St. Basil Greek Orthodox Church

What is Christian Fellowship?

(Part 2)

Last week we looked at Christian fellowship from two perspectives: (1) fellowship in the church is driven by gratitude for what Jesus Christ has done for us, and (2) Christian fellowship is motivated primarily by the desire to save the soul of our neighbor.

This week we will examine fellowship in the church through the central event in the life of the church that is Holy Communion, and we’ll do this by looking at three points of connection between Holy Communion and fellowship.

                                                                                                                                   

1. Holy Communion connects us with God – the source of all real unity

 The gospel of St. John makes, perhaps, the strongest statement in the whole of scripture about what Holy Communion does for us:

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” – John 6:53-54

                                                                                                                               

St. Cyril of Jerusalem says the same thing in the reverse:

Without the Lord’s flesh [Holy Communion], it is impossible to live.

A Christian community can never have genuinely strong and healthy fellowship unless the foundation of that strength and health is unity in Jesus Christ – which can only be had through unity in Holy Communion.

2. The word “Liturgy” means “work of the people”

St. Ambrose of Milan explains that the central act of the church is Holy Communion:

                                 

The word “Liturgy” means “the work of the people” and this serves to underscore the corporate character of the Divine Liturgy….  The Eucharist is truly the center of the life of the Church and the way we nourish ourselves on our journey through life.

Our fellowship as a community must be defined by this central work (to put it differently, we need be seen by the world around us as a group of people who are united, first and foremost, in Christ).  Nothing can ever be more important than being at the Liturgy and receiving the Eucharist.  To the degree that anything else does define our fellowship, to that same degree our fellowship is not truly in Christ.

3. Holy Communion is the goal and end point of all Christian life

Many of you may not know this, but all of the sacraments have Holy Communion as their goal.  In the early church, weddings, baptisms, holy unction and confession, were all done in the Liturgy.  And today, Holy Communion (of course) and ordinations are still done in the Liturgy.  This points to the fact that Holy Communion is central to all that we are as a church.

In the Orthodox Church all roads lead to the chalice and Holy Communion.  The goal of the church needs to be to put this theory into practice – to truly have our fellowship grounded in the body and blood of Jesus Christ. 

- Offered by Fr. Panteleimon Dalianis