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Greetings All,

I was wondering if there is a tradition of Eucharistic Adoration in the Byzantine Tradition. Recently, at the Seminary, I attended a Eucharistic Adoration, I have been to the before, and for some reason this time I really had an experience that I can not put into words.

Anyway, I was wondering if there was a tradition in the Byzantine Church.

Thanks

Peter

Br Peter,

To answer your question, no. Not because we hold a different belief about the Eucharist (we don't!), but because the practice in the West developed in reaction to a situation that never happened in the East.

The early Churches, East and West, believed 100% in the Real Presence but the Eucharist was seen as food, to be used. The Sacrament was reserved but this was to give Communion to the sick who could not come to the local community's celebration of the Eucharist. The Orthodox tradition and other Eastern Churches are still like that.

Now, in the West around the 1000s-1100s, long before Protestantism began and denied the Real Presence, there were heretics like Berengarius who denied it. The Roman Church's reaction was to develop devotions to the Eucharist outside of Mass — things like the monstrance, exposition, Benediction, holy hours before the tabernacle and the yearly summer festival of Corpus Christi. Another reaction was that of St Thomas Aquinas, using Aristotle by way of Muslim Arab writers like Ibn Sinna (Avicenna) to construct a philosophy to defend orthodox Eucharistic belief, namely, the Latin teaching of transubstantiation, dogmatized by the Romans, I believe, at their Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 (source: online Catholic Encyclopedia.)

There never were any heresies about the Eucharist in the Eastern Churches. At least no successful ones with lots of followers. (In the East, no heresy, ergo no homegrown scholasticism in reaction, so no definition. Russians later borrowed the term транссубстанцияцие from the Latins*.) Even Churches once thought heretical by the Orthodox, like the Copts, Ethiopians, Armenians, Jacobites, Assyrians and Malankara, all hold to the true faith about the Eucharist, which is also why Catholicism recognizes their orders and other sacraments. True belief about the Eucharist, along with an unbroken apostolic succession and belief in the Trinity, is an essential part of a minimum of orthodox belief for Catholicism to recognize a community's Churchness.

Anyway, because there was no problem in the East with denying the Real Presence, extraliturgical services and devotions never developed there. It is also why the practice of elevating the Host and Chalice to be seen and adored by the faithful during Mass developed in the West and not in the East. (The pre-1100s West didn't do it.)

The only purely Byzantine Eucharistic devotions I can think of are the fasting and long preparation prayers said at home and sometimes chanted in church before Communion, and the thanksgiving prayers chanted in church or read at home afterwards.

The Byzantine Rite does have Benediction, with the veiled chalice, but during Liturgy, after Communion, and never apart from Liturgy or Communion.

There is also the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts during Great Lent, a Communion service done when Liturgy is not allowed on weekdays, owing to the liturgical season.

So one could say in the East the connections between Eucharistic devotion and the Liturgy and between it and actually receiving Communion are stronger than in the postschism West.

Bishop Kallistos, an English bishop of the Greek Orthodox Church in Britain, has written there is no theological reason (as opposed to liturgical custom) why we could not have such devotions.

The need for them never arose in the Eastern Churches' history.

*In fact, in the 1700s and 1800s, Russian Orthodox seminaries taught theology in Latin!

http://oldworldrus.com

[ 01-12-2002: Message edited by: Serge ]

Dear Br. Peter,

Previously, I started a thread on Eucharistic devotions among Byzantine Catholics. I am sure you will find it most informative. The link is:

www.byzcath.org/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=000214


God bless you,

griego catolico (formerly known as Byzantino)

The fact that services of Eucharistic benediction and adoration outside the Divine Liturgy DO exist and HAVE been done by/in Byzantine churches for at least many decades (the entire 20th century, at least) does indicate that there is a tradition of such a thing, even if it is as not as old a custom as some of the posters here would prefer (to be judged traditional). For them, unless it has been done since before 1595/1646 you will not get their "authentic Byzantine custom" stamp of approval.

The fact that services of Eucharistic benediction and adoration outside the Divine Liturgy DO exist and HAVE been done by/in Byzantine churches for at least many decades (the entire 20th century, at least) does indicate that there is a tradition of such a thing, even if it is as not as old a custom as some of the posters here would prefer (to be judged traditional). For them, unless it has been done since before 1595/1646 you will not get their "authentic Byzantine custom" stamp of approval.

Such were imported to Byzantine Catholicism from the Roman Church and are not intrinsic to the rite, as the practice of the Orthodox mother Churches shows. All part of the pseudomorphosis known as latinization, which both the Orthodox-minded among the BCs and, more cautiously, current papal policy both are trying to undo.

http://oldworldrus.com

I feel that I'm quite "Orthodox-minded" as BCs go (that is, I do bear them mind even though according to you most BCs never do), but being aware of our modern history in this country, I have no desire to "undo" this as I know darn well that it will be replaced with nothing.

