

Totalitatea slujbelor liturgice este compus din pericope din


Sfintele Scripturi sau pasaje din ele, din parafrazarea i comentariile
lor. Pe lng psalmi95 i unele pri din Vechiul Testament, Noul
Testament este citit n ntregime n ciclul anual, dup ornduiala sta-
bilit. Dup aceea vin litaniile i diferitele cntri i rugciuni sfinte cu
coninut istoric i dogmatic96.
Ciclul zilnic este centrat pe liturghia euharistic i o pregtete:
acesta este format din ceasuri, vecernie, pavecernit, miezonoptic i
utrenie. Ciclul anual urmeaz toate evenimentele vietii Domnului
Hristos. Ciclul sptmnal introduce n slujbele din fiecare zi cte o
comemorare special: astfel, miercurea i vinerea, Patima i moartea
Domnului; luni, puterile cereti, ngereti; marti, sfntul Ioan
Boteztorul; joi, apostolii; smbt, Theotokos (Maica Domnului).
Tipicul este o carte care ornduiete prile schimbtoare ale fiecrei
slujbe. Totalitatea slujbelor constituie o adevrat teologie liturgic de o
bogie nentrecut. n ele gsim tot ce este mai valoros i mai limpede
din doctrina Prinilor. Suntem repede rpii de aceast micare sigur,
minunat alctuit, care cuprinde toate prile revelatiei i rspunde
tuturor trebuintelor vieii spirituale. Elementul liric i afectiv este grefat
pe elementul doctrinar} unde orice tendin individual schismatic este
mereu ndreptat, iar Adevrul ni Se nfieaz echilibrat n toate ele-
mentele Sale.

95. Toat Psaltlrea este citit in cursul unei sptmni.


96. Liturghia se hrnete din Biblie: sunt 98 de citate din Vechiul Testament i 114
din Noul Testament; in prima parte, 49 din Vechiul Testament i 38 din Noul
Testament; iar in a doua jumtate, Noul Testament domin: avem 76 citate din Noul
Testament i 49 din Vechiul Testament.
262 ORTODOXIA

4. Venicul i vremelnicul

Istoria se desfoar n timp i se sedimenteaz n memorie.


Aceast capacitate de a transcende fracionarea timpului st la baza
"memorialului" liturgic, dar taina sa merge i mai departe. n timpul
liturghiei, prin sfnta ei putere, suntem rpiti i inltati ntr-un
punct n care venicia se ncrucieaz cu timpul, iar n acest punct
noi devenim contemporani reali ai evenimentelor biblice de la
Genez pn la Parusie; noi le trim concret, ca martorii lor ocu-
lari. n timpul liturghiei, cnd auzim: "Acesta este trupul Meu",
acestea sunt chiar cuvintele lui Hristos care rsun n timp. Nu este
vorba de o repetare omeneasc, ci, prin aceast contemporanei-
tate liturgic, suntem n comuniune 1 dincolo de timp, cu ceea ce
rmne odat pentru totdeauna, cu ceea ce este venic, i atunci
slujba dobndete valoarea vietii dumnezeieti, iar biserica devine
locaul ei. Cretinii din primele veacuri, cu realismul specific acelei
epoci, contemplau n mod natura/ lumea nevzut, biserica inun-
dat de lumea de dincolo; "Acum toate puterile cereti sunt de fat
cu noi"97. Ei vedeau norul ngerilor, iar n cel ce slujea, pe Hristos
n persoan. Atunci nelegem acest cutremur sfnt, acest respect
fr margini, puternica senzatie c "acest loca este sfnt", o
tradiie nepreuit, transmis de la nceputul cretinismului, din
generatie n generatie.
Cnd se deschide ua mprteasc a altarului, mpria lui
Dumnezeu este chiar n mijlocul nostru. Cerul coboar i credinciosul
se unete cu corul ngerilor ca s-I ntmpine cum se cuvine pe Cel ce
vine: "Iat pe mpratul mprailor care Se apropie".
n timpul slujbei Crciunului, noi nu ne aducem aminte de
naterea lui Hristos, ci asistm cu adevrat la acest eveniment, adic
Hristos Se nate n fata noastr. n noaptea de Pati, cel nviat apare in
fata credincioilor i aceasta i mbrac cu demnitatea apostolic de
martori oculari ai nvierii. Tot astfel, citirea Evangheliei din timpul
slujbei nvierii mbrac puterea evenimentului nsui.

97. Liturghia Darurilor mai inainte sfintite.


RUGCIUNEA BISERICH 263

5. Aciunea dramatic9B

Liturghia este o tain care se desfoar pe scena sfnt a Bisericii


i cuprinde in lucrarea ei toat adunarea credincioilor. Ea este o
dram in form de dialog i este condus de preot, ajutat de un dia-
con, trimisul lui Dumnezeu,i de corul credincioilor, xopoc;. n aceast
"slujb public" sau "cauz comun", poporul aduce darul su lui
Dumnezeu, iar Dumnezeu l rspltete cu harul Su i cu prezena Sa.
Uile iconostasului {catapetesmei) formeaz o barier mobil care
deschide diferitele trepte de urcu la cele cereti. Diaconul st ntre
iconostas i naos, ca un nger-trimis, i vestete ceea ce se pregtete,
dirijeaz intreaga actiune liturgic comun, cnt dialogul liturgic, conduce
rugciunea adunrii i ornduiete tinuta tuturor i a fiecruia in parte.
Sensul psihologic i estetic foarte rafinat se acord cu continutul
spiritual, el este n aceeai cheie muzical. Cntarea Sfnt, Sfnt ... ,
spre exemplu, arat momentul n care poporul se unete cu corul
ngerilor i cnt imnul pe care l-a primit prin descoperire. Dac mai
ntlnim i alte repetri (spre exemplu Trisaghionul - Sfinte
Dumnezeule etc ... ), acest imn, prin amploarea lui, este unic i nu se
repet. Tot aa, putem constata sobrietatea cerut de liturghie; textul
din Samuel 3, 41: "S nltm inimile noastre, cu minile spre
Dumnezeu care este n ceruri" este prescurtat astfel: "Sursum corda",
~V()) crxGJ~EV tac; Kap8iac;. Aciunea este grupat n jurul "intrrilor"
(cea mic i cea mare, din timpul liturghiei) i astfel crete atentia i
participarea noastr la liturghie. Textele (Il Regi 3, 25; III Regi 3, 7:
Fapte 13, 24; Luca 13, 24) se refer la importanta care s-a dat tot-
deauna acestor intrri. Cel care tie s intre i s ias "cu cinste" este n
stare s tin n propriile sale mini soarta sa i pe cea a lumii.
n ntregul ei, liturghia este o reprezentare scenic a evenimentelor
biblice i a existentei istorice a lui Hristos. Simbolismul sfnt este foarte
condensat, iar credincioii sunt n acelai timp martori i participanti la
aceast dram liturgic. "Preotii tiu c ceea ce se face n liturghie este
chipul episoadelor venirii Mntuitorului i a iconomiei mntuirii"99.
"ntreaga mistagogie este ca o reprezentare a unui trup unic, adic a
vietii Mntuitorului, care pune sub privirile noastre, de la nceput pn

98. K. Holl subliniaz analogia dintre liturghia bizantin si drama antic (Die
Entstehung der Bilderwand in der Griechischen Kirche), Archiv flir Religionswiss., 1906,
5, XI, p. 365.
99. Teod. de Andida; P G. 140, 417.
264 ORTODOXIA

la sfrit, toate membrele acestui trup aa cwn sunt legate unele de


altele i n armonia lor"lOO.
n timpul vecerniilor, sun..tem de fat la evenimentele care ncep
odat cu Facerea. Invocarea Inceputului nu este n mod explicit trini-
tar: "Binecuvntat este Dumnezeul nostru" (dar slujba ne va conduce
din Vechiul Testament la Noul Testament i se va sfri cu Trisaghionul
i rugciunea Treimii). Ua mprteasc se deschide, ca cerul deschis
al Paradisului. Preotul nconjoar biserica, avnd nainte pe diacon,
care tine n mn o lwnnare aprins. Tmia simbolizeaz pe Sfntul
Duh care Se mic deasupra abisului n momentul crerii, iar lumina
lumnrii simbolizeaz cuvntul: "S fie lwnin!".
Psalmul 103, care cnt lauda fpturii adus Fctorului ei, ne
duce ntr-o epoc n care omul, nefiind nc zdrobit de greutatea pca
tului, putea s se duc voios n ntmpinarea Dwnnezeului su. Apoi,
psalmii 129, 140, 141 arat cderea n pcat i izgonirea din Rai. Ua
mprteasc se inchide.
n singurtate, fat n fat cu pcatul su, omul se roag ca
Domnul s-i ntoarc fata spre el: "Auzi-m, Doamne". Corul i citetul,
ntr-un dialog dramatic n care se ntlnesc cele dou Testamente, trec
de la strigtele de durere la bucuria fgduinelor. Atunci Dumnezeu Se
pleac asupra lumii, iar taina ntruprii este anuntat de cntarea
numit imnul dogmatic ctre Fecioara. Preotul iese din altar, zicnd:
"nelepciune", care este salutul ctre Cuvntul care vine n lwne.
ndat dup aceasta, urmeaz imnul mictor atribuit martirului
Atenagora care a mrturisit credinta sa sub mpratul Sever, prin anul
169: "Lumin lin" - 4>co:; D.apov. Hristos a fost descoperit lumii i noi
am vzut lumina Sa lin a Sfintei Slave a Tatlui cel venic. Apoi vine
cntarea lui Simion, omenitatea Vechiului Testament dispare i iace loc
celei a Noului Testament. Vecerniile se termin cu salutarea
Arhanghelului adresat Sfintei Fecioare Maria. iar n bratele omenittii
Se odihnete Mntuitorullumii. Astfel 'llecerniile. ca i utreniiJelOl ne
introduc n liturghia euharistic.

6. Euharistia

Din punct de vedere istoric, liturghia s-a alctuit n jurul cinei


Domnului. Apocalipsa ne ofer viziunea a ceea ce se petrece n acelai
timp pe pmnt i n cer, n timpulliturghiei: "Am vzut. .. un Miel care

100. Nicolae Cabaslla: Exp/ication de la Divine Liturgie, Irad. fr. de 5. Salaville,


Coli. 'Sources chrl!liennes", 1943, p. 63.
101 Utreniile ncep cu invocarea Treimii revelate.
RUGCIUNEA BISERICU 265
prea junghiat... am vzut i am auzit glasul unei multimi de ngeri. Ei
strigau cu glas mare: "Se cuvine s-L slvim i s-L ludm pe Miel". i
toate fpturile le-am auzit zicnd: "Fie slava Mielului n veacul veacului".
Iar cele patru Fiine au zis "Amin", iar Btrnii s-au plecat i s-au nchi-
nat" (Apoc. 7, 9-12).
Cele trei planuri: cosmic, omenesc i ngeresc se unesc n euharis-
tia unic: "Chematu-ne-ai pe noi din nefiin la fiin i ai lucrat fr
incetare, nainte de a ne nla la cer i de a ne deschide mpria
veacului ce va s vie"102. nceputul se ntlnete cu sfritul, Facerii i
rspunde Apocalipsa. n adevr, lumea a fost creat pentru cina
mesianic: "ngerul mi-a artat rul cu apa vietii ... i de o parte i de
alta a rului crete pomul vieii" (Apocalipsa 22, 1-2). n aceast viziune
a mpriei ce va s vin, Prinii vd chipul euharistiei venice; dar,
chiar aici pe pmnt, "cel care mnnc trupul Meu i bea sngele
Meu are via venic" (Ioan 6, 54). Euharistia din aceast lume este cu
totul altceva dect lumea: s vie harul i s se sfreasc lumea
glsuiete rugciunea euharistic din nvtura celor doisprezece
Apostoli. n fata vestirii eshatologice se ridic timpul ntreg: adic ntru-
parea, ispirea, nvierea i Parusia sunt vestite din fundul aceluiai
potir. Este esenta cretinismului: taina vieii dumnezeieti se arat ca
tain a vietii omeneti, "ca toti s fie una, aa cum Tu, Tat, Tu eti n
Mine i Eu n Tine" (Ioan 17, 21).
De aceea, ntemeierea Bisericii din ziua Cincizecimii este unnat
imediat de revelatia naturii sale: "Ei struiau n legtura freasc,
frngeau pinea, i se rugau mpreun" (Fapte 2, 46). Aceast expre-
sie a devenit chiar stilul euharistic al vieii: "Toti cei ce credeau erau
mpreun i aveau toate lucrurile n comun" (Fapte 2, 44). Prin pinea-
Hristos, credincioii devin chiar aceast pine, chiar aceast iubire una
i ntreit, adic rugciunea preoeasc trit de om.
Suntem departe de o simpl comemorare. De fiecare dat cnd
un cretin ortodox se apropie de sfnta cin, el zice: "Cinei Tale celei
de tain, Fiule al lui Dumnezeu, prta m primete". Amintirea repro-
duce; memorialul liturgic ne cheam s fim prtai ai unicului care
rmne. Sfntul Ioan Hrisostom zice: "Toat euharistia a fost dat
odat i nu se sfrete niciodat. Mielul lui Dumnezeu este totdeauna
mncat, dar niciodat sfrit" 103 Iar Nicolae Cabasila zice: "Pinea
devine Mielul"104
Aceast materie schimbtoare a lumii atinge lumea de dincolo i
devine o prticic a sa. Sfntul lgnatie i Sfntul Ioan Hrisostom

102. Rugciunea splrii, din liturghia Sfntului Ioan Hrisostom.


103. In Epist. ad Hebr., Horn. 17; P.G. 63, 131.
104. Expl. de /a Divine Lit., cap. XXH, p. 182.
266 ORTODOXIA

numesc euharistia: "trupul lui Dumnezeu", "aluatul i pamea


nemuririf'l05. Acum putem intelege intreg sensul cuvntului: "Cel ce
mnnc trupul Meu are viat venic" (Ioan 6, 54 i 56). n aceasta
st taina cea din urm a Bisericii: "Tu cel ce mi-ai dat de a Ta bunavoie
trupul Tu hran, Tu cel ce eti foc care arde pe cei nevrednici, nu ma
arde, Fcatorul meu, ci mai degrab ptrunde-mi toate mdularele
mele, toate ncheieturile, coapsele i inima mea. Arde spinii tuturor
pcatelor mele, curtete-mi sufletul, sfinteste-mi inima, ntrete-mi
fluierele picioarelor i oasele i aaz-m cu totul in iubirea Ta" 106.
Pn in secolul al IX-lea, respectul tainei euharistice era att de
mare,c nu fusese pus nici o intrebare. Dup cum ne arat Sfntul
Ambrozie (De sacramentis), ntrebarea "ce" i "cum" a fost pus pentru
ntia oar n Apus, in secolele IX i XI. n discutiile posterioare, verbul
"a fi" a luat intelesul de "a semnifica". "Acesta este trupul Meu" devine
"aceasta nseamn trupul Meu" 107. Or, Biserica Ortodox nu a ridicat
niciodat chestiunea euharistic, pentru simplul motiv c ea nu a admis
verbul "a semnifica". Credincioas textului sfnt al Sfintelor Scripturi i
oprindu-se naintea tainei, ea afirm identitatea care izbucnete:
"Acesta este trupul Meu" i o accept n ntregime ca minune negrit
a iubirii dumnezeieti. Dimpotriv, traditia rsritean este bogat n
reflex.ii asupra epiclezei i asupra spiritului pnevmatic al euharistiei.

7 . Minunea euharistiei
Printele Serghie Bulgakov expune lmurit conceptia ortodox
despre sfnta mprtanie, in studiul su magistral: Dogma euharis-
tic. Dac la nunta de la Cana Galileii apa s-a transformat n vin,
aceasta nseamn c o materie din lumea aceasta a fcut loc alteia, dar
aceasta este o minune fizic, pentru c si vinul i apa sunt de aceeai
natur pmnteasc. Pinea si vinul euharistic devin, se metamor-
fozeaz ntr-o realitate care nu este din aceast lume: minunea este
metafizic. Antinomia euharistic rstignete raiunea noastr: ea
depete legea identittii fr s o desfiinteze, pentru c antinomia
reprezint identitatea a ceea ce este deosebit si deosebirea a ceea ce
este identic. n euharistie nu se efectueaz o transformare n limitele
acestei lumi, ci Mt::ta(3oA.rj, transsensus metafizic i coincidenta

105. Ad. Eph., XX. 2.


106. Rugciunea Sfntului Simion Metafrastul, dup dumnezeiasca imprtanie.
107. Zwlngli i Calvin se mpotrivesc lui Luther i invtturil sale despre con-
substantiere i interpreteaz pe "este" in sensul de "a insemna": "pinea i vinul sunt
semne vzute".
RUGCIUNEA BISERICI! 267
transcendentului cu imanentul. De aceea vinul de la Cana putea fi
cunoscut i perceput prin simturi, dar sngele euharistic este obiectul
credintei: "Cred, Doamne, i mrturisesc c acesta este nsui prea
curat Trupul Tu i c acesta este nsui scump Sngele Tu". Iar
credinta afirm ndat realismul cu un efect imediat: "mprtirea cu
sfintele Tale Taine, Doamne, s-mi fie mie ... spre vindecarea trupului i
a sufletului ... spre iertarea pcatelor i spre viaa de veci"108.
nvtura Sfntului Toma despre transsubstaniere, ca i cea a lui
Luther despre consubstantiere, dogmatizeaz o conceptie filosofic
despre raporturile dintre substan i accidente. Minunea
transsubstanierii const n persistenta accidentelor adugate unei alte
substante (transsubstanierea) sau n ptrunderea pinii, ceea ce
reprezint cele dou realiti (consubstantiere): pinea pe care o
nlocuiete sau la care se adaug o prezent spiritual sau corporal =
substan. Substanta este Christus totus et integer. Fr s prseasc
cerult Hristos Se afl totui pe pmnt i formeaz substanta euharis-
tic. In ce privete trupul ceresc al lui Hristos, transsubstaniere i com-
panaie sau impanatie nu sunt dect variante ale aceluiai lucru:
prezenta substanial a lui Hristos n i sub speciile pinii (in pane, sub
pane, cum pane) sau sub accidentele sau formele pinii. Dar un lucru
este metabolismul pinii n trup ceresc ca s fie mncat i cu totul
altceva este prezenta lui Hristos n specii, deci coborrea Sa pe
pmnt, de unde i consecinta logic: cultul adorrii prezenei
pmnteti, fizice a lui Hristos i ca atare negarea nltrii.
Trupul ceresc al lui Hristos nu mai apartine acestei lumi. El nu este
"pretutindeni", pentru c este n afar i mai presus de spatiu, nu este
spatial, dar poate s se gseasc dup voia Sa n orice punct al
spaiului localizat i s se arate acolo. Aceast localizare ne este nece-
sar, pentru c altfel nu am putea s ne mprtim cu nevzutul. Dar
trupul ceresc nu este nicidecum sub pine, cu pinea, nici n pine
(consubstaniere), dar nici n locul pinii (transsubstaniere),ci este
aceast pine: "Acesta este trupul Meu". Dup Sfntullrineu, prin epi-
clez pinea euharistic nu ascunde o alt prezent, ci unete hrana
cereasc i cea pmnteasc identificndu-le, i tocmai aceasta este
minunea 109. Preotul scufund Mielul n sngele Lui, iar acesta este un
trup viu,i nu un semn sau o iluzie a accidentelor. Nu este nici o
rentrupare a lui Hristos n specii, ci prefacerea (metaboli) total i a
substanei i a accidentelor n trup ceresc. Nu este vorba de mentinerea
accidentelor pinii, ci e vorba de mentinerea strii ochilor notri care
nu sunt capabili s vad trupul ceresc, pstrnd iluzia aparentelor.
108. Rugciunea mprtirii.
109. Adv. haereses, IV, 34.
268 ORTODOXIA

Greeala acestei nvturi const in aceea c se ocup de obiect,i nu


de subiect, adic de pine, i nu de om. Nu trebuie analizat cvasi-
chimic minunea n funcie de simurile noastre; mai degrab trebuie s
acuzm simturile noastre c nu pot s vad adevrata minune, reali-
tatea cereasc. Exist o asemnare n minunea Schimbrii la Fat a
Mntuitorului pe Muntele Tabor. Nu s-a schimbat Hristos, ci ochii
apostolilor s-au deschis pentru o clip. Sfntul Ioan Damaschin zice:
"Epicleza lucreaz ceea ce nu este accesibil dect credintei" 11 O. Este
deci inutil s mai filosofm despre acest lucru. Apusenii ncearc, prin
nvtura lor, s ptrund n inima minunii i s explice ce semnific;
rsritenii privesc cu ochii credintei i vd de-o dat trupul i sngele i
nimic altceva.
Euharistia este dat ''ca hran" spre a fi consumat. Adorarea
darurilor reific manifestarea fiintei cereti i contrazice nlarea.
Ortodoxia nu expune darurile, ci le pstreaz numai pentru
mprtanie. Adorarea din cursul liturghiei este o parte integrant a
adorrii liturgice a misterului lui Hristos. Nu ne nchinm naintea
darurilor, ci naintea Duhului din daruri, naintea venirii liturgice a lui
Hristos pe care Duhul Sfnt o arat i care nu mai are aceeai realitate
in afar de liturghie.
Sfntul Ioan Damaschin exprim nvtura Bisericii cnd zice:
"Nu coboar trupul care s-a nltat la ceruri, ci pinea i vinul se prefac
n trup i in snge i nu fac.dect unul i acelasf'lll. Tot astfel, enci-
clica patriarhilor rsriteni zice: "Pinea devine una cu Trupul care
rmne n ceruri"l12.
Episcopul Veniamin din Arsamas vorbete n Masa Nou de trei
proscomidieri, trei daruri in cursul unei liturghii: primul dar este adus de
credincioi,care se pune pe masa jertfei (proscomidie) pinea i vinul; al
doilea este mutarea acestor daruri mai nainte sfintite pe masa altarului
i, in fine, al treilea este mutarea darurilor acestui altar vzut pe cel
nevzut al Sfintei Treimi, ridicarea la cer prin invocarea epiclezei i
prefacerea lor in trupul i sngele lui Hristos, aduse din nou pe altarul
cel vzut al Bisericii. Astfel, pinea i vinul se unesc cu realitatea
cereasc a lui Hristos devenind o parte din El: "Pinea devine Mielul, i
nu jertfirea repetat la nesfrit a Mielului"ll3.
Dup sfintire, pinea este mai mult dect pine. Minunea nu este
lucrarea subiectiv a credinciosului, prin puterea credintei sale.
Lucrarea sacramental este absolut transsubiectiv: omul consum

110. De fide orth. IV, 13.


111. Ibidem.
112. Par. 17.
113. Nicolae CabasHa, op. cit., cap. XXX!l, p. 181.
RUGCIUNEA BISERIC!l 269
subiectiv ceea ce exist obiectiv: pentru mntuirea sau pentru con-
damnarea sa.
Prezena euharistic se supune poruncii "luati mncati ... ", ea este,
aadar, n funcie de consumare. Hristos este de fat i Se d celui care
se mprtete n momentul liturghiei (mprtirea celor bolnavi este
o prelungire a liturghiei, dar nu este nici o dat un act extraliturgic). Dac
o icoan este locul unei prezente strlucitoare i este venerat, darurile
ne aduc o prezen cereasc-trupeasc numai ca s fie consumat.

