This sacrament is called the Eucharist; Lord's Supper; The Lord's Table; The Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Body and Blood of Christ in this sacrament are called the Bread of Heaven and the Cup of Life, or the Cup of Salvation; holy mysteries; bloodless Sacrifice.
The Sacrament of Holy Communion was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself during the Last Last Supper, on the eve of His suffering and death (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-24; 1 Cor. 11, 23-25).
Having included the disciples, the Lord commanded: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19). This sacrifice must be performed until He comes (1 Cor. 11:26), as the apostle instructs. Pavel, i.e. until the second coming of the Lord.
In the sacrament of the Eucharist - at the very time when the clergyman, calling on the Holy Spirit for the offered gifts - bread and wine are actually transformed (transubstantiated) into the Body and Blood by the influx of the Holy Spirit, as the Savior said: “My flesh is truly food, and blood Mine truly is drink” (John 6:55). After this moment, although our eyes see bread and wine on St. meal, but in the very essence, invisible to sensory eyes, this is the true Body and true Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, only under the “forms” of bread and wine.
This teaching about the holy sacrament of Communion is contained in all the Holy Fathers, starting from the most ancient.
Although bread and wine are transformed in the sacrament into the Body and Blood of the Lord, He is in this sacrament with His whole being, i.e. His soul and His very Divinity, which is inseparable from His humanity.
Although, further, the Body and Blood of the Lord are crushed in the sacrament of Communion and separated, we believe that in every part - and in the smallest particle - St. The Mystery is received by those who partake of the whole Christ according to His essence, i.e. with soul and divinity, as perfect God and perfect Man.
Since the God-man Christ is due one indivisible Divine worship both in Divinity and humanity, due to their inseparable union, then the holy mysteries of the Eucharist should be given the same honor and worship that we owe to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Eucharistic sacrifice is not a repetition of the Savior’s sacrifice on the cross, but is the offering of the sacrificial Body and Blood, once lifted up by our Redeemer on the cross. These sacrifices are inseparable: they are one and the same grace-filled tree of life, planted by God on Calvary. But they also differ: the sacrifice offered in the Eucharist is called bloodless and passionless, since it takes place after the resurrection of the Savior, who, having risen from the dead, no longer dies: death no longer has power over Him (Rom. 6:9); it is offered without suffering, without shedding blood, without death, although it is performed in remembrance of the suffering and death of the Divine Lamb.
The Eucharist is also a propitiatory sacrifice for all members of the Church. From the beginning of Christianity, a bloodless sacrifice was made in memory and remission of sins of both the living and the dead.
The Divine Eucharist is the foundation of the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church of Christ, and it is also the foundation of the spiritual life of everyone Orthodox man. It is impossible to be a member of the Church without partaking of the Blood and Body of Christ.
Our spiritual life is inseparable from the Eucharist, for the Eucharist is the surest path to salvation. To partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord is an essential, necessary, saving and comforting duty of every Christian. This is clear from the words of the Savior: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you” (John 6:53-54).
The Eucharist makes us partakers of the Resurrection of Christ and heirs of eternal life.
Saving fruits or actions of the sacrament of the Eucharist, with worthy inclusion, the following:
It most closely connects us with the Lord: “He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56).
It nourishes our soul and body and contributes to our strengthening, elevation, and growth in spiritual life: “He who eats Me will live by Me” (John 6:57).
It serves for us as a guarantee of future resurrection and eternally blessed life: “Whoever eats this bread will live forever” (John 6:58).
St. Ignatius of Antioch calls the Body and Blood of Christ “the medicine of immortality, the antidote so as not to die.”
Saint Philaret, the Metropolitan of Moscow wrote about the grace-filled effect of the Eucharist:
“By the manifold power of Divine Food and Drink, by the manifold wisdom and goodness of the Divine Nourisher, the tangible fruit of eating the Lord’s Table appears to the believer as inexpressible joy in the heart, now as sweet silence in the soul, now as serenity in the mind, now deep world in conscience, sometimes by calming the overwhelming temptations, sometimes by the cessation of mental and physical suffering, and sometimes by complete healing, sometimes by a lively feeling of love for the Lord or by increasing zeal and strength for spiritual achievements and virtues. But whatever our own experiences in this Mystery may be, I will say with Saint Chrysostom: “Let the word of our Lord be truer both in our thoughts and in our vision.” After He said: He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me and I in him; whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood will have eternal life (John 6:56, 54) - how dare we, although unworthy partakers of His Flesh and Blood, how dare we deny that He is in us, and we in Him, and that in Him we “have eternal life,” unless we ourselves depart from Him, unless we plunge ourselves again into the death of sin?”
The prayers compiled by the holy fathers deeply reveal the saving significance of this great sacrament. Follow-up to Holy Communion And thanksgiving prayers, reading which, every Christian asks:
“May Thy Most Pure Body and Divine Blood be with me for the forgiveness of sins, the communion of the Holy Spirit, and for eternal life, Lover of mankind, and alienation from passions and sorrows.
May I be sanctified in soul and body, Master, may I be enlightened, may I be saved, may Thy house be the Communion of the sacred Mysteries, having You living within me with the Father and the Spirit, O Great Benefactor.”
(Canon of Follow-up to Holy Communion)
“But may the coal of Your Most Holy Body, and Your honorable Blood, be for me, for the sanctification and enlightenment and health of my humble soul and body, for the relief of the burdens of many of my sins, for the protection from every devilish act, for the driving away and prohibition of my evil and evil custom , for the mortification of passions, for the supply of Thy commandments, for the application of Thy Divine grace, and the appropriation of Thy Kingdom."
(Prayer 2, St. John Chrysostom)
“Master Lord Jesus Christ, our God... grant me without condemnation to partake of Thy Divine, glorious, most pure, and life-giving Mysteries, not in heaviness, nor in torment, nor in the addition of sins, but in the purification, and sanctification, and betrothal of the future Life and kingdoms, for the wall and help, and for the objection of those who resist, for the destruction of many of my sins."
