What is the sacrament in the Church? Form and content

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

There are no more or less important sacraments in the Orthodox Church. But one of them - the divine Eucharist - can be called central, since it is the culmination of each liturgy. Another name for the sacrament is communion. What is communion in the Church? It is eating under the guise of wine and bread of the blood and body of the Lord.

Gift of God

What is presented to us as simple earthly products has unusual properties. Many believers note that after the Eucharist they feel extraordinary joy and peace in their souls. What is communion in the Church? This is spiritual help for a Christian, which makes him able to fight the negative aspects of his nature (passions) and overcome sin.

For the Sacrament

Everything that is done in the temple is done specifically for the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Without it, writing icons, building churches, and embroidering vestments are meaningless. What is communion in the Church? It is an act of uniting believers into one whole. In different time zones, in different states, all Orthodox Christians partake of the same Jesus Christ, which makes them truebrothers and sisters.

Caution! The dangers of life without the Eucharist

If for some reason regular communion stops in a person’s life, but without falling away from the Church, something else comes to this place, always undesirable - “church magic” (this is when they look for “prayer for money”, “prayer for cellulite”, etc.), pseudo-asceticism (at the same time, a deceived person feels like a holy “doer of feats”, pride usually stands behind this), the desire for “mentorship” without education, blessing and sufficient knowledge. Therefore, it is impossible for any particular person to leave the Eucharist. If he does not fall into one of the three described traps, then he may leave the Church altogether for a while or forever. One can repent of sins, but falling away from God is tragic and dangerous.

After cleansing

To become one with Christ, it is enough, after repentance, fasting and prayerful preparation, to accept His blood and body after the liturgy. Communion and confession in the Church often take place separately. That is, in the evening the second, and in the morning - the first. However, in small churches everything often happens in one morning, since the priest serves only on Sundays. If a believer was unable to attend the divine service in the evening for a good reason, he is allowed to confess right before communion. But it is impossible to approach the bowl without it. Of course, people may not tell you anything, but in the eyes of God, such behavior willlook bad.

How it happens

How is communion in church? After the liturgy, the priest and ministers bring out to the people a chalice containing the Holy Gifts (that is, the blood and body of Christ). Usually, parishioners let small children go ahead, who, under the age of 7, can take communion without confession at least at every liturgy. Adult believers fold their hands on their chests in a special way and reverently swallow a small particle of the Gifts and kiss the edge of the cup. After that, they go to the side, where they are given prosphora and heated water.

What is the sacrament in the Church? This is a means of uniting believers and a way of obtaining strength for spiritual struggle. A Christian should not neglect this.