A blessing at communion?

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filios

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I am going to a Byzantine rite mass and I am not going to recieve communion. However, I don’t want to be the only one of my family not going to communion. I was wondering what is the best way to signal a priest to give me a blessing instead of communion? And it’s the Byzantine rite so i was wondering if it’s different? Also, is the priest used to something like this or will he be confused momentarily because it’s an unusual request?
 
filios said:
I am going to a Byzantine rite mass and I am not going to recieve communion. However, I don’t want to be the only one of my family not going to communion. I was wondering what is the best way to signal a priest to give me a blessing instead of communion? And it’s the Byzantine rite so i was wondering if it’s different? Also, is the priest used to something like this or will he be confused momentarily because it’s an unusual request?
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Its normally not done but sometimes out of ecumenism the priest would do it. We did it once during a funeral when there were many non-Ukrainian Catholics (some Roman, some not Catholic at all) in the church. You could tell how lost some of the priest were at this.
 
Is this an Orthodox or Catholic liturgy? If it’s Catholic (assuming you are in a state of grace) you are free to receive communion.
 
If you are no disposed to receive Holy Eucharist you would not normally go up in the communion line. There is no need to be self conscious about that. I’m in a very tiny parish and it’s rare we don’t have one or more people who do not go up to receive. In my parish we always have Antidoron and usually on of the faithful will take some after they receive Eucharist and give it to whom ever did not go up for Eucharist. (On the few occasions when I’m in an Orthodox parish for Divine Liturgy someone will usually bring me Antidoron-- I’m known in that parish.)

If you arrive early enough that the clergy haven’t already begun the Rite of Preparation and are still available you could ask the deacon or the priest what they would want you to do. I noticed people on a YouTube video going up and putting their forehead to the base of the chalice without receiving Eucharist. I asked about this and was told that some traditions people go up for a “blessing” which is this gesture. Apparently in that case they keep their heads slightly bowed as they approach the clergy. I wouldn’t recommend this unless the clergy, or a regular member of the parish tells you to do that.

At the close of Liturgy you can go up for a blessing with everyone else. Everyone lines up again and approaches the priest who will greet you individually saying perhaps, “Christ is among us!” and you can respond “He is and shall be” or say nothing, and then kiss the hand cross he is holding and his hand holding it. 🙂

The Eucharistic liturgy in a Byzantine Church is the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom normally and on some occasions the * Divine Liturgy *of St. Basil the Great, rather than the Roman Rite Holy Mass.

We’re used to having visitors. Just feel at home and copy what others do. That Wikipedia article on Divine Liturgy is very good and has many links to greater details. Read up on the basics and then if they give you a service book I encourage you to not keep your nose in it. All of the Liturgy is sung. Once you pick up on repetitions you can join in on those parts. 🙂
 
I should note that crossing your arms over your breast is not a signal for the priest to give you a blessing instead of Communion; it’s our ordinary posture for praying or receiving Communion.
 
Just bow your head instead of opening your mouth. If the person bows his head I will place the Holy Chalice over it and/or allow them to kiss the exterior of the Holy Chalice. Of course you are welcome to partake of the Antidoron and if it is a feast with the anointing of the Mirovaniye, you may partake of the anointing and kiss the festal icon and Holy Cross.
 
Yes, it’s actually a “remake” of the early Church tradition where Christians would actually take Holy Communion HOME WITH THEM and keep it in their home chapels. They would partake of this Communion themselves with their families every morning after their morning prayers and before having breakfast.

St John Chrysostom later forbade this practice, owing to the “cooling of the fervour of the early Christians” but allowed Christians, instead, to take home particles of the Antidoron or Blessed Bread left over from what was not used in Holy Communion.

Eastern Christians keeps this Holy Bread in their home chapel/icon corner and partake of it in the same way - after morning prayers and before breakfast.

There is another way to partake of this Holy Bread for those who pray the daily Hours. There is what in the West would be termed the “Dry Mass” (and I don’t pretend know all about the Dry Mass). This is called the “Typika” in the East and is used by laity/non-ordained monastics in place of the Divine Liturgy (although one may say it even if one attended Divine Liturgy that day).

The Typika has the main prayers of the Divine Liturgy/Mass, reading of the Gospel, Epistle etc. At the end of it, one may partake of the Antidoron “in place of Communion” and/or Holy Water (which is also kept in the icon corner). One drinks of the Holy Water three times.

If a father of a family or leader of a prayer group is doing the Typika, then he/she will distribute the Holy Bread and Holy Water at the end of the service (which follows the Sixth Hour outside of Lent and after the Ninth Hour during Lent).

A Deacon, however, doing the Typika in Church (in the absence of a Priest) could distribute Holy Communion rather than Holy Bread/Water and I believe there are eparchies where Deacons have such permission in specific circumstances.

So that is our “Dry Mass.” One may aggregate the Hours so that Nocturns, Mattins and the First Hour (we did not abrogate that Hour - one of the benefits of not having the Pope as one’s immediate Patriarch with power over our liturgical matters! ;), then, at noon or so, the Third and Sixth Hours together with the Typika - then later the Ninth Hour, Vespers and Compline.

Alex
 
Literally from the Greek it means “in place of the Gifts”. The Antidoron is taken from the same Prosphora loaves used for the Divine Liturgy, but is given from the portions of the loaves that were not consecrated on the Diskos during the Anaphora and placed into the Holy Chalice for Holy Communion.
 
Greetings, Rev. Fr. DIAKone!

Always great to come across your cyber-path!

Alex
 
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