Orthodox faith - the Last Supper.

Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy
Law of God

New Testament

The Last Supper

On the fifth day after the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, which means, in our opinion, Thursday (and on Friday evening the Paschal lamb was to be buried), the disciples asked Jesus Christ: "Where do you order us to prepare the Passover for You?"

Jesus Christ told them: “Go to the city of Jerusalem; there you will meet a man carrying a jug of water; follow him into the house and tell the owner: The Teacher says: where is the upper room (room) in which I would celebrate the Passover with My disciples? He will show you a large, furnished upper room; there prepare the passover.”

Having said this, the Savior sent two of His disciples, Peter and John. They went, and everything was fulfilled just as the Savior had said; and prepared Easter.

In the evening of that day, Jesus Christ, knowing that He would be betrayed that night, came with His twelve apostles to the prepared upper room. When everyone sat down at the table, Jesus Christ said: "I really desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, because, I tell you, I will no longer eat it until it is completed in the Kingdom of God." Then he got up, took off his outer garment, girded himself with a towel, poured water into the washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and wipe them with the towel with which he was girded.

Foot washing

Having washed the feet of the disciples, Jesus Christ put on His clothes and, lying down again, said to them: “Do you know what I have done to you? Behold, you call Me Teacher and Lord, and you call me rightly. you, then you must do the same. I have given you an example that you should do as I have done for you."

By this example, the Lord showed not only His love for His disciples, but also taught them humility, i.e., not to consider it a humiliation for oneself to serve anyone, even an inferior person.

After partaking of the Old Testament Jewish Passover, Jesus Christ established the sacrament of Holy Communion at this supper. That is why it is called "The Last Supper".

Jesus Christ took the bread, blessed it, broke it into pieces and, giving it to the disciples, said: Take, eat; this is my body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins", (that is, for you, he is given over to suffering and death, for the forgiveness of sins). Then he took a cup of grape wine, blessed it, thanked God the Father for all His mercies to the human race, and, serving the disciples, said: "Drink of it all, this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for you for the remission of sins."

These words mean that, under the guise of bread and wine, the Savior gave His disciples that very Body and that very Blood, which the next day after that He gave over to suffering and death for our sins. How bread and wine became the Body and Blood of the Lord is a mystery, incomprehensible even to angels, which is why it is called sacrament.

Having communed the apostles, the Lord gave the commandment to always celebrate this sacrament, He said: " do this in remembrance of me". This sacrament is performed with us and now and will be performed until the end of the age at the divine service called Liturgy or Lunch.

During the Last Supper, the Savior announced to the apostles that one of them would betray Him. They were very saddened by this and in bewilderment, looking at each other, in fear began to ask one after another: "Am I not the Lord?" Judas also asked: "Is it not me, Rabbi?" The Savior quietly said to him: "you"; but no one heard it. John was reclining next to the Savior. Peter motioned to him to ask who the Lord was talking about. John, falling to the breast of the Savior, quietly said: "Lord, who is this?" Jesus Christ just as quietly answered: "the one to whom I, having dipped a piece of bread, will serve." And, having dipped a piece of bread in salt (in a dish with salt), He gave it to Judas Iscariot, saying: "what you do, do it quickly." But no one understood why the Savior told him this. And since Judas had a box of money, the disciples thought that Jesus Christ was sending him to buy something for the holiday or to give alms to the poor. Judas, having accepted the piece, immediately went out. It was already night.

Jesus Christ, continuing to talk with His disciples, said: “Children! It will not be long for me to be with you. I give you a new commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. love among themselves. And there is no greater love than if a man lays down his life (gives up his life) for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."

During this conversation, Jesus Christ predicted to the disciples that they would all be tempted about Him that night - they would all scatter, leaving Him alone.

The Apostle Peter said: "If everyone is offended about You, I will never be offended."

Then the Savior said to him: "Truly, I say to you that this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times and say that you do not know Me."

But Peter even more, began to assure, saying: "Even though it behooves me to die with You, I will not deny You."

All the other apostles said the same. Yet the words of the Savior saddened them.

Consoling them, the Lord said: "Let not your heart be troubled (that is, do not grieve), believe in God (Father) and believe in Me (Son of God)."

The Savior promised His disciples to send from the Father His other Comforter and Teacher, instead of Himself - Holy Spirit. He said, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him and does not know Him; but you know Him, because He dwells with you and will be in you ( this means that the Holy Spirit will be with all who truly believe in Jesus Christ - in the Church of Christ). can overcome Me), and you will live. But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have said to you." "The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, which comes from the Father He will testify of Me; and you also will testify, because you are with me from the beginning" (Jn. 15 , 26-27).

Jesus Christ also predicted to His disciples that they would have to endure a lot of evil and troubles from people because they believe in Him, "In the world you will have sorrow; but be of good cheer (be strong)," said the Savior; "I have conquered the world" (i.e., I have conquered evil in the world).

Jesus Christ ended His conversation with a prayer for His disciples and for all who will believe in Him, so that the Heavenly Father would keep them all in firm faith, in love and in unanimity ( in unity) among themselves.

When the Lord finished supper, even during the conversation, he got up with his eleven disciples and, having sung psalms, went beyond the Kidron stream, to the Mount of Olives, to the Garden of Gethsemane.

NOTE: See in the Gospel: Matthew, ch. 26 , 17-35; from Mark, ch. 14 , 12-31; from Luke, ch. 22 , 7-39; from John, ch. 13 ; ch. 14 ; ch. 15 ; ch. 16 ; ch. 17 ; ch. 18 , 1.

Chistyakov G.P. "Over the lines of the New Testament"

Last Supper

In every Orthodox church, an icon depicting the Last Supper is placed above the Royal Doors.

