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The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom

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Fr. Schmemann has written what is simply the best book on the Eucharist I have ever read. Fr. Schmemann writes with clarity and insight about the Eucharist, not as an abstract phenomenon but from a first concern with liturgy as a whole, as the lived experience of the Church. Fr. Schmemann explicates how the Eucharist symbolizes, i.e. reveals, manifests, and communicates Christ and His Kingdom. Fr. Schmemann demonstrates that the real dynamism of the Eucharist and the Liturgy is the connecting of the sacrament with the Church, the world and the Kingdom. The Church, through the activity of the Holy Spirit in its Liturgy and life, brings the world into the Kingdom of God. In the Eucharist, all that is human can be transfigured by grace so that all of creation may be consummated in God. The strength of Fr. Schmemann's book is its clarity- clarity of style and more importantly his clarity of expression of his experience of God and God's Kingdom that is offered to us in the Eucharist. This book is alive.
As a side note, Fr. Schmemann's recently published Journals are written while he was writing this book. It is interesting to read of his struggles and insights as a companion to The Eucharist.

Alexander Schmemann was a priest in the Orthodox Church in the second half of the 20th century. His people escaped from Russia after the Communist revolution; he was raised in France and trained at the famous St. Sergius seminary in Paris; and he served in the Orthodox Church in America, especially as a professor at St. Vladimir's seminary. He was married and had several children; and he was awarded the highest distinction possible for married priests in the Orthodox Church, the title of "protopresbyter." That was in large part for his tremendously gifted ability as a lecturer and author on Orthodox Christianity. His most famous book is "For the Life of the World," in which he reflected upon the Life of Christ and our Life in Him, especially though the Eucharist. His final book and crowning achievement of theological reflection was his essay upon "The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom."

It is an essay upon the Eucharist as the Sacrament of the Liturgy.

For those who might not know, or who might need a reminder, the Eucharist is the central point of Christian worship. It commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ. On the night before He died, He took bread, gave thanks and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to His disciples saying, "Take. Eat. This is My Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins." Likewise, He took a cup of wine, gave thanks and blessed it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Drink of it, all of you. This is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins. Do this in remembrance of Me" (See Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20 and 1 Corinthians 11:23-25.) Hence, the Eucharist is the consecrated Bread and Wine that are used in Christian worship to remember the Last Supper of Jesus Christ before He died; and it is to remember with *thankfulness* -- which is what the word "Eucharist" (eucharistios, in Greek) means -- for the salvation possible through Him. And, despite our many sins and failings, Christians have managed to keep this commandment to keep the Eucharist --to do this in memory of Him-- for 2000 years.

However, different groups of Christians have different ways of understanding and celebrating the Eucharist. Most Protestant Churches understand the Eucharist ("the Lord's Supper" or "Holy Communion") as strictly an exercise of memory and devotion. The consecrated Bread and Wine (or grape juice) are usually understood as only that; and eating and drinking them means reviving a certain understanding of Christ's life. There are some exceptions, but those exceptions tend to prove the general rule. On opposite side, the Catholic Church takes Christ's words about the Eucharist literally, and it believes that the consecrated Bread and Wine are literally the Body and Blood and Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. It therefore believes that partaking of the Eucharist ("Communion") is being literally united to Christ. The Catholic Church also worships the Eucharist outside of its standard worship service (called "the Mass); this extra devotion is called "Eucharistic Adoration," and it can be a profoundly powerful form of meditation and prayer.

The Orthodox Church is different. The Orthodox Church understands the Eucharist as the highest manifestation of the Kingdom of God in this life. Hence, the Eucharist is commemoration -- but that is more than mere memory. Instead, following the old meaning of the word "remembered," it is to join again and renew something as part of something else; it is making something a "member" again. In the case of the Eucharist, it is Christ making us a member of His mystical body anew and again: through the Holy Spirit, and raising us up to God our Heavenly Father as fellow sons and daughters of God, not by nature but by Grace. Therefore, the consecrated Bread and Wine are literally the Body and Blood of Christ: and by grace, so too are we. In short, the goal of the Eucharist in the Orthodox Church does not stop with memory nor with communion but with ascension: with Christ and His ascension into Heaven, through the Holy Spirit, and unto God our Heavenly Father, starting now and foretasting forever.