8. Caracterul de jertf al euharistiei

"Aici este adevrata jertf"' ne vestete liturghia,iar prosco-


midia 114 reprezint ntr-un chip foarte realist aceast jertf, acest sa-
crificiu. Timpul nici nu prezint si nici nu aduce vreo dificultate. Cina
Domnului dat apostolilor nainte de rstignirea pe Cruce i ntreaga
euharistie actual nu sunt dect aceeai Cin legat de Mielul jertfit
inainte de ntemeierea lumii i a timpului. Nu este vorba de ubicuitate -
de omniprezent, pentru c Trupul ceresc, euharistic, este dincolo de
timp i de spaiu, el nu este peste tot i totdeauna, ci poate s se arate
n orice loc i n orice moment. Cea mai bun explicaie ne-o d
Nicolae Cabasila: ''Jertfirea, care trebuia n mod normal s aib ca
subiect pinea, din cauza prefacerii, se consider c nu mai exist n
pine, care a disprut, ci n trupul lui Iisus Hristos, n care s-a i
prefcut ... aceast jertf nu se produce prin junghierea actual a
Mielului, ci prin prefacerea pinii in Mielul care a fost junghiat mai
dinainte. Prefacerea se repet, dar Hristos nsui nu se repet, El este
unic i acelai"' 115.
Deja Vechiul Testament i pgnismul care practicau jertfa, ca o
prenchipuire a jertfei lui Hristos, identificarea cu victima oferit se
reaUza n actul consumrii. Viaa victimei trecea n cea a sacrificatorului
i n a poporului. n identificarea euharistic, noi murim cu Hristos i
nviem cu El. Hristos este victim i Mntuitor, El Se manifest ca "vic-
tima noastr". Dei jertfa Sa proprie de ispire s-a svrit o dat pen-
tru totdeauna116 i nu se mai reproduce n mod obiectiv, ea se realizeaz
n mod subiectiv pentru fiecare credincios care se mprtete, pentru
c este un singur trup11 7: "Sfintete-ne pre noi cum ai sfinit de attea

114. Pregtirea darurilor Sfintei jertfe sau punerea inainte care precede Uturghia
propriu-zis.
115. Explic. de la Divine Liturgie, cap. 32; P.G. 150, 440 0-441 A.
116. Sfntul Ioan Hrisostom, In Epist. ad Hebr.; Horn. 17, P.G. 63, 131.
117. Sfntul Chirii al Ierusalimului: Catech. myst., P.G. 33, 115-118. Sfntul Ioan
Hrisostom: P.G. 61, 361.
270 ORTODOXIA

ori pe cei dintr-un neam cu noi"118 pentru c jertfa unic este "pentru
toi i pentru toate" (rugciunea liturgic). Aceasta este o adu-
cere-aminte (anamnez) nu a ideilor platonice, ci este evenimentul con-
cret al jertfei unice. Noi ni-l amintim prin prtie (actul euharistic este
redat n limba slavon prin "prtie"). "S faceti aceasta n amintirea
Mea" vorbete de Memoria dumnezeiasc, care face actul venic
prezent i vestete sfritul acestei lumi i Parusia: "Voi sunteti binecu-
vntatii Tatlui Meu". "Ziua Domnului", ziua euharistiei, este ziua
judecii i cea a nuntii Mielului (ndoita semnificatie a icoanei numit
Deisis). Hristos este totodat i jertf i jertfitor, cel care druiete i cel
ce primete: "Ale Tale, dintru ale Tale, ie ti aducem de toate i
pentru toate" (rugciunea dinaintea epiclezei). Plintatea este n aa
msur "nct nu putem s mergem mai departe i nici s adugm
ceva" 119, zice hotrt Nicolae Cabasila.

9. Epicleza
Rugciunea "pentru darurile ce s-au adus i s-au sfintit"
nmnuncheaz n cteva cuvinte ceea ce este esential n minunea
euharistic: "Ca lubitorul nostru de oameni, Dumnezeu, care le-a primit
pe ele n cel mai presus de ceruri al Su jertfelnic, intru miros de bun
mireasm duhovniceasc, s ne trimit nou darul Sfntului Duh".
Nicolae Cabasila ne nva c ritul cldurii (zeon) care se toarn n
potirll9bis nfieaz Cincizecimea euharistic120_ Cuvntul care
nsoete acest rit: "Cldura credintei plin de Duhul Sfnt" adeverete
epicleza urmtoare a anaforei.
n centrul oricrei Taine se afl lucrarea Cincizecimii ei proprii,
adic coborrea Duhului Sfnt. Astfel mrturisete credinta noastr
ortodox rolul Duhului Sfnt n iconomia mntuirii i a echilibrului trini-
tar. Hristos-Cuvntul pronun cuvintele de instituire, iar epicleza cere
Tatlui s trimit Duhul Sfnt, puterea sfinitoare, asupra darurilor i
asupra Bisericii 121_

118. Nicolae Cabasila: Explic. de la Divine Liturgie, p. 191.


119. La Vie de Jesus-Christ, p. 98 (op. cit).
119 bis. Turnarea apei calde nchipuie apa i focul, adic chipul Sfntului Duh din
potir inainte de imprtanie.
120. Explic. de /a Div. Lit, op. cit., cap. XXXVII, p. 206-207; P G. 150, 452.
Epicleza este Cincizecimea euharistic. Practica mai trzie, din sec. XV, adaug la epi-
clez i troparul ceasului al treilea care intrerupe urmarea logic i frmiteaz intelesul i
unitatea minunatului text al epiclezei. Din fericire, editiile actuale greceti ale
Liturghierului nu mai au acest tropar.
121. Practica ortodox este puternic ntrit i adeverit; a se vedea Pr. Ciprian
Kern: Euharistia (n limba rus), p. 20; ea nu poate fi combtut.
RUGCIUNEA BISERICU 271
Spre sfritul secolului al IV-lea i nceputul secolului al V-lea, n
anaforele antiohiene a nceput s fie invocat Duhul Sfnt ca s vin i
s prefac pinea i vinul n trupul i sngele lui Hristos. Erezia pnev-
matomahilor ndemnase poate s fie pus n chip special n lumin
lucrarea Sfntului Duh, dar aceasta era n acord cu teologia
rsritean, din ce n ce mai dezvoltat, a Duhului Sfnt. n Apus,
numai liturghia mozarabic pstreaz influenta bizantin. Ca s ne
dm mai bine seama de motivul profund al conflictului (care desparte
traditia rsritean de cea apusean i a crui esen nu const numai
n epicleza euharistic, ci mai cu seam n epiclez ca expresie a teolo-
giei Sfntului Duh), trebuie s nelegem c, pentru greci, canonul
liturghiei este un ntreg al unui singur Mister, care nu poate fi desprit
i c nu putem n nici un fel s-1 mruntim n elementele sale, ca s
extragem momentul su central cvasi-izolat. Pentru latini, cuvintele prin
care se sfintesc darurile, verba substantialia ale consacrrii, cuvintele
prin care Hristos a instituit sfnta euharistie, sunt pronunate de preot
in persona Christi, ceea ce le d o valoare imediat sfintitoare. Or, pen-
tru greci, o astfel de definire a lucrrii preoeti - in persona Christi -
care-I identific pe preot cu Hristos, a fost absolut necunoscut, chiar
de neconceput. Pentru ei, preotul invoc Duhul Sfnt tocmai pentru ca
cuvntul lui Hristos reprodus, citat de preot, s dobndeasc toat
puterea cuvntului - aciune a lui Dumnezeu.
Prinii rsriteni, paralel cu relatia ontologic dintre Cuvnt i
omenitatea lui Hristos, pun i problema relatiei dinamice dintre Duhul
Sfnt care mrturisete i arat aceast omenitate, pentru c El Se
odihnete n ea ca ungere. Natura omeneasc subzist n mod onto-
logic, i gsete un suport n ipostasa lui Hristos, dar ea este sfintit i
luminat de lucrarea dumnezeiasc, prin puterea Duhului. Hristos este
Cuvntul intrupat, dar El lucreaz i-L descoper pe Tatl n i prin
Duhul (dynamis = putere prin definitie: Luca, 1, 35; Romani 15, 1 ~
Parusia lui Hristos n euharistie se face n i prin parusia Duhului Sfnt
(Ioan 14, 17) care lucreaz prefacerea (metabole) darurilor i a celui
care se mprtete122_ nduhovnicirea integral a firii - <Jlticrt<; - lui
Hristos Mntuitorul continu n cei care se mprtesc cu "trupul Su
sfinit". Acetia sunt fiinte de acelai snge i cu acelai trup ca al lui
Hristos, ei nu seamn numai cu Hristos, ci sunt fcui hristoi (hristifi-
cati) de fapt (Coloseni 2, 9). Este aici un transfer i o nsuflare a energiei
vitale, ndumnezeitoare, de unde i denwnirea frecvent la Prinii bi-
sericeti de: <Jl&:pllaKov 'a8avacria<;, doctoria sau aluatul nemuririi. Cel

122. Maxim Mrturisitorul, Mistagogia 24; P.G. 91, 170 A.


272 ORTODOXIA

ce se mprtete "se transform n firea mpratului" 123. Dup


Sfntul Ioan Hrisostom, aici nu este vorba de "arrhes", (arvun), ci de
flacra iubirii dumnezeieti prin prtie 124. Este intelesul tainic al
perihorezei. Dup lnochentie, episcop de Taurida: "Noi ne mprtim
cu Hristos, dar i Hristos Se mprtete cu noi". Dumnezeu Se ntru-
peaz n om i omul se spiritualizeaz n Dumnezeu. ntruprii, adic
ominizrii lui Dumnezeu, i rspunde spiritualizarea, ndumnezeirea
omului. Iubirii Tatlui i rspunde deja iubirea Fiului Omului, iar "noi ne
aducem aminte de Domnul" (memorialul liturgic) pentru c "El i aduce
aminte de noi" (memoria divin). "Duhul i Mireasa spun: Vino,
Doamne!". Acesta este intelesul suprem al epiclezei care duce la
7rV&ullanK6v yalloc;, la nuntile mistice ale lui Hristos cu orice suflet.
Nuntile mistice sunt nfiate astfel in icoana numit Deisis: Mielul
nupial este ntre Mireasa-Biseric i Paranymf, Prietenul Mirelui,
ngerii i apostolii sunt nuntai i martori125. Aa cum zice Teodor din
Cir: "Consumnd trupul Mielului i sngele Su, noi intrm n Kmvovia
(comuniune) nupial"126.


Liturghia cretin a mprumutat riturile existente, astfel c
adunarea Cuvntului, prima parte a liturghiei vine din cultul sinagoga!
de smbt dimineata, cnd se citea Biblia, iar adunarea euharistic
corespunde cinei familiale de vineri seara sau mesei nfrtirii (Khavurah)
cu cupa binecuvntrii. Dup cin, dup multumire, avea loc o invo-
care, adic chiar epicleza care se referea la venirea eshatologic a pro-
fetului flie, la restaurarea imprtiei lui David, la reconstituirea templu-
lui i la ntrirea tuturor n credin. 'EKKATJcria (Biserica) are aceeai
rdcin cu verbul qahal in evreiete, dar n Noul Testament adunarea
lui Iahve se schimb n adunarea poporului lu! Dumnezeu unit in
Hristos. Adunarea este chemat de crainicii lmpratului ceresc.
Apostolii-episcopi (l<'fjpuKEc; - crainici) vestesc convocarea cu cuvntul
i credincioii se unesc n adunare ca s asculte predicarea (Kerygma) i
s consume euharistia. Astfel, subiectul i obiectul cultului liturgic este

123. Nicolae Cabasila, Viata in Iisus Hristos, p. 97 (Irad. fr.).


124. Sfntul Chiril al Ierusalimului, Cateheza a IVa: Chiril al Alexandriei,
Comment. in Lucam, IV. A se vedea P. Kern: Homotheos. n "L' EgHse et les Eglises", V,
II, Ed. Chevetogne, 1955, p. 15.
125. Jean Danil!lou: Eucharistie et Cantique des Cantiques, n "lrlmikon'', 1950.
126. P.G. 81, 128 A.
RUGACIUNEA BISERICD 273
Dumnezeu. Cuvntul cheam i Se druiete ca hran. Aceast
iniiativ dwnnezeiasc domin cultul de la nceput, pn la sfrit i
ajut s se neleag c schema cultului, ornduiala liturgic nu este
indiferent; cultul este dumnezeiesc, el are n sine accentul eternitii i
nu apartine inspiratiei libere omeneti. Traditia ne spune c el i are
originea n vremea apostolilor. n structura sa de adorare si multumire,
cultul este teocentric.
ntre cele dou prti ale liturghiei exist o strns legtur.
Uturghia catehumenilor este liturghia Cuvntului. Pe sfnta mas din
altar, evanghelia este aezat la mijloc. Citirea apostolului ("Schaliach,
apostolul unui om este ca un alt eu al lui" = aforism din Mina) pre-
cede citirea Evangheliei, urmat de predic. Liturghia credincioilor
este liturghia euharistiei, n mijlocul mesei este aezat potirul. Se vede
cum nu se poate nchipui nici o desprtire i nici o opozitie n actul
unic alliturghiei. "Dumnezeu vorbete i aceasta se mplinete" ceea ce
Cuvntul a vestit se mplinete imediat in potirul care este nsui
Cuvntul mplinit. Aceasta este "Cuvntul care S-a fcut trup" i
lucrarea Sa este imediat: credincioii iau "substanta mpratului".

10.Uturghial27

Schema liturgic

1. PROTHESJS (punerea nainte) sau PROSCOMIDIA.


1. Pregtirea darurilor, pinea i vinul,pentru jertf.

II. LITURGHlA CATEHUMENILOR


1. Ectenia mare: o rugciune lung, ca o litanie, n form de dia-
log ntre diacon i popor i care se sfre.te cu o doxologie trinitar.
2. Psalmul103 (104 n numerotatie ebraic).
3. Ectenia mic.
4. Psalmul145 (146 ebraic).
5. T ro parul: Unule-nscut.
6. Cntarea "Fericirilor".
7. Intrarea cea mic (Vohodul cel mic).
8. Cntarea: Veniti s ne nchinm.
9. Trisaghionu/.
127. A se vedea A. Salaville: Les liturgies orientales. 3 voi.. Paris. 1932; A.
Baumstark, Liturgie compar~e. Chevelogne 1933; Mercenier el Paris: La priere des
Eglises de rite byzantin, 3 voi., Chevetogne, 1937: L 'Office divin de saint Jean
Chrysostome (le texte grec el le texte fran~ais). trad. par M. Rodocanachi. Paris, 1955.
274 ORTODOXIA

10. Epistola (sau Apostolul).


11. Evanghelia.
12. Ectenia diaconal.
13. Rugciunea pentru catehumeni i trimiterea acestora.

lll. LITURGHIA CREDINCIOD...OR.

naintea Anaforei
1. Rugciunea pentru credincioi.
2. Heruvicul.
3. Rugciunea darurilor puse nainte.
4. Intrarea cea mare.
5. Rugciunile pentru morti ale darurilor puse inainte.
6. "S ne iubim unii pe altii".
7. Srutul pcii.
8. Crezul.
Anafora sau Canonul euharistic.
Se atrage luarea-aminte: "S stm bine, s stm cu fric".
A. Marea Rugciune euharistic
1. Cu vrednicie i cu dreptate este ... (dignum et justum est).
2. Sanctus (Sfnt, Sfnt, Sfnt ... ).
3. Comemorarea Cinei.

B. Sfinirea darurilor.
1. Cuvintele lnstituirii sfintei euharistii.
2. Oferirea trupului i sngelui, cntarea "Pe Tine Te ludm ...
3. Epicleza sau chemarea Duhului Sfnt.

C. Rugciunea cea Mare.


1. Pomenirea sfintilor i Dipticele (pomenirea mortilor i a celor
preamrirea Nsctoarei de Dumnezeu (Theotokos) (Cuvine-se cu
vii),
adevrat s te fericim ... )
2. Rugciunea recapitulativ pentru morti, pe care preotul o zice
n tain.
3. Tatl nostru.
D. nlarea Sfntului Agnet, Frngerea Sfntului Agne i
mprtirea.
1. Binecuvntarea peste credincioii ngenuncheati.
2. Sfintele, Sfintilor.
3. Frngerea i comemorarea.
RUGCIUNEA BISERICO 275
4. Rugciunea pregtitoare.
5. mprtirea preotului i a diaconului.
6. Binecuvntarea poporului cu potirul.
7. mprtirea credincioilor.
8. Rugciunea de multumire.
9. Mutarea darurilor sfintite la Proscomidiar.
10. Sfritulliturghiei i mprirea pinii sfintite (Antidoron).

Liturghia propriu-zis nfieaz cele trei momente ale iconomiei


mntuirii. Cel dinti act ne arat legtura mesianic dintre preistorie i
istorie; al doilea este liturghia catehumenilor, care reprezint totalitatea
operei lui Hristos, iar al treilea, Uturghia credincioilor, care nfieaz
Patima, moartea, nvierea, inltarea, parusia i mpria venic a lui
Hristos. Ne dm seama c liturghia reproduce, aa cum zice Teodor
din Andida 128 "toat taina iconomiei", i, dup Sfntul Teodor
Studitul, ea este "recapitularea ntregii iconomii a mntu.irii"129.

Proscomidia 130.
Pregtirea pinii i vinului, adic proscomidierea sau protezis-ul,
este ea nsi o mic dram realist foarte dens care reproduce jertfa
Mielului, dndu-ne astfel o scurt schem a jertfei care se va svri n
timpulliturghiei.
Preotul ia pinea pregtit i face. cu copia, de trei ori semnul
crucii deasupra ei, apoi o nfige in dreapta i taie zicnd: "Ca o oaie
spre junghiere s-a adus" (Isaia 53, 7). Taie i n partea stng, zicnd:
"Ca un miel fr de pat, naintea celui ce-l tunde pe dnsul, aa nu
i-a deschis gura sa" (Isaia 53, 7).
Dup alte dou tieri, preotul scoate aceast parte din prescur,
de acum numit "Agnet", i zice: "Cci viaa Lui s-a ridicat de pe
pmnt". Pune, apoi, Agnetul rsturnat pe disc, ceea ce simbolizeaz
kenoza (- smerirea). Diaconul zice: "Junghie, Doamne" (Stpne).
Atunci, preotul taie adnc, n form de cruce, zicnd: "Junghie-se
Mielul lui Dumnezeu, cel ce ridic pcatele lumii, pentru mntuirea i
viaa de veci a lumii". Apoi ntoarce prticica i diaconul zice:
"Strpunge, Doamne!" Preotul strpunge cu copia pinea, n partea
dreapt de sus a agnetului, citnd: "Iar unul din soldai cu sulita a
strpuns coasta Lui i ndat a ieit snge i ap" (Ioan 19, 34).

