Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

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Isaakos
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Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

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THE TEACHING OF BLESSED MATTHEW OF BRESTHENA

I believe that when measuring out saints, one of the most important things is how they treated the Holy Eucharist. The Fanatics tend to promote a kind of ultra-conservative fear of frequent communion. We actually see this in Jansenism and even until quite recently in many Roman Catholic circles, usually of French origin.

St Matthew The New Confessor completely agreed with the Kollyvades fathers. This is what he taught.


REGARDING FREQUENT RECEPTION OF COMMUNION

  • Written in 1933 by Archimandrite Matthew [Karpathaces] of Great Lavra,

    the future Bishop of Bresthena (1937‐1949), and Metropolitan of Athens

    (1949‐1950), of the Genuine Orthodox Church of Greece (+14 May, 1950).

    "Is it possible, you ask me, to receive Communion? Why, don’t we have

    to become saints in order to be worthy, as Blessed Chrysostom calls out in his

    liturgy, “The Holies for the holy?” And who can become a saint? You’re not

    able? Then, are the Holy Scriptures false? “And ye shall be holy men unto me

    (Exodus 22:31);” “I said ye are gods (Psalms 81:6).” This is what God says about

    us. So, who is able? As many as desire this, cleanse yourselves from every

    bodily and spiritual sin, and you will immediately become saints. I do not tell

    you this myself, God says it through the Apostle. “So clean yourselves, brethren,

    from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God (2

    Corinthians 7:1).” But is it difficult? I do not deny it. But it is probably not as

    difficult as you think. Consider this...

    An infant or even a very sinful old man, upon leaving the baptismal

    font, is he not worthy to commune of the Holy Mysteries? Yes, and who can

    doubt this? Baptism is a divine bath, it is a purification of sins, it is a spiritual

    rebirth. In the baptismal font we bury the old person of sin, and we put on the

    new man, Jesus Christ. “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have

    put on Christ (Galatians 3:27),” says he who ascended to the third heaven. So,

    what if it was possible to multiply the Mystery of Holy Baptism? What I am

    trying to say is, if it was possible for us to be baptized every time we wished,

    then you would no longer have any doubt that we worthily commune of the

    Mystery of the Frightful Eucharist. So if I prove to you that every time you

    wish, it is possible to enter the baptismal font and to get baptized, then you

    would no longer be able to leave [i.e., shun the Mystery of Holy Communion].

    You must conclude then, that it is possible to become worthy of the Mystery

    of Holy Communion.

    And is not Repentance, my brethren, a second baptismal font, into

    which it is possible to enter every time we wish and as many times as we

    wish, and nobody can prevent us? Is not Repentance a font equivalent to the

    font of Holy Baptism? “Tears dropped are equivalent to the font.” Yes, the tear,

    whenever it drops from our eyes for our sins, has the power of Holy Baptism.

    “And toilsome lamentation brings back the grace which departed for some time.” A

    lamentation from the heart ascends to heaven, and brings down that grace,

    which we have lost because of the multitude of our sins. It is not my opinion,

    but that of Gregory of Nyssa and the moral teachers of the Church. See now,

    upon what that which seemed impossible and most difficult to you depends?

    Upon one tear, one lamentation! “Tears dropped are equivalent to the font, and

    toilsome lamentation brings back the grace which departed for some time.” (Gregory

    of Nyssa, Words Concerning Repentance).

    What is this? I knew it! In the midst you bring to me the canons of St.

    Basil, the revealer of heavenly things, to St. Amphilochius, in order to oppose

    me. And you tell me, “Does not St. Basil, the revealer of heavenly things,

    define in his canons that for those who steal to not receive Communion for

    two years; for those who murder, twenty; for those who commit adultery,

    fifteen years; and so forth? For nearly all sins he appoints many years for us to

    abstain from Communion.”

    And what is concluded from this? Is it concluded that it is not possible

    for us to become worthy to receive Communion? Or rather that Repentance

    does not have the same power that Baptism has? Both conclusions are

    erroneous. They are erroneous because from these same canons of St. Basil, it

    is concluded that it is possible for us to become worthy to receive

    Communion, since he himself appoints that after so many years, depending

    upon the sin, we may receive Communion. So the revealer of heavenly things

    himself says that it is possible for us to become worthy.

    Basil also believed that Repentance is equivalent to Baptism and that

    there is no other difference between Baptism and Repentance, except that

    Repentance only blots out the voluntary sins, while Baptism also blots out the

    ancestral sin. But because he was most exact and perfect in everything, he

    desired a sure and true Repentance. And because he knew how easy it is for

    man to fall into evil, especially after he has fallen once, for this reason he

    appointed the years so that everybody be informed, and for us ourselves to be

    informed, that our Repentance is sure and true.

    So whenever Repentance is perfect and true, what then remains? Then

    everything remains to the judgment of the corrector of our souls and spiritual

    father, as St. Basil himself, the revealer of heavenly things, clearly appoints in

    his second canon, and informs us, how he agrees with all the other fathers:

    “To also define the therapy of Repentance not based on time but on manner.” And

    behold how Repentance is equivalent to Baptism even according to St. Basil, if

    you interpret his opinion correctly. And behold how you no longer have any

    reply to a truth so evident.