Hence, as Fr. Schmemann observed in his essay, the Liturgy (the worship service in the Orthodox Church) is multifaceted and an integrated whole. The Liturgy enables the Eucharist; the Eucharist is the point or goal or the Liturgy: as manifestation of Heaven now. Hence, the Liturgy cannot be reduced to one moment (such as Scripture or sermon) or another moment (such as consecration or Communion). The Liturgy is a *process*, with each step being sacramental in its order, structure and purpose to ascend with Christ in manifestation of His Kingdom. Fr. Schmemann explores this in great detail, going through each stage of the Orthodox Liturgy in the chapters of his book:

-- the Sacrament of Assembly.
The Liturgy begins with the laity and clergy responding to Christ's invitation and by arriving together and engaging in preparatory prayers.

-- the Sacrament of the Kingdom.
This recalls the opening prayer of the Liturgy --"Blessed in the Kingdom of the (+) Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and unto ages of ages. Amen." It reminds us of *why* and by Whom we have been assembled: God. It also serves to remind us that a symbol --and thus a sacrament-- is not merely a visible sign of something that is not there or a visible sign of God's invisible grace. In the Orthodox Church, a symbol --and thus a sacrament-- is a door, a vehicle, a means for participating in that which it represents: the Life in Christ. The entire Liturgy, therefore, in all its facets and components, both points to Christ and allows us to partake of Christ's Kingdom: not by nature but by Grace.

-- the Sacrament of Entrance.
This recalls the "Little Entrance" in the Liturgy when the priest used to enter the Church and now when the priest (or deacon) shows the Gospel Book and blesses the people with it. It reminds us that the Church is entering into the Kingdom of God: now, and not just by Christ descending to us but most especially by Christ raising us --ascending us -- to Heaven with Him.

-- the Sacrament of the Word.
This is the prayers and readings from the Bible, hearing Christ speak to us through the Scriptures.

-- the Sacrament of the Faithful.
This is the set of prayers in which the needs of individuals are addressed, i.e. "the Litany of Fervent Supplication."

-- the Sacrament of Offering.
This chapter dwells on the preparation of the gifts of bread and wine and what that means: that *we* and all of our being are being united to Christ and transformed, by Grace, into His mystical Body, the Church. Hence, this is a reflection both of the "proskomide" service and the "Great Entrance" in the Liturgy.

-- the Sacrament of Unity.
In the kiss of peace, the unity of Eucharist is evidenced: in faith and love of *Christ.* Hence it is a unity with God (from "above") and with each other (with each other), both vertical and horizontal: the Cross of Christ. Hence comes the Symbol and Confession of Faith (the creed).

-- the Sacrament of Anaphora.
Anaphora means a lifting up or offering up of prayer and gifts to God in worship. All that has so far transpired in the Liturgy is now gathered together, as it were, in the transfiguration of God's goodness. We "lift up our hearts" and we "give thanks unto the Lord" -- in Christ. In Fr. Schmemann's words, "Salvation is complete. After the darkness of sin, the fall and death, a man once again offers to God the pure, sinless, free and perfect thanksgiving. A man is returned to that place that God had prepared for him when He created the world. He stands at the heights, before the throne of God; he stands in heaven, before the face of God Himself, and freely, in fullness of love and knowledge, uniting in himself the whole world, all creation, he offers thanksgiving, and in him the whole world affirms and acknowledges this thanksgiving to be "meet and right." This man is Christ."

-- the Sacrament of Thanksgiving.
The Eucharistic prayer in the Orthodox Church, according to Bishop Timothy / Kallistos Ware, consists of thanksgiving, anamnesis (remembrance) and epiclesis (asking for the Holy Spirit). Fr. Schmemann observes: In Christ we know God, and in Christ we know that the world is God's too. We no longer know only *about* God; we actually, directly encounter Him and know Him in Christ and through the Holy Spirit. And the natural and supernatural response to this knowledge is thanks.