In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, as well as in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, the Last Supper is described in sufficient detail. The Gospel of Mark says: “On the first day of unleavened bread, when they slaughtered the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, Where do you want to eat the Passover? We will go and cook” (Mk 14:12).

Easter in the Old Testament Church is a holiday of remembrance of the exodus from Egypt, from the house of slavery, of the first night of freedom. Yesterday's slaves, leaving Egypt, gain freedom, the contours of which they still do not understand. According to the Jewish lunar calendar, Passover is celebrated on the same day, Nisan 15. According to our lunisolar - Julian or Gregorian - calendar, this day falls on different dates.

The command to celebrate Passover is already in the book of Exodus: “Watch the Feast of Unleavened Bread… for in it you left Egypt” (Exodus 23:15). In the irmos of the first song of one of the canons, which is sung during matins, this event is narrated as follows: “Like dry land, Israel walked in the abyss with their feet ...”

On this day, the Jews baked unleavened bread - matzot- as a sign that they were in a hurry, leaving Egypt, and therefore could not bake leavened bread. In addition, leaven is a symbol of fermentation, decomposition; unleavened bread, on the contrary, is a symbol of purity, untouched by decomposition. Therefore, in Jewish families from ancient times to the present, two days before Passover - on the 13th day of the month of Nisan - the owner destroys the leaven so that no leavened bread is left in the house. On this day, the Passover lamb was slaughtered in the Temple in Jerusalem. After the destruction of the Temple, this custom was abolished. But until now, in memory of how the Jews first baked matzot, every spring, for every Easter, this unleavened bread is baked.

The Passover meal in Hebrew is called the word seder(order). An Easter lamb is obligatory on it (after the destruction of the Temple by Emperor Justinian, the lamb began to be replaced by a piece of matzah), matzot; a bowl of salt water, symbolizing the tears shed by the Jews in Egypt, and at the same time, the salty waters of the Red Sea, through which Israel crossed “like on dry land”, leaving slavery for freedom; set of bitter herbs maror), reminiscent of the bitterness of slavery; prettier- a paste of apples, dates, sprigs of cinnamon and walnuts - in memory of those bricks of straw and clay that the Jews made in Egypt when they were slaves; four cups of wine - as a symbol of the four promises of God to His people: to bring them out from under the yoke, save them, take them to Himself and be their God.

The main thing in the holiday of Passover among the Jews - ziccaron(memory). In one of the Talmudic treatises, which says how to celebrate Easter, there are these words: "In every generation, every person should feel as if he himself came out of Egypt." Not his distant, distant ancestors more than three thousand years ago, but he himself.

... The disciples ask Christ where they can cook the Passover. The Savior sends them to the house, where they must find - and find - the upper room, covered with carpets. In this upper room, “when the hour had come, he lay down, and the twelve apostles with him” (Luke 22:8-14). The verb "lay down" indicates one very important circumstance. They reclined at the Easter meal, thus emphasizing that this is the meal of free people. The slave eats standing up, swallowing the pieces in a hurry - he does not have time for a meal. A free person at a meal can reclining. The fact that "He lay down" and "they reclined" is mentioned in two more verses - in the Gospels of Matthew (26:20) and Mark (14:18).

Jesus takes bread, then wine. Bread and wine are the two central elements of the Last Supper, as they are at Easter seder the Jews. Evangelist Luke mentions the cup - in Greek it is called triblion, and Saints Cyril and Methodius translated this word as "salted". Solilo - a bowl of salt water. Slavic primary teachers translated this word in meaning, and not literally. From the Gospel of John it is clear that it was a cup with some kind of liquid, because Jesus dipped bread in it. In Greek, the liquid is not directly spoken of, but the participle is used bapsas, that is, “dipping” (in some liquid) a piece of bread. Then Jesus gave it to Judas.

While celebrating the Last Supper, the Lord says: “Do this in remembrance of Me,” which means that He used the word ziccaron which is so important in the Passover ritual of the Jews. Finally, the Gospel of Luke (22:17-18) speaks of one more cup of wine, besides the one that Jesus took at the end of the Last Supper and blessed with the words: “... this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is for you shed” (Luke 22:20). At the very beginning of the Supper, He, “taking the cup and giving thanks, said: accept it and divide it among yourselves, for I tell you that I will not drink from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And then, "taking bread, and giving thanks, he broke it." For former interpreters of the gospel, this passage about the first cup has always been very difficult. Why is she, this bowl, at the beginning of the meal? But if we look into the Easter Haggadah(a practical guide for the Passover meal among the Jews), we learn that the meal begins with a custom called kiddush(consecration). The head of the family takes the bowl, blesses it, reads a prayer over it, and then this bowl is passed around. And everyone reads over the bowl something like this prayer: "Blessed are You, God Almighty, King of the Universe, who created the fruit of the vine." In the Gospel, the Savior says: “I will not drink from the fruit of the grape"(Luke 22:18), i.e. as if repeating the words from this prayer. The cup with which the Jewish Passover meal begins is, without a doubt, the cup referred to in the Gospel of Luke.

Comparing the gospel story with the Paschal Haggadah, we see that the Lord at the Last Supper performs the Passover Seder; at the same time, at this meal - as we know from the Gospel of Matthew, from Mark, from Luke, from the First Epistle to the Corinthians of the Apostle Paul - there is no Paschal lamb, although at that time the Jerusalem temple had not yet been destroyed and there was a custom of slaughter. The question arises: why is there no lamb at the Last Supper? The Apostle Paul helps us to answer it in the First Epistle to the Corinthians: “Our Passover, Christ, was sacrificed for us” (1 Cor 5:7); in other words, Jesus is our Passover Lamb. Before the Apostle Paul, John the Baptist speaks of this, directly calling the Savior the Lamb of God: “Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). It is well known that in the first centuries of church history, Christ was usually depicted as a Lamb. Today, the prosphora, on which the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated during the Liturgy, is called lamb, Eucharistic bread is cut out of it - “lamb”.

