www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology How Melkites Distribute the Eucharist

I have attended Antiochian Orthodox liturgies, Ruthenian RDL liturgies, and Melkite Catholic liturgies. I watch various Byzantine Catholic or Orthodox rites online. All these churches distribute the Holy Eucharist using a spoon, except the Melkite Catholic.

Despite the Melkite Liturgy being beautiful, this practice seems very out of the norm compared to other churches. Is this a latinization or was the Holy Eucharist accidentally dropped often? (God forbid)

God Bless

chaldobyzantine:

Christ is in our midst!! He is and always will be!!

Please be more charitable in posting the topic of new threads. It is not up to us--whether individuals or members of an internet forum--to be judging the way in which the bishops of a particular Church practice the distribution of the Holy Gifts.

Perhaps one of our clergy members can fill you in on this custom of the Melkite Catholic Church. It has been discussed at length in otehr threads on the forum.

Bob
Moderator

I apologize. I will try to have my posts be less aggressive. Can you please post the link where this topic has been discussed? I can't seem to find it.

Thanks
God Bless ;)

Let's not forget that even administration of Communion using the spoon is a development that dates to some time between the fifth and seventh centuries (nobody seems to be quite sure when it began). The original Tradition of the universal Church, universally attested, is to receive the Body of Christ in one's hands, and to drink directly from the Chalice. It was common in the early Church for the faithful to retain particles (or more likely, chunks) of the consecrated Bread to eat with meals during the week, since the Eucharist was originally celebrated only on Sundays. In his biography of his sister, St. Gorgonia, St. Gregory Nanzianzen recounts how, when she was afflicted by a serious illness, she received the Eucharist on her sick bed, and retaining a piece of Christ's Body in her hands, she spent the night in prayer, and by morning was miraculously cured.

Why did the Church depart from its original practice? Probably, the influx of many poorly catechized converts after Constantine legitimized Christianity led to a fear of profanation, which in turn led to an increasing clericalization of the Liturgy and the belief that the Sacred Gifts could only be touched by the hands of an ordained minister. In the Byzantine Churches, this resulted in the mixing of the Bread in the Chalice and placing it in the mouth of the communicant using a spoon. In the West, it led to the placing of the Host directly into the mouth of the communicant. Early hosts looked very little like the pre-punched, paper-thin wafers used today; though unleavened, they were most definitely bread. The Alexandrine Liturgy of St. James still calls for the Eucharist to be distributed directly into the hands of the faithful, and for the faithful to drink directly from the Chalice.

Since that time, many Churches have devised different methods of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ. The Melkite method of cutting the Prosphora in julienne strips and dipping them into Chalice seems to be a 19th century development, definitely influenced by the West, and probably caused by concern about disease transmission (or perhaps simple aesthetics?). Either way, it's a legitimate development on their part, and since nobody (even the Latins) actually administers the Eucharist as it was done in the time of the Cappodocians, let alone Justin Martyr or Hippolytus of Rome, it should just be accepted for what it is.

Although we @ St. Basil's are a Ruthenian parish, our prsent administrater served for many years in the melkite Church. He often distributes the Holy Gifts in the Melkite manner, and it doesn't seem to bother anyone. We went so long without a resident priest we're not about to get upset over this departure from the more standard Ruthenian method.

In fact, it's perfectly fine by me.

Sometimes the prosphora are baked according to the Melkite recipe and the result is what I'd call a mildly "fragranced" bread. I like that, too.

I'm just glad and grateful to be able to receive the Holy Gifts, period.

The Romanian Greek Catholics also communicate by intinction. I believe I recall Bishop John-Michael (Botean) telling me that he traced the practice to the Greek College at beginning of the 20th century.

Father Cyril speaks of the origins of the Melkiye praxis in his history of the Melkite Patriarchate. I'm trying to find the precise reference at someone's request but haven't as yet (the volumes aren't indexed, regretably).

As memory serves, it was a 19th century adaptation and I believe came about through the influence of French missionaries who were reacting to Pasteur's work on germ theory.

Many years,

Neil

Ah! Les microbes! Zut alors!

Does anyone know what they add that gives it fragrance?

As a prosphora baker, I'm intrigued and would like to know more.

Rosewater, rubbed on the outside.

Wow! That is so cool. Maybe I should become Melkite. My Ruthenian prosphora will never be the same now that I know this...

Lo and behold:

www.mliles.com/melkite/qurban/shtml [mliles.com]

and: www.mliles.com/melkite/qurbanrecipenewton.doc [mliles.com]

First link is 404. Second link downloads fine.

I'm told that the addition of a spice called "malepi" or "mahlab" (powdered pits of the St. Lucie cherry) to the dough is what gives the Melkite prosphora its unique flavor.

This came as a surprise to me as I had been taught by the (RC) nuns that bread for the Eucharist had to be made of wheat flour, water, and in the case of ECs, yeast and a bit of salt were allowed.

Learn something new every day...

Thanks. I read through the recipe at the second link. It's a pretty standard prosphora recipe (although the bit about cutting into the dough with scissors is something I hadn't come across before). Doesn't mention rosewater, or mahlepi (sp?). I used to have a recipe for tsoureki (a Greek bread) that had mahlepi in it.

So far, in reading about prosphora, I've always read it is to be made only from wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt, and nothing else is to be added. But it seems plausible that there might be varying local customs.