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Hello,

I was wondering if there were any Serbian Orthodox, in this forum, who might be able to explain to me the rules & customs concerning the reception of Holy Communion, in the Serbian Orthodox Chruch?

Most often, when I attend Liturgy in Serbian Orthodox Chruches, no one, or occaisionally, one or two will receive. Usually, no one receives.

I find this interesting. Would any Serbian Orthodox in the forum care to elaborate?

In my Eastern Orthodox Chruch, (OCA/Russion), almost the entire congregation receives almost every week.

In Christ,
Ray Musicbear

I went to a Macedonian Church on the odd occasion some years ago and no one went on to communion on any of the occassions I was there.

When I was a kid it was rumored that the Serbian priests rarely had the Host in the chalices because no one received Communion regularly. I don't believe that the rumors were true, but it indicates a certain sense of what you're asking about.

Once, many years ago, I went to Confession with a Carpatho-Rusyn priest on, say, a Tuesday and to Serbian church on Wednesday. The priest, a friend of mine, got quite annoyed and stopped everything when I came forward for Communion. We did a quick Confession and then activity resumed. The Confession with the Carpatho-Rusyn priest didn't count. Since then priests have given me different reads on this. I never repeated the exercise and this was good for me.

The nearest Serbian church to me now always has many Communicants. But in Serbia in the Patriarchal Cathedral and at St. Marko's only about half of those present will receive Communion on a Sunday and often a priest hurries people along, which is something Americans often find troubling. In Smederevo and Nis, on the other hand, I have seen everyone present in the main church receive Communion at a very slow and meditative pace.

I came up believing that these differences were a matter of Church discipline and traditions which others had let slip. Serbian friends in Serbia have given me differing answers. I'm wondering if it is not also a matter of geography and priests.

Faithfully,

bob

Ray, the Serbs, as many Slavs, take the preparation for Communion very seriously and will only receive a few times a year. Confession, fasting beforehand, and the full Communion prayer preparation have to be completed.

In the two Serbian parishes in our area, it is the same. The Antiochians, Greeks, and OCA parishes often advocate more frequent Communion.
DD

Thank you, once again Father, for a very satisfying reply; I had heard something along these lines today after Liturgy. We started to discuss this same topic at our Coffee Hour!

I must tell you of one rather charming custom I saw, in the last Serbian Church I attended. When Father intoned, "With the fear of God, and with Faith draw near!" Almost the entire congregation took a few steps forward towards the chalice, then stopped. A symbolic gesture of the desire to approach Our Lord in Holy Communion. I think it is a wonderful custom, and since I did not receive today in my Church, practiced the same approach to the chalice this morning; it felt really good to do so too!

Infrequent communion is not something just found in the Slavic churches. A friend who grew up in the GOA said it was not uncommon for people in the churches she attended to commune twice a year. The Wybrew book on the liturgy traces the practice of infrequent communion quite a ways back, I think even before the schism. I believe his take on this is that increasing Eucharistic piety and changes to the liturgy to elevate the place of the Eucharist within the celebration led more and more to decreased lay communion. I believe he said this eventually became the norm in all Orthodox Churches.

There have been various movements over time that had as part of their impetus a call to advocate frequent communion, and just as importantly frequent confession. The Kollyvades Fathers on the Holy Mount were extremely critical in reviving this practice. Other notable figures were also advocates of this practice; St. John of Kronstadt and St. Theophan the Recluse being two that come to mind. IIRC St. Theophan celebrated the liturgy every day in his cell. More recently Fr. Alexander Schmemann was a voice in this country for the need of the laity to participate in this aspect of the church�s life.

Andrew

No doubt that it existed before the schism. I know some Ukrainian, Russian and Belarussian Greek Catholics who practice infrequent Communion for reasons of preparation, confession, and fasting.

I was generally that way myself until being ordained to the Diaconate, thus needing to do the preparation on a more regular basis for taking Communion with the priest, consuming and cleansing the Holy Chalice afterwards.
DD

I've thought about this one a little. I'm going to ask a few Serbian Orthodox I know.

