Eucharistic communion

According to the Bible , Jesus Christ founded only one Church :

I will create My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail Her ( Matthew 16:18 )

Some places in the Bible, according to Orthodox theologians, indicate that the Church initially had an extensive hierarchical structure:

And He placed some Apostles, other prophets, other Evangelists, other shepherds and teachers, to perform saints, on the work of service, to build up the Body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of faith ( Eph. 4: 11-13 )

The pinnacle of Christian worship and the main link is the Eucharist . He who does not participate in the “common Chalice” is “external” , even if he calls himself a Christian . To be a member of the Church is to participate in the Eucharist. The church is “an ongoing, continuous eucharistic koinonia (communion)” ^[2] .

Already in apostolic times among Christians there arose a lot of severe disagreements ( heresies ), violations of the rules ( schisms ) and excommunicated for any sins from communion, all this necessitated the definition of the "boundaries of the church" ^[3] . By the time of the Ecumenical Councils , besides Jerusalem, other centers of church life had also risen: Rome , Constantinople , Alexandria , Antioch , Iveria , Armenia , Ethiopia , etc. In this regard, Eucharistic communion began to mean mutual recognition of the truth of one Local Church by another.

In Orthodox ecclesiology, Eucharistic communion between autocephalous Orthodox churches shows their belonging to a single Ecumenical Orthodox Church . Since autocephalous churches (as well as autonomous ones and with other types of self-government) are administratively, economically, legally independent, the only clear sign of the unity of Orthodox churches is the presence of Eucharistic communion between them. The same applies to unity between dioceses and, at an even lower level, between parishes . Eucharistic communion also testifies to the real limits of the Orthodox Church as a single community, quite clearly separating communities and organizations outside it from the church ^[3] .

In secular sources, the term “Eucharistic communion” often means “recognition” by one church by another. But, in this case, there is not Eucharistic, but “canonical communion”, mutual recognition of sacred hierarchies ^[4] . One church may not recognize another (its organization, hierarchy or otherwise) and at the same time be in eucharistic communion with it, recognizing it as part of the Ecumenical Church. For example, the Patriarchate of Constantinople does not recognize the autocephalous Orthodox Church in America (in fact, does not recognize its autocephaly ), but it is in eucharistic communion with it.

Orthodox churches outside of communion with Ecumenical Orthodoxy (or at least with several local churches), from the point of view of local churches, are considered schisms outside the Orthodox Church. Such organizations often form associations parallel to Ecumenical Orthodoxy, usually unite in groups that have Eucharistic communion with each other, recognize each other, or more or less closely cooperate. Such, for example, the Macedonian Orthodox Church and Old Believer jurisdictions.

The Orthodox Church does not recognize any intermediate forms of Eucharistic communion with other communities: it is either there or not ^{[5] [1]} .

The Roman Catholic Church distinguishes between full and partial Eucharistic communion. In full Eucharistic communion, the Roman Catholic Church is located with the Eastern Catholic Churches .

As for the other Christian churches, including Orthodox, the Roman Catholic Church is in partial Eucharistic communion with them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: "With those who are baptized and bear the beautiful name of Christians, but who do not profess faith in its integrity or do not keep unity of communion with the successor of Peter , the Church is aware of herself for many reasons." “Those who believe in Christ and have received actual baptism are in some, though incomplete, fellowship with the Catholic Church.” This fellowship with the Orthodox Churches is so deep “that there is little that is small so that it can reach the fullness that will allow the joint celebration of the Eucharist of the Lord” ^[6] .

At the same time, the Orthodox are particularly distinguished by the Catholic Church. By decree on the ecumenism of the Vatican II Council, Orthodox are invited to take communion: “Since these Churches, although separated from us, have true sacraments, especially because of the apostolic succession, the Priesthood and the Eucharist, through which they are still closely connected with us , well-known communion in the sacraments, under appropriate circumstances and with the approval of the church authorities, is not only possible, but even desirable ” ^[1] .

• Bulgakov S., prot. Orthodoxy: Essays on the teachings of the Orthodox Church = Bulgakov S. L'Orthodoxie (1932). - Paris: YMCA-Press , 1965 .-- 409 p.
• Evdokimov P.N. Orthodoxy = Evdokimov P. L'Orthodoxie (1959) / trans. with fr. - M .: BBI , 2002 .-- 503 p. - (Modern Theology). - ISBN 5-89647-053-3 .
• Zaitsev A.A. Boundaries of the Church // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2006. - T. XII. - S. 265-283. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-017-X .
• Callist (Ware), Bishop Diocletian . Orthodox Church = Ware T., bishop Kallistos. The Orthodox Church (1963) / trans. from English - M .: BBI , 2001 .-- 375 p. - (Modern Theology).
• Speranskaya E.S. Intercommunion // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2010. - T. XXIII. - S. 116-117. - 752 s. - 39,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-89572-042-4 .

• Eucharistic communion
• Filonenko A.S. Theology of communication and Eucharistic anthropology (inaccessible link) // Bogoslov.ru , 06/14/2010