So Jesus takes the bread and blesses it, saying a prayer, and then says: "... this is my body, which is given for you" (Luke 22:19). "This is My Body" - this exclamation is reminiscent of a phrase from Haggadah: "This is the meager bread that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt." This is another parallel of the Last Supper with the Passover meal of the Jews.

As it should be on Easter Agade, Christ at the end of the Last Supper, the Apostle Paul emphasizes this, takes a cup of wine and blesses it. This concludes the Passover meal. Blessing the cup of wine, Christ says: "... this is My blood of the new covenant" (Matthew 26:28), quoting the words from the book of Exodus (24: 8). So Jesus performed a ritual that had been performed every year in Palestine for more than a thousand years. But at the same time, He gave people not bread and wine, but Himself in the form of bread and wine: “Take, eat ...” Not meager bread, but His Body and His Blood.

At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Russian philosophers V. Solovyov, N. Berdyaev and others asked themselves the question: how does Christianity differ from everything else that has been accumulated by mankind over the millennia of history? And they came to the same answer: Western (Roman, Greek) and Eastern (Indian, Chinese, Egyptian) teachers - they all offered people his teaching. Christ offered Himself. This main distinguishing feature of Christianity was most fully manifested precisely in the Last Supper. Even earlier, Christ spoke directly about this, exclaiming: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; but the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51). And further: “...Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day” (Jn 6:53-54).

In the repetition of that Last Supper, when on the eve of His suffering the Lord taught His disciples the sacrament of the Eucharist, lies the foundation of the Christian life. “Do this in remembrance of Me,” Jesus says at the end of the Last Supper (Lk 22:19), so the repetition of the Last Supper according to these words of His becomes the Liturgy of our Church.

Just as the Jew who makes seder, feels that he himself left the Egyptian captivity, so the Christian feels during the Eucharist a participant in the Last Supper. We express this feeling in a prayer that is read before communion: “Today, Thy Secret Supper, Son of God, accept me as a communicant.”

On Easter night, the ancient meal acquires a new, mystical meaning from Christ and His disciples. The famous French theologian Louis Bouillet said about this: “The Lord introduced all the novelty of the Gospel into the carefully observed lines of the solemn rite, saturated with the most honored traditions of Israel.” And indeed it is.

It is important to keep in mind that Eucharistic mysticism is not a mysticism for an elite, a narrow circle of initiates, it is a mysticism accessible to everyone. Because even those who, for some reason, cannot believe in transubstantiation, the change of the Holy Gifts, proceed to the Holy Mysteries, partake of the Holy Communion according to the word of Jesus: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” And everyone who loves Christ becomes a true participant in the Last Supper, doing this in remembrance of Jesus, even if he does not fully understand the meaning of the Eucharist.

But still, is it Easter? seder what did the Lord do that evening with His disciples?

Some commentaries on the New Testament argue that there are serious discrepancies in the dating of Christ's meal between the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and the Gospel of John. I have already spoken about some features of the Jewish seder. So, from the beginning of the 14th chapter of the Gospel of Mark, it becomes clear that Jesus serves the Passover meal on the first day of unleavened bread. You can find other details confirming that the stories of the three evangelists are talking about Passover Seder.

But what does the Evangelist John say?

Jesus is captured and led from Caiaphas to the praetorium. “It was morning; and they (Jews. - G.Ch.) did not enter the praetorium, lest they be defiled, but that they might eat the Passover” (Jn 18:28).

This means that the Lord is already in custody, and the Easter meal has not yet begun. The next chapter: “Then it was the Friday before Easter, and the sixth hour. And Pilate said to the Jews: Behold, your King! (John 19:14).

So Jesus is already in custody, and it's only Friday before Easter. Earlier, at the beginning of chapter 13, it is also emphasized that the Supper is celebrated before the feast of the Passover. Evangelist John is echoed by the Talmud, where one of the treatises says that Yeshua ben Panther, that is, Jesus the Son of the Virgin, was executed on the evening before Easter. The question arises: who is right - the weather forecasters or John and, accordingly, the Talmud?

Secular scientists are trying to answer precisely this question: who is right? We know that Scripture is not wrong. So, you just need to understand what the essence of this discrepancy is. If you read the gospel text shallowly, superficially, it may seem that there are contradictions in Scripture. But if you study it in depth, it turns out that there are no contradictions in it.

It seems that Jesus really died on the eve of Easter, because, firstly, the story of the passion of Christ in the Gospel of John is eminently reliable. As studies of the text show, this is a very ancient story. Secondly, such dissimilar sources as the Gospel of John and the Talmud speak of the same thing. And when two, as it were, mutually exclusive sources report the same information, this is a fairly reliable evidence of its authenticity.

On the other hand, weather forecasters describe, of course, the Easter meal. But there is no lamb at this Passover meal...

It couldn't be, because this meal was prepared by the Savior in advance. If we open any prophetic text - the books of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel - we will see that many of the sayings of the prophets are directed to the future. They talk about what will happen in the distant future, in eight, nine, ten centuries. In the Gospels, just the opposite, the key words in them are “now”, “today”. Jesus says, “Now the Son of Man is glorified” (John 13:31); “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43); “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9); “Today this scripture has been fulfilled” (Luke 4:21)… “But the time will come, and it has already come,” Jesus says twice in the Gospel of John (4:23; 5:25). In other words, all Christianity is the future, which is being realized now. “And Your Kingdom,” we pray during the Liturgy, “thou hast granted (that is, you have already granted. — G.Ch.) future". Christians of the Middle Ages believed that the Kingdom of God is what awaits a person sometime in the future, after death. But we know that this Kingdom has already been given to us. Christianity is our today's fearless entry into the future. Emphasizing this, the Lord also makes a meal in advance, showing that He and the apostles enter the future.

