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The Case/Protestantism

The Sacraments and the Real Presence

Orthodoxy calls the sacraments mysteries because God truly acts through them; the Eucharist is not reduced to a bare mental symbol.

Rival Claim

The Protestant claim

Baptism and the Lord's Supper are signs or ordinances that witness to faith, but they do not convey grace in themselves and the bread and wine remain only symbols.

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Signs that truly give what they signify

Orthodoxy does not oppose symbol and reality. A sacramental symbol is not empty; it participates in and communicates the reality God gives.

Christ speaks of being born of water and the Spirit, and of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Paul warns the Corinthians that careless communion makes them guilty concerning the Body and Blood. The Church therefore receives the Eucharist as the true Body and Blood of Christ and baptism as entry into the new life.

  • John 3:5
  • John 6:53-56
  • 1 Corinthians 11:27-29
  • St. Ignatius of Antioch, Smyrnaeans 7