(Prayer 4, St. John of Damascus)
Message from the Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Church on Orthodox faith(1723):
“We believe that the all-holy sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, which we have placed fourth among the sacraments above, is mysteriously commanded by the Lord on that night on which He gave himself for the life of the world. For, having taken bread and blessed, He gave it to His disciples and Apostles, saying : “Take, eat, this is My body.” And, taking the cup, giving praise, he said: “Drink from it, all of you: this is My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins.”
We believe that in Our Lord Jesus Christ is present at this sacred rite not symbolically, not figuratively (tipikos, eikonikos), not by an excess of grace, as in other sacraments, not by influx alone, as some Fathers spoke of baptism, and not through the penetration of bread (kat Enartismon - per impanationem), so that the Divinity of the Word included in the bread offered for the Eucharist, essentially (ipostatikos), as the followers of Luther rather inexplicably and unworthily explain; but truly and truly, so that after the consecration of bread and wine, the bread is broken, transubstantiated, transformed, transformed into the very true body of the Lord, which was born in Bethlehem of the Ever-Virgin, baptized in the Jordan, suffered, buried, resurrected, ascended, sits at the right hand of God the Father, has to appear on the clouds of heaven; and the wine is transformed and transubstantiated into the very true blood of the Lord, which during His suffering on the cross was shed for the life of the world.
We also believe that after the consecration of bread and wine, what remains is not the bread and wine itself, but the very body and blood of the Lord under the form and image of bread and wine.
We also believe that this most pure body and blood of the Lord is distributed and enters the mouths and bellies of those who partake, both pious and ungodly. Only the pious and those who accept it worthily are given remission of sins and eternal life, while condemnation and eternal torment are prepared for the wicked and those who accept it unworthily.
We also believe that although the body and blood of the Lord are separated and fragmented, this happens in the sacrament of communion only with the types of bread and wine, in which they can be both visible and tangible, but in themselves they are completely whole and inseparable. Why does the Universal Church say: “He who is fragmented and divided is fragmented, but not divided, always poisoned and never consumed, but communing (of course, worthily) sanctifying.”
We also believe that in each part, down to the smallest particle of the bread and wine offered, there is not any separate part of the body and blood of the Lord, but the body of Christ, always whole and in all parts one, and the Lord Jesus Christ is present in His essence, then is with soul and Divinity, or perfect God and perfect man. Therefore, although at the same time there are many sacred rites in the universe, there are not many bodies of Christ, but one and the same Christ is truly and truly present, His one body and one blood in all the individual Churches of the faithful. And this is not because the body of the Lord, which is in heaven, descends on the altars, but because the showbread, which is prepared separately in all churches and, after consecration, is transformed and transfigured, is done in the same way with the body that is in heaven. For the Lord always has one body, and not many in many places. Therefore, this sacrament, according to the general opinion, is the most wonderful, comprehended by faith alone, and not by the speculations of human wisdom, by which this holy and divinely appointed sacrifice for us rejects vanity and insane sophistication regarding Divine things.”
We must, therefore, remember that the Eucharist brings these saving fruits only to those who approach them with faith and repentance; unworthy partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ will bring even greater condemnation: “Whoever eats and drinks unworthily eats and drinks condemnation for himself, without considering the Body of the Lord. This is why many of you are weak and sick, and many are dying” (1 Cor. 11:29-30).
Venerable John of Damascus:
“The body and blood of Christ enter into the composition of our soul and body, not being exhausted, not decaying, and not being thrown out (let it not be!), but (enter) into our essence to protect, reflect (from us) all harm, cleanse all filth If they find (in us) counterfeit gold, then they purify (it) with the fire of judgment, “lest we be condemned by the world” in the next century, but they purify us with illnesses and all kinds of disasters, as the divine Apostle says: “Even if we reasoned with ourselves, we would not.” we were condemned. We are judged, we are punished by the Lord, lest we be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:31-32). (1 Cor. 11:29) Purifying ourselves through this, we are united with the body of the Lord and with His Spirit and become the body of Christ.”
Christians must prepare themselves for the sacrament of Holy Communion by fasting which consists of fasting, prayer, reconciliation with everyone, and then confession, that is, cleansing one’s conscience in the sacrament of repentance.
The Sacrament of Communion is performed during the liturgy.
The first Christians took communion every Sunday, but now not everyone has such purity of life to take communion so often. In the 19th and 20th centuries, St. The Church commanded us to take communion every Lent and no less than once a year. Currently, the Church leaves the issue of the frequency of Communion to priests and spiritual fathers to decide. It is with the spiritual father that one must agree on how often to take communion, for how long and how strictly to fast before it.
Or the Sacrament of Communion is the main sacrament of the Church. Without this sacrament there is no Church. The Lord Jesus Christ loved people so much that He sacrificed His Body and Blood for us and thereby conquered all sin, all weakness and even death.
The Church exists with this love and we accept this love into ourselves when we partake of the Holy Mysteries. The Lord, having sacrificed Himself on the cross, did not die forever, but was resurrected, and by receiving communion, we unite with the Risen Lord, who is Life and Love itself.
This greatest Sacrament of the Church was established by Christ Himself on the eve of His suffering on the cross (Matthew 26:26-28) and bequeathed to all the apostles, and through them to all their successors, bishops and shepherds of the Church: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22, 19). The sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated during the Divine Liturgy.
What is the Eucharist
In the Sacrament Eucharist(Communion) Christian believers, under the guise of bread and wine, partake of the Divine substance of the Body and Blood of Christ, which imparts to man the properties of incorruptibility and makes him a partaker of eternal life.
IN Orthodox Church laity receive communion in the same way as clergy, while infants and children under 7 years receive communion without confession. The Sacrament of Communion is, of course, the spiritual focus in the life of an Orthodox Christian. An indispensable condition for Communion is repentance (confession) and fasting.
The priest in the altar shakes the “air” over the Holy Gifts, praying for the sending of the Holy Spirit upon them. At the end of the singing of the Creed, the Eucharistic Canon begins, that is, the order of the very transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts. The priest at the altar removes the “air” from the Holy Gifts, kisses it and puts it aside.
