How Often Should One Approach the Chalice?

[WanderedHome]

I know this is a question more for my spiritual father, and I of course, defer to him.

BTW- if you are not Orthodox please do not answer, unless you have a question to help you better understand our faith more. We would be happy to answer.

I know there are many varying views on this among the people of the Church, priests included. I just wanted to throw this out there for a little useful discussion.
There are some who say they only approach the chalice every so often because they recognize their sinfulness and unworthiness. They don't want to take advantage of Christ's grace. Fair enough. I see the point.

My approach is that- Yes, I am absolutely unworthy, which is why I need to approach as often as possible... as often as it is offered. Of course, I don't want to take advantage either, so I should go to Confession as often as I have something to confess, something weighing on my heart.. or at least as often as my confessor recommends.

I think about what is said during Divine Liturgy:

Priest: "Holy things are for the holy"...
Me (to myself): So what hope is there for any of us?
Singers: "One is Holy, One is the Lord Jesus Christ"...
Me (to myself): He is our hope, our righteousness, our worthiness!
Deacon: "In the fear of God, with faith and love draw near!"...
Me: ... silence...

Also the Pre-Communion Prayers are packed full of things that make one think we should approach the chalice as often as possible.

 

[gzt]

Yes, as often as you can and are able/willing to prepare - which, I will admit can be, depending on local practice, somewhat prohibitive of regular participation.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

I know this is a question more for my spiritual father, and I of course, defer to him.

BTW- if you are not Orthodox please do not answer, unless you have a question to help you better understand our faith more. We would be happy to answer.

I know there are many varying views on this among the people of the Church, priests included. I just wanted to throw this out there for a little useful discussion.
There are some who say they only approach the chalice every so often because they recognize their sinfulness and unworthiness. They don't want to take advantage of Christ's grace. Fair enough. I see the point.

My approach is that- Yes, I am absolutely unworthy, which is why I need to approach as often as possible... as often as it is offered. Of course, I don't want to take advantage either, so I should go to Confession as often as I have something to confess, something weighing on my heart.. or at least as often as my confessor recommends.

I think about what is said during Divine Liturgy:

"Holy things are for the holy"... (Me:so what hope is there for any of us?)
"One is Holy, One is the Lord Jesus Christ"... (Me: He is our hope, our righteousness, our worthiness!)
"In the fear of God, with faith draw near!"

Also the Pre-Communion Prayers are packed full of things that make one think we should approach the chalice as often as possible.

What do you do if you "wander"* travel/ move/ live someplace where there is no chalice ?


*"wanderedhome" once wandered elsewhere? we all may travel away from hom...

 

[WanderedHome]

Yes, as often as you can and are able/willing to prepare - which, I will admit can be, depending on local practice, somewhat prohibitive of regular participation.

So would you say that confession should be part of the preparation, every time?

 

[Lukaris]

We are told in the Antiochian Church in America that a minimum of 4 times a year is necessary. Weekly communion was more often not administered during the 1st decades in the Syrian Orthodox Church in America. For us in the Antiochian Church, we probably have to discern how often & when because of a generation of inconsistency. I am only speaking of what I know within the Antiochian jurisdiction; I do not want to misrepresent the OCA, GOA etc.

 

[WanderedHome]

What do you do if you "wander"* travel/ move/ live someplace where there is no chalice ?


*"wanderedhome" once wandered elsewhere? we all may travel away from home...

@yeshuaslavejeff Your comments towards me from another thread are still fresh in my mind. However, I forgive you and I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you came here because you are genuinely interested in better understanding the Orthodox faith. If I am too generous in that assumption, feel free to stop reading now.

Regarding the 1st question-
Moving to a new area: For an Orthodox Christian, finding a church they can regularly be apart of should be high on their priority list. Even higher than finding a house they like. Dare I say, maybe even in considering taking that new job offer? However, that's not my call- that should be discussed with their current spiritual father, since everyone's situation is different.

Traveling: They can also work church into their vacation plans. If absolutely impossible, see below.

Living in "Orthodox Wilderness": in a place where there is no chalice, or infrequent chalice, they can make the sacrifice to travel to one whenever they can manage, but just as importantly, they can also pray at home as there are services that can easily be done by laypeople. We understand the family to be a "little church", so it is important to not just GO to church and do the things, but also to BE the church as much as you are able. Orthodoxy should influence every area of life- There is no "church category" "football category" or "work category", etc. God is gracious. He understands your personal situation and will not hold it against you if you are honestly trying to live the faith.
Aside from all that, if there is a group of Orthodox faithful stranded in this "wilderness" they could call their area bishop, who is the pastor, and see if he can help them in any way. Maybe he can send a priest to start a mission in their area.

Regarding your 2nd question-
That is for another place, another time. I have asked (as you acknowledged by underlining) that any comments by non-Orthodox be kept to questions regarding the understanding of our faith, specifically this issue of Communion.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

(there was not actually a "2nd question" - it was merely what prompted the question in my mind,
the one that you answered.
i.e. it was mostly rhetorical, and the reason I was wondering, and your answer was delightful ! )

 

[Anhelyna]

I'm going to answer rather bluntly , I fear.

How often I approach the Chalice to receive Eucharist is between my priest and myself - even my GodPapa does not know - and I share a lot with him.

Yes my priest and I have talked about this - and I accept his guidance without question

 

[WanderedHome]

We are told in the Antiochian Church in America that a minimum of 4 times a year is necessary. Weekly communion was more often not administered during the 1st decades in the Syrian Orthodox Church in America. For us in the Antiochian Church, we probably have to discern how often & when because of a generation of inconsistency. I am only speaking of what I know within the Antiochian jurisdiction; I do not want to misrepresent the OCA, GOA etc.

