The Divine Liturgy: A Commentary in the Light of the Fathers

When Christ first spoke about the Mystery of the Divine Eucharist, He called Himself the 'Bread of Life', which came down from heaven to be offered for the life and salvation of the world. Christ, the 'Bread of life' comes down at the moment of the Eucharistic annunciation into the virgin Church, and the holy CHurch becomes the 'good earth and blessed' which brings forth the Bread of life. It is this reality of Christ's descent and His presence within the Church that we experience in the Divine Liturgy. The Divine Liturgy is Christ in our midst. The holy Evangelists and the God-bearing Fathers spoke to us of Christ as they experienced Him when He was with them, as they experienced Him as a living reality in the Divine Liturgy: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, con­cerning the Word of life (1 John 1: 1–2). It is from the writings and eucharistic experiences of these saints, who have seen the true Light, who have heard the Word and ‘touched the immaculate head of the Master’, and who are eternally contemporary, that the present commentary is compiled.