128. P.G. 140,417.


129. P.G. 99, 340 C.
130. Slujba proscomidiei dateaz din sec. XII. nainte de secolul VII, ea preceda
Vohodul cel mare i era aezat la inceputul liturghie! credincioilor.
276 ORTODOXIA

Diaconul toarn apoi, imediat. in potir vin i ap, zicnd:


"Binecuvinteaz, printe, sfnta unire". Apoi preotul scotnd o alt
prticic, o aaz sus in dreapta Agnetului si zice: "Sttut-a
lmprteasa de-a dreapta ta, mbrcat in hain aurit" (Psalm 44.
11). Prticica urmtoare amintete pe inaintemergtorul i pe ingeri
(iar aceasta este icoana nwnit Deisis, adic nunta Mielului), apoi vin
prticelele care reprezint pe profeti, apostoU, sfinti, prticele pentru
vii i morti, fiecare din miride este nsoit de numele respectiv.
Astfel, pe discul darurilor se reconstituie chipul desvrit al
Bisericii n dimensiunea sa universal,care cuprinde cerul i pmntul,
pe cei ce nu sunt de fa i pe cei morti, Biserica-Mielul care recapi-
tuleaz n ea pe tot cel viu: "Cum Tu nsuti tiind aceasta, n chipul tiut
nwnai de Tine".
Este chipul Trupului lui Hristos: prtia total n Trupul intreg.
Viziunea aceasta depete trupul. in timp ce tmiaz, diaconul zice:
"Hristoase Dumnezeul nostru, cel ce eti n mormnt cu trupul, n iad
cu sufletul; n rai cu tlharul i pe scaun mpreun cu Tatl i cu Duhul
Sfnt; Tu, cel ce eti necuprins, care umpli toate". Este viziunea unui
tot implinit: "Tot ce s-a plinit pentru noi: crucea, groapa, nvierea,
nlarea, ederea de-a dreapta Tatlui, venirea cea de-a doua intru slav".
Viziunea lumii n Dumnezeu, cnd ntreaga lume devine teofanie,
adic prezenta lui Dumnezeu ntreit n fpturile Sale. Totul se
mplinete i se unete ntr-un Sobor teandric. Dincolo de timp, inain-
tea istoriei, n Miel, deja sfritul ntlnete inceputul. n felul acesta,
simbolismul proscomidiei ne ridic la prologul ceresc de care vorbete
Apocalipsa: "Mielul junghiat de la ntemeierea lumii" (Apoc. 13, 8; 1
Petru 1, 19).
Liturghia ne coboar acum din eternitate, din preexistent n
desfurarea istoric. Mielul intr n istorie, apare ntr-un anumit punct
al spatiului i timpului, n chipul copilului i se petrece Naterea.
Preotul, dup ce acoper discul cu miridele, ia steaua din metal, o
aaz pe disc i zice: "[ar steaua a stat deasupra locului unde era prun-
cul" (Matei 2, 3).
Rugciunea ctre Sfntul Duh: "mprate ceresc,
Mngietorule ... ", este epicleza general n pragul Misterului.

Liturghia catehumenilor.
Cnd ncepe actul al doilea al liturghiei, diaconul st inaintea sfin-
telor ui i zice: "Binecuvinteaz, Stpne". Preotul intoneaz doxolo-
gia-binecuvntare: "Binecuvntat este mpria Tatlui, a Fiului i a
Sfntului Duh"; aceast binecuvntare ne duce in mpria Sfintei
Treimi. Diaconul invoc aceast ordine suprem care se numete
RUGACIUNEA BISERICR 277
Shalom; adic ornduirea pcii, i aduce, din partea adunrii
cretinilor, rugciunea ei comun: "Cu pace, Domnului s ne
rugm" .... Ev dp'!lVTJ, de unde vine i numele de irenika, dat acestor
rugciuni.
Corul cnt psalmii 102 i 145, numiti "reprezentat.:d" 1:a 'tU7ttK:
i care istorisesc ateptarea poporului Vechiului Legmnt dirijat
ctre mntuirea fgduit. Aceast parte se isprvete cu cntareal31
solemn adresat mntuirii nsi, Fiului unic: Unule nscut ... , care
mrturisete esenta credintei cretine formulat n dogma de la sinodul
din Calcedon. Apoi se cnt FericiriJel32 care ne aduc aminte de
caUtile sufletului ce vieuiete sub har.
Ua altarului se deschide cum se deschide mpria lui Dumnezeu
la venirea lui Iisus: aceasta este Intrarea mic (vohodul mic). Preotul
iese cu evanghelia pe care o ine n mod solemn n dreptul frunii, fiind
precedat de o lumnare aprins. Este reprezentarea ritualizat a lui
Hristos vestind cuvntul Su i fiind precedat de Ioan Boteztorul,
"flacra luminoas i strlucitoare" (Ioan 5, 35).
"Rugciunea intrrii" i pomenete pe ngerii care slujesc n cer
llturghia etern i care acum se unesc cu credincioii ca s slujeasc
mpreun: "Stpne Doamne, Dumnezeul nostru, Cel ce ai aezat n
ceruri cetele i otile ngerilor i ale arhanghelilor spre slujba slavei
Tale, f ca mpreun cu intrarea noastr s fie intrarea sfintilor ngeri.
care slujesc mpreun cu noi i mpreun slvesc iubirea Ta. C Tie se
cuvine toat mrirea i nchinciunea". Ultimul cuvnt accentueaz
destul de puternic nelesul ritual: nchinciunea, deoarece prin intrarea
rea mic i cea mare se arat cum cele cereti ntreptrund cele
pmnteti. ngerii slujesc in ceruri liturghia etern i particip la
hturghia credincioilor care este, n realitate, o ptrundere n timp a
nchinrii continue, condiie normal a oricrei fpturi. Este i tema
1conografic foarte dezvoltat, tema "dumnezeietii liturghii", care l
inftieaz pe Hristos n veminte arhiereti la altar, nconjurat de
ingeri coliturghisitori i mbrcati ca preoi i diaconi.
"Binecuvntat este intrarea Sfinilor Ti", zice preotul. Prin
.H.:easta el cheam la nchinarea lui Dumnezeu toate puterile de sfinire
,,le Hisericii. Sfintii i toi credincioii, n virtutea faptului c sunt prtai la
,fintenia lui Dumnezeu, precum i toti ngerii, toti mpreun n adunare
liturgic (sinax liturgic) se nchin. Astfel, Dumnezeu cel sfnt, ascuns
' hidr n taina strlucirii Sale ca ntr-un nor, este adorat de toate puterile
propriei Sale sfintenii, "care lumineaz peste fata sfintilor Si".

131. Acest tropar are ca autor probabil pe mpratul Justinian.


132. Ele sunt cntate n ordinea textului de la Matei 5, 3-12. Troparele intercalate
dau ansamblului un caracter anti/onic.
278 ORTODOXIA

Dup binecuvntarea intrrii, diaconul nal evanghelia i zice:


"nelepciune!". Este chemarea ctre credincioi ca s se fereasc de
orice ar putea s le abat luarea-aminte i s se consacre cu totul actu-
lui nchinrii. Corul cnt: Venite adoremus, veniti, s ne nchinm i
s cdem la Hristos ... Mntuiete-ne pe noi, Fiul lui Dumnezeu, cela ce
eti minunat intru sfinti". La slujba arhiereasc, acesta este momentul
cnd arhiereul intr n functia sa preot~asc, liturgic: pune inceput
liturghiei concentrate in actul nchinrii. Indat urmeaz cntrile care
comemoreaz chiar n acest moment pe sfintii zilei respective i ai
Bisericii. Semnificaia acestui moment este mrea: totul se unete n
actul nchinrii, este venirea lui Hristos nconjurat de martorii i de sluji-
torii mririi Sale, este sfinenia lui Dumnezeu care strlucete n prin-
cipiul Su omenesc, n adunarea sfintilor.
Diaconul se pleac i se adreseaz preotului: "Binecuvinteaz,
printe, vremea cntrii celei ntreit sfinte". Preotul binecuvinteaz
zicnd: "C Sfnt eti, Dumnezeul nostru, i ie mrire nlm, Tatlui
i Fiului i Sfntului Duh, acum i pururea i n vecii vecilor". "Este o
vreme pentru toate", zice Eclesiastul (Eclesiast 3, 1). Dumnezeu "'face
orice.lucru bun, la vremea sa; chiar El a pus in inima fiilor omului gn-
dul veniciei" (Ec/esiast 3, 11).
Astfel este i vremea liturgic a Trisaghionului, vremea nchinrii.
Preotul zice rugciunea Trisaghionului: "Dumnezeule cel sfnt, Care
intru sfinti Te odihneti, Cel ce cu glas ntre it sfnt eti ludat de se-
rafimi i slvit de heruvimi i de toate puterile cereti nchinat... Care
ne-ai nvrednicit pe noi smeritii i nevrednicii robii Ti, i n ceasul
acesta a sta naintea slavei Sfntului Tu jertfelnic i a-i aduce datorita
inchinare i preaslvire: nsuti Stpne, primete i din gurile noastre.
ale pctoilor, ntreit-sfnta cntare i ne cerceteaz pe noi intru
buntatea Ta ... C sfnt eti Dumnezeul nostru i ie slav nltm,
Tatlui i Fiului i Sfntului Duh".
Preotul se nchin de trei ori, zicnd Trisaghionul, iar corul cnt:
"Sfinte Dumnezeule, Sfinte Tare, Sfinte fr de moarte, miluiete-ne
pe noi", ferestruic deschis asupra tainei lui Dumnezeu cel ntre it, de
unde, n slava nchinrii liturgice, Hristos vine i Se arat naintea
credincioilor.
nainte de sfritul cntrii ntreite, diaconul zice: "Puternic", o
chemare ca toi credincioii s cnte cu i mai mare insufletire imnul
treimic. Dac este liturghie arhiereasc, arhiereul iese in timpul
cntrii, innnd n mna stng dicherul (care are dou lumnri
ncruciate, taina strlucitoare a celor dou firi n Hristos), iar n mna
dreapt tricherul, {trei lumnri ncruciate, lumina trisolar a Sfintei
Treimi) i binecuvinteaz poporul, ncrucind chipurile hristologice i
RUGCIUNEA BISERICD 279
trinitare. Este densitatea-limit a prefigurrii care atinge, astfel, n
punctul ncrucirii sfinenia divin de negrit. Urmeaz apoi "ceremo-
nia tronului" sau binecuvntarea sa care nfieaz nchipuirea simbo-
lic a tronului lui Dumnezeu ntreit sfnt, spre care s-a nltat cntarea
Trisaghionului.
Hristos a nimicit dumnia, a risipit intunericul, iar cuvntul Su
rsun n citirea Epistolei (o pericop scoas din Faptele Apostolilor
sau din Epistole i care a fost numit Apostolos - Apostolul) i a
evangheliei zileil33. Adunarea catehumenilor are i ea epideza sa: n
rugciunea dinaintea citirii evangheliei se cere harul luminrii care se
refer la textul din Luca 24, 45-49: "Atunci le-a deschis mintea ca s
priceap Scripturile ... voi trimite peste voi ceea ce Tatl Meu a
fgduit: Pe Duhul care v va nva tot adevrul". Cuvntul lui
Dumnezeu adresat catehumenilor este prefacerea euharistic a citirii
Scripturilor i Euharistia (hrana) scripturistic a acestor catehumeni. n
vechime, era obiceiul ca ndat dup citirea evangheliei s urmeze o
omilie arhiereasc, sau o predic. Aceast parte a liturghiei se ncheia
cu ecteniile care-i antrenau pe catehumeni n trirea lor ecumenic.
Apoi diaconul ii ndemna pe catehumeni (cei chemati) s ias din bi-
seric 134, iar catehumenii i penitenii prseau biserica i ncepea
liturghia credincioilor.

Liturghia credincioilor.

n timpul liturghiei credincioilor, acetia sunt martorii lui Hristos


cel nviat i mpria este vestit. Ua mprteasc este sacramental,
ea simbolizeaz pe Hristos: "Eu sunt ua" (Ioan 1 O, 7). Ea nu se
deschide dect prin botez i ungerea Duhului. Omul vechi moare n pra-
gul Bisericii, iar omul nou, nviat n Hristos, intr i st n Biserica slavei.
"S stm bine, s stm cu fric" ndeamn diaconul, iar corul
cnt Heruvicul: "Noi care pe heruvimi cu tain nchipuim i celei de
via fctoare Treimi ntreit sfnt cntare aducem, toat grija cea
lumeasc acum s o lepdm, ca pre mpratul tuturor s-L primim,
inconjurat de otile ngereti. Aliluia, Aliluia, Aliluia". Sufletul se cur,
se acord cu cntarea puterilor cereti; toate fibrele lui sunt ncordate
tn ateptarea venirii.
133. Biserica ortodox urmeaz principiul citirii ordonate: n Duminicile din timpul
Ctnclzecimti se citesc Faptele i Evanghelia Sfntului Ioan, iar dup Cincizecime i pn
In sptmna Floriilor, se citesc epistolele Sfntului Apostol Pavel: Romani, 1 i II
Corinteni, Galateni, Efeseni, Coloseni, Timotei i Evrei i Evangheltile lui Matei, Luca i
Marcu.
134. Sfntul Maxim din Hrisopolis noteaz c aceast trimitere a catehumenilor la
casele lor, ncepnd cu secolul VII, se fcea numai n amintirea vechii tradiii (P.G. 4, 141).
280 ORTODOXIA

Intrarea cea mare (Vohodul cel Mare) sau ieirea cu sfintele daruri
este punerea in scena liturgic a intrrii lui Hristos n Ierusalim.
Credincioii ngenuncheati nchipuiesc cortegiul lui Hristos-mpratul,
preot i jertf, care Se arat El insui n mijlocul credincioilor. Aceasta
este toat tema iconografic a dumnezeietli liturghli.
Cntarea din Smbta cea Mare ne arat mai bine mretia intrrii:
"S tac tot trupul omenesc i s stea cu fric i cu cutremur i nimic
pmntesc ntru sine s nu gndeasc. Fiindc mpratul mpratilor i
Domnul domnilor, Hristos Dumnezeul nostru vine s Se junghie i s
Se dea mncare credincioilor. naintea Lui merg cetele ngereti, cu
toate inceptoriile i stpniile, heruvimii cei cu ochi multi i serafimii
cei cu cte ase aripi, fetele acoperindu-i, i cntnd cntarea: Aliluia,
Aliluia, Aliluia.
Cnd preotii i diaconii intr in altar, preotul implor cu
rugciunea tlharului cel bun de pe cruce: "Pomenete-m, Doamne,
ntru mprtia Ta". Apoi aaz potirul pe masa sfntului altar i zice:
"Iosif cel cu bun chip, de pe lemn lund prea curat trupul Tu, cu
giulgiu curat infurndu-1 i cu miresme, in mormnt nou ingropn-
du-1, 1-a pus" ...
Este Patima i moartea Sa. Cu Aerul (acopermntul cel mare)
sunt acoperite darurile, iar miresmele sunt amintite de tmiere. Ua
altarului se inchide aa cwn s-a nchis ua mormntului. Acesta este
momentul punerii nainte a cinstitelor daruri i al canonului euharistic.
Din nou este tras perdeaua, ca mpins de suflul vietii atotbiruitoare,
aa cum ua se va deschide totdeauna la suflul credintei celei de viat
fctoare, iar ingerul cu sabia de foc se deprteaz de arborele vietii.
Aceast deschidere din cer marcheaz apropierea nfricotoarei taine
i cheam sufletul s se deschid ca, dndu-se n intregime, s-L
primeasc pe Dumnezeu in intregime. Rugciunea punerii-inainte a
cinstitelor daruri anticipeaz epicleza: "S Se slluiasc Duhul cel bun
al harului Tu peste noi i peste aceste daruri puse nainte i peste tot
poporul Tu". Iar cuvntul diaconului rsun in linitea reculegerii: "S
ne iubim unii pe altii, ca intr-un gnd s mrturisim credinta noastr".
Omul particip la tainele vietii dumnezeieti 135, numai dac este
nrdcinat in iubirea i in unitatea aceleai credinte cu toti sfintii;
nwnai iubirea poate cunoate Iubirea, Soborul dumnezeiesc, Treimea
Sfnt. De aceea, din srutul pcii, care pecetluiete actul suprem i
cel mai uimitor al unitii n Hristos, se nalt cntarea Crezului care ne
vestete coborrea acestei Iubiri, care se druiete, care ptimete i

135. Liturghia ne nvat cu trie c euharistia este sfritul care ncoroneaz uni
latea prealabil i indispensabil pe care o exprimi! mrturisirea i mprtirea in aceeai
i unic credinta: Crezu/ i Amin-ul final spus de tot poporul credincios.
RUGCIUNEA BISERICII 281
care mntuiete. Cuvintele care insotesc srutul pcii exprim perfect
acest inteles: "Hristos n mijlocul nostru ... Biserica s-a fcut un singur
trup, iar srutarea noastr este garania acestei uniri, dumnia a fost
izgonit, iar iubirea a ptruns peste tot". Vzutul i nevzutul Bisericii
se ntreptrund i schimb chiar firea lucrurilor. n timpul cntrii
Crezului, liturghisitorul mic uor Aerul deasupra potirului i discului,
simbolul coborrii Sfntului Duh.
''S stm bine, s stm cu fric, s lum aminte sfnta Jertf n
pace s o aducem", cnt diaconul. Cel mai sfnt moment se apropie:
"Sursum corda! Sus s avem inimile!" - "Avem ctre Domnul". ndat
ce s-a lepdat de toate grijile cele lumeti, cretinul, cu inima uoar,
este cu adevrat liber i poate acum s se nalte. "S multumim
Domnului!", ndeamn preotul. Corul rspunde acestui ndemn la laud
i mulumire, numit "euharistie" - 'EuxaptcrtTjcrroJ.LEV tGJ Kupiro - prin
aceast multumire care este mai mult dect o recunotin, care devine
nchinare, contemplare, nlare i izbucnete ca o adevrat euharistie
(multumire) trinitar: "Cu vrednicie i cu dreptate este a ne nchina
Tatlui i Fiului i Sfntului Duh, Treimii celei de o fiint i
nedesprite". Jertfa coninut n singurul act al lui Hristos este ntreit.
Rugciunea Anaforei unete toate nsuirile lui Dumnezeu cu
recunotinta noastr i se termin cu Sanctus: Sfnt, Sfnt, Sfnt,
Domnul Savaot". Euharistia ngerilor, n liturghia sinagogal se sfrea
cu "Binecuvntat fie mrirea Domnului n lcaul ederii Sale"
(!ezechiel 3, 12). Uturghia a schimbat acest cuvnt cu "Binecuvntat
este cel ce vine ntru numele Domnului" (Ps. 117). Dup exil, rabinii
nvau c acolo unde sunt doi sau trei adunati ca s citeasc Biblia,
slava - echinah se afl in mijlocul lor. Hristos Se refer la acest dicton
i numai n sensul acesta trebuie s nelegem: "Acolo unde s-au adunat
doi sau trei n numele Meu, Eu sunt n mijlocul lor". echinah, tainica
prezent a Dumnezeului nostru ntreit, umple Biserica.
Jertfa este vestit prin comemorarea, anamneza care urmeaz
ndat dup cuvintele de instituire a cinei sfinte: "Acesta este trupul
Meu ... , Acesta este sngele Meu". Dup pomenirea marilor taine:
Patima, moartea, nvierea, nlarea, parusia, preotul pronun formula
oferirii: "Ale Tale dintru ale Tale, ie i aducem de toate i pentru
toate".
n liturghia siriac a Sfntului Iacob, cuvintele preotului arat
marea ncordare a sufletului: "Ct este de mrit acest ceas i ce temut
este aceast clip, fratilor! Cci Duhul Sfnt de viat fctor, cobornd
din nlimile cerului i odihnindu-Se peste aceast euharistie, o
sfinete ... Temeti-v deci, rugai-v ca pacea s fie cu voi cu toti, iar
282 ORTODOXIA