We become citizens of the future through Eucharistic communion. If this is understood, it will become clear that there are no contradictions in the texts of the synoptics and John - because the synoptics tell us about the circumstances of the Last Supper, and John accurately dates it and repeats the words of the Savior: "The time will come, and it has already come." This is our entry into the future.

In the Gospel of Luke (ch. 24) there is a story about another meal. On the way to Emmaus, Jesus interprets the Scriptures to the disciples, and then takes bread, blesses, breaks and gives to them. Let us compare this story with the story of how the apostle Paul celebrates the sacrament of the Eucharist. At Troas, “when the disciples were assembled to break bread,” Paul “conversed with them and continued the word until midnight,” and then broke bread (Acts 20:7). St. Justin Martyr, who lived in the 2nd century, tells that during the sacrament of the Eucharist, one of the Epistles of the Apostle Paul and prophetic texts were first read, then a sermon was delivered, after which prayers and the Eucharist were performed.

Thus, the sacrament of the Eucharist, or the breaking of bread, was combined with the reading of Scripture and preaching. And to this day the Liturgy consists of two parts: the Liturgy of the catechumens, or Liturgies of the word when the 102nd and 145th psalms are sung, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount - “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, and then the text of one of the Apostolic Epistles is read and a sermon is delivered; and liturgies faithful when, in fact, the sacrament of the Eucharist is celebrated. The texts from the 20th chapter of the Acts of the Holy Apostles and the testimony of Justin Martyr show that the structure of mass goes back to apostolic times. The same division of the Liturgy into two equivalent parts is also indicated by its Latin title - missa; Blessed Augustine explains that after a sermon there is a “miss” (from the Latin verb mittere- “let go”) for catechumens” (catechumens, not yet baptized), they are released, and “remain faithful”. The word "faithful" is not used here by chance - the service performed after the catechumens have been dismissed is called the Liturgy of the Faithful.

So, the Lord uses an ancient ritual, which by the time of the Last Supper has more than a thousand years of history. If we look at the liturgical books of the Jews, we will find there the same elements of the service that are present in the Liturgies of John Chrysostom or Basil the Great. This is the offering of gifts, and incense, and the washing of hands, and the dialogue of the one who performs the service with those who pray. Among the Jews, the rabbi says: "Let us give thanks." “Blessed be the name of the Lord,” the prayers answer him. "Thank the Lord!" exclaims a priest of the Orthodox Church today. “It is worthy and righteous to worship the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Trinity Consubstantial and Indivisible,” the choir answers him. “With your consent, we will bless the One who gave us a share in His blessings!” - then exclaims the leader of the service among the Jews. And this also reminds us of our priestly exclamation: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ… be with you all!”

It is important to understand that Christ puts all the novelty of the Gospel into an ancient ritual. Perhaps it is precisely because of this that liturgical mysticism is accessible not to the elect, but to everyone. The liturgy gives the believer the opportunity to live in the fullness of mystical union with Christ. Through it, a deep mystical and intimate union of each with Christ is achieved.

But at the same time - and this is the fundamental difference between the mysticism of Christianity and any other mysticism - through it not only the unity of the believer with God is achieved, but also the unity of all participants in the sacrament with each other, and equally the living and the dead. Christ is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. With God, everyone is alive! The Gospel of John says that Jesus died to gather the scattered children of God together.

"Didache" - the teaching of the twelve apostles - an ancient Christian text dating from about the end of the 1st century, when the direct disciples of the apostles were still alive, gives us a wonderful liturgical text, a prayer: "Just as this bread was scattered over the mountains, and then collected together, so grant, Lord, that the Church may be gathered together from all ends of the earth into one Kingdom.” The Apostle Paul says: “There is one bread, and we many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:17).

This mystical unification of all into a single body is very unlike non-Christian mystical systems, where a person, restoring communication with God, on the contrary, breaks ties with the people around him; remaining alone with God, he leaves, breaks away from people, opposes himself to them. In Christianity, in Orthodoxy, this is not, never has been, and, hopefully, will not be—otherwise it will no longer be Orthodoxy.

In Christianity, the closer we are to God, the closer we are to people. A Christian cannot be indifferent to what is going on around him. Our mystical union with God is aimed not at breaking ties with the world, but, on the contrary, at strengthening these ties. Therefore, the sacrament of the Eucharist is preceded by the “kiss of peace”, when the deacon, turning to those who pray, exclaims: “Let us love one another, but confess with one mind.” Unfortunately, over the course of centuries, in an Orthodox church in Russia, the deacon began to pronounce these words, standing in front of the gates facing the altar, and not to the people. But among the Orthodox Arabs, the deacon even today addresses these words precisely to people, and not to the closed Royal Doors. In general, by comparing the experience of the Eucharistic service in different local Orthodox Churches, one can better understand its essential moments. Once I was at the Liturgy of the Arab students. During the singing of the Lord's Prayer, all those present joined hands, as children do during the holidays. This custom seemed to me very good. After all, it is about such relationships between believers that the Bible says: “How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to live together!” (Ps 132:1).

At the Liturgy, there should not be simply those present, those who came to "defend Mass." Everyone participates in the Liturgy. For example, in the Liturgy of the Western Church, such an appeal by a priest to people has been preserved: “Pray, brothers and sisters, that my and your the sacrifice was pleasing to God the Father Almighty!”

Immediately after the Last Supper, the Savior washes the feet of his disciples, that is, he appears before them precisely as a deacon, as a servant. After that, in a farewell conversation, He says: “Yes, love one another!” So we must remember: the Liturgy is always connected with the remembrance of how Christ goes to the Cross.

