It was similar for me, I was raised Methodist and didn't learn that the UMC taught anything other than memorialism until I was leaving the denomination. I was taught in confirmation that the communion elements had to be either completely consumed or scattered into nature - nothing about any kind of presence, real or otherwise. In my opinion now though, throwing it into a pond isn't much better than throwing it into the trash.
I believe the idea of scattering them is related to the Western use of a Piscina or drain for the disposal of purificators and certain other items of refuse resulting from the celebration of the Eucharist - the equivalent to a purifactor used in the Byzantine Rite is the liturgical sponge, which if you watch the video I linked you to in another thread, you will be well acquainted with, and this and other related material is destroyed by burning it. However this would not be done with the Eucharist itself except under extreme circumstances, and it could also be buried I think. I know of a Roman Catholic priest whose Eucharistic devotion was so great that he performed the ablutions (consuming the unused portions of the Eucharist) on a chalice that had been inadvertently severely contaminated, and he was unharmed, but it was not required for him to do that.
In the Orthodox Church, the use of the spoon in the Byzantine RIte and the boiling hot water added to the Eucharist reduces the risk of this.
By the way, this brings me to some things that at this stage in your catechesis, you may or may not be aware of, but they are relevant to this thread in terms of showing how churches that believe in the Real Presence distribute the Eucharist:
The Eastern Orthodox put a particle of the body on the spoon which is filled with the blood, whereas the Coptic Orthodox administer each separately (and if there is only one priest, it takes a long time, because first the bread is given to the men and boys, then to the women and girls, and then the blood to the men and boys, and then to the women and girls. Men and boys normally receive from the North side of the altar (to the left of the Holy Doors when facing East, although in Coptic churches there is normally just the curtain), and the women and girls receive on the south side of the altar (to the right of the Holy Doors facing East). One is tightly packed in line with other members of the church, which creates a feeling of brotherhood or sisterhood, and it is thrilling as a layman to actually go through the iconostasis to be on either side of the altar. You pass through what would be the Deacon’s Doors in an Eastern Orthodox Church into the iconostasis, except in monasteries, where there are either extra chapels with extra altars, for training priests, etc, or else there is a space for the monks on the other side of the iconostasis, or immediately in front of it, so at St. Anthony’s, they do the Eucharist from the middle of the nave, which is atypical.
The Armenians use unleavened bread, but it is not in the form of the dry wafers used by the Roman Catholics, but rather freshly prepared. And I believe they use a separate chalice, like the Roman Catholics, Lutherans* and most Anglicans. The Assyrian Church of the East also does it this way, but with leavened bread. I don’t know how the Ethiopians consecrate the Eucharist.
The Syriac Orthodox either give the Eucharist in the middle of the church or to one side, so that people not partaking can exit at the other side, as it is often served to the people at the very end of the liturgy while the deacons and singers sing the beautiful Eucharistic hymn
Haw Nurone, and the Syriac Orthodox serve the liturgy by intincting particles of the Body in the Blood, and then the priest will pop these into the mouth of the communicant, similar to how traditional Catholics, Anglo Catholics and Lutherans receive the Eucharist on the tongue, except the Syriac Orthodox do not kneel while receiving, at least on Sunday, probably due to Canon XX of the Council of Nicaea.
I made a post about
Haw Nurone in the Oriental Orthodox forum:
The Syriac Hymn Haw Nurone as a Confession of Eucharistic Faith
One reason why i am such a fan of the ecumenical agreement between the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and the Syriac Orthodox is it has the effect of enabling Eastern Orthodox Christians, or at least those who are members of the Church of Antioch in Syria, Lebanon, etc, to benefit from the experience of the beauty of the Syriac Orthodox liturgy, which is incredibly rich.
* Some Lutheran churches (I have only personally seen this in the ELCA), and the Moravians, use these trays with little plastic cups for distributing the consecrated wine, which I dislike immensely;
@MarkRohfrietsch might know more about that, but my objection is that it risks the accidental spill of the Blood of our Lord. The Coptic Orthodox do use these trays to distribute Holy Water, which is consumed following the Eucharist in order to make sure that the Body and Blood have been completely washed down. The Slavonic churches, such as ROCOR, provide blessed wine for the same purpose, in addition to the antidoron, which is offered by every Eastern church I just mentioned.
