Closed
Communion in the Orthodox Church
When a
stranger approaches the Holy Gifts during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy
it is the norm in the Orthodox Church for the priest to ask the person to “kiss
the chalice”. Not knowing if the person is Orthodox, or whether they are in
good standing with the Church, the priest can not give them communion. This
“closed communion” is not meant as a way of separating ourselves from visitors
as though we were better than them, but as our way of guarding the Holy
Mysteries from being received by someone who is not part of the Church and who
may hold to views concerning the Eucharist that are in opposition to the
teachings of scripture and the dogmas of the Ancient Apostolic and Catholic
Church.
Priests are
guardians of the Holy Mysteries and must make sure they are not defiled. The
priest must also protect the person who may receive without proper preparation
and belief. Every Orthodox Christian is expected to have prepared for communion
by abstaining from all food and drink from midnight on, as well as having said
the pre-communion prayers. A good confession is also an important part of
proper preparation for Holy Communion.
When a person
believes that the things which we teach are true and has receive baptism in the
Orthodox Church unto regeneration, and who is so living a life in Christ, the
communion is not simply common bread or common wine we are receiving, but the
very Body and Blood of the Saviour. The Logos (Word) Who took on our flesh for
the salvation of the world, is received into our bodies through the action of
the Holy Spirit and the prayer of His word (this is my body….this is my blood).
At this moment our blood and flesh, by transmutation, are nourished with the
flesh and blood of Jesus who was made flesh.
Closed
communion is the way the Church protects anyone who does not hold to these
beliefs from receiving unworthily and therefore hurting their soul. As well,
when the priest co-mingles the commemoration particles after the communion of
the faithful, with the Body and Blood of Christ, he commemorates the union we
have with each other as members of the Body of Christ, the Church. This union
is not just with those who are communing with us in this Liturgy, but a union
of both the Church Militant here on earth, and the Church Triumphant in heaven.
Within the life of the Church there is no separation from each other at death.
The Body of Christ is made up of both those who have gone on before us and
those who are still alive, for we are all alive in Christ. In a very real way
we are not only communing of Christ’s true Body and Blood, but we are communing
of each other as the Body of Christ, the Church!
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
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