I'm kind of in the boat that I would like to take comunion less frequently. But since VII Catholic Churches, even eastern rite, think that's weird. It is also hard when you serve, the congregation can look askance at it.

Ned

Dear Friends,

Alexander Schmemann once wrote that we should, daily, recite some portion of the prayer rule of Preparation for Holy Communion.

We should communicate weekly and on all Holy-days AND we should do so by preparing properly for it! What's the problem?

As the Divine Liturgy affirms: "Holy Things for the Holy!"

And then, as if to answer the unstated question, "Who is truly holy?" the Liturgy continues with:

"One is Holy, One is Lord, Jesus Christ to the Glory of God the Father!"

We go to Communion so that Christ our God may sanctify and deify us sinners.

The Old Believers have a tradition of reciting daily for the week prior to going to Holy Communion the prayer rule of "1,000 prayers" - the Jesus Prayer is said 700 times, then the brief prayer to the Guardian Angel 100 times, "Angel of Christ, my Holy Guardian, save me your sinful servant!"

Then to St John the Baptist: "O Holy, Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptizer of Christ, John, pray unto God for me a sinner!" 100 X

Then to the Mother of God: "Most Holy Sovereign Lady and Theotokos, save me your sinful servant!" 100 X

Let us not refuse to approach the Holy Communion of the Crucified due to spiritual sloth in terms of preparation on our part!

Alex

"the Serbs, as many Slavs, take the preparation for Communion very seriously and will only receive a few times a year. Confession, fasting beforehand, and the full Communion prayer preparation have to be completed"

Actually I think they don't take it seriously at all, if they did they would be prepared and be able to receive.

That they don't approach the Chalice because they are not prepared is admirable but not preparing is not.

On the otherhand I can't see how the idea that to be able to receive one has to fulfill a number of ritual requirements to be worthy is any different from the Jansenist view.

I believe that receiving communion two or three times a year was customary in the Orthodox Church. I know that Saint Makarios of Corinth stated that the RCC was more correct with their more frequent communion. He lived in the early 1800's.

I then read (somewhere of course) that in the south of France around the early 1800's people received only two to three times a year, sooo I have to assume then that it was something new in the RCC.

The problem though, is that since people received very rarely, they fasted for quite a length of time, and then went to confession, (or maybe not). Whatever! Lenten food though was seasonal and they sometimes missed the purpose of fasting altogether by looking forward to those 'treats'.

In our more recent times however, and in this country, whenever the congregants were encouraged to receive often, they ignored confession, (and who knows what else)...Well the encouraging stopped.

Zenovia

This is a seemingly arrogant and uncharitable statement for one to judge the hearts and preparedness of others to receive the dread Mysteries. I am not sure it was intended that way, but it certainly came across that way.

I don't believe anyone is implying that receiving the Holy Mysteries is reduced to a mechanical fulfillment of "ritual requirements".

Also one could read a real affront to many Orthodox and Catholics by (a) minimalizing the seriousness of sacramental preparation and (b) the likening, even implicitly, of taking preparation seriously to the Jansenist heresy.

Zenovia is quite right that this practice does have a history behind it and is not dismissed so easily or subjectively.
DD

I think many of us who saw the Eucharistic nonchalance and even abuses in the RC church in the not-so-distant past can appreciate (in an orthodox, non-Jansenistic way) taking Eucharistic preparation seriously. Certainly any spiritual extreme is not efficacious, but perhaps these are matters best left for the priest and penitent.
DD

I didn't see it this way at all. There was not a judgement of preparedness, but instead of not getting prepared. How, especially in the context of ostensibly strict practice, is that understandable rather than simply meriting criticism?

I hope, and trust, that there is no sense that diminsihing on the frequency of communion is some Eastern tradition that needs to be restored. And whatever lack of gravity there is in the practice of others - Latins or otherwise - the solution is not, IMO, infrequent communion.