Closed Communion in the Orthodox Church
When a stranger approaches the Holy Gifts during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy it is the norm in the Orthodox Church for the priest to ask the person to “kiss the chalice”. Not knowing if the person is Orthodox, or whether they are in good standing with the Church, the priest can not give them communion. This “closed communion” is not meant as a way of separating ourselves from visitors as though we were better than them, but as our way of guarding the Holy Mysteries from being received by someone who is not part of the Church and who may hold to views concerning the Eucharist that are in opposition to the teachings of scripture and the dogmas of the Ancient Apostolic and Catholic Church.
Priests are guardians of the Holy Mysteries and must make sure they are not defiled. The priest must also protect the person who may receive without proper preparation and belief. Every Orthodox Christian is expected to have prepared for communion by abstaining from all food and drink from midnight on, as well as having said the pre-communion prayers. A good confession is also an important part of proper preparation for Holy Communion.
When a person believes that the things which we teach are true and has receive baptism in the Orthodox Church unto regeneration, and who is so living a life in Christ, the communion is not simply common bread or common wine we are receiving, but the very Body and Blood of the Saviour. The Logos (Word) Who took on our flesh for the salvation of the world, is received into our bodies through the action of the Holy Spirit and the prayer of His word (this is my body….this is my blood). At this moment our blood and flesh, by transmutation, are nourished with the flesh and blood of Jesus who was made flesh.
Closed communion is the way the Church protects anyone who does not hold to these beliefs from receiving unworthily and therefore hurting their soul. As well, when the priest co-mingles the commemoration particles after the communion of the faithful, with the Body and Blood of Christ, he commemorates the union we have with each other as members of the Body of Christ, the Church. This union is not just with those who are communing with us in this Liturgy, but a union of both the Church Militant here on earth, and the Church Triumphant in heaven. Within the life of the Church there is no separation from each other at death. The Body of Christ is made up of both those who have gone on before us and those who are still alive, for we are all alive in Christ. In a very real way we are not only communing of Christ’s true Body and Blood, but we are communing of each other as the Body of Christ, the Church!
Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Thursday September 17, 2015 / September 4, 2015
16th Week after Pentecost. Tone six.
Hieromartyr Babylas, bishop of Antioch, with Martyrs Urban, Prilidian, and Epolonius, and their mother Christodula (251).
Holy Prophet and God-seer Moses (1531 B.C.).
Uncovering of the relics (1911) of St. Ioasaph, bishop of Belgorod (1754).
Uncovering of the relics (1989) of St. Metrophanes, bishop of Voronezh (1703).
Synaxis of All Saints of Voronezh.
Hieromartyr Parthenius, abbot of Kiziltis Monastery in Crimea (1867).
New Hieromartyrs Paul, John, Nicholas, Nicholas, John, Nicholas, Alexander, Peter and Michael priests, Hieromartyr Stephen, Martyrs Basil, Peter, Stephen and Alexander (1937).
New Hieromartyrs Gregory (Lebedev) Bishop of Shliserburg and Sergius (Druzhinin) Bishop of Narva (1937).
Virgin-Martyr Helen (1942).
Martyr Hermione, daughter of Apostle Philip the Deacon (117).
Martyr Babylas of Nicomedia, and with him 84 children (4th c.).
Martyrs Theodore, Mianus (Ammianus), Julian, Kion (Oceanus), and Centurionus of Nicomedia (305-311).
Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos “The Unburnt Bush” (1680).
St. Joachim, patriarch of Alexandria.
Venerable Petronius of Egypt (346), disciple of St. Pachomius the Great.
Martyr Charitina of Amisus (Greek).
Martyrs Thathuil and Bebaia of Edessa (2nd c.) (Greek).
Martyr Jerusalem of Berroia (Greek).
Martyrs Theotimus and Theodulus the executioners (Greek).
St. Symeon, abbot and wonderworker of Garesja (1777).
St. Anthimus the Blind, new ascetic of Cephalonia (1782).
New Hieromartyr Peter, metropolitan of Dabro-Bosnia (1941).
Translation of the relics of St. Birinus, bishop of Dorchester-on-Thames and enlighterer of Wessex.
Translation of the relics St. Cuthberg, bishop of Lindisfarne.
Scripture Readings
Ephesians 1:1-9
Greeting
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,
To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Redemption in Christ
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
Mark 7:24-30
A Gentile Shows Her Faith
24 From there He arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.[a] And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. 25 For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Him, and she came and fell at His feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.”