Why did Christ give us His Body and His Blood instead of saving us in some other, mystical way? God can do everything. It can enter a person in any way. But Christ, taking the bread, says: “This is My Flesh”, “This is My Body”, and then takes the wine with the words: “This is My Blood”. Why Flesh and Blood?

From a number of places in the Bible, we know that the phrase "flesh and blood" corresponds in meaning to the adjective "human." In other words, Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist gives us His Humanity, gives Himself to us precisely as a Man, gives us not just flesh, but broken Flesh, not just blood, but the Blood that is shed for us. This is a very important moment of the Eucharist, when through the sacrament Christ enters us precisely as a Man. As God, He can enter into us in any way, but as a Man, He enters precisely through Flesh and Blood—through the Holy Mysteries during communion.

Why does the Savior use bread to celebrate the Last Supper? Firstly, probably because it is bread that occupies a central place in the Passover meal among the Jews. But above all, it is a product that people work together to produce. Some plow the field and plant the grains in the ground, then they are collected and taken to the mill. Others grind flour, others bake bread, and so on. Thus, bread itself unites us. Therefore, the Lord transforms him with His Holy Spirit into His Body. And therefore, in the Eucharistic bread, Christ is both hidden and revealed at the same time. He is material, we see, we feel, he enters us physically — and at the same time is hidden, we do not see Him. This is a moment that you need to prayerfully take into your heart.

We have already said that the Easter meal is the meal of freedom. It's no coincidence that Easter Haggadah begins with the words: "We were slaves in Egypt." Were slaves, but become free. The Lord says about this same freedom and the liberating power of the Eucharist: “If the Son sets you free, then you will be truly free” (Jn 8:36). And before that: “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8: 31-32). Christ Himself says of Himself that He is “the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). “You are called to freedom, brethren,” says the apostle Paul in Galatians 5:13. And above: "Stand therefore in the liberty which Christ has given us, and do not again be subjected to the yoke of bondage" (Gal 5:1).

Means, Eucharist- it is too freedom meal, this is also a moment that completely frees us from any kind of yoke, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor 3: 17).

During the Emmaus meeting, the resurrected Christ was recognized by the disciples, says the Evangelist Luke, in the breaking of bread (ch. 24). Eucharist- this is also sacrament of recognizing Jesus when we really get to know Christ - not about Him, but Himself, we meet Him face to face.

Christ in Hebrew mashiach, Messiah. And from the prophecy of Isaiah (ch. 25) we know that when the Messiah comes, He will arrange a feast - the messianic feast that the Jews were waiting for. This feast is the meal that the Lord constantly speaks about in the Gospel. In the Gospel of Matthew (ch. 22), the Savior tells a parable about a king who arranged a wedding feast for his son. The king calls everyone to this feast. In the Gospel of Luke there is a parable about those invited to the host's supper. It is clear that God Himself is meant by the owner. The master's servants gather people from all over for this supper. Interestingly, in the Gospel of Luke, this parable is preceded by the exclamation of a man who addresses Jesus: “Blessed is he who eats bread in the kingdom of God” (Luke 14:15). This is said about each of us who becomes a partaker of the Last Supper. Even earlier, for example, in the 11th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord eats and drinks with His disciples, uniting them through a meal.

“Why does your Teacher eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” — the Pharisees ask His disciples (Matthew 9:11). And what does Christ do at every Liturgy until now? Who are we if not "publicans and sinners"? "Why does He eat and drink with them?" — pious people ask. And Christ answers: “Can the sons of the bridal chamber fast when the bridegroom is with them?” (Mark 2:19). “Fast,” says Mark, which means not to eat, because the original meaning of this word in the Bible is “not to eat,” or “to grieve,” as Matthew says (9:15). “Can you force the sons of the bridal chamber to fast when the bridegroom is with them?” says the Lord (Luke 5:34).

So, Christianity is always a Meal, a Supper that unites people around Christ, Who eats and drinks with them. (We know from other passages in the Gospel that the Bridegroom is Christ Himself; the Bridegroom who comes at midnight.)

Faith in the presence of God during the meal has long been deeply rooted in the Jewish religion. In one of the Talmudic treatises, Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai says: “If three people do not talk about the Torah together at a meal, then they are performing a pagan sacrifice. If three people talk about the Torah at a joint meal, they eat bread at a meal with God. Talking about the Torah means reading the Word of God and explaining it. Thus, one who proclaims the Word of God at a meal eats bread from God in the Kingdom of Heaven. He is precisely the one who is "blessed, for he shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God" (Luke 14:15).

The 20th chapter of the Acts of the Holy Apostles tells how the apostle Paul celebrated the Eucharist. We see him interpreting the Word of God to his disciples and then breaking bread. In 1 Timothy we find another important evidence of this. Paul condemns people who “forbid… to eat what God has created, so that the faithful and those who know the truth may eat with thanksgiving (that is, with the Eucharist. — G.Ch.). For every creation of God is good, and nothing is reprehensible if received with thanksgiving; because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Tim 4:3-5).

As we can see, the Epistle emphasizes that thanksgiving is combined with the proclamation of the Word of God. Just as God Himself is present in His Word, so He is present in the Holy Mysteries. During the Liturgy of the catechumens, the Lord is present in us through His Word proclaimed from the ambo, and during the Liturgies of the faithful, Christ is present among us in the Holy Mysteries transposed into His Body and His Blood.

The sacrament of the Eucharist, or the Last Supper, which is celebrated according to the word of Christ: “Do this in remembrance of me”, is first of all the sacrament of our meeting with Christ and uniting us all into one whole, into His Church.

