By St. Symeon, Archbishop of Thessaloniki
Question 57
Do the Presanctified Holy Gifts receive anything through the prayers that are said?
Answer
Question 57
Do the Presanctified Holy Gifts receive anything through the prayers that are said?
Answer
The most holy Presanctified Gifts receive nothing from the prayers that follow, for they are already perfect. The prayers recited during the Liturgy itself bear witness to this: they are prayers of supplication and propitiation offered on our behalf, through the dread Mysteries set forth — namely, the Body and Blood of the Only-Begotten — beseeching God the Father to be merciful to us and rendering us worthy to partake of the Communion of Christ.
As for the Entrances: the first belongs to Vespers, while the second takes place for the transfer of the Gifts onto the Holy Table, so that, beholding and venerating them, we may be sanctified through their vision and grace. What these Entrances symbolize has been explained elsewhere.
Nor do we perform any further union — for how could we? Since the Bread has already been perfected, consecrated, elevated, and united with the divine Blood. Rather, into the Holy Chalice wine and water are introduced without any additional prayer being pronounced, so that when the divine Bread is moistened, and according to the liturgical type a portion of it is placed therein, the contents of the Chalice may be sanctified through participation.
Thus, according to the order of the Liturgy, the priest communes both from the Bread and from the Chalice and then imparts Communion to those who need to partake — whether clergy within the sanctuary according to custom, or laypeople by means of the spoon.
Likewise, when it is desired to commune someone outside of a liturgical celebration, a portion is taken from the reserved Bread and mixed with wine and water; or often Communion is given even dry, using only the life-giving Bread, since it is already united with the Blood.
Here, however, in the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, this is done because the form of Communion must be fulfilled, as stated, and also in case many must receive Communion.
Therefore, the contents of the chalice in the Presanctified Liturgy are not sanctified by the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the sealing, but by the participation in and union with the life-giving Bread, which is truly the Body of Christ, joined with the Blood.
- From P.G. 155, Answers to Gabriel of Pentapolis. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