28 And she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
29 Then He said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.
There are no strangers to God. A little child has little comprehension of what the Church militant is really going through and someone like Corrie Ten Boom, who hid Jews from the Nazi’s really did know. She spent the rest of her free life after all her family died in the concentration camps, telling people about the love of Jesus and yet you would not give her communion if she entered your service? What about Billy Graham? God knows the heart of the partaker, better than anyone here on earth. I respect the Orthodox and Catholic faith but isn’t it time to let Jesus be the judge of who partakes in his gift for humanity? He said “Come to me ALL who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Didn’t he also give His life for ALL? God so loved the world??? He said let the children come to me. Aren’t we all little children in His eyes. It really is a glorious mystery to all of us. Why keep the feast away from anyone who asks for His Holy Food. Did Jesus keep his body from sinners when He walked among them? Why keep His spiritual food from those who ask? If their heart is wrong, let God be the judge, like He said. Does God really need our protection? Our respect, reverence obedience, yes. I do not partake of communion in the Orthodox church,simply out of respect for your beliefs and rules. When I am given the Holy Bread and Wine, it is about what Jesus did for me, His forgiveness for me. Yes, I come, a humble sinner, along with my fellow sinners to the table of Healing Mystery. Someday, all who believe in what Jesus did for all of mankind will be together feasting without limits when the Mystery is revealed and we are together with Him, like the thief on the cross, in Paradise.
Just some wanderings from pilgrim in process. With respect for all that you do and are. Thanks for listening.
Communion is available to all the people you mentioned. They can become Orthodox Christians. If they believe that the chalice contains the Body and Blood of Christ, what conceivable reason could there be to abstain from joining His church?
First, “Priests are guardians of the Holy Mysteries and must make sure they are not defiled.” This sounds like the attitude of the Pharisees to Jesus allowing Himself to be touched by the “unclean.” Not a convincing argument.
Second, the Eucharist is a meal for the covenant people of God not an event of “hospitality.” No doubt about it. However, sometimes it is our desperation for the life-giving Christ Jesus and our inability to be “duly prepared” that makes us most prepared to partake of the Holy Mysteries. “Come unto me all ye who travail and are heavy laden…”
Third, I know non-Orthodox folks who are more Orthodox than the Orthodox folks. Those “non-Orthodox” who seek in a heartfelt way the deeper life in Christ Jesus that Orthodoxy offers are sometimes more “duly prepared” than the Orthodox who come in a nonchalant manner but are allowed to receive because they are technically “Orthodox.”
Almost every articulation of the “closed communion” I have come across display a fortress mentality.
I am not calling for negligence but I am signally the need for pastoral insight regarding the non-Orthodox who truly seek deeper communion with the Lord.
The bread and wine becomes the Body and Blood through a process. It requires a bishop, with proper apostolic succession to perform a ritual which is prescribed. The Holy Spirit joins into the process and sanctifies the Gifts based on a promise – a covenant. Both sides need to fulfill their part for the Sacrament to occur.
A person can’t unilaterally enter the Kingdom of Heaven on his or her own terms. A priest can’t just demand that the Holy Spirit sanctify gifts on any arbitrary terms. A person can’t demand communion on his or her terms.
That’s a pretty basic tenet of Christianity. That both sides need to move toward each other for the connection to occur. Another tenet is that the Church – the rituals, rules, people, succession – has intrinsic value and is necessary for salvation.
You used an extreme – the pharisees – to illustrate your point. But remember that Jesus also subjugated himself to the rules, rituals, and sacraments of His day.
The Pharisaical attitude is not an extreme. It is a pretty simple label for a “hardness of heart” or slavery to traditions that, at their core, were intended to minister to people not categorize them. Once again, I am in no way negating the need to be on a journey toward full union with the Church. What I am saying is that those who are not “Orthodox” but are on the journey in a truly heartfelt way are just as valid recipients of the Holy Mysteries as those who receive out of a “technical qualification” that has little to do with heart and more to do with “following the rules.”
I must say – it’s hard to defend against the ‘you are a pharisee’ attack. My wife uses it against me often, when I hold an opinion different from her. My response is usually “Yes – I’m guilty. Forgive me.” *
But still, the church for 2000 years has taught that communion is only for the members of the Church. It’s been this way from apostolic times. So pharisee or not, the priest has to do his job correctly.
* Or it might be something else, at times. Or more correctly, most of the time… Unfortunately.
I am not contending for opening communion to non-baptized persons. I am signalling the need to take a look at the narrow way in which “members of the Church” is defined even to exclude those who, known to the priest as faithful Christians but not “Orthodox.”
