Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him".......................................John, Chapter 6, Verses 53-56.

HOLY COMMUNION

There is a special cup which holds the wine that becomes the blood of Christ. We call it the chalice, the cup of salvation. When we kneel during the liturgy, we pray with the priest that God the Holy Spirit may change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. This means that when we come to receive Holy Communion, Jesus comes to live in us.

What should we do to prepare to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus? We should pray. We should have love in our hearts for all people. We should ask forgiveness from God and from our parents, brothers and sisters. Also from anyone we may have hurt. On the morning before going to the Divine Liturgy to receive Communion we do not eat or drink anything if our health allows, just as one would not spoil their appetite by eating a special meal, so we sharpen our spiritual appetite for Christ through fasting. But we must never allow an overemphasis on fasting to become a wall separating us from Christ Who wishes to come to us in every liturgy.

When we come before the priest for Holy Communion, our hands should not be in our pockets, but at our sides. We make the sign of the cross, tell the priest our baptismal name, hold the Communion cloth carefully under our chin, and open our mouth wide. We do not slurp from the spoon, nor should our teeth scrape on the spoon. After receiving Communion we wipe our lips with the Communion cloth (not on our hand or shirt-sleeve), make the sign of the cross and hand the Communion cloth to the next person.

We are always careful that we do not allow Communion to fall from the Communion spoon or from our lips onto our clothing or to the floor. For this reason we move very slowly toward the chalice and the Communion spoon, and we do not pull our head away quickly after receiving. We are careful not to bump the the chalice or the hand of the priest. After receiving Communion, we do not chew gum (or spit), because when we dispose of our gum it may contain particles of Holy Communion.

Once we have received Communion, we must remember that we have become one with Christ and with all those who received Communion with us. The same Christ now lives in all of us. We are all living icons of Jesus. It is by loving one another that we love Jesus. After receiving Communion our bodies become holy chalices. God has come to live in us. His blood now flows through our veins.

Jesus wants to use our hands, which have now become His hands, to help those in need. When we receive Communion, we become members of Christ's Body, the Church. This means that Jesus has no eyes but our eyes, no feet but our feet to do His work in the world today. What kind, thoughtful act will you do for Jesus today?

WHY NON-ORTHODOX ARE EXCLUDED FROM THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY COMMUNION

In the light of Church history, the question might better be asked, "Why does anyone allow for 'open communion'." The fact is, from the very beginning the Eucharist was offered only to baptized and chrismated believers. The second century writing known as The Didache instructs believers to "let no one eat or drink from your Eucharist except those who are baptized in the Lord's Name." So restricted were the Eucharistic meetings of Christians in the first century that rumors arose among the pagans that they were actually involved in human sacrifice and cannibalism.

Even reformed churches practice closed communion. Only baptized believers who had undergone examination by the leaders of the churches were admitted to the Lord's Supper. In times past, communion tokens were used to gain admission to the sacrament as, for example the Church of Scotland and also in the Methodist churches.

The Orthodox Church does not consider it sufficient to express belief in Jesus in order to be admitted to the sacrament. Many heretics believe in Jesus. Arius the fourth century heretic believed in Jesus. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons believe in Jesus. Hindus believe in Jesus. But none of these individuals or groups believes in the One Lord Jesus Christ known and proclaimed by the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

In the historic understanding of the Church, Communion has always been understood as the goal, the climax and expression of our unity in Christ. Today there are over 25,000 denominations worldwide and among them are many different views of Jesus.

The Orthodox practice closed communion, not for triumphalistic reasons, but for very important theological reasons. In doing so they follow the practice of the ancient Church; a practice that was retained by the Reformers. "Open communion" was a relatively recent innovation and an exception to the practice of the Church beginning in the New Testament period.

In our pluralistic American culture, we object to anything that excludes individuals. We have been taught that all faiths are relative to their claims. One denomination is as good as another to the average American; the Orthodox Church appears to be just one more "denomination." However the Orthodox Church pre-dates denominations, and the practice of the Orthodox Church pre-dates the practices of later Christian denominations by at least 1500 years.