Dumnezeu Tatl nostru s v pzeasc. Cu glas nalt, s zicem de trei


ori: Kyrie eleison (Doamne, miluiete!)".
Rspunsul credincioilor ngenuncheati sintetizeaz ntreaga tem
a euharistiei: "Pe Tine Te ludm, pe Tine Te binecuvntm, ie ti
multumim, Doamne, i ne rugm ie, Dumnezeului nostru". Acum, se
sfintesc darurile, este momentul epiclezei, rugciunea care cheam
venirea Sfntului Duh pentru minunea euharistic: "Trimite Duhul Tu
cel sfnt peste noi i peste aceste daruri, ce sunt puse nainte, i f din
pinea aceasta, cinstit trupul Hristosului Tu, iar din ceea ce este n
potirul acesta, cinstit Sngele Hristosului Tu, prefcndu-le cu Duhul
Tu cel sfnt" j.iEta~aA.wv tG:I IIvEUj.iettl Iou tG:I Ayi~. "Amin, amin,
amin'' se aude ca o pecetluire trinitar a minunii mplinite. Puterea de
unificare a lui Hristos cuprinde universul, din el face Biserica:
"Unete-ne pe noi pe unii cu altii". ntreita pomenire a sfintilor, a celor
morti i a celor vii este legat cu epicleza i cu jertfa universal, pentru
toi i pentru toate. Aceasta este rugciunea adnc a Bisericii,
rugciunea de mijlocire: "Adu-i aminte, Doamne, de cei pe care
fiecare i are n mintea sa, de toti i de toate ... i trimite peste noi toti
milele Tale".
Ca nite copii, toti sunt uniti naintea Tatlui, ca ntr-o singur
jertf: "i ne d nou cu o gur i cu o inim a slvi i a cnta
preacinstitul i de mare cuviin numele Tu, al Tatlui i al Fiului i al
Sfntului Duh ... i ne nvrednicete pe noi, Stpne, ca s ne
mprtim cu cuget curat, cu ceretile i nfricotoarele Tale Taine
ale acestei sfinte i duhovniceti mese", se roag preotul; iar pentru
aceasta i mai nainte de toate el cheam n mod solemn pe Tatl cel
ascuns n norul luminos al lui Dumnezeu ntreit: "i ne nvrednicete pe
noi, Stpne, cu ndrznire, fr de osnd, s cutezm a Te chema
pe Tine, Dumnezeul cel ceresc136, Tat, i a zice: "Tatl nostru ... ".
Diaconul i pune orarul n forma "crucii Sfntului Andrei", att pe
spate ct i pe piept, nchipuind pe serafimii care, cu aripile lor, i
acoper fata naintea tainei celei adnci a iubirii dumnezeieti. Gestul
lui cheam adunarea s se nchine.
Ateptarea mprtirii este precedat de cntarea preamrit a
rugciunii domneti. Rugciunea domneasc a fost aezat chiar nain-
tea mprtirii spre a arta c pinea noastr cea de toate zilele, mai
presus de fiin - bnoucrtov - este pinea euharistic. Momentul unirii

136. 'E~touplivwv: cel mal presus de ceruri, marcheaz momentul apofatic al


chemri!.
RUGACIUNEA BISERICU 283
este foarte aproape, iar sentimentul nevredniciei, acel mysterium
tremendum, strbate obtea: Sancta Sanctis, "Sfintele, Sfintilor", zice
preotul ridicnd Agnetul, Pinea vietii; i fiecare mrturisete: "Unul
Sfnt, unul Domn, Iisus Hristos". Credincioii se unesc ca i
mironositele femei la mormnt. Ua se deschide larg, n tcere, sim-
bolul ngerului Gabriel care a rsturnat piatra de pe mormnt. innd
potirul n mn, preotul iese naintea credincioilor ngenuncheai. El
nfieaz venirea lui Hristos cel nviat care le druiete Viata cea fr
de moarte. Mormntul, moartea sunt zdrobite. Zorile nvierii scald
totul n lumina cea nenserat.
"Cu fric de Dumnezeu, cu credin i cu dragoste, s v
apropiati!". mprtania adeverete prezenta real i permanent a lui
Hristos, i astfel pn la sfritul lumii. Dar n acelai timp, nlarea
potirului dup mprtire i norii de tmie care mpresoar sfintele
daruri legate de punerea nainte ca s fie mncate ("ei L-au vzut cum
se nalt i un nor L-a ascuns de privirile lor", Fapte 1, 9), simbolizeaz
nlarea lui Iisus la ceruri de unde cad razele premergtoare ale luminii
Parusiei i ale noului Ierusalim. Acesta este sfritul eshatologic al
liturghiei, cina sa este mesianic, cr~dincioii se adun mprejur, privind
pe Cel ce vine: "0, Patile cele mari i preasfintite, Hristoase! O,
nelepciunea i Cuvntul lui Dwnnezeu i Puterea. D-ne nou s ne
mprtim cu Tine, mai cu adevrat, n ziua cea nenserat a
mpriei Tale". "nalt-Te peste ceruri, Dumnezeule, i peste tot
pmntul s se ntind slava Ta!", se roag preotul.
Misiunea lui Hristos s-a mplinit: "Hristoase, Dumnezeul nostru,
Cel ce ai plinit toat rnduiala Ta cea tainic, umple de bucurie i de
veselie inimile noastre".
Lumea trebuie s devin un singur Hristos: "Am vzut lwnina cea
adevrat, am primit Duhul cel ceresc, am aflat credinta cea adevrat,
nedespritei Sfintei Treimi nchinndu-ne, c aceasta ne-a mntuit pe
noi" ... "Binecuvntat este Dumnezeul nostru, totdeauna acum i
pururea i n vecii vecilor".
Liturghia se sfrete cu binecuvntarea de la urm i mprirea
anafurei, a pinii sfintite (antidoron), ceea ce ne aduce aminte de
agapele primare. Biserica prelungete prin acest act de binecuvntare
(evlogia) lucrarea sa liturgic care mpinge zidurile bisericii pn la mar-
ginile lumii. Credinciosul duce cu el, ca un dar pe care-I face lumii,
aceast mrturie plin de har a unirii i iubirii.
Hrnit i adpat de la izvor, acum credinciosul nsui este ca un
vas plin de prezenta lui Hristos i druit credincioilor i lumii.
284 ORTODOXIA

Liturghia nu este un mijloc, ci un mod de via care se nte-


meiaz pe sine nsui: aceasta pune n evident caracterul su teo-
centric. n liturghie, credinciosul i ndreapt privirea la
Dumnezeu, la strlucirea Lui, i nu asupr-i. Nu este vorba chiar
s se desvreasc n timpul momentelor liturgice, ct s se afle
n fata luminii lui Dumnezeu. Aceast bucurie se revars asupra
firii credinciosului i o schimb. Omul nu adaug nimic Slavei lui
Dumnezeu, prezentei Sale unice, pentru c aceasta lucreaz prin
ea nsi. Trebuie s existe clipe n viaa omului cnd el nu
urmrete cu orice pret un scop n fiece lucru, clipe de nchinare
cnd fiinta sa se deschide fr nici o piedic, aa cum mpratul
David juca naintea Chivotului; iar moralitii cu o seriozitate
apstoare s fac cor comun cu Mical.
Nu trebuie s ne plecm totdeauna asupra nenorocirilor proprii,
s fim dezndjduii din pricina pcatelor, ci n ziua Domnului - i nu
este oare aceasta un dar al harului Su? - s ne destindem cteva clipe,
s ne umplem de bucurie curat i strlucitoare.
"Pot, oare, prietenii mirelui s fie triti, ct timp mirele este cu
ei? ... Dar prietenul mirelui, care st i aude se bucur cu bucurie de
glasul lui", astfel "bucuria sa este mare" (Ioan 3, 29).
n fine, aceti prieteni sunt martorii "nfricotoare lor Taine", att
de mari i nfricotoare, nct, dup expresia liturgic, ngerii se
cutremur, i acoper ochii i "se mir" naintea plinirii vrerilor dum-
nezeieti. Iar aceast uimire este nceputul intelepciunii, al acestei uimiri
receptive i total deschise pentru a primi Adevrul cnd Acesta vine la
om i i Se druiete n har preacurat.
n liturghie, omul afl mpria lui Dumnezeu, aceasta s-a apropi-
at, este chiar printre oameni, n mijlocul i n luntrul lor, iar ce mai
rmne i se va da la vreme potrivit, i din belug. Cutnd mpria,
omul ascult de Domnul su i devine copilul Su i cnd o afl, se
bucur ca "cel ce a gsit un mrgritar de mare pret", ca "cel ce a gsit
o comoar", iar bucuria lui este desvrit.
XXI

EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII

At> dori mai intai sa va impartasesc ceea ce mi~a retinut


eel mai mult atentia in cercetarile teologice si in studiile din
ultimele decenii consacrate Euharistiei. Este vorba de o foarte
mare convergenta intre faptul insusi, evenimentul Bisericii si
eel al Euharistiei.
La catolici, rna gindesc in mod deosebit Ia magistrala
carte a Pr. Henri de Lubac, Catholicismei si Ia continuarea
acestuia in Meditation sur l'Bglise2 si Corpus Mysticum3, in
care a pus in valoare aspectul, temeiul euharistic al Bisericii,
al structurilor, al comuniunii sale. De asemenea, putem men~
tiona, in timpul si dupa Conciliul Vatican ll, anumite texte con~
ciliare, Constitutiile privind Biserica si liturghia, sau recenta
carte a Pr. Tillard, L'Bucharistie, Paque de l'Bglise4. La prate~
tanti, J. J. von Allmen, Bssai sur Je Repas du Seigneur5, Ia
ortodocsL articole si studii foarte importante ale Pr. Serghei
Bulgakov6 (t 1944) asupra tainei euharistice si a relatiei dintre
Euharistie, pe de o parte, si Biserica si preotie, pe de alta parte.
De asemenea, rna gandesc Ia studiile Pr. Florovsky, puse
recent in valoare de Pr. Lelouvier in Perspectives russes sur

I. Paris, I94 7 (ed. a 4-a).


2. Paris, I953.
3. Paris, I949 (ed.a 2-a).
4. Paris, I964.
5. Neuchatel ~i Paris, I966.
6. De ex. Le Ministere et Jes Sacrements (in lb. rusa), in PUT, nr.49, Paris,
1935, ~i Le Royaume de Dieu (in lb. rusa), in PI.JI', nr. II, Paris, I928.

30- iMPARTA~IREA SFANTIJLUIDUH


466 iMPARTA~IREA SFANTULUI DUH

l'Eglise7, Ia Paul Evdokimov, OrthodoxieB, Priere de l'Eglise


d'Orient9, Ia studiile lui Nikos Nissiotis privind pnevmatologia
euharisticalo, Ia numeroasele articole ale lui Olivier Clement,
in Contactsll, ale Pr. Alexander Schmemann 12 sau ale Pr.
Jean Meyendorffl.3.
in ceea ce prive~>te raporturile reciproce dintre Euharistie
~>i Biserica, ~ dori sa subliniez in mod deosebit importanta
cercetartlor Pr. Nicolae Afanasiev ( t 1966), primul care a pus
in valoare notiunea inscll>i de ecleziologie euharistica, analizand
cu multa claritate textele Bisericii primare, indeosebi cele ale
traditiei pre-niceene, ~>i aplecandu-se cu predilectie asupra tex-
telor Sfantului Ipolit, ale Sfantului Ignatie al Antiohiei, Sfantului
Ciprian al Cartaginei etc., ale acestei epoci in general, luand
ca punct de plecare datul neotestamentar.
Pr. Afanasiev s-a straduit sa arate ca ecleziologia Bisericii
primare nu era o ecleziologie ~a cum o vedea el dezvoltan-
du-se dupa Ciprian, indeosebi in orbita traditiei romane, pe
care o numea ecleziologie universala. Acestei ecleziologii uni-
versale, el ii opunea o ecleziologie euharistica, care situa ~
manifesta plenitudinea Bisericii in jurul episcopului, in Euha-
ristie, taina adunarti. :?i astfel, Euharistia inscll>i dezvatuia sensul

7. Paris. I968.
8. Neuchatel $i Paris. 1959.
9. Paris-Tournai. 1966 .Eucharistie. Mystere de J"Eglise". in La Pensee
Orthodoxe. nr.13. Paris. 1968, p.53-69.
10.The importance of the doctrine of the Trinity for Church life and
Theology". in .The Orthodox Ethos. Oxford. 1964 . Pneumatologie orthodoxe.
in Le Saint Esprit. Geneva. 1963. La pneumatologie ecchi:siologique au service
de I" unite de J"Eglise". in Jstina. 1967. nr.3-4,.
II. &desiologie eucharistique et primaute. 1961, nr. 33. &c/esiologie ortho-
doxe et dialogue oecumenique, 1963. nr. 42. Vets un dialogue avec le catholi-
dsme, 1964. nr. 45. Le renouveau de l'tglise. 1964. nr. 48. l/ecdesiologie ortho-
doxe comme ecclesiologie de communion,l968. nr. 61.
12. in St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly.
I3. De ex: Orthodoxie et Catholicite. Paris. 1965.
EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 467

plenitudinii, aJ autenticitatii, aJ catolicit:atii caJitative a Bisericii.


Biserica este catolica oriunde se aduna, oriunde se reune~te
in invatatura, in frimgerea painii, in savar~irea tainei euharis-
tice (fapt. 2, 42). ~i tocmai pornind de Ia acest dat initial al
Bisericii locale, revelate in plenitudinea sa, in jurul Euharistiei,
putem intelege sensuL natura profunda a Bisericii, intruparea
sa, prezenta sa in lume, ~i putem intelege totodata ca unitatea
Bisericii, in dimensiunea sa universala, este o unitate nu de
supunere, ci de comuniune, dupa chipul vietii treimice. intr-un
studiu despre Le Pouvoir de l'Amour14, Pr. Afanasiev insista
asupra faptului ca, in Biserica, numai dragostea este izvor ~i
ratiune de a fi a puterii, a autorit:atii ~i a ordinii.
Ceea ce trebuie inteles aici in primul rand este faptul ca
nu se poate vorbi despre Biserica fara a ne intoarce deindata
catre Euharistie; tot astfeL nu este cu putinta sa ne oprim ~i
sa medit:am asupra EuharistieL uitand, fie doar ~i pentru o clipa,
ca Euharistia este taina, actul constitutiv ~i celebrarea comuna,
Jeitourgia Bisericii. ~i astfeL ajungem putin cate putin sa depa-
~im conceptia ,individuaJist:a" despre Euharistie. lndividuaJist:a
nu numai in sensu! ca Euharistia ar semnifica ~i ar reaJiza doar
raportul meu personal cu Dumnezeu, ci ~i in considerarea
Euharistiei ca una dintre taine, potrivit unei notiuni oarecum
cantitative a celor ~apte taine. intr-o astfel de conceptie, se pot
enumera tainele, intalnind printre celelalte taine ~i Euharistia,
fara ca dimensiunea euharistica a intregii Biserici ~i a vietii
credinciosului, a adunanL raportul sau euharistic atat cu Iumea,
cat ~i cu Dumnezeu, cu Treimea, sa poat:a fi trait pus in vaJoare
atat cat ar trebui. Astazi, redescoperim Euharistia nu numai ca
una dintre taine, ci ca taina prin excelenta a BisericiL adica taina
in care Biserica este Biserica, taina in care Biserica se reveleaza,
ca taina ea ins~i, in care Euharistia inglobeaza intreaga reaJi-

14. In Le Messager Orthodoxe, 1967, nr. 39, p. 3-25.


468 iMPARTA~IREA SFANTULUl DUH

tate a Bisericii, intr-o perpetua deschidere spre ceea ce nu poate


fi niciodata exprimat, cuprins sau definit de catre simbol.
Euharistia se reveleaza in con~tiinta teologica modema ca
taina prin excelenta a Bisericii, taina in care Biserica se recu-
no~te, se perpetueaza, ca locul ~i timpul adunarii poporului
lui Dumnezeu, ca darul ~i sfintirea acestuia ca Trup al lui
Hristos prin pogoriuea Sfantului Duh ~i, in sfar~it, ca punctul
de plecare al marturiei ~i al expansiunii misionare ~i aposto-
lice a intregii Biserici.

TAINA CUVANTULUI

Este limpede ca daca, in Euharistie, pe de o parte, sepa-


ram, impartim ~i deosebim in planul catehezei sacramentale,
doua marl parti: a) doxologia centrata in jurul Evangheliei ~i al
propovaduirii, adica taina Cuvantului ~i b) taina Euharistiei,
sfintirea ~i impart~irea cu Prunea cea vie ~i cu Potirul mantui-
rii, pe de alta parte, trebuie sa amintim ca liturghia euharistica
este in intregime, de Ia inceputul liturghiei catehumenilor
pana Ia trimiterea finala a credincio~ilor, o liturghie a cuvan-
tului. Cuvantul nu este doar juxtapus Euharistiei sau doar o
precede, ci el interiorizeaza intreaga actiune liturgica.
Acest lucru este important pentru a putea patrunde taina
Bisericii. Vorbind despre Euharistie, vorbim de fapt in mod
constant despre taina Bisericii, despre fiinta Bisericii, de care
Euharistia da seama ~i pe care o oglind~te ~i o dezva.Iuie.
Euharistia Bisericii este in intregime un cult, dupa cum se spune
~i in rugaciunea euharistica a Sfantului loan Gura de Aur, o
slujba ,intelegatoare" (in vechile versiuni ale LiturghieruJui,
n.tr.), duhovniceasca: ,inca aducem Tie aceasta slujba duhov-
niceasca ~i fara de sange ~i Te chemam, Te rugam ~i cu umi-
Jinta Ia Tine eadem: trimite DuhuJ Tau eel Sfant peste noi ~i
EUHARISTIA. PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 469

peste aceste Daruri ce sunt puse inainte" (epicleza). Slujba


intelegatoare, adica, literal, logica, duhovniceasca.
Cuvantul logic (logikos) are, fara indoiala, eel putin doua
semnifi catii:
~ este relativ Ia Logos, Ia Cuvantullui Dumnezeu, Ia Cuvant,
atat Ia Cuvantul lui Dumnezeu revelat ~i trait in Euharistie, in
liturghie, cat ~i Ia cuvantul oamenilor, prin care acest Cuvant
este acceptat, intrupat, prelungit ~i vestit in Euharistie;
~ are sensul de duhovnicesc, adica teologic, este foarte
aproape de pnevmatikos, relativ Ia Duhul Sfant.
in acest sens, logikos nu poate fi inteles ca o indicatie a pr~
zentei unice ~i exclusive a lui Hristos, a celei de~a doua Per~
soane a Sfintei Treimi. in intreaga Sa revelaUe, in intregul Sau
P~te mantuitor, Hristos poarta in El intotdeauna, in acel~i
timp, prezenta Duhului, pe care o daruie~te ~i car~L manifesta.
El ne face sa ne intoarcem, totodata, catre Tatal, catre Cel care
vorbe~te, care rost~te ~i care trimite, catre Tatal Care rev~
leaza ~i Se reveleaza in Cuvantul Sau, in Verbul Sau intrupat.
Euharistia este in intregime o slujba intelegatoare, logica, o
slujba purtata, informata de catre cuvant, limbaj, cantec, ruga~
ciune. ~i trebuie sa amintim: cuvantul insu~i, a~a cum rasuna,
~a cum este revelat in Euharistie, in rugaciune, in cult, in
intreaga viata a Bisericii, dep~~te, desigur, limitele liturghiei.
Aceasta este una din constantele conceptiei noastre despre
liturghie, ~i anume ca totul, in liturghie, depa~e~te liturghia,
continutul dep~~te forma, caci daca Biserica se aduna sepa~
randu-se, retragandu~se Ia o parte de Iume, face intotdeauna
acest Iucru pentru a putea sa se reverse ~i sa se intoarca in
Iume, cu plenitudinea ~i impetuozitatea Duhului Cincizecimii.
Cuvantul liturgic, doxologia, lectura Evangheliei, propova~
duirea, constituie o manifestare a prezentei Imparatiei lui Dum~
nezeu, deci o revelatie propriu~zisa, dar o revelatie care se
inscrie ~i se exprima in limbaj, intr~un limbaj omenesc, un lim-
470 iMPARTAI;)IREA SFANTULUI DUH

baj intotdeauna viu, un limbaj nedesava~it, care cre~te ~i tre-


buie revizuit fara incetare, dar care, in acela~i timp, este un
limbaj obiectiv ~i adevarat, fiind limbajul Bisericii lui Hristos.
Prin urmare, ~i aid atingem ins~i natura cuvantului ~i a oricarui
simbol, limbajul contine o ambiguitate care ii este proprie ~i
care nu poate fi despartita de el. Cuvantul este intotdeauna
insuficient. El poate masca pana ~i realitatea pe care cauta sa
o exprime, tot ~a de bine cum o ~i dezvatuie. lata de ce Bise-
rtca este deosebit de raspunzatoare de puritatea, de rigoarea,
de forma ins~i a limbii, a limbajului, a cantarti, a rugaciunii.
Sacramentalitatea cuvantului decurge din sacramentalita-
tea Biseridi ins~i ~i din sacramentalitatea lui Hristos. Hrtstos,
fiind Dumnezeu ~i om, tot ceea ce decurge din EI, cuvintele, ca
~i faptele Sale, ca ~i viata Sa ins~i, ca ~i moartea Sa, ca ~i Bi-
serica ~i tainele, toate acestea sunt in acel~i timp consub-
stantiale Cuvantului lui Dumnezeu eel v~nic, dumnezeiesc,
neschimbabil, adevarat, frumos, ~i consubstantiale cuvintelor
omen~ti, ele insele in relatie cu acest Cuvant allui Dumnezeu.
Acesta rasuna mai intai in inima omului zidit dupa chipullui
Dumnezeu ~i dupa asemanarea Sa, imbracat ~i format ~i pa-
trons de Duhul Sfant, prin care acest Cuvant ai lui Dumnezeu
afla intotdeauna o corespondenta, un ecou, o receptivitate.
in raport cu cultul ~i cu Euharistia, putem deosebi mai
multe moduri de actiune ale acestui Cuvant: a) Cuvantul con-
duce spre Biserica, atrage spre ea, intoduce in ea; b) Cuvantu1
rasuna in Biserica asemenea unui Cuvant ziditor care ne face
asemenea lui Hristos, care ne Jumineaza, ne judeca, ne pas-
treaza, ne conduce; c) Cuvantul face Euharistia tot a~a cum
Cuvantul face Biserica; d) in sfar~it, Cuvantul este pecetluit de
Euharistie, de impart~ire. Daca este adevarat ca, a~a cum
spune J. J. von A1lmenl 5 , este nevoie de Cuvant pentru a inte-