As a convert from the Congregational Church, where communion is open to anyone and everyone, I struggled with this concept of “closed communion” for a long time – and I understand where the people commenting above are coming from. I used to really love the idea in my old church that there were no rules regarding communion, and I felt at first that all of the preparation for communion in the Orthodox Church was just a bunch of nonsense. As I’ve grown in my faith, however, I’ve learned to appreciate the fact that communion is not to be taken lightly, and that preparing for it is truly important. In my church, at least, people don’t take communion unless they have properly prepared themselves, myself included! Non-Orthodox are always invited to receive the Antidoron at the end of the service – the blessed bread.
I do understand how hard this is…I really do. It takes time. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think it can really become easier unless you’re in the church and actually start doing it. I was lucky to have a priest who was good about letting me grow – and still is!
Thanks for the dialogue. Lazarus, you seemed to open a little window in the “fortress”. Having experienced many different denominations and their services, I have seen and felt how the Holy Spirit is working in many Churches in unique ways. Someday, hopefully, we who trust Jesus died and rose again for us will see we are all one family, one body in Christ. Then perhaps we will be able to share and celebrate open Communion in each others “Church homes” while respecting in our hearts the treasure that it is. Jesus told us to reach out with the good news. I do believe, sharing in the Mystery of Communion, feeding others who have come for Spiritual nourishment is something He would want for His followers to do. And yes, guidelines and instructions for those who might not really understand. Until then, God is working to bring us all closer to Him. For His Glory. Amen
This is an interesting topic, and I hope you don’t mind me chiming in. Here’s my perspective, for what it’s worth:
I don’t think people should be permitted to presumptuously/faithlessly partake of the Eucharist. …Nor do I think they should be denied the Eucharist on the basis of claiming Christ *outside of the Orthodox Church*.
As an Anglican, I enjoy the balance that comes from having a Table that is both safeguarded AND open. Anglicanism is the largest expression of Christianity globally that does *not* say, “You have to be one of us to be a Christian.” That sense of charity and fraternity with Christians of other traditions is a deeply significant matter to me.
I have no aspirations of changing the opinion of Fr. Tryphon (or the commenter John, etc.), but I do want readers to know that this is not a necessarily bipartisan issue. There is a middle way, in which the Table can be closed to unbelievers yet open to all Christians… by which we do not mean all *our stripe* of Christians.
For my part, I find the Anglican practice to embody both the generosity and the severity of Christ’s teaching. I say that as a statement of personal observation, not a remark of condescension or judgment on my Orthodox brothers and sisters.
Again, to be clear, I have only respect and appreciation for Fr. Tryphon and anyone who is living obediently to their convictions in the fear of the Lord. I simply want to add an additional voice from the “via media” of Anglicanism. Thanks.
Fr. Aaron
The middle way is the way of “paradox” rather than the way of “solution.” I agree with Fr. Aaron. If the Holy Mysteries are “mysteries” then they require us to inhabit a context of paradox not rigid “either/or.”
Bravo…
If we do not believe it to be truly the same thing. By “we” I mean Christians of different denominations and beliefs. That it is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, but in most non Orthodox denominations they do not. How can we have open Communion.
We Orthodox believe, this is no mere representation. the Apostle James warns us of partaking unworthily. Then we most hold to protecting the truth, especially in this era of “acceptance of everything as truth.” No one can ever be worthy of this most Holy gift. However if one does not acknowledge it for what it truly is then why would they want to participate? Because everyone else is?
If one believes truly believes that this Sacrament is what the Orthodox Church says it is and wants to participate the doors to catechism are always open, by which the table becomes open.
Dear Father Tryphon,
I recently wrote a comprehensive defense of so-called “closed communion”. You can find it on our website here http://www.wenorthodox.com/2015/05/monogamous-communion-a-defense-of-closed-communion-by-fr-michael-shanbour/ or at http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/monogamous-communion-a-defense-of-closed-communion.aspx.
Open communion did not exist in any significant way until the 20th century. There is a reason for that. Open communion can only exist after one accepts an ecclesiology that is foreign to the Church Fathers and to most of the Protestant Reformers. Most Protestants will be surprised to find the vehemency with which Martin Luther attacked the idea of “open” communion.
There is no such thing as “open communion” or “closed communion”, there is either communion (i.e. a shared belief and Christian life) or there is not.
If you so want to be a part of the Orthodox church then all of you that are bad mouthing the Abbot should be ashamed of yourselves. Open up your heart not your mind. Why don’t you start understanding and read some of our Orthodox books and know yourselves that what Abbot Tryphon speaks is the truth. Shame on all you that are not understanding the truth.