    Tell me, my Christians, after Pascha, which will be in a few days, what

    will you do? Do you celebrate Pascha? What a ridiculous question! Yet, this is

    what I ask you. Do you celebrate Pascha as all Christians have the obligation

    to do? Do we celebrate Pascha? Indeed, all of us with such eagerness await

    Pascha. The Lord grant! [i.e., God willing!] But I am afraid that few of us

    celebrate Pascha. Pascha, O Christians, is not that which is commonly called

    pascha, to wit, the partaking of meat and the rest of the foods. That is called

    eating; that is called nourishment. Pascha, however, is the Communion of the

    Mysteries! This is Pascha, as God told Moses, “and ye shall eat it in haste: it is

    the Lord’s Pascha (Exodus 12:11).” Know therefore, all of you who do not wish

    to commune of this mystical Pascha, that you will not have any reply; you

    will not be able to find any excuse when you appear before the judgment of

    the fearful God.

    —“And why did you not condescend,” the God‐man will tell you then,

    “when I was crying out to you to come eat my bread, and drink my wine,

    which I have treated to you? Why such contempt for me, when I have showed

    you so much love? You see this Cross? You see these wounds? Out of love for

    you I endured them.”

    —“Lord we were not worthy.” Is this what you have to respond to Him?

    —“And you do not know how to cleanse yourselves with Repentance, to

    wash yourselves with tears, to bathe yourselves with Confession?”

    —“But it was difficult for us to stop sinning.”

    —“So you preferred your passions and your sins above me? Therefore, since

    you desired to be separated from me while you were living on earth,

    separated from my word you must also be in heaven. Is this really so, O

    wretched and unfortunate ones, as many of you as are wounded by your

    passions, and full of your uncleanness and sins?”

    O my Lord, I am the first [among sinners], and what will become of me

    then during so many frightful censures? And what will become of all of you

    who are similar to me? It would have been better if we were never born.

    —“Such contempt for my blood? Such contempt for my body?” the Judge will

    cry, “Are your hands filthy and have you sacrificed me and cut me to pieces,

    and touched me, as did the Jews? Are your lips foul and have you kissed me,

    as did Judas? Is your heart dirty and have you partaken of me? Is your soul

    sinful, and have you been insolent?”

    And what will I say, what will I reply, when, after the censures, Hades

    immediately swallows me up?

    My Christian brethren, please listen to me carefully. We cannot remain

    without Holy Communion: “If we do not eat of the body of the Son of Man and

    drink His blood, we have no life in us.” And we cannot receive Communion

    unworthily: “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh

    damnation to himself.” If we do not receive Communion: despair. If we receive

    Communion unworthily: hell. Therefore, we must receive Communion

    worthily (which, as I have shown you, is possible) in order to inherit eternal

    life in Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom be glory and power unto the ages of

    ages. Amen."

    Thus in the above homily by Blessed Matthew Karpathakes, we see

    that the worthiness of a communicant is obtained by the Mystery of

    Repentance, which is equal to Baptism, and is sealed by receiving Holy

    Communion itself.

http://www.slideshare.net/mobile/Spyrid ... acerycii04

Last edited by Maria on Wed 11 February 2015 11:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Added indentation of St. Matthew's homily and the link provided by Philaret

Blessed is the man who has volunteered to hold and keep until the end of his life our holy Orthodox faith, the faith of the one Church of Christ and our mother, the Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Archbishop Matthew Karpathakis

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Maria
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Re: Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

Post by Maria »

Please, Philaret, list your sources whenever you quote sermons or articles. Thank you.

Maria,
Administrator

Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.

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Isaakos
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Re: Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

Post by Isaakos »

Blessed is the man who has volunteered to hold and keep until the end of his life our holy Orthodox faith, the faith of the one Church of Christ and our mother, the Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Archbishop Matthew Karpathakis

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Barbara
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Re: Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

Post by Barbara »

Philaret,
Not to sidetrack, but which French schools are in that line of infrequent reception of Communion ?
Is it the Gallicans ?? Or just generalized. If so, why ?

And then why too would there be such fear of frequent Communion ? Why would anyone shun that ???
What would be their rationale ?
Great comment about the odious Jansenists. Even the name makes me shudder....they were so scary.

Thanks for bringing up Bp Matthew's pithy, edifying words on the topic.

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Isaakos
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Re: Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

Post by Isaakos »

Barbara wrote:

Philaret,
Not to sidetrack, but which French schools are in that line of infrequent reception of Communion ?
Is it the Gallicans ?? Or just generalized. If so, why ?

And then why too would there be such fear of frequent Communion ? Why would anyone shun that ???
What would be their rationale ?
Great comment about the odious Jansenists. Even the name makes me shudder....they were so scary.

Thanks for bringing up Bp Matthew's pithy, edifying words on the topic.

The Jansenists had a lasting influence on French piety, and so their hyper-Augustinianism (which was an attempt to return to patristics that backfired, similar to Calvin) which so emphasized original sin and personal unworthiness put them in a place where many were terrified of receiving unworthily.

Blessed is the man who has volunteered to hold and keep until the end of his life our holy Orthodox faith, the faith of the one Church of Christ and our mother, the Catholic and Apostolic Church.

Archbishop Matthew Karpathakis

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Barbara
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Re: Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

Post by Barbara »

Thank you, Philaret ! That clicked immediately into place ; now I understand quite a bit about the French writings on I have been working which have caused considerable confusion. NOW it's cleared up ! Thanks.

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Re: Bishop Matthew on Frequent Communion

Post by Lydia »

I have been recently reading some things about Metropolitan Kyrikos regarding communion. Although he came from the same synod he seems to have completely discarded Bishop Matthew's position.
He seems to believe that frequent communion is a bad thing for the laity, and makes it very difficult to approach the Holy Mysteries. Very strange.

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