15. Op. cit. p. 27.


EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 471

lege Cina, pe de alta parte este nevoie de Euharistie pentru a


intelege Cuvantul. De abia Ia frangerea painii au putut ucenicii
Ia Emaus sa vada ~i sa inteleaga deplin invatatura Domnului,
sa faca Iegatura dintre cuvintele pe care li Ie spunea lisus ~i
propria Sa persoana. Cuvantul liturgic, atata timp cat nu se
impline~te, cat nu culmineaza in impart~irea euharistica, ra-
mane inca exterior fiintei profunde a omului.
Tocmai prin aceasta nunta duhovniceasca pe care o con-
stituie Euharistia, Cuvantul poate fi definitiv pecetluit, acest
Cuvant care izvora~te ~i atinge intelegerea noastra poate sa-~i
atle acolo adapost, poate fi acceptat ~i poate trill acolo. in acest
sens, raportul dintre Cuvant ~i Euharistie ne aminte~te ca dina-
mismul inerent Euharistiei ne face sa depa~im stadiul inte-
legerii. intelegerea, chiar ~i duhovniceasca, chiar ~i contempla-
tiva, nu constituie stadiul ultim, capatu], plenitudinea vietii in
Hristos. Pentru a fi deplina, viata in Hristos trebuie sa depa-
~easca stadiul intelegerii ~i al iluminarii.
lata de ce Parintii Bisericii au deosebit trei planuri ale urcu-
~ului duhovnicesc: eel dintai este eel al curatirii, catharsis, apoi
eel al contemplatiei, theoria, ~i eel de-al treilea unirea, enosis,
care transcende cu totul toate formele de inteligenta ~i in care
omul se impline~te in locul in care cuvantul insu~i lasa locul
tacerii. Doar in aceasta tacere poate rasuna in noi, in cele din
urma, Cuvantul lui Dumnezeu. Astfel, urcu~uL deschiderea
omului catre Cuvantul lui Dumnezeu poate fi semnificata,
indicata de aceasta cautare a tacerii, astfel incat Cuvantul lui
Dumnezeu intru Duhul Sfant sa rasune nu din exterior, ca un
Cuvant care ne este adresat, ci dinlauntru. prin Duhul Sfant,
pentru ca intru Duhul Sfant, atunci cand omul se roaga, nu
omul este eel ce se roaga, ci Duhul Sfa.nt este Cel care mijlo-
ce~te ~i suspina, care vorbe~te ~i sufla ~i da marturie pentru
Hristos in noi. Astfel, interiorizarea noastra progresiva ~i trans-
parenta noastra crescanda Ia Hristos in Cuvant trebuie sa se
472 iMPARTA~IREA SfANTULUI DUH

inscrie in linia, in sensul unei cre~teri in noi in~ine, al acelei


maturari a Cuvantului lui Dumnezeu. Acesta, asemenea unui
graunte de mu~tar, patrunde in spatiul nostru launtric ~i-1 umple,
ocupandu-1 in intregime.
Traditia apuseana, indeosebi Fericitul Augustin, ~i dupa el
~i traditia reformata, a fost foarte sensibila Ia mijlocirea Cu-
vantului in Euharistie, Ia importanta Cuvantului care face Euha-
ristia. ,Cuvantul vine in element, ~i acesta devine sacrament",
spune Fericitul Augustinl6. Exista, deci, o instrumentalitate a
Cuvantului, ~i daca insistam atat asupra epiclezei, asupra
importantei Sfantului Duh in sfintirea euharistica, pogorarea
Duhului nu poate fi disociata de acest Cuvant care rasuna in Fiul
~i prin Fiul, ~i a carui putere de creatie, de viata ~i de
desava~ire este asigurata de Sfantul Duh. Prin urmare, Cuvan-
tul face Euharistia ~i de altfel este nevoie de Cuvant nu numai
pentru a intelege Cina, ci ~i pentru ca aceasta sa se poata
infaptui. Dar, cand spunem Cuvant, sa Iuam seama sa nu limitam
actiunea acestui Cuvant Ia cuvintele de instituire. Cuvintele de
instituire trebuie sa fie ele insele situate in interiorul intregii
rugaciuni euharistice. Aceasta este, in intregime, Cuvant ~i in
acela~i timp epicleza, invocare, implorare, multumire. ~i ast-
fel, aceasta rugaciune euharistica trebuie inteleasa in contex-
tul sau unic ~i integral, fara de care nu este cu putinta, cred,
sa vorbim despre Euharistie ~i sa patrundem intelesul sfintirii,
al prezentei reale ~i ai imparta~irii.
Nu numai Cuvantul face Euharistia, ci Cuvantul este, Ia
randul sau, pecetluit de Euharistie: este nevoie de Cina pen-
tru a intelege Cuvantul, pentru a ajunge Ia Cruce ~i Ia inviere
~i pentru a vorbi despre ele. Doar inlauntrul experientei pas-
cale ~i al experientei euharistice misterul Crucii ~i al invierii,
a1 ina.Itarii ~i al Venirii de-a doua a lui Hristos i~i dobandesc

16. De ex: Senno 227.


EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 473

sensul deplin, intreaga lor evidenta, devenind inainte de toate


o convingere launtrica, izvonita ~i intemeiata pe experienta:
,Ce era de la inceput, ce am auzit, ce am vazut cu ochii no~tri,
ce am privit ~i mainile noastre au pipait despre Cuv{mtul vietii,
aceea va vestim"' (I loan I, I).
Nu vreau sa spun prin aceasta ca credinta in invierea lui
Hristos ~ar intemeia pe o experienta subiectiva. Experienta eu-
haristica nu este o experienta subiectiva, ci este o experienta
a Bisericii, anume o experienta obiectiva, care transcende pe
de o parte individul, chiar ~i comunitatea locala, ~i in care
aceasta comunitate, in comuniune cu Biserica universala in
timp ~i in spatiu, traie~te aceasta unitate cu Hristos eel inviat,
prin puterea ~i prezenta Sfantului Duh. lata de ce este foarte
important sa intelegem ca fara Euharistie, fara aceasta expe-
rienta euharistica a lui Hristos inviat, doctrina invierii lui
Hristos nu poate avea rasunetul unei evidente a adevarului, a
biruintei ~i a nadejdii.
Cuvantul este pecetluit de Euharistie, dar Cuvantul ~i
izvora~te din Euharistie prin aceasta experienta, iar Euharistia
pecetlui~te in noi aceasta evidenta, ne in-formeaza intelegerea,
ne orienteaza cercetarea teologica, ne inspira doxologia,
propovaduirea ~i marturia. Cuno~terea ins~i are nevoie de
un resort mai adanc deceit propria lucrare, pentru ca acest Cuvant
sa poata patrunde intr-un Joe deja curatit; Cuvantul curat~te ~i
elibereaza, ne pregate~te pentru Euharistie, pentru imparta-
~ire, prin chemarea Ia pocainta, dar, Ia randul sau, nu se
poate insera cu adevarat deceit atunci cand omul este innoit
prin contactul cu Cel negrait, fata catre fata, acolo unde
Cuvantul lasa locul tacerii.
Deci, Cuvantul nu nurnai ca impline~te Euharistia, ci izvo-
ra~te din aceasta, decurge din ea, iar aceasta determina, desi-
gur, intreaga vocatie misionara a Bisericii. Daca nu ar fi misio-
nara, Biserica nu ar fi apostolica, nu ar fi Biserica. Dar numai
474 iMPARTA~IREA SFA!TI'ULUI DUH

pornind de Ia aceasta experienta, de Ia aceasta punere de o


parte, Biserica poate fi ,prezenta in lume". Aceasta prezenta
in lume nu poate da seama prin ea ins~i de misterul Bisericii.
Biserica trebuie intotdeauna sa fie consubstantiala lumii prin
intreaga sa natura, prin intreaga sa omenitate, care este ~i
omenitatea lui Hristos, dar, in acel~i timp, exista un ritm de
retragere de o parte, de refugiere in Euharistie, vizibil mai ales
acolo unde Biserica se separa de lume, se ad una in incaperea
cea de sus, cu u~ile inchise. ~i in acest sens, proclamarea
liturgica ,U~ile, u~ile!" inainte de Euharistie nu este o reminis-
centa arheologica din vremea disciplinei arcane, cand se cerea
ca paganii ~i chiar ~i catehumenii sa nu poata fi martori ai
tainei euharistice. Este esential ca, in Euharistie, in taina Cinei,
u~ile sa fie inchise, pentru ca Biserica sa se adune ~i sa se
deosebeasca. Acest lucru este exprimat foarte limpede in ruga-
ciunea arhiereasca a lui Hristos: ,Nu pentru Iume Ma rog, ci
pentru cei pe care Mi i-ai dat" (loan 17, 9).

BISERICA iN ANAMNEZA

Cartea Apocalipsei ne aminte~te ca. obiectullaudei edeziale


~i al memorialului liturgic este taina lui Hristos. intregul cult,
intreaga invatatura, intreaga traditie a Bisericii nu sunt altceva
decat o aducere in prezent, o actualizare a tainei lui Hristos. Dar
aceasta ni se reveleaza in intreitul sau aspect temporal, adica de
taina a Celui care este, care era ~i care vine. lar in anamneza
euharistica gasim Ia eel mai inalt punct deosebirea ~i in acel~i
timp unitatea acestor trei aspecte ale tainei lui Hristos de care
Biserica ~i aduce aminte. Biserica i~i aduce aminte de Hristos
care este, care era ~i care vine. lar Biserica, am putea spune, se
imparte in Iume, in timp, in istorie, in spatiu, intre aceste trei
moduri de prezenta ~i de acUune ~i de venire ale lui Hristos.
EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 475

Este foarte graitor ca textele Apocalipsei, acolo unde fiin-


tele si batrimii ctmta si slavesc pe Mielul si pe Cel ce sade pe
tron, il numesc ,Cel ce este, Cel ce era ~i Cel ce vine, (Apoc.
L 4, 8; 1 L 17). in majoritatea textelor, nu este succesiunea
cronologica ,Cel ce era, Cel ce este ~i Cel ce vine,l 7. Doxolo-
gia incepe cu prezentul. Dumnezeu este intotdeauna prezent,
Hristos este prezent, si prin aceasta prezenta putem da seama
in acelasi timp despre trecut si despre viitor. Prin aceasta pre-
zenta a lui Hristos, pe de-o parte inaltat Ia cer, de-a dreapta
Tatalui, rugandu-se pentru Biserica si pentru oameni in mijlo-
cirea Sa cereasca permanenta, ne putem intoarce inapoi si
trai in etape retrospective invierea lui Hristos si, in lumina
pascala, Crucea, Patimile Mantuitorului si intreaga Sa viata
pamanteasca.
Misterul liturgic ne aminteste ca ,daca am cunoscut pe
Ifristos dupa trup, acum nu-L mai cunoa~tem,, cum spune
Sfantul Pavel (II Cor. 5, 16), si nu mai este cu putinta sa dai sea-
rna despre prezent si viitor numai prin trecut. Hristos actioneaza,
Hristos vorbeste, Hristos Se roaga. ~i, in aceasta rugaciune
prezenta, ochii nostri se deschid, si invierea lui Hristos isi
capata intelesul. Toate liturghiile Bisericii se definesc in functie
de aceasta liturghie cereasca permanenta, care constituie ,cea
de a doua fata a mantuirii,lB, cea dintai fiind jertfa de pe
Golgota si invierea. Jertfa lui Hristos, Fiul jertfind Tatalui pro-
pria Sa viata pentru viata lumii, aceastajertfa mantuitoare cul-
mineaza si se deschide in mijlocirea cereasca. Jertfa crucii si
a mortii lui Hristos, invierea Sa, preaslavirea Sa dau intreaga
valoare, intreaga eficacitate acestei mijlociri ceresti care, spre
deosebire de jertfa crucii si a mortiL care au avut loc o data pen-
tru totdeauna si nu pot fi repetate, este permanenta. Este per-

I 7. Apoc. 4, 8 este o exceptie.


18 .,L'Ascension", in Revue biblique 5 (1949), p. 195, reluat in Exegese et
Theologie, Paris, 1961, t. 1, p. 363-41 1.
476 iMPARTA~IREA SFANTULUI DUH

manenta ~i acopera tot timpul Bisericii, de Ia ina.Itare pana Ia


Parusie, pana Ia cea de-a doua venire a lui Hristos.
in mod deosebit pentru problema misiunii Bisericii, este
important sane amintim ca doar in aceasta mi~care a litur-
ghiei ~i a Bisericii in mers, in pelerinaj catre implinire, catre
plenitudinea imparapei cere~ti, unde, cum spune Sfantul Pavel,
suntem deja ~ezati, suntem deja inviati, suntem deja inaltati
o data cu Hristos de-a dreapta Tatalui (cf. Ef. 2, 1-6), doar in
atractia acestei mi~cari, a acestei dep~iri a contingentelor, a
imanentei noastre pamante~ti, doar aici misiunea intregii
Biserici i~i dobande~te pe deplin sensu], anvergura, intreaga
evidenta. ,cand Ma voi ina.Jta, atunci voi trage toti oamenii
dupa Mine". Doar in masura in care, in Biserica, comunitatea
poate depa~i tocmai aceste contingente, se poate desprinde
de cele pamante~ti, doar atunci poate da marturie despre taina
lui Hristos ina.Itat de-a dreapta Tata.Iui.
intrucat am vorbit despre anamneza lui Hristos Cel ce este,
Hristos prezent in Biserica ~i in acel~i timp ina.Itat de-a dreapta
Tata.Iui, ne putem aduce aminte de cea de-a doua fata a anam-
nezei - Hristos Cel ce era. Biserica i~i aduce aminte de Cel ce
era, adica de ceea ce Hristos a savar~it o data pentru totdea-
una in istorie in timpul intruparii Sale, in timpul implinirii Sale
pamant~ti pana Ia inaltare. Prin urmare, ,Cel ce era" se
raporteaza Ia taina intruparii, a Patimilor, a invierii, Ia istoria
mantuirii in totalitatea sa.
Sensul Euharistiei nu se poate limita Ia un raport unilateral
Euharistie-Cruce, nid chiar Euharistie- inviere. Exista o totalitate,
o unicitate a ansamblului Iucrarti lui Hristos; intreaga iconomie a
mantuirii este reprezentata in memorialul euharistic.
in sfa~it, trebuie sa ne amintim ca. adunarea euharistica
nu~i aduce aminte numai de trecutul istoric, sau de prezen-
tul ceresc sau sacramental, ci ~i de viitor, i~i aduce aminte ca
Domnul vine.
EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 477

Prin Euharistie, Biserica este indreptata in intregime catre Hristos,


care nu numai ca este aici- ,lata, Bu cu voi sunt in toate zilele
pana la sfar$itul veacului" (Mat. 28, 20) -, dar este ~?i ,Cel ce
vine". Ce inseamna, prin urmare, aceasta venire a lui Hristos
pe care o exprima memorialul euharistic, pe care o exprima
taina euharistica in intregime, ~?i care trebuie sa ne ajute sa
intelegem sensul insu~?i, a~? spune chiar firea Bisericii? Lec-
tura textelor neo-testamentare ~?i a Iiturghiilor primare ne
arata ca aceasta con~?tiinta ~?i aceasta a~?teptare a venirii lui
Hristos este extrem de intensa, extrem de profunda, mai ales
in anumite cuvinte sau exclamatii pe care Ie regasim atit in
Bib lie, cat ~?i in liturghiile primare, de exemplu Maranatha. Acest
cuvant inseamna in acel~i timp , Vino, Doamne (lisuse)", fiind
o invocatie, o aclamatie, o rugaminte, o ~teptare, ~?i totodata o
vestire: ,Da, Domnul vine"; iar ,Domnul vine" nu mai este doar
o ~teptare, ci o implinire.
De asemenea, epicleza Sfantului Duh nu exprima doar
~teptarea, cererea flerbinte, ci este deosebit de intensa, pentru
ca. Biserica ~?tie ca aceasta epicleza este ascultata ~?i ca invo-
carea Bisericii in Euharistie se situeaza inauntrul rugaciunii
Marelui Arhiereu Iisus, de-a dreapta Tatalui. lata de ce Biserica
se poate ruga fierbinte, intens, dar in acel~i timp cu indraz-
neala, cu certitudine. Prin urmare, Maranatha exprima atat ruga-
mintea, dependenta, supunerea Bisericii fata de Hristos, cat ~?i
certitudinea, vestirea Iumii ca Hristos este aici, ca Hristos vine
ca Cel inviat pentru a-1 mantui pe om, pentru a-ida viata cea
noua, pentru a-1 smulge din robia raului, a pacatului, a suferin-
tei, a servitutilor de orice fel ~?i a alienarii.
lata un exemplu de memorial euharistic, eel ai liturghiei
bizantine a Sfantul loan Gura de Aur: ,Aducandu-ne aminte,
~adar, de aceasta porunca mantuitoare ~?i de toate cele ce s-au
facut pentru noi: de cruce,de groapa, de invierea cea de-a
treia zi,de ina.Jtarea Ia ceruri, de ~?ederea cea de-a dreapta ~?i
478 iMPARTA~IREA SFANTULUI DUH

de cea de a doua ~i slavita iara~i venire,. Aceasta anamneza


este intotdeauna o punere a Bisericii in prezenta acestei taine
totale a mantuirii noastre. Aceasta taina a mantuirii nu poate
fi limitata doar Ia unul dintre aceste trei aspecte ale memoria-
Iului lui Hristos, iar atenuarea, reducerea unuia sau a celuilalt,
duce Biserica Ia deformart profunde ale con~tiintei sale de
Biserica ~i a propriei sale marturii in Iume.

BISERICA iN RUGACIUNE

in liturghie ~i in ~tiinta liturgica, epicleza a devenit, treptat


~i din ce in ce mai mult, un termen tehnic, desemnand o ruga-
dune anume adresata Tatalui pentru ca Duhul Sfant sa Se
pogoare asupra painii ~i vinului puse inainte ~i sa Ie sfinteasca,
prefacandu-le in trupul ~i sangele lui Hristos. Trebuie sa amin-
tim ca. in liturghiile primare, intalnim epicleze variate atat prin
forma, cat ~i prin destinatia lor - epicleze hristologice, invo-
catii pentru venirea lui Hristos, ca, de pilda: ,Da, vino, Doamne
Iisuse, sau Maranatha.
Aceasta din urma este redescoperita astazi de liturghiile
moderne, in special de liturghia de Ia Taize sau liturghia Iute-
rana din Germania. Ea exprima o urgenta, sporita poate de
instabilitatea apocaliptica a evenimentelor din vremea noas-
tra; cand totul se clatina in jurul nostru, atunci cu adevarat
nu numai omul in fiinta sa profunda, ci intreaga Biserica se
simte ~i mai dependenta de aceasta venire a lui Hristos. Sau
oare aceasta venire nu este manifestata cu atata intensitate
deceit in Euharistie?
Trebuie deosebite doua orientart in epicleza; epicleza lui
Hristos, care nu se poate face deceit intru Duhu1 Sfant: ,~i Duhul
si Mireasa spun: Vino, Doamne lisuse, (Apoc. 22, 17, 20).
Doar prin suflarea Duhului Biserica este in stare, in Euharistie,
EUHARJSTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERJCII 479

sa cheme, sa invoce, sa roage, apoi sa vesteasca pe Hristos.


