The Importance of the Eucharist

Thoughts on Holy Communion

Photo by Ramses Sudiang on Unsplash

Dear reader,

A couple of subscribers asked me to give some thoughts on the Eucharist/Holy Communion (I’ll call it the Eucharist from here on) so this is my attempt to offer some scribbles on this most central of communal Christian practices.

Forgive me for the many gaps as this won’t cover all aspects of the Eucharist. Many books can and have been written on it. A quick Substack article won’t do it justice.

I must also confess a significant, personal leaning towards the ancient apostolic streams of the Christian faith. When I say ‘apostolic’ I am not referring to the self-styled modern people and institutions that have chosen to use that term, but the ancient churches that trace their roots, via continuous apostolic succession back to the first Apostles who had been Jesus’ disciples 2000 years ago, namely the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches.

That apostolic succession is what is being referred to in the Nicene Creed when it refers to ‘one holy catholic, and apostolic church.’ It is a faith founded on Christ through the Apostles and passed down through a direct line with all its strengths and foibles.

There are significant weaknesses in both the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, but I think those weaknesses are there mostly because of their division. If they could reunite and bring their strengths and weaknesses together, they would significantly enhance one another.

But I digress. That to simply say, more and more I am heavily influenced by the theology of both in my ongoing pursuit of The Way. That plays an increasingly substantial part in how I understand and more importantly, experience the Eucharist.

For readers not of the Christian faith who might not be familiar with what the Eucharist is, this whole thing is going to seem extremely weird, maybe even barbaric since we talk about Jesus’ body and blood, and the consumption of it. It would take too much to fully explain the ins, outs, and whys of it, so I won’t be offended if you check out of this article at this point, though you may find it fascinating.

Let’s continue.