The Orthodox Church teaches that we truly (literally) receive the body and blood of the Lord (Matth. 26:26-28. Mark 14:22-24. Luke 22:15-20. John 6:51-56. 1 Corinth. 11:24-26). She accepts that the eucharist is remembrance of the suffering of Christ (Luke 22:19. 1 Corinth. 11:24-25) but she does not accept that it is merely remembrance!
Christ carried out His sacrifice "once and for all" (Hebr. 7:27. 9:12.28), so therefore this sacrifice is not repeated. But the Lord Himself offers His body and His blood before the one and only sacrifice on Golgotha took place (Matth. 26:26-28. Mark 14:22-24. Luke 22:19-20) and orders His disciples to do the same thing until the time of His second coming, stating that the eating of His body and the drinking of His blood are necessary for salvation (John 6:31-50. 1 Corinth. 11:23-29).
How is it possible to have the divine eucharist conducted before the sacrifice on the cross of the Lord? This of course is covered in mystery! But the divine eucharist, that Christ conducted before His sacrifice, constitutes "mysterious participation" in the one and only sacrifice that Christ offered.
The priests of the Church are deacons of Christ, stewards of His mysteries (1 Corinth. 4:1); they offer a real sacrifice (offering) on the altar of Church (Hebr. 13:10) that is also called "table of the Lord" and is put in contrast with the jewish and the pagan altar (1 Corinth. 10:16-21).
This way it is proved that the conducting of the divine eucharist which Christ ordered to be conducted on the christian altar (Hebr. 13:10) is the "pure offering" which had been prophesied (Malachi 1:11). It is not a repetition of the sacrifice of Christ, but Mysterious participation in the one and only sacrifice, so that the allocated members (Rom. 12:5. Ephes. 4:25) be united and constitute the one body (Ephes. 4:4. 1 Corinth. 10:17).
This way, with the divine eucharist, with the participation of man in the divine life (John 14:6. 2 Peter 1:4), the purpose of the divine oeconomia is fulfilled, i.e. the communion "in Christ", which is man's salvation (John 6:53-54. 11:52. 17:21-23). The participation in the divine eucharist is not a means to provide unity, but expression, revelation of the unity in the one body of Christ. For this reason the schisms constitute wounds in the body of the Church; they do not express the true meaning of the divine eucharist (1 Corinth. 1:13. 10:16-18.18-23).
This is the dogma of the holy Bible regarding the aspect of the divine eucharist. This is testified by the infallible interpreter of the holy Bible, the Church (1 Tim. 3:15) in the post-apostolic times, as the first-christian scriptures prove.
"Didache" (90-110 AD) refers to the "pure offering" of Malachi 1:11 and identifies it with the eucharist (Didache XIV,1). St. Ignatius (d. 110) motions similarly (c.f. Ign., Philadel. 4). Justin (d. 163/167) connects the divine eucharist with the "pure offering" (Malachi 1:11. Just., Conversation to Tryph. 41,2-3) and underlines that it is not plain bread and "plain drink", but "by word's wish" the bread and the wine become "blood and flesh in transformation" (Just., Apok. 66,2). Actually he adds that this is not the opinion of Justin's, but didache of the Church.
Irenaeus (d. 220) mentions also the "invocation" of the Holy Spirit for the transformation of the bread to body and of the wine to blood of Christ. (Iren., Against heresies V, 2.3).
"If the bread that comes from the earth receives the invocation of God, it is not mere bread any more, but, like the eucharist, consists now of two elements, one earthly and one heavenly; this way it happens with our bodies too: if they receive the eucharist, they do not belong any more to the decay, but have the hope of resurrection" (Iren. Against heresies IV, 18,15).
This didache was being offered in the first Church to the "enlightened" and the "neophotisti", as the initiation catechisms of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386) prove: "The bread of the eucharist", he mentions, "after the Holy Spirit has been invoked, is not plain bread, but body of Christ" (Catech. 3, 3. See also Catech. 4, 3).
St. John Chrysostom asks: "Which shepherd feeds the sheep with his own parts?"; there are mothers that hand their children to other nurses, but Christ "feeds us Himself with His own blood and in everything connects us solid with Himself. He mixes His self with each one of us via the Mysteries". Those that He rebore "He feeds them with His self and does not give them to someone else and with this (body) again (He does this) in order to convince you that He received your flesh...Don't you see the infants with what eagerness they grab the breast?" (Chrys., Speech 82, 5 , for the Matth. gospel).
The Orthodox Church therefore rejects the Protestant teaching that the eucharist is a "symbolic and commemorative ceremony". And is based in the holy Bible, as it is interpreted by the Church via her shepherds.
For more on Eucharist, visit Theme Four.
mysteries = A mystery in the orthodox faith refers to the transmission of the invisible divine grace via visible signs. For instance, what the Roman Catholics call "the seven sacraments" are all mysteries, as well as the nativity of the Son from the Father and the procession of the Spirit from the Father and His mission from the Son are all mysteries. For more on this subject, visit this link.
oeconomia = Also known as "economy" (which is what oeconomia means in Greek). Oeconomia or economy can be thought of semantically to fall in either of the following three cases: (a) The care that the Holy Spirit takes to provide us with something we need before we ask for it, (b) The care that the Church provides in practical aspects of the christian life in bending the rules where allowed and temporarily in an appropriate way (e.g. the censure for a fleshly sin is canonised to at least two years but in practice the priest will give a much shorter censure if he sees true remorse in the confessing Christian). Essentially, God's Providence; and (c) Strictly speaking, oeconomia (usually preceded by the adjective divine) refers to the mission of the Holy Spirit in the world for man's salvation (c.f. Trinity notes).
didache = teaching. One of the earliest Christian writings after the New Testament is a short, but valuable little book known as "The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles", known as "Didache" (Teaching), for short. While many Christian writers referred to it, the book, except for a few papyrus fragments, was lost. Then, in 1873, a Greek Orthodox Metropolitan discovered the manuscript, with the grace of God. Ten years later, he published it and caused a sensation among scholars. It was praised by early Church Fathers who recommended that all Christians could benefit by reading it. Scholars disagree about its original date, but it seems that it was written about the year 100 AD . It is invaluable for the Orthodox viewpoint because all the things mentioned in this book were kept within the Orthodox Tradition but do not even exist amongst the Protestants.
whatever = The Bible does mention more on the Sign of the Cross. Thus, the Book of Revelation (Rev. 13:16) mentions how the Antichrist will force "both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads". What will this achieve though? The Orthodox Christians have always done the Sign of the Cross using their right hand (in accordance with Holy Tradition and the Scriptures where Christ sits on the right hand of the Father) by placing it first on their forehead. Thus those that are marked by the sign of the enemy cannot any more sign themselves with the protection of the Cross of Christ! The gospel of Matthew (Mt. 24:3) reminds the Orthodox Christian of the end times, when Christ will come again : "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory". The Christians will recognise the Sign of the Cross and rush towards their beloved Christ Who will lift them up in heavens to honour them; while those who did not accept the Sign of the Cross will stay on the earth and not rush towards Him but wait for their condemnation, for they rejected Him and will weep when they recognise His Sign which they had ignored or fought during their lives on earth. But it will be too late then to repent. Repentance is only possible now, dear reader. Read also here.
neophotistos = neos ( = new) + photizo (= to light) = recently enlightened one; neophotisti is the plural.