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Eucharist & the "Real Presence"

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Maximus

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Xpycoctomos said:
please state what you mean when you say "symbol". I am sure you are well aware of the vast difference in meaning between the theological meaning of the term and the modern vulgar meaning of the term.

Please note that I used the modifier mere in front of the word symbol.

The Eucharist is certainly a symbol, but it is not merely a symbol.

In the same way, one might correctly say that Christ Himself is a symbol of the Father. He would be grossly mistaken, however, if he thought that is all Christ is.
 
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Maximus

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Marjorie said:
That site is written by an Eastern Catholic??? I did not know that at all...

In IC XC,
Marjorie

Yes. I have personally argued with Dr. Alex Roman (whoopee!).

And you can, too, if you visit the forum at ByzCath.org.

He's actually a pretty nice guy.
 
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Maximus

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We believe in transubstantiation as long as that word is limited to mean only that the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist are completely transformed into the literal and true Body and Blood of Christ.

The following is from the book Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism (1972) by the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Aksum, Methodios Fouyas:



Here's how Fouyas describes the difference between the Orthodox and the Latin viewpoints:


Here is an appropriate excerpt from The Orthodox Confession of Peter Moghila (1640):



Peter Moghila was the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev. His confession was approved at the Orthodox Council of Jassy in 1642 and by the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem in 1643. It was reaffirmed by the Council of Jerusalem in 1672.

Here is an excerpt from the confession of the Council of Jerusalem (1672), commonly called The Confession of Dositheus (Dositheus was Patriarch of Jerusalem):



 
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Maximus

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Here is a bit of St. Cyril of Jerusalem on the Eucharist.

"7. Moreover, the things which are hung up at idol festivals, either meat or bread, or other such things polluted by the invocation of the unclean spirits, are reckoned in the pomp of the devil. For as the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist before the invocation of the Holy and Adorable Trinity were simple bread and wine, while after the invocation the Bread becomes the Body of Christ, and the Wine the Blood of Christ, so in like manner such meats belonging to the pomp of Satan, though in their own nature simple, become profane by the invocation of the evil spirit" (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 19:7).

"2. He once in Cana of Galilee, turned the water into wine, akin to blood, and is it incredible that He should have turned wine into blood? When called to a bodily marriage, He miraculously wrought that wonderful work; and on the children of the bride-chamber, shall He not much rather be acknowledged to have bestowed the fruition of His Body and Blood?" (Ibid, 22:2).

"6. Consider therefore the Bread and the Wine not as bare elements, for they are, according to the Lord's declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ; for even though sense suggests this to thee, yet let faith establish thee. Judge not the matter from the taste, but from faith be fully assured without misgiving, that the Body and Blood of Christ have been vouch-safed to thee" (Ibid, 22:6).

"9. Having learned these things, and been fully assured that the seeming bread is not bread, though sensible to taste, but the Body of Christ; and that the seeming wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Christ . . ." (Ibid, 22:9).
 
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Rilian

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Xpycoctomos said:
who said anything about unconcecrated?

John, it basically boils down to this. We don't prostrate ourselves before the unconsecrated elements because to do so would be to engage in an act of idolatry. When do we prostrate ourselves before the consecrated elements, such as during the presanctified liturgy, we do so knowing we are worshipping God alone. It is not God mixed with something else, because that would be no different in reality than doing so before the unconsecrated bread and wine.

This is why Lutherans and all but a small handful of Anglicans do not in engage in western style eucharistic adoration or hold the sacrament in reserve in the tabernacle. They believe something different, and not always the same thing among themselves, about what is going on. This is as I said why I personally find the term "real presence" not to be a very useful one.
 
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Maximus

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That's true.

As I recall, as a former LCMS Lutheran, the Lutheran doctrine is that Christ is present in the Eucharist only to those who have faith. In other words, it's kind of a subjective presence.

For us, the Eucharist is Christ, regardless of the faith - or lack thereof - of the recipient.

That is why, as St. Paul said, one who receives the Eucharist in an unworthy manner may become sick or even die.
 
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Dust and Ashes

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So you see, Michael, any Protestant can argue theological issues but if you really want to split theological hairs, you have to become Orthodox.



J/K guys! I have found this thread to be very informative and have thoroughly missed all of this banter.
 
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