The deacon, entering the altar, blows a ripida over the Gifts. The choir sings “It is worthwhile and righteous to worship the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible”; All those praying bow to the ground at this time. While singing “Worthy,” the priest begins to read the secret Eucharistic prayer; last words He pronounces his prayers out loud: “Singing the song of victory, crying, calling and speaking.” The choir picks up the words of the prayer, continuing it: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, fill Heaven and earth with Your glory...” Continuing to read silently Eucharistic prayer, the priest pronounces aloud the Gospel words of Christ: “Take, eat, this is My Body, broken for you for the remission of sins.” After the choir’s response: “Amen,” the priest continues: “Drink of it, all of you, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.” The chorus again answers: “Amen.”
This is followed by a prayer called “Epiclesis” (invocation of the Holy Spirit), which the priest reads, after which he blesses the Holy Gifts, which have already been transubstantiated (mysteriously transformed) into the Body and Blood of Christ. All those praying in the temple bow to the ground at this moment.
Immediately after the transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts, the priest remembers everyone for whom the Sacrament of the Eucharist was performed. The Eucharistic canon ends with a prayer for unanimity and peace of the entire Church and a blessing for all those praying in the church.
The priest, standing at the throne, lifts the Holy Lamb from the paten and proclaims: “Holy to the Holy!” By this is meant that the Holy Body of Christ is to be taught only to the saints; believers are called to strive for holiness, for worthy communion.
How does communion take place in the sacrament of the Eucharist?
The clergy take communion at the altar, while the choir sings the so-called “sacramental verse.” Then the Royal Doors swing open, and the Holy Chalice is taken out to the Soleia with the words: “Approach with the fear of God and faith.” All those praying in the temple bow to the ground, as if seeing the Lord Himself. Communion of the laity takes place according to the ancient custom established by St. John Chrysostom, Patriarch of Constantinople. The communicants begin Holy Communion with their hands reverently folded on their chests. They are immediately given the Body and Blood of Christ with a spoon from a chalice, after a special “Prayer before Communion”: “I believe, Lord, and confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God...”, in which the communicants confess their faith in Holy Sacrament Eucharist.
Approaching the Holy Chalice, each communicant says his name. The priest gives him communion, saying: “The servant of God (name) partakes of the Honorable and Holy Body and Blood of our Lord and God and Savior Jesus Christ, for the remission of his sins and for eternal life.” Having left the Chalice, the communicants drink Holy Communion warmth (water and wine).
After prayers of thanks, the priest blesses the believers as they leave the church, reminding them that they must preserve the peace of Christ in their souls: “We will leave in peace...”
After the prayer behind the pulpit, which the priest performs after leaving the pulpit and standing among the people, the choir sings three times: “Blessed be the name of the Lord from now on and forever.”
EUCHARIST (Greek εὐχαριστία - thanksgiving), the fundamental sacrament of the Christian Church, consisting of the transfer of prepared Gifts (bread and wine diluted with water) into the Body and Blood of Christ and the communion of believers; the main rite of worship in the Christian Church.
In the early Christian era, the word “Eucharist” meant any church prayer, but over time the term was assigned to the main Christian service - the Divine Liturgy (in the Western tradition it was called the Mass, in various non-Chalcedonian traditions - the Sacrifice; in Protestant denominations - for example, the Lord's Supper, the sacrament of the altar, the Service of Communion), as well as the Holy Sacrament .
In the New Testament, the content of the sacrament of the Eucharist is discussed in more detail in the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John, which tells about the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves performed by the Lord Jesus Christ. His night prayer and crossing the Sea of Galilee (now Lake Tiberias, Israel) and the conversation of Christ associated with these events in the Capernaum synagogue, including the words: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; But the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world... Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:51-56).
The establishment of the sacrament of the Eucharist occurred during the Last Supper and is described in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-39) and by the Apostle Paul (1 Cor. 11:23 -25). According to these descriptions, the Lord Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, saying: “Take, eat, this is My Body” (Mark 14:22), then He also gave the cup, saying: “This is My Blood.” of the New Testament, poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). These words of the Lord, usually called establishing, directly indicate the connection of the Eucharist with the voluntary suffering of the Savior; this is also indicated by the general context of the Last Supper, which at the same time was the eating of the Old Testament Easter sacrifice (compare: Matt. 26:17; Mark. 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-16) and the beginning of the Passion of Christ (immediately after the Last Supper, according to all four Gospels, the Gethsemane prayer and then the taking of the Lord Jesus into custody took place). In the apostles Luke and Paul, the founding words of Christ contain the commandment: “Do this in remembrance of Me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-25); The Apostle Paul explains that the Eucharist is a remembrance of the Death and Resurrection of the Savior: “As often as you eat this Bread and drink this Cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
Initially, the Eucharist, being at the same time a communal meal, was combined with the usual eating of food, but by the 3rd century it became common practice to partake of the Eucharistic Gifts on an empty stomach. The days of the Eucharist were Sunday, as well as those days when the baptism of converts took place (for example, martyr Justin Philosopher. 1st Apology. 65-67), to which over time were added days of remembrance of martyrs and other festivals of the gradually formed church calendar; on those days when the Eucharist was not celebrated, Christians could receive communion in their homes with the previously consecrated Holy Gifts (for example, Tertullian. To his wife. 5). The liturgy in the 4th century already had a rather complex order: the complication of its rituals, participation in it more believers than in the early Christian era, the increasing role of clergy in public life and other factors contributed to a shift in the emphasis in understanding the Eucharistic service from a community meal to a solemn sacrament. In the 4th and 5th centuries the Eucharist was celebrated much more often than in the 1st and 2nd centuries; the early Christian practice of keeping the Holy Sacrament at home gradually became the property of only a few monastic communities. By the 10th century, the daily celebration of the Eucharist in monasteries and large churches became the norm in the East (the exception was the period of Lent, when instead of the full liturgy, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts was served); in the West, the idea took root that the priest should celebrate Mass daily, so the Eucharist was performed daily in almost all churches, including during Lent (communion with the gifts consecrated in advance was performed on Good Friday, and on Holy Saturday Liturgy was not celebrated). By the 12th-14th centuries, the Byzantine rite of the Divine Liturgy received its final form (consisting of proskomedia - the rite of preparation of the Gifts before the liturgy; liturgy of the catechumens, the center of which is the reading Holy Scripture; liturgy of the faithful, the center of which is the reading of the Eucharistic prayer, anaphora, and subsequent communion).
