Receiving the Eucharist in an Eastern Church?

[4givemeasinner]

Just wondering if I, a Roman Catholic, can receive Eucharist in an Eastern Orthodox Church, if, for instance, I am travelling and there are no Catholic Churches in the area?

 

[xavierakx]

Just wondering if I, a Roman Catholic, can receive Eucharist in an Eastern Orthodox Church, if, for instance, I am travelling and there are no Catholic Churches in the area?

Yes. Their sacraments are valid. But you have to make it absolutely sure it’s because there are no Catholic Churches around your area.

A related discussion: Are Orthodox Church Sacraments Valid?

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=609463

 

[RyanBlack]

Generally speaking, no. The Orthodox do not typically commune non-Orthodox, though I have been told of exceptions.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

Just wondering if I, a Roman Catholic, can receive Eucharist in an Eastern Orthodox Church, if, for instance, I am travelling and there are no Catholic Churches in the area?

Forgive me, too, a sinner …

I’ll endeavor to give you a clearer yet concise response, as you have received conflicting guidance.

You would most likely be permitted by your church, if you so petitioned, to receive these sacraments, but only if it is truly impossible for you do so in a Catholic Church of any Rite. Permission would have to be granted by your bishop.

Can. 844 §2. Whenever necessity requires it or true spiritual advantage suggests it, and provided that danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided, the Christian faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.

The judgment of a bishop is requisite in making such a determination. However, as the major branches of Orthodoxy are considered to have valid sacraments, it is unlikely that this would be an impediment in your case. However, it would likely be impractical to make such a petition if you were only gone for a short while. You can fulfill your Sunday obligation (sans Eucharist) by attending an Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy.

Can. 1248 §2. If participation in the eucharistic celebration becomes impossible because of the absence of a sacred minister or for another grave cause, it is strongly recommended that the faithful take part in a liturgy of the word if such a liturgy is celebrated in a parish church or other sacred place according to the prescripts of the diocesan bishop or that they devote themselves to prayer for a suitable time alone, as a family, or, as the occasion permits, in groups of families.

Practically speaking, however, you would not be administered the Holy Eucharist in an Orthodox Church, as they currently do not (except in the most extreme of circumstances) administer the Sacraments to non-Orthodox Christians.

 

[Vico]

From 2003 L’Osservatore Romano:

Central as a shared vision of the connection between valid orders and valid Eucharist is to the fulfilment of the Lord’s prayer that all may be one, that unity more broadly requires, in the words of the Encyclical, “full communion in the bonds of the profession of faith, the sacraments and ecclesiastical governance” (n. 43), a topic dealt with in CIC c. 205 and CCEO c. 8. The Church’s discipline on worship in common, especially Eucharistic worship (communicatio in sacris), is based on a twofold principle articulated in UR, 8: while ordinarily the unity of the Church ought to be what the Eucharist expresses, the Eucharist as a means of grace to be shared justifies its reception, outside the context of full communion, under special circumstances. Consequently, the Council teaches, communicatio in sacris “is not to be considered as a means to be used indiscriminately for the restoration of unity among Christians”.

ewtn.com/library/Doctrine/euchar9.htm