It is terrible when the communion of the Holy Mysteries during the Liturgy is often perceived as a kind of reward for good behavior. This is not a reward, but a medicine, this is the only way to break through to God! One saint said: “You are not worthy to participate in the Eucharist, to take communion. Yes, unworthy, but you need it!”

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh, known for his strictness, says that very often, when a person comes to him and confesses some serious sin, he does not read a permissive prayer over him, but, giving this person an opportunity to more deeply realize his sinfulness and make a breakthrough to God in repentance, communes, admits to the Holy Mysteries. To many who were brought up in everyday Orthodoxy, this seems something monstrous. But this is true Orthodoxy. Because with whom does Christ eat? With publicans and sinners. Christ comes to the fallen to give them Himself and save them.

When we say: “I’m not ready enough yet, I haven’t been fast enough”, etc., we become like a person who lies in bed with a fever and says: “Aspirin is wonderful, but first I will be cured, and then I will take it ". Without Christ we perish; without Christ we will fall deeper and deeper. He comes to save us, He holds out His hand to us, as to the Apostle Peter, and we, not participating in His Last Supper, push it away. This is very important to comprehend and through it to break through to God, because He is present among us - but we often do not want to see it. At the Last Supper there can be no witnesses, spectators, in the Church - all participants, all belong to the royal priesthood, as the Apostle Peter says, to the holy people.

On the eve of the Death of the Cross, on Maundy Thursday, Jesus Christ celebrated the Mystical Paschal Supper with His Apostles. On it, Jesus Christ, in a way incomprehensible to our mind, connected the life of His disciples with His life: Jesus took the bread, blessed it, and broke it, and giving it to the disciples, he said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, and said, Drink all of you from it, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.(Matthew 26:26-28).

The mother feeds the blood child with her milk. Christ spiritually feeds His children - members of the Church - with His flesh: I am the living bread that came down from heaven; but the bread that I will give is My Flesh, which I will give for the life of the world... Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you will not have life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day(John 6:51, 53-54).

Christ is Risen to join us in His Resurrection and His victory over hell, sin and death.

After all, we partake of Christ, Who conquered death! Risen Christ! A part of the future life, as it were, enters into us so that we become different, so that this future life already lives in us. But let's remember that Whoever eats and drinks unworthily, he eats and drinks condemnation to himself, not discussing the Body of the Lord(1 Cor. 11:29).

The apostles of Christ literally, and not allegorically, understood the words of their Teacher. So, the holy apostle Paul says: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not the communion of the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not the communion of the Body of Christ? One bread, and we many are one body; for we all partake of the same bread(1 Corinthians 10:16-17).

In Communion, or, in other words, in the Eucharist, the mystical union of a Christian with Christ takes place. A person partakes in the life and personality of the Risen Christ, and the Savior partakes, enters into the life of His disciple.

Jesus Christ celebrates the Last Supper with His Apostles and communes them with His Body and Blood (consecrated Bread and Wine). Through the grace-filled life of the Church, Orthodox Christians can spiritually participate in this unique Last Supper. This happens during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.

The Divine Liturgy is the most important Christian service. It celebrates the Sacrament of the Eucharist (Thanksgiving) or Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ. The word "liturgy" is Greek, it is translated as "common work", that is, a work that cannot be done alone, but can only be done by all together.

The Divine Liturgy is a divine service in which the church community of the parish takes part. As Jesus Christ said: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.(Matthew 18:19-20). To celebrate the Liturgy, at least two or three Christians - members of the Holy Orthodox Church - must gather.

Each Liturgy in the Orthodox Church of Christ is the communion of the faithful with the Last Supper. Every time at the Liturgy before Communion, all communicants pray: Thy secret supper this day, Son of God, take part in me... We ask God to make us participants in His Last Supper today, now - today .

We do not repeat or remember the Last Supper. We partake of an incomprehensible mystery, we spiritually enter that room - the Zion Room - in which Christ celebrated the Last Supper. By uniting with Christ, we are united with each other and with all members of the Church: both the living and the dead, those who are in a heavenly state, and those who are not. Therefore, the Eucharistic Sacrifice is offered for everyone and about everyone.

Thanks to and through the Liturgy, everything that Jesus Christ has done and is doing for the human race reaches us. During Holy Communion at the Divine Liturgy, an Orthodox Christian actually meets with the Resurrected God-Man Jesus Christ.

The first conditions for Communion are reconciliation with everyone, forgiveness of offenses and abstinence of the mind and heart from impure thoughts and feelings.

Before Communion, we try to purify our soul with repentance, so that it would be pleasant for Christ to enter the dwelling of our heart, so that our body from the dirty shed of sin becomes a temple where God lives.

In the order of the Divine Liturgy, before the text of the proskomedia, that is, the first part of the Liturgy, there is an exhortation to the serving priest: first of all, be reconciled to be with everyone and not have anything for anyone, and the heart, a tree of strength, from evil thoughts ".

The preparatory part of the Liturgy is proskomedia (Greek for "offering"). It is where the preparation of the Eucharistic Gifts takes place. It is performed on a special table in the altar, which is called the "altar". The bread prepared for the Liturgy is called "prosphora", which also means "offering". It must be cooked with yeast, since the word "artos", which in the Gospel refers to the bread broken at the Last Supper, means precisely "leavened bread".

Five prosphora are selected for proskomidia. The larger or better prosphora is for the Lamb, that is, the Eucharistic Bread. A rectangular part is cut out of it. The cut out part of the lamb prosphora relies on a discos (a flat plate on a leg). Red wine with water, in remembrance of the outflow of blood and water from the rib of Christ pierced by a spear, is poured into the chalice (Cup).