Doar prin Duhul Sfimt Biserica ii poate marturisi pe lisus
Hristos cape Domnul ei.
Pe de alta parte, epicleza propriu~zisa a Duhului Sfant,
invocarea venirii Sfantului Duh, se insereaza profund in datu!
neo~testamentar, indeosebi in cuvantarea de despartire a lui
Hristos, dinainte de Patimi (loan 14 ~ 16), in care Hristos insu~i
veste~te ~i fagaduie~te ca, atunci cand Se va ruga Tatalui,
aceasta rugaciune va fi o epicleza, o cerere a Sfantului Duh:
,$i Eu voi ruga pe TaUil $i alt M{mgaietor va va da voua" (loan
14, 16). Chemarea Duhului Sfant care constituie epicleza Bise~
ricii nu se poate face decat datorita lui Hristos, prin Hristos,
prin rugaciunea lui Hristos preaslavit ~i inaltat de~a dreapta
Tatatui. intreaga liturghie trebuie deci inteleasa in perspectiva
acestei mijlociri cere~ti a lui Hristos, care este o epicleza a
Sfantului Duh, o cerere catre Tatai de a trimite Duhul peste
Biserica, peste daruri, peste comunitate, peste lume.
Daca ne gandim Ia dezvoltarea con~tiintei euharistice a
Bisericii, constatam ca Biserica a trecut, in timpul sau istoric,
prin diferite stadii de evolutie.
in perioada pr~niceeana, Biserica pare a nu fi insistat prea
mult asupra importantei prefacerii darurilor; epicleza, ~a cum
observam in special Ia Sfantul lpolit in Traditia apostolica, nu
era indreptata cu precadere spre prefacerea painii ~i vinului in
trupul ~i sangele lui Hristos, ci, inainte de toate, spre faptul ca,
prin mijlocireajertfei Bisericii, aceasta epicleza prefacea intreg
poporul lui Dumnezeu in trupul ~i sangele lui Hristos. Este o
realitate pe care atat teologia euharistica, cat ~i exegeza ne~
testamentara o redescoperal9. 0 finalitate ecleziala ~i antr~
pologica a sfintirii. Tot a~a cum, initial, sfintirea apei botezului
se facea ~ ~i se face - in vederea afundarii baptismale, tot

19. Cf. J. Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words of Jesus, Oxford, 1955.


480 iMPARTA~IREA SFANTULUI DUH

~a sfintirea euharistica se face in perspectiva comuniunii eu-


haristice. Trebuie evitat sa se izoleze ~i sa se faramiteze taina
sfintiriL considerand comuniunea euharistica numai un rod
duhovnicesc ai sfintirii elementelor sacramentale. Comuniu-
nea nu este rodulduhovnicesc, ci punctul culminant, pecetea
acestei sfintiri. Sfintire ~i comuniune sunt legate, din punct de
vedere teologic ~i organic, in taina unica a Cinei. Aceasta este
tocmai sfintirea, jertfa ~i pomenirea Cinei Domnului, care se
actualizeaza in taina Euharistiei ~i prin urmare in impart~irea
comunitatii.
Parintii secolului al IV-lea, incepand cu Sfantul loan Gura
de Aur ~i Sfantul Ambrozie, insista mai mult asupra evenimen-
tului, asupra miracolului euharistic negrait, acel mysterium
tremendum ai sfintirii, ~i aceasta intr-un limbaj din ce in ce
mai realist. ~i cu cat poporul cr~tin va pierde sensul comuniunii
organice ~i normative a Euharistiei, cu atat mai mult aceasta
conceptie ,realista" a tainei va capata relief. in momentul in
care comunitatea se situeaza nu in Euharistie, ci in fata Euha-
ristiei, ea poate sa reflecteze mai bine Ia acest miracol, pentru
ca nu poti reflecta cu adevarat Ia ceva decat daca iti este exte-
rior. intr-un anumit sens, Biserica primara nu avea teologie euha-
ristica ~i nid nu putea sa aiba. ~i, dupa parerea mea, este lipsit
de sens sa se caute o teologie euharistica o teoIogie a jertfei,
o teologie a prezentei reale in Biserica primara, pentru ca
aceasta teologie reprezentand prea mult o realitate a trairii,
despre ea nu se poate vorbi decat pornind de Ia aceasta traire.
Ne Iovim din nou de ambiguitatea limbajului. Limbajul care
exprima experienta duhovniceasca devine astfel indicele unei
indepartart, al unei pierderi a acestui sens euharistic. Cu cat
sensul euharistic al comuniunii este mai estompat, cu atat mai
necesare sunt limbajul ~i reflectia, pentru ada seama de ea.
Ulterior, cu prilejul controverselor euharistice dintre greci
~i Iatini, se vor purta discutiile care ni se par astazi atat de ste-
EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 481

rile cu privire Ia cuvant ~i epicleza: cum se savarseste sfinti-


rea, prin cuvant, prin cuvintele de instituire, sau prin epicleza?
Este, dupa parerea mea, un fapt stabilit, ca nu se poate juxta-
pune sau alege intre Paste si Cincizecime, Ia fel cum nu alegi
intre Hristos si Duhul Sfimt, nu alegi intre prezenta lui Hristos
si Iucrarea Duhului Sfimt; dar trebuie aratat ca aceasta pre-
zenta este diferita- prezenta lui Hristos si cea a Duhului Sfant
sunt, fiecare, specifice in taina euharistica. Hristos Se intru-
peaza in Cuvant, este prezent in darurile euharistice prin care
ne asimileaza Siesi. Duhul Sfant este prezent in om, dar in alt
mod, infuz, inexprimabil, intr-un mod pe care limbajul nu-l poate
recta, caci Duhul Sfant nu este obiect al cunoasterii, obiect al
teologiei. Duhul Sfant este, inainte de toate, puterea cunostin-
tei, lumina in care vedem chipullui Hristos si in care se infap-
tuieste prezenta lui Hristos in noi. Prin urmare, Sfantul Duh
este totdeauna altul. ~i in aceasta consta intreaga dificultate
a pnevrnatologiei, intreaga dificultate de a vorbi despre Duhul
Sfant si despre Iucrarea Sa sfintitoare in Euharistie.
Sfintirea elementelor si sfintirea credinciosilor alcatuiesc
cele doua aspecte ale realitat:ii Euharistiei, caci omul se inra-
dacineaza adanc, prin trupul sau, prin limbajul sau, prin intreaga
sa sensibilitate, in cosmos, in insasi realismul Iumii in care
este profund ancorat si pe care este chemat, prin Euharistie,
sa-l transfigureze, sa-l sfinteasca. Prin urmare, Biserica nu poate,
desigur, sa faca economie de elemente materiale. Credem in
sensul deplin al sfintirii elementelor, al prezentei reale a lui
Hristos in elemente, nu in vederea unei adorari a acestora, ci
in vederea impartasirii credinciosilor. Pietatea euharistica si
evlavia cu care Biserica Ortodoxa inconjoara painea si vinul
sfintite (Sfanta Cuminecatura) trebuie intelese intr-o perspec-
tiva de comuniune, de mancare euharistica.
Ceea ce am spus despre epicleza ne ingaduie sa intele-
gem mai bine ca epicleza nu poate fi limitata Ia o singura ruga-
482 iMPARTA~IREA Sf'ANTULUI DUH

ciune a Euhartstiei. Sunt epicleze pre-sfintitoare, epicleze


post...sfintitoare, epicleze prtvind Darurtle, epicleze prtvind adu-
narea, epicleze in care preotul roaga ca Dumnezeu sa trimita
Duhul Sffmt, pentru ca proprta sa nevrednicie sa nu constituie
o piedica, pentru ca Duhul sa-l curateasca pe preot astfel ca
nevrednicia acestuia sa nu impiedice pogon3rea Duhului peste
Euhartstie ~i peste adunare: ,Pomene~te, Doamne, dupa mul-
timea indurarilor Tale, ~i a mea nevrednicie - se spune in litur-
ghia bizantina a Sfantului Vasile eel Mare. Iarta-mi toata gre-
~eala, cea de voie ~i cea fara de voie, ~i sa nu opre~ti, pentru
pacatele mele, harul Sfantului Tau Duh, de Ia Darurtle ce sunt
puse inainte". Sfintirea nu se poate face fara sfintenie, nu
doar cea ca rod al sfintirti euhartstice, ci ~i sfintenia preala-
bila, fara de care nevrednicia preotului se rasfrange asupra
Darurtlor ~i impiedica revarsarea harului lui Dumnezeu.
Epicleza se refera, deci, Ia ansamblul Euhartstiei. intreaga
Euhartstie este epicletica, intreaga Euhartstie este o invocare;
preotul ~i adunarea nu sunt stapanii actului euhartstic, ci Duhul
Sfant este adevaratul savar~itor ai Euhartstiei, ca ~i al tainelor.
intr-un anumit sens, Duhul Sfant este eel care lucreaza in noi,
care ne informeaza, care ingaduie ~i infaptui~te in noi aceasta
rugaciune ~i aceasta conformitate cu Hrtstos.
Dar daca spunem ca. Euhartstia este in intregime epicleza,
este !impede ca epicleza depa~e~te limitele Euhartstiei ~i ca
aceasta epicleza, acest sens epicletic, acest sens de invocare,
de dependenta, acopera ~i defin~te intreg misterul Bisertcii,
intreaga relatie a Bisericii cu Hristos. Bisertca nu este decat
slujitoare, adica nu poate fi decat un releu, nu poate decat sa dea
marturte ~i sa vesteasca ceea ce o dep~e~te ~i ceea ce se face
prin intermediul acestor ,vase de Jut" care sunt institutiile noastre.
Nu poate, deci, sa fie decat in situatie de penitenta, dar cu convin-
gerea, desigur, ca prtn Iucrarea euharistica Bisertca, comuni-
tatea, este iertata, ca trai~te in aceasta iertare ~i ca aceasta
EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 483

iertare nu este altceva decat lumina invierii care izvoraste in


ea. Epicleza este, deci, o dependenta, o supunere deplina in
Duhul Sfant fata de Hristos .si fata de Tatal. Ea este, de aseme-
nea, o a.steptare .si o chemare.
Pentru a vorbi despre epicleza intregii Biserici, este foarte
edificator sa ne amintim de rugaciunea Bisericii primare, in
,incaperea cea de sus", dinainte de pogonirea Duhului Sfant Ia
Cincizecime. Putem spune ca aceasta rugaciune arzatoare a
Bisericii adunate in locul comun al Cinei se impline,ste, se repeta,
se oglinde.ste in rugaciunea liturgica a Bisericii, a intregii Biserici
in Euharistie. intreaga Biserica este in rugaciune arzatoare,
pentru ca Euharistia este o Cincizecime permanenta, atat prin
pregatirea Cincizecimii in aceasta rugaciune, cat .si prin faptul
ca Duhul Sfant este revarsat in Biserica. Avem doua aspecte ale
epiclezei, dupa cum avem doua aspecte in Cincizecime: I) pre-
gatirea, cererea fierbinte, con.stiinta ca Duhul Sfant este Cel
ce va sa vina, .si Biserica se curate.ste pentru aceasta, este deja
in stare de comuniune, rugaciunea este deja o rugaciune co-
muna, o rugaciune unanima, .si 2) aceasta unanimitate care,
initial conditie a venirii Duhului Sfant, va fi apoi rodul acesteia
(indeosebi Fapt. 2). Epicleza ne pune in starea din ziua
Cincizecimii, ne pune in situatia Bisericii, in starea de Cincize-
cime perpetua.
Spre deosebire de taina invierii .si a crucii, care s-au infaptuit
o data pentru totdeauna, Cincizecimea nu este doar evenimen-
tul unui moment, al unui timp, ci este inaugurarea timpului
Bisericii, adica inaugurarea timpului revarsarii permanente,
constante a Duhului Sfant peste comunitate. In Faptele Apos-
tolilor, exista o intreaga secventa a acestor revarsari multiple ale
Duhului Sfant in diferite stadii, in diferite etape normative ale
cre.sterii Bisericii. Citind Fapte 8 .si 19, cand Duhul vine asupra
comunitatiL asupra celor doisprezece ucenici Ia Efes, ai impre-
sia ca. ai de-a face aici daca nu cu o repetare, macar cu con-
484 iMPARTA~IREA SFANTULUI DUH

~tiinta faptului ca evenimentul primei Cincizecimi se con-


tinua. Anumiti Pannti ai Bisericii - mai ales Nicolae Cabasila in
Talcuirea dumnezeie~tii Liturghii20, au insistat mult asupra
sensului cincizecimic ai liturghieL al Euharistiei. Aceasta idee
a Cincizecimii permanente este o idee profund traditionala in
Biserica primara ~i indeosebi in traditia orientala ~i siriana.

EUHARISTIA, COMUNIUNE A BISERICII


~ vrea sa deosebesc mai multe planuri de comuniune:
Comuniune treimica, ~i aceasta este o idee Ia care tin
foarte mult, idee potrivit careia comuniunea euharistica este
o comuniune treimica, un dar, o prezenta, o realizare a vietii
treimice in Biserica. Liturghia ortodoxa incepe cu binecuvan-
tarea imparatiei treimice: ,Binecuvantata este imparatia Tatalui,
a f'iului ~i a Sfantului Duh". ~i aceasta corespunde unei con-
~tiinte euharistice foarte profunde, chiar daca uneori insufi-
cient exprimata in invatatura ~i in doctrina clasica. Tratatele
~colare despre Euharistie au fost deseori puternic influentate
de un fel de hristomonism euharistic, adica un fel de exclu-
sivism in Hristos, Iasand de o parte orice referinta Ia Tatai ~i
Ia Sfantul Duh. Hristos este calea catre Tatal: ,CeJ ce M-a vazut
pe Mine a vazut pe Tatal" (loan 14, 9). Euharistia este indrep-
tata, deci, catre Tatai ~L Ia urma urmei, Iocul rugaciunii , Tatai
nostru" in Euharistie amint~te tocmai faptul ca intreaga comu-
nitate euharistica trebuie sa se situeze intr-un context treimic,
pentru ca Biserica sa-~i aminteasca, in momentul comuniunii,
ca. Euharistia este impart~irea cu Hristos prezent de-a dreapta
Tatalui, Hristos inviat ~i preaslavit.

20. Capit. 37, trad. franceza in Sources chretiennes, nr. 4 bis, Paris, 1968,
p. 226-229 $i nota Ia Pr. S. Salaville, La Pentecote eucharistique, p. 334-336.
EUHARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 485

Euharistia este o Cincizecime perpetua. Notiunea de impar~


~ire a Sfantului Duh in Euharistie este o notiune vitala, care isi
are originea chiar la Sfimtul Pavel, in salutul sau treimic de Ia
II Cor. 13, 13: ,Ifarul Domnului nostru Iisus Ifristos $i dragos-
tea lui Dumnezeu (TataJ) $i impiirta$irea Sfantului Duh sa fie
cu voi cu totr. in secolul ai IV ~lea, liturghiile bizantine au gene~
ralizat aceasta binecuvantare treimica chiar inainte de ruga-
ciunea euharistica. Sfantul Vasile al Cezareii a dezvoltat tema
impartasirii Sfantului Duh in contextul disputelor despre dum-
nezeirea Duhului, aratand ca Duhul Sfant se impartaseste cu
plinatatea vietii dumnezeiesti a Tatalui si a Fiului si ca. viata
intregii Biserici este o impartasire a Treimii in Sfantul Duh.
insasi tema impartasirii Sfantului Duh se intalneste in mai multe
randuri in liturghia bizantina a Sfimtului Vasile al Cezareii2l.Jn
liturghia ortodoxa actuala, una din cantarile Cincizecimii este
inclusa in rugaciunile de multumire de dupa comuniune: ,Am
vazut lumina cea adevarata, am primit Duhul eel ceresc, am
aflat credinta cea adevarata, nedespartitei Sfintei Treimi inchi~
nandu~ne, ca. aceasta ne~a mantuit pe noi". La fiecare liturghie,
putem cu adevarat sa spunem ca. am vazut lumina cea adeva~
rata, am primit Duhul eel ceresc...
Euharistia este astfel comuniunea sfintilor, comuniune a
intregii Biserici, si acest lucru a fost exprimat in liturghia bizan~
tina, indeosebi in ritualul proscomidiei, al pregatirii elemen~
telor euharistice in potir si pe disc, unde, alaturi de agnetul
car~L simbolizeaza pe Hristos, preotul asaza particelele sim~
bolizand pe Maica Domnului, cele noua cete ale sfintilor, viii
si mortii. ~i astfel, in celebrarea euharistica, comunitatea Ia
randul sau este chemata sa ia parte Ia aceasta reprezentare
figurativa pe disc, trimitandu~si Ia altar pomelnicele cu numele
viilor si mortilor, care vor fi pomeniti in acel moment, in timp

21. Cf. B. Bobrinskoy, ,Liturgie et ecclt:siologie trinitaire de Saint Basile, in


Verbum Caro, Paris, 1969, inclusa :!;>i in prezentul volum.
486 iMPARTA~IREA SFANTULUI DUH

ce preotul va scoate particelele de prescura pe care le va


~eza pe disc. Astfel, intreaga Biserica, adica Trupullui Hristos,
Hristosul total, cum spune fericitul Augustin (Christus totus
caput et corpusJ22, Hristos intreg, cap ~i trup, este reprezentat ~i
partidparea Sa reala este amintita in celebrarea Euharistiei. Iar
aceasta este adevarat nu numai pentru proscomidie, ci, in gene-
ral, pentru toata liturghia, prin rugaciunea de mijlodre de dupa
epideza in care Biserica pomen~te pe Maica Domnului, pe
sfinti, pe vii ~i pe morti, toate nevoile ~i suferintele ~i dorintele
Iumii. Se poate cita, in Iegatura cu acest subiect, mai ales litur-
ghia Sfantul Vasile ai Cezareii, indeosebi rugadunea sa euharis-
tica de mijlocire, in care Biserica pomen~te toate treptele ~i
toate categoriile de credind~i, toate suferintele celor care sunt
in inchisori, in prigoniri, ale vaduvelor ~i orfanilor etc23.

,CU PACE SA I~IM".


MISIUNEA BISERICII
Euharistia este in intregime indreptata ~i sprijinita pe taina
P~telui, a inrutarii, a Cincizecimii ~i a celei de-a doua veniri a
lui Hristos. Misiunea cre~tina, misiunea Bisericii nu poate fi
inteleasa deca.t in func~ie de Pa~te, de invierea lui Hristos, ai
carei martori suntem in Euharistie, in functie de Cincizecime,
ai carei beneficiari suntem in Euharistie, ~i de inal~area lui
Hristos pe Care ii inso~m ~i a de carui slava ne imp~im tot prin
Euharistie. Aceasta misiune este, inainte de toate, o misiune
a comunita~ii, o misiune comunitara, pentru ca, Ia randul sau,
comunitatea trebuie sa oglindeasca in sine iubirea: ,Sa va iubiti
unul pe altul,(... ) pentru ca lumea sa creada, .. .intru aceasta vor
cunoa~te toti ca sunteti ucenicii Mer (loan 1.3, .34, .35; 15, 12,
17 etc).

22. In Evang. Joannis, tr. XXVIll, PL 35,1622 et alia.


25. Textul din anexa.
EUI1ARISTIA, PLENITUDINE A BISERICII 487

Ite, missa est din liturghia latina sau Cu pace sa ie$im din
liturghiile bizantine, aceasta concluzie comuna a liturghiilor
noastre, nu este deceit vestirea sfarsitului primei etape a Euha-
ristiei. in acel moment are Joe nu ie$irea din Biserica, ci intrarea
Bisericii in lume; aceasta trimitere, aceasta imprastiere a cre-
dinciosilor este necesara; Biserica nu poate sa ramana canto-
nata si inchisa si ferecata in sine. Slujba duminicala trebuie sa
se incheie si sa se continue de-a lungul saptamanii. in acest
sens, nu putem intelege Euharistia duminicala fara rugaciunea
Iauntrica si fara Euharistia dinlauntrul credinciosilor din timpul
saptamaniL de Ia locul si din timpul muncii lor, al vocatiei lor,
al familiei lor.
J. J. von Allmen deosebeste in Euharistie doua momente
fundamentale, Liturghia si Euharistia24: 1) Liturghia care inseamna
trimiterea, explozia, imprastierea, dar o imprastiere providen-
tiala, sacramentala a Bisericii in lume, asemenea ,aluatului
care dospeste framantatura", asemenea sani in bucate; 2) Euha-
ristia, cand Biserica se aduna, cand se unifica in locul acelui
necesar si unic ,Jata catre fata" nu numai ai insuluL ci si ai
comunitatiL cu Domnul sau, intru Duhul Sfant. J. J. von
Allmen se foloseste de imaginea inimiL a sistolei si diastolei:
sistola, adunarea, afluxul de sange Ia inima, iar diastola,
trimiterea, innoirea celulelor trupului, prin sangele, el insusi
regenerat de suflarea dumnezeiasca.
Cred ca toate acestea sunt de o mare importanta: aceasta
notiune a dimensiunii misionare a Bisericii, pornind de Ia adu-
narea euharistica, de Ia ea si prin ea, intr-un ritm perpetuu,
mereu innoit, este cea in care ar trebui sa intelegem taina Bise-
ricii, cresterea si maturizarea, marturia si chiar suferinta sa, din
Euharistie in Euharistie, pana in imparatia lui Dumnezeu.

