The Holy Communion of the Clergy

It is a continuation of the act, which was performed by Christ at the Last Supper, when He took a loaf of bread, broke it and gave it to His disciples. This act is repeated every time the Divine Liturgy is celebrated and it is called 'the breaking (dividing) of the bread'. During this breaking the priest says that Christ 'is broken, yet is not divided' for He is present, all of Him, in each and every part of the 'divided' Amnos and, though eaten, He is never consumed.

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Afterwards, he arranges, in the form of a cross, all four pieces of the Amnos on the Diskos and then he places one of these pieces into the Chalice, thus uniting the Body of Christ with His Blood. The priest's words 'The fullness of the Cup of the Faith and of the Holy Spirit' refer to the Lord, who renders us full of the Holy Spirit.

The breaking of the bread is the act by which the members of the primitive Church recognized one another. In the Gospel of Luke two disciples going to a village called Emmaus recognize the Resurrected Lord through His taking the bread, blessing and breaking it.

After having finished with the union of the Amnos with the Holy Blood, the priest pours warm water or Zeon into the Chalice. According to St Germanus of Constantinople, the priest pours the Zeon into the Cup in remembrance of the hot blood and water that flowed from the undefiled side of the Lord. Thus, hot water is used in Holy Communion, adding to the symbolism of the Sacrament. The Zeon also signifies the fervour of faith.

Then the priest recites some prayers of preparation for the Holy Communion, which are part of a Service called The Preparatory Prayers for Holy Communion. Afterwards, he is the first to partake of Christ's Body—and of His Blood straight from the Chalice.

He subsequently gets prepared to administer the Holy Communion to the faithful.

The priest places all the remaining segments of the Amnos into the Chalice, then the portions of the Mother of God and the Saints. Then placing the particles of those he earlier mentioned by name in the Office of Preparation he says: 'Wash away, O Lord, the sins of them that have been remembered here, by Thy precious Blood'.

In the end he carefully wipes the Diskos so that there are no remaining particles or pearls on it. He then carefully wipes the Antimension for any remaining pearls, with a tailor-made accessory made of compressed natural sponge. This is called the Mousa and it is kept within the Antimension.


Last modified: Wednesday, 7 October 2020, 9:05 PM