Theology of the Eucharist in the East. Early Christian sources indicate that the main aspects of the teaching about the Eucharist were: belief in the identity of the Gifts over which the Eucharistic prayer is read with the authentic Body and Blood of Christ (see, for example, 1 Cor. 10:16; Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer. Epistle to the Smyrnae. 7; martyr Justin Philosopher. 1st Apology. 66; Holy Martyr Irenaeus of Lyons. IV. confession of the Eucharist as communion with the Sacrifice of the Savior on the Cross (for example, 1 Cor. 11:26) and therefore as the only and complete replacement for all Old Testament sacrifices (for example, Didache. 14; martyr Justin the Philosopher. Dialogue with Tryphon the Jew. 41; Hieromartyr Irenaeus of Lyons iv. 29. 5; compare: Heb. 7-9; understanding the Eucharist as a guarantee of the unity of the Church in the Body of Christ (for example: 1 Cor. 10:17; 12:12-31; Didache. 9-10; Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer. Epistle to the Smyrnans. 8; Hieromartyr Cyprian of Carthage. Epistle 63, to Caecilius .12); faith in the Eucharist as a gift of immortal life (compare: John 6:26-54; Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer. Epistle to the Ephesians. 20) and gratitude for the knowledge of this and other secrets of the Divine economy of salvation (for example, Didache. 9-10). These theological themes remained central in the Church's teaching on the Eucharist in all subsequent eras. By the turn of the 4th-5th centuries, the Church already had a tradition of symbolic interpretation of the sacred rites of the liturgy - not only in their direct meaning(according to the place occupied in the rank), but also in the meaning of indications of events from the earthly life of Christ or the stages of His spiritual ascent (thus, one of the first similar interpretations contained in the catechetical teachings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, who compares the ritual of bringing bread and wine to the holy throne for their consecration with the procession of Christ at the Passion and His burial), which received great development in subsequent eras, both in the East and in the West. Serious controversy surrounding the Eucharist arose in Byzantium in the 8th century due to the heresy of iconoclasm. Iconoclasts argued that the Eucharist is the only acceptable image (“icon”) of Christ; Orthodox answer given by St. John of Damascus and the Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council, consisted in the affirmation that the Holy Gifts are not an image, but the very Body and Blood of Christ. In the post-iconoclastic era, the question of the quality of the Eucharistic bread came to the fore - in the West by this time the custom of celebrating the Eucharist had prevailed not with leavened bread, as in the East, but with unleavened bread - unleavened bread (of the Eastern traditions, only the Armenian used unleavened bread for the Eucharist, also in Armenian tradition a custom arose, uncharacteristic for the rest of the Christian world, of serving the liturgy with undiluted wine). The issue of unleavened bread became one of the main ones in the Greco-Latin theological polemics of the 9th-11th centuries and was important in the division of the Orthodox and Catholic churches - this division was marked by the rupture of Eucharistic communion and the exchange of mutual anathemas in 1054 between the papal legate Cardinal Humbert and Patriarch Michael of Constantinople Cyrullaria were largely caused by different views on this issue. The Councils of Constantinople 1156 and 1157 were specifically dedicated to the Eucharist; they established the doctrine that the sacrifice of the Eucharist is offered to the entire Holy Trinity. Questions of the theology of the Eucharist (whether the Holy Gifts correspond to the Body of Christ before or after the Resurrection, etc.) were discussed in Byzantium at the turn of the 12th-13th centuries, but their final resolution was prevented by the capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204. Byzantine theologians of the 14th - 1st half of the 15th century, primarily St. Nicholas Kavasila, further developed the Orthodox teaching on the Eucharist. By the 14th century, the issue of unleavened bread ceased to be of great importance in Orthodox-Catholic controversy; The key question was the time of the consecration of the Gifts: Catholics insisted that consecration occurs at the moment the priest reads the establishing words, Orthodox - that the Gifts are consecrated during the epiclesis (the invocation of the Holy Spirit with a request to consecrate the Gifts during the Eucharistic prayer). This issue became one of the key ones at the Ferraro-Florence Council, at which St. Mark of Ephesus defended the Orthodox position. It is important to note that the Greco-Latin controversy surrounding the quality of the Eucharistic bread and the time of the consecration of the Gifts did not question the unity in the understanding of what exactly happens during consecration.
Theology of the Eucharist in the West. Disputes about the content of the Eucharistic consecration of the Gifts and about the correspondence between the Holy Gifts in the Eucharist and the physical flesh and blood of Christ began in the West in the 9th century, when a controversy took place between the Benedictine monks and theologians Paschasius Radbert and Ratramnos. In the 11th century, the polemic was continued by Berengarius of Tours, whose teaching (which he himself twice renounced) was condemned by the Roman Church. The disputes that arose between Latin scholastics about the essence of what happened during the consecration of the Gifts led to the consolidation in Latin theology of the term “transsubstantiatio” (transubstantiation, i.e. changing the essences of bread and wine into the essence of the Body and Blood of Christ) from the end of the 11th century; the term and its associated concept were canonized by its use at several 13th century councils and finally elevated to Catholic tradition to the degree of dogma at the Council of Trent.
At the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century, the doctrine of transubstantiation was challenged by John Wycliffe, and then by J. Hus and his followers. In the 16th century, M. Luther, J. Calvin and other leaders of the nascent Protestantism also rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation, while already in early Protestantism the range of teachings about the Eucharist was very wide - from the doctrine of consubstantiation, i.e. the co-presence of the essences of bread in the Holy Gifts and wine and the Body and Blood of Christ (Luther), to the interpretation of the Gifts only as a prototype of the Body of the Savior in heaven (Calvin). In the subsequent history of the various branches of Protestantism, the doctrine of the Eucharist and the practices of its celebration varied greatly. In contrast to the theology of the reformers, the Council of Trent of the Catholic Church emphasized the importance of belief in transubstantiation, in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, in the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist.