Not administered at all or just not often? I've been told Confession 1x/year, 4x/year(major fasts), or 1x/month, depending on the priest. Of course, one can Confess more often if needed, but Communion seems to be allowed every time, regardless.

 

[WanderedHome]

I'm going to answer rather bluntly , I fear.

How often I approach the Chalice to receive Eucharist is between my priest and myself - even my GodPapa does not know - and I share a lot with him.

Yes my priest and I have talked about this - and I accept his guidance without question

I respect that. I agree, that this should be between ourselves, God, and our priest. No need to judge a brother or sister. I think our Father in Heaven does know, but sometimes things don't need to be said, it is just a mutual understanding. Like how a husband and wife can look at each other and know what they are thinking without any words... And please don't be afraid to speak bluntly- I respect those people the most.

 

[ArmyMatt]

you do it as you can with what your priest says.

 

[Lukaris]

Not administered at all or just not often? I've been told Confession 1x/year, 4x/year(major fasts), or 1x/month, depending on the priest. Of course, one can Confess more often if needed, but Communion seems to be allowed every time, regardless.

I was saying in our American archdiocese, communion was infrequent in the earlier 20th century. I guess from the 1970s on, communion became frequent. Confession is always crucial. With infrequent communion the linkage seems more critical. With frequent communion ( I believe) there is more breathing room.

I hope that makes sense & I do not want to speak in absolutes where I should not.

 

[WanderedHome]

I was saying in our American archdiocese, communion was infrequent in the earlier 20th century. I guess from the 1970s on, communion became frequent. Confession is always crucial. With infrequent communion the linkage seems more critical. With frequent communion ( I believe) there is more breathing room.

I hope that makes sense & I do not want to speak in absolutes where I should not.

Interesting. Isn't that about when Fr. Peter Gilquist came in with a bunch of people with him?

 

[gzt]

So would you say that confession should be part of the preparation, every time?

There are several different disciplines about this. If you're asking about my own personal opinion, well, that doesn't count for anything, but I'm familiar with more frequent reception that does not require confession immediately preceding save for if you've committed a grave sin.

 

[Lukaris]

Interesting. Isn't that about when Fr. Peter Gilquist came in with a bunch of people with him?

I think Fr Peter & others embraced Orthodoxy then & became canonical under the late Metr. Philip in the late 1980s.

Side note, I just spoke with a parishioner who told me that communion was formerly twice yearly in the Syrian (Antiochian) Archdiocese. Communion was right before Nativity & Pascha. Confession was always more individualized but many people confessed & communed twice yearly. Frequent communion began in the Antiochian Archdiocese in the early 1970s.

 

[gzt]

Interesting. Isn't that about when Fr. Peter Gilquist came in with a bunch of people with him?

Gilquist et al came after the push for restoration of more frequent communion.

 

[~Anastasia~]

I know this is a question more for my spiritual father, and I of course, defer to him.

BTW- if you are not Orthodox please do not answer, unless you have a question to help you better understand our faith more. We would be happy to answer.

I know there are many varying views on this among the people of the Church, priests included. I just wanted to throw this out there for a little useful discussion.
There are some who say they only approach the chalice every so often because they recognize their sinfulness and unworthiness. They don't want to take advantage of Christ's grace. Fair enough. I see the point.

My approach is that- Yes, I am absolutely unworthy, which is why I need to approach as often as possible... as often as it is offered. Of course, I don't want to take advantage either, so I should go to Confession as often as I have something to confess, something weighing on my heart.. or at least as often as my confessor recommends.

I think about what is said during Divine Liturgy:

Priest: "Holy things are for the holy"...
Me (to myself): So what hope is there for any of us?
Singers: "One is Holy, One is the Lord Jesus Christ"...
Me (to myself): He is our hope, our righteousness, our worthiness!
Deacon: "In the fear of God, with faith and love draw near!"...
Me: ... silence...

Also the Pre-Communion Prayers are packed full of things that make one think we should approach the chalice as often as possible.

It's a good topic for general discussion. Though for the most part I think details regarding each person's own practice wouldn't be discussed much publicly.

My first reaction was "not more than once a day" ... I think that's the "technical limit"?

Our priest (soon I will have to start calling him something else as he's about to become our former priest ) ... he said that generally speaking frequent communion = frequent medicine. But of course there are pastoral concerns, and at times it is necessary to suggest a person abstain.

 

[Anhelyna]

I think that another consideration is how many times a week Liturgy is also Served in your Church

 

[AMM]

My first reaction was "not more than once a day" ... I think that's the "technical limit"?

I hadn’t heard that before. How does that work on some of the days when there is both a regular liturgy and vesperal liturgy? I know priests can generally only serve the Eucharist once per day, but hadn’t heard about this restriction on reception

 

[~Anastasia~]

I hadn’t heard that before. How does that work on some of the days when there is both a regular liturgy and vesperal liturgy? I know priests can generally only serve the Eucharist once per day, but hadn’t heard about this restriction on reception

Vespers is technically a service of the following day. The liturgical day begins in the evening. So it's not more than once a day if you had Divine Liturgy on Sunday morning and a vesperal Liturgy Sunday evening (a Monday service). But I suppose it WOULD be twice in one day if there was a vesperal Liturgy on Sunday evening and then a Divine Liturgy on Monday morning.