The Divine liturgy, A commentary in the light of the Fathers

The Divine Liturgy is Christ

When Christ first spoke about the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist,* He called Himself the 'Bread of life', which came down from heaven to be offered for the life and salvation of the world:¹. I am the bread of life...which comes down from heaven... I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh (John 6: 48-51).

Christ is the 'Bread of life' which came down from heaven through the power of the Holy Spirit. It came down on the day of the Annunciation into the most blessed Virgin, and the Virgin became the 'good earth and blessed' which brought forth the Bread of life.²

Christ is the 'Bread of life' which comes down from heaven continually through the power of the Holy Spirit. It comes down at the moment of the eucharistic annunciation into the virgin Church, and the holy Church becomes the 'good earth and blessed' which brings forth the Bread fo life. It is this reality of Christ's descent and His presence within the Church that we experience in the Divine Liturgy. For the Liturgy is Christ in our midst: And lo, I am with you always, until the end of all time (Matt. 28: 20).

Because the Divine Liturgy is Christ with us, any commentary on the Liturgy is in reality a homily about Christ. The holy Evangelists and the God-bearing Fathers spoke to us of Christ as they experienced Him when He was with them, as they experienced Him as a living reality in the Divine Liturgy: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard. which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the World of life - the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you eternal life (1 John 1: 1-2).

Some may say that a contemporary commentary on the Divine Liturgy should reflect how a contemporary Christian sees, hears and touches Christ, but on account of the present author's spiritual blindness, deafness and insensibility he has turned to theose who have seen the true Light, who have heard the Word and 'touched the immaculate head of the Master',³ and who are eternally contemporary. And so this book is compiled from the eucharistic experiences of the saints and presents the Divine Liturgy as it was actually lived by them, and as it is still lived within the Church. For even today, in these difficult times, there are hearts that burn with His love (cf. Luke 24: 32) and experience His presence at the Altar and people who during the Divine Liturgy convelebrate with the angels and saints, and truly live in the blessed Kingdom of the Triune God.

It could be that someone reading about these experiences of the saints will be helped to come close to them, which is to come close to Christ. There in the Kingdom of God, I ask such readers to pray with all the saints (Eph. 3: 18) for the present author who has gathered from the honeycombs of these holy men the spiritual honey which sweetens and nourishes all humankind.⁴

January, 1982

Hieromonk Gregorios

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¹ Service of Preparation of the Eucharistic Gifts, see p. 76 below.
² Service of Preparation for Holy Communion, Canon, *ode* 1.
³ Royal Hours* for the feast of Theophany; idiomelon* at the Ninth Hour.
⁴ Cf. Prov. 24: 13-4: My son, eat honey, for the honeycomb is good, that your throat may be sweetend. Thus you shall discern wisdom for your soul.