Protestant ideas also penetrated into the Orthodox environment - in 1629 in Geneva, under the name of Patriarch of Constantinople Cyril Lucaris, the “Eastern Confession of the Christian Faith” was published, which contained the Calvinist teaching on the Eucharist. He was devoted to the refutation of this doctrine and the statement of the identity of the ancient term “transition” with the term “transubstantiation”. a whole series Orthodox cathedrals of the 17th century; in the definitions of these councils and other official doctrinal documents of the Orthodox Church of the 17th-18th centuries. not only the Calvinist and Lutheran teachings on the Eucharist are rejected, but also the doctrine of “impanation,” i.e., “entrapment,” or the new incarnation of Christ in the Gifts. At the end of the 17th century in Moscow, in connection with the so-called bread-worshipping heresy (i.e., Catholic teaching about the time of consecration), disputes took place about the time of the transfusion of the Holy Gifts, which ended at the Council of 1690, which confirmed Orthodox teaching. The Council of Constantinople in 1691 finally canonized the term “transubstantiation” in relation to the Orthodox teaching on the Eucharist; in the same year, the decisions of this council were officially accepted by the Russian church authorities. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, ideas about revising the Orthodox teaching on the Eucharist were put forward by A. S. Khomyakov and some representatives of Slavophilism at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries; these ideas were criticized by academic theology of the time. Further attempts to abandon the doctrine of transubstantiation were made by some Orthodox theologians of the 20th century (for example, Archpriest S. N. Bulgakov), but the result of these attempts was either a refusal to comprehend what was happening during the consecration of the Gifts, or, in fact, one or another version of the teachings about consubstantiation or impanation. In the 20th century, the Eucharist again became the focus of theologians: many publications were devoted to it, its central place in the life of the Church was constantly emphasized, and more frequent communion began to be widely practiced in both the West and the East.
Lit.: Cheltsov M.V. Polemics between the Greeks and Latins on the issue of unleavened bread in the 11th-12th centuries. St. Petersburg, 1879; Mirkovich G. About the time of the transubstantiation of St. gifts: A dispute that took place in Moscow in the 2nd half of the 17th century. (Experience historical research). Vilna, 1886; Olesnitsky N. The symbolic teaching of Lutherans about the sacrament of the Eucharist and the inconsistency of this teaching. Kamenets-Podolsk, 1894; Malakhov V. Transubstantiation of the Holy Gifts in the Sacrament of the Eucharist // Theological Bulletin. 1898. T. 2. No. 6, 8; Malitsky N. Eucharistic dispute in the West in the 9th century. Sergiev Posad, 1917. T. 1-2; Geiselmann J. R. Eucharistielehre der Vorscholastik. Paderborn, 1926; Spačil Th. Doctrina theologiae orientis separati de ss. Eucharistia. Roma, 1928-1929. Vol. 1-2; Betz J. Eucharistie in der Zeit der griechischen Väter. Freiburg, 1955-1961. Bd 1-2; ‘Ιωάννης (Ζηζιούλας), μητρ. ‘Ή ἑνότης τής ‘Εϰϰλησίας ἐν τη Θεία Ευχαριστία ϰαί τφ ‘ΕπισϰОπῳ ϰατὰ το ὺς τρεις πρώτους αιώνας. Άθήναι, 1965; Jorissen H. Die Entfaltung der Transsubstantiationslehre bis zum Beginn der Hochscholastik. Munster, 1965; Bornert R. Les commentaires byzantins de la Divine Liturgie du VII au XV siècle. P., 1966; Leitzmann H. Messe und Herrenmahl: Eine Studie zur Geschichte der Liturgie. 3. Aufl. B., 1967; Jeremias J. Die Abendmahlworte Jesu. 4. Aufl. Gott., 1967; Eucharisties d'Orient et d'Occident. P., 1970. Vol. 1-2; Georgievsky A. I. O resurrection of the dead in connection with the Eucharist, in the light of the teaching of Holy Scripture // Theological works. M., 1976. Sat. 16; Τζιράϰης Ν.Έ. Ή περί μετουσιώσεως (τρανσυβσταντιατιο) εὐχαριστιαϰή ἕρις. Άθήναι, 1977; La struttura letteraria della preghiera eucaristica / Ed. C. Giraudo. Rome, 1981; Schmemann A. The Eucharist: sacrament of the Kingdom. Crestwood, 1988; Mazza E. La mistagogia. Le catechesi liturgiche della fine del IV secolo e il loro metodo. 2 ed. Rome, 1996; Τρεμπέλας Π. Συμβολαί εις τὴν ἱστορίαν τής χριστιανιϰής λατρείας. Άθήναι, 1998. T. 1-3; Kilmartin E.J. Eucharist in the West: history and theology. Collegeville, 1998; Handbook for liturgical studies. Collegeville, 1999. Vol. 3: The Eucharist; Eucharistia: Encyclopedia de l'eucharistie. P., 2002; Bradshaw P.F. Eucharistic origins. L., 2004; The Eucharist in theology and philosophy. Leuven, 2005; Schmeman A., prot. Eucharist: The Sacrament of the Kingdom. 2nd ed. M., 2006; Eucharist. Eucharistie. International bibliography. 1971-1984. Strasbourg, 1975-85. Vol. 1-2.
(24 votes: 4.71 out of 5)Eucharist(Greek - thanksgiving, from εὖ - good, good and χάρις - reverence, honor) is a Sacrament in which the believer, under the guise of bread and wine, is given the true Body and true Blood of our Lord. Thanking God is the main content of the prayers of this service.
The doctrine of the Eucharist is called.
The Eucharist is the main Sacrament of the Church; it fulfills what a Christian is called to - unity with the Lord. The Eucharist is communion with God, because love is expressed in sacrifice (Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. ), A The Lord Jesus Christ Himself made a sacrifice for the sins of all people.
The celebration of the Eucharist forms the basis of the main Church service -. The Eucharist at the Liturgy marks everything.
“The Eucharist unites centuries, people, and meanings. At the Eucharist you are not only in the Upper Room of Zion - you are also in the 4th century, when the hymns were composed, and in the 6th, 8th, 12th centuries, because the saints of these times are remembered. You are also in the 17th century, because since that time the liturgical rite has undergone changes. You are in the 18th century because you are in a temple that was built at that time. You are in the 19th century because the painting was updated at that time. And you are in the 20th century, because you hear the church singing of your time. This is such a through shaft through which not only the communication of earth and sky occurs, but also the entire earthly history is united.” Maria Krasovitskaya
How God Sees Us
Archpriest Vladimir Hulap
Why is the main Christian Sacrament called the Eucharist, that is, Thanksgiving?