Particles are taken out of the four service prosphora in honor and memory of the Most Holy Theotokos, in memory of the saints, as well as in prayerful commemoration of the living and the dead (prayers submit notes asking for prayers for their loved ones). All these particles are placed on the paten next to the Lamb. The diskos symbolizes the whole Church, the Center and Head of which is Jesus Christ, and it includes all the people of God, renewed by Holy Baptism, Confirmation and Communion. And the living, and those who have completed the path of earthly life: the Mother of God, and the saints, and the departed, and we who live on earth at the present time.

The Divine Liturgy begins with the solemn exclamation of the bishop or priest: "Blessed is the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever (always), and forever and ever (in eternity)."

The first part of the Liturgy is called Liturgy of the catechumens or Liturgy of the word. Christians offer prayers for the whole world, all nature, all mankind.

During this part of the Liturgy, small entrance. The deacon solemnly bears the Gospel and enters the altar through the royal doors. Behind him, the clergy enter the altar.

In the prayer of the small entrance, the priest asks God that, together with the community of Orthodox believers who perform the sacred service, the Angels of God be present with them in the church in this service.

Reading passages from the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Usually, after reading the Gospel, a sermon is delivered.

The second part of the ceremony is called Liturgy of the faithful. The faithful are those Orthodox Christians who have not only received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, but also try to protect and strengthen their spiritual connection with the Lord through a pious life and regular Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

The Liturgy of the Faithful consists of four parts, corresponding to the four actions performed by Jesus Christ during the Last Supper:
1. He took the bread.
2. Thanked.
3. Broke Bread.
4. Taught this Bread to the Apostles.
Accordingly, the Liturgy of the Faithful consists of four parts:
1. Great Entrance.
2. Ascension (in Greek "Anaphora", the Eucharistic prayer).

1.

The clergy solemnly transfer from the altar to the throne for consecration the Eucharistic Bread (Lamb) on a paten and wine with water in a bowl (chalice). During the transfer of the Eucharistic Bread and Wine to the throne, the so-called Cherubic Hymn is sung: "Although the Cherubim secretly form, and sing to the Life-Giving Trinity the thrice-holy song, we put aside all worldly care now. Let us raise up the King of all, Invisibly angelic Dorinos chinmi. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia ". Here is one of the options for translating the Cherubic Hymn into Russian: "We, mysteriously portraying the Cherubim, and singing the thrice-holy song to God the Holy Trinity, will now put aside all worldly worries in order to receive the King of the world, Coming to us with the ranks of invisible (invisible) Angels."

2.

This most important part of the Divine Liturgy begins after the chanting of the Creed. It reproduces the prayer of "thanksgiving", in Greek "eucharist", which Jesus Christ performed when he took the Bread and the Chalice during the Last Supper.

The priest calls on believers to raise their hearts to the heavenly world to the Lord: "Woe to our hearts." Then the priest calls: "We thank the Lord!"

In the prayer of Anaphora - the Ascension - six parts can be distinguished:
1) a prayer of thanksgiving for the creation of the world: "You called us from non-existence into existence ...";
2) gratitude to God for the salvation of people: "You again called those who fell back to You and did not leave care for us, but raised us to heaven and gave us Your Coming Kingdom";
3) gratitude to the Lord for the feat of the Cross, Burial, Resurrection, Ascension to Heaven, sitting at the right hand (on the right) of the Father and the future Second Coming;
4) the invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiclesis) on the believers and the Holy Gifts (Bread and Wine). At this most crucial moment of the Liturgy, during the invocation of the Holy Spirit, we sing: "We sing to You, we thank You, we bless You, Lord, and we pray to Thee, our God." In Russian translation, this hymn sounds like this: "We sing to You, we bless You, we thank You, Lord, and we pray to You, our God";
5) prayers for living and dead members of the Holy Orthodox Church;

6) singing the Lord's Prayer "Our Father".

3.

With the words: "Holy to the saints!" - the priest raises the Holy Bread.

Christians are called saints because they are singled out for the holy service of God by good deeds in our sinful world and are sanctified by the action of the Holy Spirit.

The priest breaks the Holy Bread, crushes it into particles and lowers it into the Chalice. Now all believers receive communion from the same Chalice. Sometimes, with a large number of communicants, the contents of one Chalice are divided into several Chalices.

4.

Those preparing to participate in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist approach the Chalice with the fear of God, faith and love. Each communicant is aware of himself as the first sinner: "I believe, Lord, and I confess that You are truly the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Who came into the world to save sinners, from them I am the first (the first I)".

The communicants receive into their soul and body Christ Himself. They become one Body with the Resurrected Savior and all drink from the Fountain of Life.

The community of Orthodox Christians who prayed and communed at the Divine Liturgy becomes the One Body of Christ - the Church. Each Communion is Easter, a live meeting with the Risen Lord.

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The stylistic features of the architecture of the Dormition abbey church are unusual. They combine elements of Byzantine and modern Muslim style, both in general and in detail. Through a cozy courtyard, the visitor enters the interior. The view covers the basilica as a whole, only a little later allowing you to begin its detailed examination. Before us is the central figure of the apse: Our Lady Queen of Heaven, in whose hands Jesus in all His majesty and glory.

The images of the eight Old Testament prophets: Haggai, Zechariah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Malachi and Micah, placed under the Mother of God with the Son, voice the phrase of Augustine the Blessed, which has become an aphorism: “The Old Testament opens in the New, while the New is hidden in the Old.” Illuminated during services, the altar seems to lift this group to heavenly heights.

Six chapels diverge from the altar in a semicircle. Chapels of Cologne, St. Willibald, St. Benedict.

Chapels of St. Boniface, St. John the Baptist, St. Joseph.

The floor in the church is paved with a mosaic in the center of which there are three rings with the words "Holy! Holy! Holy!" In Christianity, they symbolize the trinity: God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit, and in expanding circles there are 12 signs of the Zodiac, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles and other images.