In the words of the Liturgy,

"It is proper and just
to hymn You, to bless You, to praise You,
to give You thanks,
and to worship You everywhere in Your dominion.
"For You are GOD:
ineffable, inconceivable, invisible, incomprehensible,
ever-existing and eternally the same:
(+) You and Your only begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit.
"It was You who brought us forth from nonexistence into being.
And when we had fallen away,
You did not cease to do all things
until you brought us to Heaven
and endowed us with Your future Kingdom.
"For all this we give thanks to (+) You
and to Your only-begotten Son
and to Your Holy Spirit:
for all that we know and all that we know not,
for the gifts bestowed on us, both hidden and manifest.

And the response is:

"Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord of Sabaoth! Heaven and earth are full of Your glory! Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

And thus, Fr. Schmemann writes: "To what do these ancient angelic praises witness if not to heaven, which we are seeing and hearing, for ourselves are lifted up to it? What are these words of the royal greeting if not an icon: the gift, vision, revelation of the kingdom of glory; if not meeting with God, fulfilled through thanksgiving, at His table, in His kingdom?"

-- the Sacrament of Remembrance.
Thus comes the prayer of anamnesis -- the prayer of remembering, by which God re-*members* us into the mystical Body of His Son, Jesus Christ. We do not merely recall past events. Here and now, by Grace, we are re-*joined* re-"membered" to God, in Christ, through the Spirit. It is not a repetition of what transpired 2000 years ago; it is His gift by which we are granted access to His life, death and resurrection and thus His salvation of us. Hence there comes the prayer which summarizes how God did this, and how God continues to do this, for those who willingly accept it:

"With these blessed powers, Oh Master who loves mankind, we also cry aloud and say: Holy are You, You and Your only-begotten Son and Your Holy Spirit! Holy are You and all-holy, and magnificent is Your glory! Who has so loved Your world as to give Your only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life; who when He had come and fulfilled all the dispensation for us, in the night in which He was given up --or, rather, gave Himself up for then life of the world-- took bread into His holy, pure, and blameless hands; and when He had given thanks and blessed it, and hallowed it, and broken it, He gave it to His holy disciples and apostles, saying: "Take! Eat! This is My Body, which is broken for you!" And likewise after supper, He took the cup, saying: "Drink of it, all of you! This is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you and for many, for the remission of sins!" Remembering this saving commandment and all those things which have come to pass for us: the Cross, the Tomb, the Resurrection of the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the Sitting at the right hand, and the Second and Glorious Coming: Your own of Your own, we offer You on behalf of all."

Hence, this prayer --Fr. Schmemann asserts-- this *remembrance* into Christ, must be taken as a whole. In other churches, and even in the Orthodox Church, the language of this prayer is often broken apart into different sections and moments: especially the "words of institution" in an attempt to isolate the exact moment when the consecration is complete. The Catholic Church says then, and the Orthodox Church says at the end of the epiclesis. But Fr. Schmemann tries aloud to remind people that Consecration is not about a magic moment; it is about God's free gift of salvation and love that is an *ascent* to God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Likewise, the Eucharist is not only a sacramental recreation of the Cross; it is the final and full manifestation of Christ's presence among us, His Kingdom of Love, which is only fulfilled otherworldly, and of which the Cross --and Resurrection-- were consequences. After the Last Supper, there were only two alternatives: the rejection of God's Kingdom of Love like Judas, or the full acceptance of God's Kingdom of Love by Christ's Cross and Resurrection -- for there is no love without sacrifice. As Fr. Schmemann observed, "This is why it is *only through the Cross* that the gift of the Kingdom of God is transformed into its reception, its manifestation at the Eucharist -- in our ascent to heaven, in our partaking at the table of Christ in His Kingdom."

-- the Sacrament of the Holy Spirit.
The epiclesis is the prayer in the Christian worship that is called the Eucharist when we ask for the Holy Spirit to be sent upon the bread and wine and the people gathered: changing them into to Body and Blood of Christ. In the words of the Eucharist:

"Send down Your Holy Spirit upon us and upon these Gifts here offered, and make this Bread the precious Body of Your Christ, and that which is in this Cup the precious Blood of Your Christ, making the change by Your Holy Spirit: so that they may be for those who partake for the purification of soul, for the remission of sins, for communion of the Holy Spirit, for fulfillment of the Kingdom of Heaven, for boldness towards You, and not for judgement or condemnation."