24. Essai sur Je Repas du Seigneur, p. 111-116.


2 T he E u c h a r ist

In this world C hrist was rejected. H e was the perfect ex


pression of life as G od intended it. T h e fragmentary life of
the world was gathered into his life; H e was the heart beat
of the world and the world killed him. B ut in th at murder
the world itself died. I t lost its last chance to become the
paradise G od created it to be. W e can go on developing
new and better material things. W e can build a more hu
m ane society which may even keep us from annihilating
each other. B ut when Christ, the true life of the world was
rejected, it was the beginning of th e end. T h at rejection
had a finality about it: H e was crucificd for good. As Pascal
said: C hrist is in agony until the end of the world.
Christianity often appears, however, to preach th at if
men will try hard enough to live Christian lives, th e cruci
fixion can somehow be reversed. This is because Christian
ity has forgotten itself, forgotten th at always it m ust first of
all stand a t the cross. N o t th a t this world cannot be im
proved. O ne of our goals is ccrtainly to work for peace, jus
tice, freedom. B ut while it can be improved, it can never
become the place God intended it to be. Christianity does
no t condemn the world. T h e world lias condemned itself
when on Calvary it condemned the O ne who was its true
26 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

self. H e was in the world, and the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not (Jn 1:10). If we think seri
ouslyabout the real meaning, th e real scope of these
wordswe know that as Christians and insofar as we are
Christians we are, first of all, witnesses of that end; end of
all natural joy; end of all satisfaction of man with th e world
and with himself; end, indeed, of life itself as a reasonable
and reasonably organized pursuit of happiness. Christians
did not have to wait for the modern proponents of existen
tialist anxiety, despair and absurdity to be aware of all this.
And although in the course of their long history Christians
have much too often forgotten th e meaning of th e cross,
and enjoyed life as if nothing had happened, although
each one of us too often takes tim e off wc know that in
the world in which Christ died, natural life has been
brought to its end.

2
And yet, from its very beginning Christianity has been the
proclamation of joy, of th e only possible joy on earth. It
rendered impossible all joy we usually think of as possible.
B ut within this impossibility, at th e very bottom of this
darkness, it announced and conveyed a new all-embracing
joy, and with this joy it transformed the End into a Begin
ning. W ith o u t the proclamation of this joy Christianity is
incomprehensible. It is only as joy th at the C hurch was
victorious in the world and it lost the world when it lost
the joy, when it ceased to be a witness of it. O f all accusa
TH E EUCHAKIST 27

tions against Christians, the m ost terrible one was uttered


by Nietzsche when he said that Christians had no joy. . . .
L et us, therefore, forget for a while the technical discus
sions about the Church, its mission, its methods. N o t that
these discussions are wrong or unnecessary. B ut they can be
useful and meaningful only w ithin a fundamental context,
and that context is the great joy from which everything
else in Christianity developed and acquired its meaning.
For, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joythus
begins the Gospel, and its end is: And they worshipped
him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. . . (Lk
2:10, 24:52). And we m ust recover the meaning of this
great joy. W e m ust if possible partake of it, before we dis
cuss anything elseprograms and missions, projects and
techniques.
Joy, however, is not something one can define or analyze.
O ne enters into joy. E nter thou into the joy of thy Lord
(M t 25:21). And we have no other means of entering into
th at joy, no way of understanding it, except through the
one action which from the beginning has been for the
C hurch both the source and the fulfillment of joy, the very
sacrament of joy, the Eucharist.
T he Eucharist is a liturgy. And he who says liturgy today
is likely to get involved in a controversy. For to somethe
liturgically minded of all th e activities of the Church,
liturgy is the most im portant, if not the only one. T o others,
liturgy is esthetic and spiritual deviation from the real
task of the Church. T here exist today liturgical and non-
liturgical churches and Christians. B ut this controversy is
28 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

unnecessary for it has its roots in one basic misunderstand


ing the liturgical understanding of the liturgy. This is
th e reduction of the liturgy to cultic categories, its defi
nition as a sacied act of worship, different as such no t only
from the profane area of life, but even from all other
activities of the C hurch itself. B ut this is not th e original
meaning of the Greek word leitourgia. I t m eant an action
by which a group of people become something corporately
which they had not been as a mere collection of individuals
a whole greater than the sum of its parts. It meant also a
function or ministry of a man or of a group on behalf of
and in the interest of the whole community. T hus the
Jeitourgia of ancient Israel was th e corporate work of a
chosen few to prepare the world for the coming of the
Messiah. And in this very act of preparation they became
w hat they were callcd to be, th e Israel of God, the chosen
instrum ent of his purpose.
T hus the Church itself is a leitourgia, a ministry, a calling
to act in this world after the fashion of Christ, to bear testi
mony to him and his kingdom. T h e cucharistic liturgy,
therefore, m ust n o t be approached and understood in
liturgical or cultic terms alone. Just as Christianity can
and mustbe considered the end of religion, so the
Christian liturgy in general, and the Eucharist in particular,
are indeed the end of cult, of the sacred religious act iso
lated from, and opposed to, the profane life of th e com
munity. T h e first condition for th e understanding of liturgy
is to forget about any specific liturgical piety.
T he Eucharist is a sacrament. B ut he who says sacrament
TH E EUCHARIST 29

also gets involved in a controversy. If we speak of sacra


ment, where is the W ord? Are wc not leading ourselves
into the dangers of sacramentalism and magic, into a
betrayal of the spiritual character of Christianity? T o these
questions, no answer can be given at this point. F or the
whole purpose of this essay is to show th a t th e context
within which such questions arc being asked is no t the only
possible one. A t this stage we shall say only this: the
Eucharist is th e entrance of the C hurch into the joy of its
Lord. And to enter into that joy, so as to be a witness to it
in the world, is indeed the very calling of th e Church, its
essential Idtourgia, the sacrament by which it becomes
what it is.
In the brief description of th e Eucharist which follows,
references will be made primarily to the O rthodox eucha
ristie liturgy, and this for two reasons. First, in the area of
liturgy one can speak with conviction only insofar as one
has experienced th at about which one is speaking. This
author's experience has been in the O rthodox tradition.
And second, it is th e unanimous opinion of liturgiologists
th at the O rthodox liturgy has best preserved those elements
and emphases which constitute th e very them e of this book.

3
T he liturgy of the Eucharist is best understood as a journey
or procession. I t is the journey of the C hurch into the
dimension of the kingdom. W c use this word dimension
because it seems the best way to indicate the m anner of our
30 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

sacramental entrance into the risen life of C h rist Color


transparencies "come alive when viewed in three dimen
sions instead of two. T he presence of the added dimension
allows us to see much more th e actual reality of what has
been photographed. In very m uch the same way, though of
course any analogy is condemned to fail, our entrance into
the presence of Christ is an entrance into a fourth dimen
sion which allows us to see the ultim ate reality of life. I t is
n o t an escape from the world, rather it is the arrival at a
vantage point from which we can see more deeply into the
reality of the world.
T he journey begins when Christians leave their homes
and beds. They leave, indeed, their life in this present and
concrete world, and whether they have to drive fifteen miles
or walk a few blocks, a sacramental act is already taking
place, an act which is the very condition of everything else
th at is to happen. For they are now on their way to consti
tu te the Church, or to be m ore exact, to be transformed
into the C hurch of God. They have been individuals, some
white, some black, some poor, some rich, they have been
the natural world and a natural community. And now
they have been called to come together in one place, to
bring their lives, their very world with them and to be
more than w hat they were: a new community with a new
life. W e are already far beyond th e categories of common
worship and prayer. T he purpose of this coming together
is n o t simply to add a religious dimension to th e natural
community, to make it better more responsible, more
Christian. T h e purpose is to fulfill th e C hurch and that
TH E EUCHARIST 31
means to re-present, to make present th e O ne, in whom
ail things are at their end, and all things are at their begin
ning.
T he liturgy begins then as a real separation from the
world. In our attem pt to make Christianity appeal to the
man on the street, we have often minimized, or even com
pletely forgotten, this necessary separation. W e always
w ant to make Christianity understandable and accept
able to this mythical m odem man on the street. And we
forget that the Christ of whom we speak is no t of this
world and that after his resurrection he was n ot recognized
even by his own disciples. Mary Magdalene thought he was
a gardener. W hen two of his disciples were going to Em-
maus, Jesus himself drew near and went with them . . .
and they did not know him before he took bread, and
blessed it, and brake, and gave it to them " (Lk 24:15-16,
30). H e appeared to the twelve, the doors being shut. It
was apparently no longer sufficient simply to know th at he
was the son of Mary. T here was no physical imperative to
recognize him. H e was, in other words, no longer a part
of this world, of its reality, and to recognize him, to enter
into the joy of his presence, to be with him m eant a con
version to another reality. T h e Lord's glorification does not
have the compelling, objective evidence of his humiliation
and cross. Ilis glorification is known only through the mys
terious death in the baptismal font, through the anointing
of the Holy Spirit. I t is known only in the fullness of the
Church, as she gathers to m eet the Lord and to share in his
risen life.
32 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

T he early Christians realized th at in order to become the


tem ple of the Holy Spirit, they m ust ascend to heaven
where C hrist has ascendcd. They realized also th at this
ascension was the very condition of their mission in the
world, of their ministry to the world. For therein heaven
they were immersed in the new life of the Kingdom; and
when after this liturgy of ascension, they returned into
the world, their faces reflected the light, the joy and peace
of that Kingdom and they were truly its witnesses. They
brought no programs and no theories; bu t wherever they
went, the seeds of the Kingdom sprouted, faith was kindled,
life was transfigured, things impossible were made possible.
T hey were witnesses, and when they were asked: W hence
shines this light, where is the source of this power? they
knew what to answer and where to lead men. In church
today, we so often find we m eet only the same old world,
n ot Christ and his kingdom. W e do not realize th at we
never get anywhere because we never leave any place behind
us.
T o leave, to co m e .. . . This is th e beginning, th e starting
point of the sacrament, the condition of its transforming
power and reality.

4
T h e O rthodox liturgy begins with th e solemn doxology:
Blessed is the Kingdom of th e Father, the Son and the
Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages on ages. From
the beginning the destination is announced: the journey is
TH E EUCHARIST 33

to the Kingdom. This is where we are goingand not sym


bolically, b u t really. In the language of the Bible, which is
th e language of the Church, to bless the Kingdom is not
simply to acclaim it. It is to declare it to be th e goal, the
end of all our desires and interests, of our whole life, the
supreme and ultim ate value of all that exists. T o bless is to
accept in love, and to move toward what is loved and ac
cepted. T he C hurch thus is the assembly, the gathering of
those to whom the ultim ate destination of all life has been
revealed and who have accepted it. This acceptance is ex
pressed in the solemn answer to the doxology: Amen. It is
indeed one of the most im portant words in the world, for
it expresses the agreement of the Church to follow Christ
in his ascension to his Father, to make this ascension the
destiny of man. I t is Christ's gift to us, for only in him can
we say Amen to God, or rather he himself is our Amen to
G od and the C hurch is an Amen to C h rist Upon this
Amen the fate of the hum an race is decided. I t reveals that
the movem ent toward God has begun.
But wc are still at the very beginning. W e have left this
world." W e have come together. W e have heard the an
nouncement of our ultim ate destination. W c have said
Amen to this announcem ent W c are the eccJesia, the re
sponse to this call and order. And we begin with common
prayers and supplications, with a common and joyful act
of praise. O ncc more, the joyful character of the eucharistic
gathering m ust be stressed. For th e medieval emphasis on
th e cross while not a wrong one, is certainly one-sided. T he
liturgy is, before everything else, the joyous gathering of
34 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

those who are to m eet the risen Lord and to enter with
him into the bridal chamber. A nd it is this joy of expec
tation and this expectation of joy th at are expressed in
singing and ritual, in vestments and in censing, in that
whole beauty" of the liturgy, which has so often been
denounced as unnecessary and even sinful.
Unnecessary it is, indeed, for we are beyond th e cate
gories of the necessary/ Beauty is never necessary/
"functional" or useful." And when, expecting someone
whom we love, wc p u t a beautiful tablecloth on the table
and decorate it with candles and flowers, we do all this not
out of necessity, but out of love. And the C hurch is love,
expectation and joy. I t is heaven on earth, according to our
Orthodox tradition; it is the joy of recovered childhood,
th at free, unconditioned and disinterested joy which alone
is capable of transforming the world. In our adult, serious
piety we aslc for definitions and justifications, and they arc
rooted in fear. Fear of corruption, deviation, "pagan influ
ences," w hat not. B ut "he that feareth is n ot made perfcct
in love" (1 Jn 4:18). As long as Christians will love the
Kingdom of God, and not only discuss it, they will "re
present it and signify it, in art and beauty. And the cele
brant of the sacrament of joy will appear in a beautiful
chasuble, because h e is vested in the glory of th e Kingdom,
bccause even in the form of man G od appears in glory. In
the Eucharist we are standing in the presence of Christ, and
like Moses before God, we are to be covered with his glory.
Christ himself wore an unsewn garment which the soldiers
at the cross did not divide: it had not been bought in the
TH E EUCHARIST 35

market, b u t in all likelihood it had been fashioned by some


one's loving hands. Yes, the beauty of our preparation for
the Eucharist has no practical use. B ut Romano Guardini
has spoken wisely of this useless beaut}'. In the liturgy he
says:
Man, with the aid of grace, is given the opportunity of re
laying his fundamental essence, of really becoming that which
according to his divine destiny lie should be and longs to be, a
child of God. In the liturgy he is to go 'unto God, who giveth
joy to his youth. . . . Because the life of the liturgy is higher
than that to which customary reality gives either the opportunity
or form of expression, it adapts suitable forms and methods
from that sphere in which alone they are to be found, that is
to say, from art. It speaks measuredly and melodiously; it em
ploys formal, rhythmic gestures; it is clothed in colors and
garments foreign to everyday life. . . . It is in the highest sense
the life of a child, in which everything is picture, melody and
song. Such is the wonderful fact which the liturgy demon
strates: it unites act and reality in a supernatural childhood
before God.1

5
T he next act of the liturgy is th e entrance: the coming of
th e celebrant to the altar. It has been given all possible
symbolical explanations, b u t it is n ot a symbol. I t is the
very movement of the C hurch as passage from the old into
the new, from this world into the world to come and,
as such, it is the essential movement of the liturgical jour
ney. In this world there is no altar and the temple has
1 R om ano G u ard in i, T h e C h u rch a n d th e C atholic, a n d t/ie
S p irit o f th e Liturgy, N e w Y o rk 1950, 180-181.
36 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

been destroyed. For the only altar is C hrist himself, his


humanitywhich he has assumed and deified and made
the temple of God, the altar of his presence. And Christ
has ascended into heaven. T he altar, thus, is the sign that
in Christ we have been given access to heaven, th a t the
Church is the passage to heaven, the entrance into the
heavenly sanctuary, and that only by entering, by ascend
ing to heaven does the C hurch fulfill itself, become what it
is. And so, the entrance at the Eucharist, this approach of the
celebrantand in him, of the whole C hurchto th e altar
is not a symbol. It is the crucial and decisive act in which
the true dimensions of the sacrament are revealed and
established. It is not grace th at comes down; it is the
C hurch that enters into grace, and grace means th e new
being, the Kingdom, the world to come. And as the cele
brant approaches the altar, th e C hurch intones the hymn
which the angels eternally sing at the throne of G od: Holy
God, Holy Mighty, Holy Im m o rta l. . . and the priest says:
Holy God, who art praised with the thrice holy voice of
th e Seraphim, glorified by the Cherubim and adored by all
th e hosts of heaven. . . .
T he angels are not here for decoration and inspiration.
They stand precisely for heaven, for th at glorious and in
comprehensible beyond and above, of which we know only
one thing: th at it eternally resounds with the praise of di
vine glory and holiness. Holy . . . is the real name of
God, of the God not of scholars and philosophers, b ut
the living God of faith. T h e knowledge about God results
in definitions and distinctions. T h e knowledge of God leads
TH E EUCHARIST 37

to this one, incomprehensible, yet obvious and inescapable


word: holy. And in this word wc express both th at God is
the Absolutely O ther, the one about whom we know noth
ing, and that he is the end of all our hunger, all our desires,
the inacccssible one who mobilizes our wills, th e mysteri
ous treasure that attracts us, and there is really nothing to
know bu t him. Holy is the word, the song, the reaction'
of the C hurch as it enters into heaven, as it stands before
the heavenly glory of God.

6
Now, for the first time since the eucharistic journey began,
th e celebrant turns back and faces the people. U p to this
m om ent he was the one who led the C hurch in its ascen
sion, b u t now the movem ent has reached its goal. And the
priest whose liturgy, whose unique function and obedience
in the C hurch is to re-present, to make present the priest
hood of Christ himself, says to th e people: Peace be with
you." In C hrist man returns to God and in Christ God
comes to man. As the new Adam, as th e perfect man he
leads us to God; as G od incarnate he reveals the Father to
us and reconciles us with God. H e is our peace the recon
ciliation with God, divine forgiveness, communion. And
the peace that the priest announces and bestows upon us is
th e peace C hrist has established between God and his
world and into which we, the Church, have entered.
I t is within this peacewhich passcth all understand
ing that now begins the liturgy of th e W ord. W estern
38 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

Christians arc so accustomed to distinguish the W ord from


th e sacrament that it may he difficult for them to under
stand that in th e O rthodox perspective th e liturgy of the
W o rd is as sacramental as the sacrament is "evangelical.
T h e sacrament is a manifestation of the W ord. A nd unless
the false dichotomy between W ord and sacrament is over
come, the true meaning of both W ord and sacrament, and
especially the true meaning of Christian "sacramentalism
cannot be grasped in all their wonderful implications. T h e
proclamation of the W ord is a sacramental act par excel
lence because it is a transforming act. I t transforms the
hum an words of the Gospel into the W ord of G od and the
manifestation of the Kingdom. And it transforms th e man
who hears the W ord into a receptacle of th e W ord and a
tem ple of the S p ir it. . . Each Saturday night, a t th e solemn
resurrection vigil, the book of the Gospel is brought in a
solemn procession to the m idst of th e congregation and in
this act the Lords Day is announced and manifested. For
the Gospel is n o t only a "record of C hrists resurrection;
th e W ord of G od is the eternal coming to us of the Risen
Lord, the very power and joy of the resurrection.
In the liturgy the proclamation of the Gospel is preceded
by "Alleluia, the singing of this mysterious theoforous
(God-bearing) word which is th e joyful greeting of those
who see the coming Lord, who know his presence, and who
express their joy a t this glorious "parousia. "H ere he is!
m ight be a poor, yet an almost adequate translation of this
untranslatable word.
This is why the reading and the preaching of th e Gospel
TH E EUCHARIST 39

in the O rthodox C hurch is a liturgical act, an integral and


essential part of the sacrament. It is heard as W ord of God,
and it is received in the Spirit that is, in the Church,
which is the life of the W o rd and its "growth in the
world.

