All Eastern Catholic and Orthodox Christians believe that during the Divine Liturgy the bread and wine     offered are turned into the Body and Blood of Christ. Western Catholics also believe this, albeit this miracle is expressed in a different manner. The Western Church explains this miracle by the word transubstantiation and explains what happens by saying that the very substance of the bread and wine are changed but that the accidents, (i.e., appearances and qualities) of the bread and wine remain the same. So, although the gifts still look and taste like bread and wine, they are really Christ’s body and blood.

Our Church uses, instead of the word transubstantiation, the Greek word metousiosis. This word conveys the meaning that the inner reality of the bread and wine are changed. The East does not use the words substance and accidents because it feels that these terms rob the mystery of what actually happens when we pray to the Father, remember the words of the Son and invoke the power of the Holy Spirit.

This difference really highlights an essential difference between the East and the West. The Church of the East, in all instances, attempts to retain the mystical aspect of our faith and does not even attempt to describe what happens to the gifts. We believe that God, in some miraculous and also very mysterious manner, changes the gifts we bring, making His Son truly present with us.

This approach, I believe, highlights something important. God’s INCARNATION, that is His becoming a human, truly changed the meaning of human life and revealed that human life is, in some essential and wondrous way, connected to God Himself. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity – Jesus Christ – has a glorified human body which is a part of God. Think about that. What does it mean to you that our human nature is intimately connected to God? When you think about this you realize how very different Christian and Orthodox Christianity is from other religions, even some modern-day Christian religions (Remember, not all Western Christian religions believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Some don’t even have an Eucharist). So what do you believe about the Holy Eucharist? I believe that this is important to think about!