Category Archives: Sacraments

Transubstantiation: Where Does the Bread Go?

Posted on 13 April 2024 by Fr Aidan Kimel

On 13 October 1551, the Council of Trent published its Decree on the Holy Eucharist. Chapter IV defines the dogma of transubstantiation: And because that Christ, our Redeemer, declared that which He offered under the species of bread to be … Continue reading →

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God is Eucharistic Love: Bulgakov’s Transvaluation of Sacrifice

Posted on 18 January 2022 by Fr Aidan Kimel

by Mark Roosien, Ph.D. There is no love without sacrifice. Though cliché, this statement is undoubtedly true. Love, if it is genuine, will require a gift of self unto the end. In this vale of tears, we should not expect … Continue reading →

Posted in Sacraments, Sergius Bulgakov | Tagged , , , , , | 27 Comments

Baptized into the Eschatological In-between

Posted on 8 November 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

For in Christ Jesus the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by … Continue reading →

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The Eucharistic Dogma as Sacramental Identification

Posted on 25 March 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

It is remarkable that for hundreds of years the Church did not find it necessary to formally dogmatize a particular definition of the Holy Eucharist. Despite real differences of expres­sion, significant conflict between theologians and churches did not arise. The … Continue reading →

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Transubstantiation: Maybe Dositheos Got It Right

Posted on 23 March 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

by the Very Rev. Christiaan Kappes, S.L.D., Ph.L., Ph.D. Just out of curiosity, I tried my search engine on googlebooks with the word “transubstan­tiation.” Number two in my search was a howler: The History of Popish Transubstantia­tion (1840). Again, number … Continue reading →

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Transmutation or Transubstantiation: Sergius Bulgakov and Herbert McCabe on the Holy Eucharist

Posted on 17 March 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

That the Holy Orthodox Church confesses the Holy Gifts to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ no one can doubt. But satisfactory interpretations of the eucharistic mystery are difficult to find. Somewhat surprisingly, Eastern theologians have tended to … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbert McCabe & Friends, Sacraments, Sergius Bulgakov | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Clinging to Externals: Weak Faith and the Power of the Sacraments

Posted on 8 January 2020 by Fr Aidan Kimel

by Phillip S. Cary, Ph.D. Behind the debates about the objectivity of Christ’s presence in the Reformed view of the supper are crucial pastoral questions about the nature of faith, and I think it will bring clarity to the debate … Continue reading →

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The Epiclesis Debate at the Council of Florence

Posted on 18 November 2019 by Fr Aidan Kimel

by the Very Rev. Christiaan Kappes, S.L.D., Ph.L., Ph.D. It is pretty standard in the history of science to hear about figures such as Copernicus (even if in reality he made but a first step toward a more verifiable cosmology) … Continue reading →

Posted in Sacraments | 3 Comments