This means, as Fr. Schmemann observed, "The Liturgy is served on earth . . . but it is accomplished in heaven." The Liturgy is served "in the time and space of this world" but it is fulfilled "in the new time of the new creation." The Liturgy takes place on earth in "chronos" (the Greek word for ordinary time) but it points to and is fulfilled by "kairos" (the Greek word for time of deep and lasting change). And that change --that kairos-- is precisely the foretaste of eternity in which Communion with God takes place. Hence, as Fr. Schmemann instructed, "To abide in the new time [kairos] means to abide in the Holy Spirit. ... For the essence of the Liturgy consists in raising us up in the Holy Spirit and in Him transfiguring the old time [chronos] into the new time [kairos]." Thus, "we do not repeat and we do not represent -- we ascend into the mystery of salvation and new life, which has been accomplished once, but is granted to us 'always, now and forever and unto ages of ages.' And in this heavenly, eternal and otherworldly Eucharist Christ does not come down to us, rather we ascend to Him. And, "The purpose of the Eucharist lies not in the change of the bread and wine, but in our partaking of Christ, who has become our food, our life, the manifestation of the Church as the body of Christ ... for the communion of the Holy Spirit." The Orthodox Church does believe that the Gifts of Bread and Wine become, literally, the Body and Blood of Christ; but that is not the point of the Liturgy; the point is Communion: with God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, directly and with each other, starting now and foretasting forever. The entire Liturgy is a prayer of epiclesis, a consecration . . . of *us* in Christ through the Spirit.

-- the Sacrament of Communion.
Hence, the first portion of the Liturgy after the epiclesis is prayer: in honor of the saints and for the needs of the Church. And then, there is the Lord's Prayer. For here, in the Lord's Prayer, is the very essence of Communion. As Fr. Schmemann explained: "Thus this preparation is concluded in the unity of the common and the private: The Lord's Prayer, which was given to us by Christ Himself. For, in the last analysis, everything depends on one thing: can we, do we 'earnestly desire,' with our whole being and in spite of all our insufficiency, fallenness, betrayal and laziness, to receive the words of this prayer as our own? "Hallowed by Thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." And for such a purpose, Fr. Schmemann continues, the Orthodox Church must address the "incomprehensible taboo" of allegorical symbolism, secret prayers, and overemphasis on the distinction between clergy and laity during communion. Then comes communion and departing in peace, to fulfill our individual callings and common liturgy, "in the communion of the Holy Spirit."

In sum, "The Eucharist: Sacrament of the Kingdom" is Fr. Alexander Schmemann's final book, completed shortly before his death, which extols and announces how true orthodox theology --the direct personal experience of God in Christ through the Holy Spirit-- is received during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It is a profound read, which, as my pastor observed, will continue to produce fruits years later in subsequent rereading.

It is difficult to review this book one level. It is tempting for the reviewer to isolate the different chapters and give an account of them. Perhaps this is necessary, but it also leads one into the trap Fr. Schmemann warned against: dismembering the elements of the Eucharist for private analysis robs them of their power (196). Nevertheless, I shall try.

The purpose of the Eucharist is "partaking of Christ, who has become our food, our life, our manifestation as the body of Christ" (226). Fr Schmemann orders his thoughts around the anaphora, the movement of ascent into the heavenly places. It is going out from this world into heaven (60). This somewhat explains the intricate symbolism (I know he will shun that word) behind Eastern sacramentology. Fr Schmemann makes numerous, if sometimes vague, criticisms of Western Sacramentology, particularly Catholic transubstantiation. For the East, however, the key moment, if one may use that phrase, is in the *epiklesis,* or the invocation of the Holy Spirit.

Fr Schmemann loosely defines a sacrament as embracing the entire mystery of the salvation of the world and mankind by Christ and in essence the entire content of the Christian faith (217). That is the most important sentence in the book, in my opinion.

Evaluation
This book is much harder to follow than For the Life of the World. He refers to many internal discussions in Eastern Orthodox seminaries, much of which is lost on the outside reader. If he would have briefly defined a few of them, it would have helped out. But no matter, the book was superb and an essential study in liturgical theology. It has many gems within.

The Eucharist is, I think, not only Alexander Schmemann's finest work,but also one of the best and most accessible works of theology ever written. Like the Eucharist itself, you do not study this book -- you enter into it. I have read it many times over the years and continue to refer to it. -- Father Rand York+

I needed this for a class. It was a readable book.