– Often a person remembers God only during illness, misfortune, serious problems - in a word, when his value system, and even life itself, are in question. At such moments, prayer becomes especially fervent. However, even a very diligent prayer of petition is still only one of the first steps of the prayer ladder, at the top of which are praise and thanksgiving to God - and they, unfortunately, fill our hearts much less often.
The Greek name for the main Christian Sacrament, “Eucharist,” is translated as “thanksgiving.” Its most important part is not the reading of notes on health and repose, so beloved by parishioners at the litany, but the Eucharistic prayer. It thanks God for the entire history of salvation: for the creation of the world, the coming of Christ, the gift of the future Kingdom, for the joy of the liturgical assembly. This thanksgiving embraces the past, present and future. The bishop or priest, on behalf of the entire assembled community, thanks for “everything we know and don’t know, the obvious and hidden blessings that have been upon us.” This is gratitude for the fact that each liturgy is a anticipation of the joyful wedding feast of the Lamb (see), to which each of us received an invitation at the moment of our baptism.
At the Last Supper, Christ, establishing the sacrament of the Eucharist, gives thanks (see), thereby including in the category of gratitude not only individual joyful events, but the entire totality of His and our lives, including the Cross, without which there can be no Resurrection. “Give thanks in everything” () - you can truly fulfill this commandment only by becoming involved in the sacrificial gift of Christ. Bread and wine are natural gifts of God, which in a grateful response he lifts up to Him and again receives in a completely different quality - as the Body and Blood of Christ. By offering us these Gifts, she simultaneously asks the question: how ready are we to freely and gratefully give God our whole life with its sorrows and joys - or, in the words of the Gospel, to lose it (from the point of view of the surrounding world) in order to find its true depth, see. ).
In ancient times, each believer brought his gifts to the Eucharist, from which the best bread and wine were chosen and placed on the throne. After the Eucharistic prayer, the primate read a prayer of thanksgiving over the other gifts, which the deacons after the service distributed to the needy and took home to sick members of the community. Thus, Eucharistic thanksgiving also acquired a social dimension.
A person who has received a gift from God and truly realized its value will certainly gratefully share it with others. Therefore, Eucharistic thanksgiving is going beyond the narrow boundaries of our egoistic existence, opening a new horizon of a real meeting with the living God. He always extends His hand of love and faithfulness to us. To lean on her in a childish way or to drive another Calvary nail into her - for a Christian, ultimately, this is precisely the choice of gratitude or ingratitude. Any sin is always ingratitude, forgetfulness of the gift of God, suicidal withdrawal into oneself, and Eucharistic thanksgiving, the highest point of which is union with Christ in the communion of His Body and Blood, becomes the restoration of our integrity, a reminder of how God sees us.
Abbot Peter (Meshcherinov):
The Gospel preaches to us the words of Christ: I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly ()
. I am the way and the truth and the life ()
. The Lord, wanting to unite us with Himself, to give us this “life in abundance,” chose for this not some kind of mental-intellectual or aesthetic-cultural method, but the simplest, most natural way for a person - through eating.
Just as food enters us and dissolves in us, penetrates to the last cell of our body, so the Lord wanted to penetrate us to our very last molecule, unite with us, commune with us, so that we too would fully commune with Him.
The human mind refuses and is unable to understand the terrible depth of this action of God; Truly this is the love of Christ, which surpasses all understanding. (cm. ).
priest Alexander Torik:
It should be noted that in some cases, usually due to the lack of faith of the priest or those praying, the Lord allows a miracle to happen - bread and wine to become real human flesh and blood (such cases are even provided for in the priestly “Servant” in the instructions for priests, called “Teaching News”, in the section on unforeseen cases).
Usually, after some time, flesh and blood again take on the form of bread and wine, but there is a known exception: in Italy, in the city of Lanciano, Flesh and Blood with miraculous properties, into which bread and wine were transfigured at the Divine Liturgy, have been preserved for many centuries ().
:
...We call it "Eucharist", from the Greek word which means both “gift” and “thanksgiving”. And indeed, this communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, this incredible communion into which He accepts us, is the greatest gift that the Lord can give us: He makes us brothers and equals with Himself, co-workers with God, and through incredible, incomprehensible action and power Spirit (for this bread is no longer only bread, and this wine is not only wine, they have become the Body and Blood of the Giver), we become embryonic, and gradually more and more, participants in the Divine nature, gods by communion, so that, together with That, Who is the incarnate Son of God, we become the one revelation of God's presence, the “whole Christ” of whom the saint spoke. And even more than this, higher and deeper than this: in this communion with the nature and life of the Only Begotten Son of God, according to the word of the saint, we truly become - in relation to God Himself - the only begotten sons of God.
This is a gift; but what is thanksgiving? What can we bring to the Lord? Bread and wine? They already belong to Him. Yourself? But are we not the Lord's? He called us from nothingness and gave us life; He has given us everything that we are and that we have. What can we bring that would truly be ours? The saint says that God can do everything except one thing: He cannot force the smallest of His creatures to love Him, because love is the highest manifestation of freedom. The only gift we can bring to God is the love of a trusting, faithful heart.
But why is this mystical Eucharistic meal called thanksgiving rather than any other divine service or any other action of ours? What can we give to God? Centuries before Christ came to earth and revealed His Divine love to us, the psalmist David asked himself this question, and the answer he gives is so unexpected, so genuine, so true. He says: What will I repay to the Lord for all His good deeds to me? “I will take the cup of salvation, and I will call on the name of the Lord, and I will offer my prayers to the Lord.”... (). The highest expression of gratitude is not to give a gift back to a person, because if someone receives a gift and gives back for it, then he, as it were, has gotten even and thereby abolished the gift: the giver and the recipient have become equal, both have become givers, but a reciprocal gift in some sense ruined the joy of both.