The local Byzantine-American parish here seems to be phobic about having vigil Liturgies (to the point of having a "Holy Supper" in the morning before the Theophany liturgy...???), but do they serve any of the services proper to a vigil? Nope.

Rich,

Every born Ruthenian Catholic I've known, including a girlfriend two years ago, pretty much thought and acted as though the Orthodox didn't exist.

What you say is probably sadly true. A key to successful Orthification is replacing foreign practices in church with equivalent Orthodox ones. No Benediction or Saturday-night/holy-day eve "Masses' anymore? Fine — make sure you implement Vespers, canons and akafists. Even bug the priest about it if need be, like St Catherine of Siena nagging the Pope. And don't forget to show up at the new services!

http://oldworldrus.com

Dear Friends,

The Adoration of Our Lord in Holy Communion was affirmed by the Orthodox Churches in a response to Protestants in the seventeenth century (I forget the exact reference).

While the Orthodox said they don't have the same cult of the Eucharist outside the Liturgy as the RC's do, they affirmed that they do, in fact, adore our Lord in the Eucharist during the Liturgy ("How could we not?").

As the Melkite Archbishop Raya said in his prayerbook, "the East has not always understood the West's devotion to the static Presence of our Lord in Holy Communion - but this devotion is legitimate." Raya approved a Supplicatory service of Eucharistic Adoration for the Melkites and a Feast as well.

Serge is right, of course, that this devotion was imported from the West.

As Fr. Irenaeus Nazarko, OSBM, said that the Synod of Zamoisk approved of Eucharistic Adoration outside the Liturgy, since this had become a practice among the Eastern Catholics and this was understood as a universal "Catholic" devotion.

Patriarch Josef Slipyj was known to use the Monstrance for the Supplicatory Service, that is a fact.

By and large, adoration of the Eucharist can be a private devotion of any Eastern Christian. Slipyj adored our Lord on the Altar at the Church of St Neilos in Rome daily. Andrew Sheptytsky also encouraged this as did others.

In addition, the "Way of the Pilgrim" includes a reference about the Pilgrim wanting to "pray and worship in the Presence of the Holy Gifts" of the Eucharist being taken to a sick person - I don't know how much one can make of that.

The Russian Exarch, Lenoid Fyodorov also practiced Eucharistic Adoration and said it was a "Gift of the Latin Church to everyone else."

The number one priority of all Christians is Divine Liturgy and this was confirmed by the Vatican on a number of occasions.

We should remember that what the Latin Church does in blessing the faithful with the Monstrance is what the Eastern Church has ALWAYS done during the Divine Liturgy itself.

Our primary Eucharistic Adoration is therefore done through our proper participation in the Divine Liturgy, prayers of preparation and thanksgiving, and an intelligible, slow meditation of the movements throughout the Liturgy and attendance at Holy Communion.

This is also the will of the Catholic Church for all Catholics.

Alex

As Fr. Irenaeus Nazarko, OSBM, said that the Synod of Zamoisk approved of Eucharistic Adoration outside the Liturgy, since this had become a practice among the Eastern Catholics and this was understood as a universal "Catholic" devotion.

Promoting needless differences with the Orthodox by adopting Roman practices in the name of being "more Catholic' perpetuates the Schism.

We should remember that what the Latin Church does in blessing the faithful with the Monstrance is what the Eastern Church has ALWAYS done during the Divine Liturgy itself.

I'd like to point out I already wrote that in the post above.

Спасибо большое ( дуже дякую ), Саша, за твои добрые слова на "Marian Movement of Priests'. Сегодня, с новогодным праздником по-старому и тоже святого Василя великого, мой друг, желаю тебе счастья личного без меры.

http://oldworldrus.com

[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Serge ]

Very true. Thw western practice is wonderful for the west, but we have our own traditions and we need to restore them.

Axios

www.axios.net [axios.net]

[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Axios ]

Such as... ?

My dear Holy Friend in Christ, Sergei,

Thank you for your kind blessing at the start of the New Year in our Lord!

Yes, you did point that out and it bears repeating!

Perhaps a "way out" is to leave such a practice within the private realm, or else to really work on truly living the Divine Liturgy in our lives.

May God bless you and your important work in the Vineyard of Christ, for His Glory and that of His Church!

Alex

Restoration of Vespers and Orthos, PreSantified Liturgy, etc., just for a start.

Axios

www.axios.net [axios.net]

Restoration of Vespers

That's what I said.

http://oldworldrus.com

No argument there. Presanctified Liturgy is restored in practice even though the theology of it is not.

But what does that have to do with Eucharistic adoration being "not ours"?