Of the Eucharist as a sacrament of unity

This article by Hieromonk Symeon Cossec examines the relationship between the Eucharist and the unity of the Church from an Orthodox perspective, addressing the ecumenical question of intercommunion. Belonging to the genre of theological meditation, the text articulates a eucharistic ecclesiology grounded in the Trinitarian analogy: just as the divine Persons are distinct and consubstantial, each local Church is fully the Church while participating in the universal Church. The author argues that ecclesial divisions stem from a weakening of the bond of charity rather than from doctrinal disagreements alone, and that the Eucharist constitutes not only the expression of achieved unity but an active means of restoring it. The principal contribution lies in concrete proposals to facilitate access to Orthodox eucharistic communion for non-Orthodox baptized persons who share the fundamental dogmas, by drawing on the patristic principle of economy, which is distinct from any doctrinal relativism.