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Question 76.
Father Christopher, Your blessing!
I had been told recently by a relative that the Holy Communion
administered to the faithful who are ill is not the same as, or is
somehow 'different' to, the Holy Communion administered during the
Divine Liturgy (i.e. Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Chalice). I
considered this to be absurd, as Holy Communion is surely one (the same
at all times and in all places) just as Christ is one. Therefore, I ask:
since it is typical for Holy Communion to be consumed entirely by either
the deacon or the priest at the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, what
happens when a priest is called, for example, at 2:30 a.m. on a Monday
to administer Holy Communion to someone who is on their deathbed? Where
does the Holy Communion come from? Is there always Holy Communion kept
in the tabernacle?
With all due respect,
Evangelos.
Answer to Question 76.
Dear Evangelos,
On Wednesdays and Fridays of Great Lent, the Church offers the
Presanctified Liturgies where people can come and partake of Holy
Communion. They are called Presanctified because on the Previous Sunday
the priest prepares two more Lambs with the Lamb that will be used for
the Sunday. When the time comes for the consecration the three Lambs are
consecrated together in the singular tense because even though there
might be three pieces of bread on the paten, Christ is only one. Thus
the priest does not say: "Bless these breads" but "let Thy Holy Spirit
come upon us and upon these gifts here set forth, and bless, hallow and
manifest: This bread the precious and very Body of our Lord and God and
Saviour Jesus Christ. (St. Basil's Liturgy)
Just before Communion, the priest will take each Lamb (Body) that will
be used during the Presanctified and dip them into the chalice to be
soaked with the Blood of Christ. He will then place the lambs upside
down on an extra Paten or special vessel to preserve them until they are
needed.
Something similar is done during the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Great
Thursday. An extra Lamb is consecrated, dipped in the Blood and
preserved on an extra paten. The next day or when the priest finds time,
the Lamb is cut into small pieces and slowly dried using the heat from
an electrical lamp. In older times the paten (silver only) was placed
over coals or a small fire and the Lamb was slowly cooked dry but with
this method there was always the danger of over cooking and burning the
Lamb. When the Lamb is completely dried is it is placed in a special
vessel called the Artophorion which is kept on the Holy Altar at all
times. Thus there is always the Body and Blood of Christ available to
commune those in need at whatever time of the day or night. The next
year on Great Thursday, the priest will again prepare a second Lamb and
will consume the dried Gifts of the previous year. There is absolutely
no difference in the preserved Holy Gifts from the Holy Gifts we receive
during the Liturgy. If there is a difference it is not in the Holy Gifts
but in the way it is administered.
When called to give Holy Communion to someone ill at home or in hospital
the priest should take with him a small container with a portion of the
Dried Gifts, some sweet wine, a communion spoon and other things
required for the purpose. The Dried Lamb is placed in a small chalice or
even directly on the communion spoon and wine is added. As the Lamb is
dry, enough time must be allowed for it to soak up the wine and soften.
Holy Communion can then be given to the ill patient.
Some priest use a different method. Instead of preparing the Gifts on
the spot, they have a bottle prepared beforehand where they place some
of the dried Body and then fill the bottle with wine. They will take
this bottle with them and pour from the bottle onto the communion spoon
and give communion in this way. This method is widely used, but there
are some theological problems. During usual Communion, if the priests
runs low on the Blood of Christ he can top up by adding extra wine as
this will mix with the Blood already in the Chalice and become one. With
the Dried Elements, the question arises if the wine added to the Gifts
mixes with the Dried Blood and becomes one with the Blood of Christ.
Also the dried Body in the bottle sinks to the bottom of the bottle and
when the priest pours out onto the Communion spoon the Body usually
remains behind. So the recipient is not receiving the Body but only the
Blood and this only if the wine mixes with the dried Blood. If the
priest is to use this method which is much easier and quicker, the
bottle or container he uses must have an opening wide enough for the
spoon to enter and pick up a portion of the Body. He must also keep in
mind that the bottle he uses is now a sacred vessel like the chalice and
must be treated accordingly.
The same methods are used to give Communion to infants and adults after
Baptism. I prefer the first method of preparing as needed and make sure
the Gifts have enough time to soften in the wine otherwise the infant,
on receiving a hard and dried pearl, will most likely spit it out.
With love in Christ
Fr. Christopher
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