Transubstantiation??

[Jennifer]

What do Eastern Orthodox believe on this subject.

[Rey Reynoso]

Oooh good question. I hope someone answers. I think I've read they believe in Real Presence without explaining that but I may have misread that.

[Jennifer]

That is my understanding too.

[Rey Reynoso]

nice! start it!

1HOPE1 said:

Has anyone ever put together a list of what they thought was to be taken literal or figurative and symbolic in the Bible? I think that would be a very interesting topic.
What is to be taken literal?
Figurative?

Symbolic?

When Jesus said "this is my body", ---literal, figurative or symbolic?

[Otsukafan]

Well, the short answer is I don't think any Orthodox are comfortable with that term per say. We certainly believe in the presence of the actual Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, we're just not big on trying to explain the when and how.

[James Gibbons]

Wanna see Gina weigh in here.

[Rey Reynoso]

Interestingly enough, that book I read on Luther's take on it seemed very EO. Real Presence as a Gospel Work and a claim to mystery.

[Otsukafan]

lol...in almost every case Gina is the one you want, but this one is pretty basic. It's pretty much what I said across the Orthodox board.

James Gibbons said:

Wanna see Gina weigh in here.

[Jennifer]

Otsukafan said:

lol...in almost every case Gina is the one you want, but this one is pretty basic. It's pretty much what I said across the Orthodox board.

James Gibbons said:

Wanna see Gina weigh in here.

so does the Bread and Wine remain

[Gina]

What Rey and Kelly said!

The books to read here are probably Fr. Alexander Schmemann, For the Life of the World and The Eucharist. But you can get a snip online. In fact, Fr. Schmemann would likely say that the question is pretty much beside the point, or at least not as important as it should be. Here he is referring mainly to distortions that crept in to Orthodox Eucharistic thinking and practice from the West, so you have to understand "our" as meaning "the way we sometimes do it and shouldn't," rather than what is broadly true of Orthodoxy:

"Having forgotten the ecclesiological and the eschatological significance of the Eucharist, having reduced it to one 'means of grace' among many, our official theology was bound to limit the theological study of the Eucharist to only two problems: that of the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and that of communion. As applied to the Eucharist, the term 'sacrament' usually means either one of these acts or both, although it is explicitly admitted that they can be treated separately. Within this theological framework the Church remains mainly as a 'power' — to perform the transformation, to give communion. The priest is the minister (the 'performer') of the sacrament, the elements of bread and wine — its 'matter,' the communicant — its recipient. But communion having long ago ceased to be a self-evident fulfillment of the sacrament — 90% of our eucharistic celebrations are without communicants — there developed an additional and virtually independent theology of the Eucharist as sacrifice, essential per se, regardless of the people’s presence or participation. And finally, since theology by focusing its attention on these two moments of the Eucharist imperceptibly relegated all other elements of the eucharistic celebration into the category of 'non-essential' rituals, the door was open to their interpretation in terms of liturgical symbolism. As understood and explained since Cabasilas, the Eucharist is a symbolical representation of the life of Christ, serving as a framework for the double sacrament of consecration and communion, yet not essential for its 'validity' and 'efficacy.'"

[CB]

Catholics believe the substance is changed. Orthodox believe it is changed but "substance" is not part of our theological dictionary. Lutherans believe Christ creeps "in or or under" the elements.

[James Gibbons]

Otsukafan said:

lol...in almost every case Gina is the one you want, but this one is pretty basic. It's pretty much what I said across the Orthodox board.

James Gibbons said:

Wanna see Gina weigh in here.

Don’t think even Gina can convince me on this one. But I always find it comforting and helpful to hear her voice. And sometimes…like with headcovering discussion…she completely knocks my socks off.

[Gina]

Aw shucks.

I didn't need convincing of this one- a conviction of our sacramental world crept in the back door. Attending and hosting messianic seders helped me make the tie-in to how you can literally eat and drink God.