The Sacrament of Holy Communion

In the Christian Faith, Holy Communion is the high point of Christian worship. While in Protestant confessions since the Reformation, the sacrament of Holy Communion has diminished in importance, in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church, it is still the focal point of liturgy, or worship. Within Protestantism there has been a movement toward preaching and away from communion. The sermon tends to take the central role in worship services, rather than Holy Communion.

To understand the central role of Holy Communion in Christianity, we must go back to the pages of the New Testament. Before Jesus Christ was betrayed by Judas and handed over to the Romans, He shared a meal with His disciples. At this meal He broke bread and passed it to His disciples and said "this is My body, given for you; do this in remembrance of Me" Following the supper He took the cup of wine and said "this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

After Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, the agape, or love, feast became paramount in the worshiping life of Christ's followers. The early Christians would gather every Saturday evening to commemorate the last supper of Christ. From the earliest times Holy Communion, or the Eucharist (which means Thanksgiving in Greek), was believed to truly be the body and blood of Jesus Christ. For those who come from other confessions outside of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church, this idea can sound strange or foreign. In the Orthodox Church, the faithful readily admit and understand that the elements of bread and wine still maintain their substance as bread and wine, but that they are mystically transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. This belief exists because Christ said at the Last Supper "this is My body" and this is My blood". He did not say "this is like My body" or this is like My blood."

Because the earliest Christians were still Jews, the reading and preaching of the scriptures occurred separately from the agape feast. They would still go to the synagogue and listen to the Hebrew Scriptures being read and hear the instruction of the rabbi. However, late in the evening they would gather for the feast to remember the sacrifice of Christ of His body and blood. Because the celebration of the Eucharist took place around a meal, also involving wine late in the evening, over time, abuses began to take place within the context of this event. Therefore, the Christian community opted to begin celebrating this meal early in the morning, right around the time of sunrise. With even greater passage of time, as the New Testament canon began to be formed and the Christians were now becoming a completely separate faith from Judaism, both the celebration of the Eucharist and the reading and preaching of the scriptures took place within the setting of one service. However, in churches that celebrate a more traditional form of worship, the separation of the worship service between the reading and preaching of the scriptures and the preparation for reception of Holy Communion can still be seen.

Holy Communion was always viewed as the sacrament of unity in the Christian Faith. In receiving Holy Communion together, Christians acknowledged that they held the same beliefs in common. However, they also acknowledged their union as brothers in Christ and their responsibility to one another. Also, it testifies to man's union to Jesus Christ. For, in the reception of Holy Communion, man literally and mystically unites himself to Jesus Christ. In this way, Holy Communion becomes the sacrament of sacraments in which the Christian both accepts his duty to his neighbor and his attempt to more closely unite himself to Jesus Christ.