Q: I wonder if it is ok to eat food that has blood in it? What about Acts 15 where the Apostles forbid it and what about blood transfusions? A: Actually – and this is not well-known – the Orthodox position is that the Apostolic Council is still binding, and this includes the prohibition on […]
To Whom Was the Blood of Christ Offered according to St. Gregory the Theologian
June 28, 2017 By
By St. Gregory the Theologian More on Atonement – an Excerpt from “On Holy Pascha”, Homily 45 Now we are to examine another fact and dogma, neglected by most people, but in my judgment well worth inquiring into. To whom was that Blood offered that was shed for us, and why was it shed? I […]
Mystery or Memorial? Sacrament or Symbol?
September 2, 2016 By
What is the Lord’s Supper? What is the Eucharist? Was it always understood as a Sacrament? Throughout the history of Christianity, the overwhelming majority of Christians have consistently believed that Jesus Christ, in a mystery, imparts His Body and Blood to His people though the vehicle of the Lord’s Supper. Bypassing all the Biblical references, […]
What Is Eucharist? from 106 AD
September 2, 2014 By
by St. Ignatius of Antioch “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God….They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of […]
Blood Atonement and the Price of Redemption
January 6, 2014 By
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon Throughout the New Testament the apostolic witness gives a central place to the theme of Christ’s redeeming blood, which was poured out in his sacrificial death on the Cross. For the whole human race this blood procures deliverance from sin and death. Thus, Paul writes that in Christ “we have […]
The Language of Offering in the Sacrifice of Christ
September 27, 2013 By
by Fr. Patrick Henry Reardon The New Testament teaches that Jesus gave up his life and handed himself over to unspeakable suffering for the sake of those he loved. Thus, in the Last Supper discourse he declared: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater […]
Blood and Water from His Side
January 13, 2010 By
“In those days, when the destroying angel saw the blood on the doors he did not dare to enter, so how much less will the devil approach now when he sees, not that figurative blood on the doors, but the true blood on the lips of believers, the doors of the temple of Christ.”