If we are able to accept the gift with all our hearts, we thereby express our complete trust, our confidence that the giver’s love is perfect, and by accepting the gift with all our hearts and in all the simplicity of our hearts, we bring joy to the one who gave with all our hearts. This is also true in our human relationships: we strive to repay a gift in order to only get rid of gratitude and, as it were, enslavement when we receive a gift from someone who does not love us enough to give it to us with all their hearts, and whom we ourselves do not love enough to accept with all your heart.
This is why the Eucharist is the greatest thanksgiving of the Church and the greatest thanksgiving of the whole earth. People who believe in the love of God with an open heart and without any thought of “getting even” for the gift, but only rejoicing in the love that the gift expresses, receive from God not only what He can give, but also what He Himself is, and participation in His life, in His nature, His eternity, His Divine love. Only if we are able to accept the gift with perfect gratitude and perfect joy will our participation in the Eucharist be genuine; only then does the Eucharist become the highest expression of our gratitude.
But gratitude is difficult, because it requires from us hope, a loving heart capable of rejoicing in the gift, and complete trust in the giver and faith in his love, that this gift will not humiliate us or enslave us. That is why, day by day, we must grow into this ability to love and be loved, the ability to be grateful and rejoice; and only then will the Lord’s Last Supper become the perfect gift of God and the perfect response to it of the whole earth. Amen.
Communion is a real communion with the Divine, which, as Simeon of Thessaloniki wrote (XV century), is the goal of the Liturgy and “the pinnacle of all blessings and desires” .
In the treatise “On the Mysterious Body of the Lord Jesus Christ” Patriarch of Constantinople Gennady Scholarius placed the sacrament of the Eucharist above the sacrament of baptism:
There are a number of doctrinal differences between various Christian denominations in the understanding of the Eucharist (in Eucharistology) and in practical implementation.
Conditions for the celebration of the sacrament of the Eucharist
At the same time, neither Orthodoxy nor Catholicism reduces the sacramental action to certain words (although similar attempts have been made in the past) and does not try to determine the exact moment of the transfusion of the Holy Gifts, but emphasizes the significance of the entire Eucharistic canon (anaphora) as a single act.
Substances of the Sacrament
For the Eucharist, the Orthodox, Copts, Syro-Jacobites and the Assyrian Church of the East use leavened bread - prosphora. In Orthodoxy of the Byzantine tradition, wine must be diluted after transubstantiation into the Blood of Christ hot water(“warmth”, “zeon”). Leavened bread and “warmth” in the Orthodox Church symbolize the complete deification of Christ’s human nature throughout His entire earthly “economy of our salvation”: from the incarnation, on the cross, in death, in resurrection, in ascension.
In Western Rite Orthodox parishes, unleavened bread (unleavened bread) is used.
Latin Rite Catholics use unleavened bread (hostia), while Eastern Rite Catholics use leavened bread. Communion of the laity under two types became possible among Catholics after the Second Vatican Council.
Orthodox Christians can receive communion after the sacrament of baptism has been performed on them, which is combined with confirmation and, according to different traditions, can be performed either on the 8th day after birth, or on the 40th day after birth (this is how, according to life, Sergius of Radonezh was baptized). In the event of a threat to the baby's life, baptism can and should be performed immediately.
Frequency of Communion
Unanimous opinion on how often one should take communion Orthodox Christian, currently not . During the Synodal period of the history of the Russian Church, the practice was typical rare communion. Currently, in the Russian Orthodox Church, one of the most typical recommendations about the frequency of communion is monthly communion for adults, weekly communion for babies.
One of their supporters of frequent communion was the Monk Nicodemus the Holy Mountain, who advocated that the laity, just like the priests, receive communion at every liturgy at which they are present. The Monk Nicodemus the Holy Mountain and St. Macarius of Corinth wrote “The Most Soulful Book on the Continuous Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ,” which contains many sayings of the ancient great saints about the benefits of frequent communion and says: “ Ah, my brothers, if we could at least once see with the mental eyes of our souls what lofty and great blessings we are depriving ourselves of by not constantly receiving communion, then, of course, we would make every effort to prepare and receive communion if there were opportunity, every day».
In Catholicism
Communion of newlyweds in the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church teaches that Christ is really present under every type in every particle of the Holy Gifts, therefore it believes that by communing both under one type (Bread only) and under two (Bread and Wine), a person communes with Christ in all its fullness. This teaching was the basis for the medieval church practice of communion for the laity under one form, and for the clergy under two. The Constitution of the Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, permitted communion under two types and for the laity. In modern liturgical practice of the Catholic Church, both methods of communion for the laity are used, depending on the ruling of the local Conference of Catholic Bishops and the conditions for the celebration of the Eucharist. First communion in the Latin rite is traditionally celebrated between the ages of 7 and 12 and is celebrated with special solemnity.
In Catholicism, there are a number of non-liturgical types of veneration of the Holy Gifts, into which bread and wine are transubstantiated in the Eucharist. One of them is adoration - the display of the Holy Gifts in a monstrance special type(monstration) for worship and prayer before them. On the Thursday following the Day of the Holy Trinity, that is, on the eleventh day after Pentecost, the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is celebrated (lat. Corpus Christi - Body of Christ ), during which solemn processions with the Holy Gifts take place through the streets of cities.
Ancient Eastern churches
Communion in the Armenian Church
In other church directions
However, a metaphorical understanding of these words, as well as the continuation of the apostle’s thought, is also possible: “Therefore, my brethren, when you gather together to supper, wait for one another. And if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not gather for condemnation.”(1 Cor.). By "everyone" could be meant various factions in the Corinthian church - ““I am Pavlov”; “I am Apollosov”; “I am Kifin”; "And I am Christ's"(1 Cor.), - each of which sought to have its own Supper: “For, first of all, I hear that when you gather together for church, there are divisions among you (σχίσματα)”(1 Cor.).
One way or another, the Lord's Supper is considered here not only as a sacrament of communion with the divine nature through partaking of the Body of Christ, but first of all as an act of reunification, actualization of the Church as the Body of Christ: “When you are going to Church...”(1 Cor.) Therefore, its necessary condition is the unity of believers - members of a single Body. “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a communion of the Blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a communion of the Body of Christ? There is one bread, and we, many, are one body; for we all partake of one bread"(1 Cor.). “And you are the body of Christ, and separately you are members”(1 Cor.).
