Metropolitan Hilarion: Catholics, Orthodox are united in belief in Christ’s Real Presence

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Budapest, Hungary, Sep 6, 2021 / 04:25 am (CNA). A Russian Orthodox leader said on Monday that belief in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist unites Catholics and Orthodox believers despite their divisions.Delivering the opening catechesis at the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 6, Metropolitan Hilarion outlined the Orthodox understanding of the Eucharist. “The Catholics and the Orthodox are not united in the Eucharist, but they are united in the conviction that in the Eucharistic bread and wine after their consecration we have not just symbolic presence of Christ, but his full and real presence,” said the chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate.“We believe that the bread and wine of the Eucharist are the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Eucharistic celebration is not only a commemoration of the Last Supper, but also its actualization for each believer who participates in it.” “And the celebrant does not act in the Eucharist on his own behalf. It is on behalf of Jesus Christ himself that he pronounces the words originally uttered by Christ at his Last Supper. And it is Christ himself who administers the sacrament for his followers, not a priest or a bishop.”The 52nd International Eucharistic Congress opened on Sept. 5 with a 1,000-strong choir and a Mass featuring First Communions. | The 52nd International Eucharistic Congress kicked off with an opening Mass, a 1,000-strong choir and First Communions in the center of Budapest, Hungary.

The #IEC2021 will culminate on Sept. 12 with a closing Mass offered by Pope Francis. #iec2021budapest pic.twitter.com/GLPxJTMBHt— EWTN News (@EWTNews) September 5, 2021 The live-streamed Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the retired archbishop of Genoa and president of the Council of the Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE).Preaching at the Mass in Heroes’ Square, Bagnasco said: “I bid you a warm welcome, those who represent Christian peoples, in this historically important square. I owe a debt of great thanks to the Church in Hungary, who, led by their bishops, are the hosts of the International Eucharistic Congress.”The opening Mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Heroes’ Square, Budapest, Hungary, Sept. 5, 2021. Daniel Ibáñez/CNA. “In this hour, the tolling of the bells of the nation and the city resound like a choir and proclaim their embrace of all of humanity. From this pulpit, the words of pastors, the voices of this stirring and enormous congregation humbly and happily strive to speak to the heart of Europe’s peoples, and beyond that everyone, to the very edges of the Earth.”He continued: “Our voices are weak, but in them echoes the voices of millennia and the blood of martyrs enlivens them.

We proclaim to everyone who is listening to us that our joy is greater than all, Jesus Christ Himself! Humanity desires for the Eternal God. It wanders towards the Light! With today’s Holy Mass we say that despite our weakness and sins the light of Christ shines forth in the Church.”Cardinal Péter Erdő, the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest and Primate of Hungary, also spoke at the Mass.Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.In an introductory message, he said: “May God grant that in these days we especially sense that Christ is with us in the Eucharist, that he does not abandon His Church, His people, humanity. All our strength and hope flows from Him!” “The Eucharist is the source from which the mission and our Christian life is nourished. Lord Christ, be with Us! Grant us strength and light for our mission in the modern world! Grant that we may live with you here on Earth and later in eternity!” Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.The congress was originally scheduled to take place in 2020 but was postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.The week-long event will culminate on Sept. 12 with a closing Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in Heroes’ Square.In his catechesis at the Hungexpo Budapest Congress and Exhibition Center, the main congress venue, Metropolitan Hilarion used Eastern Christian iconography to explain Orthodox teaching on the Eucharist. “I suppose many of you had a chance to visit ancient Byzantine churches in whose walls you could see frescoes or mosaics. Very often figures of the saints are arranged in rows, one row below another,” the 55-year-old theologian said. “You might see prophets in the highest row, below them the apostles, then the martyrs, then the holy bishops and monks. But there are no figures in the bottom row. The idea is, in fact, that this row is reserved for those who are present in the church, that is, for the parishioners. Together with the saints, they participate in the heavenly mystery of the Holy Eucharist.”“And when the priest goes out of the altar with a censor, he first