The Bread of Immortality, or a Piece of Toast?

The central act through which baptized Christians receive Divine Grace and confess their belief in Jesus Christ and His Church is the reception of Holy Communion.  Many of the faithful, however, only rarely partake of the Eucharist. If the reception of Holy Communion is so important and beneficial why do many Orthodox partake of the Eucharist only once or twice a year?

Some believe that frequent participation in the Eucharist somehow “cheapens” it.  Some believe they are not worthy to commune often.  Still others abstain simply out of habit - they like their toast and coffee in the morning, but the Eucharistic fast would preclude this.

The prayers and petitions of the Divine Liturgy clearly demonstrate an expectation that most if not all of present at Liturgy will receive communion.  “With fear of God, Faith and Love draw near!” is a command.  “Having received the Divine, Holy, Most-pure, Immortal, Heavenly, Life-giving Mysteries, let us worthily give thanks. . .” doesn’t make sense if only the priest has communed.  In the early Church it was taken for granted that every member of the congregation, unless they had a good reason for not doing so (e.g., were under penance for a grave sin), would partake of Holy Communion at every Liturgy.

By the end of the 1^st millennium we notice that while the clergy commune every time they serve the Liturgy (indeed, it is forbidden for them not to) the faithful partake of Holy Communion more and more infrequently.

In tsarist Russia, especially after Peter the Great, the Roman Catholic practice (instituted at the 4^th Lateran Council in 1215) of requiring every member of the faithful to approach once a year, during Great Lent, for confession and communion, became generally accepted.  Over time in many places it became the norm for the faithful to approach for confession and communion only once a year. In certain local traditions this practice has been promoted by Orthodox clergy till recent times.

During the 18^th and 19^th centuries both Eastern and Western Christians began to reconsider the practice of infrequent communion.  The “Kollyvades” fathers in Greece, for example, began recommending frequent communion in the late 18^thcentury, an example followed in the 19^th century by Catholics and Anglicans.

The exhortation for the faithful to receive Holy Communion more frequently was based on both theology and experience.  By not approaching the chalice I deprive myself of Eucharistic grace.  Infrequent communion can contribute to a loss or diminution of a “sacramental mentality”, i.e., not receiving Communion can cause me to question the necessity or benefit of participating in other Mysteries of the Church.  Infrequent communion can also lead to the cultivation of a Protestant spirituality, for if I don’t commune my participation in the Liturgy consists solely of worship, prayer, and intellectual stimulation - precisely what the Protestant congregation down the block offers.

For those who might think they’re unworthy to receive communion often, the only thing that can be said is: “Good!”  We all are.  But by virtue of our Baptism and our struggle to live good, Christian lives God makes us worthy of the “heavenly bread and the cup of life”, through which we receive the grace and strength necessary to live good, Christian lives.

Those who feel that receiving Holy Communion often can somehow “cheapen” the experience also have a point.  In the words of Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware), “every time we receive Holy Communion it must be an event”.  This applies to clergy as well as laity.  But if the sinful man presiding at the altar can experience such an event every Sunday, perhaps the faithful child, adolescent, adult, or senior citizen in the pew can as well.

Some times the preparation for communion is regarded as an impediment.   In some parishes or traditions it is required of adults before every single reception of Communion. In others communicants are required to fast strictly for many days prior to receiving the sacrament.  There is no Church canon requiring Confession before Communion, and the general rule is that the more frequently we commune, the less stringent are the outward requirements.  Most important are the inward requirements, i.e., that we be in a state of repentance, be at peace with our neighbours, not bear resentment in our hearts, etc.  St. Paul tells us that “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” and so we should examine ourselves before partaking of the Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:27-28). No matter how frequently or infrequently a person goes to confession every Christian (clergy first and foremost) should have a confessor/spiritual father whom they trust and to whom they can confess anything, a person who can help us "discern the Lord's Body and Blood" so that we can approach the mystery worthily, as much as this is humanly possible.

Mostly it seems that the majority of Orthodox who only commune on rare occasions do so simply out of habit.  From the standpoint of the apostolic Church, sacramental theology and the teaching of the saints we’d have to say it’s probably not a good habit.  But not-so-good habits can be broken. 

So what’ll it be on Sunday morning – a piece of toast, or the Bread of Immortality?

Fr. Bohdan Hladio
April 2008