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that on the evening of Nisan 14, 33 AD. e. Jesus instituted the "Lord's Supper." He had just finished celebrating Passover with his disciples, so they thought the date was known for sure. Based on this date, Jehovah's Witnesses can celebrate this event every year on the appropriate day, just as the Jewish Passover is celebrated.
Other versions of the origin of the Eucharist
The custom of eating human flesh in animism was based on the belief that the strength and other properties of the killed are transferred to the eater. Primitive man could not reach the idea of eternity; gods had to die, just like people. Therefore, the incarnate god or his priest, as well as the king, were killed among some peoples, so that their souls could pass on in full strength to the souls of other mortals. Later, eating the god is replaced by eating an animal or bread dedicated to him.
Some Western scientists associate the origin of the Christian Eucharist with the ancient rites of ritual-magical cannibalism (theophagy). Influenced by the mythological school, a similar point of view is present in TSB. According to TSB, in one form or another, these ideas have entered many religions (Mithraism, Christianity).
Early Christians were persecuted by the authorities of the Roman Empire due to some similarities between the rite of the Eucharist and ritual cannibalism.
See also
Notes
- Dionysius the Areopagite. About the church hierarchy. Chapter 3. About what happens in the meeting.
- , 155, 300 V
- About the Mystical Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ // Sermons of St. Gennady II (George) Scholarius, Patriarch of Constantinople. - St. Petersburg, 2007. - P. 279
- Three words of defense against those who condemn holy icons or images. - St. Petersburg, 1893, rSTSL, 1993. - P. 108
- Tomos and definitions of the Council of Constantinople 1157 // Uspensky F. I."Synodik". - pp. 428–431. Quote by Pavel Cheremukhin “The Council of Constantinople 1157 and Nicholas Bishop. Methonic." // Theological works. Sat. 1. - M., 1960.
- Explanation Orthodox services, rituals and sacraments. Blessed Simeon of Thessalonica. - Oranta Publishing House. 2010. - S. 5.
- Conclusion of the Synodal Theological Commission on the Joint Statement of the Orthodox Lutheran Commission on Theological Dialogue “The Mystery of the Church: The Holy Eucharist in the Life of the Church” (Bratislava, 2-9.11.2006)
- Archpriest Valentin Asmus:<Евхаристия>// Patriarchia.ru, March 15, 2006
- Uspensky N. D. Patristic teaching on the Eucharist and the emergence of confessional differences // Anaphora. Experience of historical and liturgical analysis. Theological works. Sat. 13. - M., 1975. - pp. 125-147.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church. Compendium. - Cultural Center “Spiritual Library, 2007 ISBN 5-94270-048-6”
- Archimandrite Cyprian (Kern). Section two. Explanation of the Liturgy (Practical instructions and theological interpretation) Components of the Liturgy Έπίκλησις (Prayer of invoking the Holy Spirit) Origin of the epiclesis prayer // Eucharist (from readings at the Orthodox Theological Institute in Paris). - M.: Church of St. bessr. Cosmas and Domiana on Maroseyka, 1999.
- Juan Mateos. Development of the Byzantine Liturgy // John XXIII Lectures. Vol. I. 1965. Byzantine Christian Heritage. - New York (Bronx), N. Y.: John XXIII Center For Eastern Christian Studies. Fordham University, 1966.
- Shmeman A. D. prot. The Eucharist: The Sacrament of the Kingdom. - M., 1992.
- Taft R.F. The Epiclesis Question in the Light of the Orthodox and Catholic Lex Orandi Traditions // New Perspectives on Historical Theology: Essays in memory of John Meyendorff. Michigan, Cambridge, 1995. P.
- Quote by Averky (Taushev). Liturgics / Ed. Laurus (Shkurla), archbishop. - Jordanville: Holy Trinity Convent, 2000. - 525 p.
- These traditions existed in the past. At present they are not followed very strictly.
- “In modern Orthodoxy there is no generally accepted opinion regarding how often one should receive communion. The practice of one Local Orthodox Church in this regard may differ significantly from the practice of another Church, and even within one Local Church different practices may exist in different regions, dioceses and parishes. Sometimes, even in the same parish, two priests teach differently about how often one should approach the Sacrament of the Eucharist.” This is what Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) writes (see How often should one receive communion? // “Illarion (Alfeev), Metropolitan”, Orthodoxy. Volume 2)
- “... before the revolution, only a few sought frequent communion, and monthly communion was considered almost some kind of feat, and mostly people approached the Holy Chalice once a year,” writes Priest Daniel in his article “On Frequent Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ” Sysoev.
- "Maksimov, Yuri", The truth about the practice of frequent communion. Part 2 on the website Pravoslavie.Ru
- “Eucharist” // Catholic Encyclopedia. T.1. M.: Ed. Franciscans, 2002. - S. 1782
- Sacrosanctum Concilium. &55 // Documents of the Second Vatican Council. / Per. Andrey Koval. - M.: Paoline, 1998, 589 p.
- , Book of Concord: Confession and Doctrine of the Lutheran Church. - St. Petersburg: Lutheran Heritage Foundation, 1996. VI,2
- The Shorter Catechism of Dr. Martin Luther, Book of Concord: Confession and Doctrine of the Lutheran Church. - St. Petersburg: Lutheran Heritage Foundation, 1996. VI,4
- Sokolov P. N. Agape, or love suppers, in the ancient Christian world. - M.: Dar: St. Petersburg. : Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2011. - 254 p.
- Jehovah's Witnesses // Smirnov M. Yu. Reformation and Protestantism: Dictionary. - St. Petersburg: St. Petersburg Publishing House. Univ., 2005. - 197 p.
- Dvorkin A.L. Sectology. Totalitarian sects. Experience of systematic research. - Nizhny Novgorod: Christian Library, 2006. - P.165-166, P.174 ISBN 5-88213-050-6
- Ivanenko S. I. About people who never part with the Bible. - M.: Republic, 1999. - 270 p. - ISBN 5728701760