The decoration of the church is magnificent. Candle stands decorate each column.

You can hear a small organ during services and loopholes through which a bluish light penetrates located in the upper part of the church.

Under the main hall of the church is a crypt with a statue of Mary lying on her deathbed.

On the dome of the canopy covering the sculpture, Jesus Christ is depicted, calling His Mother to His Kingdom of Heaven with the phrase: “Get up, my beloved, my beautiful, come out! My dove is in the gorge of the rock under the roof of the cliff” (Song of Songs 2:13/14). In the medallions surrounding the dome, there are images of six Old Testament female images: Eve, Miriam (Moses' sisters), Yael, Judith, Ruth and Esther.

The sacred bed is surrounded by six altars, gifts from various countries: Austria, Brazil, Ivory Coast, Hungary, Venezuela, USA. They depict their own saints and apostles and, of course, they have their own national stylistic features. I'll just show pictures of some of the altars.

The decoration of the crypt inspires reverent silence. Numerous columns are originally decorated.

The mosaic is amazing.

Icon lamps give an extraordinary glow over the sacred bed.

There is a cafe at the entrance to the church. Here it is more than appropriate, because. the cafe itself and the picture located on the central wall smoothly transfer us to the main shrine of the place where the monastery of Dormition is located.

The Upper Room of the Last Supper... Let me start by describing the place itself. It so happened historically that three religions belong to one building. The first floor is for Judaism, the second for Christianity, the third for Islam. Let's start in order

Tomb of King David.
A bit of history. The authenticity of the grave has not been proven, perhaps David was buried in the Kidron Valley, in the same place where all the rulers of Israel are. Disputes about the location of the grave are still ongoing. The traditional biblical version tells us that the great king was buried in the city he created - Jerusalem, on the territory of which Mount Zion falls only conditionally. According to some indications, it can be assumed that at the beginning of the Second Temple period, the Jews placed the tomb of David in Bethlehem - Beit Lehem, at least as Josephus writes, and only later transferred the tradition here.

The first written mention of the location of the tomb of King David here is found by Benjamin of Tudella in 1123. The Franciscans in the 14th century. the church is rebuilt here, which causes a serious conflict between Jews and Christians. This conflict caused a powerful wave of anti-Semitism in Europe. As a result, Muslims take the entire building under their mosque. The Turkish authorities in 1524 built the El Daoud Mosque here, in honor of David, whom Muslims worship as a great prophet. The mosque existed until 1948. During the construction of the new wall of the city, the Turks deliberately leave Mount Zion outside the walls of Jerusalem and make it "Waqf" - a public place dedicated to Allah. With this status, the place can no longer be transferred to anyone. Just like the room of the Last Supper, today the grave belongs to the Ministry of Religions, and the Franciscan order is still in litigation, demanding, if not the transfer of the entire Mount of Zion to it, then at least compensation. Despite all the disputes between the concessions, today there is a synagogue in this place with a wall, allegedly behind which the tomb is located.

On the cenotaph there are crowns of Torah scrolls, symbolizing the 22 kings of Israel who replaced David. Everywhere you can see inscriptions saying: "David, the king of Israel, lives and exists," which is a quote from the beautiful Talmudic legend that when King David died, the light went out on earth. His son and successor, King Solomon, prayed to the Almighty, saying: “What can we do without light, what can we do without King David?” And the Almighty answered him with this very phrase, after which the light returned to the earth again.

As expected, the synagogue has two sections for men and women. Of course, I can only show the female part.

If you want to visit the synagogue, pay attention to the time at which this can be done.

We rise to the second floor. here is the Church of the Last Supper. This hall is located on Mount Zion in a building built directly over the tomb of King David during the Crusader era. This is the place of the secret supper of Jesus with the disciples, depicted in many paintings and frescoes. The dinner itself was, in fact, the first Passover Seder at which Jesus presented himself as the Passover sacrifice (Matthew 26:17-29, Mark 14:12-25). It is also stated that in this room 7 weeks later on Pentecost (Shavuot) the Holy Spirit appeared before Mary and the apostles on the day called Trinity. From that moment on, the apostles began to speak many languages ​​for missionary work. It was here that the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot was predicted - Ish-Krayot (Krayot - the Jewish settlement of that time at the southern foot of the Hebron Mountains), who was the only non-Galilean of all the disciples of Jesus.

In fact, the building was built (over the ancient tomb) only in the 12th century. crusaders as a church, called "Our Lady". Later, in 1335, the church was bought by the Franciscan order. In the 15th century the Turks turned the building into a mosque. The building well preserved the architectural style typical of the late 11th - early 12th century, with Gothic columns, criss-cross ceilings, arches and windows.

In the hall there is a tree symbolizing, according to the guides, the gifts of the fruitful land. To be honest, it seemed to me that the tree does not "fit into the overall ensemble." Judge for yourself.

Arch and stone of those times

I did not find any correspondence with the famous painting. But apparently for this you need to more carefully study the biblical and historical sources. If someone has information about the exhibits and decoration of the church, I will accept it with great gratitude.

From the times of Muslim domination, the central mihrab, domes and additional ladders remained in the room on the second floor.

And about the mosque itself. The Turkish authorities in 1524 built the El Daoud Mosque here, in honor of David, whom Muslims worship as a great prophet. The mosque existed until 1948. During the construction of the new wall of the city, the Turks deliberately leave Mount Zion outside the walls of Jerusalem and make it "Waqf" - a public place dedicated to Allah. With this status, the place can no longer be transferred to anyone. The mosque is now not functioning, but its fully preserved minaret can be seen by climbing to the roof.

In general, only in Jerusalem can one see such a close interweaving of "living" legends of various faiths. And it's great!

Finally, the view of the monastery of Dormition, which, of course, is admirable.