Keywords: Divine Liturgy, one chalice, celebration, chalices consecration, vessels number
Abstract:
The frequent participation in the Eucharist of the orthodox people has been a custom of the Church that nowadays is revived in some churches and communities. Consequently, in the past and in our days more than one chalice were and could be consecrated in order to efficiently distribute to the communicants the Holy Communion during the Divine Liturgy. For some priests or scholars this practice represents a modern liturgical innovation that, in their opinion, diminishes or even destroys the symbolism of One Bread and One Chalice. An aspect that deals almost exclusively to a technical issue of the liturgical celebration is today harshly contested and the servants who use this practice are discouraged. Is this a healthy way to defend the worship or the dogma? The arbitrariness of the consecration of multiple chalices may come from the lack of guidance in the present practice for the celebrants, but under no circumstances from the lack of historical background. The evidence of this practice goes back to 4th century with the Apostolic Constitution and can be observed during the centuries up to Saint Symeon of Thessalonica (15th c.) as well as in the orthodox iconography. This ancient practice come to solve some of the drawbacks related to the other two customs in practice today: the technique of pouring of the Holy Blood from one chalice into others and the technique of duplicating the consecration moment by consecrating the content of other chalices dropping inside a small quantity of Holy Blood, both techniques being performed after the Anaphora.
Pages: 66-82