7
Bread and wine: to understand their initial and eternal
meaning in the Eucharist, wc m ust forget for a time the
endless controversies which little by little transformed
them into "elements of an almost abstract theological
speculation. It is indeed one of th e main defects of sacra
m ental theology that instead of following the order of the
eucharistic journey with its progressive revelation of mean
ing, theologians applied to th e Eucharist a set of abstract
questions in order to squeeze it into their own intellectual
framework. In this approach w hat virtually disappeared from
the sphere of theological interest and investigation was lit
urgy itself and w hat remained were isolated moments,
"formulas and conditions of validity. W h a t disappeared
was the Eucharist as one organic, all-embracing and all
transforming act of the whole C hurch and what remained
were: essential and "nonesscntial parts, "elements,
"consecration, etc. Thus, for example, to explain and de
fine the meaning of the Eucharist th e way certain theology
does it, there is no need for the word "eucharist ; it be
comes irrelevant. And yet for th e early Fathers it was the
key word giving unity and meaning to all the "elements of
40 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

the liturgy. T he Fathers called eucharist the bread and


wine of the offering, and their offering and consecration,
and finally, communion. All this was Eucharist and all this
could be understood only within the Eucharist.
As we procced further in th e eucharistie liturgy, the tim e
has come now to ofFer to G od the totality of all our lives, of
ourselves, of the world in which we live. This is th e first
meaning of our bringing to the altar the elements of our
food. For we already know th at food is life, that it is the
very principle of life and that the whole world has been
created as food for man. W e also know th a t to offer this
food, this world, this life to G od is the initial "eucharistie
function of man, his very fulfillment as man. W e know th at
we were created as celebrants of the sacrament of life, of its
transformation into life in God, communion with God. W e
know that real life is eucharist, a movement of love and
adoration toward God, the movement in which alone the
meaning and the value of all th at exists can be revealed and
fulfilled. W e know that we have lost this eucharistie life
and, finally, we know that in Christ, th e new Adam, the
perfect man, this eucharistie life was restored to man. For
he himself was the perfect Eucharist; H e offered himself in
total obedience, love and thanksgiving to God. G od was his
very life. And he gave this perfect and eucharistie life to us.
In him G od became our life.
And thus this offering to G od of bread and wine, of th e
food that we m ust eat in order to live, is our offering to him
of ourselves, of our life and of the whole world. T o take in
our hands the whole world as if it were an apple! said a
TH E EUCHARIST 41

Russian poet. It is our E ucharist It is th e movem ent that


Adam failed to perform, and th a t in C hrist has bccome the
very life of man. A movement of adoration and praise in
which all joy and suffering, all beauty and all frustration, all
hunger and all satisfaction are referred to their ultim ate
E nd and become finally meaningful. Yes, to be sure, it is a
sacrifice: but sacrifice is the m ost natural act of man, the
very essence of his life. M an is a sacrificial being, because he
finds his life in love, and love is sacrificial: it puts the
'V alue/ the very meaning of life in the other and gives life
to the other, and in this giving, in this sacrifice, finds the
meaning and joy of life.
W e offer the world and ourselves to God. B ut we do it
in C hrist and in remembrance of him. W e do it in Christ
bccause he has already offered all th a t is to be offered to
God. H e has performed once and for all this Eucharist and
nothing has been left unoffered. In him was Lifeand this
Life of all of us, he gave to God. T h e C hurch is all those
who have been accepted into th e eucharistic life of Christ.
And we do it in remembrance of him because, as we offer
again and again our ljfe and our world to God, we discover
cach time th at there is nothing else to be offered bu t C hrist
himselfthe Life of the world, the fullness of all th a t
exists. I t is his Eucharist, and he is th e Eucharist. As th e
prayer of offering says it is he who offers and it is he who
is offered. T h e liturgy has led us into th e all-embracing
Eucharist of Christ, and has revealed to us th a t th e only
Eucharist, the only offering of the world is Christ. W e
come again and again with our lives to offer; we bring and
42 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOX*

sacrifice th at is, give to God what he has given us; and


each time we come to the E n d of all sacrifices, of all offer
ings of all cucharist, because each tim e it is revealed to us
th at C hrist has offered all th at exists, and th at he and all
th at exists has been offered in his offering of himself. W e
are included in the Eucharist of C hrist and Christ is our
Eucharist.
And as the procession moves, it bears th e bread and wine
to the altar, and we know that it is Christ himself who takes
all of us and the totality of our life to G od in his eucharistic
ascension. This is why at this m om ent of th e liturgy we
commemorate or remember. Let the Lord God remember
in his Kingdom. . . Remembrance is an act of love. God
remembers us and his remembrance, his love is the founda
tion of the world. In Christ, we remember. W e become
again beings open to love, and we remember. T h e C hurch
in its separation from this world," on its journey to heaven
remembers the world, remembers all men, remembers the
whole of creation, takes it in love to God. T h e Eucharist is
the sacrament of cosmic remembrance: it is indeed a res
toration of love as the very life of th e world.

8
T h e bread and wine are now on th e altar, covered, hidden
as our "life is hid with C hrist in G od" (C ol 3:3). There
lies, hidden in God, the totality of life, which Christ has
brought back to God. And the celebrant says: L et us love
one another that in one accord we may confess.. . . " There
TH E EUCHARIST 43

follows the kiss of peacc, one of the fundamental acts of


Christian liturgy. T he Church, if it is to be the Church,
m ust be the revelation of th at divine Love which G od
poured out into our hearts/' W ith o u t this love nothing is
valid" in the Church because nothing is possible. T he
content of Christ's Eucharist is Love, and only through
love can we enter into it and be made its partakers. O f this
love we are not capable. This love we have lost. This love
Christ has given us and this gift is the Church. T h e Church
constitutes itself through love and on love, and in this
world it is to witness to Love, to re-prescnt it, to make
Love present Love alone creates and transforms: it is, there
fore, the very principle of the sacramcnt.

9
Let us lift up our hearts, says the celebrant, and the peo
ple answer: W e have lifted them up to the Lord. T he
Eucharist is an anaphora, the lifting up of our offering,
and, of ourselves. It is the asccnsion of th e Church to
heaven. B ut what do I care about heaven, says St. John
Chrysostom, when I myself have become heaven. . .
T h e Eucharist has so often been explained with reference
to the gifts alone: W h a t happens to bread and wine, and
why, and when does it happen! B ut we m ust understand
th a t w hat happens to bread and wine, happens bccause
something has, first of all, happened to us, to th e Church.
I t is because we have constituted the Church, and this
means we have followed C hrist in his asccnsion; bccause he
44 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

has accepted us at his table in his Kingdom; because, in


terms of theology, we have entered the Eschaton, and are
now standing beyond time and space; it is because all this
has first happened to us th a t something will happen to
bread and wine.
Let us lift up our hearts/' says the celebrant.
"W e lift them up unto the L o rd /' answers the congre
gation.
L et us give thanks unto th e Lord" (Eucharistisom en),
then says the cclcbrant.

10
W hen man stands before the throne of G od, when he has
fulfilled all that God has given him to fulfill, when all sins
are forgiven, all joy restored, then there is nothing else for
him to do b u t to give thanks. Eucharist (thanksgiving) is
the state of perfect man. Eucharist is the life of paradise.
Eucharist is the only full and real response of man to G ods
creation, redemption and gift of heaven. B ut this pcrfcct
man who stands before G od is Christ. In him alone all that
G od has given man was fulfilled and brought back to
heaven, l i e alone is the perfect Eucharistic Being. H e is the
Eucharist of the world. In and through this Eucharist the
whole creation becomes w hat it always was to be and yet
failed to be.
It is fitting and right to give thanks/' answers th e con
gregation, expressing in these words th at unconditional
TH E EUCHARIST 45

surrender with which true religion begins. For faith is


n o t the fruit of intellectual search, or of Pascals betting.
It is not a reasonable solution to the frustrations and anxi
eties of life. I t does not arise ou t of a lack of something,
but finally, ultimately it comes ou t of fullness, love and joy.
I t is m eet and right expresses all this. I t is the only pos
sible response to the divine invitation to live and to receive
abundant life.
And so th e priest begins the great Eucharistic Prayer:
It is meet and right that we should sing of Thee, bless Thee,
praise Thee, give thanks unto Thee, and adore T hee in all places
of Thy dominion. For Thou art God ineffable, incomprehen
sible, invisible, inconceivable; T hou art from everlasting and
art changeless. . . . T hou from nothingness has called us into
being, and when we had fallen away from Thee, Thou didst
raise us again. And T hou hast not ceased to do all things until
T hou hadst brought us back to heaven and endowed us with
Thy Kingdom which is to come. . . . For all these things we
give thanks unto Thee, for all the things whereof we know, and
those whereof we know not, for all the benefits bestowed upon
us, both the manifest and the unseen. . . .
This beginning of the Eucharistic Prayer is usually
termed the Preface. And although this preface belongs to
all known eucharistic rites, no t m uch attention was given
to it in the development of cucharistic theology. A
prcface is something that does n ot really belong to the
body of a book. And theologians ncglcctcd it because they
were anxious to come to the real problems : those of con
secration, the change of th e elements, sacrifice, and other
matters. I t is here that we find the main defect of Chris
46 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

tian theology; the theology of the Eucharist ceased to be


eucharistie and thus took away th e eucharistie spirit from
th e whole understanding of sacrament, from th e very life of
the Church. T h e long controversy about the words of insti
tution and the invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiclcsis)
th at went on for centuries between the East and the W est
is a very good example of this noncucharistic stage in the
history of sacramental theology.
B ut we m ust understand th at it is prcciscly this preface
this act, these words, this movement of thanksgiving
th at really "makes possible all th at follows. For without
this beginning the rest could no t take place. T h e Eucharist
of C hrist and C hrist the Eucharist is the breakthrough"
th at brings us to the table in the Kingdom, raises us to
heaven, and makes us partakers of th e divine food. For
eucharistthanksgiving and praiseis the very form and
content of the new life that G od granted us when in Christ
he reconciled us with himself. T h e reconciliation, th e for
giveness, the power of lifeall this has its purpose and ful
fillment in this new state of being, this new style of life
which is Eucharist, the only real life of creation with God
and in God, the only true relationship between God and
the world.
It is indeed the preface to th e world to come, th e door
into the Kingdom: and this we confess and proclaim when,
speaking of the Kingdom which is to come, we affirm that
G od has already endowed us with it. This future has been
given to us in the past that it may constitute the very
present, the life itself, now, of the Church.
T H E EUCHARIST 47

11
And thus the preface fulfills itself in the Sanctus the Holy,
Holy, Holy of the eternal doxology, which is th e secret
essence of all that exists: "Heaven and earth are full of
Thy glory." W e had to ascend to heaven in C hrist to see
and to understand the creation in its real being as glorifica
tion of G od, as that response to divine love in which alone
creation becomes what G od wants it to be: thanksgiving,
eucharist, adoration. I t is herein the heavenly dimension
of the Church, with "thousands of Archangels and myriads
of Angels, with the Cherubim and Seraphim . . . who soar
aloft, borne on their pinions . . th at we can finally
express ourself, and this expression is:
Holy, Holy, Holy,
Lord of Sabaoth.
Heaven and earth are full of thy glory.
I-Iosanna in the highest.
Blessed is He that cometh in the Nam e of the Lord.
This is th e ultim ate purpose of all th a t exists, the end,
th e goal and the fulfillment, because this is the beginning,
the principle of Creation.

12
B ut as we stand before God, remember all th at he has done
for us, and ofFer to him our thanksgiving for all his benefits,
we inescapably discover that th e content of all this thanks
giving and remembrance is Christ. All remembrance is ulti
48 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

mately the remembrance of Christ, all thanksgiving is fi


nally thanksgiving for Christ. In Him was life and th at life
was the light of men. And in the light of the Eucharist
we see that Christ is indeed the life and light of all that
exists, and the glory that fills heaven and earth. T here is
nothing else to remember, nothing else to be thankful for,
because in him everything finds its being, its life, its end.
And the Sanctus, therefore, brings us so simply, so
logically to that one man, one night, one event in which
this world found once for all its judgment and its salvation.
I t is not th at having sung the Sanctus and confessed the
majesty of divine glory, we put this aside and go into the
next subdivision of the prayer, the Remembrance. N o, the
Rcinembrance is the fullness of our doxology, it is again the
eucharist that naturally leads us into the very heart and
contcnt of all remembrance and thanksgiving.
Holy and most holy art Thou in Thy glorious majesty,
W ho hast so loved the world
That Thou gavcst Thine onlv-bcgotten Son,
That whosoever believeth on Him
Should not perish but have everlasting life,
W ho, when He had come
And had performed all that was appointed for ow sakes,
In the night on which he was given up, or
In which, rather, He did give Himself
For the life of the world,
Took bread in his holy and pure and sinless hands
And when He had given thanks, and blessed it, and sanc
tified it,
He gave it to His holy disciplcs, saying:
Take, eat, this is my Body which is broken for you
For the remission of sins.
T H E EUCHARIST 49

And in like manner, after supper


He took the cup, saying:
Drink all ye of this: this is my Blood of the New Testament,
Which is shed for you, and for many
For the remission of sins.
As we stand before God, there is nothing else we can
remember and bring with us and offer to G od b u t this self
offering of Christ, because in it all thanksgiving, all re
membrance, all offeringthat is, the whole life of man and
o f the worldwere fulfilled. And so:
Remembering this commandment of salvation,
And all those things which for our sakcs were brought to pass,
The Cross, the Grave, the Resurrection on the third day,
T he Ascension into Heaven, the Sitting on the right hand,
The Second and glorious Advent
Thine own of thine own we offer unto Thee,
In behalf of all and for all. . . .

13
Up to this point the Eucharist was our ascension in Christ,
our entrance in him into the "world to come. And now, in
this eucharistic offering in C hrist of all things to the O ne
to whom they belong and in whom alone they really exist
now this movement of ascension has reached its end. W e
are at the paschal table of the Kingdom. W h a t we have
offered our food, our life, ourselves, and the whole world
we offered in C hrist and as C hrist because he himself has
assumed our life and is our life. And now all this is given
back to us as the gift of new life and therefore necessarily
as food.
50 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

This is my body, this is my blood. Take, eat, drink. . . .


And generations upon generations of theologians ask the
same questions. How is this possible? How does this hap
pen? And what exactly does happen in this transformation?
And when cxactly? And w hat is the cause? N o answer
seems to be satisfactory. Symbol? B ut what is a symbol?
Substance, accidents? Yet one immediately feels th at some
thing is lacking in all these theories, in which the Sacra
m ent is reduced to the categories of time, substance, and
causality, the very categories of this world.
Something is lacking because the theologian thinks of
the sacrament and forgets th e liturgy. As a good scientist he
first isolates the object of his study, reduces it to one mo
m ent, to one phenomenonand then, proceeding from
the general to the particular, from the known to the un
known, he gives a definition, which in fact raises more ques
tions than it answers. B ut throughout our study the main
point has been that the whole liturgy is sacramental, th at is,
one transforming act and one ascending movement. And
the very goal of this movement of ascension is to take us
out of this world and to make us partakers of the world
to come. In this worldthe one that condemned Christ
and by doing so has condemned itselfno bread, 110 wine
can become body and blood of Christ. N othing which is a
part of it can be sacralizcd. B ut the liturgy of the Church
is always an anaphora, a lifting up, an ascension. T h e
Church fulfills itself in heaven in that new eon which
Christ has inaugurated in his death, resurrection and ascen
sion, and which was given to th e Church on the day of
TH E EUCHARIST 51
Pentecost as its life, as the end toward which it moves.
In this world C hrist is crucificd, his body broken, and his
blood shed. And we m ust go o u t of this world, we must
ascend to heaven in C hrist in order to become partakers of
the world to come.
B ut this is not an other world, different from the one
God has created and given to us. It is our same world, al
ready perfected in Christ, b u t n o t yet in us. It is our same
world redeemed and restored in which C hrist fills all
things with Himself. And since God has created the world
as food for us and has given us food as means of com
munion with him, as life in him the new food of the new
life which wc receive from G od in his Kingdom is Christ
himself. H e is our breadbccause from the very beginning
all our hunger was a hunger for him and all our bread was
b u t a symbol of him, a symbol th at had to become reality.
He became man and lived in this world. H e ate and
drank, and this means that th e world of which h e partook,
our very food, became his body, his life. B u t his life was
totally, absolutely eucharistieall of it was transformed
into comm union with G od and all of it ascended into
heaven. And now he shares this glorified life with us.
W h at I have done alone I give it now to you: take,
eat. . . .
W e offered the bread in remembrance of C hrist because
we know th at C hrist is Life, and all food, therefore, must
lead us to him. And now when we receive this bread from
his hands, we know that he has taken up all life, filled it
with himself, made it what it was m eant to be: communion
52 SACRAMEXTS AND ORTHODOXY

w ith G od, sacrament of his presence and love. T here and


only there can we confess with St. Basil that this bread is
in very tru th th e precious body of our Lord, this wine the
precious blood of C h rist/' W h a t is "supernatural here, in
this world, is revealed as "natural there. And it is always in
order to lead us there and to make us what we are that
the C hurch fulfills itself in liturgy.

M
It is the Holy Spirit who manifests the bread as the body
and the wine as the blood of Christ.1 T h e Orthodox
C hurch has always insisted that the transformation (metab-
ole) of the eucharistic elements is performed by the
epiclesis th e invocation of the Holy Spiritand n ot by
th e words of institution. This doctrine, however, was often
misunderstood by the O rthodox themselves. Its point is not
to replace one causality th e words of institution by
another, a different "formula. I t is to reveal the eschato-
logical charactcr of the sacrament. T h e Holy Spirit comes
on the last and great day of Pentecost. H e manifests the
world to come. He inaugurates the Kingdom. H e always
takes us beyond T o be in the Spirit means to be in heaven,
for the Kingdom of G od is joy and peace in the Holy
Spirit. And thus in the Eucharist it is he who seals and

1 See the Liturgy of St. Basil: 4*. . . and manifest this bread as in
very truth the precious Body . . . this chalice as in very truth the
precious Blood. . .
THE EUCHARIST 53

confirms our ascension into heaven, who transforms the


C hurch into the body of C hrist and therefore manifests
th e elements of our offering as communion in the Holy
Spirit. This is the consecration.

15
B ut before we can partake of th e heavenly food there re
mains one last, essential and necessary act: the intercession.
T o be in Christ means to be like him , to make ours th e very
movement of his life. And as he ever liveth to make inter
cession for all "that come unto G od by him (H eb 7:25),
so we cannot help accepting his intercession as our own.
T h e Church is not a society for escapecorporately or in
dividually from this world to taste of the mystical bliss of
eternity. Com m union is not a mystical experience : we
drink of the chalice of Christ, and he gave himself for the
life of the world. T h e bread on the paten and th e wine in
th e chalice are to rem ind us of th e incarnation of the Son
of God, of the cross and death. And thus it is th e very joy
of the Kingdom that makes us remember the world and
pray for i t I t is the very com m union with th e Holy Spirit
th at enables us to love the world with the love of Christ.
T he Eucharist is the sacrament of unity and the mom ent of
truth: here we see the world in Christ, as it really is, and not
from our particular and therefore lim ited and partial points
of view. Intercession begins here, in the glory of the mes
sianic banquet, and this is the only true beginning for the
C hurchs mission. I t is when, having pu t aside all earthly
54 SACRAMENTS AND ORTHODOXY

care/ we seem to have left this world, th a t we, in fact, re


cover it in all its reality.
Intercession constitutes, thus, th e only real preparation
for communion. For in and through communion no t only
do we become one body and one spirit, b u t we are restored
to that solidarity and love, which the world has lost. And
the great Eucharistic Prayer is now summed up in the
Lords Prayer, each petition of which implies the total and
complete dedication to G ods Kingdom in the world. It is
his prayer, and he gave it to us, made it our prayer, as he
made his Father our Father. N o one has been worthy to
receive communion, no one has been prepared for it. A t
this point all merits, all righteousness, all devotions, dis
appear and dissolve. Life comes again to us as G ift, a free
and divine gift. This is why in th e O rthodox C hurch we
call the cucharistic elements Holy Gifts. Adam is again in
troduced into Paradise, taken out of nothingness and
crowned king of creation. Everything is free, nothing is due
and yet all is given. And, therefore, th e greatest humility
and obedience is to accept the gift, to say yesin joy and
gratitude. T here is nothing we can do, yet we become all
that G od wanted us to be from eternity, when we are
eucharistic.

16
And now the time has come for us to return into the world.
"L et us depart in peace, says the celebrant as he leaves the
altar, and this is the last com m andm ent of th e liturgy. W e
T H E EUCHARIST 55
m ust not stay on M ount Tabor, although we know th at it
is good for us to be there. W e are sent back. B ut now'"we
have seen the true Light, we have partaken of the Holy
Spirit. And it is as witnesses of this Light, as witnesses of
th e Spirit, that we m ust go forth and begin the never-
ending mission of the Church, Eucharist was the end of the
journey, the end of time. And now it is again th e beginning,
and things th at were impossible are again revealed to us as
possible. T h e tim e of the world has become the tim e of the
Church, the tim e of salvation and redemption. And God
has made us competent, as Paul Claudel has said; compe
te n t to be his witnesses, to fulfill what he has done and is
ever doing. This is the meaning of the Eucharist; this is why
the mission of the Church begins in the liturgy of ascen
sion, for it alone makes possible the liturgy of mission.
3 T he T im e of M is s io n

As we leave the church after the Sunday Eucharist we enter


again into time, and time, therefore, is the first object of
our Christian faith and action. For it is indeed the icon of
our fundamental reality, of the optimism as well as of the
pessimism of our life, of life as life and of life as death.
Through time on the one hand we experience life as a pos
sibility, growth, fulfillment, as a movement toward a future.
Through time, on the other hand, all future is dissolved
in death and annihilation. Time is the only reality of life,
yet it is a strangely nonexistent reality: it constantly dis
solves life in a past which no longer is, and in a future
which always leads to death. By itself time is nothing but a
line of telegraph poles strung out into the distance and at
some point along the way is our death.
All generations, all philosophers have always been aware
of this anxiety of time, of its paradox. All philosophy, all
religion is ultimately an attempt to solve the problem of
time. And thousands of books, Christian and non-Chris
tian, have been written about it. It is not our purpose, how
ever, to add another theology of time" to all those that
exist already. It is rather to describe very briefly the ex
perience of time, which Christians have had from the very

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